St Mark's Ecumenical Anglican/Methodist Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Mark’s Ecumenical Anglican/Methodist Primary School St Mark’s Road, Worle, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset BS22 7PU

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

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Outcome

St Mark’s Ecumenical Anglican/Methodist Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Sian Randall. This school is part of The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Nicola Edwards, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Pamela Cosh.

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘Let your light shine’ permeates every aspect of this warm and welcoming school. Pupils describe it as a place where everyone gets along well. They understand how the school’s values help them to be friendly and to try new things. The school expects pupils to achieve their very best. Pupils rise to these expectations. They take pride in their work and achieve well in national curriculum tests.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. This starts in the early years, where children take turns and show increasing levels of independence when completing tasks. Across the school, pupils are extremely polite and well-mannered, showing high levels of respect to adults and one another.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils understand that staff are there to help them. They know that trusted adults will listen and support them with any concerns they place in their ‘worry boxes’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the activities on offer to them such as multi-sports club and visits to the lifeboat station. They undertake a range of responsibilities, such as school councillors, house captains and members of the eco-committee. Pupils say these roles make them feel proud and help them to improve their school. 28 and 29 January 2025

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

With the support of the trust, the school has navigated a period of leadership change well. Parents and carers speak highly of the recently appointed headteacher. Together with other leaders, they have taken effective action to refine and further develop the quality of education the school provides to pupils. Staff value the ‘family’ feel that exists within the school community. They appreciate the school’s consideration of their workload and well-being and value the opportunities they have to develop their teaching expertise.

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

Pupils learn an ambitious curriculum which identifies the precise knowledge they need to learn and when. Language development and oracy is central to this. This starts in the early years where children use words such as ‘directions’ and ‘cutlass’ when creating stories about ‘pirate Pete’. As they move through the school, pupils build on this positive start. Many speak confidently and articulately about their learning, using words such as ‘nomadic’ or ‘Neolithic’ when talking about the Stone Age.

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

A love of reading is visible across the school. Staff benefit from the training they receive to deliver the phonics programme effectively. Teachers routinely recap on previously taught sounds before moving on to new ones. Children in the early years learn and remember new sounds well. If pupils fall behind, they receive the support they need to catch up quickly. Pupils achieve highly in phonics and become confident and fluent readers as they move through the school.

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

In most subjects, teachers check carefully what pupils know. In mathematics for example, questioning is used effectively to check on what pupils remember. This information is used well to correct any misunderstandings that occur or to deepen pupils’ knowledge. However, in some subjects, these checks are not used well enough to identify gaps or to inform future learning. As a result, some pupils do not make as much progress across the curriculum as they could.

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

The school is quick to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Learning is adapted so that pupils access the same curriculum as their peers. Most pupils with SEND achieve well because of this. For example, they confidently describe sketching techniques in art and design or recall their knowledge of punctuation when forming sentences.

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

Pupils display excellent attitudes to learning. This starts in Reception where children sustain their attention and are eager to share their learning. Social times are fun and active. Pupils behave well during these times and enjoy playing with the equipment on offer to them.

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

The school works closely with families, as well as outside agencies, to promote pupils’ attendance. It tracks patterns of attendance with rigor, taking effective action where absence is a concern. This helps most pupils to attend school regularly. 28 and 29 January 2025

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Pupils’ personal development is a strength. Pupils share their understanding of fundamental British values with maturity. They recognise that kindness, respect and trust are important qualities of a good friend. Pupils develop their character by taking part in community events, such as litter picking or raising money for a local care home.

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Leaders have pupils’ best interests at the heart of all that they do. Together with trustees and local governors, they have a clear oversight of what is working well and what needs to improve. Local governors and trustees understand and fulfil their roles well, providing effective support and challenge to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, checks on what pupils have learned are not as effective as they could be. Consequently, some pupils struggle to remember key knowledge or make links to what they have learned before. The trust should ensure that all staff check pupils’ understanding and retention of key knowledge so that pupils can apply it to future learning.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately. 28 and 29 January 2025

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Mark’s Voluntary Aided Ecumenical CofE/Methodist Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in April 2013.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 28 and 29 January 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 April 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been changes to senior leadership and governance since the last inspection. The current headteacher took up their post in September 2024.  The school is a Church of England/Methodist school, within the diocese of Bath and Wells. The last section 48 inspection took place in November 2022.  There is a before-school club, which the local governing body manages.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 28 and 29 January 2025

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 The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, subject leaders, the special educational needs coordinator and the assistant director of education from the trust. They also met with groups of staff and pupils, and representatives from the local governing body.  The inspector held a telephone conversation with senior representatives from the trust, including the chair of trustees and the deputy chief executive officer. They also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the Methodist Academies Schools Trust.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the inspector spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. They also took into consideration the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Ben Jordan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 28 and 29 January 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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