St Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is welcome at this happy and caring school. Staff know all the pupils as individuals.

Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and respectful. Because of this, pupils feel happy and safe at school. The school is proud to be at the heart of the community.

The school's values and ethos permeate throughout all aspects of school life. Pupils are well mannered and behave with respect and thoughtfulness. Pupils are very supportive of each other.

One pupil echoed the views of many when they stated, 'Friends are right beside us, nobody is left out.'

The school has high expectations for all pupils to succeed. Most pupils achieve highly, part...icularly in English and mathematics.

Older pupils learn the importance of responsibility through the opportunities the school provides to take on many leadership roles. They do this with enthusiasm.

The school develops pupils' talents and interests well.

Pupils benefit from many activities that enhance the curriculum, including various school trips and enrichment days. Pupils have many clubs to choose from, including sports, gardening, and the popular choir, who enjoy performing in community events and at a local care home.

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

The school has planned a broad and ambitious curriculum.

In English, mathematics and science, the curriculum is well planned and sequenced so that pupils build their knowledge and skills from the start of Nursery through to Year 6. In these subjects, staff consistently deliver the curriculum well and routinely check what pupils know and remember. Any misconceptions or gaps in pupils' learning are swiftly identified and remedied.

Across some subjects, there is variation in how well the intended curriculum is implemented. For example, assessment is not consistently used to check what pupils know and can remember. This means that some pupils move on to new learning when they have gaps in their prior knowledge.

When this happens, pupils struggle to build up their knowledge. This is because the school has not fully developed strategies that help pupils retain and recall key knowledge and vocabulary over longer periods.

Reading lies at the heart of the school's curriculum.

Children learn to read as soon as they start school. Staff consistently follow the school's approach to teaching pupils how to read. Pupils quickly become fluent readers.

Pupils who need additional support with their reading benefit from effective intervention. Pupils gain from engaging with different stories and texts. They develop a love of reading.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported throughout the school. Staff show complete dedication to ensuring that all pupils can access the curriculum. In lessons, teachers provide adaptive support where appropriate.

Children in the early years learn routines quickly. They benefit from warm relationships with adults, who help them learn the expectations. Early reading and mathematics skills are taught well.

However, some of the activities that adults choose to develop some of the other areas of learning, limit children's opportunities to be curious and creative learners.

Pupils are very polite and courteous. In lessons, most pupils work hard and distractions to learning are rare.

At social times, pupils get along well and play together respectfully. There is a strong emphasis on pupils becoming respectful and responsible young people. Older pupils thrive taking on leadership opportunities, such as being play leaders who lead games for younger pupils at breaktimes.

The school has high expectations of pupils' attendance and punctuality. Staff work closely with parents and carers to overcome any barriers that may prevent pupils from attending school as often as they should.

The development of pupils beyond the academic is promoted well.

Pupils have opportunities to learn a range of different musical instruments and to perform in concerts and drama productions to develop their talents and interests. The school provides high-quality pastoral support for pupils. Pupils know how to look after their physical and mental health, including when online.

Pupils learn about the importance of embracing and accepting differences. The school develops pupils' character through its strong work on vocation and giving back to the community.

Governors have a strong oversight of the school.

Staff feel well supported and are proud to work at the school. Parents are extremely positive about both the academic education and the pastoral support that the school offers.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few foundation subjects, the school does not check carefully enough on how well the curriculum is delivered and how well pupils are achieving. As a result, the quality of education in some subject areas is variable and some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. The school needs to develop strategies to support pupils to recall the key knowledge and vocabulary set out in the curriculum.

In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment well enough to check that pupils fully understand what they have been taught. This prevents pupils from building their knowledge securely on what they already know. The school should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies effectively in all subjects to support pupils' next steps in learning.

• In the early years, some of the planned learning activities are not ambitious enough. This limits children's opportunities to be curious and creative learners. The school should ensure that staff are well trained to plan learning opportunities that enable pupils to meet the aims of the ambitious curriculum.