Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary

We’re delighted to share the news that rapid progress at Sacred Heart has been recognised in a glowing Ofsted report.

Our school has been rated Good in all areas by Ofsted, having previously been told it required improvement.  

Inspectors who visited us shortly before the summer break ​​found a “calm and orderly atmosphere in lessons and around the school”, with a strong culture of safeguarding.

“Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary is a school where all staff have high expectations of their pupils,” the report says. “Leaders have an ambitious vision for all pupils to achieve well. The Christian ethos of the school is central to this. The school has improved because of the actions leaders have taken.

“Leaders have developed an ambitious and challenging curriculum for all pupils. Leaders have identified the important knowledge they want pupils to know and remember in each subject. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They present new ideas in a way that pupils find easy to understand.”

The report said our pupils are proud of school values such as strength, resilience and community and play an active role in the local community and beyond, visiting care homes, providing hampers for those in need at Christmas and visiting a school in Ghana as part of an international expedition.

“Leaders place a high value on pupils’ personal development. The personal, social and health education curriculum is carefully planned. Pupils have a strong understanding of healthy relationships, consent and how to stay safe online.” 

The report praised Sacred Heart’s award-winning careers advice and guidance programme, which was Teesside’s first educational establishment to meet all eight prestigious Gatsby Benchmarks.

And it said: “The relationships between pupils and staff are strong. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Pupils are clear about the rules they have to follow.

“Leaders are well supported by colleagues from the trust. Leaders and those responsible for governance have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness. This means leaders have prioritised the most important things to further improve.”

Leaders from the school and the trust have warmly welcomed the report.

Trust executive headteacher Michael Burns said: “From the first moment I walked through the doors at Sacred Heart, I knew that with the support of NPCAT, the systems for school improvement would have a rapid and significant impact.

“Senior leaders, pupils, staff, parents, trust and governors have worked in collaboration to improve outcomes and make Sacred Heart the Good Catholic school that the community of Redcar and the surrounding areas deserves.”

Deputy head Kim Welbourne said: “The staff at Sacred Heart are absolutely thrilled with this report, which recognises the hard work of our whole school community and our dedication to our pupils.

“We are confident that we are making a difference to the life chances of the children in our care and giving them the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life and fulfil our school mission statement to ‘Live life to the full’.”

NPCAT senior standards officer Angela White added: “We are delighted with the Ofsted judgement. We have worked hard as a trust over the last three years to ensure the school made the improvements needed to begin our journey back to becoming an Outstanding school.

“I would like to thank the governors, staff, parents and most of all the pupils, who make the school what it is.”

NPCAT CEO Hugh Hegarty said the report acknowledges the excellent work undertaken to improve Sacred Heart over the last three years.

“NPCAT now has a proven track record of knowing its schools and understands what is required to improve the quality of education afforded to every pupil.

“The school staff have worked relentlessly along with trust curriculum directors and leaders and they have been rewarded by this inspection feedback and this year’s excellent GCSE results. 

“Ninety per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4-plus in English, while 82 per cent of pupils achieved grade 5-plus in English. In maths, 82 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4-plus and 64.5 per cent achieved a grade 5-plus.

“These results are significantly above provisional national averages and show the sheer hard work of all of our pupils. The class of Year 11 have overcome significant challenges because of Covid lockdowns, so these results are a testament to their resilience, effort and determination. 

“I want to acknowledge the role played by chair of governors Danny Corey and the local governing board, along with trust executive headteacher Michael Burns and his leadership team in supporting the school. This report is a testament to their tenacity and determination to take the school forward.”

NPCAT recently expanded to add one additional secondary, St Francis Xavier School in Richmond, and nine primary schools in North Yorkshire and the City of York, taking the total of schools in the trust from 27 to 37.

“We now have 30 Good or Outstanding primary schools and one outstanding and two good secondary schools,” said Mr Hegarty. 

“Parents have been generous in their praise for the trust’s work and appreciate the efforts of staff and school leaders in addressing issues that had limited the school’s progress.

“Our senior standards officer, Angela White, has charted this path for over three years, setting high expectations for everything that is now being realised.

“School improvement is never straightforward, but with sound leadership at all levels, matched by a clarity of understanding and a resolute determination to succeed for all pupils, ‌NPCAT has an excellent track record.

“While this is good news, we will not stand still. Teachers and leaders are already working to make Sacred Heart an Outstanding school with outstanding outcomes for our children.” 

The Diocese of Middlesbrough recently rated Sacred Heart as a Good Catholic school after an inspection July, saying, “Strong senior leadership is rapidly moving the school forward.”