St Martin’s School, Scarborough: The 'happy and inclusive' Yorkshire school which is 'like a family' for many

St Martin’s Church of England Primary School in Scarborough “continues to be a good school,” according to Ofsted inspectors who visited the school last month. Ofsted said St Martin’s is a “happy and inclusive school” where parents and carers, staff and pupils appreciate being part of its community.

Many described the school as being “like a family” and it received praise for communicating regularly with parents as well as providing frequent opportunities for parents to find out about their child’s progress and how to support them in their education.

The school, located at Holbeck Hill, Scarborough, has 277 pupils on roll with an age range of four to 11 years. The proportion of children with SEND is above the national average whilst the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is “well below the national average”.

The report by inspectors states that St Martin’s has “carefully considered” the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn and that they achieve the expectations of the curriculum.

It notes: “The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and pupils achieve well and engage fully in all that the school offers.”

Whilst inspectors noted a number of positive points and improvements made by education leaders, it also highlighted some issues that need to be improved.

Ofsted said that checks made by the school to evaluate the impact of its actions were “not sufficiently precise” and that it was not possible to fully identify whether the school’s actions to support pupils’ academic and personal development were having the intended impact.

It added that some pupils did not read books that consistently matched their stage of reading which it said diminished their enjoyment and understanding of what they read.

It suggested that the school should “further refine its approach to reading so that pupils consistently read books that match their reading ability”.

The Ofsted inspectors also reported that the safeguarding arrangements were effective. The inspection took place at the end of February 2024.