Monday 28 November 2022
St Martin's Primary School has received hugely encouraging feedback in its external inspection report from Ofsted.
The school achieved a rare 'excellent' rating in the category of Personal Development and Welfare, received 'good' ratings in the categories of Behaviour and Attitudes; Leadership and Management; and Early Years provision, and 'requires improvement' in the category of The Quality of Education. Only 13% of primary schools inspected by Ofsted in England under its new framework have received an 'excellent' rating.
Ofsted's report highlights that:
- Students feel safe and well cared for in this welcoming and inclusive school.
- Bullying is rare and students have complete confidence in how school leaders manage behaviour.
- Leaders meticulously plan experiences to enrich the curriculum based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- The headteacher has instilled a strong sense of teamwork throughout the school and community. Along with other senior leaders, she leads with integrity and purpose. Staff are proud to work at the school.
- Leaders have transformed the quality of early reading. They have raised expectations and put in place a consistent approach to teaching phonics.
- Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive focused intervention from skilled staff.
Inspectors recognised that staff have high expectations for students and have focused on ensuring that pupils learn from a knowledge rich curriculum. Leaders have taken decisive action to improve the school's curriculum and recent improvements are beginning to pay off, especially in reading. However, school leaders have not clearly set out the most important knowledge they want pupils to know and remember in all subjects. This was an area inspectors identified where improvements could be made.
The new external inspection agreement with Ofsted was put in place last year. The inspection grading categories range from inadequate to requires improvement, good and excellent.
Clare Giles, St Martin's Primary School Headteacher, said:
'Overall, we are thrilled with the findings. Being awarded an "excellent" judgement for the area of Personal Development and Welfare is a real achievement, which shows how we put our children at the heart of all the decisions we make in our school. We of course take on board all the comments made in the report and will continue to work on identified areas for improvement. Since taking over as the new headteacher in September 2021, I am extremely proud of our staff's sheer hard work, passion and dedication, along with their relentless drive which has culminated in achieving this really good inspection report. I am also incredibly proud of all of our children who strive to be the best they can be every day, and who contribute so much to making St Martin's Primary such a magical place.'
Nick Hynes, Director of Education, said:
'This Ofsted inspection report is a credit to Clare and her team for always putting children at the heart of everything they do. Achieving an excellent rating in any category is incredibly difficult, as evidenced by the fact only 13% of schools in England have achieved it under this framework, and I would like to thank and congratulate all staff at the school. We strive for continual improvement and if any rating doesn't quite reach the "good" threshold then by definition it requires improvement. I know Clare and her team will carry on driving through improvements where needed.'
Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said:
'On behalf of the Committee I want to congratulate Clare and the whole St Martin's Primary School community. There are so many positive observations in the inspection report and it is clear that both staff and students share an immense pride in being part of that school community. It was also pleasing to note that inspectors recognised that significant improvements had been made to the curriculum but more time is needed to bed them in across all subjects.'
The full report can be read at Inspections - States of Guernsey (gov.gg
