Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy

Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils are happy, safe and attend well. Inspectors found strengths in behaviour and attitudes and personal development, with positive relationships, effective safeguarding and good support for pupils with SEND. Reading is a clear priority and pupils benefit from a broad curriculum and a wide range of wider-development opportunities. However, the quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision require improvement. In some subjects, the curriculum does not set out clearly what pupils should learn and when, and assessment is not used precisely enough to identify and close gaps. Early years practice is uneven, particularly in adult interactions that support communication and language, and the behaviour policy is not applied consistently by all staff. The school is part of Wessex Learning Trust and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The headteacher was not on site during the inspection and an interim executive headteacher had recently started. Inspectors concluded that the school's high ambitions are not yet fully realised and that pupils are not consistently prepared for the next stage of their education.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive school where pupils are happy and feel safe
• Pupils behave well around the school site and attend well
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff
• Pupils take on leadership roles and contribute to the school community
• Personal development is supported well through a range of experiences and clubs
• Reading is a priority and pupils receive timely help if they fall behind
• Pupils with SEND are supported well and included in school life
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff feel valued and supported with workload and well-being

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum is not sufficiently sequenced in some subjects, leaving gaps in pupils' knowledge
• Assessment is not used precisely enough to check what pupils know and remember
• Early years staff interactions are not consistently high quality, particularly for communication and language
• The behaviour policy is not applied routinely by all staff
• A small minority of pupils can disrupt learning
• Pupils are not fully prepared for the next stage of their education

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 Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.9% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy 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 Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy had 25.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.3% 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, 8.9% of pupils at Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 2024–25 Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy received £7,706 and spent £7,712 for each of its 143 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £119,000 (£835 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of Wessex Learning Trust, income was £7,524 and spending £7,371 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Highbridge · Somerset local authority: places and applications

Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy is part of Wessex Learning Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Brent Knoll Church of England Primary School Highbridge
• East Brent Church of England First School Highbridge
• Hugh Sexey Church of England Middle School Wedmore
• Wedmore First School Academy Wedmore
• Lympsham Church of England Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Weare Academy First School Axbridge
• Axbridge Church of England First School Academy Axbridge
• The Kings of Wessex Academy Cheddar
• Cheddar First School Cheddar
• Fairlands Middle School Cheddar

What is Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy have?

Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy has 158 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy cover?

Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy for pupils aged 2 to 9.

Where is Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy?

Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy is at The Causeway, Mark, Highbridge, Somerset, TA9 4QA.