St Andrew's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Andrew’s CofE Primary School Lockhart Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 2AX

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Outcome

St Andrew’s CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very proud of their happy and welcoming school community. They enjoy how the diversity of pupils and adults means that they have so many opportunities to learn from one another. Pupils appreciate how staff nurture their individual interests. This helps them to develop their talents as artists, sports players and singers. The vast number of clubs and trips on offer mean that pupils are acquiring new skills, as well as creating many fond memories.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone recognises that the expectations of what pupils can do and will achieve have increased over recent years. Pupils are rising to this challenge knowing that all staff want the very best for them. This can be seen in many examples such as their good behaviour, the descriptive writing in their books and the artwork on display.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe here because they know adults always take such good care of them. The successful start that all children in Reception make is because of the careful attention given to meet the needs of all. While there may have been some incidents of bullying in the past, pupils trust adults to talk through the issues and to make sure they do not happen again.

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

Leaders are determined to create an exciting curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge and skills over time. They have already redesigned many subjects, including mathematics, reading and writing. These actions have led to increasing numbers of pupils achieving the national expectations and beyond at the end of key stage 2. Leaders acknowledge that this work must continue to fill any gaps in the knowledge of older pupils. This will ensure that all achieve well and are prepared for their secondary education.

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

The redevelopment of the curriculum now means that pupils can remember more of what they have learned and apply this to new learning. For example, in art, Year 5 pupils could compare their surrealist paintings in the style of Dali to the anatomical sketches of insects 4–5 March 2020

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they drew when studying the work of Charles Darwin. There are now clear plans in place so that every subject is as thoughtfully and carefully planned.

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Pupils and staff know the importance of reading. This begins in Reception where highly trained adults help children develop their phonic skills. Pupils who find reading more difficult read daily to a teacher or one of the school’s many volunteers. This helps them to be more fluent and to confidently sound out any difficult words they come across. Pupils throughout the school show a real love of the variety of books they explore. They enjoy taking part in activities, such as dressing up as book characters for World Book Day. Older pupils also feel these experiences are helping them to become better writers.

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Leaders and staff look beyond the school gates to find opportunities for pupils to find out more about the topics they are learning. Visits to historical sites and the planetarium are supplemented by outside speakers who come in to talk to the pupils about their lives. Parents and carers are also invited to exhibitions where pupils proudly display their work.

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This is an inclusive school that welcomes pupils who have complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Historically, not all pupils with SEND had appropriate provision that met their needs. Leaders robust actions have ensured this is no longer the case. Well-trained staff know these pupils well and make sure that they have the same meaningful learning opportunities as everyone else.

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Children make a very good start in the early years. Staff know the children well and build positive relationships with their families. This means that learning opportunities are carefully planned to interest and excite the different children.

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There is a consistent approach to promoting good behaviour that all staff know and apply. Learning in classrooms is focused and purposeful. Where required, leaders have worked tirelessly to get the right help for a small minority of pupils who have needed more guidance to improve their behaviour. This includes giving all staff the support they need to manage any difficulties that may occasionally arise.

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Alongside their high expectations of pupils, leaders also believe in helping their staff to be the very best they can be. All staff receive high-quality training and use this daily in the classroom. They work hard but do this knowing their well-being is always considered by the co-headteachers and the Esher Learning Trust. This means that staff, as well as their pupils, are proud of their school and want to help in its continual improvement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders take the safeguarding of their pupils very seriously. Staff are resilient and determined in making sure that pupils and their families get the right support when needed. This includes help from local agencies. Record-keeping is meticulous and regularly reviewed to make sure no concerns are missed. 4–5 March 2020

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Pupils know that adults will listen to them if they have any concerns or worries. They can readily recollect specific lessons and visits by speakers about how to stay safe. This includes being safe when online and protecting their personal information.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Most pupils are now achieving better than they did in the past. However, some older pupils have some gaps in their knowledge and understanding in reading and writing. This means that, while many pupils reach the national expectations in these subjects, some could have achieved even more. Leaders should ensure that the school builds upon the significant improvements in teaching and assessment that have already been made. This will help all pupils, whatever their ability, to be fully ready for the next stage of their education.  Some subjects are not as well developed as others. This means that pupils do not always build on their prior learning as strongly as they might. Leaders know this. Their actions to improve this have been effective so far, especially in subjects such as art and physical education. However, more needs to be done if the quality of education the school provides is to improve further.

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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 a section 8 inspection of a good or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good, or standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Andrew’s CofE Primary School, to be good on 24–25 June 2014.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 4–5 March 2020

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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. 4–5 March 2020

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School details

Headteacher Joanne Mitchell and Bethan Thomas

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School details

Website www.standrews-primary.surrey.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Esher Learning Trust in 2017.  The school has a new leadership team since the last inspection, including co- headteachers.  There has recently been a restructuring of the local governing body.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with senior leaders, including those from the Esher Learning Trust, staff, pupils and representatives of the board of trustees and governing body, including the chair.  I considered the 26 responses to the confidential staff survey. I took account of the 85 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, I viewed the school’s website and policies, met with the designated safeguarding leaders, spoke with pupils and staff, checked school records of safeguarding carried out on adults working at the school and spoke with governors and trustees. 4–5 March 2020

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 I did deep dives in reading, mathematics and art. I discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, staff and pupils, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and listened to pupils read.

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Inspection team

Aimee Floyd, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 4–5 March 2020

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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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