Amesbury Archer Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Amesbury Archer Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

The headteacher of this school is David Webber.

This school is part of the Magna Learning Partnership multi-academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Ian Tucker, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Mark Allinson.

What is it like to attend this school?

Amesbury Archer Primary School cares deeply about all their pupils.

The school wants everyone to do well and enjoy their time at school. The wide range of learning experiences ...on offer prepare pupils well for later life.

The school caters well for pupils' pastoral needs.

There is a wide range of support on offer for all pupils to help them with their personal development, mental health and well-being. The school takes pupils' safety and welfare extremely seriously and has rigorous systems in place to identify, monitor and act on concerns.

Pupils think this is a good school.

They say that everyone is kind and that children get on well together. Pupils particularly enjoy the range of clubs and activities on offer during and after school. Pupils say that if bullying happens, staff always sort it out for them.

Pupils value that the teachers listen to them and take their views seriously.

Most parents and carers are positive about the school. They say that their children are happy and well supported.

Many parents also value the support they receive from the school. A few parents are concerned about the behaviour of some children, these parents should be reassured that the school is taking effective action to address challenging behaviour when it occurs.

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

Most pupils get the support they need to be able to read and write fluently.

Children get off to a great start with reading in Reception, where staff have strong subject knowledge and keep a close eye on the children. The school regularly checks what pupils know and can do, using this information to ensure pupils get extra help if they need it. Books and reading are given a high status within the school.

This helps most pupils to become enthusiastic readers and enjoy the books that staff read to them.

The school keeps a close watch over what pupils are learning. They act quickly when they identify areas where pupils could make more progress.

In mathematics, for example, the school recognised that the way that pupils are taught basic number and arithmetic needed to improve. This has resulted in a comprehensive range of activities that are strengthening pupils' learning. A daily focus now ensures that pupils get regular opportunities to practise this fundamental information.

Staff also ensure they quickly identify pupils who have struggled in each lesson, so that they can be supported on the same day with follow up work. Some pupils are able to identify the ways that the teaching of maths has improved. They describe how new strategies help them to remember more of the maths they have covered.

As a result, outcomes for pupils are improving. However, these improvements are not yet being delivered consistently effectively in all lessons.

The school are committed to meeting the needs of all the pupils in their care, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school seeks professional advice and guidance to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the support they need. A good example of this is the support for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. The school spends time getting to know and understand pupils and what they find difficult.

Support is then put in place, from spaces that pupils can access through to tools they can carry with them to help them regulate and understand their own emotions. Although most pupils are very well supported, for some pupils there is a lack of clarity around what they are learning to do that would, over time, tackle the most pressing challenges that face them.

Most pupils behave well.

They understand the high expectations of the school and get on well together. The school has a well-developed approach to pupil's personal development. The school's values, wider curriculum, trips and clubs all provide pupils with opportunities to develop their understanding of themselves and the wider world.

Opportunities such as the school parliament help pupils to understand big ideas, such as individual rights and democracy.

School leaders, including governors and those in the multi-academy trust, share a commitment to providing an inclusive school that meets the needs of all pupils. They have a detailed understanding of the strengths and challenges in the school.

Governors and trustees recognise and value the strong pastoral support pupils receive in the school.

Most staff feel very well supported by the school. They have a good understanding of their part in supporting pupil's safety and well-being.

A small number of pupils can display challenging behaviour that results from their special educational needs. The school carries out risk assessments for these pupils to keep them and others safe.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The mathematics curriculum is not yet being delivered consistently. This means that some pupils do not quickly learn the basics that they need to do well. The trust should ensure that the curriculum is effectively implemented, so that all pupils learn and remember what they need to in each year group.

• The plans in place to support some pupils with SEND are not clear enough. This makes it difficult for staff to focus on the most important skills or knowledge that pupils need to learn or practise. The school should ensure that they identify the most important things that these pupils need to learn and then make it as easy as possible for them to learn them.

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 June 2021.

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