St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school.

They value spending time with their teachers and their friends. They appreciate the care that staff provide. Pupils build strong relationships with the staff and with each other.

They are confident and well mannered. They speak politely with visitors.

Pupils behave well throughout the school.

Classrooms are generally calm and purposeful. This allows pupils to try their best during lessons. They have positive attitudes to their learning.

The school is highly ambitious for pupils' achievement. These aspirations extend to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The personal, social and em...otional support that the school provides contributes strongly to pupils' academic success.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities that help to develop their individual talents and interests. For example, pupils spoke excitedly about residential trips and local visits to different religious buildings, which promote their understanding of other faiths.

Pupils are proud of their various roles and responsibilities.

These include representing their classmates on the school council and acting as members of the eco-council. Pupils are proud of the positive contribution that they make to projects in the local community, such as serving refreshments to parishioners following a church service.

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

The school has worked effectively to secure improvements to the quality of the curriculum since the last inspection.

These improvements are helping pupils to achieve well in a range of subjects, particularly reading. Members of the trust and the local governing body have a sharp focus on supporting and challenging the school to continue to improve the quality of education that pupils receive.

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum for pupils from the early years to Year 6.

Children in the early years get off to a strong start. They settle into school life quickly. The rich curriculum helps children in the Nursery and Reception classes to develop a love of learning through curiosity and sustained concentration.

In most subjects, the school has identified the important knowledge that pupils should acquire. This knowledge builds on what they already know in well-ordered steps. Teachers have been suitably trained to deliver the curriculum.

They use their strong subject knowledge to make sure that pupils learn the content of the curriculum successfully.

Pupils typically progress well through the curriculum and achieve well in most subjects. However, in a few subjects, the essential knowledge that should be taught is not as clearly defined.

This makes it harder for teachers to design learning and then accurately check that pupils are learning and remembering all that they should.

The school prioritises reading. In the Nursery class, children have many opportunities to listen to stories and rhymes that develop their vocabulary.

Staff deliver the well-ordered phonics programme effectively. They make sure that children in the early years, and pupils in key stage 1, read from books that include the sounds that they have already learned. Teachers are swift to spot any pupils who are not keeping up with the programme and help them to catch up quickly.

Pupils regularly visit the school's library. Older pupils develop effective reading habits through a well-designed curriculum. They spoke enthusiastically about the books that they have read.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND at the earliest possible opportunity. Staff check carefully that learning is adapted for these pupils as they move through the school. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well.

They participate in all aspects of school life.

Pupils rarely disturb the learning of their peers. They have a well-developed understanding of school routines.

This helps them to work and play safely and purposefully. The school has created effective partnerships with families and developed clear procedures to manage attendance. As a result, attendance rates are improving towards the national average.

The school supports pupils' wider development and their welfare well. Pupils learn how to develop healthy relationships. They also learn about the differences between people and the importance of respect.

There is a wide a variety of clubs that pupils can attend, including cookery, textiles, choir and different sports clubs. They have a strong understanding of how to stay safe online. Pupils learn about people's rights.

However, pupils have a limited knowledge of the fundamental British values. For example, they have a narrow understanding of democracy. Pupils do not have a secure understanding of how these values can prepare them for life in modern Britain.

Staff are proud of the strong culture of teamwork that exists in the school. They are supported to fulfil their roles effectively. For example, the school considers staff's workload when changes to the curriculum are introduced.

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, the school has not clearly defined the important knowledge it wishes pupils to learn. This hampers the delivery of these subjects.

It also makes it difficult for teachers to check that pupils have remembered their learning. This means that pupils' knowledge is not as secure as the school intends. The school should ensure that the curriculum clearly identifies the key knowledge that pupils should learn.

• Some pupils do not have a secure knowledge of fundamental British values. They do not understand how British values could help them to make positive life choices. The school should ensure that pupils gain a greater understanding of fundamental British values so that they are better prepared for life in modern Britain.