St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green

Overview: Pupils enjoy coming to school and there are high expectations of behaviour, but attendance is a concern and some pupils with SEND do not receive the most appropriate support.

Strengths:

• Pupils enjoy coming to school and there are high expectations of behaviour.
• Pupils are happy that behaviour has improved, and learning is rarely interrupted.
• The school has developed a wide range of opportunities to develop pupils’ understanding of life beyond St Mary’s.
• Pupils show respect for different cultures and religions.
• The school successfully promotes its values through pupil leadership roles.

Areas to improve:

• The school does not ensure that pupils with SEND have appropriate adaptations to help them access the curriculum.
• The school does not check pupils’ understanding effectively, meaning that pupils do not secure important knowledge and often have gaps in learning.
• Pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should, and too many pupils are persistently absent.
• The school has not outlined what pupils should know by the end of Reception, meaning that children are not being fully prepared for the next stage in their education.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.