St Bede’s Catholic Primary School, Washington

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have created a welcoming, nurturing and friendly environment. Pupils are happy and feel safe. The school motto 'in Christ's kindness…we learn, we pray, we belong' prevails throughout the life of the school.

Pupils are kind to one another and get along well. Older pupils act as role models and support younger pupils through the 'special friend' system. Pupils show respect for each other.

They say the best thing about their school is the support they get if they need it.

The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve. The school's well-thought-out curriculum reflects these high expectations.

Pupils work hard in lessons and achiev...e well.

Staff have high expectations of behaviour and model the behaviour that they expect from pupils. Pupils behave well at all times of the school day.

Classrooms are calm and orderly.

The school ensures that pupils have access to a range of opportunities outside the classroom so that they develop in the wider sense. Pupils take part in a range of clubs such as creative writing, karate, Lego and multi-skills.

They also contribute to school and community through raising money for charity and supporting the local food bank. Pupils enjoy school.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has designed a new curriculum, which is ambitious for all, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Curricular thinking, planning and sequencing start in the early years. It identifies specific knowledge to be learned and is sequenced well. In some curriculum areas, the legacy of the previous curriculum continues to have a negative impact on pupils' current achievement.

This is because some pupils have some remaining gaps in their knowledge. The current, highly ambitious curriculum is addressing this but it is not fully embedded. Leaders have thought carefully and made bold decisions on how to implement this new curriculum so that over time, pupils will acquire a deep understanding of the specific and ambitious curriculum knowledge that leaders have set out.

In the early years, staff have established routines that children know and follow. There is strong focus on developing vocabulary and early number, which prepares pupils for learning in Year 1. The environment supports children to learn and children access it with independence and confidence.

The school prioritises learning to read and there are high expectations. There is a clear programme for teaching phonics through the school. This starts in the early years and is taught with consistency.

All staff are trained in the delivery of phonics. Most pupils keep up with the programme and read books that are well matched to the sounds they know. Pupils who need extra help with their reading, get it.

The reading curriculum beyond the phonics curriculum is less well developed. Some pupils do not show a love of reading or talk confidently about stories they enjoy or would recommend. Leaders and the trust already have plans in place to develop the reading-for-pleasure curriculum further.

Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum wherever possible. Support, adaptations and resources help pupils with SEND to learn alongside their peers.

Pupils display positive attitudes toward learning in the classrooms.

They live out the St Bede's Bees code of `be safe, be kind, be ready' in school and in the community. Right from the early years, pupils show a high level of independence and they cooperate with each other well.

The school gives careful thought to pupils' personal development.

It is important to the school that pupils develop in the wider sense, beyond the formal curriculum. Pupils have opportunities to attend residential visits, take part in sports festivals and even play in a rock band. Pupils learn important information about online safety, healthy lifestyles and how to keep themselves safe.

The well-being of pupils is well catered through the school's nurture programme. Pupils understand about equality and that everyone has the same rights as each other. They are confident that in their school, everyone is treated equally and is welcome.

Pupils are keen to take on roles of responsibility such as being on the school council or being a 'Mini Vinnie'. In these roles, pupils make a positive contribution to the school and the wider community through leading fundraising events such as the Big Lent Walk.

Trustees, trust leaders, the diocese and governors share a clear and consistent vision for the school.

They perform their duties with rigour. They provide strategic direction and hold the school to account. They work together with school leaders, never letting up on the drive for continuous improvement to provide the best education for every pupil.

Where leaders are newer to their role and still developing, the trust provides excellent support and continuous development opportunities. Leaders prioritise staff well-being and ensure that staff workload is manageable.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some curricular areas, some pupils have gaps in knowledge. This means they cannot fully access the new, ambitious curriculum that is now in place. The school should further embed the new curriculum to ensure pupils fully acquire the important subject knowledge it provides.

• The reading curriculum, beyond phonics, is less well developed. This means that some pupils do not show a love of reading or talk confidently about stories they enjoy or would recommend. The school needs to implement and embed the intended reading curriculum so that all pupils read widely and foster a love of reading.