Lessons learned as school impresses Ofsted inspectors

St Mary’s Catholic Primary in Maltby, part of the Holy Spirit Umbrella Trust, was put into special measures by Ofsted in February 2020 and received a monitoring visit last May where lead inspector Marcus Newby found leaders and managers were not taking “effective action” towards the removal of the measures.

The school’s head teacher, Neil Harris, said at the time that he was “extremely disappointed”.

During the 2020 inspection, Ofsted found pupils’ quality of work across the curriculum was “poor”,  and expectations were “not high enough.”

Two inspectors — including Mr Newby — returned to the school between July 12 and 14 this year, and spoke to Mr Harris, his deputy head teacher and other staff, as well as the chair and vice chair of governors.    

They also had formal and informal discussions with pupils at the Muglet Lane school and took account of Ofsted’s parent survey.

In the latest report, the school, which teaches children aged between three and 11, was rated as good across all areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.  

In the report, inspectors noted pupils “benefit from a much-improved educational offer” and an “ambitious” curriculum that meets their learning needs.

“This ambition shines through in the lessons pupils receive,” inspectors observed, noting pupils “enjoy a vibrant and welcoming classroom”.

Leaders had “worked hard to build a stable workforce” which was now “a strength of the school”, with teachers delivering with “expertise and confidence” and pupils feeling “happy” and “safe”.

Inspectors found two improvements were required — assessment in a minority of foundation subjects was “not fully developed”, and, in some subjects, subject leaders did not have “a clear understanding” of the curriculum’s impact on pupils’ learning.

But absence was declining because leaders “worked closely with parents” to ensure pupil are on time every day, while “passionate” governors held leaders to account effectively.

Mr Harris said: “The new staffing we’ve put in place have been fantastic. “They are all dedicated staff who have bought into the shared vision we have for our school.

“Everyone has stepped up and taken responsibility for their areas and developed their skills to ensure the school moves on overall, rather than just improves in certain areas.

“The children have risen to every challenge and all pupils including those with SEN and disabilities are all benefiting from this and that’s the core of what we are trying to do — we want everybody to achieve and do well.

“The great support of the governors and the local authority has also ensured we can put things in place to make progress.

“This is not the end. We want to continue this journey of improvement and look forward to welcoming prospective families wishing to join our school community.”

Chair of governors Aden Wass said the recent inspection would “reassure parents and carers about the fantastic improvements made within our school”.

He added: “It is so pleasing to see that the hard work of the leadership team, staff and governors has been recognised in achieving ‘good’ grades in all categories.

“We will continue to build on our success, ensuring every pupil at St Mary’s receives the best possible education and care.”