St Joseph’s Catholic Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders and governors are ambitious for the school and ensure improvements are made. They have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and achievement.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning, enjoy their lessons and work hard. They take pride in their work which is neat and well presented. Pupils behave well and show care and consideration towards others.

They say they feel safe in school and that the school keeps them safe. Children in the early years make a good start to their education. Improvements to the curriculum and the quality of teaching are enabling children to make better progress.

They are well prepared to enter Y...ear 1. Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Teaching assistants make an important contribution to pupils' learning.

They support the teachers to help make sure that pupils, especially those with special educational needs, do well. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. A warm, family ethos permeates all aspects of the school's work.

The curriculum is broad and balanced. There is a range of interesting and stimulating topics to engage pupils in their learning. Pupils show a good understanding of British values, supported by their work in personal, social, health and citizenship education and religious education.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : While outcomes for pupils are good, occasionally the most-able pupils do not have work which is sufficiently challenging to enable them to achieve their highest potential, especially in mathematics. Teaching does not always ensure that enough pupils exceed expected progress across all year groups and subjects. The school improvement plans do not have precise measurable targets by which leaders and governors can check progress towards them.

The website is not fully compliant with statutory guidance, particularly in relation to information on the provision for pupils with special educational needs.

Information about this school

This school is larger than the average-sized primary school. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils for whom the pupil premium provides support is below the national average. Pupil premium funding is provided to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability receiving support, including those with a statement of special educational needs or education, health and care plans, is below average.

Children in the Nursery attend part time and those in the Reception Year attend full time. The school meets the government's floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. The headteacher is currently also executive headteacher at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Primary School.

The two assistant headteachers have been appointed as Heads of School with one in each school. There is an 'Early Bird' breakfast club run each morning, managed by the governing body. A section 48 inspection of religious education was due to take place during the same week as the section 5 inspection, but was postponed.