Sandringham and West Newton Church of England Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kept safe and are ready to learn.

The culture of mutual respect makes the school a happy and harmonious place. Pupils live up to the high expectations adults have for them. They learn well, developing into kind, caring and responsible young people by the time they leave the school.

Bullying is extremely rare. Pupils are confident speaking to adults if they have a problem. They know they will get the help they need.

Children in Reception look up to their Year 6 'buddies' who support and guide them through their first year in school. Pupils with additional responsibilities, such as members of the school council, are rightly proud of their roles.
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In the school's forest area, pupils are encouraged to build their resilience and to take carefully considered risks.

A range of enrichment activities helps them step outside of their comfort zone to try new things, such as sailing, public speaking and representing the school at Royal events.

Elfie, the school dog, is a much-loved member of the community. When pupils are feeling sad or anxious, spending time with Elfie goes a long way in helping them to cheer up.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. They have ensured that the range of subjects taught matches the ambition of the national curriculum. This equips pupils with the important knowledge and skills they need to be able to learn well.

As they move through the school, pupils deepen their knowledge and skills in many subjects. All pupils have access to the wide curriculum, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Adults skilfully support pupils with SEND, adapting activities to help these pupils succeed in their learning.

In the small number of subjects where leaders are refining the curriculum, pupils do not develop such a depth of knowledge as they do in other subjects.

Making sure pupils learn to read confidently and fluently is leaders' top priority. Children in the Reception class learn lots of new words in their different areas of learning.

Adults are expert at interacting with children, helping them to practise using their growing vocabulary correctly when speaking. Children develop a love of stories, poems and songs. Older pupils, too, enjoy hearing stories.

This helps them expand their knowledge of different genres of books, which they go on to read for themselves and pleasure.

Reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. The youngest pupils learn to read well.

Most go on to become fluent and confident readers. This helps older pupils to find out more in different curriculum subjects. The phonics programme is expertly taught.

Adults are skilled at supporting those who need extra support with reading. Pupils read books that help them practise the precise sounds they are learning in class. This helps them to catch up quickly.

Pupils behave extremely well. The school environment is calm and purposeful. Pupils of all ages get on well together.

The playground and dinner hall are full of smiles and happy faces.

Pupils benefit enormously from the extremely well-considered personal development programme. They are well supported to try new things, persevere and communicate with others.

Much of this strong work helps pupils develop their character. Pupils celebrate the differences between themselves and others. Whatever a person's background or belief, pupils treat everyone equally.

Pupils learn about different relationships through the schools' highly effective relationships and sex education provision.

Children in Reception develop independence. They know to 'choose it, use it and put it away'.

Children learn right from wrong, and pupils develop a strong moral compass as they move through the school. They are taught in detail about other world religions and beliefs. Pupils develop into responsible and confident young people.

Staff receive high-quality training to support them in carrying out their roles. As a result, teachers' subject knowledge is strong. This means teachers are skilled at quickly identifying if a pupil misunderstands a concept.

Staff value the support they receive from senior leaders. Leaders pay close attention to staff's workload when introducing new systems and practices.

Trustees, members of the local governing board (LGB) and trust leaders work in harmony to provide effective challenge and support for leaders.

They hold the view that every pupil counts and strive to ensure that the school provides the best it can. They have an accurate view of the strengths of the school, along with the areas which could be even better.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The school has a well-established culture of vigilance. Adults work together to keep pupils safe. Adults are well trained to spot if a pupil is at risk of harm.

When specific issues arise, leaders waste no time in dealing with them, providing the right help for pupils. This includes working effectively with other agencies where this is needed.

The checks made on staff before they joined the school are carried out meticulously.

Pupils are taught how to stay safe. They know the steps they can take to stay safe, such as when using the internet. Governors make regular checks to assure themselves leaders are doing all they can to protect pupils from harm.

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 completed their work to precisely identify the important knowledge pupils need to learn. This means they do not develop deep and detailed knowledge in these few subjects as they do in the rest of the curriculum. Leaders should finish the work they have started to identify this precise knowledge to ensure pupils learn well across the curriculum.