The inspection was carried out at the end of September and this final report was published on the Ofsted website earlier this week.
Mr Barfoot, the school's headmaster, writes: We are very proud of the good things the inspectors have to say about St Mark’s. We are particularly pleased with the recognition given in this report to the care, guidance and support given to pupils through the work of the SENCo and our dedicated team of teaching assistants. This aspect has been judged as outstanding.
We have had a few years of quite challenging groups of pupils in Year 6. This has had a significant effect on our attainment and the results that are used to judge the school. In discussing this with the inspectors it was agreed that the high levels of pupils coming into the school during Key Stage 2 in the past has had a significant impact. Despite this the progress that pupils make in their time at St Mark’s is very good. The vast majority of teaching was judged as either good or outstanding and the most recent results, along with our predictions for the coming years, suggest that we are set for a number of years of above average results in reading, writing and maths.
The other areas that were judged as outstanding were:
· the way in which we have created effective partnerships with outside agencies, other schools and people who can support our work in school
· the way in which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles
It is gratifying that the hard work of all the staff, the dedication and support of the Governing Body, the positive encouragement of parents and the enthusiasm for learning of all the pupils are all recognised in the report.
Click on St. Mark's School, Natland, Ofsted Report, for the full report.
Click on St. Mark's School, Natland, Ofsted Report, for the full report.