The Mark Way School

Inspection of a school judged outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024: The Mark Way School Batchelors Barn Road, Andover, Hampshire SP10 1HR

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Outcome

The Mark Way School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils excel at this exceptionally inclusive school. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), with many entering the school having a history of poor attendance and various barriers to learning. Staff get to know pupils exceptionally well and provide them with highly individualised, ambitious and effective curriculum and support programmes, which enable them to achieve. Consequently, pupils leave with numerous qualifications and are very well prepared for their next steps, and they progress to education, employment or training extremely successfully.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school environment is exceptionally calm, nurturing and focused. Pupils typically understand the school’s very high expectations for behaviour and embrace the values- based rewards system. Pupils feel safe, attend regularly and know that there is someone available to talk to if they have any concerns. A dedicated, highly effective well-being team assists pupils in developing social and communication skills extensively, supporting them to be ready to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Learning extends comprehensively beyond academics. Personal development is woven throughout everything the school does. An array of trips, clubs, visits and experiences enrich pupils’ learning deliberately. The school ensures pupils acquire important knowledge about consent, relationships and online safety deeply. Pupils develop highly respectful attitudes towards differences and cultivate a growing understanding of democracy and the rule of law. 11 and 12 March 2025

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

The school has highly effective systems in place to identify and continually review pupils’ needs. This includes ongoing holistic assessment of pupils’ individual barriers to learning, academic abilities, well-being, and social and emotional development. This ensures staff have a rich understanding of each pupil and their specific needs. They use this information exceptionally well to tailor provision for each individual.

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

The school’s ambitious curriculum has been organised meticulously to ensure precise components of knowledge are taught in a logical order. This supports teachers in knowing exactly what to teach and when. This exceptionally coherent curriculum allows staff to evaluate precisely what knowledge pupils do and do not know and what they remember from their learning. The school uses this to ensure pupils work towards qualifications and accreditations that are both ambitious and tailored to their individual starting points. As a result, all pupils are supported to succeed and go on to achieve highly.

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

Teachers explain new learning confidently. They tailor their communication style very skilfully and adapt activities adeptly to help pupils to learn. They make exceptional use of resources to help pupils understand new knowledge deeply. As a result, pupils learn the curriculum rapidly and well.

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

The school prioritises the development of pupils’ language and communication to great effect. Pupils read to adults every day, which helps them to develop rapidly increasing confidence and fluency. For pupils at an earlier stage of learning to read, the school ensures they benefit from highly personalised lessons and interventions that provide them with the phonic knowledge they need to read with increasing accuracy. However, despite the many strengths in provision, occasionally some staff do not implement the school’s approaches to early reading consistently. Furthermore, the school does not always make the best use of the assessment information available to target learning at gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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

Pupil behaviour is exemplary. They apply the school’s eight ‘virtues’, such as resilience, organisation and tolerance. These values are used consistently throughout the school to promote positive behaviour. Staff use their rich understanding of pupils’ needs to adapt their interactions with pupils expertly and support them proactively in a non- confrontational manner. As a result, learning is very rarely interrupted.

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

Pupils attend school very regularly. They want to be in school. Staff work positively with pupils, parents, carers and outside agencies to ensure pupils get the support they need to attend school and be ready to learn.

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

Governors evaluate the school very accurately and provide effective support and challenge. Leaders act decisively to maintain and improve standards across the school. Staff are exceptionally well supported through training and the inclusive culture, which helps them feel valued. 11 and 12 March 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, some staff do not apply the school’s approaches to teaching early reading consistently. This slows some pupils’ learning of phonics. The school should ensure that all staff have the knowledge and confidence to apply the early reading framework as the school intends.

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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 outstanding 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.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judge the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in February 2020.

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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. 11 and 12 March 2025

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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). 11 and 12 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 and 26 February 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides education for pupils with education, health and care plans who are placed by the local authority. All have SEND. Although the school’s designation is for pupils with autism spectrum disorders and moderate learning difficulties, this academic year, pupils with more complex learning needs have joined the school.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provision.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation of 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 the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 11 and 12 March 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, subject leaders, teachers and support staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the governing body and spoke to a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils. They considered the responses to Ofsted’s online parent survey, Ofsted Parent View.  Inspectors spoke to pupils throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

James Stuart, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alan Johnson Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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