Finchampstead CofE VA Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The newly-appointed headteacher has a clear vision for the school.

Parents and staff are supportive of the changes she has made since taking up her position. Staff work together as a cohesive team. They are enthusiastic about the recent changes to the leadership structure of the school and welcome the resulting benefits this brings.

Leaders' self-evaluation of the school's strengths and weaknesses is accurate. As a result, staff are aware of the key priorities for improvement. Most pupils make good progress from their different starting points.

This is especially the case in the early years and key stage 1. Classrooms are happy p...laces. Staff know pupils well.

The nurturing ethos and a strong focus on developing pupils' well-being are strengths of the school. Governors understand the strategic nature of their role. They have a realistic view of the school's many strengths, as well as the things that need to be better.

Pupils behave well at Finchampstead. They are kind, welcoming and understanding of the needs of others. Safeguarding is effective.

Pupils feel safe at school and parents appreciate the care that staff give to their children. Children get off to a good start in Reception. Staff are skilled at providing them with interesting opportunities to explore and learn, both in and out of the classroom.

Although subject leaders are increasingly effective in their roles, more needs to be done to share good practice to improve the quality of teaching and learning further. Pupils in key stage 2 make inconsistent progress over time in reading and mathematics. This is particularly the case for most-able pupils.

Although their self-evaluation is accurate, leaders need to sharpen improvement planning to focus more on the progress that pupils make.

Information about this school

This is a smaller than average-sized primary school. As a school with a distinctive Christian ethos, the school was last subject to an inspection under section 48 of The Education Act 2005 in July 2017.

The headteacher was appointed in January 2018. Pupils are based in four mixed-age classes. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.

There are small numbers of pupils from other ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is low. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is also low.

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