St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Penn Hill Road, Weston, Bath, Somerset BA1 4EH

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 1 and 2 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School is a caring school where everyone feels welcome. Pupils are happy and treat each other with respect. They live out the school’s mission statement by being kind and helping each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well both inside and outside the classroom. They move calmly around the school site. They understand the high expectations that the school has for how they should behave, and most pupils live up to these.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have positive relationships with adults. They feel safe and trust adults to keep them safe. The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. This motivates pupils to try hard. Pupils are confident and enthusiastic to learn. Classrooms are purposeful learning environments. Pupils engage well with their learning because they enjoy their lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their leadership roles, where they organise events to raise money for charity and lead worship. Through this they develop character and responsibility. They attend a wide range of clubs, including art, music, netball and gymnastics. They deepen their curriculum knowledge through, for example, visits to the Roman Baths and from visiting authors.

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

The school has reviewed some subjects within the curriculum, following a drop in outcomes for pupils in key stage 1. These new curriculums are well thought out and carefully sequenced. Staff know precisely what to teach. They build in opportunities for pupils to recall their knowledge. However, in some subjects, the school does not check if pupils have remembered essential knowledge. This means some pupils cannot recall what they have learned, so they do not build their knowledge securely.

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

The school supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to learn the same curriculum as their peers. Adults adapt resources to help pupils with SEND to learn effectively. When pupils need more support, the school gives them extra help to build their knowledge.

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

The early reading curriculum is implemented well. The phonics programme begins at the start of Reception and continues beyond Year 2 for those pupils who still need support. Adults are well trained in delivering the programme. They assess and support pupils to build their knowledge of letters and the sounds they represent. For example, children in the Reception Year learn to use known sounds in order to blend words. Pupils are familiar with the structure of the programme and join in with enthusiasm.

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

Adults are well equipped to support pupils to read. This means when pupils fall behind, they quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers. Pupils read books matched to the sounds they know. Adults make sure pupils make sense 1 and 2 October 2024

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of the stories they read by checking their understanding and the meaning of words. Pupils apply their phonics knowledge in their writing with accuracy.

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The school has implemented a personal, social and health education curriculum that supports pupils to be safe and develop their character. Alongside this, the school plans wider opportunities to enrich pupils’ experiences. For example, pupils visit a life skills centre, take part in an arts week and in sports tournaments, where they achieve well. The school makes sure all pupils experience these wider opportunities.

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The school keeps a sharp focus on attendance. When it falls, the school takes appropriate action and works with families to improve it. As a result, attendance is improving and closer to national figures for individual groups.

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Pupils are polite and they behave well. Most pupils follow instructions quickly and engage well with their learning. Children in the Reception Year know and follow routines well.

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Pupils reflect the school’s ethos in the way they show fairness and equality to each other. They develop a sense of right and wrong and show respect for the differences they have. They begin to understand the world beyond the school, for example through their work with an international development charity, during which they learn to show empathy for children who do not have access to clean water. Pupils learn about their own mental health. For example, in ‘Mind Apple Time’, they have time to focus on their own well-being and what helps them to have a healthy mind.

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Governors are knowledgeable of the school’s strengths and development areas. They check the impact of the school’s work and make sure areas of focus are improving.

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The school is mindful of staff workload when implementing new policies. Staff value the school’s awareness of their well-being and the support they receive to carry out their roles effectively.

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Parents and carers are positive about the school. They value its small size and nurturing environment. They say staff are caring and their child is happy there.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some curriculum subjects, the school does not check if pupils have remembered essential knowledge. This means some pupils cannot recall what that they have previously learned and do not build their knowledge well. The school should ensure that curriculum implementation supports all pupils to build their knowledge over time so that they know and remember more in these subjects. 1 and 2 October 2024

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with SEND; pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 1 and 2 October 2024

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School details

Local authority Bath and North East Somerset Council

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a Catholic School and is part of Clifton Diocese. The most recent section 48 inspection for schools of a religious character took place in March 2022. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth-form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 1 and 2 October 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, science and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at samples of work and spoke to pupils about their learning in other curriculum areas.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  An inspector spoke to parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View and staff survey.

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Inspection team

Caroline Musty, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Smith Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 October 2024

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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