Shalbourne CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Shalbourne CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations and ambitions for the school.

Pupils and staff enjoy their work and want to do their best. Pupils form a close-knit community. They are respectful to each other and to staff.

They are happy and safe. Teachers understand the needs of every pupil and strive to meet them.

Pupils behave well.

For the minority of pupils who cannot regulate their behaviour, staff devise ways to help them remain calm and focused. Occasionally, pupils fall out with each other, but pupils say there is little bullying. On the rare times that it does ha...ppen, staff deal with it swiftly and effectively.

Staff provide many opportunities for pupils to learn beyond the subject curriculums. They attend after-school clubs, such as football, card games, colouring and singing. They go on residential visits and have trips to local sites.

Staff and pupils make effective use of the school grounds. They have created a rain garden, an allotment and an outdoor theatre and classroom.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have created an ambitious school curriculum.

Pupils study a full range of subjects, including French. Many subjects, such as music, develop pupils' knowledge over time and deepen their understanding. There are a few subjects, however, where leaders have not thought precisely enough about the critical knowledge that pupils need to know and when.

Reading is a priority in the school. Pupils learn phonics from when they begin in Reception Year. As a result, pupils read fluently, and weaker readers learn to pronounce words more clearly.

Leaders have given careful thought to the books pupils read in class and for pleasure. Teachers focus on helping older pupils understand their reading. Pupils are gaining a greater awareness of diversity and culture because of this.

From Reception Year onwards, pupils build on their numerical knowledge. Staff use resources wisely to help younger pupils add and subtract. Pupils learn their times tables successfully, as these are a regular feature of their work.

Teachers use assessment efficiently. They discuss pupils' needs frequently. For example, following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers focused on improving pupils' vocabulary.

They encourage pupils to consider specific words in their subjects. This helps pupils to better explain their learning. Teachers know that there is further work to do in this area.

Teachers explain subject content clearly to pupils. They have received training to ensure that every pupil understands their work. Most pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve their potential.

At times, the targets for pupils with SEND are not specific enough. Disadvantaged pupils achieve as well, or better, than their peers. They are fully engaged in school life.

Leaders provide a suitable personal, social and health education curriculum. Pupils learn how to be responsible citizens of the future. For example, pupils learned about democracy from their local MP.

As they get older, they learn about appropriate relationships. Pupils demonstrate these aspects in their daily life in school. They understand right from wrong.

Their consideration and tolerance of each other shines through in what they do.

Each pupil has the target of achieving 'Shalbourne 11 by 11'. This includes such things as 'to have sung in a choir, to perform in a theatre production and to learn to play a musical instrument'.

Leaders make sure this is possible for all pupils.

Governors take their responsibility seriously. They balance support and challenge well.

They value the input of the school in the village community. There have been recent changes to the leadership of the governors. The local authority and the headteacher lead the training so that this transition is seamless.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Recruitment checks are undertaken thoroughly.

The designated safeguarding lead ensures that pupils are safe in school.

Staff know how to identify and report any concerns about pupils who may be vulnerable.

The school has suitable policies in place to raise awareness among staff and parents about the dangers of sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few curriculums, pupils are not gaining knowledge in a carefully sequenced way.

As a result, some pupils are not building on prior learning effectively. Leaders must ensure that curriculums are planned and implemented so that pupils deepen their knowledge over time. ? Pupils' understanding of subject-specific vocabulary is not secure.

This means that pupils are not well equipped to explain their learning clearly. Leaders should ensure that pupils are supported to gain the subject vocabulary they need.Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2017.