Highcliffe St Mark Primary School

Highcliffe St Mark Primary School is currently rated as requiring improvement in overall effectiveness and several key areas, reflecting a transitional phase in its educational quality. The school has made recent efforts to raise expectations and improve educational outcomes, but these changes are still in the early stages and need more time to take full effect. While pupils exhibit positive behavior and contribute actively to school life, there are gaps in their subject knowledge, particularly due to recent curriculum changes that have not yet solidified in teaching practices.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate good behavior and attitudes towards learning.
• The school provides a wide range of extracurricular opportunities for all students.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has improved significantly.
• Children in the Reception Year develop their independence and communication skills well.
• Pupils engage in meaningful roles, such as house captains and contributors to the school newspaper.

Areas for Improvement

• Many teachers lack the subject knowledge necessary to effectively teach the new curriculum.
• Assessment practices are inconsistent, leading to gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• The school's oversight of curriculum implementation and its impact on learning is still developing.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Highcliffe St Mark Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.7% of pupils at Highcliffe St Mark Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Highcliffe St Mark Primary School had 24.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 6.6% of pupils at Highcliffe St Mark Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Highcliffe St Mark Primary School received £5,925 and spent £6,136 for each of its 638 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £78,000 (£122 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Christchurch · Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local authority: places and applications

What is Highcliffe St Mark Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Highcliffe St Mark Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Highcliffe St Mark Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Highcliffe St Mark Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Highcliffe St Mark Primary School have?

Highcliffe St Mark Primary School has 651 pupils on roll.

What age range does Highcliffe St Mark Primary School cover?

Highcliffe St Mark Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Highcliffe St Mark Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Highcliffe St Mark Primary School?

Highcliffe St Mark Primary School is at Greenways, Highcliffe, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 5AZ.