St Mark's CofE Primary School

St Mark’s CofE Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils behave well and personal development is a clear strength. This was its first section 5 inspection, and it comes after a period of turbulence. New school and trust leaders have raised aspirations and begun rapid improvements, but these are only just starting to affect pupils’ learning. The school serves a highly diverse community, with many pupils speaking English as an additional language, a significant number of families new to the country, and high pupil mobility. The curriculum has been refined and is more logically sequenced, and phonics is a notable success: the scheme is delivered as intended and pupils who need help receive well-matched support. Attendance has improved and is now within national expectations, pupils with SEND are identified early, and children get a good start in early years. Safeguarding is effective, and staff are positive about workload and well-being. However, the quality of education requires improvement because staff are not yet skilled enough to deliver the intended curriculum, assessment is inconsistent, and subject leaders do not have an accurate overview of their subjects. Early years curriculum thinking is not fully aligned in some subjects, which weakens progression into key stage 1. Leadership and management also require improvement. The school needs to provide training and support so staff can deliver the curriculum well, strengthen assessment practice, help subject leaders monitor and improve their subjects, and ensure early years content is fully considered across all subjects. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision are good, and the school’s caring, values-led culture is a strong foundation for the work ahead.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well and lessons are calm with little disruption
• Personal development is a strength, with pupils understanding the school’s values
• Pupils are welcoming and inclusive, especially to new arrivals
• Phonics is delivered effectively and books match pupils’ sounds
• Attendance has improved and is now within national expectations
• Pupils with SEND are identified early and supported alongside peers
• Children get a good start in early years with a focus on language and vocabulary
• Staff are positive about workload and well-being
• The curriculum has been refined and is more logically sequenced
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff are not skilled enough to deliver the intended curriculum
• Assessment is inconsistent, so gaps in pupils’ learning are not addressed
• Subject leaders do not yet have an accurate overview of their subjects
• Early years curriculum thinking is not fully considered in some subjects
• Pupils do not learn as well as they should across the curriculum and in national assessments
• Leadership and management require improvement
• Improvements are only just starting to affect pupils’ learning

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 St Mark's CofE Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.6% 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, 0.4% of pupils at St Mark's CofE 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 St Mark's CofE Primary School had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.1% 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, 10.7% of pupils at St Mark's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 St Mark's CofE Primary School received £7,090 and spent £7,370 for each of its 458 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £227,000 (£495 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Orchard Community Trust, income was £9,998 and spending £10,363 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 Stoke-On-Trent · Stoke-on-Trent local authority: places and applications

St Mark's CofE Primary School is part of Orchard Community Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Etruscan Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Forest Park Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Abbey Hulton Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Oakhill Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Kemball School Stoke-On-Trent
• Watermill School Stoke-On-Trent

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mark's CofE Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Mark's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mark's CofE Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Mark's CofE Primary School have?

St Mark's CofE Primary School has 449 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mark's CofE Primary School cover?

St Mark's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mark's CofE Primary School?

St Mark's CofE Primary School is at Wood Terrace, Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 4LR.