St Andrew’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Laverstock

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Andrew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Laverstock has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

The values of 'respect, love and honesty' weave throughout the school. They set the expectations for how pupils act and behave.

Pupils understand these well and respond positively to their teachers and to one another. Pupils are polite. They conduct themselves well and show consideration towards one another.

Pupils are well cared for. Older pupils' model positive behaviours and routines for younger pupils and children. Pupils especially enjoy the many ways the school celeb...rates their efforts and hard work.

For example, the school rewarding them with served dining.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. In lessons, pupils enjoy sharing what they know and can do.

In Reception, for example, children eagerly take turns to come to the front to put the number cards in order. All pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

Pupils engage in many ways to feed back ideas and shape their school.

The school council consult on activities for play time, such as a quiet space or new play equipment. The 'School Nutrition Action Group' (SNAG) involves several pupils across the school. They work with the school kitchen to taste-test menus and actively plan to reduce food wastage.

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

The curriculum design is broad and ambitious. The school evaluates the curriculum to improve how well pupils can achieve. It considers how its actions benefit the pupils.

For example, the school has embedded a new phonics curriculum to teach children and pupils to read well. It makes sure pupils learn the sounds they need to know next. As a result, pupils develop the foundations to becoming more fluent readers.

The school has recently enhanced the curriculum in a couple of subjects. The school has begun to identify the important knowledge that pupils will learn but some subjects are further ahead with this than others. In the subjects where work is ongoing, pupils are not able to build their learning securely on what they know and can do.

Teachers use strategies effectively to know how well pupils understand their learning. When pupils are unsure, teachers quickly address what pupils do not understand. The school makes sure the writing curriculum helps pupils build and develop their literacy skills.

However, pupils have fewer opportunities to practice and apply their writing skills across the breadth of the curriculum. Pupils do not often demonstrate the high expectations the school has for their writing widely across other subjects.

The school has robust processes in place to identify and check the needs of pupils and children with SEND.

These are carefully reviewed with parents and carers, so planning and support for pupils is appropriate. Teachers adapt learning well, so pupils start their learning at points that build on what they know and can do.

The school astutely tracks how well pupils attend school.

It communicates well to parents and pupils the importance of coming to school. When needed, the school works with families to provide support and help. As a result, pupils attend school well.

The school considers its actions to make sure they impact positively for pupils. The school has experienced a period of transition due to staff changes or absence. The result of this has been a change to some subject leadership.

The school manages any change with care. For example, pupils are well-prepared when their teacher changes. They maintain warm relationships with their teachers.

The school ensures new staff have training to be confident and have the knowledge they need to lead their subjects. Staff are positive in the way the school plans to support them and look after their well-being.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in the community and online.

Visitors to the school teach them about road safety, or how to protect their identity online. Pupils remember this well. Through the personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum, pupils learn to respect one another's space and opinions.

They know how to look after their mental and physical health.

Through the vast opportunities for wider development, the school prepare pupils well to develop their confidence and try new experiences. It provides opportunities to give pupils the strategies to manage new challenges and keep trying.

Pupils think about and reflect on their determination. For example, their efforts to push themselves further on a climbing wall. Children in Reception and younger pupils perform the nativity with enthusiasm, with some pupils singing solos.

The school plans a wide range of sports and arts tournaments and events. Many pupils participate and enjoy the ways they can try new things.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The explicit knowledge and skills pupils learn are not clearly identified for a few foundation subjects. Where this happens, the planning for the progression of pupils is not precise. The school should ensure that the knowledge pupils need to learn is identified across all subjects and this builds progressively over time.

• The school does not plan well for pupils to write more extensively and develop their literacy skills through the wider curriculum. As a result, pupils have fewer opportunities to practise their writing with the same high ambition they work towards in English. Leaders need to make sure the expectations for pupils' writing are extended across the breadth of the curriculum.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2019.