Amport Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Amport Church of England Primary School The Green, Amport, Andover, Hampshire SP11 8BA

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Outcome

Amport Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Amport are proud ambassadors of their school’s values of truth, trust, forgiveness and love. They said that ‘our values guide us and show us the kind of person we want to be’. Pupils are happy, thoughtful and kind. Several said that their favourite thing about school was being able to play and eat with other year groups, now that COVID-19 restrictions have been relaxed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well and rarely fall out with each other. They know how to sort things out calmly if there are any problems, and know that an adult will help if they need it. Pupils are sociable. They enjoy singing together and participating in various sporting activities. Pupils are eager to help others, as shown by their recent collection of crisp packets that were turned into blankets for the homeless. Parents are full of praise for the school. As one said: ‘Amport has shaped my child into a confident, well-rounded individual.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve particularly well in English and mathematics. However, in some other subjects, pupils’ learning is not as strong. This is because the curriculum in these subjects is not as well developed.

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

Reading is prioritised throughout the school. Right from the start, children are taught phonics using a well-organised programme that carefully builds their knowledge. Adults are well trained. They make sure that children have well-structured opportunities to practise new sounds, and the sounds they already know. The books children use to practise reading match the sounds they are learning. This gives children confidence, and helps them to become fluent, speedy readers. An improved approach to checking what pupils know and remember is helping leaders to quickly identify and help those pupils who need extra support. As a result, pupils develop a love of reading, and are well prepared to learn in other subjects as they move up the school. 2 March 2022

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Pupils’ learning in mathematics is strong. The curriculum is sequenced logically to allow pupils to grow their knowledge of mathematics, step by step. Teachers are knowledgeable about how to teach mathematics. Teachers continually check and address misconceptions. One pupil expressed very clearly how this helps them learn: ‘We know what we are doing because teachers check that we understand the methods. When we know it completely, we move on to harder work. We like that.’

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Leaders and staff have done much to develop the quality of learning in other subjects. For example, in subjects such as science and history, teachers use well-organised plans that make sure that what pupils learn builds on what they have learned before. However, in subjects such as art and information technology, the curriculum does not identify clearly enough the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn. As a result, pupils sometimes do activities that do not add to their developing knowledge of that subject. Consequently, the overall knowledge that pupils gain in some subjects is not as comprehensive as it should be.

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Leaders and governors are ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. They have rightly prioritised making sure that pupils with SEND are quickly identified and their particular needs are understood and addressed. In English and mathematics, pupils with SEND achieve well because teachers expertly break down learning into appropriately small steps. However, this is not always the case in those subjects where the curriculum is still developing.

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Pupils’ wider development is well considered. Pupils particularly enjoy collective worship and sessions led by the local priest. Pupils value being part of the local community, and know to treat others with respect and understanding. For example, they take hampers to the local hospice, and before the COVID-19 pandemic they regularly visited the local care home. Trips to museums and art galleries in local cities are also popular. Pupils who join the school midway through their education, such as those with parents in the armed forces, are actively helped to make friends.

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Leaders have worked hard and effectively to maintain the school’s strengths and improve areas that needed development. Their plans to continue this work are well thought through. Governors have a good understanding of the school. They recognise the need to ensure that the whole curriculum is as well established as it is in English and mathematics. Staff feel well supported and valued by leaders. They appreciate the thought that has gone into managing their workload. Parents find staff approachable, supportive and helpful. Every parent who responded to Ofsted’s survey would recommend the school to others.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff are well trained in safeguarding. They recognise, report and record the small details that may contribute to a picture of concern. Leaders make appropriate decisions when necessary to escalate concerns. They typically record in suitable detail the 2 March 2022

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actions they have taken. Pupils rightly feel confident that adults will help them if they need it.

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Pupils learn how to stay safe in their community, for example when cycling and crossing roads. Pupils are taught about the importance of healthy relationships, including online.

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Recruitment procedures are thorough and the single central record is kept in an orderly way.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, leaders have not identified well enough what pupils need to learn throughout their time in school, and in what order. Provision for pupils with SEND is also not fully effective in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum in these subjects is sequenced to ensure that pupils build knowledge effectively over time. It is clear from leaders’ actions that they are in the process of bringing this about. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.

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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 outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2012. 2 March 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 .

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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. 2 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211508 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Anna Dixon-Green

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 February 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The previous headteacher retired in January 2021. The current headteacher was appointed in June 2021, having been acting as interim headteacher since January 2021.  Since the new headteacher joined the school, governors have appointed a special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) who works in the school for one afternoon a week.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.  The school is a voluntary-aided Church of England primary school. It had its most recent section 48 inspection, undertaken by the Diocese of Winchester, in May 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 2 March 2022

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and SENCo. The lead inspector spoke on the telephone with a representative of the Diocese of Winchester, and met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised the single central record of employment checks, sampled safeguarding records, met with the designated safeguarding lead and deputy lead, and spoke with a range of staff members and pupils.  Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and to Ofsted Parent

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View, including free-text comments. Inspectors also spoke with parents at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Catherine Old, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Shazia Akram Her Majesty’s Inspector 2 March 2022

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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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