St George’s Cathedral Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The executive headteacher and headteacher were appointed in September 2017. Together, they have galvanised the team to drive forward improvement. As a result, previous underperformance has been challenged and leaders are well set to make further improvements.

Senior leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's priorities and are taking effective action to address any underachievement. Governors are determined to improve the school. They ask challenging questions to check the effectiveness of actions being taken.

The overwhelming majority of parents and carers are positive about all aspects of the school's work. Children in early... years make a strong start to their education. They make good progress from their starting points and are well prepared for the key stage 1 curriculum.

Behaviour is good. Pupils are polite and courteous. They enjoy coming to school.

They show great respect for each other. They are eager to explain their learning and share their ideas. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Opportunities for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are intertwined through the curriculum. Teaching and learning are good because senior leaders make regular checks, model high expectations and provide high-quality training for staff. Not all teachers are sufficiently adept at challenging pupils to make the most progress of which they are capable.

Some of the tasks set are not well matched to pupils' abilities. This is especially so for the most able pupils. There are increasing opportunities for pupils to write across the curriculum.

When writing in subjects other than English, pupils do not routinely apply their knowledge of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Middle leaders are new to post and are not consistently contributing to whole-school improvement. Although the curriculum is broad and balanced, leaders do not closely monitor pupils' progress in subjects other than English and mathematics.

As a result, pupils' progress in these subjects is variable.

Information about this school

The school is in the process of reducing from two-form entry to one-form entry. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above the national average.

The school is in an area of high deprivation when compared nationally. The number of pupils who have support for SEND is below average. Since the previous inspection, a new executive headteacher, headteacher and chair of governors have been appointed.