St Martin’s Academy Chester

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at St Martin's achieve high levels of success in terms of their academic achievement and their personal development. They are exceptionally well-prepared for life beyond school.

Pupils benefit from the school's high expectations and a clear focus on excellence, inspiration and care. Pupils appreciate the vast and varied experiences and opportunities that the school offers them. They enjoy visits to theatres, museums and participating in residential trips across the United Kingdom and further afield.

This vibrant and welcoming school is a very happy place to learn. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. Adults apply their high expectations of behaviour and routines con...sistently, including in the early years.

This sets the foundation for pupils' remarkable positive attitudes to their learning throughout the school. Pupils treat everyone around them with the utmost respect.

Pupils act as wonderful ambassadors for themselves and the school.

For example, the elected school parliament set clear, specific action plans for the chosen committees, like the well-being or environmental group. Pupils raise money for selected charities such as the local hospital and hospice. They are ambitious to make a difference in the school and wider world in which they live.

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

The school has successfully developed a highly ambitious curriculum for all its pupils. It has been designed to ensure that children in the early years, and pupils in the rest of the school, build on their prior learning confidently and successfully. The curriculum builds seamlessly from the Reception Year to Year 6.

From the time that children begin in the Reception Year, staff use their high levels of expertise to support pupils successfully. This includes the early identification of pupils who may have additional needs. Staff set high expectations for pupils' learning and help them to develop a highly impressive breadth of knowledge.

Staff enable pupils to show the knowledge that they have built up in various ways such as through sound bites or visual representations. This helps all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve exceptionally well.

Teachers revisit the knowledge that has been taught previously.

They provide unparalleled support so that pupils keep up with the curriculum content that is being delivered. Staff address any gaps in pupils' understanding. These are swiftly identified through highly effective ongoing assessment strategies.

Pupils are able to hold exceptionally high-quality discussions about their learning. This is as a result of the exemplary design and delivery of the curriculum as well as the school's deliberate focus on pupils' communication skills. Pupils can talk confidently about how teachers weave key knowledge into every lesson.

This helps them to successfully build a rich body of knowledge, across different subjects, which interconnects ideas, concepts and themes. This prepares pupils fully for the next stage of their learning.The school has made reading a central feature of its curriculum offer.

Pupils learn to read with fluency, starting right from day one in the Reception Year. Adults provide targeted support and ensure that children form the right sounds, know the corresponding letters and build stamina to write them successfully. Staff across school are experts in the teaching of reading and they use their knowledge very well to help weaker readers to keep up.

As a result, pupils read with confidence and access challenging books for pleasure by the time they reach Year 2. Older pupils enjoy discussing, sharing and enjoying literature together. They recommend books and authors to each other and are appreciative of the recent additions to the 'tree of books' outside each classroom.

Pupils' attitudes to learning are exceptional. They work hard in lessons. They follow adult instructions promptly and effectively.

Their positive attitude contributes greatly to their successful learning. Pupils collaborate well with one another. This starts in the early years, where children learn about the importance of sharing, working together and supporting each other.

The school forms strong partnerships with parents and carers. This joint working encourages pupils to attend each day. This results in high attendance for all.

The school is extremely ambitious for all pupils to become well-rounded citizens who are fully prepared for life beyond the school. The programme in place for pupils' personal, social, health and economic education covers aspects such as physical and mental health. The school has strong systems in place to support pupils when they experience anxiety, worry or friendship issues.

This helps pupils to feel overwhelmingly safe.

Trustees and members of the local governing body are committed to the school. They understand their role and responsibilities.

They are equally passionate about giving every pupil and member of staff the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Staff are incredibly positive about the support that they receive from leaders with regards to their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.