Amberley Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Amberley Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at Amberley Primary School.

They are kind, polite and welcoming. Pupils develop positive relationships with each other and with adults. They enjoy coming to school which is a safe place to learn.

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. It provides a highly ambitious curriculum that prepares pupils well for the next stage of their learning. Pupils have positive attitudes to school.

They behave well in lessons and at playtimes. They are kind and considerate of others.

Pupils hold important leadership roles in school.

Scho...ol councillors contribute to decisions on how to improve the school. Sports leaders support their peers at playtime and eco warriors are ambassadors for sustainability. In these roles, pupils learn responsibility and are well prepared to be positive citizens of the future.

Pupils and staff live and breathe the school's values of nurturing, innovation and aspiration in all that they do.

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

Pupils benefit from a well-planned and ambitious curriculum. The knowledge that they need to learn is set out in a clear sequence of learning that starts in the early years.

The school has prioritised professional development and training for staff. Teachers base their practice on the latest educational research. They plan lessons that have a consistent structure.

Lessons are designed to help pupils remember important knowledge. Pupils regularly revisit what they have learned before. They benefit from first-hand educational experiences.

For example, as part of a topic on local history, a local historian visited school to talk to the pupils. Teachers make regular checks on whether pupils have gaps in their learning. When pupils fall behind, they are supported to keep up.

The curriculum is just as ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school identifies pupils' needs quickly. These pupils are supported well with additional resources and/or appropriate adaptations to the curriculum.

The school has prioritised reading. Books are promoted and celebrated. Pupils demonstrate enthusiasm for reading.

They eagerly discuss their favourite books and authors. The 'reading shack' in the school's grounds is a cosy and accessible space for pupils to enjoy and share their love of books. Pupils, at the early stages of learning to read, receive daily lessons in phonics.

In these lessons, they learn the sounds that letters make, blend them into words and develop their reading fluency. When pupils read aloud to adults, these techniques are not consistently applied. Sometimes, pupils read books that have sounds in them that they have not been taught.

When this happens, they do not develop fluency in reading as well as they should.

The school has developed a highly effective mathematics curriculum. This curriculum builds throughout the school from the very solid foundations laid in early years.

Mathematics lessons are well structured. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to regularly revisit important mathematical concepts. Pupils use their existing knowledge to solve problems.

Children in early years are well prepared for key stage 1. The early years environment has been carefully designed to support children's learning. Children benefit from strong routines and positive relationships with each other and with adults.

In Nursery, children learn skills, such as identifying rhymes in words, which prepare them well for formal phonics lessons in Reception.

Pupils behave well in lessons and at less-structured times. They demonstrate positive attitudes to their school and to their learning.

The school prioritises regular attendance and leaders act decisively when pupils' attendance is poor.

The schools' curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE) ensures that pupils are prepared well to be happy, healthy and positive global citizens. They learn to care for themselves, others, the community and the planet.

Pupils are highly inclusive and tolerant of differences. They provide a warm welcome to new pupils and adult visitors.

The school provides extensive opportunities for pupils to develop their interests and talents.

There is a broad extra-curricular offer. Pupils also benefit from learning in different, interesting contexts such as in the 'invention shed' or in the outdoor learning area.

Governors share the school's high ambitions for pupils.

They fulfil their roles well in supporting the school and holding leaders to account. Many parents speak extremely positively about the school, and the education and support their children receive. Staff enjoy working at the school.

They appreciate leaders' concern for their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Support for pupils at the earliest stages of learning to read is variable.

Early readers do not develop fluency consistently well. The school must ensure that all staff deliver the school's phonics scheme consistently and that early reading books are well matched to the sounds that pupils know.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2019.

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