Snape Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Snape Primary School Church Road, Snape, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1QG

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Outcome

Snape Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Sarah Gallagher. This school is part of Kingfisher Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Craig Morrison, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Neil Collins.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils experience a warm, friendly and supportive environment that encourages both academic success and personal growth. Pupils enjoy coming to school because they know that they are valued for their individuality.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Daily school life promotes respect and diversity through the ‘rainbow values’. The pupils reflect these values through their actions and attitudes towards each other and the school community. Pupils take part in engaging lessons. Expectations for pupils’ achievement are high. Pupils collaborate well and are enthusiastic learners. As a result, most pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils consistently show respectful behaviour. The school has a positive atmosphere where learning can flourish. This is because staff uphold clear, consistent expectations. This fosters a calm, orderly environment where pupils feel safe and valued. Pupils appreciate the school’s approach because they can learn effectively without disruptions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a wide variety of opportunities in addition to the academic curriculum, which builds their character and confidence. There are a broad range of clubs that develop pupils’ talents and interests. These clubs are available to all pupils. Pupils can access leadership roles, where they know they can make a difference to the school. For example, they can become a member of the school parliament, where they develop the school’s yearly plan with leaders. 21 January 2025

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum that interests and engages the pupils. Staff have strong subject knowledge, which they deliver in an engaging way. The school has high expectations, and staff carefully model work to pupils. They give guidance quickly so that pupils can move forward with their learning. In the majority of subjects, staff ensure that pupils revisit key knowledge regularly to help pupils remember it. As a result, pupils achieve well. Pupils talk confidently about their learning. They recall previous knowledge using appropriate, specific vocabulary.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school prioritises reading. Well-trained staff deliver phonics consistently throughout the school, starting in the early years. Any pupils who need additional practise or support receive it, enabling them to catch up. Pupils practise their reading as much as possible, which enables them to become confident and fluent readers. Pupils enjoy the wide range of high-quality texts that they have access to. The school carefully chooses the books that pupils will experience in the curriculum. This gives them a rich menu of texts before they leave the school and deepens pupils’ understanding in a range of subject areas.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has recently reviewed the English curriculum to improve pupils’ writing. As a result of leaders’ refinements to the writing curriculum, pupils have a strong grasp of grammatical concepts. Pupils practise these skills in short exercises, and they are beginning to demonstrate the understanding to write in a range of styles. Insufficient opportunities to write independently and at length across the curriculum hinders pupils’ ability to apply their knowledge and achieve better writing outcomes.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school ensures that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same curriculum as their peers. There are clear processes in place to identify pupils with SEND. The school works with parents, pupils and teachers to set key targets to support pupils to access the curriculum. In most cases, these targets help teachers and other adults to support pupils well. Occasionally, these are too vague or do not accurately address individual pupils’ needs. This means adaptations to learning are not always effective.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school promotes pupils’ regular attendance. Where pupils do not attend as well as they could, the school works well with parents and carers to provide targeted support. As a result, attendance is improving.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has a consistent approach to behaviour. As soon as children join the pre- school, they learn routines and rules for politeness and listening to adults. Staff reinforce this approach every day throughout the school. Staff model respectful interactions. This helps to create a safe, inclusive atmosphere. Low-level disruptions to lessons are very rare.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Many aspects of the personal development programme are impressive. The school has carefully thought through its personal development programme. It ensures that all aspects of what pupils are learning tie together through the well-designed personal, social and health education curriculum and the ‘Rainbow values’. The programme is delivered 21 January 2025

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through lessons and well-chosen texts, and also includes assemblies, newsletters and cultural celebrations.

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Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Staff are proud of and enjoy working at the school. Leaders have created a supportive environment for staff to thrive in and carefully consider their workload and well-being. The trust and the school work well together and have high aspirations for pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Expectations and opportunities for pupils’ writing are not consistent across the curriculum. This means some children are not achieving as well as they could. Teachers should be provided with clear guidance on how best to teach writing. The school should ensure pupils have regular opportunities to write independently and at length, in order to apply their grammatical knowledge and write competently and confidently.  Sometimes, the targets for pupils with SEND are too broad or do not always identify the appropriate strategies to support individual pupils’ needs. This means that teachers do not always make effective adaptations to help these pupils access the curriculum as intended. The school and the trust should ensure that the targets and strategies for pupils with SEND are precise and that staff have the knowledge and expertise to understand how to support these pupils to learn and achieve well.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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, 21 January 2025

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Snape Community Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2018.

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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’ 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 January 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the Kingfisher Schools Trust.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school has pre-school provision for two-year-olds.  The school operates a before-school club and an after-school club for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s educational 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.  The inspectors spoke to school leaders, including the headteacher and the trust’s CEO and director of education. 21 January 2025

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 The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning, looked at samples of pupils’ work and listened to some pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during breaktimes and in lessons.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  The inspectors reviewed a range of school documentation and policies, including leaders’ evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff and pupils during the inspection. The lead inspector considered responses made by parents in Ofsted Parent View, including the free text responses. The lead inspector also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff

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Inspection team

Ashley Best-White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Alastair Heath-Robinson Ofsted Inspector 21 January 2025

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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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