Mary Webb School and Science College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and happy in this inclusive and supportive school. Staff care for pupils' well-being.

This motivates pupils to attend school, and many have high attendance rates. Pupils want to work in this calm and purposeful environment.

Pupils are keen to learn because their teachers get to know their needs.

They give pupils challenging work, which encourages them to think hard and remember important knowledge. Pupils like the demanding tasks that take them out of their comfort zone. Pupils want to succeed.

They can study a wide range of GCSE subjects. Most achieve well.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) fo...llow the same curriculum as their peers, and most flourish.

Occasionally, a few of them cannot complete an adapted task.

Leaders' expectations for behaviour are high. Pupils know right from wrong.

Pupils know, understand and follow the clear rules. Bullying occurs sometimes. It is not tolerated.

Staff swiftly and effectively address any issues. Pupils are respectful to each other and to staff.

Pupils enjoy extra-curricular activities.

These include gardening and archery. Recently, Year 8 pupils reached the national finals of the English Schools' Football Association small schools' trophy competition.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have created an innovative curriculum.

They want pupils to be ready for the jobs of tomorrow and inspired to think 'great things' about their futures. Leaders place English at the centre of this rich curriculum. They expect pupils to read in depth in every subject.

Most pupils meet this expectation and progress well through the curriculum.

Too few pupils follow a GCSE in modern foreign languages. Previously, entry levels for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) have been low.

However, more pupils have chosen to study a language from September 2023 because leaders have made necessary adjustments to the school's ambitious curriculum offer.

Teachers have taken care to identify the knowledge that pupils need and have sequenced this precisely. For instance, in mathematics, pupils revisited number and algebra skills before learning about compound shapes.

This allowed them to apply mathematical reasoning.

Teachers' strong subject knowledge helps pupils to have a firm grasp of complex concepts. In English, pupils learn to spot subtle nuances in Shakespeare's plays.

For instance, older pupils analysed the literary techniques that portray Lady Macbeth's ambition for power. This deepened their later written work about the consequences of self-centred leadership.

Teachers' checks of pupils' progress are effective.

They use a range of strategies to check what pupils know and what they need help with. For example, pupils started their history lesson with a quick quiz about the Black Death. This helped pupils to recall important knowledge, which they built on to access new learning.

Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. This enables them to focus on tasks uninterrupted, because low-level disruption is rare.

Leaders have clear ambition for pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers.

They have clearly identified these pupils' needs. This enables teachers to shape tasks so that the vast majority of pupils with SEND thrive. On occasion, some tasks are not adapted precisely enough, which holds a few pupils with SEND back.

Leaders ensure that pupils who struggle to read receive well-targeted support. They read a diverse range of books in lessons and tutor time each day. This varied range of reading activities has improved these pupils' fluency in reading.

Teachers' delivery of the wider personal development curriculum enriches pupils' well-being. For instance, some pupils work as volunteers. Others train as mental-health ambassadors and help younger pupils.

These experiences have a positive impact on others' welfare and these pupils' self-esteem. Leaders have crafted a high-quality careers programme. This helps pupils to reflect on their talents and future interests.

They are prepared well for their next steps.

Governors and leaders ensure that staff's well-being matters. Teachers praise leaders' consideration of their workload and are proud to work in this school.

Staff morale is high.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Members of staff work hard together to promote a strong culture of safeguarding.

Leaders provide them with effective and regular training. Staff are alert to the potential risks pupils may face in the local area and online.

Staff understand and fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities well.

They know how to refer concerns and do so promptly. As a result, pupils also know how to recognise and report any risk.

Leaders complete detailed pre-employment checks before they allow any adult to work with pupils.

Their ongoing scrutiny of these records is comprehensive. They update their records with any change of circumstance immediately.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Until recently, leaders have not encouraged enough pupils to follow a modern foreign language during key stage 4.

As a result, pupils miss out on the academic breadth and depth that studying the EBacc offers. Leaders should carry on promoting the study of a modern foreign language and the many advantages of studying the EBacc. ? Not all learning is adapted well enough to meet the differing needs and abilities of a few pupils with SEND.

This means that some pupils do not receive the support they need to secure the important building blocks of key knowledge or to access more complex learning. Consequently, some of these pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. Leaders should ensure that all teachers have the skills and knowledge to effectively adapt learning when necessary.