Pilgrims' Cross CofE Aided Primary School

Inspection of Pilgrims’ Cross C of E Aided Primary School Picket Twenty Way, Picket Twenty, Andover, Hampshire SP11 6TY

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 21 and 22 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values of love, courage and trust are at heart of this welcoming school. Pupils are happy and safe. They come into school with smiles on their faces and want to do their best. The school wants all pupils to learn ways to make their own lives better and the lives of others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are eager to learn and enjoy the lessons that teachers provide. Children make a positive start to their education in the Reception Year. However, older pupils do not achieve as well as they should in some areas of the curriculum. As a result, the school has recently adopted a curriculum that is more ambitious. It ensures teachers know what to teach in a clear order.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils play their part in ensuring that the atmosphere throughout the school is calm. The vast majority of pupils follow the school’s rules. Pupils play well together. ‘Junior guides’ support younger pupils at play and in the lunch hall. Incidents of bullying are exceptionally rare. When it does happen, pupils are confident that staff will resolve the problem. This helps to build a positive and inclusive community for pupils to learn in.

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better?

The school has made recent improvements to the quality of education pupils receive. Every subject now has a clear curriculum with the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils should learn. As a result, pupils are learning more in every subject. However, because this work is so recent, teachers are not always aware of the best methods of teaching the content of the curriculum. Some do not always follow the set scheme of lessons that the school expects them to deliver.

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better?

The staff in early years ensure that children achieve well in each early learning goal. Staff communicate with parents effectively. This enables the children to settle quickly. The children interact very well with each other and concentrate with focus. They show a resilience and determination to find out things or to solve problems. This all helps them develop to be ready for Year 1.

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better?

The school prioritises pupils learning to read. All staff have received the required training to deliver high-quality phonics lessons. Pupils are eager to learn the sounds and participate well in the sessions. The school has streamlined the books available to pupils in the early stages of reading to ensure they match the phonics scheme. However, if pupils fall behind in the scheme, they are not always given the extra support they need to catch up rapidly. This means not all pupils learn to read as quickly as they should.

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better?

Pupils are beginning to learn more and remember more across the curriculum. However, the amount that pupils have learned overall is not enough. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not always have the adaptations they need in every subject. In the core subjects of English and 21 and 22 November 2023

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mathematics, teachers are more confident in delivering and adapting the curriculum. This means that all pupils, including pupils with SEND, make better progress in these subjects. However, there are fewer adaptations in other subjects. The checks the school makes about what staff have taught and what pupils have learned are not rigorous enough. As a result, pupils’ learning is not as strong as it should be.

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The school ensures that pupils develop an understanding of modern Britain. Using the school’s values as the basis, pupils develop their personal spirituality. They develop a good understanding of local and global issues, such as the impact of deforestation and natural disasters. Pupils appreciate the extra opportunities that the school provides, including curriculum trips and the choir. The school recognises the limited choice of clubs currently offered while staff have focused on improving the quality of education.

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The school’s governors are fully aware of the school’s strengths and challenges. They have focused on safeguarding, securing the school’s finances and improving pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics. However, the school’s focus on the impact of the wider curriculum has not been rigorous enough. All staff are keen and dedicated to make the necessary improvements. Parents recognise this too, with one saying:

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‘This is such a great school. They have gone above and beyond to help my child thrive and develop. There is a strong vision for the school going forward which is communicated to parents and things are happening.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some teachers do not have sufficiently secure subject and pedagogical knowledge in some subjects in the wider curriculum. This means that pupils do not remember and understand what they have learned securely enough. The school should ensure that staff have sufficient subject knowledge and expertise to deliver the full curriculum effectively.  The school has not checked how well the curriculum is being taught, including early reading, effectively enough. The school should monitor more widely to ensure that the intended curriculum is improving pupils’ achievement in all subjects. The school can then make the right curriculum adaptations and provide teachers with the appropriate support so that all pupils learn successfully over time.  While governors scrutinise safeguarding and the school’s finances robustly, they are not as rigorous in checking the quality of education across the curriculum. 21 and 22 November 2023

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Governors should ensure they hold leaders to account to help secure improvements.

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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' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 21 and 22 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Richard Osmond (interim headteacher)

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 January 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The deputy headteacher became the interim headteacher in September 2023.  The school is designated as having a religious character. Its last Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools took place in March 2016, when it received a good judgement in all areas.  The school does not use any alternative providers.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 21 and 22 November 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, music and physical education. 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 met with the interim headteacher, the interim deputy headteacher and other leaders in the school. The lead inspector also met with three governors, including the chair of the local governing body, a representative from the local authority and a representative from the diocese.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documents, including minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.  The inspectors considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View. Two inspectors also spoke with parents on the first morning of the inspection.  The views of staff were gathered through interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection, as well as through the staff survey.  Inspectors gathered pupils’ views throughout the inspection, including through the pupil survey, discussions, during classroom visits and at lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Chris Parker, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

James Munt Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 November 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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