Primary school in Berkhamsted rated as Requiring Improvement

The St Thomas More Catholic Primary School in Berkhamsted, Requires Improvement, according to its Oftsed rating.

Inspectors found the school to require improvement in three out of five areas of assessment, including quality of education, leadership and management and early years provision.

However areas of behaviour and attitudes and personal development were found to be Good.

The school was last inspected more than 13 years ago and judged as being ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework.

Positives outlined in the report published following an inspection in November, showed pupils were happy and well cared for by the school staff. It stated the relationships between pupils and adults was warm and friendly and that bullying was very rare with pupils showing tolerance and respect for their peers. Pupils also appreciated the religious character of the school and developed a strong sense of belonging within their community.

In addition pupils enjoyed taking part in sports and drama clubs as well as school trips, allowing them to develop their interests and build confidence.

The report further stated: “They are confident that if any unkindness were to happen, teachers would quickly and effectively stop it from occurring again.”

One of the issues raised was that not all children learn as well as they could.

The report explained: “Assessment is used effectively to check what pupils know. Teachers then plan suitable activities to support pupils to improve. However, this is not routinely the case.”

It said: “Teachers do not routinely check what pupils know in all subjects. This means the work they set can be too easy or that they do not help pupils to resolve misunderstandings in a timely way.

“Leaders have not ensured that the learning environment is appropriately designed and used to promote learning. Staff have not developed the expertise they need to fully support children to develop their personal, physical and social skills.”

However it added: "Sometimes, pupils lose focus. This tends to happen when they find the work too easy or need more guidance from staff. When this happens, staff quickly support pupils to manage their behaviour and return to their learning.”

Head teacher Mrs Kathy Little said: “We are obviously disappointed with the ‘requires improvement’ rating following our recent Ofsted inspection.

“However, we are pleased that Ofsted identified some very strong areas of the school, including noting that pupils are happy and well cared for, that the relationships between teachers and pupils are warm and friendly, that bullying is very rare and pupils leave school as kind and respectful citizens. We are pleased they recognised leaders ensure that pupils not only learn to read quickly, but also love reading - especially as there is a strong correlation between reading and success.

“We are aware that there are a number of areas that need addressing and we were already working within the school to improve the learning experience for all our pupils. We have dedicated, energetic and enthusiastic teachers and we are confident that we can address the issues that Ofsted has identified for improvement.”