Ashchurch Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ashchurch Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Ashchurch Primary School.

They are keen to take part in their lessons and enjoy their learning. Pupils get on well together and care about each other's successes. Parents and carers speak highly of the support the school provides.

They feel that the school is like an extended family, where every pupil is known and valued as an individual.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Staff reward good behaviour and manners.

Pupils are polite and courteous. There is a respectful culture in the school because of this. Low-level disrup...tion is rare.

This results in a calm and purposeful environment in classrooms and around the school.

Pupils feel safe. Parents agree.

Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils say that bullying does not happen. If it were to happen, they are confident that adults would deal with it quickly.

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs on offer to them, such as singing and gardening. They value the trips they go on and the opportunities they have to support the local community. Pupils say that these experiences help them to learn new things.

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

Leaders and staff are ambitious for what all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve. They have created a curriculum that is designed well.Leaders prioritise reading.

They ensure that pupils have many opportunities to listen to and read a range of texts. Pupils enjoy listening to stories and talk about them enthusiastically. They know how the books they read, for example 'The Windrush Child', help them to develop their understanding of inclusion.

Leaders ensure that staff implement the phonics programme consistently. Pupils learn new sounds well. Most pupils read books that are well matched to the sounds they are learning.

Pupils read with increasing confidence and fluency as they move through the school. Staff regularly check if pupils are keeping up with the reading programme. If pu-pils fall behind, they receive the support they need to help them to catch up quickly.

In mathematics, teachers provide clear explanations. They model mathematical vocabu-lary well. This means, for example, that children in the early years can describe the prop-erties of shape well.

Older pupils build on this. They confidently explain their thinking when converting fractions.Pupils learn a range of wider curriculum subjects through themes linked to culture, communication, conflict and conservation.

This helps them to make connections in their learning. For example, in history, older pupils learn about the Roman invasion of Britain. They use their secure knowledge of concepts, such as conflict, well to make links to current events in the world.

However, younger pupils' historical knowledge is less secure. They struggle to remember what they have learned before. This is because some teaching does not make clear what pupils need to know and remember.

This slows the progress that some pupils make.Leaders are ambitious for what pupils with SEND can achieve. They quickly identify pupils' individual needs.

Staff work together to ensure that pupils are well supported. As a result, these pupils learn the same curriculum as their peers.Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning.

They behave well in lessons and during social times. This starts in the early years. Children are eager to take part in their learning.

They understand and follow school routines well.Pupils' personal development is a strength of the school. Leaders ensure that the personal development curriculum is well planned.

Pupils talk confidently about fundamental British values, such as respect and tolerance. They understand that people are different and why it is important to treat everyone equally. Despite this, pupils say they would like more opportunities to develop their leadership skills.

Governors are ambitious for the school. They ask challenging questions to help the school improve. The newly appointed chair and vice chair understand their roles well.

Staff feel valued and describe the school as a 'special place to work'. They value the support they receive from leaders, particularly with regards to their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure there is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. They know their vulnerable pupils and families well. Staff are well trained.

They use this well to spot the signs that may indicate a pupil is at risk and act quickly. Leaders engage well with different agencies to make sure that pupils and their families get the early support they need. Appropriate checks are carried out on the suitability of staff to work with pupils.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in the real and online world. They understand how to report an online issue if this happens outside school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The implementation of the curriculum is not consistently strong across all subjects.

Some teaching does not make clear what pupils are expected to learn or help them to develop a depth of knowledge. Leaders need to ensure that all areas of the curriculum are well implemented so that pupils know more and remember more.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2011.

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