Sandringham and West Newton Church of England Primary Academy

Inspection of Sandringham and West Newton Church of England Primary Academy School Road, West Newton, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE31 6AX

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 Academy 10 and 11 January 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kept safe and are ready to learn. The culture of mutual respect makes the school a happy and harmonious place. Pupils live up to the high expectations adults have for them. They learn well, developing into kind, caring and responsible young people by the time they leave the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying is extremely rare. Pupils are confident speaking to adults if they have a problem. They know they will get the help they need. Children in Reception look up to their Year 6 ‘buddies’ who support and guide them through their first year in school. Pupils with additional responsibilities, such as members of the school council, are rightly proud of their roles.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the school’s forest area, pupils are encouraged to build their resilience and to take carefully considered risks. A range of enrichment activities helps them step outside of their comfort zone to try new things, such as sailing, public speaking and representing the school at Royal events.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Elfie, the school dog, is a much-loved member of the community. When pupils are feeling sad or anxious, spending time with Elfie goes a long way in helping them to cheer up.

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better?

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. They have ensured that the range of subjects taught matches the ambition of the national curriculum. This equips pupils with the important knowledge and skills they need to be able to learn well. As they move through the school, pupils deepen their knowledge and skills in many subjects. All pupils have access to the wide curriculum, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Adults skilfully support pupils with SEND, adapting activities to help these pupils succeed in their learning. In the small number of subjects where leaders are refining the curriculum, pupils do not develop such a depth of knowledge as they do in other subjects.

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better?

Making sure pupils learn to read confidently and fluently is leaders’ top priority. Children in the Reception class learn lots of new words in their different areas of learning. Adults are expert at interacting with children, helping them to practise using their growing vocabulary correctly when speaking. Children develop a love of stories, poems and songs. Older pupils, too, enjoy hearing stories. This helps them expand their knowledge of different genres of books, which they go on to read for themselves and pleasure.

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better?

Reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. The youngest pupils learn to read well. Most go on to become fluent and confident readers. This helps older pupils to find out more in different curriculum subjects. The phonics programme is expertly taught. Adults are skilled at supporting those who need extra support with reading. Pupils read books that help them practise the precise sounds they are learning in Academy 10 and 11 January 2023

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class. This helps them to catch up quickly.

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Pupils behave extremely well. The school environment is calm and purposeful. Pupils of all ages get on well together. The playground and dinner hall are full of smiles and happy faces.

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Pupils benefit enormously from the extremely well-considered personal development programme. They are well supported to try new things, persevere and communicate with others. Much of this strong work helps pupils develop their character. Pupils celebrate the differences between themselves and others. Whatever a person’s background or belief, pupils treat everyone equally. Pupils learn about different relationships through the schools’ highly effective relationships and sex education provision.

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Children in Reception develop independence. They know to ‘choose it, use it and put it away’. Children learn right from wrong, and pupils develop a strong moral compass as they move through the school. They are taught in detail about other world religions and beliefs. Pupils develop into responsible and confident young people.

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Staff receive high-quality training to support them in carrying out their roles. As a result, teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. This means teachers are skilled at quickly identifying if a pupil misunderstands a concept. Staff value the support they receive from senior leaders. Leaders pay close attention to staff’s workload when introducing new systems and practices.

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Trustees, members of the local governing board (LGB) and trust leaders work in harmony to provide effective challenge and support for leaders. They hold the view that every pupil counts and strive to ensure that the school provides the best it can. They have an accurate view of the strengths of the school, along with the areas which could be even better.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school has a well-established culture of vigilance. Adults work together to keep pupils safe. Adults are well trained to spot if a pupil is at risk of harm. When specific issues arise, leaders waste no time in dealing with them, providing the right help for pupils. This includes working effectively with other agencies where this is needed.

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Safeguarding

The checks made on staff before they joined the school are carried out meticulously.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught how to stay safe. They know the steps they can take to stay safe, such as when using the internet. Governors make regular checks to assure themselves leaders are doing all they can to protect pupils from harm. Academy 10 and 11 January 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, leaders have not completed their work to precisely identify the important knowledge pupils need to learn. This means they do not develop deep and detailed knowledge in these few subjects as they do in the rest of the curriculum. Leaders should finish the work they have started to identify this precise knowledge to ensure pupils learn well across the curriculum.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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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. Academy 10 and 11 January 2023

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roll

Website www.sandringhamandwestnewtonprimary.com

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Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is federated with another local school and the executive headteacher leads both schools. The school is also part of the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT).  The school has a Christian religious character. The school’s most recent section 48 inspection took place in May 2016. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, Academy 10 and 11 January 2023

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computing and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  The lead inspector evaluated the curriculum plans and spoke to leaders and pupils about several other subjects.  Inspectors held meetings with the executive headteacher, the executive deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and the early years leader. The lead inspector met with members of the LGB, trustees and senior leaders from DNEAT.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised the single central record and reviewed safeguarding paperwork and systems. Inspectors spoke with leaders, teachers, support staff, members of the LGB and pupils to evaluate the culture of safeguarding in school.

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 Inspectors considered 53 responses, along with 40 free-text comments, to Ofsted’s questionnaire for parents. The lead inspector also received letters from two parents. Inspectors also considered 13 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for staff. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Nathan Lowe, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alex Hayes Ofsted Inspector Academy 10 and 11 January 2023

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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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