Better days ahead for Sheffield primary school branded 'inadequate' at last inspection, says Ofsted
It's been a turbulent few years for St Patrick's, but inspectors say school life is on the up
Inspectors say better days lie ahead for a Sheffield primary school two years on from a scathing Ofsted report that branded it ‘Inadequate.’
St Patrick's Catholic Voluntary Academy was sent reeling in 2024 by the blistering inspection, which criticised it for not having "high enough expectations" for pupils, “weak” leadership and large number of new staff, leading to widespread low morale.
Sadly, its SATs results in 2025 were also the weakest in Sheffield, with just eight per cent of its 40 eligible pupils - meaning approximately only three children - achieving the expected standard for reading, writing and maths.
Now, a new report by the education watchdog says work to get school life back up to scratch is paying dividends.
The write up, published on July 16, reads: “Leaders and governors are taking effective action to improve the school but continued work is needed to remove the special measures designation.
“Since the previous monitoring visit, leaders have appointed a substantive headteacher for the new academic year.
“Leaders are mindful of the pace of change that has taken place at the school over the last year. They carefully consider the impact of actions taken to improve the school on staff workload and wellbeing.
“Generally, pupils enjoy their learning.”
Since the 2024 report, St Patrick’s is receiving support from St Clare’s MAT, and is due to join the trust in September.
The report repeatedly notes work by the school’s leaders, including its new executive headteacher, Mrs Karen Dobson, is effective - but that more work is needed to get back into Ofsted’s good books.
For example, inspectors recognised lessons are now better structured, but criticised: “When teaching new concepts, some teachers do not clearly explain the important knowledge and skills that pupils need.
“When this is the case, teachers provide too much information at once. They do not routinely check what pupils know and understand.
“As a consequence, some pupils, including those with SEND, are given work that is too difficult for them.”
The new report, based on a ‘monitoring inspection’ conducted in June, does not yet change the ‘Inadequate’ rating.
Ofsted will likely revisit St Patrick’s within six months.