Ofsted & Parent View
What is Ofsted?
Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. They inspect services providing education and skills for learners of all ages. They also inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people.
- Ofsted’s role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training and care services in England do so to a high standard for children and students.
- Every week, they carry out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits throughout England and publish the results online.
- They report directly to Parliament and we are independent and impartial.
The school's most recent OFSTED was January 2026 and a copy of the report can be found here: Inspection Report
What it's like to be a pupil at this school (OFSTED 2026)
St Gerard’s is a loving and welcoming school. Pupils experience a strong sense of belonging here. They enjoy positive relationships and are greeted each morning by staff who
genuinely care and know them well. Pupils are happy to come to school, behave well and most attend regularly. They are safe and understand how the school protects them from
risks in their community and online. Pupils feel truly included and valued. They rise to the high expectations that staff have for them to become confident and successful learners. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, learn successfully, whatever their starting points. They work hard and develop a love of learning. Pupils' achievement in
national tests at the end of key stage 2 is above the national average. Pupils are well prepared to meet the demands of secondary education.
Pupils experience success both academically and socially. This is due to the high-quality education and care that they receive. From the early years, children are taught to be independent and manage their emotions. Older pupils talk openly about their feelings. They appreciate how the nurturing support they receive helps them to deal with any worries they might have. Bullying is rare at this school. Pupils understand different types of bullying and they are confident that adults deal with issues effectively if they happen.
Pupils benefit from an array of enrichment activities that the school offers. For example, pupils develop their independence when they spend a night away from home on residential visits. They develop teamwork attending sports clubs and develop their cultural understanding when they attend theatre performances.
Parents and carers value the school. They appreciate that staff work in the best interests of their children. One parent reflected the views of many when they said the school ‘brings out the very best in every child’.