St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Marnhull

Overview

Pupils enjoy attending this inclusive school, where they live out values of ‘respect, compassion, forgiveness, and tolerance.’ Leaders provide a broad and ambitious curriculum that makes learning meaningful, resulting in pupils becoming ‘interested and confident learners who achieve well.’ The school fosters a supportive environment where parents feel their children are safe and well cared for.

Strengths

• The curriculum is ‘broad and ambitious,’ with teachers ensuring learning is ‘well structured to meet the individual needs of pupils.’
• Reading is central to learning; high-quality teaching helps pupils gain the knowledge to read with ‘confidence and accuracy.’
• Staff provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, enabling them to ‘access the full curriculum.’
• Pupils develop a ‘deep understanding of faith’ and grow to be ‘reflective, caring and accepting of all.’
• Early years provision is strong, with staff knowledgeable about childhood development and strengthened teaching of early mathematics.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure teachers raise expectations so pupils ‘apply what they know consistently and accurately’ regarding spelling and punctuation across the curriculum.
• The personal development curriculum must be ‘explicitly and systematically designed to teach fundamental British values’ to ensure pupils have a sufficient understanding of them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff alert to risks and pupils knowing how to keep themselves safe both online and in the wider world.