St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa

Inspection of St Mary’s Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa Clifford Road, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire LS23 6DB

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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 Requires improvement 24 and 25 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school at the heart of its community where pupils flourish. Pupils understand and model the school’s values of care, compassion, courage and showing they care extremely well. They are kind and polite. The school does all it can to ensure pupils attend regularly and on time. The vast majority do. Pupils enjoy attending. The school fosters strong engagement with parents and carers by ensuring that leaders and staff are approachable. Parents are very positive about the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. Since the last inspection, the school has experienced a period of turbulence, including significant changes to staffing. The school has managed this process well and is now bringing important improvements to the content of the curriculum and how well staff teach this. However, these developments are not yet reflected in pupils’ achievements in key stage 2 published outcomes from national assessments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm and orderly. Staff consistently provide clear routines and apply the school’s behaviour expectations. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive timely, considerate and effective support. Pupils who find it tricky to manage their behaviour get thoughtful support and the strategies they need to succeed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that school is ‘an interesting, fun place to be.’ They proudly take on responsibilities in school, such as being eco-monitors, play leaders, lunchtime buddies, school councillors and collective worship leaders. Pupils value and use the ‘worry boxes’ to share any concerns. They feel happy and safe.

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

The school has rightly focused on the design and implementation of the curriculum. Across subjects, it has identified the knowledge pupils need to learn, starting from the early years. The school has carefully considered how pupils in mixed-age classes build their knowledge in a logical order. This ensures that staff are clear what to teach and when. Teachers are secure in delivering appropriate lessons and presenting new information clearly. For example, in science, learning is well structured to ensure that pupils build on their knowledge effectively. Pupils with SEND receive expert support and clear adaptations to lessons and activities.

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

There is some variation in how well teaching checks pupils’ understanding. In reading and mathematics, teachers use checks well to gauge pupils’ understanding and where gaps in knowledge need to be addressed. Teachers then use the information to secure and extend learning. However, this is not the case in all subjects. The checks that the teachers make in some wider curriculum subjects are less effective. Where this is the case, pupils’ learning is less secure, and the school is less clear on what pupils know and remember. 24 and 25 June 2025

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The school is successful in its aim for all pupils to love reading and to read well. From the start of Reception, children develop a love of literature through listening to high-quality stories and rhymes. Early reading and phonics are a strength in the school. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to model new sounds effectively. They regularly check how well pupils understand their learning. If pupils fall behind, the school provides extra support to help them catch up. This is highly effective. Pupils read books that are closely matched to the phonics sounds they know. As a result, they rapidly become confident and fluent readers.

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Children make a positive start in the early years. Staff model kind relationships. They celebrate achievements and support individual children appropriately. Children focus and engage in their learning purposefully. They respond well to activities across all areas of learning. For example, children enthusiastically work together to dress up and perform a play linked to their topic.

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The school provides pupils with a wide range of opportunities to support their personal development. Pupils appreciate and enjoy the clubs on offer, such as Arabic, crafts and choir. They also value the opportunities to explore and study in the well-developed outdoor learning on site. Pupils have a firm understanding of fundamental British values and know how to stay safe online. They talk in depth about religions, tolerance and diversity. Pupils learn about healthy relationships. As a result, pupils develop a clear understanding of respect, boundaries and positive communication.

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All leaders, including governors, are determined to continue to improve the school. Governors know the school very well. They have a clear understanding of their role and employ a range of carefully thought through strategies to hold the school to account effectively. In addition, the diocese and the local authority provide highly effective support and challenge. The school is now moving forward at pace. Staff value support from leaders to reduce workload and improve their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

■ In some areas of the wider curriculum, the checks on pupils’ understanding are not as effective as in other subjects. Where this is the case, pupils’ learning is less secure, and they are less ready to learn new ideas. In addition, the school is less able to evaluate the impact of the curriculum or identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge in these areas. The school should develop the expertise of staff in checking pupils’ understanding to improve their learning, particularly in wider curriculum subjects, and to better understand the impact of the curriculum. 24 and 25 June 2025

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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). 24 and 25 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 1 and 2 November 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

■ The school has a religious character. It is a Church of England school in the Diocese of York. It was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in June 2025. ■ The headteacher took on the substantive headship role in March 2024. She was previously deputy headteacher at the school. ■ The school currently uses one unregistered alternative provider.

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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 provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 24 and 25 June 2025

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■ Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. ■ Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. ■ Inspectors met with school leaders as well as representatives from the local authority and governing body and a school improvement adviser engaged by the local authority. ■ Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history.For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about 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 also listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult. ■ Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects. ■ To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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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’ interest first. ■ The inspectors reviewed a range of other school documentation and policies, including minutes of local governing board minutes, the school self-evaluation, the school development plan and external visit notes. ■ To gather views, inspectors spent time observing and speaking to pupils. ■ Inspectors took account of responses to the staff and pupil surveys, as well as the parent survey, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Rachael Macleod, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Suzette Garland-Grimes Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 June 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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