Mytchett Primary & Nursery Academy

Inspection of Mytchett Primary School Hamesmoor Road, Mytchett, Camberley, Surrey GU16 6JB

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 15–16 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

This busy, happy and hard-working school provides a warm welcome for pupils, parents, carers and visitors alike. The school’s values (happiness, equality, aspiration, respect and trust) underpin school life. Pupils are confident learners. They enjoy all the school has to offer. Pupils told us how much they enjoy sports, music and the arts, as well as English and mathematics. Many join the wide range of clubs offered by the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils get on well together. Adults expect all pupils to work hard and behave well, and most do. Sometimes in lessons, a small number of pupils get a bit fidgety. A reminder from the teacher is usually all that is needed to get most pupils back on track. Pupils have fun and behave sensibly during playtimes. They join in happily with the many activities provided.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They know how they can help to keep themselves safe and know whom to speak to if they need help. Pupils told us that teachers take good care of them, and parents agree. Pupils have no concerns about bullying. Pupils told us that their ‘teachers are right on it’ if they or their friends have any worries.

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better?

Leaders have achieved a great deal in a relatively short space of time. They and their staff have improved the quality of education in a range of subjects, particularly in mathematics. This has ensured that learning builds well for pupils as they move up through the school. However, leaders know that there is more to do. For instance, they know that pupils could develop even stronger skills in subjects such as science and physical education (PE) than is currently the case.

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better?

An improved mathematics curriculum, combined with high-quality training, means that teachers are clearer about when and how to teach mathematical knowledge and skills. This means that pupils have an increasingly secure mathematical understanding.

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better?

Leaders and teachers keep a close eye on pupils’ learning. They are quick to notice where pupils are falling behind and provide extra help where needed. This is making a notable difference to pupils’ learning. Pupils with gaps in their knowledge and understanding are catching up quickly, especially in phonics and mathematics.

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better?

Children in the early years are immersed in a culture of books and reading from the first day in school. They develop a real appetite for reading. Teachers in all year groups give pupils lots of opportunities to listen to stories. The school’s recently updated library provides pupils with an airy, inviting and well-resourced place for them to enjoy books. The school’s focus on reading for pleasure has clearly paid off. Pupils enthuse about reading, with a pupil describing the joy of ‘sinking into a book’. 15–16 October 2019

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Staff teach phonics skills effectively from the start of the school year. By the end of Year 2, most pupils can use phonics well to read tricky words. This puts them in a good position for future learning in key stage 2.

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Most pupils learn well across a range of subjects. However, some of the most able pupils do not learn as well as they should because work does not always require them to think deeply enough. Leaders have already started to look at how to improve this aspect of the school’s work.

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Pupils usually work purposefully during lessons. They want to do well and they pay careful attention to their teachers. This means that teachers and pupils can get the most out of their time in lessons. Pupils get on well together during playtimes. They are polite to adults and considerate towards others.

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The school provides a wide range of trips, clubs and visits. These contribute well to pupils’ personal development. Pupils talk about British values with understanding. They respect different faiths and backgrounds. For instance, during the inspection, some of the older pupils spoke with interest about a trip to a Sikh gurdwara.

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The headteacher provides strong direction for her staff. She has used training well to support staff development and knows exactly what needs to be done to secure further improvements. The headteacher has maintained an upbeat atmosphere in the school during a period of rapid change and development. Staff enjoy teaching and are proud to work in the school.

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Subject leaders share the headteacher’s ambitions for the school and provide valuable support for staff. However, it is too soon for them to have checked whether recent developments in the curriculum have improved pupils’ learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff keep a careful eye on pupils’ safety and welfare. They know what to do if they have any worries about a pupil’s well-being. Leaders take any concerns about pupils’ safety very seriously and act quickly where needed. Parents say that the school does a good job in keeping their children safe.

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Safeguarding

Personal development lessons, visits and visitors help pupils to learn about ways they can help to keep themselves safe. For instance, they told us how internet safety presentations help them to feel confident about when and how to report a concern. 15–16 October 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have worked well with staff to develop the curriculum. They have made changes to programmes of learning to ensure that pupils learn knowledge and skills more securely. Improvements are particularly notable in mathematics. As a result, standards in mathematics have risen across the school in the past year and continue to improve. Leaders have secured improvements in other subjects too. For example, leaders have made good use of training to strengthen teachers’ understanding of science vocabulary and this, in turn, is improving pupils’ scientific knowledge. Leaders have also made sure that pupils have more opportunities to practise science skills by completing investigations. However, the science programme is not precise enough about which skills should be taught in each year group. This makes it difficult for teachers to make sure that what they are teaching is building strongly enough on prior learning. The picture is similar in

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

subjects such as PE and art, where leaders are currently developing stronger progression in how skills are taught and making sure that the most able are challenged to do as well as they should. Leaders should continue their work to update the curriculum so that all pupils, including the most able, develop knowledge and skills equally well in all subjects.  Subject leaders are not always clear about the difference their work is making to pupils’ learning. Leaders and the trust should ensure that the leadership training already scheduled enables subject leaders to evaluate and continually improve the school’s work consistently well so that subject leaders’ actions have a stronger impact on future curriculum development.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 15–16 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111155 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 September 2018

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Information about this school

 The majority of senior and middle leaders took up their posts in September 2019.  The school has a nursery for children aged between two and five years of age.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with trust and school leaders, including the chief executive officer of the trust. We held discussions with staff and pupils. We also met with three governors who serve on the local governing body, including the chair.  We did deep dives in these subjects: reading and phonics, mathematics, science, PE and art. We spoke with the leaders for these subjects, looked at curriculum documents, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and talked with pupils and teachers.  We checked the school’s safeguarding arrangements. We held discussions with with leaders and explored staff knowledge and understanding of safeguarding matters. We scrutinised the single central register of staff suitability to work with children and looked at school records. 15–16 October 2019

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 We considered the views expressed by parents, staff and pupils in our inspection surveys. We met with several groups of pupils to talk about their work, their experiences of school life and their opinions of the school.

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Inspection team

Julie Sackett, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Clare Morgan Ofsted Inspector 15–16 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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