St Saviour's Catholic Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of St Saviour’s Catholic Primary and Nursery School Seacombe Drive, Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire CH66 2BD

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 October 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 22 and 23 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be a part of the St Saviour’s family. They are greeted warmly each day by staff and the school’s therapy dogs, Waffle, Maggie and Mollie. Pupils feel safe and trust that staff will listen to any worries or concerns that they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND), rise to meet the high expectations that the school has for their academic achievement. Pupils are highly articulate and keen to share their thoughts and opinions about their learning. They listen, collaborate, debate and support each other to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in classrooms and around the school building. They are polite, well mannered and demonstrate high levels of respect for each other and for staff and visitors. Pupils have a strong understanding of the importance of tolerance. They are keen to celebrate the many differing cultures and faiths that co-exist within the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The impact that pupils have on the day-to-day life of the school is tangible and highly impressive. One such example is in the pupil-led school shop where other pupils get to visit, bank or spend their well-earned tokens. Pupils across the school hold an array of leadership positions as school councillors, road safety officers or mental health ambassadors.

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

The school has recently designed an ambitious curriculum, which includes the essential knowledge and skills that pupils need to know. This builds logically from the two-year-old provision through to the end of Year 6. Staff know what to deliver and when subject content should be taught. Pupils with SEND have been carefully considered in the construction of the curriculum. Staff identify pupils’ needs early and provide well-tailored support which means that pupils with SEND achieve well.

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

The school has prioritised training to help staff teach the new curriculum, particularly in English, mathematics and science. Staff’s confidence in these areas is high. They reported that the level of support they have received has reduced their workload. Staff deliver the curriculum well with carefully chosen activities and resources which promote pupils’ independence and resilience. Staff regularly check how well pupils are grasping the essential knowledge in the curriculum. They are also adept at identifying and addressing any gaps that pupils may have. Pupils achieve well in these subjects.

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

In contrast, staff are still building their expertise and confidence in those subjects where curriculum development has been more recent. In these subjects, checks on pupils’ knowledge are also less well established. This means that some pupils struggle to make smooth progress through the curriculum in those subjects.

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

The school recognises the importance of teaching pupils to read. It is relentless in its approach to developing a love of reading across school. This is clear to see in pupils of all ages who are keen to share books and talk about the authors whose books they enjoy. 22 and 23 October 2024

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Right from the start, children in the two-year-old provision and in the Nursery class develop a love of nursery rhymes and stories. They are surrounded by inspiring books and poems. They vote for their favourite to be read aloud at the end of the school day.

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Staff deliver the phonics curriculum consistently well. They make sure that the books pupils read are carefully matched to the sounds they know. This helps pupils to gain the secure phonics knowledge that they need to be successful readers. Highly trained staff give pupils who require additional support prompt help. This helps these pupils to catch up quickly. By the time pupils reach the end of Year 2, they are confident, fluent readers.

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Pupils are highly motivated. They follow adults’ instructions promptly and effectively. Most pupils bound into school each day keen to learn new facts and broaden their minds. However, attendance levels for some pupils remain stubbornly low. While the school works productively with pupils and families to bring about improvements, too many pupils are persistently absent.

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The school’s offer for pupils’ personal development shines through and is truly impressive. There is an ambitious programme in place which covers many aspects such as money matters, staying safe online, career opportunities and aspirations. Pupils know how to care for their own mental health and well-being. Their understanding of developing and maintaining a positive growth mindset is remarkable. Pupils are extremely well prepared for the next stage of their lives.

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Governors support and challenge the school effectively. In recent years, decisive action has been taken to ensure that leaders are equipped to bring about improvements to the school. The impact of key appointments to senior leadership positions is reaping the rewards for pupils and staff alike.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers are still developing the knowledge and expertise that they need to teach some aspects of the new curriculums. At times, teachers do not check that pupils have learned all that they should. This interrupts some pupils from progressing smoothly through these curriculums. The school should ensure that staff are suitably equipped to deliver the new curriculums so that pupils know and remember more of the subjects they study.  Some pupils are absent from school too often. This means that they miss out on key learning and the wider opportunities that the school provides. The school should widen its systems for addressing the barriers to pupils’ regular attendance so that the rates of persistent absenteeism reduce further. 22 and 23 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 special educational needs and/or disabilities (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). 22 and 23 October 2024

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School details

Local authority Cheshire West and Chester

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.stsaviourscatholicprimary.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 May 2015, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 This Roman Catholic school is part of the Diocese of Shrewsbury. Its last section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in May 2023. The next section 48 inspection is due by the end of 2029.  A new headteacher and chair of governors have been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school provides Nursery provision for children who are two years old.  The school provides a before- and after-school club for pupils.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.

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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 provision). Schools 22 and 23 October 2024

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receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 spoke with leaders and with members of staff. The lead inspector held discussions with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. They also spoke with representatives of the diocese and the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, they held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector observed pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.

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 Inspectors discussed the curriculum in some other curriculum subjects. They spoke with leaders and pupils. Inspectors reviewed samples of pupils’ work in these curriculum areas.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including records of governing body meetings, leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school. They considered the views of pupils shared through Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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 Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also spoke with some parents and carers during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Sue Dymond, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Woodhouse Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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