Stella Maris School

Overview

Stella Maris School is described as a “small and welcoming” environment where pupils are “safe and happy” and form “close bonds” with peers. The report states that the school is “highly successful in supporting pupils to gain entry to their chosen grammar schools” and that children make a “strong start” in the early years. Overall, the inspection found the school to be effective, with staff feeling “supported and valued.”

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate “positive attitudes to their learning,” behave well, and attend school regularly.
• The school “prioritises early reading,” with experienced staff delivering phonics “consistently well” to help pupils become “fluent and expressive readers.”
• Assessment strategies are used effectively to “quickly spot when a pupil needs help,” allowing for “highly individualised modelling and support.”
• Personal development is fostered well through curriculum trips, charitable engagement, and roles such as being “buddies” for new children.
• Outdoor learning is a “prized aspect of the school’s curriculum,” including tending to the Jubilee Garden and learning in wooded areas.

Areas to improve

• The proprietor should improve its “oversight of the school” and the rigour with which it ensures adherence to independent school standards.
• The school must strengthen its systems and expertise to identify pupils with potential special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in a “timelier manner.”
• In some subjects, the school should review curriculum design to break down learning into “smaller building blocks of knowledge” to ensure coherent progression.

Safeguarding

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