William Martin Church of England Junior School

Overview

Pupils at William Martin Church of England Junior School “enjoy coming to school” and “aspire to reach the high expectations leaders have of them.” The inspection found that leaders have designed an “ambitious curriculum” where most pupils achieve well, supported by “highly positive” relationships and effective support for those with special educational needs.

Strengths

• Pupils “behave well” and “look after each other,” with bullying being “rare” and dealt with quickly.
• Reading is a strong priority, with leaders having “carefully selected a diverse range of books” and staff helping struggling readers to “catch up quickly.”
• Staff effectively support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who “access the same broad curriculum as others” and “achieve well.”
• Leaders prioritise pastoral care, fostering a vision of “experiencing life in all its fullness” and helping pupils understand “other cultures and religions.”
• Safeguarding arrangements are “effective,” with staff trained to recognise risks and leaders acting “swiftly and appropriately” on concerns.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must “carefully sequence all areas of the curriculum” in a small number of subjects where sequencing is not precise, so pupils build on prior learning effectively.
• Teachers must “carefully identify what pupils know and can do” to ensure learning is matched precisely to pupils’ existing capabilities.
• Leaders must ensure approaches to promoting attendance result in a “significant minority” of persistently absent pupils attending school regularly.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that staff have a “secure understanding of contextual risks” and leaders ensure thorough pre-employment checks.