A YATE school is making “good progress” on areas for improvement highlighted in a report by Ofsted.
The regulator visited St Paul’s Catholic Primary School in Sundridge Park in April – its first visit since 2019, when the school received a ‘good’ rating.
Ofsted no longer gives one-word assessments on schools following routine inspections, but its new report, published more than two months after the inspection, recommended it returned for a more detailed ‘graded’ inspection, which is likely to take place within the next two years.
Lead inspector Angela Folland said: “Evidence gathered during this ungraded inspection suggests that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection.”
The inspector said the school had “not developed its curriculum with enough rigour,” adding: “Weaknesses in curriculum design mean that pupils often experience a curriculum that does not deepen their knowledge.”
She said these weaknesses also applied to the curriculum for children with special educational needs or disabilities, with teaching that is “not well matched to pupils’ starting points”.
‘Lack of ambition’
The inspector said pupils sometimes lose focus in lessons due to “lack of ambition in the curriculum”.
She said that although a new wider curriculum was being designed, necessary improvements “have not been tackled urgently enough”.
The inspector said: “The school has not identified the specific knowledge pupils need to learn, nor developed staff’s subject knowledge well enough. Consequently, staff lack the skills and knowledge to help pupils to learn well.
“This is hampered further because they are not clear about the key knowledge pupils should learn.
“The school should identify the precise knowledge it wants pupils to know and develop staff’s expertise so that pupils learn well across the curriculum.”
‘Nurturing environment’
The inspector also found much to praise at St Paul’s, which has 206 pupils aged from four to 11 on its roll.
She said: “Pupils are happy and enjoy coming to school regularly.
“The school is a nurturing environment where relationships are strong.
“Pupils understand the school values, such as friendship, caring and thankfulness, which underpin daily life. Pupils respect each other and treat one another with kindness.
“Pupils develop a sense of belonging because they have a strong voice in the school.”
The inspector also highlighted the school’s work on personal development, saying it has “developed strong support for pupils’ well-being and mental health”.
She said the school needs to “rapidly improve the consistency of the implementation of its curriculum”.
‘Good progress’ since report – head
Head teacher Maxine Sewell said that since the report, the school has been reviewed by South Gloucestershire Council.
She said: “Good progress is being made in the areas for improvement, which puts us in a really strong position to continue our work in September.”
In a letter to parents, Mrs Sewell said: “We are really pleased that the strengths of our school were acknowledged.
“There are many elements to celebrate and be proud of as our school continues its journey of development.
“The areas identified for further improvement inform our school improvement plans and development.”
She thanked parents who told Ofsted they were “overwhelmingly supportive and appreciative of the good work that the school does”.