St Augustine's CofE Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 March 2026

Pupils receive a warm welcome from their teachers each morning, which creates a positive start to the day. Pupils feel a collective sense of belonging within the school community. When pupils join the school part way through a year or key stage, staff help them settle quickly into school life. All members of the community actively live out the school's values to 'care, commit and connect'. Positive relationships between staff and pupils strengthen these values. Pupils show respect towards each other, staff and visitors. Often, pupils achieve well overall. In many subjects, staff prepare pupils effectively for the next stage of their education. However, some older pupils have gaps in their earlier knowledge. When they encounter more demanding work, they lack some of the foundations that would help them to engage successfully with this work. This makes pupils' learning more difficult than it should be. Pupils approach their learning with curiosity. Staff foster this enthusiasm and nurture a genuine love of learning in pupils. Recent changes have enabled staff to quickly identify the challenges or barriers that pupils face. This prompt identification allows the school to put appropriate support in place. The highly effective pastoral provision supports pupils' wellbeing particularly well. Weekly 'check-ins' help staff to spot pupils' emerging needs early and respond swiftly. However, leaders have not secured similar improvements in attendance over time. Too many pupils still miss school. Pupils trust staff to keep them safe. When bullying occurs, staff act swiftly and effectively. Recent changes to behaviour management have improved pupils' conduct and attitudes to learning. Pupils follow school rules diligently and respond positively to leaders' high expectations, creating a calm and orderly environment for learning. Pupils also take part in a wide range of enrichment and extra-curricular activities. These opportunities develop their talents and interests, and extend the curriculum through sports, music and educational visits.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that staff have sufficient expertise and knowledge to deliver the new curriculum consistently well, across different classes and subjects, including mathematics.
• Leaders should ensure that teaching strategies to identify and address gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge are embedded so that pupils can build their knowledge securely and achieve at least in line with national expectations.
• Leaders should ensure that they embed and sustain their actions to secure improvements in pupils' attendance and reductions in persistent absence.

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