Longparish Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Longparish Church of England Primary School Longparish, Andover, Hampshire SP11 6PB

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

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Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding for overall effectiveness at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since January 2014. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 1 and 2 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘A nurturing and inspiring environment for children to learn and grow’ is one parent’s view, capturing the essence of Longparish and the opinions of many parents and carers . ‘Leap into Longparish’ visits and activities ensure that children settle quickly and get off to a superb start in the Reception class. The values of ‘excellence, friendship and respect’ permeate all aspects of school life, indoors and outside. Behaviour is impressive. The school’s squirrel characters teach pupils the important learning habits that they need to succeed now and in their future lives. Classrooms are calm and industrious. Pupils are captivated by their learning. They live up to the school’s expectation of ‘being the best me I can be’ and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate how lucky they are to learn and play in such an idyllic setting. The recent addition of the ‘River House’ has been greeted with much excitement, providing an ideal place to spot and learn about wildlife. The natural materials placed around the field spark pupils’ imagination at playtimes. Great care is taken to widen their horizons beyond the ‘Longparish bubble’. The residential trip to London is much anticipated. Pupils are introduced to local, national and global issues. They learn how they can help to make a difference to challenges such as food poverty and pollution.

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

Pupils get so much more than an academic education at Longparish. Everything is centred on the commitment to provide them with ‘a rich, well-rounded foundation on which to build an understanding of the world and their place in it’. The ‘sports, health and well- being’ curriculum prioritises pupils’ personal development from the start. From an early age, pupils start to learn what makes themselves and others ‘tick’, and the importance of rules and fairness in school and society. Older pupils, including Longparish’s very own ‘bishop’, take their leadership roles very seriously. Weaving the big ideas of ‘migration and movement’ and ‘climate and sustainability’ into the curriculum fosters pupils’ mature understanding of the changing world they live in.

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

Equally successful is the unrelenting emphasis on equipping pupils with the essential life skill of reading. Outcomes at the end of Year 6 are impressive. Children begin to learn to read as soon as they start school. Staff are skilled at listening and checking carefully which letter sounds pupils know and which they do not. Any extra support needed is delivered sensitively and skilfully so that pupils develop confidence in themselves as readers or ‘book butterflies’. The well-considered reading curriculum builds on these strong foundations and introduces pupils to a wide range of books. Older pupils talk with great enthusiasm about the books that their teachers read to them and how ‘reading takes you places’. Standards in writing have not been as high. The current focus on ensuring that pupils have fully grasped the fundamental skills they need at each stage is bringing about notable improvements.

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

The experience and expertise that underpin the early years curriculum are evident. The steps children should take in their learning and development over the course of the Reception Year have been meticulously plotted. Great care is taken to get to know each 1 and 2 April 2025

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group of children and their interests and needs before they start school to inform any adaptations needed. Year 6 buddies help to look after them. A high-quality blend of skilful teaching and staff as ‘play partners’ creates a palpable sense of purpose and infectious enthusiasm for learning. Most children are well prepared for Year 1 by the time that they move up. The curriculum in key stages 1 and 2 is carefully designed to continue to build pupils’ knowledge, skills and vocabulary. A great deal of thought has gone into mapping what will be taught when, taking into account the mixed-age classes.

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Teaching from Year 1 upwards is typically skilful. Curriculum information and guidance ensure that teachers have a good understanding of the subjects that they teach and how to build pupils’ learning. Staff are alert to pupils who appear to be finding learning difficult. They are mindful of the range of needs in their class, keep a check on pupils’ understanding and tailor support to different groups or individuals accordingly. Pupils acquire a good bank of knowledge. Sometimes, though, they remember what they did rather than what they learned. Strategies intended to help pupils retain and recall important knowledge and skills are not precise enough.

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This is a school that knows itself well, is justifiably proud of its strengths and ambitious to be even better. The same values of ‘excellence, friendship and respect’ inform leaders’ decision-making. Staff, and in turn pupils, benefit from well-considered professional development opportunities and the watchful eye that is kept on their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Activities designed to help pupils recall previous learning beyond English and mathematics are still developing. Pupils cannot always bring important content to mind easily. The school should review how it ensures that teaching supports pupils to embed key knowledge and subject-specific skills in, and retrieve them from, their long-term memory.

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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. 1 and 2 April 2025

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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). 1 and 2 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 January 2014 under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been several changes of headteacher and significant staff turnover since the last inspection. The current headteacher joined the school at Easter 2022. All the teachers are new to the school since it was last inspected.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities varies from year to year. At the time of inspection, it was around one in six. Typically, there are very few pupils who speak English as an additional language or who are eligible for pupil premium.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The religious character of Longparish is inspected separately. The school’s last section 48 inspection took place in March 2019. The next one is due within eight years of that date.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and 1 and 2 April 2025

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management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 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.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and other school leaders; members of the governing body, including the chair; and representatives of the local authority and diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, talked to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult. The team considered the curriculum in some other

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subjects through discussions with leaders and pupils and sampling 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 the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The views of staff and parents were gathered using Ofsted’s surveys. There were no responses to the pupil survey, but the inspectors met with pupils as well as staff during the inspection. They also talked to pupils around school and outside at breaktimes, and with staff as they went about their work.

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Inspection team

Alison Bradley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

James Munt Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 April 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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