St Michael’s Church of England Aided Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school 'Learning to love, loving to learn' is at the heart of St Michael's. Its core values of 'faith, joy, aspiration and responsibility' reflect the strong Christian ethos that permeates the school. One pupil said, 'It's what St.

Michael's stands for.' The school provides a safe, nurturing and aspirational environment that supports pupils extremely well. They are given every opportunity to become successful learners.

The headteacher, her leadership team and governors provide outstanding leadership. Their vision to achieve the very best outcomes for everyone in their school, staff and pupils, is abundantly clear in all that they say and... do. The school has continued to improve since the last inspection.

As a result, pupils receive an outstanding education and do well socially and academically. Pupils are proud of their school. They demonstrate outstanding behaviour and attitudes at all times.

They are polite, courteous and keen to learn. Almost all parents strongly agree that their children are cared for well, are safe in school, are happy and do well. One parent spoke for many when she said, 'a wonderful school community which cares for and develops the whole child.'

Staff deliver the rich and varied curriculum highly effectively. This enables pupils to make excellent progress in a wide range of subjects, such as music, art, sport, reading, writing and mathematics. However, leaders acknowledge that expectations for writing, including the quality of handwriting and presentation, could be higher in some subjects.

Teaching is outstanding. Teachers use what they know about pupils' knowledge, understanding and progress to make sure that they carefully match the work to meet pupils' individual needs. As a result, pupils of all abilities make excellent progress.

From their low starting points, pupils make significant progress to achieve standards mostly above national averages. By the end of key stage 2, disadvantaged pupils make progress well above the national average for non-disadvantaged pupils. Provision for the early years is outstanding.

Children make very good progress so that by the end of Reception the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is above the national average.

Information about this school

The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website. The school is smaller than an average-sized primary school.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium grant is above the national average. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above the national average.

Pupils come from a wide range of heritage groups. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than the national average, with more than 20 different languages spoken at home. The mobility of pupils is higher than the national average.

Many pupils join the school with complex learning needs and sometimes little or no English. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. Leaders are currently supporting another local infant and nursery school.