The Marist is a happy school. Pupils are kind and respectful to each other and to adults. As one pupil said, ‘Making friends is easy in this school.’ They enjoy coming to school and feel safe. Pupils know that adults will always listen to any worries they may have. This includes any incidents of bullying, which pupils say are rare. Pupils flourish in their learning. They know that teachers have high expectations of them and they rise to the challenge. Pupils behave well in lessons. They listen, are attentive to their teachers and ready to answer questions and work hard. There are many opportunities for pupils to take on roles of responsibility, which they relish. Members of the pupil voice team talk of their pride in being the ‘voice for their class’. Year 2 pupils love having the opportunity of reading to their Year 6 buddies. Many parents and carers are very appreciative of how the school works hard, not just for their children to succeed academically, but also for their well-being. As one parent commented: ‘The school and staff have exceeded all our expectations. They go above and beyond. The level of teaching and care is second to none.’ What does the school do well and what does it need to do better? Leaders, staff and the Xavier Trust are ambitious for the school. They have high aspirations for pupils to do well. Reading is a high priority and is at the heart of the curriculum. Leaders have ensured that all staff are well trained to expertly teach early reading. Teachers follow the phonics programme closely. Children learn phonics from the start of Reception. They read books that match the sounds they know. This helps to build their confidence and accuracy. Struggling readers, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are given the support they need. This includes routinely reading aloud to adults in school. Staff also read books to pupils to extend their vocabulary. All in all, pupils get off to a good start so that they become confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers, with the reading skills they need to learn in other subjects. Mathematics is a strength of the school. Pupils learn well because teachers plan a series of lessons that build on what pupils know and understand. All pupils, including the youngest children, revisit and practise previous learning by completing ‘flash back 4’ tasks. Staff help pupils to improve their accuracy in recalling number facts. They also encourage pupils to use the correct vocabulary to explain their thinking. This helps pupils to confidently solve reasoning problems. Leaders have designed a curriculum which is broad and covers the full range of subjects in the national curriculum. Subject leaders have developed the sequence of knowledge in each subject. This enables teachers to check and build precisely on what pupils have learned before and prepare them for what comes next. In turn, this helps pupils to revisit and refresh their knowledge and then move forward, building on what they already know. Some Year 4 pupils, for example, spoke enthusiastically to the inspector about their recent ‘Roman’ day and linked it back to learning about the Egyptians, when in Year 3. Teachers use the same approach of building on and linking learning in all subjects. The curriculum for the youngest children in Reception is similarly well sequenced. In reading and mathematics, pupils with SEND have their needs met well. However, in other subjects, the tasks are not adapted well enough to support them to develop their knowledge and to learn alongside their classmates. As a result, pupils with SEND are not always able to learn as well as they could. Leaders place a strong emphasis on building pupils’ ambition for the future. They invite a variety of professions to broaden pupils’ horizons. Pupils have enjoyed working with artists, historians, scientists, mathematicians and employers. Leaders are also determined that pupils will become respectful citizens. Pupils develop their understanding of different cultures during the international week. Pupils are enthusiastic about the opportunities they have to choose from the wide variety of clubs available to them. One of the pupil voice team said: ‘There is something for everyone to go to.’ Staff are appreciative of the support leaders give them, especially for their well-being. Leaders make deliberate decisions to ensure that any changes to workload make a difference for pupils.