St Andrew's CofE Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School Mansfield Road, Skegby, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire NG17 3DW

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Outcome

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

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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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave consistently well. They say that bullying has no place in their school. Moreover, pupils’ attitudes towards learning and life in modern 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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.’

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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. 19 and 20 July 2023

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 19 and 20 July 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

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.

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Safeguarding

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.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that the school site is secure.

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(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

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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 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. 19 and 20 July 2023

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

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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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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. 19 and 20 July 2023

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School details

Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council

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School details

Inspection number 10254925 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 John Summerfield

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 November 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school’s last section 48 inspection of its religious character was in July 2023.  The school makes use of one registered alternative education provider.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other members of the school’s leadership team, including the coordinator for pupils with SEND.  The inspector met with seven members of the school’s governing body, including the chair and vice-chair. He also spoke to two representatives from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: phonics and early reading, geography and mathematics. For each deep dive, he met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited samples of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also reviewed 19 and 20 July 2023

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curriculum documentation for a range of other subjects, including art, computing, personal, social and health education, and physical education.  The inspector listened to pupils from key stage 1 and Year 3 read to a familiar adult.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site during playtime.  To evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, the inspector met with the senior designated safeguarding lead, who is also the headteacher. He scrutinised safeguarding documentation, including policies and record- keeping. He reviewed the school’s single central record to assess the checks made for the recruitment of staff. The inspector checked staff knowledge of the school’s safeguarding procedures.  The inspector considered the 101 responses to Ofsted Parent View, as well as the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils. He also reviewed the school’s survey

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information for pupils and parents, collected in June 2023.

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Inspection team

Chris Stevens, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 July 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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