Our School

An environment for learning.
At St. Mark’s we strive to provide a happy, caring, challenging and secure environment where every child will enjoy school work and feel a sense of achievement. We value each child’s achievements and these are celebrated with the whole school. Good educational practice acknowledges the wholeness of the child; the sensitive nurturing of a spiritual and moral frame work for life is seen by us as an essential part of that unity. We aim to provide a curriculum which is broad and balanced and relevant to each child’s needs which is delivered through our Integrated Curriculum and follows the National Curriculum. We believe that a partnership between parents and school is vital in enabling each child to reach their potential. Homework and home learning projects play an important part in effective learning and we have a carefully graduated homework policy.    

Behaviour 
The school’s philosophy of upholding positive values and good behaviour is very important. Partnership with parents is essential in maintaining this. Our school ethos is led by our CIRCLE Values and we use these principles as a tool for discussion with out children if things go wrong. 

Your child’s progress
Your child’s progress at St. Mark’s is continually monitored and examples of work are collected throughout the academic year as evidence toward reading the age related expectation for their age. In the Summer Term you will receive a Record of Achievement/School report and twice yearly (Autumn and Spring) there is a formal opportunity to talk to your child’s teacher. In addition, at any time, parents are encouraged to discuss with the teacher any aspect of their child’s development. In line with National Curriculum requirements, children are assessed at the end of Key Stage 2 to indicate their progress and are compared with national averages.

Special Educational Needs
The expertise of your child’s teachers and the regular monitoring of your child’s progress will enable any special needs to be identified. This may be because your son or daughter is experiencing a problem which is making it difficult for him or her to make good progress, or because he or she has particular abilities which need to be stretched to a higher level. At St. Mark’s we are committed to identifying these needs at an early stage in your child’s school life. We will then discuss them with you and agree the best course of action.