St Mary's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of St Mary’s Church of England Primary School Brampton Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE13 0NA

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Laura Oakes. This school is part of Rise multi-academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Dave Ellison-Lee, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Stephen Mark Adshead. 25 and 26 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this welcoming school. The school encourages a positive and respectful culture through the well-known school values of ‘be courageous, be strong, do everything in love’. Pupils are polite. They listen to and respect each other’s views. Pupils know that they can be themselves at this school. Pupils feel safe. They know that they can share any worries with a trusted adult. This helps to provide a calm and safe environment where all pupils can flourish.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high aspirations for all pupils. They have thought about ways to broaden the horizons of pupils through the curriculum and wider school experiences. Most pupils enjoy their lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils rise to these high expectations and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the opportunities to participate in extra-curricular clubs and sports tournaments. They value working with pupils across the trust in their ‘pupil charter’ activities. For example, pupils enjoy their choral event, where they learn to collaborate with others and become role models. Pupils like earning pompoms when they participate in ‘happy lunchtime’ activities. They know that this helps them to develop healthy lifestyles and positive relationships with each other.

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

The school’s ambitious curriculum sets out the precise knowledge that pupils should learn in a logical way. The school’s vision to ‘broaden horizons’ is starting to be realised. Carefully chosen authors, and learning about places and significant individuals, help pupils to understand more about the world around them. For example, pupils in Year 5 talk knowledgeably about ‘extreme’ weather and the link to climate change.

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

In most core subjects, staff demonstrate strong subject knowledge to help pupils learn well. For example, in mathematics, pupils recall a wide range of facts with speed and accuracy. This helps them to answer complex mathematical problems with confidence. Staff model tasks and carefully select materials to help pupils to practise ideas. Pupils revisit learning regularly. This helps them to remember important information and achieve well in these subjects.

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

The school’s systems to check how well the curriculum is taught are in the early stages of development. In some subjects, staff receive appropriate guidance and training to support them to deliver lessons well. However, in some subjects, this work has not been completed. Sometimes, staff’s subject knowledge is not as strong as it could be. Sometimes, pupils do not receive appropriate activities to help them to learn as well as they could.

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

The school has prioritised the teaching of phonics. Staff understand the structure of the programme. However, some staff use inaccurate sounds when demonstrating word reading. This makes it harder for some pupils to learn their sounds as accurately as they could. Additional help is provided for pupils who find it more difficult to learn to read. 25 and 26 March 2025

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However, some pupils do not receive enough practice to help them to recall sounds automatically. This means that some pupils do not develop their fluency as quickly as they could.

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Children in the early years settle quickly. Adults provide careful modelling and guidance to help pupils to understand the school’s expectations for learning and behaviour. Children learn the curriculum through well-chosen texts. For example, children labelled maps based on ‘What the Ladybird Heard’. This ensured that the children have the foundations for future learning, for example when studying geography in Year 1. Children are well prepared for key stage one.

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The school’s thorough processes help identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Activities in lessons are carefully tailored to support pupils. This helps pupils with SEND access a broad and balanced curriculum.

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Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They follow the school rules of ‘first time, every time, everywhere, everyone’. This helps them to listen respectfully to each other in discussions. Pupils who find it more difficult to manage their emotions benefit from carefully planned nurture support.

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Pupils know how they can demonstrate the fundamental British values in school, for example in their roles as ‘young governors’. Pupils have many opportunities to learn about other cultures. For example, through the weekly news stories, pupils develop a secure understanding about current affairs and the world around them. They value their clubs and trips to stretch their interests.

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The school benefits from the close working relationship they have with the trust. Staff appreciate the support they receive to manage their workload and well-being. New local governors have a growing understanding of their role and how responsibilities are delegated between themselves and the trust. This ensures that they fulfil the statutory responsibilities for the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The teaching of phonics is not consistent. Staff do not always model sounds clearly and pupils are not able to practise what they know often enough. As a result, some pupils who fall behind do not catch up as quickly as they should. The school needs to ensure that all staff deliver the phonics programme effectively.  The school’s methods for evaluating the implementation of the curriculum are not well- established in some of the curriculum subjects. As a result, the school is not able to 25 and 26 March 2025

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identify the successes and next steps for these subjects and provide the appropriate support to help staff develop the knowledge they need to deliver the curriculum consistently well. The school should improve its systems and timeliness for checking the implementation of the curriculum in all subjects, to ensure they are delivered consistently well across the curriculum.

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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). 25 and 26 March 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 22 and 23 May 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Rise multi-academy trust.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.  The school is a Church of England primary school. The most recent section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in September 2024.  The school provides on-site after-school care run by the school.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth-form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and with other leaders. The lead inspector met with those responsible for governance, including the chair of the local governing body and the chair of the board of trustees. The lead inspector also held a discussion with the director of education and deputy director of education.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, geography and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector observed some

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pupils read to a familiar member of staff. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum and reviewed curriculum planning in some other subjects.  Inspectors observed behaviour in lessons and at other times around school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan and information about governance. Inspectors also considered information about pupils’ attendance and behaviour, as well as the wider curriculum.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, and the results of Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Sarah Sadler, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Adair Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 March 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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