Inspections
Our latest Ofsted inspection took place in July 2024. We are proud to share the report with you.
We received ‘Good’ for overall effectiveness with many areas of strength, including the warm and respectful relationships that we build, our successful values and ethos, high expectations and achievements and our broad and ambitious curriculum, to name but a few!
We have a few target areas that we are working on and these are already incorporated into our school development plan for this year. This includes building on our assessment model for some foundation subjects to ensure that it is even more effective. We look forward to keeping you updated with our progress and building on our many strengths.
We are very pleased with the report and do feel encouraged that ‘improved performance’ and outstanding elements of practice were seen across school. This is down to all of the hard work of leaders, teachers, pupils and parents.
As you will see, our Catholic mission, Catholic life and caring and supportive ethos emanate throughout the report, with the children at the centre of all we do.
The quality of education and the appropriate and effective teaching and intervention of talented staff was praised; particularly through reading, maths and wider learning projects, which were a particular focus of the inspection.
The children’s excellent behaviour and relationships between staff and pupils are also something that we pride ourselves on. As part of our improvement cycle, we have taken on board views of parents and staff in regards to children’s personal development. We provide opportunities for children to embrace and immerse themselves in elements of art, music and drama and are working through a cycle of providing new and different extra-curricular activities, which will continue into next academic year.
As a leadership team, we focus strongly on school improvement and this includes sustaining what we are doing really well and developing and embedding new initiatives that will take us forward as a school. We are already working on our school development plan for next year and are excited to keep the momentum of this positive Ofsted report going forward.
At St Mary’s we are equally proud of our Catholic Mission. Our last Section 48 RE Inspection in February 2025 rated school as Good overall with 4 out of 9 areas as Outstanding.
Comments included:
- Christ is at the centre of St Mary of the Angel’s Catholic Primary School, with pupils, staff, leaders, and governors actively participating in and contributing to its Catholic life and mission.
- Pupils, led by leaders and staff, demonstrate a strong commitment to following Jesus' teachings and Catholic social teaching principles. They embrace their responsibility to care for our Common Home and help those most in need.
- Pupils often talk about being ‘Christ-like’, valuing the school’s chaplaincy provision, and enthusiastically participating in initiatives such as the Minnie Vinnies programme to support the school’s thriving spiritual life.
- The school's mission is firmly grounded in God’s word, which shapes every aspect of school.
- With Christ at the school’s heart, there is a strong, lived sense of unity, which is reflected in the warmth and quality of relationships; one staff member expressed, ‘There is a wonderful sense of being part of a family here at St Mary of the Angel’s where I have always felt respected, secure, and a valued member of staff.’
- The school is committed to fostering a joyful environment where all individuals are nurtured and supported without exception. They provide outstanding pastoral care, demonstrating an unwavering dedication to those in need.
- Pupil, staff, and parent surveys indicate the school offers rich and innovative opportunities that positively impact their moral and spiritual formation.