Martins Wood Primary School

Martins Wood Primary School is a large primary in the Ivy Learning Trust, and this full inspection also covered its nursery and pre-school provision for children aged 2 to 4. Inspectors found the school meeting expected standards in all areas, with safeguarding standards met. Leaders have made significant improvements, particularly in safeguarding, behaviour and the curriculum, and pupils now achieve broadly in line with national peers, including disadvantaged pupils overall. Pupils are happy, attend regularly and behave well in calm classrooms; bullying is rare. Early years is a notable strength, with purposeful learning, a strong focus on reading and language, and children who settle quickly. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, staff are well trained, and pupils with SEND are identified and supported more effectively than in the past. Personal development is broad, and trust oversight is strong. The main areas for further work are in writing. Teachers' assessment of writing does not consistently pinpoint next steps or correct misconceptions, and targets for some pupils with SEND are sometimes not well matched to their needs, especially in writing. Disadvantaged pupils' writing outcomes were also below national in 2024/25, so this remains a focus as leaders continue their improvement work.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve broadly in line with national expectations, including disadvantaged pupils overall.
• Older pupils are catching up in reading, spelling and mathematics, and most pupils recall times tables securely.
• Early years provision is purposeful and ambitious, with a strong focus on reading, language and independence.
• Behaviour has improved significantly; classrooms are calm and bullying is rare.
• Attendance is close to national averages and improving, with leaders responding quickly to issues.
• The curriculum is ambitious, logically sequenced and well taught, with well-trained staff in reading, writing and maths.
• Pupils with SEND are identified more accurately and receive effective support, especially in reading and speech and language.
• Personal development is broad, covering safety, healthy relationships, financial management, democracy and diversity.
• Leadership and trust oversight are strong, with effective staff development and a clear improvement agenda.
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment of pupils' writing is not consistently precise enough to inform next steps, address misconceptions or extend pupils' writing.
• Targets for some pupils with SEND are sometimes not well matched to their needs and starting points, especially in writing.
• Disadvantaged pupils' writing attainment was below the national average in 2024/25, and the disadvantage gap remains wide.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Martins Wood Primary School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.3% of pupils at Martins Wood Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Martins Wood Primary School had 19.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 9.6% of pupils at Martins Wood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Martins Wood Primary School received £6,049 and spent £5,867 for each of its 586 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £303,000 (£518 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Ivy Learning Trust, income was £7,250 and spending £7,265 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stevenage · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

Martins Wood Primary School is part of Ivy Learning Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• Round Diamond Primary School Stevenage
• Watchlytes Primary School Welwyn Garden City
• Peartree Primary School Welwyn Garden City
• Crabtree Junior School Harpenden
• Crabtree Infants' School Harpenden
• Windhill21 Bishop'S Stortford
• Richard Whittington Primary School Bishop'S Stortford
• Woodside Primary School Waltham Cross
• The Wroxham School Potters Bar
• Lavender Primary School Enfield

What is Martins Wood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Martins Wood Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Martins Wood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Martins Wood Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Martins Wood Primary School have?

Martins Wood Primary School has 532 pupils on roll.

What age range does Martins Wood Primary School cover?

Martins Wood Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Martins Wood Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Martins Wood Primary School?

Martins Wood Primary School is at Mildmay Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 5RT.