Mortimer Community College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

Pupils speak highly of this welcoming and inclusive school. The school does a considerable amount of work to support the local community and charities. This work encourages pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pastoral care is of a high quality. Staff ensure that pupils get support when they need it. Pupils behave well at the school. They share positive relationships with staff. A culture of mutual respect permeates the school. Pupils' positive pastoral experience is not matched by their academic outcomes. The school has high ambitions for all pupils to succeed. However, in several subjects, this ambition is not realised. Pupils, including the most disadvantaged, achieve less well than their peers nationally. They are not as well prepared for their next stage of education, employment or training as they might be. The school provides numerous opportunities for pupils to enjoy new experiences. These include educational visits to foreign countries, work experience weeks and undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Pupils value opportunities to discuss and debate new ideas in lessons. The form time programme helps pupils to engage in topical issues, learn more about managing money and looking after the environment.

What the school should improve

• Staff do not consistently check what pupils know and can do before moving on to new learning. As a result, suitable adjustments to lessons are not made for all pupils, including those with SEND. Gaps in pupil's knowledge and understanding persist. The school should ensure that staff respond effectively to what pupils do and, do not, know and plan future learning to address these gaps.
• The school's plans to improve the quality of education pupils receive lack precision. Some important priorities remain unaddressed. As a result, pupils are not well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training. The school should evaluate the strategies that are having the most impact on tackling under-achievement and implement these at pace across the school.
• The school's work to improve the literacy of pupils, especially those at an early stage of learning to read, is underdeveloped. Some strategies are recent or are not implemented consistently. As a result, pupil's understanding of important vocabulary is not as secure as it might be. The school should ensure an effective programme to improve pupil's literacy is in place, including for those at an early stage of learning to read or who are new to speaking English.
• Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. Persistent absence has not reduced significantly over time. This is leading to gaps in pupil's knowledge and understanding, which the school has not successfully addressed. The school should ensure strategies to improve attendance are regularly evaluated and that there is a strong, shared understanding of the importance of good attendance across the school.

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