SIAMS Inspection Report
October 2024
Vision
Where Courage Meets Grace
At St Mark’s, our vision is a vibrant community where children are empowered to embrace courage and grace as foundational pillars of their character and growth.
Anchored in our Christian faith, we nurture young hearts and minds with the knowledge and values to navigate challenges with confidence and resilience, while fostering a spirit of compassion, acceptance and understanding.
Our dedicated staff and supportive community ensure that each child is valued individually, and flourishes academically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally—preparing them to thrive in an ever-changing world.
Strengths
• The school is confident and courageous in refreshing its Christian vision. Leaders, including governors, make decisions which clearly demonstrate courage with grace, which are driving positive action within school.
• The curriculum is designed so that all pupils can access learning both in and outside of the classroom. This enables pupils to develop a love and appreciation of the natural world. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and vulnerable pupils receive bespoke support which enables them to flourish.
• Collective worship is central to life at St Mark’s. It is wholly inclusive, enabling pupils and adults to flourish spiritually. It offers a time in the day for coming together and an opportunity to ‘stop, reflect and think’. It inspires both pupils and adults to consider how the theme relates to them personally.
• Leaders have created a culture of kindness, where people are treated well. Reflecting the school’s vision ‘where courage meets grace’, leaders’ actions are having a transformational effect on pupils’ and adults’ lives.
• Strong leadership of religious education (RE) ensures that the curriculum meets the needs of all pupils and supports teachers, so they teach well. Consequently, pupils enjoy and value their learning in RE.
Development Points
• Build on the work already started with the diocese to develop a whole school understanding of spirituality. This is so that pupils, as well as adults, can articulate their own spiritual development.
• Establish consistent opportunities for pupil led engagement in social action across the school. This means that pupils develop their own projects to challenge injustice. They can therefore articulate how and why they make a difference to the world around them.
Inspection Findings
St. Mark’s is a joyful place. Soaring on the wings of their previous vision and emboldened by the new, this school is forward looking. Leaders, governors and staff have worked together to develop their recent and biblically rooted vision. This ensures a palpable sense of clarity and direction for this vibrant school community. Leaders, including governors, take courageous child-centred decisions. The vision-infused value of grace is clearly visible in daily interactions between staff and pupils. This means that acceptance and understanding underpin relationships throughout. As a result, pupils and adults flourish both academically and spiritually, embracing wholeheartedly the surrounding natural beauty of their setting.
This is an inclusive school. The needs of the vulnerable are prioritised. As a result, pupils and parents feel valued and nurtured. Every effort is made to remove barriers to learning for pupils with SEND. A carefully crafted curriculum engages pupils. There is a strong focus on outdoor learning. Younger pupils enthuse about the nature they have discovered in their ‘Hidden Haven’ at the back of the field. Pupils appreciate their school grounds and therefore have a deep connection to the natural world around them. Planned opportunities for critical thinking and reflection enable pupils to be open- minded and thoughtful learners. Pupils relish the moments within lessons when they can ponder deep questions. Meeting courage with grace, teachers encourage pupils to be brave and resilient in their learning. Following recent work with the diocese, staff and governors are developing a shared understanding of spirituality. Although they clearly experience a sense of the spiritual, most pupils are unable to articulate this.
Collective worship is a daily part of school life. Pupils and staff cherish this special time to come together. It provides shared moments of peace and connection. Pupils talk enthusiastically about acting out stories and singing together. Worship is carefully planned by the headteacher, together with the local vicar and youth workers from another church close by. This gives pupils a rich spiritual diet. This is further enhanced by the local ‘Open the Book’ team, who bring Bible stories to life each week. A half termly Christian value is the focus for each act of daily worship. The current theme of compassion is evident beyond the confines of the worship itself. Pupils demonstrate it in the classroom and the playground. They search for it in others and then nominate them for a much coveted ‘Values Award’. This in turn further reinforces the understanding and importance of compassion within the school community. Nominated pupils are proud to belong to the well-established collective worship club. They support staff in planning and delivering special services in church. Pupils speak eloquently about the impact of this role on their confidence. Parents appreciate occasions when they can join with the school in prayer both in the church and in school. Governors are involved in the evaluation and planning of worship. The spiritual life of the school is a key agenda item at their meetings. This ensures that worship remains relevant and engaging for the school community.
St. Mark’s is an outward facing school. Local partnerships such as the Kendal Collaborative Partnership and the Morecambe Bay Eden Project provide valuable curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for pupils. Curriculum links encourage pupils to consider issues affecting the wider world. Through concern for the environment, pupils in Year 6 have taken direct action. For example, they have written to local companies regarding their use of plastic straws. Year 6 run a Macmillan coffee morning each year. Pupils care deeply and embrace the chance to act with courage and grace within their school. The school council has an active voice. It feeds into strategic decisions taken by leaders. The timing of collective worship has been changed as a direct result of discussion with the school council. Pupils run lunchtime clubs to support the flourishing of some younger pupils, who struggle to join in with their peers. Bus monitors escort the younger pupils safely to the school bus each day. As a school community, regular fundraising helps many charities across the year. Harvest donations support those in need, through a local foodbank. There are however no consistent opportunities for pupils to take a lead in social action. This means they have a limited understanding of justice and responsibility for their wider world.
RE is a strength at St. Mark’s. Pupils enjoy their learning and appreciate the importance of having a strong knowledge and understanding about religious and non-religious world views. The curriculum is enriched by excellent partnerships with local churches and religious communities. World religion days take place throughout the year to build on the curriculum, enabling pupils to make links between religions. The RE curriculum is enquiry based and encourages pupils to reflect on and to ask ‘big questions’. Pupils have a good knowledge of Christianity and understand that it is a global faith. Pupils know many Bible stories. They talk with understanding about the difference between the Old and New Testaments. Standards and progress in RE are good as a result of strong subject leadership. Staff are well supported by school and diocese. As a result they are knowledgeable and confident in their RE teaching. Termly monitoring by the RE lead and the governing body ensures that teaching is good. Any gaps are swiftly addressed.
The school’s vision ensures that pupils and adults are treated well at St. Mark’s. Leaders are absolutely committed to maintaining a culture of compassion, acceptance and understanding. This extends to parents, who feel safe to approach the school for help and support. Pupils new to the school settle in quickly. House groups and play leaders are just a few of the many opportunities for older pupils to support younger pupils. This fosters a real sense of community spirit within school. Adults value the courage of leaders to tackle difficult situations with grace and compassion. This has led to reduction in workload for staff and a commitment to financial investment to support pupils with SEND. An emotional literacy support assistant is available two afternoons a week to help pupils struggling with social or emotional difficulties. Resources to support emotional regulation have been allocated to each class. These help pupils to recognise their own emotions and reinforces effective strategies to cope with strong emotions. An emphasis on praise and reward encourages pupils to behave well. Forgiveness sits at the heart of a clear behaviour policy, which is understood and consistently applied. Staff talk of this as a ‘clean slate policy’ and relate it directly back to their vision-led outworking of grace. St. Mark’s is a community where pupils and adults are equipped to thrive.