Cashes Green Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Leaders and governors should further raise pupils’ outcomes by:
  • embedding the teaching of reasoning in mathematics, so that opportunities for pupils to explain and articulate their reasoning result in consistently strong outcomes across the school
  • making sure that the school’s assessment system clearly identifies the needs of the most able learners across the wider curriculum, including in science.
• Leaders and governors should raise pupils’ attainment in writing by:
  • ensuring that the quality of pupils’ handwriting and spelling is further improved across the school
  • in the early years, increasing the pace that children develop as writers
  • ensuring that teachers demonstrate clearly for pupils what they need to do to ensure that they consistently produce high-quality writing at a deeper level.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher’s and leaders’ deep commitment to improving standards and outcomes for pupils shines through all that they do. Leaders, including governors, are highly aspirational for all pupils. They have high expectations of pupils and staff. The school’s ethos, stated in the school motto, ‘Care And Support Help Everyone Succeed’, permeates school life. Leaders have been successful in continuing to raise the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. This means that pupils are making good progress from starting points that are often below national averages.
• The headteacher’s passion and drive to improve the education and life chances of all pupils are evident in all her actions. She is held in high esteem by pupils, parents, staff and governors alike. Parents overwhelmingly say that the school is well led and managed.
• The headteacher is adept at bringing out the best in senior and middle leaders through coaching and encouragement. She gives them the confidence to lead and challenge staff to raise standards in their areas of responsibility.
• Teachers, and other staff, are given opportunities to develop their work through the training opportunities and support the school offers. This includes regular visits to other schools and opportunities for teachers and leaders in this school to share their good practice more widely. As a result of the open culture of support that leaders have generated, teachers are committed to improving their practice. Teachers at an early point in their careers receive good support and so share this commitment.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness. They act quickly to identify areas for development. Leaders and governors are clearly focused on raising the numbers of pupils who achieve at the highest level in writing and mathematics. For example, in response to a dip in the numbers of pupils working in mathematics at a deeper level, governors and leaders changed the way mathematics is taught in the school. As a result, opportunities for pupils to reason in mathematics are increasing, so that more pupils are beginning to be able to talk about their reasoning at a deeper level. However, this is not yet consistent across the school.
• Leaders use the school’s assessment programmes to accurately and quickly identify pupils who may be at risk of falling behind with their learning. The support pupils receive means that many of them catch up.
• However, leaders are aware that assessment of the wider curriculum, and of science in particular, is not as strongly developed as that of English and mathematics. It does not clearly identify the progress in skills and knowledge required of the most able pupils. This means that there are times when the most able pupils are not well challenged in science.
• Leaders monitor and know the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities very well. They ensure that additional funding to help these pupils is deployed effectively. Consequently, these pupils make good, sometimes very strong, progress from their starting points because of the support they receive. Parents speak very highly of the support their children are given.
• Leaders’ work to support pupils who have, in the past, exhibited challenging behaviour is effective in helping these pupils to behave well. Staff, such as the inclusion leader, family support worker and play therapist, ensure that pupils know how to play safely and well.
• The additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is well spent. At the end of key stage 2, the progress of disadvantaged pupils was significantly above that of pupils nationally in reading and writing and above that of pupils nationally in mathematics. Leaders have a sound rationale for the allocation of funds and have accurately identified the barriers to learning for these pupils. Across year groups, disadvantaged pupils currently in the school, including those who are among the most able, make good progress.
• The physical education and sport premium funding is used effectively. The school offers pupils many sporting activities, including a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and opportunities to represent the school in competitive sporting events.
• The school prepares pupils well to become responsible citizens in modern British society. Pupils see democracy in action through the work of the school council and through their election campaign, which was held in parallel with the general election. Pupils are confident that their voices will be heard and taken into account by leaders. The shared understanding of adults and pupils is that discrimination will not be tolerated.
• The wide-ranging curriculum provides pupils with a variety of learning opportunities, including in the artistic, musical and sporting spheres. The school’s work to ensure that pupils can make safe and healthy choices about their lifestyles is a strength of the school. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is skilfully threaded through the curriculum.
• Leaders’ development plans are securely focused on increasing the numbers of pupils who reach a higher than expected level, particularly at key stage 1. However, the number of pupils who reach a better than expected level for their age is currently below the national average.

Governance of the school

• Governors are highly ambitious for the school and its pupils. They rigorously challenge school leaders about pupils’ progress and outcomes. They pay particular attention to disadvantaged pupils’ progress and so hold leaders to account for the outcomes of these pupils.
• Governors have an accurate understanding of the strengths of the school and areas where development is needed. Through their visits to the school, governors know the school well and use their insight to challenge school leaders. Their regular monitoring activities include scrutiny of pupils’ work and talking with pupils to seek their views on school life.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Everyone at the school knows that safeguarding children is at the heart of their work. Up-to-date training and detailed school policies mean that staff, and governors, know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Staff have a clear understanding of what to do if they are concerned about a pupil. The school’s systems make sure that staff are recruited safely and the induction process emphasises the culture of safeguarding that the school promotes.
• The school works highly effectively with outside agencies, and with parents, to support pupils and their families. Leaders are not afraid to challenge other professionals to secure safe outcomes for children. Leaders and school staff know their pupils and their families very well. Parents value, and find effective, the support they receive from the school’s leaders and inclusion staff in particular.
• Governors monitor carefully the school’s safeguarding work, for example through regular meetings and the completion of audits on safeguarding. Safeguarding is a standing agenda item at all governors’ meetings.
• Pupils, parents and staff are all in agreement that pupils feel safe, and are safe, at the school. Pupils say that the headteacher’s ‘number one rule is to keep us safe’. Pupils are very clear that they know whom to talk to if they have a worry or concern and that adults will quickly help them. Parents very strongly agree that their children are happy, safe and well looked after in school. Pupils have a clear understanding of bullying and say that this happens rarely. They are sure that adults would sort it out quickly. This is confirmed in the school’s records and by parents’ responses to Parent View and to inspectors.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching is consistently good. As a result, the work of current pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, shows that they are making good progress in English and mathematics.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge helps them to ask probing and challenging questions. This helps pupils, including the most able, to extend their understanding. For example, in mathematics lessons, teachers’ questioning helped pupils to develop their understanding of fractions and percentages in Year 5 and on finding and using average temperatures in Year 4.
• In response to results for the most able pupils in mathematics in 2016, the school has changed the teaching of mathematics to give pupils more chances to think about their reasoning and understanding of mathematics. As a result, pupils are beginning to reason more deeply about their mathematics work, particularly in key stage 2. However, this has yet to be reflected in pupils’ achievements in mathematics, particularly for the most able of them.
• Teachers assess pupils’ progress in lessons and adapt their teaching quickly in the light of their findings. Pupils who may be at risk of falling behind catch up quickly as a result.
• Disadvantaged pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics because teaching supports them well. Tasks are well matched to their needs. Their progress is carefully assessed, and additional strategies put in place for pupils are reviewed regularly and quickly changed if they are not effective.
• Teachers give pupils clear feedback about their work, in line with the school’s policy. Hence, most pupils know how to improve their work and, particularly in key stage 2, they can talk about how to make their work better. However, there are times when teachers’ feedback and modelling of writing do not make it as clear to pupils what they need to do to routinely write at a deeper level. This is evident in classes in both key stage 1 and key stage 2. As a result, the proportion of pupils who can write at greater depth is smaller than the national average in each key stage.
• There are times when teachers do not pick up pupils’ misconceptions briskly, for example in spelling work. This means that for some pupils their progress slows.
• The teaching of phonics effectively enables pupils of all abilities to use their phonic knowledge to help them read unfamiliar words. The school promotes a culture of reading, for example through reward systems for the number of times a pupil reads at home. Older pupils know that if there are particular books they would like to read, the headteacher will purchase them. Some older pupils would like to see this extended, so that they can help to choose the guided reading texts they use, and the headteacher agrees that this is a good idea.
• Teaching assistants and other adults support pupils effectively because they skilfully strike a balance between helping pupils and encouraging independence.
• The skills and confidence that pupils gain from their learning in English and mathematics, and in subjects such as music and physical education, mean that pupils are very well prepared for the next stage in their education.
• Parents are overwhelmingly of the view that their children are making good progress and are well taught at school. Typical of the comments received are that teachers ‘provide goals that challenge my child to do their best,’ and have ‘enabled my child to become the person they wanted to be’.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils are confident and self-assured learners. Their attitudes to learning, such as their resilience and perseverance, have a strong impact on the progress they make. Pupils take great pride in themselves, their work and their school.
• Pupils discuss issues, such as the recent major fire in London and homelessness, in a thoughtful and considered way, demonstrating their respect for others and their points of view.
• Pupils across all year groups demonstrate very positive attitudes to learning. They speak accurately and with enthusiasm about their work, particularly in English and mathematics. They are committed to improving their work and older pupils understand why their learning is important to help them fulfil their aspirations.
• Pupils, parents and staff all feel strongly that pupils are safe, happy and well looked after at school. Parents comment also that this is a school that ‘thinks about its pupils’ needs and futures’, helping them to become ‘well-rounded individuals, tolerant of others’.
• The school prepares pupils very well to become active citizens in modern Britain. For example, pupils spoke knowledgeably and with enthusiasm about the election they held in school at the time of the recent general election.
• Pupils are keen to get involved with the opportunities they have to influence the life of their school. For example, members of the school council shared with inspectors their plans for new large play equipment for the school playground.
• The excellent relationships between pupils and adults, and among pupils themselves, mean that pupils are very confident that their views will be listened to. They know exactly whom to talk to if they ever have a concern. They say that bullying is rare and are sure that it would be dealt with firmly and swiftly by adults. Their parents strongly agree.
• Pupils appreciate the importance of making choices that mean they have a healthy lifestyle. They, and their parents and staff, take an enthusiastic part in the daily mile walk that starts the school day, preparing them effectively for learning. Through the school’s personal, social, health and economic curriculum, pupils learn effectively about how to manage risks in different situations. A number of pupils shared with inspectors their life-skills passports and talked about the different situations they have learned about, such as water, electrical and fire safety and the risks of drugs and smoking.
• The curriculum gives pupils the language and opportunities to discuss their emotional and mental well-being and is a strength of the school. For example, in Year 6, pupils learn some of the factors that might lead to situations such as self-harm or depression.
• Parents greatly appreciate the effective advice and guidance they receive about how to help their children.
• The school’s provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strongly threaded through the curriculum. Pupils and parents relish the wider opportunities on offer, for example participation in a large range of musical, dramatic, artistic and sporting events.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Throughout the school, pupils live up to the very high expectations placed on them by staff. Pupils behave extremely well in lessons and around the school, for example, at breaktime and lunchtime. Pupils, parents and staff all believe that pupils behave very well at school.
• During lessons, pupils respond quickly to the instructions of adults and thoughtfully to the needs of other pupils. Occasions where pupils are distracted are rare. This is because the work their teachers give them is interesting and matched well to pupils’ learning needs.
• Pupils take their responsibilities around the school very seriously, such as when Year 6 pupils lead sports clubs at breaktimes for younger pupils and supervise play resources at lunchtimes. Pupils say that everyone, adults and children, cares for each other at this school. Pupils and parents who have joined the school say how welcome they have been made to feel by pupils and staff.
• Pupils’ behaviour is supported carefully by adults. Leaders have skilfully devised systems that encourage and enable pupils to make responsible choices, so that even pupils who, in the past, have found it more difficult to behave well, are encouraged to do so and now behave very well. This includes pupils previously excluded from other settings.
• Pupils enjoy and value their education. Their attendance is above national figures. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils is improving, so that it is now close to the national figures. Leaders and inclusion staff are deeply committed to helping disadvantaged pupils and their families overcome barriers to attendance. As a result, the attendance of those few pupils who are absent most often is improving.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils at the school make good progress from a very wide range of starting points, many typically below those of pupils nationally. In 2016, the progress pupils made by the end of key stage 2 in reading and mathematics was above the national average. Their progress in writing was in line with that of pupils nationally.
• In 2016, the numbers of pupils reaching a higher than expected standard for their age was lower than for pupils nationally at both key stage 1 and key stage 2. However, scrutiny of their work shows that current most-able pupils, including most-able disadvantaged pupils, are now making better progress. The proportions of them working at a deeper level are increasing in the early years, key stage 1 and key stage 2. Many, particularly in key stage 2, relish opportunities which challenge them to do better, but the steps required to reach higher levels in science are not clearly identified.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils is good. At the end of key stage 2 last year, their progress in reading, writing and mathematics was better than that of other pupils nationally. Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that disadvantaged pupils currently in the school are making good progress from a range of starting points.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make strong, sometimes exceptional, progress as a consequence of the well-targeted support they are receiving.
• At key stage 1, pupils’ attainment has been rising over time. In 2016, the numbers of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, mathematics and science were close to national levels. However, the numbers of pupils working at a greater depth in a range of subjects at key stage 1 were below the national level.
• Pupils enjoy reading. They read well relative to their age and development. The number of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check is close to the national level and over time has been rising consistently. By the end of Year 2, almost every pupil has reached the expected level in this check.
• Children enter the early years with skills typically below those of children of their age. Over time, the percentage of children who reach a good level of development at the end of the early years is rising steadily. More of them are now working at a level exceeding the early learning goals, for example in reading and writing. Children make good progress and are well prepared for Year 1.
• Parents are overwhelmingly of the view that their children make good progress and are well taught at the school.
• The standards of pupils’ handwriting and spelling have improved noticeably since the last inspection. However, the school recognises that these need to improve further still to enable more pupils to write at a deeper level successfully.

Early years provision Good

• Children make a good start to their education in the early years and they are well prepared for the learning they will experience in Year 1. Leaders of the early years are determinedly focused on improving outcomes for all children.
• Most children enter the Reception class at a level below that of many children of their age. Over time, the proportion of children who reach a good level of development at the end of their early years is rising steadily. Current children have made strong progress from their starting points, including the most able of them.
• The quality of provision in the early years is strong. Teachers, and other adults in the early years, know children’s learning needs well. Adults quickly identify those children who may need additional help and put in place support for them which means they can catch up quickly. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported, particularly those with language and communication needs.
• Children in the early years show positive attitudes to learning and are making good progress because teachers’ careful planning has created interesting starting points for them to explore their learning. In the outdoor learning environment, there are activities for children to investigate which help them to develop the skills they need for successful learning across the curriculum. Children can select the resources they need for themselves, seen for example when a group of children selected blocks to raise the height of the ramp they had built to investigate how quickly toy cars would go down a ramp.
• As a result of learning opportunities that are well matched to their needs, different groups of children, including the most able, the least able, disadvantaged children and those who speak English as an additional language, are making good progress. Over time, the number of boys reaching a good level of development has risen significantly. In 2016, boys and girls reached a good level of development in equal proportions.
• The number of children who reach, or exceed, the early learning goals in writing is increasing. More children are now keen to write as part of their learning. Children use their phonics learning to help their reading and writing, for example when writing their own re-telling of the story ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’. However, leaders correctly identify that these developments need to be consolidated to raise children’s attainment further.
• The positive behaviour of children and their strong relationships with the adults around them demonstrate the confidence and safety they feel at school. Their parents agree, feeling strongly that their children are safe, happy and well looked after at school. Safeguarding is effective.
• Parents can contribute to the assessment of their children’s learning through regular opportunities to come into the classroom to view their children’s work and speak with staff. Parents speak very highly of the warm, welcoming and inclusive transition their children make into the Reception class.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 115561 Gloucestershire 10033232 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 183 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Andrew Wright Meg Dawson 01453 763598 hwww.cashesgreen-pri.gloucs.sch.uk admin@cashesgreen-pri.gloucs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 March 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Cashes Green Primary School is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are of White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is lower than the national average.
• The number of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils receiving support for their special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The numbers of pupils who join the school at times other than normal transition is higher than the national average.
• The school is above the current government floor standards which set the minimum standards for attainment and progress in 2016.

Information about this inspection

• Pupils’ learning was observed in 30 sessions or part sessions, many jointly with leaders. Learning walks were also conducted jointly with leaders. The work of pupils in all year groups was scrutinised. Many pupils were spoken to about their work during lessons and informally at breaktimes, lunchtimes and around the school. Inspectors listened to pupils read and met with pupils to gather views about their experiences of school.
• Discussions were held with the headteacher and other leaders, governors and a representative of the local authority. A meeting was held with members of the school staff to gather their views.
• Inspectors took account of the 61 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and to 32 comments received. Discussions were held with parents at the start of the school day. An email, a letter and a phone call were also received.
• A range of documentation was considered, including information on pupils’ attainment and progress, the school’s improvement planning, records of the monitoring of teaching and information on the management of teachers’ performance. Procedures for the safeguarding of pupils, including information relating to attendance, behaviour and the exclusion of pupils, were examined.

Inspection team

Sarah O’Donnell, lead inspector Catherine Beeks Wendy Hanrahan

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector