St Mary’s Endowed Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School in Roughton, Norfolk, has been recognized for its overall effectiveness as a good school. The headteacher has fostered a strong and harmonious community where pupils are taught to understand and respect one another. The staff is dedicated to creating an environment where each child is valued as an individual. The leadership has successfully improved the quality of teaching, learning, and assessment, which are now rated as good. Collaboration with the local authority has facilitated necessary changes, and staff utilize their knowledge of pupils to provide appropriately challenging learning experiences and timely interventions, enabling students to achieve high standards.
Pupils generally make good progress in reading, writing, and mathematics across key stages one and two, with notable improvements in Year 6 this academic year. The early years provision offers a rich learning environment, ensuring children receive a solid foundation for their education. The behavior of pupils is commendable; they are welcoming to newcomers and demonstrate a strong sense of right and wrong, rejecting any form of discrimination. Parents and carers express satisfaction with the quality of education, appreciating the community feel and individualized support provided to each child.
The school emphasizes cultural experiences, and pupils are well-informed about global issues. However, a small number of children have persistent absence, which the school is actively working to address. Pupils have access to various extracurricular activities, and health is prioritized, with initiatives like regular skipping sessions at the start of the school day. Although funding from the physical education and sport premium has been allocated, it has not yet been fully utilized to enhance active learning.
To further improve, the school aims to develop teaching and learning strategies to ensure a greater proportion of pupils achieve the high standards they are capable of. This includes enhancing pupils' ability to reason in mathematics and boosting teacher confidence in planning effective learning steps for all students. Additionally, the leadership and management quality can be improved by ensuring governors take a more strategic role in school improvement and fully utilizing the physical education and sport premium.
Governance is effective, with governors acknowledging past shortcomings in strategic challenge but now actively engaging in school improvement. They are involved in budget monitoring and are increasingly evaluating the impact of pupil premium and physical education funding. Regular visits to the school allow governors to understand the staff and pupils better, and they fulfill their safeguarding responsibilities.
The safeguarding arrangements are robust, creating a strong culture of safety within the school. Staff are trained to recognize potential risks, and parents feel confident that their children are safe. While some concerns about bullying were raised, the school effectively addresses any incidents that arise. The quality of teaching, learning, and assessment has improved significantly, with teachers providing immediate feedback and support to ensure steady progress. High expectations are evident in pupils' work, and they are encouraged to engage in reading across the curriculum.
Pupils demonstrate good progress across the curriculum, with many achieving expected standards in reading, writing, and mathematics. The school has taken decisive action to address past performance issues, and the current leadership is focused on raising expectations. The early years provision is well-led, with improvements leading to good progress for children, particularly in language development. Overall, St Mary’s is a school that prioritizes the well-being and academic success of its pupils, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment.
