Primary school in Blyth rated 'requires improvement' by Ofsted in first inspection since academy conversion

St Wilfrid’s Catholic Primary School received the rating following an inspection in November, the first since the school became an academy as part of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.

‘Good’ ratings were given in Ofsted’s quality of education, personal development, and early years provision categories, but the overall rating was lower than this due to ratings in the behaviour and attitudes and the leadership and management categories.

Inspectors praised pupils at the school, saying they “listen carefully in lessons and work hard,” and described the school’s new “more ambitious” curriculum as “developing well.”

The range of local visits and extracurricular activities on offer at the school were also noted by inspectors, such as trips to local beaches to learn more about coastal erosion and deposition.

Support for physical and mental well-being at the school, including through the school’s mental health lead, was found to be strong, and inspectors noted that pupils are taught to respect other faiths and cultures.

Inspectors also found pupils with special educational needs and disabilities are supported by “experienced staff” but highlighted that some lessons are “not always sequenced to meet their particular needs.” They acknowledged that the school is taking action to address this.

The Ofsted report also noted that while behaviour in lessons is good, at less structured times there is “rough and unkind” behaviour, often from older pupils, that goes unchallenged by staff.

This behaviour “becomes the norm” according to Ofsted’s report, which also said: “Staff do not deal with some bullying and behaviour reports as well as they should. Despite these weaknesses, pupils are safe at this school.”

Inspectors noted that exclusions and suspensions are higher than expected, and that school governors did not have the information necessary to spot this trend.

This, in part, is because the school “does not keep sufficiently detailed records” of behaviour incidents and special educational needs information that would allow for analysis to take place.

Inspectors also highlighted that the school’s reading programme needed improving, as some books were not well matched to pupil’s knowledge, leading to some key stage one readers lacking “appropriate fluency.”

They added: “Early interventions are not always precise and pupils do not catch up as quickly as they should.”

They found that in key stage two, however, “high-quality texts” are used and pupils love reading, and that across the school pupils talk “with enthusiasm about the books that teachers share in class.”

In nursery and reception classes, inspectors described a “well organised” setting and a “well designed environment.

A spokesperson for the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust said: "St Wilfrid’s was recently inspected by Ofsted under the new framework. The school was judged as ‘requires improvement’ overall, but for the quality of education, personal development, and early years St Wilfrid’s was graded ‘good’.

"The school is part of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust and we are working closely with leaders to put into action all the areas of improvement identified by the Ofsted team. We are confident that this will happen rapidly."