Marlborough School

Marlborough School

Address: Ferndale Road, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 4HU Unique reference number (URN): 111978

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders are highly knowledgeable about the early years. They are committed to giving children the best start to their education. Leaders are relentless in the designing, adapting, assessing and reviewing of children’s learning and development to ensure that children get exactly what they need. This is particularly so for the children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who may face barriers to learning and development as a result of other vulnerabilities they face. It ensures that the Reception Class is a space where children are curious, imaginative and fully absorbed in their learning.

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Early years Strong standard

Children benefit from skilled teacher-led input and well-considered learning activities to practise and consolidate their learning across the 7 areas of learning. High-quality interactions between staff and children are an integral part of the early years offer. It fosters ambitious and adventurous language use and vocabulary development. The learning environment, including the outside space maximises on children's learning and development opportunities at every point in the school day.

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Early years Strong standard

Transition, both as children move into the Reception Class and as children move into Year 1, is carefully considered and comprehensive. Parents and carers are fully involved in their child’s journey through meetings, home visits and transition events. All of which serve to ensure that children are prepared well for learning in key stage 1 and beyond.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders, and staff, demonstrate a clear and consistent commitment to fostering a highly inclusive culture. The school actively celebrates and involves its wider community. This helps create a welcoming environment where pupils feel valued and respected. Leaders secure appropriate advice, guidance and support from external professionals. This increases their ability to help pupils flourish in school. Where alternative provision is found to be beneficial, leaders ensure that this is a successful part of a pupil's education offer.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders identify pupils’ needs at the earliest possible opportunity. This begins with effective working with children’s early years settings, and children’s families before they start school. Leaders use this insight to provide carefully tailored support, as and when it is needed, that addresses barriers to learning effectively.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff benefit from a range of professional learning opportunities. It supports them to skilfully adapt their teaching and pastoral approaches to meet individual needs. This enables all pupils, but particularly those who face barriers to learning and development, to thrive and achieve success. Pupils respond positively as they recognise that staff genuinely care about their wellbeing and academic success.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders ensure that pupil premium funding is used strategically and effectively. It is used to raise achievement, improve attendance and ensure disadvantaged pupils benefit from a rich set of opportunities and experiences.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The offer to develop Marlborough pupils beyond the classroom and in their personal, social and emotional endeavours is impressive. It combines an extensive range of opportunities and experiences. These include extra-curricular clubs, trips out, visitors in as well as musical and sporting events, building towards the ‘42 things to do before leaving Year 6’. This is in addition to the comprehensive, deliberate and cohesive personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. Leaders ensure that the personal development offer is tracked and targeted. This is so that it makes the precise difference it needs to for each individual, whatever their lived experiences and barriers.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school parliament is highly effective. It secures pupil voice and ensures it has an ongoing impact on school development, while developing a full awareness of fundamental British values. In addition to parliament, older pupils hold roles of responsibilities, ambassadors, which have clear role expectations and encourage positive character building to become inspiring role models for younger pupils. These help to embed the school’s positive culture for behaviour, tolerance and respect.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils speak with clear insight into sensitive aspects of personal development and the PSHE curriculum. They demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the importance of treating everyone with equality and dignity. Pupils speak with maturity around relationships, families, online and offline risks and maintaining physical and mental health. Pupils have a clear understanding about issues such as consent, harassment and identity. Pupils learn about what impact they can have on the world around them, in and beyond their local community. The personal development programme is skilfully interlinked, honing pupils’ confidence, resilience, understanding, respect, independence and readiness for their next stage of education. Importantly, pupils build high aspirations for where their future may take them.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils achieve and progress well through the curriculum from their starting points. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged. Staff ensure that pupils secure the important early skills they need in reading, writing and mathematics. Children in the early years rapidly gain confidence in using phonics to accurately read and write sentences. Pupils develop fluency in multiplication by the end of Year 4. By the end of Year 6, pupils are prepared well with important foundational knowledge for starting secondary school.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils recall key learning across a range of subjects. They do so with enthusiasm and a love of learning. Pupils take pride in the learning they record in their books and, as pupils move through the school, this increases in quality.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils want to be in school because of leaders and staff efforts to provide an exciting and engaging education offer. Pupil attendance is above national average, including for disadvantaged pupils. This shows the impact of leaders’ and staff’s ability to adapt and work sensitively with pupils and their families, where needed, to ensure pupils attend highly. Similarly, persistent absence has reduced and is below national averages as a result of the school's well-considered actions. Leaders pay close attention to pupils’ attendance. They monitor and check on attendance closely. They work closely with families to help them understand the impact of low attendance and occasional absence.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils behave well. They demonstrate positive attitudes towards school and learning. Staff have high expectations, which pupils respond to well. Pupils understand and follow the Marlborough Manners, the school’s rules and routines. The caring and respectful school community is one the staff, pupils, parents and carers are rightly proud of. Pupils support and encourage each other to be the best versions of themselves. They appreciate how staff help them to do this as well as manage their behaviour and anxiety, where this is necessary. Pupils have confidence in staff to deal with any incidents where behaviour falls below well- understood expectations, including bullying, promptly and effectively. They trust staff to take concerns seriously.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Marlborough’s ambitious curriculum is coherently sequenced and appropriately structured. It enables pupils to build knowledge and skills progressively across year groups. This journey begins in the early years and weaves through to Year 6. The curriculum sets out clearly what pupils need to know in each subject and year group. Where needed, teachers adapt their teaching, for example to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring that they can work successfully alongside their peers. Leaders maintain appropriate oversight of this, ensuring they can strengthen and develop teaching and the curriculum when needed.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

In mathematics, reading and phonics, teaching is targeted to pupils’ starting points. Regular practice is prioritised, enabling pupils to keep up and catch up as needed. There is sufficient focus on the teaching of these important foundational skills to enable pupils to develop what they need to learn successfully across the curriculum.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Across the wider curriculum, pupils build rich knowledge through effective teaching, secure subject knowledge and teachers’ skill to identify and address gaps and starting points accurately. However, some pupils do not demonstrate enough security and recall of subject- specific knowledge. It means that they are not as prepared as they could be for moving onto the rigour of secondary school learning beyond English and mathematics.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders, including governors, and staff are dedicated in their commitment to ensuring that Marlborough School offers a well-rounded education so that pupils can be the best versions of themselves, academically and personally. This is especially evident in the highly inclusive school culture, the strong start that children make to their schooling in the early years and the diligence to pupils’ wider development in preparation for life beyond primary school. Parents and carers praise the same high standards and value how it sets their children up for their future.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders’ have high ambitions for Marlborough pupils to flourish during their time at the school. This is clearly evident through the design of the curriculum and the success of pupils’ achievements. The school community is the heart and soul of Marlborough School. Leaders, staff, pupils and parents work together to drive school improvement. This is accurately informed by leaders', including governors', knowledge of school priorities and areas requiring additional focus. The impact on attendance is a clear example of this more recently.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff, including those at the beginning of their careers, feel valued. They benefit from a well- informed programme for professional development and are proud to stay at the school. Staff, across all roles, recognise the attention leaders pay to managing and maintaining their workload and wellbeing, as they strive to increase a school-wide consistency and sustained impact across all aspects of the school’s offer. Governors know the school well and meet their statutory responsibilities. They provide consistently effective support and robust challenge to leaders.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy their learning and are enthusiastic about what being a pupil at Marlborough School offers them. Pupils attend highly. They come into school with a spring in their step, ready for what they day ahead holds.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

All pupils being included is at the heart of Marlborough School. It is underpinned by the school motto: ‘A rising tide lifts all ships’. Staff know pupils well. Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and caring. Older pupils are positive role models for younger pupils through their ambassador roles and the 'Packet Ship' groups. These important responsibilities develop character and confidence. There are opportunities for all pupils to contribute to the life of the school through a highly successful school parliament. Pupils gain a sense of belonging. They take pride in the difference they make in their school community.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils achieve well, typically securing standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are higher than their peers nationally. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning, development or wellbeing benefit from a highly inclusive culture. They get the right support at the right time, progressing well, academically, from their starting points. As a result, they are increasingly achieving in line with disadvantaged pupils nationally. A range of extra-curricular clubs, trips and residential visits further enhance pupils’ learning and broadens their experiences.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils feel safe in school. Bullying and unkind behaviour are rare. Pupils trust school staff to help them or their peers in these aspects, if required. Pupils show high levels of tolerance and respect for difference. Pupils recognise the importance of their own uniqueness and they value and respect this in each other. Playtimes are happy times to socialise and play with friends. The outdoor space provides pupils with opportunities to develop independence

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Team inspectors:

Sarah Ryder, Ofsted Inspector Julie Barton, Ofsted Inspector and hone their risk awareness. The ‘Marlborough Manners’ are well understood and demonstrated clearly across the school. Pupils gain a well-rounded academic and personal development education that prepares them well for life beyond primary school.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that the pupils' learning across the wider curriculum prepares them well for the rigour of the subject-specific secondary curriculum. Leaders should continue to develop and empower all staff to be fully consistent in their roles to drive improvements across the school, and sustain leaders’ ambitious vision, high expectations and approach to education for all pupils.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Adam Grice.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMI.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, the inclusion lead, staff and pupils during the inspection. In addition the lead inspector spoke with the local governing body, including the chair of governors and the school's appointed local authority effectiveness adviser.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school currently makes use of 2 alternative provisions, including 1 that is unregistered. The lead inspector spoke with the unregistered alternative provision as part of the inspection.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. National average: 26.3%

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2024/25 (final) 70% 62% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 80% 74% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2022/23 (final) S 59% S ‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 4.5% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.5% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 15.8% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 13.2% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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