Martins Wood: Stevenage school joins trust after controversial year

Martins Wood Primary School has become part of the Ivy Learning Trust, which counts a growing number of Hertfordshire schools among its members.

Zoë Phillips, executive headteacher of Martins Wood, hopes the school will benefit from joining the trust, describing it as a positive step for the school.

"We are delighted to be joining Ivy Learning Trust.

"This will enable us to work collaboratively with other schools to improve outcomes for children, while ensuring that each school retains its individuality and remains at the heart of the community it serves.

"Our staff will now benefit from better access to training and development and the sharing of resources, best practice and expertise, while our pupils will have wider educational and cultural opportunities by taking part in Trust-wide projects and events.

"This is a really positive step for the schools and we’re looking forward to being part of a wider family dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of learning."

The news comes after a controversial year for Martins Wood, which saw the Mildmay Road school spared being put into special measures.

Read more: Secret Ofsted files: Martins Wood school was spared special measures

In documents obtained by the Comet, it was revealed that Ofsted found “serious” safeguarding failures, but the good standard of education provided by the school spared it from special measures.

Martins Wood was also in hot water after it was found to have misled Hertfordshire County Council over their finances, failing to notify them that they had gone overdrawn and needing £129,000 bail-out in March last year.

Read more: School needed bail-out after 'misleading council over finances for years'

Martins Wood isn't the only new member of the Ivy, with Welwyn Garden City's Watchlytes Primary School also joining the trust, while Stevenage's Round Diamond Primary School is expected to join early next year.