St Edmund’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a strong sense of community in this small school. Pupils are kind and respectful.

They know the school has high expectations of them. This means pupils try their best. They acquire positive character traits through the 'Joy of Not Knowing' (JONK).

Pupils work hard to earn JONK certificates and house points. Pupils develop curiosity and a reflective attitude to their work. This helps them realise success with new learning.

Pupils are happy and safe at school.

Pupils know the school's rules. The school takes decisive action if the behaviour of pupils disrupts learning.

Pupils embrace the school values of ready, respectful and safe ...throughout the school. This means lessons are rarely interrupted and pupils focus on learning.

Pupils develop leadership skills.

They volunteer as a 'Minnie Vinnie' to set up play equipment and keep the school tidy. Pupils understand democracy. They elect school council representatives and appreciate the events they organise, especially those that raise funds for people less fortunate than themselves.

Pupils learn new sports in after-school clubs and develop new interests. Pupils also lead their own clubs. This extends their talents, as well as their peers.

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

The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum. Over the past two years, some of the curriculum has been reviewed. This has improved the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics.

This has made a positive difference to pupils' achievements in key stage 1. Some of these changes have not yet had an impact on the outcomes of previous cohorts and are not reflected in the published outcomes of 2023 for key stage 2.

The curriculum sets out the important knowledge pupils should learn and when it should be learned.

Pupils revisit key topics. This helps pupils remember more because they make connections with their previous learning. For example, pupils talk with confidence about learning in science and they remember sketching techniques they recently learned in art.

Well-trained staff teach reading well. Pupils read books matched to the sounds they know. This helps develop fluency.

Pupils learn, early on, to read with expression. Teachers are quick to identify pupils who are not keeping up with the phonics programme. Extra help enables pupils to catch up well.

The focus on pupils' learning new words helps broaden their vocabulary. Pupils apply this in their written work.

The school has experienced a period of staff turbulence.

This has led to variability in the quality of pupils' work and what is expected of them. This means some pupils do not progress in their learning as quickly as they could. In some subjects, historical gaps in pupils' learning have not been identified.

This is because leaders have not checked these as systematically as they do in English and mathematics. Despite this, and the school's low published outcomes last year, the impact of the school's review of the curriculum and leaders' actions to support less experienced teachers is evident in the achievements pupils are now realising.

The school has an above-average proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils learning needs are well considered. Adaptations to learning help them complete tasks in lessons with their peers.

Pupils behave well.

They are polite and respectful. Leaders set clear expectations for behaviour. Bullying is rare and it is dealt with if it happens.

The school promotes pupils' personal development well. Pupils understand responsibility by helping others and visiting the local care home. Pupils show respect for different views and beliefs.

The local area is used well to enhance pupils' learning through visits to the local castle and river.

Leaders at all levels know the school well. They have worked together to improve the curriculum.

Leaders understand the impact of staff turbulence on parents' confidence in the school and are working to renew this. Staff feel well supported by leaders and appreciate the training they have.

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 instances, the quality of pupils' work and what is expected of them in their learning is not consistent. This results in some pupils, particularly more able or disadvantaged pupils not making as much progress as they could. Leaders should ensure they focus on further developing teachers' subject knowledge so that their vision for the curriculum can be fully realised in practice.

• In some foundation subjects, the quality and content of pupils' learning is not systematically checked. In these subjects, this means that historical gaps in pupils' learning are not identified as quickly they could be so that pupils secure the learning intended. Leaders should ensure that pupils' understanding in these subjects is checked in a systematic way so that any gaps in learning can be addressed.