St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at St Marychurch are vibrant and confident individuals. They are proud of their school and the changes that it has undergone in the last academic year.

Pupils reflect on why the school is a place they enjoy attending. Pupils conduct themselves well in lessons, when moving around the school and during playtimes. They value the ways in which they are rewarded for positive behaviour and other achievements such as attendance and reading.

This helps pupils meet the high expectations the school has of them.

Pupils embody the school's values of love, joy, peace and kindness. This is because they are modelled by the staff around them.

The strong and n...urturing relationships between staff and pupils can be heard in action across the school. Pupils say this is one of the best things about the school. Pupils get on well in the many opportunities they have to interact across the age ranges.

They encourage and support each other in the many roles of responsibility that they are proud to hold.

Changes to the school have been very welcomed by parents and carers. They have high praise for the way in which the school now communicates with them and impacts their children's education.'

An army of angels' was one parent's comment about the staff.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has taken swift and significant steps to strengthen the curriculum. The appointment of the new headteacher, deputy and assistant headteacher, has strengthened the leadership team and led to rapid improvement in the quality of education.

The low published outcomes in 2023 do not reflect how well pupils are currently learning.

Staffing is now more stable. As a result, the ambitious curriculum design, across subjects, is implemented well.

The majority of pupils learn and remember more over time as a result of teachers' secure subject knowledge and knowledge of how pupils learn best. However, this is not the case for all pupils. Strengths observed in some areas, such as ongoing assessment, high expectations and understanding of how to get the best from pupils, are not fully embedded across the school.

Where these aspects are not as well embedded, pupils do not learn as well.

The school uses assessment effectively in subjects such as reading and mathematics to check pupils' understanding of the curriculum. Any gaps in knowledge are quickly identified, and pupils receive the additional help that they need.

However, in writing, some staff are not as consistent in how they address errors and misconceptions. Sometimes, expectations of some pupils are not as high as they need to be. When this happens, pupils do not get the support that they need to write with increasing skill and accuracy.

The youngest children in the school are excited about learning. In Nursery and Reception, staff encourage children to explore and be curious about the world around them. They develop children's language skills effectively through well-considered questioning.

Staff support children in their early reading and number learning well. As a result, children are well prepared for learning in key stage 1. The school has worked to develop pupils' love of reading across the school.

Pupils enthuse about the books they read and that are read to them. They appreciate the importance of reading in their learning of the full curriculum and know how the school is helping them to become increasingly fluent and confident readers.

This is an inclusive school.

Disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are valued members of the school community. The school is quick to identify pupils with SEND. It provides staff with specialist advice to support pupils with SEND.

Despite this, some staff do not use this as effectively as they could to adapt learning with precision. Support can, at times, be too generic to address pupils' individual needs. Consequently, some pupils with SEND do not make as much progress as they could.

Pupils, staff and increasing numbers of parents now hold a positive view of behaviour. Pupils who struggle to behave appropriately are supported with kindness and understanding. The provision in Dolphin Class has a critical role in this.

Pupils know the 'chance, choice, consequence' approach to behaviour. They say that this is much more consistent this year because staff know them well.

The school encourages pupils to be aware of maintaining good mental health.

Pupils are self-aware and can express their views and opinions with confidence. They are tolerant and respectful of the views of others because they are well informed about diversity and the world around them. Pupils contribute fully to school life which prepares them well for their next steps.

Governors and trust leaders have an ambitious vision for the school. There are clear systems in place to check that the actions leaders take to improve the school benefit all pupils. The challenge and support for the school have enabled the school to make the most impact in the short period of time since the last inspection.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Expectations of pupils' writing are not consistently high enough. Additionally, errors and misconceptions are not addressed quickly enough.

As a result, some pupils do not make the progress in their writing that they should. The trust should ensure that all staff have consistently high expectations of pupils' written work in all subjects and that pupils get the support they need to write with accuracy. ? Adaptations to learning for pupils with SEND are not always precise enough.

This hinders how well these pupils can maximise the learning opportunities offered to them. The trust should ensure that teachers have the expertise necessary to adapt the curriculum to meet the individual needs of these specific pupils so they make as much progress as possible. ? The curriculum is not as well embedded in some areas as it is in others.

The strengths seen in some areas are not fully embedded across the school. As a result, some pupils do not learn as well as others. The trust must ensure that the curriculum, in all phases, is as secure and established as where pupils learn the most successfully.

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