St Marie's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Marie’s Catholic Primary School Merttens Drive, Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7AF

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The principal of this school is Kieran Johnston. This school is part of Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy Company, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Tom Leverage, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Yvonne Brennan. There is also an executive principal, Charlotte Miller, who is responsible for this school and two others. 13 and 14 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and enjoy school. They feel safe. Leaders have high expectations for all. Clear routines help pupils to meet these expectations. Many are well prepared for their next stage of learning. Historically low outcomes are improving. Pupils enjoy learning, take pride in their work and are keen to succeed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour in class, around the school and at breaktimes is good. Pupils’ relationships with each other and adults are strong and caring. The school has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, and they are polite and kind. Pupils behave well and work hard. The school is a calm and orderly place to learn. Children in the early years show enthusiasm and perseverance when learning something new. Pupils know it is ‘okay to be different’ and talk of the need to show kindness to each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with meaningful opportunities to help them to grow as individuals. Pupils like the responsibilities and are excited about fulfilling their roles as information technology ambassadors, school councillors, and prayer and play leaders. There is also a variety of clubs on offer, such as yoga, gardening, choir and netball, with all pupils encouraged to join in.

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

There has been, since joining the trust, a relentless drive to improve key aspects of the school. This work has made a positive difference in the quality of education pupils receive. The school promotes high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and conduct. The school is very well supported by the trust.

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

Leaders have acted decisively to address historically low outcomes. They have developed a clear, ambitious plan to improve achievement across all subjects. Mathematics is now a strength. Teachers explain concepts clearly and model learning effectively, enabling pupils to understand new ideas quickly . This strong practice begins in the early years, where staff know pupils well and adapt teaching to meet individual needs. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), access the full curriculum and now achieve well.

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

The school is ambitious for all pupils to develop a love of reading. The school has introduced a new approach to teaching phonics and reading that begins in Nursery. This is having a positive impact on pupils learning to read with confidence and fluency. Pupils say they enjoy reading, but some struggle to talk about their favourite authors or recommend books.

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

Leaders are continuing to develop the wider curriculum. In some foundation subjects, key knowledge is not yet clearly identified or sequenced. As a result, teachers do not have a detailed understanding of what to teach and when. This leads to pupils having gaps in their knowledge. It can also result in pupils struggling to connect new learning to what they already know. 13 and 14 May 2025

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Pupils with SEND are well supported. This is a strength of the school. The needs of pupils are identified early so that a range of strategies can be put in place to meet their needs. Effective training makes sure that teachers adapt learning for pupils with SEND, which enables them to learn well alongside their peers.

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Leaders ensure that attendance is of paramount importance and prioritise this. Over the past year, the school has been effective in its work with families to improve the attendance of their children. There are effective systems for monitoring attendance. These include clear daily procedures for checking on absent pupils.

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Pupils benefit from a well-considered programme of personal development. There is a bespoke curriculum that the school uses to support relationship and health education. Pupils of all ages know how to stay safe, both in and out of school and online. There is a wide range of enrichment activities to help bring learning outside of the classroom to life. Pupils are encouraged to be proud of their heritage, through events such as cultural days, as well as to understand the lives of other people. Pupils learn how to keep themselves healthy, and they know how to promote their own mental health.

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Governors and trustees understand their roles and responsibilities. They hold leaders to account effectively. The trust provides strong support. Trustees value local input, considering how best to recruit local governors who can understand the school and its needs. The school fosters strong engagement with parents by ensuring that leaders and staff are approachable. The impact of the school’s work with parents is evident, for example, in the pupils’ strong attendance rate.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few wider curriculum subjects, the school has not identified the essential knowledge that pupils should know and remember, and in what order. This means that pupils have gaps in their knowledge and struggle to build successfully on prior knowledge. The school should continue to refine the curriculum to ensure that it identifies the precise knowledge that it wants pupils to have and in what order.

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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. 13 and 14 May 2025

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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). 13 and 14 May 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 St Marie’s Catholic Primary School converted to become an academy in September 2022. When its predecessor school, St Marie’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  This is a Catholic primary school. The last Section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in January 2025.  The school is part of Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy Company, which consists of 19 schools in total.  The school is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.  The school and leadership team have undergone significant change since joining the trust in 2022.  The school runs its own breakfast club. 13 and 14 May 2025

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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.  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 met with the principal and other school leaders, including members of the trust, the local governing body and a representative from the diocese.  The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning, looked at samples of pupils’ work and met with some staff.  The inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents, including those related to pupils’ wider development, behaviour and attendance. They also observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around school and during breaktime.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the lead inspector reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

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.  The inspectors gathered the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff through both discussions and responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Sam Cosgrove, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Roulla Gabriel Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 May 2025

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