The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overie

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school

Pupils are very proud to attend this school, where they feel part of a big family. They appreciate the strong sense of community that leaders and staff foster.

Pupils are very happy here. They benefit hugely from the excellent education on offer. Pupils are highly articulate.

They discuss their learning and experiences of school life in a very mature manner for their age.

Pupils' behaviour is exceptional and is guided by the school's values. They are incredibly polite, respectful, kind and considerate of each other.

Pupils conduct themselves superbly in class, around the school and during social times. Bullying is extremely rare. Staff deal with it sw...iftly and effectively, should it happen.

Pupils know that leaders and staff care for them. Pupils are safe. They can talk to a trusted adult should there be anything that is worrying them.

Leaders and staff have high expectations because they want all pupils to learn and be successful. In turn, pupils rise to these expectations that are set for them. They enjoy the wide range of enrichment activities on offer, which are designed to broaden their horizons and extend their learning.

Leaders and staff help pupils to become curious and independent learners. The excellent curriculum means that pupils are exceptionally well prepared for Year 7.

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

Leaders have adeptly developed a highly ambitious curriculum for all pupils.

The curriculum is very well sequenced. It builds in logical steps on what pupils have already learned, from the early years foundation stage all the way through to Year 6. This approach is consistently strong in all subjects.

In art and design, for example, the curriculum enables pupils to progressively gain a deep understanding of the work of different artists. It also supports pupils to explore and increase their knowledge of a broad range of techniques, from colour mixing to the use of different media.

Teachers check regularly that pupils have understood what has been taught.

They swiftly identify any gaps in pupils' knowledge and offer support promptly. Consequently, all pupils achieve highly.

Reading is at the heart of the school curriculum.

Staff are well-trained experts in the school's phonics and early reading programme. They teach pupils to use phonics to decode unfamiliar words and ensure that pupils develop reading fluency swiftly. Pupils who are falling behind in their phonics and reading are given additional support and catch up quickly.

Pupils are given plenty of opportunities, both at home and school, to use their phonics knowledge. Staff make sure that they practise with decodable books that match the sounds that they have learned.

Older pupils know about the importance of reading.

They understand, for example, that reading books by a variety of authors can help them to learn more new words and phrases. Pupils are keen to read widely, and this expands their vocabulary, which they use in their own writing. Pupils also enjoy reading lots of non-fiction books to extend their learning.

For example, they read about artists to gain more knowledge about the techniques that are used, for instance tessellation.

Pupils display excellent attitudes to their learning. They remain fully engaged in the task at hand during lessons because of their teachers' high expectations.

The school promotes pupils' personal development exceptionally well from the early years through to Year 6. Older pupils are given many opportunities to develop their leadership skills. For example, they lead collective worship from beginning to end every Friday.

Older pupils proudly take on other roles, such as school librarians and play buddies who support younger pupils.

When planning the wider curriculum offer, leaders and staff capitalise on the school's geographical location in London. All pupils are given rich opportunities to extend their learning beyond the classroom.

Pupils enjoy many trips to the theatre, museums and art galleries.

Leaders work very closely with staff and other professionals to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including children in the early years. Pupils' needs are swiftly identified, and bespoke support is put in place.

Where necessary, staff make adaptations to the teaching of the curriculum, so that these pupils access the same learning as their peers. As a result, they also achieve highly.

Leaders and staff are very proud to work at this school.

Staff said that leaders and governors ensure that there is a positive work-life balance, and that the workload is manageable.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff are well trained and know how to spot signs and symptoms of abuse or if a pupil needs help.

They know and follow the school's internal procedures for raising concerns about a pupil.

The safeguarding team works well with external agencies to swiftly secure the help and support that their families need.

Leaders make sure that all the appropriate staff pre-employment checks are made.

Pupils learn about how to stay safe online. Older pupils have developed 'Digi-tell', an online tool, which is used by their peers to raise any concerns or worries that they may have when using the internet.Pupils are taught about relationships and consent appropriate to their age through the school's personal, social, health and economic education curriculum.

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