St Mary’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. The executive headteacher, governors and other leaders across the federation have secured rapid school improvement since the previous inspection. Leaders and managers at all levels, including governors, share an unrelenting and highly effective commitment to the continuing improvement of teaching and achievement.

The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. They work and play very supportively together. The pupils' enthusiastic commitment to learning makes a strong contribution to their exceptional progress.

The school's work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Consequently, pupils say they feel very safe. Parents welcome t...he high quality of care and guidance provided by staff.

Pupils' currently high attendance reflects their great enjoyment of school and very supportive relationships between staff and parents. Teaching is outstanding. All staff work very supportively as a team to get to know the pupils and plan learning that fully motivates them and develops their skills.

Pupils sustain rapid progress in all classes in response to consistently strong teaching. The well-above-average levels of pupils' attainment in 2014 at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics reflect their outstanding achievement. The early years provision is outstanding.

Children make an excellent start and quickly develop the self-confidence that supports their love of school and readiness to learn. Pupils benefit from a motivating range of learning opportunities, including local and international aspects, which strongly promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. However, pupils have few opportunities to engage in team events and competitions with pupils of their own age who attend other local schools.

Information about this school

This school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. One in five pupils in the school is disabled or has special educational needs.

This proportion is above the national average and varies significantly from year to year across the school. The proportion of pupils entering or leaving the school at other than the normal times is above average. One in five pupils in the school is supported by the pupil premium and, consequently, given the size of the school, there are very few in each year group.

The pupil premium is additional government funding to give extra support to pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after. The proportion of these disadvantaged pupils is broadly average. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by Year 6.

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are admitted on a full-time basis and are accommodated in a mixed Reception and Years 1 and 2 class. All other pupils in the school are taught within a mixed-age Years 3 to 6 class. Since February 2013, the school has been a member of the United Schools Federation, which includes three other primary schools.

A single governing body serves all the schools in the federation. The school and federation are led by an executive headteacher who shares his duties across the schools in the federation. Each school is managed on a day-to-day basis by its own member of senior staff fulfilling the role of head of school.