Alveston CofE Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 6 January 2026

Pupils experience school as a safe, caring and inclusive place, where they feel they belong. They enjoy school and attend well. Pupils trust staff to listen and act quickly when concerns arise. This gives them confidence and a sense of security. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, including online. They know who to talk with if they need help. Respectful relationships between pupils and staff are a consistent feature of daily life. They underpin pupils’ positive attitudes and emotional wellbeing. Behaviour across the school is typically calm and orderly. Pupils understand expectations and routines. They respond well to them, allowing learning time to be used productively. Pupils are considerate of one another around the school and behave responsibly. They say that bullying is rare and demonstrate a clear understanding of what bullying is. Pupils are confident that staff deal with any concerns promptly and effectively. Pupils relish opportunities to widen their experiences beyond the classroom. Educational visits bring the curriculum to life. Pupils develop responsibility through community engagement and leadership roles. Such responsibilities help pupils prepare for life in modern Britain. Most pupils enjoy their learning. They approach lessons with positive attitudes. Children in the early years settle quickly, engage enthusiastically with routines and show eagerness to learn. Older pupils speak confidently about their learning and readiness for the next stage of education. Many pupils take pride in their work and engage well with the curriculum. By the end of Year 6, pupils are well prepared for secondary school. However, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not achieve as well as they could. Gaps in learning are not always identified precisely. This means that learning does not consistently build from individual starting points. As a result, some pupils become frustrated, disengage from learning and do not make the progress that they are capable of.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that staff have a secure and consistent understanding of how to adapt teaching effectively for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), so expectations are appropriately high and their academic progress improves across subjects. • Leaders should ensure that pupils’ precise starting points and learning gaps are accurately identified, routinely shared with staff and used consistently to inform teaching, assessment and appropriate intervention for pupils with SEND. • Leaders should monitor the impact of their actions more closely to check that what they intend to improve, does improve, leading to all pupils making suitable progress from their starting points.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)