Ofsted conducted a monitoring inspection of Saint Edmund’s Roman Catholic Primary School on 21 October 2023, following two successive judgments of requires improvement. The purpose of this inspection was to assess the progress made by the school since its last graded inspection. The inspection involved discussions with senior leaders, staff, and the chair of the trust, as well as classroom visits and reviews of relevant documentation.
The findings indicate that the school continues to require improvement, with leaders making insufficient progress in enhancing the quality of education. Since the previous inspection, there have been significant changes in key staff, including a new chair of the trust. While the school has managed these staffing changes effectively, the improvements in educational quality have not been rigorous enough.
The school has initiated the design of a coherent curriculum, but this development is uneven across subjects. In several areas, essential knowledge and key concepts that pupils should learn have not yet been clearly identified. For instance, while the history curriculum is organized chronologically, it lacks the identification of key concepts that would help pupils make connections with prior knowledge. In art, the expectations for pupil achievement are not sufficiently high, and the curriculum lacks a structured approach that builds on previous learning.
The school has focused on improving the implementation of its phonics program, which has positively impacted younger pupils' learning. However, a significant number of pupils do not achieve age-appropriate outcomes in early reading, and staff lack the necessary expertise to help these pupils catch up effectively. Consequently, many pupils continue to struggle with decoding and fluency as they progress to key stage two. Similarly, in mathematics, the school is still in the early stages of adapting the curriculum to meet pupils' needs, resulting in inadequate preparation for the next stage of their education.
There has been notable progress in supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school has established clear processes for identifying barriers to learning, which assist teachers in providing better-matched learning experiences. Parents and carers are more involved in supporting their children, although further work is needed to ensure that teaching has a highly positive impact on these pupils.
Leaders recognize the necessary developments but are implementing changes too slowly. The school's ambition for the curriculum and expectations of staff are not sufficiently high. However, trustees and the diocese have a clear understanding of the school's vulnerabilities and have secured support from a multi-academy trust that the school will join. This collaboration aims to increase the pace of change.
Pupils are safe, and staff are aware of the processes for reporting concerns. However, there are administrative weaknesses in safeguarding record-keeping, particularly regarding staff recruitment records, which do not meet high standards.
The school has effectively utilized external support to enhance its understanding of curriculum design and implementation. This assistance has improved the school's ability to evaluate curriculum developments, but it remains reliant on external help to achieve necessary improvements. Overall, while some progress has been made, significant work is still required to ensure that the school meets the educational needs of its pupils effectively.
