St Michael’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this welcoming school.

From the moment that children join the early years, they are encouraged to follow the school's rules. From this point on, children and pupils are polite, respectful and gentle towards others. Pupils benefit from the kind and caring relationships that they have with staff and each other.

This helps them to grow in confidence.

Pupils do their best to live up to the school's high expectations for their achievement. Pupils are eager to learn.

They make the most of the learning opportunities that the school provides for them. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)..., achieve well.

Pupils enjoy the range of activities that are on offer beyond the academic curriculum.

For example, they look forward to educational visits to places of interest. Pupils take part in a broad range of clubs, such as sports, choir and crochet clubs.

Pupils embrace the wide range of leadership opportunities available to them.

For example, pupils who act as representatives of the school council take their roles seriously. They know that they can make a difference to the lives of others. Pupils understand that it is important to be diligent when they take on these extra responsibilities.

They explained that these opportunities help to prepare them for life beyond school.

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

The school has successfully improved almost all aspects of its provision since the previous inspection. As a result, pupils now enjoy a good quality of education and their behaviour is impeccable and a credit to the staff and their parents and carers.

The school has designed a suitably broad and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils, including those with SEND, well. Across different subjects, the school has identified the key knowledge, including vocabulary, that pupils should learn and the order in which this content should be taught.

The school's validated published data for 2023 shows that the proportion of pupils who met the expected standards in reading at the end of Year 6 was below the national average.

A high proportion of pupils in this year group joined the school at various stages throughout key stage 2. As a result, they were unable to benefit fully from the school's well-designed curriculum. Currently, most pupils achieve well across a range of subjects.

The school has provided high-quality training so that teachers can deliver the curriculum effectively. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to explain new learning clearly to pupils. They have a secure understanding of what pupils must learn and they carefully design activities to meet the needs of pupils.

The school ensures that pupils with SEND have their additional needs identified quickly and accurately by well-trained staff. Staff receive appropriate training to enable them to adapt their delivery of the curriculum to meet these pupils' needs. This allows pupils with SEND to learn alongside their classmates successfully and to achieve well.

Children in the early years are introduced to the joys of stories, rhymes and song as soon as they enter the Nursery class. Staff carefully model the vocabulary that they want the children to know. However, children in the Reception classes have less opportunities to develop their language and deepen their learning, especially during their independent play.

This means that during these times children do not learn as well as they could.

Reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. Reading areas in all classrooms and throughout school are warm and inviting spaces.

Pupils benefit from access to carefully chosen high-quality books that expand their vocabulary and challenge their understanding. They said that they enjoy reading and know that it is an important skill for life.

Phonics begins as soon as children join the Reception classes.

Well-trained staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. Pupils practise reading with books that are suitably matched to the sounds that they know. Most pupils quickly become confident and fluent readers.

Those pupils who struggle to keep up with the phonics programme are given appropriate help by staff.

The school has designed a well-constructed programme to support pupils' wider development. Pupils understand how to keep themselves healthy, both physically and mentally.

They also know how to keep themselves safe online. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures and understand that you should not discriminate because of race. However, some pupils have a limited knowledge of other forms of discrimination.

They are also unclear about some of the fundamental British values. This means pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for life in modern Britain.

Routines for excellent behaviour start from the early years and continue throughout the school.

Pupils move around school in a calm and orderly manner. They demonstrate exceedingly positive attitudes to their education and understand how this will help them in later life. They make sure that their behaviour does not disrupt their own learning or the learning of others.

Their considerate behaviour and their love of learning contributes strongly to their academic success.

Attendance remains a high priority. The school does everything it possibly can to ensure that pupils attend school regularly.

For example, it has taken effective action to reduce the number of pupils who are absent from school too often. As a result, the attendance of this group of pupils is improving strongly over time.

Governors work closely with the school to fully evaluate all aspects of the quality of education that pupils receive.

They challenge and support the school effectively. The school considers the workload and well-being of staff when making decisions about changes to the curriculum. For example, staff said that the refinements to the marking and feedback policy have had a positive impact in reducing their workload.

As a result, staff feel well supported to carry out their roles effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Children in the Reception Year do not have enough opportunity to deepen their learning during independent play.

This means that, from time to time, some children do not learn as much as they could. The school should support staff to recognise opportunities to extend children's thinking and understanding while they play and engage in different learning activities. ? Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge of modern British society.

They are less aware of some of the fundamental British values and they do not know about different forms of discrimination. In these areas, they are less well prepared for life in modern Britain than they should be. The school should ensure that all pupils learn all that they need to know in readiness for the next stage of their lives.