Pamphill Church of England First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 September 2023

Pamphill is an inclusive and welcoming school. Pupils embrace the values of 'love' and 'courage'. The caring relationships between members of the school community mean that pupils feel safe and happy. Parents describe Pamphill as a school that encourages their children to 'reach for the stars'. The school has high aspirations for pupils. It has worked hard to develop a curriculum to help pupils achieve well, and they do. Most pupils behave well. The school is working on commonly understood expectations of behaviour at all times of the school day. Children in the early years get off to a strong start. The school provides an inviting and nurturing environment for them to learn in and enjoy. The school uses its unique location to provide an array of memorable experiences that go beyond the classroom. Pupils work with the National Trust to plant trees, and the school holds an annual strawberry fair. When learning about the Iron Age, pupils visit Badbury Rings. As a result, pupils develop a rich understanding of their local area. Pupils appreciate the many clubs on offer, including art and gardening.

What the school should improve

• For a minority of pupils at the early stages of learning to read, the books they read are not precisely matched to the sounds they have learned. This means these pupils do not develop fluency and confidence in reading as well as they could. The trust must ensure that the books all pupils read are well matched to the sounds that pupils have learned.
• On occasion, expectations for how pupils should behave are not consistently high enough across the school. This leads to a few pupils showing some low-level disruptive behaviours. This has an impact on learning time for pupils. The trust should continue to train all staff so that the expectations for behaviour are applied consistently across the school.

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