St Marys Church of England Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 September 2024

The school is welcoming and inclusive to all. It has a genuine spirit of community. Pupils enjoy school life and form strong friendships with their peers. Staff provide pupils with the social and emotional support they need. The school has developed trusting relationships with parents and carers. It works with them in the best interests of pupils. The school has high aspirations for what pupils can achieve. A new ambitious curriculum reflects this. However, too few pupils meet those high aspirations. There is still much work to do, to improve both the quality of teaching and pupils' attendance. Pupils behave well. They are polite, friendly and inquisitive. From Reception, the school has established a clear set of routines that promote positive behaviour. Pupils show kindness and respect to each other. They form positive relationships with staff and feel safe. This is a calm and orderly school, but also a school where pupils can play and have fun. Pupils enjoy a wide range of opportunities to develop their talents and interests. They participate in clubs including football, dodge ball and dance. There is a school choir and a school council. Pupils take on roles as buddies to younger children, worship leaders and house captains.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not adapted the curriculum to ensure that it builds coherently on pupils' prior knowledge. This means that, sometimes, pupils move on to new learning without the foundational knowledge they need to secure that learning. The school should ensure that it adapts the curriculum in these subjects, so that the curriculum builds on pupils' prior knowledge and provides pupils with a coherent body of knowledge as they progress through the school.
• Sometimes, teachers do not select activities that are well-matched to pupils' needs, including pupils with SEND. This means that some pupils find it difficult to access learning, while other pupils do not move on to new learning quickly enough. The school should ensure that it provides teachers with the training and development in pedagogy and pedagogical content knowledge that they require to adapt learning to meet the needs of all pupils.
• Sometimes, the extra help pupils at an early stage of reading get is not focused precisely enough on their specific reading needs. This means that some pupils do not catch up with their peers quickly enough. The school should ensure that it gives teachers and other adults, who provide extra support to pupils at an early stage of reading, the training and development they need. In particular, this training and development should focus on how best to build and secure pupils' reading fluency.
• Levels of persistent absence are high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. This means that some pupils miss out on too much of their education, have gaps in their knowledge and do not achieve well. The school should continue to reduce levels of persistent absence so that more pupils benefit from the school's recent curriculum changes.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)