St Andrew's CofE Primary School

Inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary School Nuthurst Street, Nuthurst, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 6LH

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 6 and 7 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is consistently excellent. They are impressively kind and respectful. Pupils benefit from warm and positive relationships with staff and other pupils. This starts in early years, where children learn to be considerate and kind to each other. Pupils closely abide by the golden rules which include respecting differences and trying their best. Their opinions are regularly sought and listened to. They understand the importance of accepting others for who they are and valuing diversity. This helps pupils to feel safe and have a sense of belonging.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils focus well during lessons and are keen to participate and focus. The calm and purposeful learning environment positively promotes learning. As a result, pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils keenly take on a range of leadership roles, such as lunchtime monitors, play leaders and reading ambassadors. They appreciate attending a broad range of clubs, such as drama, choir, netball and football. These opportunities support pupils to develop skills to work as part of a team and to develop new talents and interests. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school and the education and care their children receive.

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better?

The school has carefully designed an ambitious curriculum. Leaders have identified and sequenced the knowledge, skills and vocabulary that they intend pupils to learn and remember from early years onwards. The school supports staff to swiftly identify pupils with SEND. Effective support is provided to help individual pupils with additional needs.

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better?

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. This supports them to explain new concepts clearly to develop pupils’ understanding. The well-organised environment is designed to promote pupils’ learning. Within sequences of lessons, staff closely check pupils’ understanding and help them to revisit and recall the most important content. This builds pupils’ confidence and fluency and promotes their independence. Pupils take pride in their learning and good-quality work reflects their positive achievement across different subjects. In some subjects, such as mathematics, skilful staff support pupils to recall previous learning over time. This helps pupils to gradually build their knowledge over time and to connect new learning to bigger ideas. This is not yet consistent across all subjects.

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better?

The teaching of reading is a high priority. Well-trained staff carefully follow the sequenced phonics programme. This helps pupils at the early stage of reading to decode with accuracy. Pupils read books that are closely matched to the sounds they have learned. This supports them to read with confidence. Weaker readers are given effective support to enable them to keep up. Older pupils are exposed to a wide range of texts from a range of different cultures that they might not independently 6 and 7 February 2024

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read themselves. This extends pupils’ vocabulary and knowledge of different authors. Pupils are proud of their ‘millionaire’ badges that reflect high levels of reading. As a result, pupils develop a deep love of reading. This is reflected in the strong published outcomes for reading at the end of key stage 1 and 2.

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Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. From the moment children start in Reception, they are taught how to behave to meet the school’s high expectations. Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. This is reflected in high levels of concentration and a determination to do well. Pupils of all ages play beautifully, are inclusive and kind. Attendance is high and leaders take effective action to support families where needed.

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The provision for pupils’ personal development is exceptional. The school’s impressive work teaches pupils to navigate through life safely, happily and healthily. Staff support pupils to develop a deep understanding of tolerance and respect, so that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils study different religions and cultures and confidently speak about the importance of equality of opportunity. The school provides an array of extra-curricular clubs and ensures that disadvantaged pupils fully benefit from these. Pupils relish other experiences such as the school’s contribution to Horsham Fair and the numerous singing opportunities. Pupils appreciate the importance of being active citizens and making a positive difference to their local community, such as performing to the local residential home.

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Governors have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and what it wants to further refine. The governing body are effective, and they support and challenge the school well. Staff are proud to be a part of the school community. They appreciate what the school does to reduce workload, such as adjustments to the marking policy. Everyone in the school community works positively together, keeping pupils at the centre of decision making.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, pupils are helped to remember long term the content they have been taught but this is less well developed in a few subjects. This means that in these subjects, pupils’ recall over time is less secure. Leaders should continue to refine their work, so that teaching supports pupils to achieve highly across the curriculum over time. 6 and 7 February 2024

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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). 6 and 7 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 June 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a school with six classes of Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and 4, Year 4 and 5 and Year 6.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  This is a Church of England school in the Diocese of Chichester. Its last section 48 inspection took place in September 2016.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 6 and 7 February 2024

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 Inspectors also looked at samples of pupils’ work in other subjects, including geography, art and design, modern foreign languages and science.

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 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 met with school leaders and representatives from the governing body, a representative of the Diocese of Chichester and a representative from the local authority.

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 The inspectors analysed responses to the staff survey and spoke to staff about their views of the school.

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 The inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and the additional free-text responses. An inspector also spoke with parents on the first day of the inspection.

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 The inspectors evaluated responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and spoke to pupils throughout the inspection about their views of the school.

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Inspection team

Baljit Bhabra, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Luisa Gould Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 February 2024

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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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