St Mary's RC Primary School
South East Wales, UK
What makes St Mary’s an Advocate School
St Mary’s implemented Maths — No Problem! in 2018, and it has since become the pedagogical heartbeat of the school. The programme’s focus on exploration and dialogue has completely transformed the school's mathematical culture, moving away from simple task completion toward a deep, resilient understanding of the "why" behind the "how."
Located in a diverse urban centre, St Mary’s serves a multicultural community with a high percentage of pupils with Additional Learning Needs (ALN). Despite these complexities, the school has achieved a "recommendation-free" status for mathematics in their latest Estyn inspection, proving that a high-quality mastery approach can empower every child to view themselves as a capable mathematician.
A primary driver of St Mary’s success is how naturally the mastery approach aligns with the Curriculum for Wales. Donna Brend notes that the programme "hits everything we need it to hit," particularly the emphasis on problem-solving and collaboration.
School at a glance:
- Diverse and multicultural cohort in the heart of Newport city centre.
- Highly inclusive environment supporting a significant percentage of pupils with ALN.
- Catholic school ethos centred on community and high expectations.
- Full implementation from Foundations (Reception) through Year 6.
- Recent Estyn Success: May 2023 inspection praised pupil independence and classroom talk.
"There is a strong belief here that Maths — No Problem! is underpinned by theory that works. The scaffolding and progression give our teachers the confidence to step back and let the children take the lead. The classroom truly crackles to life during the exploration phase."
–Donna Brend, Deputy Headteacher
Read about St Mary’s Newport
How St Mary’s Newport transformed maths mindsets and achieved Estyn excellence.
St Mary’s faces the unique demographic challenges of a city-centre school, including a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and a high volume of ALN requirements. By investing in professional development and consistent mastery practice, they have created a "have-a-go" culture where students take challenges in their stride.
This transformation was anchored in a total shift in teacher confidence. By moving away from a model of creating lessons from scratch to one of tailoring an expert framework, St Mary’s reduced planning time to just 10–15 minutes per day. This freed up staff to focus on what matters most: live assessment and addressing misconceptions as they happen. Whether it’s Year 4 students converting fractions to decimals or Year 6 pupils calculating volumes for practical designs, the focus is now on the "journey" of discovery rather than just the final answer.
Furthermore, the school’s dedication to inclusivity ensures that no child is left behind. Through the strategic use of concrete manipulatives and the Interactive Presentation tool, teachers can provide bespoke support for ALN pupils while still keeping them engaged in the core mastery curriculum. This consistent, school-wide approach was a key highlight of their 2023 Estyn inspection, where the complete turnaround in pupil mindset and the "crackling" energy of collaborative classrooms received significant praise.
School contact details
Contact:
Donna Brend, Deputy Headteacher
Address:
St Mary's RC Primary School
Queens Hill
Newport
NP20 5HJ
Phone number:
01633 631636
Email St Mary’s School
Visit St Mary’s School Website
