St Margaret’s Catholic Voluntary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The executive headteacher has had a significant impact on the school's improvement since the last inspection. He cares passionately for the school and its pupils, seeking to secure the school's viability into the future.

Leaders have used the school's federation with All Saints Catholic Primary to strengthen teaching. Expectations of what pupils can achieve have risen and pupils' outcomes have followed suit as a result. Leaders and staff have very successfully integrated pupils from both schools.

Pupils and their parents have only good things to say about the arrangement. Care, courtesy and consideration for others are qualities displayed... by every pupil. They live and breathe the school's values, which are very well role-modelled by staff.

Governors are effective in holding senior leaders to account. Good leadership has kept them focused on improving the school. Nevertheless, leaders' and governors' plans for improving the school are not specific enough.

Too often they are directed at the federation and not at the unique needs of the school. Teaching and learning are strengths of the school, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers and teaching assistants are quick to identify and address gaps in pupils' learning.

Pupils' learning is not as strong in some subjects as it is in English and mathematics. Where this is the case, the curriculum is not matched closely enough to the needs and experiences of the pupils and assessment practices are not well enough developed. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points.

However, the most able disadvantaged pupils could achieve even more. Pupils have very positive attitudes to their learning. They behave well at different times of the school day, attending regularly and punctually.

Children make a good start to their education in the early years. They settle quickly into school life and make strong progress through the year.

Information about this school

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

It is federated with All Saints Catholic Primary School, which is situated over a mile away, at the other side of the town. The schools share the same governing body. The executive headteacher took up post in the days immediately preceding the previous inspection.

Leadership roles are shared across the school in the federation. The assistant headteacher acts the leader of St Margaret's. Subject leadership roles are shared between the two schools.

The special educational needs coordinator covers both schools. Year 5 and 6 pupils from All Saints are transported to, and educated with, pupils of the same age on the St Margaret's site. St Margaret's Year 3 and 4 pupils are transported to, and educated with, pupils of the same age on the All Saints site.

Pupils attending St Margaret's are taught in mixed-age classes. One class covers early years, Year 1 and Year 2. A second class covers Years 5 and 6.

Children in the early years attend full time. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage and there are very small numbers of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds or who speak English as an additional language. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium is significantly above the national average, as is the proportion who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

The small size of particular year groups means that data for pupil performance does not appear in published form. This is because it may be possible to identify individual pupils from this information. The school does not meet the requirements on the publication of information about the content of the curriculum for every year group in every subject, including the phonics and reading schemes used, the business interests of members of the governing body, the school's accessibility plan or providing a link to the Department for Education school and college performance table service on its website.

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