St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt

Overview: St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt is a good school where pupils are respectful and enjoy social times together. The school's key value of friendship is evident, and leaders work to ensure everyone is included.

Strengths:

• Pupils are respectful and enjoy social times together.
• Leaders work to ensure everyone is included.
• Pupils learn and work together well.
• Pupils know school values such as trust, peace, kindness, and hope.
• Pupils develop an understanding of the importance of democracy.

Areas to improve:

• Assessment is not yet effective in the foundation subjects, and teachers are unsure how well pupils remember the curriculum.
• Middle leaders do not yet monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum to gain a sufficient overview of how well the curriculum is being implemented.
• Some important aspects of curriculum knowledge have not been identified, and pupils do not build their knowledge as well as they could.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with pupils being taught to understand healthy and unhealthy relationships and to stay safe online.