Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and welcoming school where pupils flourish. The school's meaningful values of compassion, respect, courage and humility nurture pupils and enable them to thrive. Pupils truly value their school and the education they receive.

The school has high expectations for what all pupils can achieve. Pupils live up to these. The curriculum enables them to shine in each subject.

This starts in the early years, where the nurturing environment develops children's independence and curiosity.

The ethos of support and care, alongside a strong culture for learning, contributes to pupils behaving impeccably well. Bullying is rare.

Pupils identify five ...trusted adults they can speak with if they are worried. As a result, they feel safe.

Pupils enjoy positions of responsibility, including as school councillors, house captains and sports ambassadors.

Leading collective worship, singing in the choir, or taking part in the many clubs on offer are just a few of the ways that pupils develop their talents. Pupils learn to be active citizens in their local community. They enjoy donating to a local foodbank and choose charities to fundraise for.

The school choir delights in performing for the residents in a local care home.

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

Reading sits at the heart of the school's work. The love of reading begins in the Nursery Year where children act out some of their favourite tales.

Children learn to read from the start of the Reception Year. They practise phonics by reading books that contain the letter sounds that they already know. This helps them build fluency and confidence.

Pupils who find reading difficult, including pupils at an early stage of reading in key stage 2, receive high-quality additional help to support them to catch up swiftly. Older pupils read a range of high-quality texts with ease and expression.

The school and the trust have designed a curriculum that clearly sets out the important knowledge and vocabulary pupils need to learn and the order in which they need to learn it.

The curriculum builds in regular opportunities for pupils to revisit and recall important knowledge and vocabulary. This starts in the early years. For example, in mathematics, children in the Reception Year learn mathematical phrases, such as 'I can subitise with my eyes' when recognising groups of numbers up to ten.

Pupils in Year 2 learn to choose when to use different units of length when they measure objects. Trips to museums and other places of interest enrich pupils' learning. For example, in history, pupils in Year 3 visit the Roman baths.

This helps them to build a deep and rounded knowledge of Roman life.

Staff identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly and accurately. They create specific and personal targets linked to pupils' learning.

Staff make adaptations to help pupils with SEND settle well and learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

Staff check how well pupils learn regularly. They address any errors or misconceptions swiftly so that these do not hinder future learning.

As a result, pupils secure a deep understanding of the important knowledge and vocabulary they need to be ready for the next stage of their education.

The behaviour of pupils across the school is exemplary. Starting in the early years, effective routines enable children to work independently and use their time well.

This continues throughout the school. If attendance falls below expectations, leaders work well with families to address it quickly.

The school's provision for pupils' personal development is exceptional.

Pupils are keen to support each other. 'Well-being warriors' promote positive mental health at social times. Pupils learn about healthy and unhealthy relationships.

They discuss puberty with considerable maturity. By respecting the opinions of others, pupils demonstrate a deep understanding of fundamental British values. The school's residential visits, open to all, support pupils to learn life skills and to engage in adventurous activities which help build their confidence.

The trust has developed strong leadership at all levels. Trustees and those responsible for governance fulfil their responsibilities to a high standard. They offer support and challenge to ensure that the interests of pupils are prioritised.

The trust and school actively consider staff workload and well-being. Staff value the high-quality professional development they receive. This continually strengthens leadership and teaching.

Staff enjoy working at the school.

Parents appreciate and value the community at the school and the 'encouraging and engaging staff' who work here.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.