St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, North Kilworth

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, North Kilworth Dag Lane, North Kilworth, Lutterworth, Leicestershire LE17 6HD

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Outcome

St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, North Kilworth has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The co-executive headteachers of this school are Alan Eathorne and Heather White. This school is part of Learn Academies Trust (Learn-AT), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Jane Jones, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Jeremy Benson.

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What is it like to attend this school?

St Andrew’s is a small school with a big heart. Its code of conduct, ‘choose respect, choose kindness, do your best, step up and take part’, is very well understood. Pupils and staff enact this throughout the school. Breaktimes are joyful, and classrooms are typically calm and purposeful. The after-school club provides a happy, relaxing environment for pupils from all year groups. Pupils here look after each other. They work and play collaboratively every day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s high expectations for pupils’ achievements are largely met and often exceeded. Pupils learn well, especially in the core subjects of English and mathematics. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn alongside their peers. Overall, pupils make strong progress against their individual starting points.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leadership opportunities help pupils to develop a sense of responsibility. Year 6 pupils proudly wear their ‘pupil ambassador’ hoodies, acting as role models for younger pupils. Themed days reinforce pupils’ learning of the curriculum. They also provide opportunities for pupils to connect with their peers at other schools in the trust. For example, a ‘Viking day’ across all four schools in the local cluster enhanced pupils’ learning in history, while strengthening pupils’ sense of belonging. 11 March 2025

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

The school, with support from the trust, has strengthened its curriculum since the last inspection. The curriculum sets out clearly the sequence of learning in each subject, so that pupils build their knowledge gradually. Due to its small size, the school has mixed- age classes. The curriculum caters for these. The school has considered the needs of children in the early years carefully. The early years curriculum prepares children well for Year 1 and beyond.

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

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. In the classroom, they revisit previous learning and check pupils’ understanding of new learning often. Teachers use modelling to support pupils’ learning. They provide opportunities for pupils to practise what they have learned in independent tasks. Overall, these approaches are effective. Occasionally, teaching is less effective. For example, sometimes pupils start an independent task before they are ready. Some tasks are not well matched to curriculum aims or adapted to meet pupils’ needs. These weaknesses hamper some pupils’ progress through the curriculum.

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

Reading is a high priority. Staff instil a love of books in children from the moment they join the school in early years. In the pre-school, children prepare for learning phonics by listening for sounds in stories and rhymes. In the Reception Year, and throughout key stage 1, pupils learn early reading skills in daily phonics sessions. They practise with books that are well matched to their phonics levels. Staff spot pupils who need help with early reading. They provide support to enable these pupils to catch up quickly.

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

The school identifies pupils with SEND early. It puts support in place so that pupils with SEND can access the same curriculum as their peers. The school and trust are strengthening provision for pupils with SEND by training staff to adapt the curriculum effectively. More time is needed for the impact of this training to be seen fully. The occasional weaknesses in the implementation or adaptation of the curriculum affect the progress of some pupils with SEND.

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

For a small school, there is an extensive range of extra-curricular activities and enrichment experiences for pupils. These nurture and celebrate pupils’ talents beyond the classroom. For example, pupils participate in a range of sporting activities, sometimes competitively. These include dodgeball, tag rugby and swimming. Singing at a nationwide event for schools and learning to play an instrument develop pupils’ musical and performance skills. Pupils learn about different cultures and religions, and fundamental British values, such as the rule of law. The school prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

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

The trust has structures in place to support and challenge school leaders. It provides valuable staff development opportunities in the form of networks, clusters and training events. These support staff in their delivery of a high-quality curriculum. However, some of the school and trust’s processes for checking how well the curriculum is working are not as effective as they could be. This means some aspects of provision that might be improved are not spotted. 11 March 2025

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The trust is considerate of staff workload and welfare. During an unsettling period of leadership restructuring, the trust has successfully guided staff through the changes. Most staff feel their well-being is supported. Some parents take a less positive view. However, trustees, trust leaders and governors are committed to the school’s continuing success. Their actions have been instrumental in maintaining the standards seen at the last inspection.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school and trust’s processes for checking how well the curriculum is working are not as effective as they could be. Sometimes, the school and trust do not spot where something needs to improve, for example where there are weaknesses in the implementation or adaptation of the curriculum. The school and trust should strengthen their processes for quality assurance so that the curriculum is implemented and adapted effectively. This will support all pupils, including those with SEND, to learn well.  Occasionally, staff do not implement the curriculum effectively for all pupils, including those with SEND. This may be through weaker modelling, and through activities that are not well matched to curriculum aims or not adapted to meet individual pupils’ needs. As a result, some pupils’ learning is not as secure as it could be. The school and trust should ensure that staff are supported to implement the curriculum as well as

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

possible, so that all pupils, including those with SEND, achieve the school and trust’s ambitious aims for them.

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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 11 March 2025

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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.

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, North Kilworth, to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2015.

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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). 11 March 2025

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School details

Headteacher Alan Eathorne and Heather White (Co-Executive Headteachers) Website www.standrewsnorthkilworth.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Learn-AT.  This is a Church of England school that is part of the Diocese of Leicester. The last inspection under Section 48 of the education act for schools with a religious character took place in September 2024.  The head of school was absent from school at the time of the inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision. 11 March 2025

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  Inspectors met with a range of senior leaders, including the trust director of education, co-executive headteachers and special educational needs coordinator. The lead inspector met with a governor and some trustees, including the chair of trustees and the chair of the trust’s school improvement board.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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

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Information about this inspection

the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documentation and policies. These included the school improvement development plan, the school self-evaluation form, attendance information, behaviour logs and safeguarding records.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also considered a letter from a parent. They reviewed the responses to the online staff survey. In addition, inspectors spoke with pupils, parents and staff to gather their views of the school.

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Inspection team

Caroline Crozier, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Katie Towers Ofsted Inspector 11 March 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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