Mount Pleasant Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 November 2024

Members of the Mount Pleasant school community are united in their view that this is a special school to attend. The school values of positive relationships, being respectful and showing resilience are the lived experience for pupils and staff at the school each day. The new leadership, supported by a dedicated team of staff and governors, recognises that there is more work to do to ensure that pupils achieve well by the time they leave the school. The school has high expectations for all pupils' achievement. While these expectations were not realised in the most recent key stage 2 outcomes, early work to improve the curriculum is beginning to make a positive impact, with further developments planned to ensure all curriculum subjects are delivered effectively in each phase of education. Pupils welcome visitors to their school with smiles on their faces and a willingness to share their experiences of school life. Pupils learn in classrooms where disruption is rare. They form positive relationships with adults and their peers. Everybody is included at Mount Pleasant. Pupils learn about the importance of tolerance and respect and know that when bullying occurs, they can report it to a trusted adult, who will help to resolve their issues. Pupils enjoy opportunities to hold leadership positions. Opportunities to be school council, student leadership and anti-bullying representatives help pupils to take responsibility for making their school a welcoming place to attend.

What the school should improve

• The school does not monitor the impact of its improvement actions with a sharp enough focus. This means it does not routinely check that the actions it takes are having the intended maximum impact. The school should ensure that improvement targets are impacting positively on its quality of education by identifying where practice could be further improved.
• There are inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is delivered and impacts upon what pupils know, remember and can do. This is particularly the case in wider curriculum subjects where checks on pupils' understanding are not taking place systematically. The school should ensure that all subjects are taught consistently well and that gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding are identified and addressed.
• The basic skills of handwriting, letter formation and presentation require further improvement. Some pupils do not show pride in their work because expectations about what is acceptable are not clear or consistently applied. This affects pupils' ability to write fluently and recall previous learning. The school should ensure that staff have higher expectations of pupils' presentation and accuracy, and support pupils to take pride in their work.

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