Archbishop Runcie CofE First School

Overview

Pupils are described as “happy and proud” to attend, flourishing in a “nurturing and caring environment” that embodies the school’s vision to “Be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love.” The inspection awarded ‘Good’ across all key judgement areas, including the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, and leadership.

Strengths

• Reading is a high priority, with staff well-trained and pupils receiving “high-quality teaching” using books “closely matched to the sounds they have learned.”
• The curriculum is “well sequenced” and reviewed regularly, with leaders showing “high ambition for all pupils.”
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) “typically learn alongside their peers” and are “well supported” through careful adaptations.
• Personal development is strong, with pupils acting as “agents of change” in the community, such as tidying local parks and writing to politicians about road safety.
• Staff well-being is closely monitored, helping to maintain a “strong team ethos” and effective governance.

Areas to improve

• In a small number of subjects, planned activities do not always match intended learning well enough, preventing pupils from deepening their understanding as effectively as they could.
• The school does not consistently identify misconceptions in pupils’ work, allowing some errors to persist and slowing the acquisition of new knowledge.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”