Pupils love coming to The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School. The school’s ‘virtues’ of faith, hope, forgiveness, love and trust, are tangible and lived throughout the school. Pupils feel valued, listened to and safe. They are polite and respectful and welcome new friends to the school. Pupils learn and play harmoniously together. (OFSTED March 2025)
The school community, under the Headship of Carmel Dodds as a part of the Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust has worked incredibly hard to improve outcomes in recent years.
The school is quite rightly delighted that they have now been awarded ‘Good’ across all 5 subcategories currently inspected by OFSTED:
The quality of education Good
Behaviour and attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership and management Good
Early years provision Good
After the full Inspection in June 2022 and a further Monitoring Visit back in November 2023, a rigorous Improvement Plan was developed, with the school focusing on three key areas: curriculum, SEND and governor training. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of a talented team of staff and governors who worked in collaboration with the Central Team of the OLICAT Trust, all three of these areas have been awarded ‘Good’.
On curriculum, SEND and Governance, OFSTED detailed the following:
Curriculum: The school’s curriculum is ambitious and engaging. It is well structured. In all subjects, the school has identified precisely what pupils will learn and when they will learn it. There are many opportunities to revisit important concepts. This is built carefully right from the start of the Reception class. This helps pupils to gain and retain new knowledge over time (OFSTED March 2025)
SEND: The school takes seriously its duty to ensure that everyone is included. It precisely identifies pupils’ additional needs and puts in place support to help pupils with SEND learn successfully alongside their peers. Staff make careful adaptions to teaching, so pupils achieve well. Opportunities to promote pupils’ well-being are woven through everything the school does. (OFSTED March 2025)
Governors: Leaders and staff appreciate the opportunities for training that help them in their work to provide pupils with the best education possible. Local governors and trustees are knowledgeable and passionate about the school and are integral to this endeavour. (OFSTED March 2025)
Jamie Bray, Chair of the Local Academy Committee had the following to say:
“This achievement reflects the incredible journey our school has undertaken, driven by the transformative leadership of Headteacher Mrs. Dodds with support from our OLICAT trust.
Ofsted's report highlights what we have long recognised: an ambitious and inclusive curriculum that equips our students with the best possible start to their education. We are immensely proud of the culture of learning that has been cultivated here, and we look forward to continuing our mission of excellence.
Looking ahead, we are committed to further enhancing our educational offerings and fostering an environment where every student can thrive. We aim to build on our successes and ensure that Good Shepherd Catholic School remains a beacon of high-quality education.” (Jamie Bray, Chair of Local Academy Committee)
The report further highlights that staff at the school ‘feel valued’ and enjoy working at The Good Shepherd Primary. They appreciate leaders’ actions to consider staff workload, their health and well-being.
Headteacher, Mrs Dodds is delighted with the result which has been a full community effort:
“It is a privilege to be the Headteacher at The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary. We are so lucky to have such supportive parents and such wonderful children. I am extremely grateful for all the hard work and determination from our staff and from the OLICAT Trust central team and directors, our PTA and our local academy committee. I feel that this is a journey we have travelled together keeping the children at the heart of the decisions we have made along the way, particularly with our choice of curriculum which the inspectors recognised as 'ambitious and engaging'.
We will be moving forward fearlessly to ensure excellence is achieved in all areas of our work- because our children and families really do deserve the best!”
The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School welcome any new families who are looking for a fantastic education for their child, please call us on 01604 714399 and we can arrange a tour of the school.
To read the full report please visit the school website: www.thegoodshepherdcatholicprimaryschool.org.uk