St Marys CofE Primary School

Overview

This ungraded inspection confirms that St Marys CofE Primary School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The report describes a “caring and inclusive” environment where pupils “thrive” and “enjoy school life immensely.” Leaders, governors, and trust officials work together effectively to ensure pupils’ needs remain central to the school’s operations.

Strengths

• Pupils are “exceptionally well behaved” and demonstrate high levels of kindness, with suspensions and exclusions reduced significantly.
• The curriculum is “broad and ambitious” with reading at its heart; pupils learn to read quickly and are well-supported if they struggle.
• Personal development is a priority, with popular initiatives like “Enrichment Fridays” helping pupils develop cultural understanding and life skills.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well due to rapid identification of needs and effective transition programmes.
• Staff are “very proud to work at this school” and feel valued, while governors and trustees carry out their responsibilities effectively.

Areas to improve

• The school must accelerate work to ensure pupils, particularly older ones, can “record their learning clearly and legibly” so information remains accessible.
• Work set for pupils should be checked to ensure it always matches their readiness to learn, as occasional mismatches slow progress.
• Assessments need to better consider the disciplinary skills required for foundation subjects, ensuring pupils understand how to deepen knowledge beyond factual recall.

Safeguarding

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