St Winefrides R.C. School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

St Winefride's Catholic Primary School is caring, nurturing and highly inclusive. Leaders and staff work tirelessly to create a warm and welcoming environment for pupils and their families, where they can 'learn and grow together in the love of Christ'. Leaders have established excellent relationships with parents and carers and over time the school has become the heart of the community.

Pupils enjoy coming to school and although many start with literacy and numeracy skills below those expected for their age, most make good progress and become confident and capable learners by the time they leave. Overall, most pupils develop literacy, numeracy and digital skills successfully. Across the school, pupils develop their physical skills... well, for example through participating in daily exercise and in the numerous after-school clubs.

Many pupils develop their expressive skills successfully during music sessions where they learn to play the violin and when they create their own dances based on a sea shanty. Leaders and staff have developed a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of all learners successfully. Teachers have a sound knowledge of Curriculum for Wales and use it well to plan exciting learning experiences that systematically build on prior learning.

They ask appropriate questions to check pupils' understanding and move learning forward. Pupils contribute their ideas to their learning at the start of every topic. However, on occasion pupils do not have opportunities to make decisions about how they organise and present their work.

Nearly all pupils behave well and show consideration for others. They engage enthusiastically in their learning. Teachers use verbal feedback and pit stop plenaries appropriately to support learning.

The positive working relationships between pupils and staff ensure that pupils are comfortable in seeking help with their learning and well-being. The support for pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) and those eligible for free school meals is provided by highly skilled staff and is a strength of the school. The school provides a wealth of support to help pupils manage their well-being successfully.

Overall, the attendance of pupils shows an improving trend across the school. However, despite the processes in place, attendance for a few pupils remains too low. The headteacher provides strong and effective leadership and is supported well by a dedicated team of staff and governors, who share her passion for the school and community.

Leaders and governors reflect appropriately on what is going well in the school and what they need to do to continue to improve. They use financial resources well to secure improvements in the most important areas. Recommendations R1 Ensure that pupils have regular opportunities to make decisions about and be creative in their learning What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.

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