St Mary's CofE School, Truro

Overview

St Mary’s CofE School is described as a “happy, welcoming and inclusive place to learn” where staff maintain high expectations and build warm relationships with pupils. The report highlights a “well-designed, broad and ambitious curriculum” that supports strong academic achievement and personal development, including effective support for pupils with special educational needs.

Strengths

• The “sunrise curriculum” ensures teachers are clear about what to teach, helping pupils build knowledge securely and link current learning to prior understanding.
• Reading is a priority, with staff acting as “experts in teaching pupils to read,” resulting in pupils achieving well above the national standard in phonics.
• Inclusion is a strength, with a “universal offer” ensuring all pupils, including those with SEND, can access the curriculum effectively.
• Pupils demonstrate “positive attitudes to their learning,” engage well, and benefit from a wide range of opportunities beyond the academic, such as swimming and charity work.
• Staff value the “high levels of support for their workload and wellbeing,” contributing to a positive school culture.

Areas to improve

• Routine checks on pupil knowledge sometimes “lack sufficient precision,” meaning teachers may not identify when pupils need support or challenge quickly enough.
• The quality of pupils’ written work is variable, as errors in handwriting, spelling, and punctuation are not always addressed promptly, preventing consistent accuracy across subjects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.