St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School Hastings Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex TN40 2ND

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 January 2025

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 21 and 22 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils embody the school ethos of ‘Let your light shine’. They show this through their confident and articulate discussions of the subjects they learn. Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. As a result, classrooms are lively and purposeful. The school has high expectations and helps pupils to achieve well. Pupils work hard to meet these expectations. Their work shows they learn important skills and knowledge. Pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy in school. They know the adults here keep them safe. Pupils understand the school expectations and follow these carefully. This helps them to behave extremely well. Pupils show high levels of respect for everyone. Breaktimes are calm and pupils play together excitedly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that pupils have ample, rich opportunities to develop a range of skills and talents. Pupils enjoy a variety of clubs. The school makes sure that the most disadvantaged pupils benefit from these too. Pupils play several sports and learn musical instruments. They have many opportunities to share these talents. These include keenly contested sports competitions with other schools or regular ‘rock’ performances in the school. Pupils also enjoy a very popular bridge club, where they can apply and develop the skills they learn in mathematics.

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

The school has selected and refined a curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils. From early years to Year 6, teachers clearly identify the skills and knowledge they want pupils to learn. Opportunities for pupils to return to their prior learning over time help them to remember the curriculum content.

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

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. This helps them to explain learning clearly. Staff check pupils’ understanding carefully. As a result, teachers identify any potential gaps in knowledge accurately. Staff help pupils catch-up effectively. In a small number of subjects, the tasks that some teachers select are not always well designed enough to meet the needs of pupils. Consequently, in these subjects, pupils do not learn the curriculum as deeply as they could.

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

The school prioritises and promotes reading effectively. Starting in the early years, pupils encounter a range of high-quality and engaging texts. Older pupils read widely and discuss the books they enjoy excitedly. Pupils in the early stages of reading are well supported. Well-trained staff teach phonics consistently well. Staff ensure that the books pupils read are closely matched to the sounds and letters they know. This means that pupils can practise their reading independently. Teachers check pupils’ phonics knowledge carefully. This helps them to plan activities to help those who fall behind. As a result, pupils catch-up swiftly.

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

The school has well-established processes to identify the needs of pupils swiftly and accurately. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). 21 and 22 January 2025

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Staff work hard to understand pupils’ barriers to learning. This helps them to adapt learning effectively. As a result, pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum content as their peers. Pupils with SEND make clear progress through the curriculum from their starting points.

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Children in early years are capable communicators. They use a range of subject-specific vocabulary confidently. Pupils throughout the school have age-appropriate knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. The vast majority of pupils apply this learning accurately. Pupils learn a range of skills across the wider curriculum. For example, they learn to play a range of tuned percussion instruments with increasing skill and accuracy over time.

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The school’s ethos underpins pupils’ personal development. Pupils develop very mature attitudes to diversity. They understand clearly the importance of respect and tolerance for all. The school’s work in fundraising for local and international charities enhances pupils’ understanding of this. The curriculum extends far beyond the classroom. Pupils benefit from a range of well-planned trips and visits that extend their learning. For example, pupils undertake an annual ‘fieldwork fortnight’. Pupils carry out investigations in the local community to deepen their learning in geography.

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Pupils have positive relationships with staff and with each other. As a result, the school is a calm and happy place. Pupils like to attend school. This is reflected in pupils’ regular attendance. The school responds quickly to pupils’ absence and offers a range of support to pupils and their families to improve attendance.

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Leaders provide the committed staff team with helpful training, support and advice. Staff know their roles well and work closely with leaders. Staff are positive about the support and professional development they receive. Governors work closely with the school. They share the same high ambition and offer challenge and support in equal measure.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the school does not select some learning activities carefully enough. As a result, pupils do not learn what is intended as deeply as they could. The school should ensure that teachers have the knowledge and skills to design activities that implement the ambitious curriculum consistently well across all subjects 21 and 22 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). 21 and 22 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 24 and 25 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided Catholic school. The most recent inspection of its religious character, under section 48 of the Education Act 2005, took place in May 2022. The school’s next section 48 inspection will take place within eight school years.  The school currently uses no 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. 21 and 22 January 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of the school’s education provision.  This is the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The lead inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspection team met with the headteacher, as well as with other leaders and staff. The lead inspector also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority and the diocese.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, history and music. 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.  The lead inspector considered the views of parents and carers through their responses

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to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors spoke to staff and pupils during the inspection and took account of staff responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.  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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Inspection team

Gavin Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stephen Jackson Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 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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