St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Andrew's CofE Primary and Nursery School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they 'love' coming to this school. They describe it as 'supportive' and 'unique'.

Pupils have a strong understanding of moral and social issues. They understand the importance of treating everyone equally, showing kindness and respect. Pupils embrace the school's Christian and British values in their interactions with one another and with staff.

Relationships are warm and trusting.

Pupils behave consistently well. They say that bullying has no place in their school.

Moreover, pupils' attitudes towards learning and life in moder...n Britain are exceptionally positive. They value opportunities to take responsibility, including the roles of well-being ambassadors and 'business kids'. School events such as the 'special person day' are highly memorable.

Pupils respond well to the school's high expectations. Classrooms are busy and purposeful. Most pupils achieve well, particularly in the early years and by the end of key stage 2.

However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in reading at key stage 1.

Parents and carers are supportive of the school. One captured the sentiments of the overwhelming majority when they wrote, 'The school has a lovely ethos, and all the children are supported and encouraged to be the best that they can be, both academically and personally.'



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

Strong leadership at all levels underpins an ambitious curriculum for all pupils. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and priorities for improvement. Staff know pupils well.

They are committed towards every pupil's successful achievement. Staff morale is positive and united. They know that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being.

The curriculum, including the programme for pupils' personal development, lies at the heart of leaders' vision. Subject leaders ensure that, in all subjects, the curriculum builds cumulatively from the early years to Year 6. Teachers mostly have clarity about what is taught and when.

The school's notion of 'head' and 'hands' means that pupils recognise the knowledge they need to apply when performing skills.

Pupils enjoy their lessons. Levels of attendance are high and improving.

Children are thriving in the early years. Staff ensure that these children are well prepared for Year 1. The learning spaces for Nursery and Reception classes are stimulating and well organised.

Staff ensure that indoor and outdoor facilities are seamlessly integrated. Children enjoyed 'beach cleaning', for example, following their class reading about the beach environment.

Leaders know that, in the past, too many pupils did not achieve well in reading at key stage 1.

They have taken swift and effective action to address this. They have raised the profile of reading. All staff have been trained to teach phonics.

Pupils are taught to read well. Leaders have enhanced the range and quality of books that pupils read. Books match the sounds pupils are learning.

Regular checks mean that staff know precisely which pupils need extra help to build their confidence and fluency. Leaders do not yet have a precise evaluation of the impact of their new methods, particularly for vulnerable pupils. Leaders know that there is more work to do to ensure that all pupils achieve the expected standard by the end of Year 1.

Most pupils in Year 2 are successful in reaching this standard.

Teachers' subject knowledge is strong. They typically use this well to question pupils about their learning.

Pupils say that they like the 'flashback' activities, which help them to remember important knowledge. However, sometimes, pupils do not recall important knowledge and facts as quickly as they could. Some pupils struggle to memorise multiplication tables in mathematics, for example.

This sometimes hinders how ready pupils are to take on board more complex ideas.

Leaders' 'write stuff' strategy is enabling pupils to produce high-quality pieces of written work. Pupils in Year 6, for example, produce thoughtful essays on the impact of climate change on different natural environments.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. The coordinator for pupils with SEND ensures that all staff have the information they need to help these pupils. Supporting adults play an integral role in ensuring that pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers.

Leaders work well with specialist services to provide the extra help some pupils need.

Leaders give high priority to pupils' personal development and well-being. Pupils appreciate the importance of daily activities such as 'walk and talk'.

They know that this time promotes their physical and mental well-being. Teachers ensure that pupils have a good understanding of age-appropriate sex and relationships information. They navigate pupils' discussion during sensitive topics particularly well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils say they feel safe at school. They know who they can talk to about any worries they may have.

Staff care. Leaders place a high priority on pupils' well-being and on teaching about personal safety.

Staff are well trained.

They are alert to the signs that a child might be at risk of harm. Designated safeguarding leaders ensure that vulnerable children and their families receive the right help at the right time. They work well with specialist services, including education psychology, social care and health.

Record-keeping is thorough.

Leaders have ensured that the school site is secure.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have recently begun to introduce new subject-specific pedagogy to help build pupils' confidence in automatically recalling important knowledge.

This is at an early stage of development. Some pupils struggle to accurately recall facts quickly. This slows the rate of progress some pupils make in their learning.

Leaders should support teachers to develop the subject-specific knowledge and skills needed to enable pupils to recall knowledge with greater automaticity. ? The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading at key stage 1 has improved over the past year. However, too many pupils still do not reach the expected standard in the phonics screening check by the end of Year 1.

This hinders how well these pupils can access the rest of the school's curriculum. Leaders, including governors, should ensure that they evaluate the new strategies recently put into place so that they know precisely which approaches have the strongest impact, particularly for the most vulnerable pupils.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2013.