Mary Webb School and Science College

Inspection of Mary Webb School and Science College Pontesbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY5 0TG

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 7 and 8 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and happy in this inclusive and supportive school. Staff care for pupils’ well-being. This motivates pupils to attend school, and many have high attendance rates. Pupils want to work in this calm and purposeful environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to learn because their teachers get to know their needs. They give pupils challenging work, which encourages them to think hard and remember important knowledge. Pupils like the demanding tasks that take them out of their comfort zone. Pupils want to succeed. They can study a wide range of GCSE subjects. Most achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) follow the same curriculum as their peers, and most flourish. Occasionally, a few of them cannot complete an adapted task.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders’ expectations for behaviour are high. Pupils know right from wrong. Pupils know, understand and follow the clear rules. Bullying occurs sometimes. It is not tolerated. Staff swiftly and effectively address any issues. Pupils are respectful to each other and to staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy extra-curricular activities. These include gardening and archery. Recently, Year 8 pupils reached the national finals of the English Schools’ Football Association small schools’ trophy competition.

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better?

Leaders have created an innovative curriculum. They want pupils to be ready for the jobs of tomorrow and inspired to think ‘great things’ about their futures. Leaders place English at the centre of this rich curriculum. They expect pupils to read in depth in every subject. Most pupils meet this expectation and progress well through the curriculum.

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better?

Too few pupils follow a GCSE in modern foreign languages. Previously, entry levels for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) have been low. However, more pupils have chosen to study a language from September 2023 because leaders have made necessary adjustments to the school’s ambitious curriculum offer.

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better?

Teachers have taken care to identify the knowledge that pupils need and have sequenced this precisely. For instance, in mathematics, pupils revisited number and algebra skills before learning about compound shapes. This allowed them to apply mathematical reasoning.

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better?

Teachers’ strong subject knowledge helps pupils to have a firm grasp of complex concepts. In English, pupils learn to spot subtle nuances in Shakespeare’s plays. For instance, older pupils analysed the literary techniques that portray Lady Macbeth’s 7 and 8 June 2023

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ambition for power. This deepened their later written work about the consequences of self-centred leadership.

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Teachers’ checks of pupils’ progress are effective. They use a range of strategies to check what pupils know and what they need help with. For example, pupils started their history lesson with a quick quiz about the Black Death. This helped pupils to recall important knowledge, which they built on to access new learning.

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Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. This enables them to focus on tasks uninterrupted, because low-level disruption is rare.

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Leaders have clear ambition for pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers. They have clearly identified these pupils’ needs. This enables teachers to shape tasks so that the vast majority of pupils with SEND thrive. On occasion, some tasks are not adapted precisely enough, which holds a few pupils with SEND back.

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Leaders ensure that pupils who struggle to read receive well-targeted support. They read a diverse range of books in lessons and tutor time each day. This varied range of reading activities has improved these pupils’ fluency in reading.

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Teachers’ delivery of the wider personal development curriculum enriches pupils’ well-being. For instance, some pupils work as volunteers. Others train as mental- health ambassadors and help younger pupils. These experiences have a positive impact on others’ welfare and these pupils’ self-esteem. Leaders have crafted a high-quality careers programme. This helps pupils to reflect on their talents and future interests. They are prepared well for their next steps.

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Governors and leaders ensure that staff’s well-being matters. Teachers praise leaders’ consideration of their workload and are proud to work in this school. Staff morale is high.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Members of staff work hard together to promote a strong culture of safeguarding. Leaders provide them with effective and regular training. Staff are alert to the potential risks pupils may face in the local area and online.

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Safeguarding

Staff understand and fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities well. They know how to refer concerns and do so promptly. As a result, pupils also know how to recognise and report any risk.

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Safeguarding

Leaders complete detailed pre-employment checks before they allow any adult to work with pupils. Their ongoing scrutiny of these records is comprehensive. They update their records with any change of circumstance immediately. 7 and 8 June 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Until recently, leaders have not encouraged enough pupils to follow a modern foreign language during key stage 4. As a result, pupils miss out on the academic breadth and depth that studying the EBacc offers. Leaders should carry on promoting the study of a modern foreign language and the many advantages of studying the EBacc.  Not all learning is adapted well enough to meet the differing needs and abilities of a few pupils with SEND. This means that some pupils do not receive the support they need to secure the important building blocks of key knowledge or to access more complex learning. Consequently, some of these pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. Leaders should ensure that all teachers have the skills and knowledge to effectively adapt learning when necessary .

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 7 and 8 June 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The board of trustees

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the TrustEd CSAT Alliance multi-academy trust in September 2022.  The school uses one registered alternative provider and one unregistered alternative provider.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 7 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 7 and 8 June 2023

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 The lead inspector met with the chairs and members of the board of trustees, the local governing body and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors completed deep dives in English, science, mathematics, history and geography. In each subject, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders and visited lessons. They spoke with all subject teachers and met with a selection of pupils. They also looked at pupils’ work.  Inspectors met with leaders responsible for personal development. Inspectors talked with pupils in key stages 3 and 4. During their discussions, they asked pupils about relationships education, equal opportunities, careers guidance, safety and other matters related to personal development. Inspectors also gathered evidence to evaluate pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors checked school policies and the single central record of checks on adults in school. They spoke with the designated safeguarding lead about safeguarding and child protection procedures. They spoke with a broad range of pupils and discussed safeguarding with staff, governors and trustees.  Inspectors considered the views of parents who completed Ofsted Parent View. They also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.  Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including records pertaining to self- evaluation and school improvement. They also considered records relating to bullying, behaviour, pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. They took account of a range of curriculum planning documents, including those related to relationships and sex education and health education.

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Inspection team

Antony Edkins, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Heather Phillips Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 June 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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