The Martin Wilson School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and feel safe.

The school's motto, 'In this school everyone is important', guides pupils' daily life. Pupils value their positive and nurturing relationships with staff. Parents and carers speak positively about their children being happy in school and feeling safe.

Leaders have invested in additional staff to provide strong pastoral and emotional support for pupils. Leaders go above and beyond to engage with the local community through a variety of projects.

Pupils behave well in classes, communal areas and on the playground.

They are polite to visitors, staff and each other. There is a calm atmosphere in and around the school, s...o lessons are rarely disrupted. Pupils say that bullying used to happen but is less frequent now.

If they have any problems, they know whom to speak to and are confident that an adult will deal with these quickly.

Pupils speak very positively about their school experiences and their 'great teachers'. They value the opportunities available to them, including the recently reintroduced after-school activities.

Pupils are well supported socially and emotionally. However, there are weaknesses in the curriculum.

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

In mathematics and English, leaders have worked hard to make improvements since the previous inspection.

The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils' learning builds on what they already know in these subjects. Leaders work with the local mathematics hub and use a published scheme to support curriculum design and teaching.

The curriculum is not well sequenced in other subjects.

The curriculum in these subjects does not make clear what pupils should learn and when they should learn it. This means that pupils' learning does not always build on what they have learned in the past. They therefore struggle to remember what they have learned and do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects.

Some assessment strategies do not identify where pupils have gaps in their learning or misconceptions. This means that pupils are sometimes not supported well to catch up with their learning.

A new curriculum has been introduced to help younger children to learn phonics.

While this is being used well, it is too early for it to have made a real difference to pupils. Leaders have also invested in new reading books to support early reading. Class reading books are well matched to the sounds that pupils are learning, but this is not always the case for the books that pupils take home.

Staff support pupils who need to catch up. However, these staff have not received sufficient training to be effective in helping pupils to become confident, fluent readers.Leaders express high expectations for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils with SEND are supported to follow the same curriculum as their peers. However, leaders do not check how well these pupils are supported in class. At times, the curriculum completed by pupils with SEND is not suitably adapted to meet their needs.

These pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

In early years, children engage well with adults and enjoy positive relationships. There are clear expectations of behaviour, and children show respect towards each other and towards adults.

The curriculum covers the required areas of learning. However, the curriculum does not specify the essential learning that children are expected to know. This means that staff do not always ask questions or provide activities that help the children to learn more.

Children do not achieve as well as they could.

A range of opportunities for the personal development of pupils exists. After-school clubs have been reintroduced since all pupils returned following the pandemic restrictions.

Leaders provide extensive pastoral support to help pupils to become resilient, manage their emotions and develop positive personal relationships. There is an increasing focus on pupils' physical and mental health.

Leaders do not routinely monitor the quality of education on offer in several subjects.

As a result, leaders do not have a clear and accurate understanding of the quality of education across the school. This means that they are unable to describe accurately how successful the school is to governors. Governors support school leaders but do not challenge them effectively to improve the quality of education on offer.

Staff working at the school said that leaders support their well-being and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding is a priority in this school.

All staff recognise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Staff have received training and receive regular updates. Members of the safeguarding team are knowledgeable and carry out their roles efficiently.

As a result, staff know how to recognise when a pupil might be at risk of harm. Staff know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil's welfare. Reporting is effective, and detailed records are kept.

Governors undertake safeguarding training. They know which checks to make so that only people who are safe to work with children are appointed.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is not sequenced well, and pupils' learning does not build on what they already know in several subjects.

This is particularly the case for pupils with SEND. As a result, pupils' knowledge, skills and vocabulary do not build sufficiently well over time. Leaders should ensure that the teaching of the knowledge, skills and vocabulary that they want pupils to learn across the school is consistent across the curriculum.

• Pupils' errors or misconceptions across the curriculum are not always identified and responded to in order for pupils to improve their work. This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that assessment strategies identify how well pupils learn the curriculum, so that the curriculum can be adapted to address any gaps in pupils' learning.

• Some staff are at an early stage in developing their subject knowledge to teach early reading. This means that some pupils do not learn to read as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that staff receive the training they need to support pupils to read confidently and fluently.

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