St Saviour’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school is full of happy pupils who are polite and respectful to each other and the staff. Families feel part of the school community through the regular and useful information they receive.

They enjoy attending school events, such as the recent summer fair and workshops which help them to understand what their children learn at school.

Pupils have embraced the recent changes to the school's behaviour system and rise to the high expectations of the 'beehaviour code'. They enjoy receiving their bee stickers and earning reward points.

In lessons, pupils work hard and are enthusiastic about their learning. At break and lunchtimes, pupils sensibly select equi...pment to create games with their friends. The school's 'trim trail' is extremely popular, where pupils of all ages enjoy playing together.

There have been significant changes to the school's leadership team this year. Leaders have been supported well by the local authority and diocese in bringing about rapid improvement to strengthen the curriculum and pupils' learning. This has been managed in a skilful away, with a shared passion and determination across the whole staff team, to improve pupils' educational outcomes.

However, in many subjects, due to its infancy, this recent work has yet to benefit pupils' learning. Consequently, pupils do not currently achieve as well as they could.

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

Following low examination outcomes in 2023, the school has taken swift and decisive action to make improvements to the curriculum.

Leaders are focusing on the right things and are committed to drive further improvement to ensure pupils receive the education they need. There has been extensive review and revision of the whole school curriculum. This means that, in all subjects, it is now absolutely clear what pupils need to learn and when.

Work to improve pupils' outcomes in reading and mathematics has been rightly prioritised. The revised curriculum and higher expectations are having a positive impact on pupils' learning in reading and mathematics. However, in many subjects, this improvement work has only been recently completed and therefore it has not yet been fully implemented.

This means that pupils currently have gaps in their learning across many subjects.

Children in the early years benefit from a strong start to their education. They are happy and settled in their well-thought-through environment and supported by their caring and skilled adults.

Staff actively promote and encourage children's conversation. They model appropriate grammar in sentences and use ambitious vocabulary. Children show sustained levels of concentration and persevere with their learning.

They are resilient to minor setbacks or when they find things tricky. They absolutely enact the adults' mantra of 'have a go'.

In lessons, the activities and tasks that pupils undertake do not always contribute well enough to their learning.

This prevents pupils from developing the knowledge and skills they need across the whole curriculum. In addition, the feedback pupils receive about their work does not always move their learning on or address their misconceptions and errors. This is particularly evident in pupils' writing, where they do not accumulate the knowledge and skills they should.

The recent revisions to the curriculum, and the extensive staff training that has been undertaken, show the urgency with which the school is addressing these weaknesses.

Pupils are supported well with learning to read. The impact of high-quality staff training is evident in the consistent way that pupils are taught how to become fluent readers.

Pupils use their phonics knowledge well to read books which are carefully matched to the letter sounds they know. Support is given to pupils who need extra help with their reading, and this helps them to catch up quickly. Children in early years make clear links with their phonics learning in their writing, making full use of the resources available to them.

There are clear processes to identify pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school captures parents and carers' views and the 'voice of the child' is well considered. Pupils with SEND are supported appropriately in the core curriculum and this allows them to learn and make progress towards achieving their targets.

However, this support and these curriculum adaptations are not as evident across the wider curriculum and therefore pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they should.

The school develops pupils' character well. Pupils relish opportunities for leadership through the school houses, as well-being ambassadors and on the school council.

These roles give pupils confidence and an understanding about the value of democracy and teamwork. The school council recently led a successful initiative to carry out a local beach clean. Pupils know why this is important for the environment.

Leaders at all levels are focused and determined to improve outcomes for all pupils. Their work within a short period of time is already showing a positive impact on pupils' learning and readiness for their next educational steps.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Expectations about pupils' writing are not high enough nor consistently applied. As a result, pupils do not develop the writing stamina and skills they should. The school should ensure that their ongoing staff training and work to develop curriculum implementation leads to pupils developing their writing skills and consequently achieving well.

Lesson tasks and activities, and feedback about learning, do not always help pupils to learn what was intended. This means that pupils develop gaps in their learning and do not have their misconceptions addressed. The school must ensure that teachers are supported successfully to deliver the curriculum consistently well, so that pupils accumulate the knowledge and skills they need.

• In some subjects, the existing curriculum is not designed or implemented consistently well. As a result, pupils have not accumulated the knowledge and skills they should. The school must ensure that the recently revised curriculum is fully implemented, to allow pupils to achieve well across the range of subjects they learn.

• The wider curriculum is not adapted well enough for pupils with SEND. This means that these pupils do not always have the support and scaffolds which they need to be successful with their learning. The school must ensure that pupils with SEND are supported appropriately across the entire curriculum.

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