St Andrew’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

Attainment in Year 6 is above average and is rising steadily across the school. Pupils make good progress from Reception onwards and most groups achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. Key Stage 2 pupils make especially good progress in reading.

Most teaching supports pupils well. The methods and resources teachers select, together with the interesting topics pupils study, ensure that pupils enjoy their learning. Teachers guide pupils' learning well, especially in the older year groups.

Pupils know how they can improve their work. Pupils behave well. They demonstrate positive and mature attitudes.

They work we...ll together with minimal supervision. Their pride in their school and warm relationships with staff ensure that activities run smoothly. Pupils and all parents who provided their opinions about the school on Parent View report that the school keeps pupils safe.

Attendance has risen sharply in the last year. Leaders, especially the headteacher, managers and governors, have taken swift and successful actions to improve teaching and to raise pupils' achievement. They have used external consultants and training to help in this.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : The most-able pupils sometimes do not make the progress they are capable of when the work they are set is too easy. Teachers' questioning is sometimes too brief or too lacking in depth to enable pupils to review and extend their learning effectively. Boys, especially in the younger year groups, do not attain as highly in writing as they do in reading and in mathematics.

Information about this school

The school is much smaller than most other primary schools. The school has received support from local authority consultants and locally based leaders of education since the previous inspection. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.

There are no pupils at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. About one fifth of pupils are traveller children from Romany or Gypsy backgrounds. About one tenth of pupils are the children of Ministry of Defence armed service personnel based at MOD Stafford.

More pupils than is usually the case join or leave the school outside the normal times. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average. In this school, this additional funding mainly supports the children of armed service personnel, and those children in the care of the local authority.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.

A before- and after-school club, 'Chill Out of School Club', operates on the school site. This provision is managed by the governing body and was observed as part of this inspection. During the inspection, most Year 6 pupils were in the Isle of Man on a residential visit and temporary arrangements were in place in Year 4 to cover the absence of the teacher who accompanied them.