Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy

Overview

Great Marsden St John’s Primary School continues to be a good school, described as a “happy and welcoming community” where staff foster a “warm, supportive atmosphere.” Pupils typically achieve well, making strong progress through an ambitious curriculum that builds on prior learning.

Strengths

• Staff have “high expectations for the achievement of all pupils,” creating an environment where children are “unafraid of making mistakes.”
• The curriculum is “carefully structured” so that learning builds on past knowledge, benefiting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Teachers receive training that develops their subject expertise, supported by “high-quality resources” that reduce workload and enhance learning.
• The school “strongly promotes the importance of reading,” with staff well trained in phonics to help pupils become “confident and fluent readers.”
• Pupils benefit from strong pastoral care and a wide variety of activities, including unusual sports clubs and a school choir, fostering kindness and respect.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, the school is in the “early stages of designing methods for teachers to check how much pupils know and remember,” meaning staff may miss gaps in knowledge that hinder learning.
• Leaders are taking suitable action to tackle pupil absence, with attendance improvements noted as a high priority.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”