Parents’ Information Evening:
Parents’ Information Evenings - this year:
Y7 Tutor Evening 2/10/25 5.00pm - 7.00pm
Y7 Parents’ Evening 1/7/26 4.00pm - 7pm
Y8 Parents’ Evening 4/12/25 4.00pm - 7.00pm
Y9 PIE Options 22/1/26 5.30 - 6.30pm
Y9 Parents’ Evening 5/2/26 4.00pm - 7.00pm
Y10 WEX 23/1/25 6.45 - 7.45pm TBC
Y10 Parents’ Evening 26/03/26 4.00pm - 7.00pm
Y10 Exams PIE 7/5/26 6.00 - 7.00pm
Y11 Exams PIE 9/10/25 6.30pm - 7.30pm
Y11 Parents’ Evening 8/1/26 4.00pm - 7.00pm
Ofsted
Progress 8 | |
2025 STM | +0.76 |
Position in MNSP | 1st |
Attainment 8 | |
Expected based on Student ability in Year 7 | 36.6 |
Actual value achieved | 44.9 |
Ofsted
Ofsted
Progress | Position in MNSP 2025 | ||||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
English Progress 8 | -0.65 | 0.39 | 0.41 | 0.6 | 2nd |
Maths Progress 8 | 0.18 | 0.40 | 0.61 | 0.7 | 1st |
Science Value Added | 0.46 | 0.64 | 1.00 | 1.1 | 1st |
Excellent Progress in English, Maths and Science
In total, 24.9% of all grades were grade 7 or above, across all subjects.
In total, 24.9% of all grades were grade 7 or above, across all subjects.
School Vision
Teaching Staff Appointments
Support Staff Appointments
Mr Keely
Assistant Headteacher
Pastoral Policy Update
Much bigger focus on rewards
House Points will be logged on Arbor
House points issued for demonstrating St Mark's values of Aspiration, Resilience and Community.
Rewards will come in many different ways
Rewards for reaching house point totals
School Rules
We want to keep sanctions at as low a level as possible, if you get a detention, please attend.
Attendance
Attendance has a big impact on achievement and progress as well as student well being
Punctuality
Uniform
Uniform
How does uniform impact results and progress?
Students who adhere to uniform expectations make better progress
Ignite Days
Ignite Day 1: We are St Mark’s - 04/9/25
Ignite Day 2: 27/11/25
Ignite Day 3: 29/06/26
Mrs Sayles
Assistant Headteacher
SENDCO
Mrs Sayles,
Assistant Headteacher
SENDCO
Learning support area, in the heart of the school.
SEN Provision
Meet the Team
Miss Bartlett
Autism Lead/ English Teacher
Alfie Robinson
Pastoral Support Worker
Miss Richards
SEMH Lead
The Retreat
Learning Support
Sensory Room
ELSA Room
Mr Barley
Assistant Headteacher
Curriculum
Science
My role - Mr Barley nbarley@stmarks.mnsp.org.uk
Curriculum booklets and the Website
Click
Here
For curriculum intent
Additional information
Term 1 clubs
- please sign up - our production this year will be “Into the Woods Jr”
Our school is the highest ranked in the trust and local area for Progress.
This is because of our wonderful team here ! Teaching staff, support staff, parents and students all pulling together and in the same direction.
We try to keep parents well informed and involved in their child’s learning. Here are some great ways to help our team effort!
Science
Homework is recorded in the planner, but you will also notice that work is set on google classroom to allow resources to be shared or linked.
Please take the time to look at your child’s google classroom to keep up to date with their homework, this is most effective when you do it together and make it a part of your routine.
Remember to reward effort, not just attainment!
Parental engagement through
Google Classrooms.
Students will access regular homework assignments
on Seneca, these will also be posted on google
classrooms. Year 11 students access their regular homework on Tassomai.
Students need to complete the assignment and also achieve a threshold percentage. Students need to repeat the assignment if their percentage is below the threshold. Because of this we usually set the assignment to run for a fortnight to allow for time to improve the work if needed.
Parents are invited to join the seneca group, where you can see the completion of assignments and accuracy.
Please ensure your 1st priority contact email is correct up to date on Arbor
Science Homework
Seneca
Tassomai
Students have regular assessments in Science, in some cases
There might be more than 1 assessment per term in KS3 science.
Each assessment comes with an Electronic Personalised Learning Checklist with revision links.
Year 10 and 11 also have a paper revision list and revision guide and are expected to use these in addition to the topic tests.
Science Assessments
Students final Tier of entry is ascertained through means-testing.
Year 11 students will need to complete their Weekly Tassomai homework for Science, every week. Tassomai parent reports will give you updates as to how students are getting on and what areas they are weakest in.
Extra past papers will be set regularly to help prep for the mocks and on the week these are due in your Tassomai will not be checked.
Students should complete these and then mark them in purple.
In term 1 this year students should be focusing on Chemistry revision for their Chemistry paper 1 Practice paper. (in 3 weeks time) The other topics for Revision at this time are Physics Paper 1 and Biology Paper 2 (Nov Mocks)
Revision lists are all available on google classroom
Please refer to Science revision letter sent to Y11 parents
Science Y11
Websites - links will also be added to google science classrooms
Good for revision and practice:
Seneca (senecalearning.com)
Youtube Cognito / Cognito Science (cognitoedu.org) - sign up for free
GCSE bitesize or KS3 bitesize - Science (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize)
AQA Combined science trilogy past papers (for Y10-11) (link here)
CGP revision guides (Books) - available from book retailers.
Interesting science:
Youtube “Veritasium” Chemistry World Youtube “Sixty Symbols”
Nasa website Youtube “Kurzgesagt” Phet simulator
BBC Science CERN Slo Mo Guys
Miss Boys
Assistant Headteacher
Teaching and Learning
English
Literacy at St Mark’s
School Vision
Why is reading important?
In a study in 2024, 1 in 4 children did not meet the expected reading age of 11 by the time they finished primary school.
Roughly 25% of 15 year olds have a reading age below 12.
A 2025 survey by the National Literacy Trust showed that only 35% of students enjoy reading, and only 1/5 read something daily in their free time.
This is the lowest in the last 20 years of the survey.
School Vision
Why is reading important?
In a 2024 study, 1 in 5 adults aged between 16-65 across the UK were reported to have a reading age below 10 years old and around 18% of adults score the lowest level of literacy.
This means they may not be able to understand household bills, food labels, payslips or transport timetables.
This is below the reading level required to access GCSEs (15 years and 8 months on average).
School Vision
Broadsheet = 14 years
Tabloid = 8 years
School Vision
Why is reading important?
Between the reading age of 7 - 9 students are still in the decoding phase.
They know about 3000 words by sight and 9000 words orally.
School Vision
Why is reading important?
During this stage, students often struggle with subtleties in language, they struggle with inference and synthasising the most important information.
If we don’t do something to help raise this, who will?
School Vision
How can we help remove this barrier?
Every Monday in tutor time.
Accelerated Reader Programme
School Vision
How can we help remove this barrier?
Tutors check students have their AR book and they are reading everyday and completing quizzes
Students read in tutor 3x per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Email signatures show everyone is a reader.
Interventions for students below their chronological reading age. Challenge vocabulary for those above chronological reading age.
Tutor group reading books so tutors can help with reading fluency and confidence
Word of the Week
School Vision
What can you do at home?
Encourage your child to read for 20 minutes every day.
Talk about what you’re reading.
Reading is not a punishment - it is a joy!
Use the reading lists on the school website to encourage a variety of books.
School Vision
What can you do at home?
The power of listening!
School Vision
Learning Journeys
School Vision
1. Do Now
2.Engage
4. Build
5. Apply
6 Review
St Mark’s Lesson Learning Cycle
Review and recap on today’s learning
Do Now
Recall prior learning - in silence
New Learning
Teacher leads new knowledge
Engage
LOs and Key Words
Build knowledge
Students work together or with teacher
Apply knowledge
Students work individually silence
Knowledge Check
Lesson Cycle
learning
Teacher
Student
Questioning for engagement
Direct instruction from the expert in the room
Modelling through
Active listening
Note taking
Ask clarifying questions
Circulate
Support / extend individuals
Interactive instruction through whole class questioning on mini-whiteboards
Partially completed examples
Feedback�(Praise, prompts, clues)
Evaluate under-
standing and�adjust
Ask and� answer questions
Complete some/all steps
Share understanding with peers
Seek feedback and make changes
Work
alone in
exercise book
Use notes / physical resources to complete tasks independently
Check answers and make corrections
Break problems into manageable steps
Prompt themselves
Learn
Build
Apply
Review
Apply
Build
Learn
Engage
Do it now
Key Words: lesson cycle, cognitive load.
School Vision
School Vision
English
What can you do at home?
Mrs Munn
Assistant Headteacher
Raising Standards
Maths
Mrs Munn, Assistant Headteacher
Parents’ Evenings
Reports
LTAs/WTGs/MRAs/Flightpaths
Maths
Parents’ Evenings
A letter has been sent to parents of students in each Year Group with the dates of reports and Parents Evenings.
Developing - students are working towards age related expectations
Reaching - students are meeting age related expectations
Mastering - students are exceeding age related expectations
KS3 Flight Paths in Books
Reports
WTG means Working Towards Grade as determined following the latest assessment
Reports KS3
Reports KS4
What do I do with the Data?
KS3
What do I do with the Data?
KS4
Maths in the MNSP
Schools in the MNSP follow the same Scheme of Learning in Maths and set the same homework tasks and assessments.
A website has been set up to support students with their learning in Maths called the MET site.
Google MNSP MET
Maths in the MNSP
Maths in the MNSP
The curriculum
Maths in the MNSP
Maths in the MNSP
Maths in the MNSP
Homework
Maths in the MNSP
Homework
Shared Parental Support Sessions:
25th September 5.30pm - EBSA and Mental Health in young people
(Ed Psych Service)
Thank you for attending this evening.
Here’s to another successful year ahead!