CHARACTERISTICS AND CONTEXT OF THE SCHOOL.

St Winifred’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School serves the parish of St Winifred, Stockport. This is a larger than average sized primary school with 411 pupils on roll, 81% are baptised Roman Catholic. The school is situated in an area designated as above the average socio- economic indicators, 5% of pupils are currently entitled to Free School Meals. On entry to the Reception class the attainment of the majority of pupils is in line with the national average. Most pupils have made good or better progress in their learning by the time they leave at the end of KS2. The school currently has 18% of the pupils with Special Educational Needs and 3.6% of the pupils with English as an additional language. There are 16 teachers in school, 15 of whom are Catholic; all post holders have the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies. School provides extended provision for children both before and after school. The school holds national quality awards for: Inclusion, Basic Skills, Primary Science, Healthy Schools and Eco Schools.

OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SCHOOL IS OUTSTANDING.

St Winifred’s is an outstanding Catholic primary school that offers a deep faith experience, with Jesus clearly at the centre of all aspects of school life. The mission statement is visible, understood and lived by all in the school family. All staff and children clearly demonstrate “Caritas – God’s love in action” in a caring environment that welcomes all. The gospel values of love, peace, truth and justice are very evident across the school and underpin all that happens in this warm and friendly school. Prayer is very much at the heart of this school enriching everyone’s experience of God’s presence and enhancing their individual faith journeys. The parish priest and governors are very supportive and absolutely committed to ensuring that Catholic education of the highest standard is provided for all.

The inspirational headteacher, supported by the dedicated and talented RE subject leader, leadership team and staff, do all they can to ensure that the spiritual and pastoral needs of all are met. The quality of teaching in Religious Education is always good and more often better, which ensures high standards are achieved across the school, as evidenced in the children’s books and work around school. The friendly and very well behaved children have an excellent attitude to learning and are very proud of their school. School takes every opportunity to build on the excellent links with the parish and home. Parents state that they “feel lucky to be part of the school and so welcomed” and are very clear that RE “underpins all that the children do”. Effective monitoring, assessment and evaluation of Religious Education has ensured that the school has continued to develop since the last inspection.