St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils treasure belonging to this inclusive, caring and nurturing community. They are always polite to each other and staff.

Pupils enjoy learning and work hard in lessons. However, they do not achieve as well as they should because of weaknesses in the curriculum. Leaders are working resolutely to improve the quality of education.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. All pupils rise to these expectations. They behave well in lessons and around the school.

Playtimes are cheerful occasions where pupils have fun. Pupils know that staff will deal with any unkindness quickly. This helps pupils to feel safe.

Bullying is not something they wo...rry about.

Pupils fully embrace the school's 'FAIR values' of 'faith, articulate, appreciative, independent, initiative, resilient and respectful' in all that they do. For instance, they demonstrate resilience and independence in how they tackle unfamiliar tasks.

Children in early years delight in receiving a 'gold coin' for good listening and showing initiative. Pupils take great pride in showing appreciation of their Catholic faith as 'spiritual leaders'. Other roles, such as librarian, house captain and sports crew, enable pupils to make a purposeful contribution to St Cuthbert's School.

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

Since the previous inspection, the quality of education has declined. The school has been through a turbulent period in recent times. It is currently being led by an acting leadership team and many staff are new to their posts.

Leaders and governors are taking decisive action to rapidly bring about the much-needed improvements. They are focusing on addressing the most important things first.Leaders, staff and governors have welcomed the support that Xavier Catholic Education Trust and the local authority are providing.

Nevertheless, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not achieving as well as they should. This is because most of the changes have only just been introduced.

Leaders have designed an ambitious and engaging curriculum.

Across subjects, they have precisely identified the essential knowledge and skills pupils need to remember. Rightly, there is an explicit focus on developing pupils' vocabulary. The early signs are promising that pupils are beginning to remember what they have been taught.

However, the early years curriculum is not as well defined across the seven areas of learning. Consequently, children are not prepared sufficiently well for the next stage of their education.

Despite leaders' ambitious changes to the curriculum, teachers still lack the expertise in implementing the school's curriculum.

Not all staff have strong enough subject knowledge or provide pupils with activities that help pupils to build their knowledge securely. Most teachers do not check what pupils know and understand well enough and so do not identify gaps in their learning. This means that pupils do not embed their knowledge as well as they should.

Leaders have introduced a comprehensive training programme for staff to address this.

Reading is a high priority. Each week, pupils look forward to visiting the well-stocked library to choose a book to share with their families.

Children in early years get off to a strong start. Staff give parents helpful advice so that they can support their child's reading at home. Pupils regularly read engaging books which are well matched to the sounds they are learning.

Most staff quickly spot when pupils fall behind and give extra help when it is needed. However, while the teaching of phonics is carefully organised and largely effective, leaders have identified that some staff require further training to develop their expertise.

Overall, pupils behave well.

They follow the well-established routines. Staff are quick to re-engage anyone who is distracted or less focused. In early years, the calm, caring environment ensures that children settle quickly.

Leaders are ambitious for pupils with SEND to participate fully in all aspects of school life and achieve as well as they should. Leaders have rightly begun to improve how they identify and meet the needs of these pupils. They have strengthened how they communicate this to parents.

Leaders' work to promote pupils' personal development is strong. Pupils discuss and debate their ideas with an appreciation and respect for different views. They debate their ideas maturely and talk knowledgeably about healthy relationships.

Pupils learn about different faiths and religions. They relish opportunities to make a positive difference. For instance, pupils regularly raise funds for a range of charities, collect donations for the local food bank and organise litter picks around the local community.

Governors increasingly offer leaders well-informed support and challenge. Governors understand what is going well and what still needs to improve. For example, they are aware that many subject leaders are new to their posts and do not have a precise oversight of how well pupils are achieving across all the different year groups.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding. Regular training ensures that all staff know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil.

Any worries are reported promptly. Leaders are tenacious in their work and follow up on any concerns swiftly. They work closely with relevant external agencies to ensure that pupils get the right support.

All necessary recruitment checks are carried out on new staff, and records are meticulously maintained. Pupils are taught how to stay safe and how to make good choices. They are confident that staff will help them with any issues they may have.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Most subject leaders are new to their roles. They do not have a clear enough oversight of how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. Leaders should implement the planned programme of professional development to ensure that subject leadership is consistently strong in all subjects.

• Across many subjects, including phonics, teachers' subject knowledge and teaching skills are too variable. Consequently, pupils, including those with SEND, do not learn as well as they should. Leaders should ensure that staff have the expertise they need to teach all subjects effectively.

• Some teachers do not check effectively how well pupils have understood what they have learned. In most subjects, they do not know whether pupils have gaps in their knowledge or struggle to recall prior learning. Leaders need to ensure that all teachers consistently assess pupils' knowledge accurately in order to make good decisions about what to teach next.

• Leaders have not yet planned the early years curriculum in sufficient detail. This holds back children's learning. Across the seven areas of learning, leaders should ensure that the essential knowledge and skills children should learn in early years are precisely mapped out.