St Mark's CofE Primary School

Overview

The report describes St Mark’s CofE Primary School as a “welcoming place” where pupils are “happy” and have a “strong sense of belonging.” Inspectors found that the school provides a high-quality education with “Good” overall effectiveness, noting that pupils “typically achieve well” and are “well prepared for their secondary education.”

Strengths

• Staff “forge strong relationships with pupils” and know families well, ensuring pupils “feel safe to talk to staff about any concerns.”
• The curriculum is “well organised” and enables pupils to “build up their knowledge logically and securely,” with effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• “Reading is prioritised across the school,” with pupils loving the range of books and enjoying “story times.”
• Pupils “behave well” and “understand the school rules,” with “low-level disruption” being rare.
• There are “many opportunities for pupils to build their knowledge of staying safe” and learn about “important values such as respect, tolerance and democracy.”

Areas to improve

• The school must “finalise its curriculum thinking” for a few subjects so teachers know “exactly what pupils must learn and when this should be taught.”
• Staff should develop strategies to “check prior learning” to ensure pupils can “apply what they have learned previously to new learning” and close gaps.
• The school must ensure staff are supported to deliver the phonics curriculum effectively so that a small number of pupils who find reading difficult are supported to “catch up” and become “fluent readers.”

Safeguarding

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