St Teresa's Catholic Primary School

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School

Address: Montacute Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 6RL Unique reference number (URN): 102669

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, consistently achieve very well across the curriculum and are highly prepared for the next stage of their education. They acquire deep knowledge and skills they need in reading, writing and mathematics. This provides a secure foundation for future learning. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) also achieve well and make positive progress from their starting points.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils use their knowledge of phonics to read with accuracy and fluency. They apply their knowledge successfully across a range of subjects to produce detailed and high-quality work. Pupils recall important knowledge from previous learning and use it successfully in new contexts.

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Achievement Strong standard

Results in phonics and end of key stage 2 national tests have been above national averages over time. By the time pupils leave the school, they are confident learners, who can demonstrate an excellent understanding of the knowledge they have built over time.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils’ attendance is high, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Attendance is a key priority for leaders. They have established effective systems to maintain attendance and monitor patterns closely so that any emerging concerns are addressed quickly. Leaders have established strong relationships with families. They work with external agencies, including the local authority, to reduce any barriers to attendance. For the small number of pupils whose attendance needs to improve, leaders use a step-by-step approach that includes the appropriate balance of support and challenge. This approach has been highly effective in improving pupils' attendance.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders have established highly effective approaches for behaviour that are fully understood by pupils and staff. Pupils behave remarkably well in lessons and around the school, and demonstrate excellent attitudes to learning. This creates a calm environment, where pupils can thrive. Leaders support staff extremely well to manage pupils' behaviour. When needed, staff make precise adaptations to support pupils, including some pupils with SEND and those facing emotional or social challenges. As a result, suspensions remain consistently very low over time. Pupils are safe. Bullying and discrimination are rare. Pupils are confident that staff deal with concerns quickly and effectively, helping to ensure that the school is safe and inclusive.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have a highly accurate view of the school’s strengths. They have identified with precision the need to adapt the curriculum, improve pupils’ emotional wellbeing and strengthen early writing. They have implemented plans to address these priorities and improve pupils' experiences with great care and detail. Governors know the school well and are reflective in their approach. Collectively, they provide leaders with high levels of support and challenge while ensuring that statutory responsibilities are fulfilled effectively.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders and governors pay close attention to staff workload and wellbeing. Teachers early in their careers receive high-quality training that enables them to develop into effective teachers. More generally, staff say they are valued by leaders and that training opportunities meet their professional needs extremely well.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders use research evidence skilfully to improve teachers’ skills. They encourage and support staff to study for professional qualifications, creating a culture of improvement in the best interests of pupils. The school prides itself in developing staff and leaders through comprehensive professional development.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have established highly effective partnerships with parents and external organisations. They draw on these partnerships to ensure that vulnerable pupils participate in learning and wider school activities. Parents overwhelmingly report that their children are safe, happy and learning well. The school’s culture of professional learning and leadership development has enabled it to build significant leadership capacity. As a result, leaders now play an active role in supporting improvement across other local schools.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders have designed a comprehensive programme of personal development and wellbeing that is carefully tailored to address the needs of the school community. Through regular teaching, pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and speak confidently about a range of faiths, including Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism. The programme supports pupils’ social and cultural development deeply. Pupils develop an age- appropriate understanding of respect, tolerance and equality and are well prepared for life in a modern Britain.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders provide mental health provision to help pupils' development of resilience and emotional wellbeing. Staff enable pupils to understand deeply about how to keep themselves safe, both online and offline.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils benefit from an extensive range of clubs and activities, including film making, choir, chess, martial arts and cooking, alongside educational visits to places, such as the Houses of Parliament and the Royal Albert Hall. Leaders track pupils' participation with great precision to ensure that opportunities are available to all. They work closely with parents and carers, including providing information in a range of home languages. This fosters very positive working with families and to remove any barriers to participation. Pupils who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) participate fully in these wider school activities.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leadership opportunities have a positive impact on pupils’ confidence and personal development. Pupils take pride in roles, such as faith team members, sports leaders and hall monitors. They speak thoughtfully about how these experiences have helped them develop confidence, leadership skills, creativity and a greater sense of responsibility towards

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Expected standard

others. As a result, pupils take an active role in school life and contribute positively to the school community.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Recent curriculum developments have strengthened the curriculum and ensured that learning is sequenced, so that pupils build knowledge securely over time. Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum that prioritises pupils' communication and language development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff identify pupils who need to secure essential knowledge and skills. They provide targeted support to help these pupils keep up with learning across the curriculum. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and provide clear explanations in lessons. Teachers use effective modelling and ensure that they present learning for pupils into manageable steps. This helps pupils build secure foundations in reading and mathematics. Teachers check pupils' understanding regularly and address misconceptions when they arise. Phonics is effectively taught across the early years and key stage 1.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders prioritise the development of pupils' vocabulary by ensuring that subject-specific vocabulary is taught across the curriculum. This helps pupils to talk confidently about their learning and explain their ideas clearly.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Adaptations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are typically implemented with care and help pupils to access the curriculum. In a few cases, these adaptations are not applied consistently, which limits some pupils' deeper understanding.

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Early years Expected standard

Leaders have a secure understanding of the needs and starting points of children in the early years, including those who face additional barriers to learning. This is supported by effective assessment that helps staff identify needs quickly and provide appropriate support.

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Early years Expected standard

Children benefit from warm relationships with adults and a calm environment. As a result, they feel safe, develop confidence and engage positively in learning. Leaders place a strong emphasis on developing children's communication and language. Staff expose children to a rich range of vocabulary across the curriculum.

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Early years Expected standard

Phonics is taught effectively and helps children develop secure early reading skills. Staff use assessment information well to help children develop knowledge and skills across a range of areas of learning. Children make positive progress from their starting points, and most are on track to achieve a good level of development by the end of Reception. Well-established transition arrangements support children to move confidently into Year 1.

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Early years Expected standard

Typically, adults use interactions effectively to support children's language development and understanding. However, not all opportunities to develop children's transcription skills, including early letter formation, are maximised. Leaders have identified this and are taking appropriate action to improve consistency.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the needs of disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and pupils who were previously looked after. They ensure that class-based assessments, external testing and information from support plans are used to identify pupils’ needs and provide teachers with guidance.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils and ensure that those who face barriers access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Additional funding is used effectively to provide staff training and targeted support. As a result, disadvantaged pupils learn well alongside their peers and build knowledge across the curriculum. Leaders work effectively with parents and carers and external agencies to secure appropriate support. Targets from pupils’ education, health and care plans are broken down into smaller steps to help teachers support pupils with SEND.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure that any part-time timetables are informed by the views of parents, pupils and specialist providers. This helps ensure that part-time timetables are used appropriately and support pupils' successful return to full-time education.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy coming to this school and attend regularly. They speak positively about their experiences and value the warm relationships they share with staff and each other. Pupils behave well throughout the school and show respect for others. They feel safe and trust staff to listen and support them when needed. Pupils report that bullying occurs rarely and express confidence that staff address any incidents quickly and effectively.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils engage well in their learning and identify teacher support as one of the school’s greatest strengths. They talk confidently about what they have learned and demonstrate strong preparation for the next stage of their education.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children in the early years settle quickly into school life and develop early reading skills through effective phonics teaching. Disadvantaged pupils, those who speak English as an additional language and many pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. Staff provide effective support that helps pupils overcome barriers, participate fully and make progress from their starting points.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils hold high aspirations for their futures and speak enthusiastically about a wide range of careers, including neuroscientists, nuclear scientists and professional footballers. The school offers an extensive range of extra-curricular opportunities, including gymnastics, cycling, cookery and chess. Pupils take pride in leadership roles, with many actively promoting the school’s values through assemblies and fundraising for local charities. These

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Team inspectors:

Jenell Chetty, Ofsted Inspector Seamus Gibbons, Ofsted Inspector Lisa Farrow, His Majesty's Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

experiences build confidence, develop responsibility and strengthen pupils’ sense of belonging within the school community.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen the consistency with which adaptations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are implemented across year groups, so that barriers to learning are removed effectively and these pupils achieve highly across the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that staff consistently maximise opportunities to develop children’s transcription skills, so that all children are consistently well prepared for writing in Year 1.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Stephen Smith.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with staff, governors, school leaders, pupils, parents, carers and representatives of the diocese and the local authority during the inspection.

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Roman Catholic religious character. It is in the Archdiocese of Southwark. Its last section 48 inspection was 27th and 28th June 2024.

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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About this inspection

Headteacher: Justin Dachtler This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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About this inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 9 June 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (final) 77% 72% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 50% 46% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 53% 44% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 50% 58% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 60% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.8% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 17.8% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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