Alcester school champions responsibility, goodwill and hard work among pupils and staff
ST Benedict’s Catholic High School in Alcester has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.
Staff and pupils are proud of the achievement as the grading means the school is good in all areas following the inspection on 12th and 13th March this year.
Led by headteacher, Luke Payton, and the dedicated staff team, the school has demonstrated rapid improvement across the board. The school had previously been judged requires improvement by Ofsted in 2020.
Mr Payton, said: “The report reflects the commitment, hard work and passion of all of our students and staff. All have worked tirelessly to improve the provision at St Benedict’s and we are so proud that this has been reflected in such a positive Ofsted report.
Ofsted found: “St Benedict’s Catholic High School’s leaders and pupils share the same high aspirations. Pupils understand and follow the values of ‘learning, integrity, faith and excellence’. Relationships between pupils and staff are warm and respectful. Pupils work hard and achieve well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). One parent’s comment: ‘There is a real community environment and feeling of pride about the school,’ captured the views of many.”
The school has been part of the Our Lady of the Magnificat Catholic MAC since September 2021 and benefited from unwavering support from the Trust to both improve and develop.
Highlighting what makes St Benedict’s unique Mr Payton added: “We are a small school with a big heart and our community is the biggest strength of our school. We look forward to continuing to work together to achieve the very best for our students and their families.”
The school currently has an above national average percentage of students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Ofsted commented that, “Pupils with SEND successfully access learning and achieve well.”
As an early participant in the DFE Behaviour Hubs programme, the school was supported, by the Behaviour Hubs Lead School, St Augustine’s Catholic High School, to make rapid positive change to culture and behaviour.
This work was noted by Ofsted: “There is a purposeful atmosphere around the school. Pupils focus on their learning well. The school has successfully raised expectations around pupils’ learning and behaviour. In all year groups, including the sixth form, positive relationships between staff, pupils, parents and carers help pupils to be confident and happy.”
Ofsted did make recommendations as to how the school could improve further.
“The school has not reviewed and analysed some of its improvement actions as carefully as it should. This means that the school does not always know the effectiveness of its strategies to support pupils’ progress and development. The school should ensure that it analyses precisely the effectiveness of improvement strategies to ensure they make a positive difference to pupils’ education.”
It’s recently been announced that Ms Claire Paddock will be taking over as principal from Mr Payton on 3rd June 2024.
Ms Paddock has been senior assistant headteacher at St Benedict’s since 2021 and has been instrumental in the progress the school has made. She said: “It is an exciting time and I am proud to lead this dynamic school community to the next stage.”
