St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Morecambe

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils very much enjoy coming to school. They have a strong understanding of kindness, compassion and respect.

Pupils demonstrate this through the way that they behave towards one another and how they treat those outside of their school community.

There is a calm environment around the school. The high expectations that the school has of pupils' behaviour are understood by even the youngest children in the Reception Year.

Pupils feel safe. Routines are well embedded. The majority of pupils attend regularly.

While the school is ambitious for pupils' success, some pupils do not achieve highly enough. This includes pupils with special educational needs ...and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils are not as well prepared for secondary school as they should be.

The school provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils' personal development beyond the academic curriculum. These experiences are woven carefully through the curriculum. Pupils, including the youngest children in the early years, take part in trips to the local area and beyond.

They also have opportunities to learn musical instruments and attend a variety of clubs, such as choir and African drumming. Pupils with SEND, and those who are disadvantaged, frequently make use of these opportunities.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve.

The teaching of reading and mathematical knowledge begins well in the Reception Year. Here, children learn the vocabulary that they need to become confident mathematicians. Staff read to children regularly.

These opportunities are carefully used to develop children's learning in other areas of the curriculum. In the early years, those children who need additional support to learn to read are provided with this quickly.

Across the school, pupils were enthusiastic about reading.

They enjoyed talking about the stories that they read and share. However, despite the positive start in the early years, the school has not ensured that some pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have sufficient opportunities to practise their reading. Some pupils develop gaps in their reading knowledge.

This hinders these pupils from becoming accurate readers and from fully accessing the wider curriculum.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. This enables the school to ensure that the curriculum offered to pupils is broad and designed to meet their individual needs.

However, in some subjects, there is a lack of clarity about what pupils need to know and be able to do. This makes it difficult for staff to choose activities that align to the knowledge and skills that pupils need for future learning. This also hinders staff from checking that pupils have acquired this essential knowledge.

Pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not achieve as well as they should in these subjects.

Behaviour across the school is positive. This includes at lunchtimes and breaktimes where pupils play together well.

Disruption to learning is rare and pupils know what is expected of them. Pupils understand what bullying is, but they said that this happens infrequently. They are quick to report any concerns that they have and they know that the school will address them.

The vast majority of pupils come to school regularly and on time. If any pupils find this difficult, the school provides the support that they need to improve their attendance and punctuality.

Pupils' personal development is highly valued by the school.

They learn about staying safe and healthy and also what it means to be a responsible citizen. The school motto, 'Called to make a difference', permeates pupils' everyday actions. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures and they celebrate the diversity in their community.

Their participation in competitions and events allows them to learn what it means to represent the school, which they are proud to do.

The school has made some rapid improvements, especially around behaviour. It has ensured that pupils have a safe and positive environment in which to learn.

There have also been considerable improvements to some subject curriculums, and many pupils are beginning to achieve more. However, in some aspects of the curriculum, these changes are still in their infancy. This makes it more difficult for the school to evaluate the impact of the quality of education that pupils, including pupils with SEND, receive.

Governors have a clear understanding of their roles. They have also prioritised support for staff's workload and well-being during this time of rapid change. Staff feel well supported.

They are confident that the school will listen to any concerns that they raise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school has not identified the essential knowledge and skills that pupils should learn.

This hinders staff from designing effective learning and from checking carefully what pupils know and can do. The school should make sure that staff are clear about the knowledge that pupils need for subsequent learning. This is to ensure that staff are better equipped to deliver the curriculum well and check that pupils' knowledge is secure.

• The school has not ensured that some pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have sufficient opportunities to practise their reading. Some of these pupils have gaps in their reading knowledge, which impedes how well they access the wider curriculum. The school should ensure that these pupils are provided with effective support to catch up quickly with their reading knowledge.

• In some subjects, the school does not have sufficient oversight of the quality of education that pupils receive. This means that the school is not aware of how well pupils, including pupils with SEND, are achieving in these subjects. The school should ensure that it has appropriate processes in place to evaluate the impact of the curriculum in all subjects.