Queen Edith Primary School

Queen Edith Community Primary School Godwin Way, Cambridge, CB1 8QP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils, parents and staff all say that the school is ‘fantastic’. It is a special place, with a very harmonious, family atmosphere.  The headteacher, assistant headteachers and subject leaders provide outstanding leadership. Together with the outstanding governing body, they enable pupils from a wide range of backgrounds to achieve well.  As a result, standards are above average throughout the school in most subjects, including the key subjects of English and mathematics.  Teaching is consistently good. Teachers skilfully encourage pupils to develop a deep understanding of how to learn, and great determination to do so.  Pupils say they feel very safe and thoroughly enjoy coming to school. Behaviour is outstanding in lessons and around both of the school sites.  Leaders thoroughly and regularly check the quality of teaching, and use the resulting information to continually improve pupils’

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learning and well-being.  The governors and senior leaders have made sure that this process has continued and pupils’ learning has not been disrupted during the process of joining up with another school, despite the substantial building works involved.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and others supported by additional funding do well, they do not make as much progress as other groups of pupils.  This is because teachers do not always show pupils the precise next steps to take in their learning to make the best possible progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 26 lessons, of which eight were seen together with senior leaders. Inspectors also observed senior leaders reporting back to teachers on the quality of teaching and learning, and made a number of short visits to other lessons.  Meetings were held with pupils, staff and two governors. The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents including the school and federation improvement plans, data on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring files, minutes of governing body meetings and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  Inspectors met parents informally at the start of the school day and during the open afternoon for parents of Key Stage 2 pupils. They took into account the responses to the school’s own parental survey and the 97 responses from parents and carers to the online questionnaire

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Inspection team

Heather Weston, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Gillian Scobie Additional Inspector Nicholas Asker Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well above average. Pupils come from a diverse range of backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for additional funding through the ‘pupil premium’ is below average.  In September 2011, the school became formally federated with Queen Emma Primary School. The two schools share the same headteacher and senior leaders, and have a single governing body. Staff at the two schools help each other and benefit from each other’s expertise.  An average proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are supported through ‘school action’. The proportion supported at ‘school action plus’ or through a statement of special educational needs is well below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for attainment and progress.  At the time of the inspection, pupils in Key Stage 2 were being taught at Queen Emma Primary School due to building works at Queen Edith Primary School.  The local authority uses the headteacher and other staff to support other schools in the area.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching to outstanding, by making sure that teachers always show pupils, during lessons and when marking their books, the specific next steps they need to take in their learning to make the best possible progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the school with skills and understanding that are below national expectations for their age. They make good progress in the nursery and reception classes, and this continues right through to the end of Year 6. The 2012 Year 6 national test results showed that 94% of pupils, more than average, made two or more National Curriculum levels of progress between Key Stages 1 and 2 in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2011, the Year 6 results were disappointing for some groups of pupils. They showed that the progress made by disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and pupils eligible for pupils premium funding, required improvement. The school responded quickly by reviewing the help and guidance for these groups and they now make good progress, although still not at the outstanding level made by their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school teaches phonics (the sounds made by letters) regularly in Years R, 1, and 2. The activities in these sessions are stimulating, fun and demanding, and result in pupils making outstanding progress. In a Year 1 class pupils responded with glee to the challenge of jumping on words containing the ‘ue’ sound. Some words such as ‘overdue’ were very challenging, but the children used their good knowledge of phonics to work them out with ease.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The development of pupils’ reading skills and love of reading are given a high priority. Good guided reading sessions, regular opportunities to read in different contexts, clear advice to parents and close monitoring of home-school reading logs all contribute to most pupils making outstanding progress in reading throughout the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school places a strong emphasis on developing key literacy and numeracy skills, so they are fully prepared for the next stage in their education. Pupils use their writing targets, when appropriate, in all subjects to develop these skills, and use their number skills regularly to solve problems.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When they first join the school, pupils who speak English as an additional language are given intensive one-to-one help and guidance so that they can quickly gain the necessary language skills and make outstanding progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan lessons well. They focus right from the start on developing children’s sense of responsibility for their own learning, and their ability to work productively on their own. Pupils are given every possible opportunity to use their skills to solve problems and to ‘discover’ things for themselves, thus deepening their understanding and consolidating their skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Some particular strengths were common to all the lessons seen. Teachers ask searching questions to assess pupils’ understanding, and use the responses to build on pupils’ understanding, knowledge and skills. They always explain the purpose of the tasks set, rather than just telling pupils what to do. This helps to make learning meaningful, and encourages pupils to think harder about what they are doing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Not all of the teachers tell individual pupils precisely what they need to do to improve their work to the next level in lessons, and although marking is thorough, accurate and informative, it does not include detailed next steps to help pupils accelerate their learning and make sustained rapid progress in all aspects of their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants are used very well across the school. They are guided by teachers, but also use their initiative in lessons to support pupils’ learning. Along with the older pupils, they are trained as ‘mentors’ to help pupils who lack aspiration or need additional support to develop learning skills. This system is very successfully helping such pupils to focus on their learning and improve their progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs work with support from adults, but also on their own so they do not become dependent on adult help in order to learn. One-to- one support is given when necessary, for example to help pupils who are at risk of exclusion.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are excellent. They work together exceptionally well in a wide range of contexts. They regularly assess their own and each other’s work, and reflect maturely before making suggestions for how it can be improved.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The headteacher and senior leaders are deeply committed to developing all aspects of pupils’ learning, so they are confident but think deeply about their learning and have the resilience to make mistakes and take on new challenges. They back this up with careful training for teachers and thorough monitoring of lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils are proud of their school community. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is outstanding. One pupil pointed out (without being asked) that the excellent yet relaxed behaviour observed by inspectors on the playground was typical of what would be seen on any day of any week.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils know all about the different forms bullying can take, including cyber bullying. They know how to keep themselves safe as a result of work in lessons and regular reinforcement of all aspects of safety and personal development in assemblies.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school has outstanding systems for analysing and responding to unacceptable behaviour. The behaviour policy meets the differing needs of pupils and is consistently applied by all staff.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school has worked well to improve attendance and punctuality. Attendance is now above average.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Sophisticated monitoring procedures mean that senior leaders have a thorough understanding of the school’s strengths and areas of relative weakness. They provide excellent guidance to staff in all aspects of the school’s work. Team and subject leaders feel very well supported by senior leaders. Staff training is followed up thoroughly to make sure that any changes in teaching have a positive impact on pupils’ learning and well-being.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 All staff strive to do their very best and are happy to seek advice in their quest. Highly effective coaching and good opportunities for staff to observe and challenge each other have resulted in a remarkable consistency of practice in the school. Because of this, the majority of pupils have made outstanding progress over the last few years, particularly pupils who speak English as an additional language and those whose circumstances mean that they are in danger of failing at school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 In 2011, leaders were extremely disappointed by the fact that a minority of pupils did not make outstanding progress and have been diligent in seeking ways to remedy this. Pupils who would otherwise be disadvantaged but are not all eligible for additional funding are supported through ‘extra mile provision’. This is an appropriate name because the school does go the extra mile to coordinate a range of activities beyond school, such as theatre trips and work in the school holidays. In such ways, it is highly successful in eliminating discrimination and making sure that pupils from all backgrounds have an equal chance to succeed.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The vast majority of pupils and parents have a highly positive view of the school. Parents receive good information, for example through the high-quality newsletter and ‘The Guv’, the governors’ newsletter to parents.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The way subjects are taught grabs pupils’ interest and stimulates them extremely well. A wide range of visits, events and special days enhance their learning. A variety of activities, especially in science, help to inspire the most able pupils.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is promoted outstandingly well. Pupils get the chance to work towards leadership awards at bronze, silver and gold levels by carrying out a wide range of roles across the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 This good school receives appropriately ‘light touch’ support from the local authority, but is challenged to keep on improving by the associate adviser. The local authority recognises the strengths of the school and uses the headteacher and other staff to support schools locally.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governance is outstanding. The governing body is very well organised and benefits from the wide range of expertise of its members, who continually update their skills through regular training. Governors know the school’s strengths and weaknesses well. They ask searching questions to senior leaders to challenge its performance, particularly in relation to the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement, including how it compares to that of similar schools nationally. Governors are appropriately involved in the performance management of the headteacher and staff, including through approving pay awards. They make sure that safeguarding procedures meet national requirements and are consistently applied. Governors have wholeheartedly supported the school in its bid for federation with Queen Emma Primary School and through the building works. They have a very clear understanding of how the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

school budget is spent and make sure, for example, that additional funding such as the ‘pupil premium’ is used well to support pupils’ achievement. Recognising the dip in performance, governors have agreed that this funding should be spent on paying for extra literacy classes, learning mentors, running a mathematics club after school, and for extra resources. The school is effectively narrowing the gap in progress between pupils eligible for the funding and other groups.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 110763 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 403129

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 500 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Abi Crampton Headteacher Caroline Peet Date of previous school inspection 26 June 2008 Telephone number 01223 712200 Fax number 01223 712201 Email address office@queenedith.cambs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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