St Louis Catholic Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

St Louis Primary is a good school. Pupils reach levels above those expected by the end of Year 4.

They achieve well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those whose first language is not English. In addition, pupils' personal development is very well promoted within the school's Catholic ethos because adults give outstanding care, support and guidance to all pupils. This results in outstanding behaviour and attitudes to learning, above average attendance and excellent contributions to the school and local community.

Pupils' ability to work together harmoniously and support each other in lessons and at other times, contributes to a positive and effective lea...rning atmosphere. They willingly take on a range of responsibilities, starting in the Early Years Foundation Stage, express themselves very confidently in the school council and have seen ideas to improve school facilities come to fruition. They are respectful of each other and all adults.

The school is inclusive and functions as a cohesive community. This is supported by good links with local organisations, but there are no formal links further afield. Nevertheless, increasing numbers of pupils from minority ethnic groups, especially from Eastern Europe, quickly settle to school routines and thrive because the school provides outstanding support for all pupils.

The vast majority of parents and carers are fully supportive of the school, reflected in this comment, 'We are delighted with St Louis and all it has to offer. The children are very happy and learning well'. The headteacher leads the staff well and has forged an enthusiastic and committed team increasingly able to take responsibility for maintaining and improving the quality of pupils' learning.

She expects and benefits from a professional attitude to improving all aspects of teaching through well-targeted professional development programmes and regular monitoring of teaching and learning. Governors have taken decisive action to improve their understanding of roles and responsibilities, particularly regarding safeguarding pupils, outdoor provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage and pupil progress. Safeguarding procedures are good.

The school recognises the need to further increase community cohesion within a national and global context. There are outstanding links with parents, carers and a range of agencies that support pupils' learning and well-being. School leaders are evaluating learning and teaching with increasing accuracy and rigour using national assessment guidance.

This together with accurate self evaluation in other aspect of the school's work has resulted in good improvement since the last inspection and shows that the school has a good capacity to continue to improve. Senior leaders use the school-wide tracking system skilfully to track progress and identify, for further support, individuals who are falling behind. Not all middle leaders are sufficiently knowledgeable in linking these outcomes with the way pupils' performance is measured against national standards and the expected rates of progress from year to year.

Sometimes pupils' targets are too ambitious and take too little account of their starting points and abilities. Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, having entered the Nursery class with a range of abilities that are usually below that expected nationally. They enjoy playing in the improved facilities for outdoor learning.

Planning for the Nursery class has placed too little emphasis on promoting children's communication, language and literacy, and creative skills. Senior leaders recognise this and have taken action which has resulted in greater consistency, although it is too early to judge the impact on children's learning and rates of progress within each year group. School resources are well managed and leaders take good account of the planned increase in numbers as the school changes to a primary school with pupils up to Year 6.

Information about the school

This average size school takes predominantly Catholic children from a wide area. It is set in attractive grounds near the centre of Newmarket. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average.

The proportion of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average; their needs include speech, language and communication and emotional, social and behavioural difficulties and moderate learning difficulties. Very few have a statement of special educational needs. An increasing number of children speak English as an additional language and an above average proportion comes from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The school provides a fully extended service to parents, carers and the community. The school has Healthy Schools status and the Active Mark award. Since the last inspection, the local authority has agreed to reorganise schools in West Suffolk from three to two phases, so that Year 4 pupils will stay at this school at the end of this year.

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