Include - St Matthews

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 February 2026

The majority of pupils have had a negative experience of education prior to joining Include - St Matthews. Many pupils have been out of education for extended periods of time. This has led to trauma related to school attendance. The school has provided extensive therapeutic support to help pupils to attend. Staff remove barriers that might prevent pupils from attending. Many pupils are beginning to reconnect with education. Several have found a sense of belonging at the school. Pupils are safe and generally happy at school. Parents and carers say that when they talk about their child's needs they feel listened to by leaders. Parents have confidence that pupils' barriers to learning are considered by staff. There are positive relationships between staff and pupils. As a result, pupils try hard to manage their emotions and be polite and respectful of others. Bullying is rare and pupils are confident that staff will sort out any problems or concerns they may have. Pupils who find peer relationships difficult get help to make friends. Generally, classrooms are calm and pupils engage with their learning. Pupils' individual circumstances and special educational needs and/or disabilities are known by staff. However, the school is still developing systems to pull together all the information staff need to accurately understand pupils' starting points. Staff are also at the early stages of accurately assessing pupils' progress through the curriculum. It is not always clear why pupils have been given certain work to do and if it is ideally suited to their ability. Pupils learn a curriculum that is variable in quality. Leaders are redesigning it to ensure that pupils are taught the most important knowledge and skills they need. This work is further along in some areas than others. Pupils have engaged in various trips and some community activity that broadens their horizons. However, the personal development programme does not fully prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

What the school should improve

• Leaders need to put in place assessment processes that provide accurate starting points for pupils and define ambitious end points and milestones so that staff can accurately track pupils' progress.
• Further refinement of curriculum pathways needs to be based on clearly identified key knowledge so that pupils can access planned learning at the correct level for them and build on prior learning effectively.
• The variability in teaching needs to be addressed so it is at a consistently high standard throughout the school.
• Leaders need to address the issues with the system they use to record attendance so that it provides clear analysis to identify patterns and trends and clearly demonstrate improved pupil attendance.
• Leaders should continue the work to create a coherent personal development programme so it fully prepares pupils with the knowledge and skills they need for life in modern Britain.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)