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When parents send their children to school, they want to take comfort in knowing that they’re happy, proud, and well behaved.

Well, according to a recent Ofsted review, those are the exact terms associated with pupils at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Jarrow!

That’s enough to warm your heart on a cold September afternoon, isn’t it?

The primary school, which is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, was inspected by Ofsted in July and had some lovely comments to celebrate.

“Parents say that leaders and staff ‘go the extra mile’.”

The school on Ayr Drive has been rated ‘Good’ overall, but the word ‘Outstanding’ continued to crop up when leadership and management was assessed, as well as behaviour and attitudes.

Yep, sounds pretty outstanding to us!

Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “We never tire of hearing just how successful  our region’s schools have been in Ofsted inspections.

“We know how hard you all work to create thriving and amazing school communities, so to have that effort recognised and appreciated by the education watchdog is a genuine pleasure to read about.

“Congratulations to everyone at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School! A ‘Good’ rating plus an abundance of ‘Outstanding’ comments is well deserving of a pat on the back.”

A glowing report that everybody should be proud of

In the report, lead inspector Jenny Thomas said: “Behaviour around school is superb. Any issues with behaviour are picked up promptly by adults. Pupils rise to leaders’ high expectations for their behaviour in lessons and around school.

“The leadership of the school is outstanding. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the schools. Parents say that leaders and staff ‘go the extra mile’.

“Leaders have carefully planned an ambitious curriculum. This curriculum starts in early years, building on what children know through the year groups. This ensures that pupils are ready for secondary school. Teaching plans are designed to ensure that pupils build knowledge over time.”

Sounds good so far? Wait, there’s more; the awesome observations continued throughout the report.

Also receiving praise was the school leaders’ approach to broadening pupils’ experiences; for example, children have been learning about water safety in “inventive ways”, such as through visits to surf school, and pupils talk “excitedly about residential trips”.

Additionally, school leaders’ approach to staff workload and wellbeing was also highlighted in the report, with teachers quoted as saying they felt leaders took their workload “seriously”, were well supported and “leaders act to manage their workload and wellbeing carefully”.

Teachers really are the fourth emergency service

Executive Head Tteacher Marie Graham said: “We are absolutely delighted with our Ofsted report, it acknowledges the hard work, energy, commitment and team spirit of our children, staff, governors and our very supportive parents and carers in the family of St Mary’s and Bishop Chadwick Trust.

“The children were amazing, they spoke openly and proudly about their school, and Ofsted commenting on their behaviour as being ‘superb’ reflects what we as leaders see each day.

“The children were excited to talk about the ambitious curriculum that starts from Early Years, the enhanced curriculum offer and the residential trips that are offered to them.

“Myself and Mrs Tumelty, head of school, would like to thank the whole staff team. Day in and day out this wonderful group of people dedicate themselves to motivate, inspire, care for, as well as teach, our children.”

The Ofsted inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, maths, history, and art and design. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons and spoke to teachers and teaching assistants.

“They also spoke to pupils about their learning, looked at samples of pupils’ work, listened to pupils at the early stages of reading read with a familiar adult and listened to readers in Key Stage One.”

We’re all starkly aware of the immense pressure teachers can feel throughout the year, and this pressure can increase tenfold around the time of an Ofsted inspection.

It can be easy to crumble under the pressure, and let the weight of an inspection prevent a school from shining like the diamonds that they are. So, it’s always a delight to hear when one of our schools has risen to the challenge…and turned that pressure into fuel to smash expectations.

After all, diamonds are made from pressure, right? Well done, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School!

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