Montrose School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Montrose School is an inclusive and welcoming place to learn. Pupils say that everyone matters.

They enjoy positive relationships with staff and value the nurture and support they receive when they need it. Pupils are happy and safe here.

The school is ambitious for every pupil to have a good education.

Staff help pupils understand the school's high expectations by being effective role models. Pupils behave well. They strive to show the school's 'RESPECT values'.

For those who may find this more challenging, staff provide sensitive and constructive support.

Pupils enjoy the enriching experiences the school provides. These include residential... trips, visits and history days.

The use of the locality is woven through the curriculum. For instance, pupils visit the local war memorial to bring history to life. Links to the university raise pupils' aspirations.

Pupils appreciate the many sporting and musical opportunities. These help to nurture their interests and talents.

Pupils are proud to make their own contribution to the school.

The eco-team take sustainability very seriously. For instance, they encourage others to recognise the importance of a bee-friendly environment. Prefects give important reminders and act as conscientious role models around the school.

Montrose School is at the heart of its community. Parents and carers speak highly of the school. They appreciate the deep ethos of care for everyone.

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

Pupils learn from an engaging curriculum that covers a broad range of subjects. The school has identified the important knowledge that pupils need to know in all subjects. In most subjects, this is broken down so that pupils learn in a logical order.

In a small number of subjects, the curriculum lacks the same clarity. In these subjects, teachers are not as accurate with their checks of pupils' learning.The school wants the very best for pupils.

They have focused on and prioritised the right things to improve the school's work over time. However, leaders do not check precisely what is working and what needs to change. The impact of actions is not as rapid as they intend.

Reading is prioritised. Phonics is taught well right from the start, so that children become confident readers. Support is in place to ensure that pupils soon catch up if they fall behind.

From Nursery to Year 6, pupils experience a wide range of texts, including poetry books, stories and non-fiction titles. Texts often link to topics from other subjects. Pupils can talk about the stories they have listened to and their favourite authors.

Pupils are developing a love for reading.

The school ensures that pupils learn challenging vocabulary across all subjects. Their confidence to use this in their spoken and written explanations builds as they move through the school.

This benefits all pupils, but particularly pupils who speak English as an additional language.In mathematics, the school provides an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. Staff have good subject knowledge.

They regularly check that pupils are remembering the intended learning to identify the knowledge that pupils need to revisit. Consequently, pupils are progressing well through the mathematics curriculum.Children in the early years make a strong start.

Children settle quickly. Skilled adults help them build on important knowledge through engaging and purposeful learning activities. Children are prepared well for Year 1 and beyond.

Staffing difficulties stalled the progress made by some pupils last year, despite the best endeavours of the school. Effective actions have been swiftly put in place to get pupils back on track. This was clear in visits to lessons and the quality of work seen in pupils' books.

The school takes seriously its role in providing an inclusive learning environment for all its pupils. Adults are skilled at adapting teaching and giving sensitive support to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can access the same curriculum content as their peers. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

The pastoral support offered to pupils and families is a strength of the school. The school goes beyond expectations to help families overcome any barriers they may have. The school's work to improve the attendance of pupils who do not attend as well as they should is exemplary.

Opportunities to promote pupils' well-being and help them make safe choices are woven through everything. Pupils learn to respect and appreciate difference, including different cultures, beliefs and family structures. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Staff feel well supported to manage their workload and enjoy opportunities to develop their expertise. They are proud to be part of the Montrose School team

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects the school has not clearly identified the knowledge that it wants pupils to learn and in what order.

In these subjects, teachers are not clear what they should be checking to ensure that pupils build their knowledge securely over time. The school should ensure that the knowledge it wants pupils to learn is clear across all subjects, so that teachers can secure pupils' understanding and that pupils achieve as well as they should. ? The school is in the early stages of implementing new systems to check the effectiveness of its work.

It is too soon to see the full impact of this. Consequently, leaders do not have a precise understanding of what is working well and what requires further development, including in curriculum subjects. The school should ensure that new systems are fully implemented, to further enhance the precision of actions to improve the impact of the school's work.