St Mary's CofE First Academy

Overview

St Mary’s C of E First Academy is described as a “warm and welcoming school” where pupils feel “safe and well cared for.” While the overall judgement of ‘good’ remains unchanged following this ungraded inspection, the report notes that the grade “might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now.” Consequently, the next inspection will be a graded one.

Strengths

• The school’s values of “belief, respect and friendship” permeate the environment, with parents sharing “positive views” of the leadership.
• Pupils behave well, treating each other with respect, and take pride in leadership roles such as the “pupil leadership team” and “Eco Team.”
• Children in early years are “well cared for” with strong relationships, leading to good vocabulary development through focused language activities.
• Leaders have an “accurate understanding” of necessary improvements and have begun developing the curriculum and staff expertise.
• Pupils learn about “fundamental British values” and different cultures through visits to local places of worship, fostering respect for diverse beliefs.

Areas to improve

• Staff lack the “subject-specific knowledge” needed to teach all areas of the curriculum effectively, impacting pupil progress across many subjects.
• The phonics programme is taught “inconsistently,” and insufficient support is in place to help struggling pupils catch up quickly.
• Some staff lack the expertise to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) successfully, though leaders are addressing this.

Safeguarding

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