St Saviour’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

St Saviour's Catholic Primary is a good school where year-by-year the headteacher and her leadership team have determinedly improved the attainment and achievement of all pupils.

It is a safe, calm and orderly place, well founded on Catholic principles. One parent commented, 'A fantastic school that not only has the needs of the child fully catered for, but also those of the family during difficult periods of time.' The school communicates well with parents and carers, who appreciate all the school does for their children and justifiably believe their children are secure and well looked after.

Young children get off to an excellent start in the Nursery class, building up a very strong foundat...ion of social skills and independence. Children receive good care and teaching in the Reception class, but their progress in physical development and knowledge and understanding of the world is hampered by limited outside areas. Pupils make good progress throughout the school and leave in Year 6 with attainment above average in English and mathematics.

Of particular note is the high proportion of pupils who reach the higher Level 5 in both subjects. Realising that attainment in writing and mathematics needed improvement, senior managers successfully threaded opportunities for writing and numeracy into activities right from an early age. As a result, performance has improved and, not surprisingly, a great number of pupils declare that mathematics is their favourite subject.

Pupils from a wide range of different ethnic heritages and the many who do not speak English at home make similarly good progress because teachers include all pupils very effectively in making the most of their learning. Careful attention and knowledgeable support for pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities result in their good progress too. Pupils behave especially well in lessons because teachers have high expectations and move lessons along at a good pace.

The headteacher and her cohesive senior management team ensure the quality of teaching is consistently good across the school through regular and robust monitoring of lessons, teachers' planning and pupils' work. An interesting and thoughtfully designed curriculum is well matched to pupils' needs. Senior leaders have a shared knowledge of what needs to be improved, all clearly set out in the school development plan.

The views of staff, pupils, parents and carers are valued and incorporated into forward planning. The governing body gives good support to the school. It is building up its ability to assess the school's academic performance against national comparisons, but does not yet consistently challenge the headteacher on the attainment of different groups of pupils.

The school has not only successfully tackled improvement points from the last inspection but also addressed areas of weakness it identified. In three years the school has moved attainment from below average to securely above average. Consequently, the school demonstrates a good track record with good capacity for further sustained improvement.

Information about the school

St Saviour's Catholic Primary School is average in size. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average. Most pupils are from minority ethnic groups, predominantly of Black Caribbean, Black African or other Black heritages.

An above average proportion of pupils do not speak English as their first language. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average. Their needs mostly relate to speech, language and communication difficulties.

The Early Years Foundation Stage comprises separate Nursery sessions in the morning and afternoon, with a number of children staying the full day, and one Reception class. Amongst a number of awards, the school has the Activemark and the Healthy School award. The school manages its own breakfast club and after-school club on site that are part of this inspection.