East Anstey Primary School

Inspection of East Anstey Primary School East Anstey, Tiverton, Devon EX16 9JP

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 20 and 21 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend East Anstey Primary School. The school has high expectations for pupils. Pupils live up to these expectations. In the classroom, pupils listen and learn well. In the playground, all ages play together harmoniously. They devise their own games using a variety of equipment available to them. Pupils behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and supportive. Staff care about pupils and their families. Staff greet pupils with a smile as they walk into school. Pupils are happy to belong to this friendly community school. Everyone is treated fairly and with respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to play musical instruments like the gamelan, ocarina and recorder. They have opportunities to perform in assemblies and concerts. Trips and visits bring the curriculum to life. The school builds pupils’ character and resilience. Older pupils take part in the Exmoor challenge, where pupils in teams of four use compass and map reading skills to navigate a 16-mile route over Exmoor.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Parents value the strong commitment to their children. All of the parents who responded to Ofsted Parent view would recommend the school.

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better?

The school has designed a curriculum which is suitable for mixed-aged classes. In most subjects the content is sequenced in a sensible order right from the start of Reception Year to the end of Year 6. For example, in mathematics, children in Reception use cubes to add two numbers together. Older pupils use their knowledge of fractions and decimals to solve more complex problems involving money. However, within a small number of subjects, the school has not identified with enough precision the small steps of knowledge it wants pupils to know and remember, starting in the early years. This means that pupils have gaps in their learning. They are less well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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better?

In mathematics and English, subject leaders check how well pupils learn the curriculum. The school trains staff well to support the teaching of the curriculum. For example, staff receive comprehensive phonics training and so they teach this with precision. However, in the wider curriculum, subject leadership is new and developing. The school has not ensured that staff have the depth of subject knowledge they need. Consequently, the curriculum is not delivered as consistently well in these subjects as it is in others. As a result, pupils do not learn as well.

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better?

Reading is a top priority for the school. Children get off to a strong start in the development of language and communication skills in Nursery. Skilled adults encourage children to use new vocabulary and extend their speaking skills. In Reception Year, children learn phonics as soon as they start. Most pupils are able to 20 and 21 March 2024

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use their phonics knowledge confidently by the end of Year 1. Pupils practise reading with books that are well matched to the sounds that they have learned. When reading, pupils decode and read many words with accuracy. Older pupils enjoy reading. They describe their favourite books and authors eagerly. They are proud of the new library space.

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Assessment is used well to check what pupils know and remember. Staff identify and use assessment information to adjust their teaching and to tackle any gaps in pupils’ learning. The school provides extra support to pupils who need it. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are included in all aspects of school life. The school ensures that staff identify the needs of pupils with SEND accurately. Most pupils’ targets are well matched to what they need to focus on. The work in their books shows that pupils with SEND learn the curriculum and make progress.

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The school promotes pupils’ wider development well, such as their economic understanding. Pupils understand the importance of learning, particularly mathematics and how this can impact future careers. For example, the school organises a ‘business week’ where pupils design and run different events which raise money for the school community.

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Pupils have an awareness of some of the fundamental British values. For example, they are knowledgeable about the recent changes to the monarchy and prime ministers. Pupils are respectful of differences between people. Older pupils have a clear understanding of world religions.

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Governors hold the school to account effectively. They are clear about the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement. All staff are committed to making a positive difference to the lives of the pupils who attend the school. They are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

 The school has not fully identified the precise knowledge and skills that pupils will learn in some subjects in the wider curriculum. This means pupils’ understanding does not build well over time. The school needs to continue developing the whole curriculum, so it provides the key knowledge pupils need to remember over time.  In some subjects, staff do not have the depth of subject knowledge they need. This means that pupils do not learn as well as they otherwise could. The school needs to ensure that it supports all staff to improve their subject knowledge and enhance the teaching of the wider curriculum. 20 and 21 March 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). 20 and 21 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Catherine Jennings

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School details

Headteacher Tim Gurney (executive headteacher)

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Date of previous inspection

12 January 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a very small rural school in North Devon. The number of pupils on roll has fallen since the previous inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school has an on-site nursery which has two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 20 and 21 March 2024

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 Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, members of staff, a representative from the local authority, and the chair and members of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and design technology. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited samples of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  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.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments, and the staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Gavin Summerfield, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Tustain Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 March 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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