Worthing primary school ‘delighted’ by Good Ofsted rating

Oftsed inspectors said St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Cobden Road, Worthing, was ‘a warm and welcoming community where pupils and teachers work in a happy and harmonious way’.

The school, which currently has 251 pupils, was visited by inspectors on 16–17 October and rated good in all areas – including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management.

Headteacher Gemma Irvine said she was ‘delighted’ by the outcome.

“Our staff, pupils and supportive community have all contributed to the hard work and progress that has been made,” she said. “We are particularly proud that Ofsted recognised how ambitious we are for what we want our pupils to learn.

“We have spent time developing and refining our curriculum and this was acknowledged by Ofsted who highlighted our efforts to enrich pupils learning and development of knowledge and skills across a wide range of subjects.

“Our Early Years Foundation Stage provides pupils with a strong start to their curriculum and they learn from the moment they begin school.”

It was the first time Oftsed had visited the school since it joined the Bosco Catholic Education Trust as a sponsored academy in April 2017.

Inspectors visiting the school in November 2015 had judged it to be inadequate.

Since becoming an academy there have been ‘significant changes to leadership, staffing and governance’, inspectors said.

According to the report from the latest inspection, pupils enjoy their lessons and love finding out as much as they can. They behave well and treat everyone with ‘respect and kindness’.

Many pupils talk about how much they love reading and are proud of how much they read.

Pupils with special additional needs are supported with ‘well-judged resources’ and ‘guidance’, the report found.

In terms of behaviour, bullying ‘hardly happens’ at the school but pupils say that if it does, staff sort it out straightaway, according to the report.

Going forward, inspectors said that in order to improve, the school should make sure all subjects on the curriculum go through ‘the rigorous review of planning that leaders have begun’ and ensure that teachers have ‘the relevant skills and knowledge to help pupils learn well across all subjects’.

All are welcome at the school’s open day at 6pm on Tuesday.

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