Akrotiri Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The vision and drive of the headteacher, who is very well supported by her deputy headteacher, has been central to the school's recent significant improvement. Both have forged a strong sense of teamwork and re-established the school's reputation within the community. The senior leadership team and school governance committee are very well informed and provide high levels of support and challenge.

All leaders are very ambitious for the school. However, they are realistic about the need to embed and consolidate the rapid improvement which has taken place during the past year. Teachers plan exciting and stimulating topics which motivate and engage p...upils' interest.

At times, teaching does not provide sufficient challenge for the most able pupils to extend their English and mathematics skills across the wider curriculum. Specialist help from external agencies is used well to support the needs of those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The well-being of every pupil is of paramount importance to staff.

Pupils build a strong level of trust with adults and feel secure in school. Pupils have extremely positive attitudes to their work and are eager, inquisitive learners. Pupils behave exceptionally well in class and around school.

They are kind and caring to each other and extremely respectful towards adults. The early years provision is good and teaching staff have a secure understanding of how young children learn. Most children are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Information about this school

Akrotiri is a large primary school with 23 classes. It serves the children of the British Forces and civilian families based at Akrotiri station. Approximately half of the school are in foundation stage 1 and 2 which cater for children aged 3 to 5.

Nursery children attend foundation stage 1 on a part-time basis. The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language and the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are both below average. In common with many other Ministry of Defence schools, the number of children and staff who join or leave other than at normal times is very high.

Since September 2016 the school has had 162 arrivals and 70 leavers. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is slightly below the national average.

A below average proportion of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Since the last section 5 inspection, there have been a number of significant changes to the senior leadership team, teaching staff and members of the SGC. The current headteacher was appointed in March 2016 and the deputy headteacher in September 2015.

Since the start of this academic year, just under half of the teachers were newly appointed to the school. The current Chair of the SGC has been in post since September 2016 and there are also a number of new governors. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.