Overstrand, the Belfry, Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Overstrand, the Belfry, Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school vision, 'Happy Children Learn', is demonstrated by pupils at school. The 'shining light' ethos of the school is reflected by the pupils' smiling, friendly faces. Pupils are proud to attend school.

Pupils are respectful of others. They are kind and helpful. Pupils have good relationships with each other.

They say they feel happy and safe. They are well looked after by staff.

Pupils know what bullying is.

They say it does not happen, because the school has taught them how to behave in kind, considerate way...s. Pupils know that if they have any worries there is always a staff member to talk to. Pupils know that staff will support them and guide them to make good choices.

Staff have clear standards. They expect pupils to play when it is playtime and learn when it is time to learn. Pupils respond well.

They enjoy the school's positive reward system. They understand that they must behave well and work hard.

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

Leaders have high expectations for how and what pupils should be taught.

Teachers receive training that helps them to deliver the curriculum in a straightforward, uncomplicated way. Teachers and pupils like this. Teachers usually know exactly what they need to teach and how to deliver it.

Pupils know and understand what they are taught. This means they can apply the knowledge they learn with confidence.Pupils often revisit what they have studied to secure their understanding.

Pupils see the purpose and long-term impact of what they learn. For example, one pupil said, 'Maths is useful as I might need to work out the cost of clothes in a sale when there's a 10% discount.' In a small number of subjects, further curriculum development is required.

The content of what will be taught in these subjects has not yet been finalised. As a result, pupils do not have the same depth of knowledge in these subjects as in other subjects.

Staff have high expectations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Where required, pupils have personal learning plans which identify how the curriculum can be adapted to meet their needs. Leaders prioritise the need for pupils with SEND to access a full and broad curriculum.

Leaders know how important it is for pupils to quickly develop the ability to read.

Pupils are taught the sounds that letters make in a logical, sequenced order. They regularly recap on the sounds they learn. This helps pupils to remember and apply letter sounds when they read.

Teachers regularly check on pupils' reading. This ensures that pupils are given books carefully matched to their knowledge. As a result, pupils read with confidence, fluency and, as they develop, expression.

Leaders help pupils to be independent. They support pupils to think about how their own actions affect themselves and others. Staff give pupils ownership of how to manage positive relationships in a safe environment.

Pupils solve disputes and resolve arguments without the need for adult intervention.

The involvement of the local authority to reshape the governing body has had a positive impact. Governance is a strength of the school.

Recently appointed governors work closely with school leaders. They share the vision and high expectations of the headteacher. They hold school leaders to account and ask challenging questions.

This has strengthened the overall leadership of the school, because all leaders strive for the very best for all pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders, including governors, have put in place safeguarding procedures to make sure that pupils are kept safe.

All staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. They take this role seriously. Additional staff have been trained to expand the designated safeguarding leader team.

This team ensures that any concerns raised by staff are quickly and appropriately followed up. Record-keeping is meticulous.

Governors provide an extra layer of vigilance with their knowledge of safeguarding.

They work closely with leaders to check that all safeguarding systems and procedures are keeping pupils safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not yet finalised the knowledge content they want pupils to learn. This means that in some subjects, pupils are not developing the knowledge they need to know.

Leaders should, in these subjects, identify the key knowledge they want pupils to learn. This will enable pupils to deepen their subject knowledge in all areas of the curriculum.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2016.