Ofsted ‘Good’ rating retained by St Joseph’s

Ofsted has confirmed that St Joseph’s Catholic College in Swindon remains a ‘Good’ school following a recent visit by inspectors.

The inspection team visited the secondary school as part of a two-day ungraded inspection last month. 

When a school is judged to be ‘good’ Ofsted will normally revisit around every four years to confirm it is still operating at that level.

Inspectors looked closely at the curriculum, how it is delivered in lessons, and how well students learn and make progress.

They looked at the standard of behaviour in lessons and around the school, and closely scrutinised the quality of the school’s safeguarding work.

Inspectors also looked at the wider development of students, including enrichment opportunities, support for reading and other intervention programmes, the quality of PSHE, and the careers information and advice students receive.

In the report, Ofsted described how “...pupils and staff are proud to be members of St Joseph s Catholic College and welcome visitors with enthusiasm."

Inspectors said they found that “...pupils feel safe and supported at the school” and that “...the school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well academically and develop their own personal character."

The reported added: “The religious ethos of the school runs through all that the school does.”

Inspectors highlighted just two areas for improvement, noting that teachers’ use of assessment was occasionally not precise enough, and that the curriculum was sometimes not adapted successfully to enable all pupils to securely learn the key content.

Principal Jerry Giles said: “The inspection was a positive and professional experience for us. It’s great that the inspection team wholeheartedly agreed that St Joseph’s continues to be a good school, and that they saw the pride shown by both staff and students.

“We are always working to improve the experience of all students even further, and the points that Ofsted has given us will help that process.”

Cllr Adorabelle Amaral-Shaikh, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “I’d like to say a huge ‘well done’ to the senior leadership team, staff, pupils and governors at St Joseph’s on their extremely positive Ofsted report.

“It is wonderful that the inspectors highlighted so many great aspects of the school and that their first comment focused on how proud students and staff are to be members of the St Joseph’s community.

“They should actually be proud of themselves for the part they play in making their school such a great place to learn and work. Keep up the good work!”