St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Whitstable

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Leaders, managers and governors have worked together effectively to improve the quality of teaching and pupils' achievement.

Governors, under the strong leadership of the new Chair of the Governing Body, now support and challenge senior leaders robustly. Partnerships with parents are good. Parents make a positive contribution to pupils' achievement, especially in the early years.

Pupils usually have conscientious attitudes towards learning in lessons, and this supports their good progress. Pupils enjoy coming to school, and this is reflected in their good attendance. Most teaching is at least good across the school, and some is outstandi...ng.

This contributes significantly to pupils' achievement. Good quality marking and feedback help pupils to know what they need to do to improve their work. Expectations of presentation and handwriting are consistently high, and pupils are encouraged to take great pride in their work.

Pupils achieve well and make good progress. By the end of Years 2 and 6, pupils' attainment is above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress from their starting points because teaching is closely tailored to their individual needs.

Disadvantaged pupils make good progress. The gaps between their achievement and that of their peers in school and nationally are now closing. The school's promotion of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is distinctive so that pupils are well prepared to become good citizens in modern Britain.

Children in the early years make good progress across the year. It is not yet an outstanding school because : The overall quality of teaching is not yet outstanding. Not all teachers offer pupils, especially the most able, the high levels of challenge found in some classes.

Homework does not always build effectively on learning in class. Teachers' expectations of pupils' achievement in homework are not always high enough, and the marking of it is inconsistent. The small outdoor classroom and other outside areas and resources used by children in the early years are not always used to best effect or well maintained.

Information about this school

St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a much larger-than-average-sized primary school. Children attend the early years provision in the Reception class full time from September each year. The large majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds, and the proportion of pupils from other ethnic backgrounds who speak English as an additional language is very small.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is much lower than that found nationally. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.

The senior leadership team has been restructured with the appointment of a new deputy headteacher, a director of progress and an additional educational needs coordinator. Governance has been restructured under the leadership of a new Chair of the Governing Body. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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