St Mark’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

St Mark's is a good school with a friendly and welcoming environment. The headteacher has established a good climate for learning and a clear focus on raising achievement. The school has been working with the local authority as part of the Improving School Programme and school improvement strategies have been implemented very effectively.

As a result, teaching is predominantly good overall and the rates of progress of all groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are increasing. Attainment is broadly in line with the national average and improving. An overwhelming majority of parents and carers are very happy with the school and say their children enjoy comi...ng to school.

Pupils are polite and friendly and behave well in lessons and around school. They feel safe and have confidence that adults will deal with any concerns. They have an exceptionally good understanding of healthy lifestyles and this is reflected in the good take-up of extra-curricular sports activities.

Attendance is above average. Relationships are warm and encouraging and promote self-esteem. Lessons are well planned and often provide different activities to meet the needs of pupils' varying abilities.

On the few occasions when this is not the case, lessons lack pace and pupils become distracted. Most lessons provide regular opportunities for pupils to assess their learning but this is not always the case. The curriculum provides many opportunities for the development of pupils' numeracy and literacy skills across all age ranges.

The opportunity for outdoor learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage is currently limited to mornings. Teachers work with parents and carers to show how they can support their child's learning at home. Pastoral care is exceptionally strong and support for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities is outstanding, with extensive work with a range of partners.

Teaching assistants work closely with the teachers to provide well-targeted interventions to effectively tackle underachievement. Self-evaluation is robust and thorough. New systems for tracking, monitoring and evaluating, to better inform target-setting for individuals and to ensure that areas for development are identified quickly, have been successfully implemented.

Strategies, such as interventions, are evaluated carefully to check that they are having a positive impact. These successful developments indicate a good capacity to sustain improvement.

Information about the school

St Mark's is a smaller than average primary school serving a wide area.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well-below average. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is lower than average. Most pupils are White British but there is a very small proportion from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below the national average. Since the last inspection, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of pupils who join or leave the school at other than the normal times. There is a breakfast and after-school club held on the school premises.

This provision is not managed by the school and was not part of this inspection. The school has many awards and has recently been re-accredited with Healthy School status. The school is a member of the new Kendal Collaborative Partnership.

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms