Ofsted - St Katharine's Primary School

In addition to publishing performance data schools are also require to publish a copy of their most recent Ofsted report. The last inspection of St Katharine’s C of E Primary School was in January 2026.

Ofsted’s New Inspection Framework: What You Need to Know

At St Katharine’s CofE Primary School, we believe parents and carers should feel informed and confident about how schools are inspected. Below is a summary of Ofsted’s new Inspection Framework and what it means for our community.

Ofsted’s new framework is designed to give parents and carers clearer, more meaningful information about how schools are performing. This represents a significant change in how inspection outcomes are reported.

It’s important to understand that the new framework is not directly comparable to the previous inspection system.

What has changed?

Under the previous framework, schools were given a single overall judgement, such as Outstanding, Good or Requires Improvement.

The new framework replaces this with a report card approach, which reflects performance across several key areas that Ofsted believes matter most to families:

· Inclusion – how well the school meets the needs of all children

· Curriculum and Teaching

· Achievement

· Attendance and Behaviour

· Personal Development and Well-being

· Early Years

· Leadership and Governance

Safeguarding will be reported clearly as either ‘Met’ or ‘Not Met’.

The new grading scale

Each area is graded using the following scale:

· Exceptional – among the very best nationally, with practice that can be shared

· Strong Standard – highly effective and consistent practice making a real difference

· Expected Standard – meeting the high expectations Ofsted sets for schools

· Needs Attention – improvement work is underway, but impact is not yet fully evident

· Urgent Improvement – significant and immediate changes are required

Why can’t this be compared to the old system?

Previously, inspection outcomes were summarised in a single overall judgement. The new framework provides a more detailed, multi-dimensional picture of a school’s performance.

This means a school may be meeting the Expected Standard in some areas while being graded Needs Attention in others, offering parents a clearer understanding of strengths and priorities across the school.

Because the criteria and grading system are fundamentally different, Ofsted has confirmed that previous judgements such as Good or Outstanding cannot be directly mapped onto the new framework.

Critically the new grading system is a secure fit model not a best fit. A schools may well have many elements of ‘strong’ practice but must hit all ‘strong’ descriptors to receive that grading. The previous framework worked on a best fit model.

National priorities

There is a strong national focus on:

· Inclusion – ensuring every child’s needs are met

· Attendance – recognising its vital role in achievement and wellbeing

These priorities are already central to our work across the school.

What does ‘Needs Attention’ mean?

A grade of Needs Attention is not a fail.

It indicates that the school has already identified areas for improvement and is taking action, but inspectors have not yet seen sufficient impact. For example, new approaches to attendance or inclusion may have been introduced, but these take time to show measurable results.

What will Ofsted reports look like?

Inspection outcomes will be published as a Report Card. Alongside colour-coded grades, reports will include:

· Clear explanations of what inspectors found

· Key information such as pupil numbers and age ranges

This increased transparency is designed to help families feel informed and confident about their child’s education.

Want to learn more?

You can find further information on Ofsted’s website or watch their official explanatory video for a full overview of the changes.

To see the latest Ofsted parent view data or to submit your view of St Katharine’s C of E Primary School to Ofsted, please click the link below.

To view our most recent Ofsted report click the ‘view the Ofsted report’ button.

Ofsted Parent View

view the ofsted report

Please find below some recent feedback from parents of children attending St Katharine’s School.

St Katharine’s is the most wonderful welcoming and nurturing environment we could have wished for. The idyllic environs of the school are only the start, as what goes on inside those stone walls easily equals the beautiful setting. Our children, each with different personalities and needs, have been extremely well supported in their learning and development in a way tailor made for their abilities and are coming out the other end with strong foundations in the core curriculum subjects. The teachers are personable and caring and under the strong and capable leadership of Ms Jones are encouraged to use their strengths and passions to offer additional learning for the children; whether that be music, forest school, reading or physical activity. This passion is infectious and so easily caught by the children. There are a huge number of clubs offered for such a small school and the variety of visits and trips contributes to a vast breadth of experience. We have been part of the close-knit school community for the last 9 years and have loved it. I would highly recommend this school if you wanted to teach your children to be caring, resilient, responsible, confident, appreciative of the world around us, have a growth mindset towards their learning, a strong foundation to build on at secondary school and keen to achieve in a wide variety of disciplines.

Parent of child 1Parent Feedback – Summer 2023