St Paul's CofE Primary School

Inspection of St Paul’s CofE Primary School Victoria Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE4 7JU

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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 Requires improvement 3 and 4 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending this happy and caring school, and are at the centre of all that it does. The school is aspirational to broaden pupils’ horizons. It uses its city-centre location to expose pupils to museums, libraries and science centres. This helps pupils to extend their knowledge and skills and prepare well for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils to achieve well. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning from a young age. They enjoy working with each other in lessons and are keen to contribute. They love to show adults their work and demonstrate pride in it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They appreciate their differences and know that all are welcome at their school. Relationships between staff and pupils are very positive. Pupils feel safe. They know that staff care for them and are there to help them both academically and emotionally.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being nominated for recognition and hot chocolate with the headteacher to celebrate their achievements. School councillors wear their special school jumpers with pride. Pupils enjoy a range of curriculum enrichment activities, including visitors to school, residential trips and a variety of clubs.

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

Leaders have addressed areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection. There has been much work to ensure sequenced curriculums are now in place across subjects. This is planned from the early years upwards, where children develop effective foundations to learning. In some subjects, the school is in the process of working out how the curriculum should be adjusted to meet pupils’ different needs. Some of this work is new and not fully embedded. This affects how well some pupils learn the intended curriculum. Teachers receive training that helps them to develop their practice. This also ensures that they have secure subject knowledge.

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

Pupils gain the reading and mathematical knowledge needed to succeed. Children in the early years embed what they learn through a range of well-constructed activities. They enjoy learning through play. Staff ensure that they support children to communicate well. For example, staff use signing for pupils who use this as a way of communicating their needs and ideas. This helps to prepare children for learning in key stage 1, where a focus on using appropriate and subject-specific vocabulary continues. Pupils develop a love of stories and reading in the school. Staff support pupils who have fallen behind to catch up in their reading. Pupils read with interest and become confident and fluent readers. Pupils apply their mathematical knowledge and skills well in lessons. Teachers ensure that pupils review prior learning. This helps them to secure their mathematical knowledge and understanding.

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

Teachers regularly check that pupils gain the knowledge needed. They use questioning to encourage pupils to deepen their understanding. When pupils struggle, staff support them 3 and 4 June 2025

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well. The school is ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers identify the needs of pupils well. They provide helpful guidance for pupils with SEND. This ensures that these pupils learn the intended curriculum.

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The school has a positive and effective approach to behaviour management. Pupils are clear about the school’s expectations for their behaviour. They behave well in class. Staff support pupils to manage their emotions. This enables pupils to access learning well. The school has diligently worked to secure good attendance for pupils. It works with families effectively to help overcome any barriers. This has made a positive difference to individuals and groups of pupils.

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The school provides a range of meaningful opportunities for pupils. For example, pupils get the chance to meet and interview famous children’s authors. The school helps pupils grow into kind, respectful and active young people who care about their community. Pupils have quizzed their MP on local issues. The school’s personal development programme provides some pupils with opportunities to contribute to the school and the community. For example, some pupils are involved in the school council and take on litter- picking duties. Nevertheless, aspects of the programme are not as well considered or as established as they could be. This limits how well some pupils are helped to contribute more widely and develop skills such as leadership and teamwork.

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Staff feel valued in this supportive and close-knit school. They appreciate the considered approach leaders have taken to manage workload effectively while implementing a range of successful changes since the last inspection. Governors’ roles have broadened and they have link areas. These roles help them to check for themselves the impact of different aspects of the school’s work.

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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, the school has not consistently identified ways to adapt the curriculum to enable all pupils to access their learning. This affects how well some pupils access and learn the intended curriculum. The school should ensure that approaches to adapt the curriculum are consistently applied so that pupils gain the important subject knowledge they need.  Aspects of the personal development programme are not as well established as they could be. This limits how well some pupils contribute more widely to the school and develop skills such as leadership and teamwork. The school should ensure that it further develops pupils’ contributions to the wider life of the school. 3 and 4 June 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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 29 and 30 November 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a Church of England school. Its most recent section 48 inspection took place in October 2024.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.  The school has nursery provision for three- and four-year-olds.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club.

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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. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive inspectors: discussed the curriculum with subject leaders; 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 curriculum documentation and pupils’ work related to the writing curriculum. Inspectors also discussed the music and science curriculums with leaders.  The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1 to 3 reading to a familiar member of staff.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, early years leader, the special educational needs coordinator and representatives of the local governing body.

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The lead inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The lead inspector met with a representative from the Diocese of Newcastle.  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 related to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  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.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. Inspectors considered the views of staff shared through Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors also reviewed the responses that were received through the Ofsted online

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questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, which included free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Jessica McKay, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Melanie Maitland Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 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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