St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The headteacher provides a clear sense of direction for the school and her expertise is highly valued by staff and governors. This strong leadership has led to improvements in the quality of teaching and standards achieved by pupils by the end of the Reception Year, Year 2 and Year 6.

Pupils across the range of abilities make good progress in the school. Many are making rapid progress in response to more stable and consistent teaching and additional support. The standards that pupils attain by the end of Year 2, and by the end of Year 6, reflect their good achievement.

By the time they leave school, pupils are particularly good readers a...nd this prepares them well for the next stage in their education. Provision in the early years is good. Children develop a genuine eagerness to learn new things.

They achieve well. The behaviour of pupils is good. They are mindful of one another and the adults around them both in lessons and during breaks.

Pupils say they feel safe in school. They learn how to keep themselves safe beyond the community in which they live. The school promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

Visitors and trips bring learning to life. The curriculum is well planned and provides pupils with stimulating experiences. Almost all pupils take advantage of a wide range of after-school clubs.

The school is well led and managed by the dedicated headteacher. All staff share her commitment to developing every child's full potential, both academic and personal. Leaders and managers at all levels, including the governing body, have secured improvements in the achievement of all groups of pupils and in the quality of teaching.

The school continues to improve. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Pupils make too many errors in their spellings and grammar. Some older pupils are not secure in their mental mathematical skills.

Pupils do not always respond to teachers' marking in order to learn from their mistakes. The attendance of a minority of pupils is not good enough.

Information about this school

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is much higher than that found nationally. The pupil premium is additional government funding the school receives for pupils 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 is above average.

There are no disabled pupils in the school. Though most pupils are from a White British heritage, there is a very small minority of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Provision in the early years is full time.

Most pupils are taught in mixed-aged classes. A higher-than-average proportion of pupils join the school other than at the usual point of admission. Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed.

Two new teachers and two teaching assistants have also been appointed. Some Key Stage 2 pupils have experienced several changes to staffing since the previous inspection. The school supports students who are embarking on their training to become qualified teachers.

Two staff are moderators of pupils' numeracy and literacy work for other schools in the local authority. The school runs a breakfast club and after-school activities. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.