St Mary Queen of Martyrs VC Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Key Findings

St Mary Queen of Martyrs is a good school. It is not outstanding because : teaching and pupils' achievement are good rather than outstanding. Pupils achieve well in a safe, nurturing environment.

They feel safe and have confidence in adults to take care of them. All parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire agreed their children were well looked after. This over-riding philosophy of care, alongside a well taught curriculum contributes significantly to pupils' outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Children are provided with a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Attainment is above average by the end of Year 6. Progress is not as rapid in Key Stag...e 1 as Key Stage 2.

The school has identified this and put new initiatives in place which are beginning to embed. Attainment data is used well to monitor pupils' progress and ensure that teachers and pupils know how well they are doing. Pupils are made aware of their targets and what they have to do to improve through the conscientious marking of their work.

Intervention strategies enable disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to make similar progress to their peers. A number of parents and carers of Key Stage 1 pupils feel they do not have enough information to fully support their children's learning. Teaching is good overall.

A strong team of highly committed staff consistently provide good quality, sometimes outstanding teaching. Pupils behave well, demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and say they feel safe in school. They make good progress because teachers provide them with interesting opportunities to develop skills in reading, writing, communication and mathematics.

However, pupils have fewer opportunities to improve their skills in information and communication technology. Leaders and managers, including members of the governing body have high aspirations for pupils' progress and personal development. They are managing the improvement of teaching well through effective professional development.

Information about the school

St Mary Queen of Martyrs is larger than the average-sized primary school. Most pupils are of White British heritage. A very small number are from minority-ethnic groups.

Almost all pupils' first language is English. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above the national average. The number of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is broadly in line with the national average.

The school exceeds the government floor standards for attainment and progress. The school has achieved Healthy School status. The school operates a daily breakfast club for its pupils.

There have been a number of changes to staffing since the previous inspection. Following the retirement of the previous headteacher, the deputy headteacher and a phase leader share the temporary acting-headship of the school. The deputy headteacher has been appointed substantive headteacher from September 2012.

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

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