Swanmore Church of England Aided Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Swanmore Church of England Aided Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that the school's values of honesty, charity and respect are simple, understood and followed by everyone. Leaders encourage pupils to reflect on their own lives and how to make a positive impact on others and the world around them.

This deeper spiritual reflection develops through pupils' learning. For example, the librarian wants pupils 'to see the joy of reading and the doors it opens, as opposed to it simply being a thing you have to learn.'

All members of staff expect pupils to behave and make the school a great place to learn.

...To encourage a sense of calmness and to foster taking responsibility, pupils look after guinea pigs, chickens, a therapy dog and fish with affection. Pupils rightly show a fondness for the education and experience they receive. They enjoy a variety of clubs, and everyone gets a chance to take part.

Pupils appreciate the support that staff members give them. They also appreciate activities such as the thoughtfully planned 'hook days' at the start of a unit of learning and residential trips where pupils overcome challenges and fears. This ensures that, by the time they leave the school, pupils are ready for the next stage of their education.

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

Leaders have constructed a curriculum that is well sequenced and structured. It is engaging and ambitious for all, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have recognised and responded proactively to the previously lower performance of disadvantaged pupils.

They sought external support and have implemented a rigorous plan to increase the academic achievement of these pupils. As a result, disadvantaged pupils are learning more and engaging more in school life.

Staff implement robust processes to ensure that pupils in infant classes learn early reading skills as quickly as possible.

The early reading scheme is well embedded. Appropriate support is in place for pupils who find learning to read more difficult. As a result, leaders ensure that staff teach pupils according to their current needs and that all pupils have the best chance to learn to read well.

This love of reading continues through the school.

Leaders provide teachers with documents that detail the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary pupils need to learn. Teachers organise pupils' learning well and use practical resources, when appropriate, in, for example, mathematics.

In geography, leaders provide excellent opportunities for pupils to develop their fieldwork skills. Well-chosen residential trips to the New Forest, Swanage and the Brecon Beacons enhance the work in the classroom. These visits enable pupils to have first-hand experiences of using more complex geographical concepts.

They get to see and understand a range of different types of erosion and read more complex maps with success. To ensure that pupils with SEND can benefit from this engaging learning, teachers usually provide tasks that have been thoughtfully modified to enable all pupils to demonstrate their understanding.

Leaders have created a process to check how well pupils have learned the key points in each unit of work.

However, this needs some further refinement to make pupils' learning even stronger. This is because not all the useful information subject leaders and teachers have about previous learning is being used to focus future lessons. This means pupils do not currently learn as well as they could in some subject areas.

Leaders have embedded behaviour systems, including 'house points' and 'star of the week', to encourage pupils' positive behaviour across the school. These result in strong standards of pupils' behaviour in and out of the classroom. This is supported through a personal, social and health education curriculum that prepares all pupils for life in modern Britain.

All this leads to a very calm school, where pupils' respect for others is thoughtful and mature.

Pupils' wider development is strong. All pupils have the chance to develop interests through a range of clubs and trips.

Pupils learn a range of musical instruments, and the school choir performs in locations such as the O2, the local village hall and in church. Many pupils take part in various sporting fixtures against other schools, and they enjoy sports day.

Leaders, including governors, consider staff workload and well-being with care.

This helps to generate a strong community spirit, which parents appreciate. The vast majority of parents hold the school in high regard. This is reflected in many of the comments parents made about the school's values, ethos and staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff ensure that a clear, strong safeguarding culture is in place. Governors fulfil their safeguarding duties and responsibilities effectively.

Leaders' regular training of staff is thorough. When a member of staff or leader identifies a possible concern, they take appropriate action, keeping clear and comprehensive records. This ensures that pupils get the support they need, including access to wider services.

Pupils appreciate the support teachers provide when they have a problem, including online. The curriculum is designed to support the online safety of pupils, with lessons on topics such as fake profiles and fake news.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, staff do not systematically use the information about how well pupils have learned the curriculum to plan what to teach next.

As a result, not all pupils achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers use the assessment information they gather to plan future learning opportunities more precisely.

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 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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2013.

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