St Mark’s Church of England Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Mark's Church of England Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that the school values of 'forgiveness, aspire, compassion and engage' (FACE) are at the heart of everything they do. They are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils work hard and take pride in their many achievements.

Pupils treat each other, staff and visitors with respect. Expectations of behaviour are high. Bullying is not tolerated, and staff work carefully to resolve any issues that occur.

Pupils feel safe and secure in this nurturing environment where they can talk to a tru...sted adult if ever they feel worried.

Pupils enjoy extensive opportunities to enrich their learning, explore their interests and take responsibility. Leaders ensure that as many pupils as possible take part in a wide range of clubs, activities and experiences.

Pupils relish leadership roles, such as sports leaders, library monitors and school councillors, which make a positive contribution to school life. They are active fundraisers and have made close local and global links.

Pupils learn how to express their opinion and understand the importance of valuing the views of others.

As one pupil explained, 'It's important to keep an open mind, you can then decide what you believe in.'

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Senior leaders expect the very best from everyone, including themselves. They successfully combine this with kindness and understanding.

Parents are highly appreciative of the school's work. One reflected the views of others in the comment, 'My child's educational experience has been transformed. He now gets the support he needs to succeed, and staff always go over and above.'



Leaders across the school are continuing to embed an aspirational curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEND. Teachers are confident and skilful in their delivery of the curriculum. They work together and engage in professional development to build their subject knowledge and expertise.

Staff are passionate about pupils' learning and make sure that the experiences pupils have are challenging and stimulating. Teachers check on pupils' learning regularly and use this helpfully to inform future teaching.

Leaders understand that being a good reader allows pupils to access the whole curriculum.

They want all pupils to love reading and to read with fluency and comprehension. Leaders have recently introduced a phonics programme. This helps pupils at the early stages of learning to read to become fluent readers quickly.

Leaders are making sure that all staff receive appropriate training to deliver the programme effectively.

Pupils concentrate hard in lessons. They work well on their own, showing determination and resilience but also work equally well together.

Pupils value the individual care they receive. On the whole, pupils remember important knowledge in each subject and teachers are becoming skilled at helping them to do this. However, pupils' work and understanding in some subjects do not always reflect the intended learning.

Leaders are improving the curriculum further so that all pupils, including those with SEND, achieve highly in every subject.

There is a determination, driven by the headteacher and shared by all staff, that pupils should thrive in their personal as well as academic development. There are a huge range of opportunities for pupils to broaden their experience and improve their personal skills.

Leaders ensure that pupils learn about the wider world, consider the views and experiences of others, and reflect upon what this means. Leaders have forged strong links with a school in Tanzania to enrich pupils' cultural awareness. Pupils thoroughly enjoy the outdoor learning opportunities provided.

These are carefully crafted to enhance learning across the curriculum.

Governors challenge and support leaders appropriately so that the school's plans for improvement are ambitious and stay on track. Leaders know the school and its pupils very well.

They value the voice of the staff team and have due regard for workload and well-being. As a result, staff feel appreciated and are proud to be part of this vibrant and thriving school community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders promote a safeguarding culture where pupils' safety is prioritised. Staff are well trained to spot and raise concerns. Leaders ensure that pupils who are at risk of harm receive the help that they need quickly, seeking outside agency support when required.

Leaders' actions bring about positive change for pupils and families. Leaders know the community well. They make sure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

Checks on adults appointed to work in the school are thorough and monitored effectively by leaders. During the inspection, leaders corrected minor weaknesses in record keeping.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all pupils who are struggling to learn to read are catching up as quickly as they could.

Leaders have correctly identified the next steps for improvement. They must ensure that all staff know how to support this group of pupils as they learn to read and follow the school's agreed process. ? Pupils' work and understanding in some subjects do not always reflect the intended learning.

Pupils do not always have detailed knowledge and skills across all subjects. Leaders should continue to refine the curriculum and ensure that pupils, including those with SEND, achieve highly in every subject.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually, this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2013.

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