Delight as ‘good’ Mansfield primary school wins praise from inspectors

St Philip Neri with St Bede Catholic Academy has been rated good by education watchdog Ofsted.

In its newly published report, following a two-day inspection in May, Ofsted said: “Pupils at this large primary school are happy and safe. Parents and carers appreciate the family ethos and nurturing environment. They say staff know their children well.

“Leaders take steps to support pupils to achieve their best.”

Pupils were praised for “behaving very well”, with pupil and staff relationships “very positive”.

The Rosemary Street school, part of the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, caters for more than 480 children aged three-11.

The report recognised there are “few incidents of challenging behaviour or bullying”.

The academy was also praised by the inspector for its “carefully mapped out curriculum”, which enables pupils to “develop relevant knowledge and skills”, adding: “Pupils take pride in their work and are confident when recalling their learning”.

The report says: “The school provides a range of experiences designed to enrich the curriculum. Pupils say they enjoy the trips to the coast and to landmarks in their local area.”

Leaders were also praised for placing a “high priority on the promotion of pupils’ spiritual life and wellbeing”.

Daniel Steele, headteacher, said he was delighted with the report.

He said: “I am extremely proud the report recognises and celebrates the many positive aspects of our school.

“As a staff team, we are committed to provide our children with a relevant, exciting curriculum and a rich diet of opportunities to grow and I am delighted these aspects have been highlighted.

“I know I speak on behalf of the staff team and governors when I say how fortunate and blessed we are to serve such vibrant, happy, appreciative pupils, and we are delighted the inspector recognised how wonderful our

children are.”

To further improve, school leaders were urged to ensure “additional early reading support addresses precisely any gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge so that all pupils catch up quickly”, and “that teachers receive effective advice on how best to support all pupils with special education needs or disabilities, so these pupils can progress as well as their peers”.

To read the full report, see reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/141460