Martin Primary School

Welcome to Martin Primary School Our school is a happy and welcoming place where all children and adults feel safe and are respected, valued and inspired to achieve their very best.

We nurture every child and aim to ensure that they are inquisitive, resilient and independent learners who are able to communicate and express their ideas and opinions confidently and have respect for themselves and for the people and environment around them.   We strive for excellence in all areas of the curriculum and seek to provide a stimulating and challenging education for all our children; in October 2023 - Ofsted described our curriculum as 'ambitious' and 'aspirational' and recognised the 'many opportunities the school provides to extend and enrich (the children's) learning experiences'.

We teach our children to be global citizens who embrace and celebrate people of all backgrounds.  We are extremely proud to be a Gold Level Rights Respecting School and this is the foundation of everything we do.  In October 2023 Ofsted reported that 'Relationships at all levels are respectful.. Pupils demonstrate highly positive attitudes in meeting the high expectations set out by school leaders.. (and) they take immense pride in contributing to events in the community and the wider society'.

The Martin Mission
At Martin Primary School, we want all our children to be happy, healthy and kind individuals and to be inquisitive, resilient and ambitious learners.  We want them to understand their rights and roles as global citizens and to respect themselves, other people and the world around them.

To achieve this, we provide a rich and challenging curriculum that effectively develops our children’s confidence, skills and knowledge; recognises and builds on their talents and achievements; and excites and inspires them to achieve their very best in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment.

At Martin Primary School we believe that in order for children to be the best they can be they need to grow up knowing and understanding their rights, as laid down by the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child.  We believe that having this awareness and knowledge ensures that children have respect for themselves, for others and for the world in which they live.  There are 42 rights to which children are entitled; those can be summarised as:

• the right to be safe
• the right to be heard
• the right to be treated fairly
• the right to be healthy.

We began the journey to becoming a Rights Respecting School in September 2016 and achieved our Bronze Level Award in Spring 2017. We then managed to achieve our Silver Level Award in November 2017. We were delighted to be awarded Gold Level in March 2019. This means that children’s rights are embedded in everything we do at Martin Primary School.  We are applying for reaccreditation in December 2023.

Feedback from our assessment for the Gold Level Award:

“It was evident that children’s rights are embedded across the school and underpin every facet of school life.  Particular strengths of the school include:

• an outward looking community which is engaged with the wider world, environmental and global issues
• a very strong focus on diversity and inclusion with particular reference to a cross phase focus on gender equality with regards to women
• good relationships between pupils and between pupils and staff.”

Caroline Freedman (Community Cohesion Leader) and Shona Glackin, two of our fantastic teachers, lead our Rights Respecting Steering Group which includes children, staff, governors and parents/carers.  The Group meets every term to think about different ways that children's rights can be embedded in the school.  The Group also leads assemblies and coffee mornings.