Membury Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

The recent partnership with a local school has greatly improved the quality of the school's leadership and management. This has helped to maintain the confidence of parents who are overwhelmingly supportive of the school's work. The headteacher's excellent leadership inspires staff and pupils to do their best.

Her commitment to ensuring everybody succeeds is a significant factor in the improved teaching and achievement since the previous inspection. Leaders check teaching rigorously. They follow their checks up promptly with effective support and training.

This has helped to improve the quality of teaching to good levels. The ne...wly established governing body is very influential and strongly focused on improving the school's work. Governors check regularly on what is happening in school for themselves.

They challenge leaders to raise the quality of teaching and pupils' achievement still further. Achievement is good for all groups of pupils. Over the past year, pupils have made faster progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

As a result, attainment has risen across the school. Teaching is consistently good because teachers know their pupils well and plan work carefully to meet their differing needs. A new and motivating curriculum is in place.

The content of lessons interests and engages pupils extremely well in their learning. The provision in the early years is good so that children make a positive start to school. They settle quickly and happily into school routines.

Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. They are eager to learn and very attentive in lessons. Pupils feel very safe in school and look after one another with great kindness and consideration.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teaching in the early years does not ensure that children's writing skills are developed systematically enough. On occasions, teaching does not stretch all pupils to the full in mathematics or in their writing in other subjects.

Information about this school

This school is much smaller that the average-sized primary school.

Pupils are organised in two classes; one for the early years and Key Stage 1 pupils, and the other for Key Stage 2 pupils. The school formed a partnership with St Andrew's Church of England School in February 2014. The schools share an executive headteacher and a head of school.

A senior teacher has responsibility for the day-to-day management of the school. All teaching staff have joined the school since the partnership was formed. The schools have separate governing bodies.

A new governing body was established at the start of the partnership at the initiation of the local authority. The majority of pupils have a White British background. All children in the early years (Reception Year) attend full time.

The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is below average. This is the additional government funding to give extra support to those pupils who are eligible for free school meals or children who are looked after by the local authority. Currently, there are very few children on roll who are looked after by the local authority.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average. The pre-school, run by the governors for three-year-olds on the school site, did not form part of this inspection. There were fewer than 11 pupils in the Year 6 group which left last summer, so their attainment in relation to national floor standards is not reported.