St Scholastica's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Scholastica’s Catholic Primary School Kenninghall Road, Clapton, London E5 8BS

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

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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 28 and 29 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents, carers, pupils and staff all appreciate the strong sense of community this school promotes. Relationships across the school show kindness and caring. Staff members are welcoming and approachable to both pupils and their families. The school creates a supportive environment where pupils feel safe. They enjoy coming to school, and most pupils attend regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They get along with one another and show respect to visitors. They are polite and well mannered. The school’s routines are well established, creating a calm and orderly atmosphere. Pupils who need extra help to deal with their emotions receive effective support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all its pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning and say teachers help them learn. They achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their happy, purposeful and inclusive school. Through the ‘Green Team’, they learn to care for the environment. Pupils enjoy taking on leadership roles, such as pupil chaplains or school councillors. Sports leaders play a key role in keeping the playground fun and friendly. Pupils engage in a range of enriching after-school activities.

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

The curriculum is ambitious and carefully sequenced from the early years to Year 6. The school’s work to enrich pupils’ language skills enables them to use a wide range of vocabulary. This begins in the early years, when adults extend children’s vocabulary and model language. In mathematics, adults encourage younger children to use sentences to explain their thinking. In an art lesson based on Cézanne, older pupils accurately use words such as composition and transparency. Pupils in science use terminology confidently, such as gestation and life expectancy. Pupils enjoy extending their vocabulary.

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

In most subjects, teachers check, identify and address any gaps in pupils’ subject knowledge effectively. This helps pupils build on their prior learning and secure their new knowledge. Pupils make connections between important concepts. In some areas of the curriculum, the checks that teachers make are not as precise. This means that misconceptions persist and learning gaps emerge for some pupils.

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

Reading is a priority. Teachers successfully teach phonics from the early years. Pupils practise reading books that are well matched to the sounds they know. All staff receive appropriate training and accurately model sounds. Pupils have regular opportunities to read with adults. Pupils engage with carefully chosen texts to develop fluency. Teachers quickly identify those who need extra help and support them to become more confident readers. Books are deliberately chosen so they reflect the cultural diversity of the school community. They also build pupils’ comprehension skills. Pupils enjoy visiting the well-stocked library to select books. 28 and 29 January 2025

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The school works well with parents and outside professionals. All work together to make sure that pupils with SEND get the right support for their individual needs. Teachers and teaching assistants work closely together to help these pupils take part in their learning. When pupils struggle with certain subjects, they receive support that allows them to catch up. The school delivers a more tailored and nurturing environment for those who need it. This enables these pupils to be successful in their learning.

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The school’s ‘super skills’ support and promote pupils’ positive behaviour. Children develop skills in the early years that help them work as part of a group, such as negotiation, sharing and collaboration. Pupils know that staff deal with any bullying effectively. Pupils say adults will always listen to worries or concerns. They can also share these through class worry boxes or ‘care bears’.

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The school promotes pupils’ regular attendance by using rewards and celebrating high attendance. Where pupils’ attendance is not as high as it should be, the school offers targeted support for families. The school also provides enrichment activities for pupils, such as Irish dancing and boxing, to help them get back on track. The school is at an early stage of evaluating the strategies it has put in place.

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The school teaches pupils how to stay safe by addressing road and online safety issues. Pupils enjoy opportunities to visit galleries and attend the theatre. Partnerships with local businesses broaden pupils’ understanding of the world. They provide possible career paths for the future.

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Governors understand their role and responsibilities. Governors and leaders share a common goal. Staff feel well supported. They receive valuable training that enables them to learn new skills. They appreciate the actions leaders have taken to reduce their workload. Parents and carers are positive about the school. They appreciate the support for themselves and their children.

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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 do not routinely identify pupils’ misconceptions promptly. As a result, sometimes they do not pick up on errors or use these to address gaps in pupils’ learning. The school needs to ensure that all staff check learning carefully so that learning builds on what pupils already know and gaps in pupils’ knowledge are identified and addressed swiftly. 28 and 29 January 2025

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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). 28 and 29 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Sandra Brierley (Executive Headteacher)

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School details

Nicholas Blackham (Head of School) Website www.st-scholasticas.com

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 30 and 31 October 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided school within the Diocese of Westminster. The last section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, was in June 2023.  Provision for two-year-olds opened in January 2025.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school runs a breakfast club, overseen by the governing body.  The executive headteacher and head of school took up their new posts in September 2024.  The executive headteacher also provides support to another local school.

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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 28 and 29 January 2025

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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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 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.  The inspectors held discussions with the headteacher and leaders, including the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator. They also spoke with staff and pupils.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and a representative of the local authority. She also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, history and art. To do this, they met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, had discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work.

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The lead inspector also listened to some pupils read.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in a range of situations, including in corridors, in lessons and at playtimes.  Inspectors analysed documents such as the school’s self-evaluation and school improvement priorities. They scrutinised a range of policies and procedures, including those relating to safeguarding, SEND, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils and staff and spoke to some parents to gather their views. They considered responses to the online parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, along with free-text comments. They also took account of the responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.  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

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Rebekah Iiyambo, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Abdul-Hayee Murshad Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 January 2025

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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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