St Gregory’s Catholic School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school, in its mission to ensure that 'every pupil is known and loved', has created a warm and welcoming environment for pupils.

Teachers get to know pupils well, and they have high ambitions for their success. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and those who attend the St Francis de Sales Centre for the Deaf, are well supported. As a result, pupils are happy and achieve well.

The trust has a clear vision for school improvement and has taken decisive action to bring stability to the school, including significantly raising expectations for behaviour and attendance. This has had a transformational impact on the school. Pupils behave we...ll in classrooms and corridors.

Teachers use the school's behaviour systems effectively and have created a culture where positive relationships are important. As a result, pupils are courteous and respectful. They feel safe, and their learning is rarely interrupted.

The rich and broad curriculum effectively prepares pupils for life beyond school. Pupils learn about healthy relationships and online safety. They demonstrate inclusive attitudes towards each other, including those who are different from themselves.

They have many opportunities to develop their character. Students in the sixth form embrace a well-considered programme of volunteering that enables them to contribute to the school community.

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

The school's curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils.

The school has identified the key content and concepts that pupils should learn, and the curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that knowledge builds in a logical order over time. As a result, most pupils, and students in the sixth form, achieve well and gain the skills, knowledge, and qualifications needed for their next steps. For some disadvantaged pupils, and sixth-form students studying vocational subjects, the school is working to further develop how it helps them to ensure that they receive the support they need to achieve as well as their peers.

The school knows that reading is a barrier to learning for many pupils. Assessments are used to identify pupils at the earlier stages of learning to read who need help. These pupils benefit from expert support to catch up.

However, the school is still developing its wider approach, to ensure all pupils are supported to become confident, and fluent readers, and develop a love for reading.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They present new concepts and ideas clearly.

Teachers often draw upon a range of well-selected resources. They revisit prior knowledge at the start of lessons to help pupils remember what they have learned over time. However, from time to time, in a small number of subjects, some teachers' choice of learning activities does not always enable pupils to grasp subject content securely.

Additionally, while assessment is used well by most teachers, in some subjects, pupils are unsure how to act upon the feedback they are given, and staff do not always check to ensure pupils apply the advice they receive. This prevents a small number of pupils from achieving as well as they could.

The school has responded well to the increased number of pupils that have joined the school with SEND.

Effective systems ensure the additional needs of pupils are identified swiftly, and that they receive the support they need. Provision in the St Francis de Sales Centre for the Deaf is impressive. Additionally, a small number of pupils access alternative provisions.

With continued support from the school, these pupils benefit from specialist support, which enables them to succeed.

Effective systems are in place to track and analyse attendance. A team of dedicated staff work positively with families to support pupils to attend regularly.

Despite these efforts, too many disadvantaged pupils still do not attend regularly enough. The school is alert to this and is relentless in its work to ensure attendance is a priority. However, this same rigorous approach is yet to be replicated with equal vigour in the sixth form, where student attendance is too low.

The school has a strong personal development curriculum. Personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons ensure pupils learn about important topics, such as the responsible use of social media and online safety. The school ensures that pupils, and students in the sixth form, receive the impartial guidance they need to make informed choices about their future.

The trust, and those responsible for local governance, systematically scrutinise the school's work and provide effective support. They are mindful of the pressures on staff and have made considered changes to policies and practices. As a result, morale is high, staff feel well cared for and are highly supportive of the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The quality of curriculum implementation is variable. A small number of subjects are not being delivered as well as others.

This includes inconsistencies in the use of assessment, the support offered to some disadvantaged pupils and the quality of provision for some students studying vocational courses in the school's sixth form. This means some pupils are not learning as well as they could. The trust is alert to this and must now pursue consistently high standards of teaching to ensure that all pupils benefit from the quality of education that is intended.

• The school does not always have clarity about the impact of its work. This means that some pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, at the earlier stages of learning to read, and some students in the sixth form, are not supported well enough in terms of their attendance and education. The trust should ensure that it monitors and evaluates the impact of actions to ensure that it is clear about the school's strengths and what needs further strengthening.