Sandown Primary School and Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Pupils enjoy going to a school where they feel cared for and safe. Parents are delighted that the school has become a place where children learn well and play happily together.

Teachers are proud to work at the school and believe that they are providing an important and effective service. The headteacher is passionate about the school. He is ambitious for every child in it and the community it serves.

Senior leaders ensure that any weaknesses are sorted out straightaway and are careful to recruit and retain only 'the right staff'. The school's contribution to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective and leads... to pupils who are able to take their place in modern, diverse Britain. Pupils behave well.

They understand the simple system for managing behaviour and follow it closely. There is some highly effective teaching, which is beginning to be shared more widely across the school. Teachers reflect regularly on what works well and use the Sandown Outstanding Learning (SOL) programme to research their own practice and improve it.

Pupils with special educational needs or disability are nurtured carefully. This means that they make good progress even though their starting points are behind their classmates. Governors know the school well, plan their work carefully to be supportive, but also challenge leaders on all aspects of the school's performance.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Outcomes for pupils still require improvement, although they have improved considerably over the last three years. Older pupils still need to close gaps in their knowledge, skills and understanding caused by weak teaching in the past. The most-able pupils, including those in the early years provision, are not always challenged to reach the highest levels of attainment.

Time in lessons is not always used as fully as it should be. Sometime pupils find that they have to rush their work or that they have not enough time to complete it.

Information about this school

Sandown Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school in Hastings, East Sussex.

More boys than girls attend the school. There are twice as many pupils eligible for free school meals as the national average. The very large majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.

The proportion of pupils who have English as an additional language is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who benefit from support for special educational needs or disability is below average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is nearly twice the national average.

The population is very stable, with families staying close to the area. The community experiences levels of deprivation in the poorest 20% nationally. The school is part of an informal alliance of local schools.