St Mary's School

Overview

St Mary’s School continues to be a good school, providing a high-quality education for boys with complex social, emotional and behavioural needs. Leaders and staff are highly effective at building resilience and positive relationships, enabling pupils to re-engage with learning and prepare for their next steps in life. The rural setting supports an enriching outdoor curriculum, while robust governance ensures accountability and strategic oversight.

Strengths

• Staff are well trained to respond quickly to emotional dysregulation, keeping pupils safe and returning them to learning efficiently.
• The curriculum is carefully designed around pupils’ special educational needs, including short breaks to help them ‘reset’ between lessons.
• Extensive enrichment opportunities, such as animal husbandry and motor mechanics, help pupils develop interests and potential career pathways.
• Leaders ensure pupils receive the provision set out in their education, health and care plans, including therapies supporting mental and physical health.
• Executive leaders provide confident, strategic leadership with robust systems for accountability and oversight.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure all staff are trained in teaching early reading and revise the curriculum to provide a clear sequence of learning from the moment pupils join.
• Leaders need to review curriculum plans to ensure a continuous and well-sequenced curriculum in all subjects, particularly where primary and secondary phases currently lack cohesion.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.