St Mark’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school that is full of smiles. Staff want pupils to achieve their best. Pupils thrive personally and socially.

However, despite recent improvements, pupils do not learn as well as they should across the curriculum and in national assessments.

The school is rooted in its community. It serves an extremely diverse area.

Many families speak English as an additional language. A significant number of families have recently arrived in the country and are new to speaking English. Many pupils move in and out of the school over time and this has an impact on their learning.

Staff are deeply committed to ensuring that pupils and families settle into s...chool life. Pupils said that 'everyone is welcome here'.

Pupils behave well in and around school.

Relationships are strong and pupils get along with each other well. There is little or no disruption in lessons. Pupils are keen to learn and spoke positively about behaviour across school.

Pupils have a deep understanding of the school's values. Responsibility, equality, spirituality, perseverance, enthusiasm, commitment and trust are central to all that the school does. Pupils explain how these values impact on their actions in and out of school.

They understand how they help to make them good citizens.

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

The school has been through a period of turbulence. New leaders at school and in the trust have worked rapidly to improve all aspects of the school's work.

This is starting to have an impact. Aspirations for pupils' education are far higher than they were. However, the improvements made are only just starting to have an impact on pupils' learning.

The school's curriculum has been refined. It is now more logically thought out and is organised to enable pupils to build on what they have previously learned. However, staff are not skilled enough in delivering the curriculum as the school intends.

As a result, pupils are not learning the curriculum as well as they should.

Teachers use assessment well in some curriculum areas, such as in phonics. However, in many subjects, teachers do not check as well as they should on pupils' learning both in lessons and over time.

This means that often gaps in learning are not addressed or that pupils' learning is not moved on quickly enough when they have learned what has been delivered.

Subject leaders are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their subjects. They know how they should be taught well.

They have started to make checks to ensure that this is the case. However, these checks are at an early stage of development and subject leaders do not have an accurate overview of how well their subject is delivered and how this can be improved.

Children make a good start in early years.

There is a focus on children learning important language and vocabulary. Staff make sure that children are taught specific knowledge and skills, which they then practise in their play. However, in some areas of learning, children's learning is not as clearly ordered as in others.

As a result, the school cannot always be sure that the early years curriculum provides a firm foundation for children to build on in later years.

There has been far more progress in the delivery of the school's phonics scheme. The scheme is now delivered as intended.

Across the school, all pupils who need to learn or consolidate their phonics knowledge receive the help that they need. The books that pupils read are closely matched to the sounds they need to practise. This is enabling pupils to become more fluent readers.

Pupils enjoy and remember the books that are read to them in class.

There is a greatly improving picture in relation to pupils' attendance. Overall attendance is now within national expectations.

This is because there are more rigorous systems in place with regard to managing attendance. The school works closely with families and other agencies to improve the attendance of pupils who are not attending school as well as they should.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn alongside their peers.

Their needs are identified early and they get extra support when they need it.

Pupils' personal development is a strength of the school. They quickly learn about life in modern Britain.

Pupils talk about how diversity is part of their school and how they ensure new arrivals are cared for. Pupils experience a range of trips and visits which broaden their horizons. They are given opportunities to lead, such as prefects and school council.

They are proud of these roles.

Staff are very positive about all aspects of the school's work, including their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff are not as adept as they should be in delivering the curriculum. This impacts on pupils' learning. The school should provide support and training to enable staff to deliver the curriculum well and pupils to learn well.

• Staff do not check how well pupils are learning in lessons and over time. This means that pupils' learning is slowed and gaps in learning are not addressed. The school should make sure that teachers assess how well pupils are learning.

The evaluation and monitoring of some subjects is not as effective as it should be. Subject leaders do not have an effective overview of how well pupils are achieving or where there are gaps in teachers' and pupils' subject knowledge. The school should support subject leaders to fulfil their roles so they can fully monitor and bring about improvements in the quality of education in their subject.

• In some subjects, what children should learn in the early years has not been fully considered. As a result, there is a lack of clarity about how pupils build on their previous learning as they move into key stage 1. The school should ensure that all subject curriculum thinking fully considers what children should learn in the early years.