St Edmund’s RC Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this friendly and welcoming school.

They told inspectors that they appreciate seeing their friends each day and that they enjoy being part of the school's community. Pupils know that staff will help them if they have any concerns.

The school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve, which most pupils rise to.

Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), typically learn well. They value recognition for their hard work, such as through celebration assemblies.

Pupils behave well during lessons and at social times.

They eagerly help their peers. Fo...r instance, older pupils help to serve food and to sweep up at lunchtime. Many pupils have a strong appreciation of equality issues.

They know the ways that people are unique and the reasons why many of these differences are protected in law.

Pupils benefit from a range of experiences. For example, they go on trips to art galleries, museums and other places of interest.

Year 6 pupils look forward to a camping residential. These visits help to enhance pupils' learning of the curriculum. The school provides sports clubs, including in football, running and basketball.

Some older pupils run their own lunchtime activities, such as book and computing clubs.

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

The school, with appropriate support and challenge from the governing body, has successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified at the time of the last inspection. For example, the school quickly identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND.

Staff work closely with parents and carers, and external professionals, to help these pupils to follow the school's full curriculum.

The school has designed and adopted a suitably broad and balanced curriculum. It has determined the important knowledge that pupils should acquire and the order in which teachers should introduce it.

Most pupils achieve well across a range of subjects.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They mostly choose suitable activities and explain new learning well.

However, occasionally, teachers do not focus well enough on helping pupils to learn new vocabulary and concepts. As a result, some pupils develop gaps in their learning, which limits the depth of their knowledge.

Staff typically use assessment strategies effectively to identify how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum.

Teachers use this information to shape future learning. Nonetheless, they are not as persistent in checking or correcting pupils' mistakes, including in their written and spoken communication. This hinders some pupils in learning as well as they should.

The school has prioritised reading. It has designed the curriculum around high-quality texts, starting from the beginning of the early years. Pupils read widely and often.

They visit the school's 'book den' regularly. Older pupils recently ordered some new books, following a review of which books their classmates would like to read. Pupils develop their reading fluency by listening carefully to oral storytelling.

Children in the early years listen and join in with plentiful stories, rhymes and songs. This helps to prepare them for learning phonics at the start of the Reception Year. Staff have had training in implementing the phonics programme following the school's agreed approaches.

They provide pupils with books to practise their reading which match pupils' phonics knowledge. Staff typically provide effective support for pupils who find reading difficult. This helps most pupils to become confident, accurate readers.

Pupils are polite, well mannered and respectful towards others. Most pupils have positive attendance habits. The school is continuing to work with some parents to ensure that pupils attend school on time and as regularly as they should.

Pupils know why it is important to attend school; for example, they explained to inspectors that it will help them to achieve their future aspirations. Pupils said that they might like career pathways that involve becoming surgeons, authors, engineers and pilots.

The school provides well for pupils' personal development.

Pupils learn how to be safe and healthy. They also develop their leadership skills. For example, older pupils take on several leadership roles in school, including acting as science ambassadors, digital leaders, house-point captains, nurture champions and members of the 'GIFT' team.

Pupils learn how to be active and responsible citizens as part of the 'urban crew'. They visit a local care home and take part in litter-picks in the nearby area.

Staff appreciate being part of the school and described it as like being part of a family.

The school takes good account of their workload and well-being, for instance by providing training and additional time for them to fulfil their roles successfully. Staff benefit from working alongside staff from the other school in the federation.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

In a few subjects, teachers do not help pupils to learn new vocabulary and concepts sufficiently well. Over time, this causes gaps in some pupils' learning which prevent them from developing a richness of knowledge. The school should ensure that staff help pupils to understand subject-specific vocabulary and concepts so that they achieve more depth in their learning.

From time to time, staff do not check or address pupils' mistakes thoroughly enough. This means that the errors that some pupils make, including in their written and spoken communication, go uncorrected. The school should support staff in identifying and remedying pupils' inaccuracies with more persistence, so that pupils learn as effectively as they should.