Mount Pleasant Primary School

Overview: Mount Pleasant Primary School is a special school where pupils and staff are united in their view that it is a positive and supportive place to be. The school has high expectations for all pupils' achievement, but outcomes in reading and writing at the end of key stage 2 are below where they should be. The school is taking action to improve outcomes in English and mathematics, but does not monitor the impact of its actions with a sharp enough focus.

Strengths:

• Pupils welcome visitors to their school with smiles on their faces and a willingness to share their experiences of school life.
• Pupils form positive relationships with adults and their peers.
• Everybody is included at Mount Pleasant, with pupils learning about the importance of tolerance and respect.
• The school has effective systems in place to promote good attendance.
• The wider development of pupils is a strength of the school, preparing them well for their next stage of education and helping build and strengthen their talents and interests.

Areas to improve:

• The school does not monitor the impact of its improvement actions with a sharp enough focus, meaning it does not routinely check that the actions it takes are having the maximum intended impact.
• There are inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is delivered and impacts upon what pupils know, remember and can do.
• The basic skills of handwriting, letter formation and presentation require further improvement, with some pupils not showing pride in their work because expectations about what is acceptable are not clear or consistently applied.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.