St Martin's School Brentwood

Overview

St Martin’s School is described as a place where pupils are “very positive” and benefit from a “warm ethos” characterised by kindness and respect. The report highlights that “considerable changes to the leadership” have driven “significant improvements” in culture and behaviour, resulting in a “friendly and calm environment” where disruption is “extremely uncommon.”

Strengths

• The curriculum is “very well considered and ambitious,” with leaders having a “precise awareness” of what works well.
• Pupils display “consistently impressive” behaviour, with “high levels of kindness” and established routines that prevent wasted learning time.
• Personal development is “well thought out,” providing age-appropriate information on safety, sexual harassment, and high-quality careers guidance.
• Staff receive “targeted professional development” and are skilled at supporting disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Leadership is praised for taking “robust and effective action” to bring about rapid improvements, with staff and parents speaking positively about the school.

Areas to improve

• Teachers must ensure activities are “closely matched to pupils’ various starting points” so all pupils have opportunities to “deepen or extend their learning.”
• The school needs to provide “timely” and appropriate support for the “weakest readers” to help them quickly become fluent.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”