Cambois Primary School

Cambois Primary School Cowgate, Cambois, Blyth, Northumberland, NE24 1RD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  From their individual starting points pupils achieve well and make good progress. By the time they leave the school they reach standards that are at least in line with typically age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teaching is at least good and on occasion it is outstanding. Teaching observed during the inspection was never less than good.  Pupils clearly enjoy their learning and participate in lessons enthusiastically. They justifiably feel safe and happy in school and feel that they are well cared for.  Parents express overwhelmingly positive views about the school and its role in the community. They feel that their children are well supported to achieve well.  Pupils’ good, and sometimes exemplary, behaviour in lessons helps them make good progress. Pupils are keen to learn and try their best to succeed. They are well-mannered, polite and considerate.  Leadership has been strengthened since the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

last inspection. The headteacher and governors have high aspirations for the school and a clear vision for continuous improvement which is shared by all staff. There has been a successful, relentless focus on securing improvements in teaching and achievement.  Improvements have been secured through a focused drive to improve teaching. This has ensured that all pupils have been supported to make equally good progress.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not yet sufficient outstanding teaching to lead to consistently outstanding pupils’ progress.  Pupils’ handwriting skills are not sufficiently well developed.  Whilst pupils’ progress in writing is good, it is not yet as strong as in reading and mathematics. This is especially true of more- able pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons, two of which were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, a number of short visits to lessons were made to observe the teaching of reading.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, senior leaders in the school, members of the governing body, parents, pupils and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector talked to pupils, listened to them read and observed them at break and lunch- time.  A range of school documentation was examined, including the school’s analysis of how well it is doing, documents relating to monitoring and evaluation, systems for tracking pupils’ progress, documents relating to safeguarding and key policies.  There were insufficient responses to the online parent questionnaire (Parent View) for summary results to be available but the inspector took account of responses to the school’s most recent questionnaire for parents

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector also took account of the eight questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Alan Sergison, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Cambois Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school became a primary school in September 2012. Prior to this time it was Cambois First School, with provision for pupils up to Year 4.  Currently the oldest pupils are in Year 5.  Most pupils attending the school are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in local authority care and those with parents in the armed forces) is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.  The school provides a breakfast club for pupils. The vast majority of pupils attend this.  The school has the Healthy School Award, the Basic Skills Quality Mark, Active Mark and Arts

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the overall quality of teaching to outstanding in order to raise standards and accelerate pupils’ progress further by: - providing opportunities for pupils to respond to teachers’ marking, especially in writing - ensuring that the questioning skills of all teachers are as sharp as those observed in the very best lessons so that teachers can regularly check pupils’ understanding in order to finely adjust teaching to meet pupils’ different needs - ensuring that all lessons are taught at a brisk pace - providing opportunities for teachers to share the very best practice within the school and in other schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress in writing, and especially the progress of more-able pupils, by: - creating opportunities for pupils to write at length and to practise and develop their writing skills in different subjects and in a range of contexts - developing pupils’ technical handwriting skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are below, and often well below, those that are typical for their age. This does vary considerably from year to year within very small cohorts of pupils. Skills are particularly low in personal and social development, communication, language and literacy, and knowledge and understanding of the world. Because adults provide a wide range of quality opportunities for children to develop their skills they make good progress. However, because they start with lower attainment, standards still remain below the national average by the time they enter Year 1.  Pupils’ attainment across the school is rising. Inspection evidence shows that pupils’ current attainment in English and mathematics is on track to be at least in line with national expectations in both Key Stage 1 and for the oldest pupils in the school in upper Key Stage 2, who are currently in Year 5. Pupils’ progress accelerates rapidly across Key Stage 2 as the result

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The achievement of pupils is good

of consistently good teaching.  However, progress in writing is not yet as strong as in reading and mathematics and pupils’ handwriting skills require further development.  All groups of pupils, including those who need extra help, make good progress because teachers set work that addresses any gaps in their knowledge and skills. Particularly rapid progress is made by the oldest pupils in the school, where there is more outstanding teaching.  Pupils do well in reading because the regular teaching of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) helps to ensure that they quickly acquire secure basic reading skills. Pupils enjoy reading. As they move through the school they make good use of punctuation and grammar to emphasise words or use a different voice when reading. This helps bring the story to life.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, as well as those who are eligible

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The achievement of pupils is good

for the pupil premium funding, achieve as well in English and mathematics as other groups of pupils. They concentrate well and benefit from support from well-trained teaching assistants. This well-targeted support they receive, in small groups or one-to-one, enables them to overcome difficulties that limit their learning.  In 2012 the progress of the oldest pupils in the school in Year 4 who were eligible for free school meals was two terms ahead of other pupils in the group in reading. In writing it was three terms behind and in mathematics it was two terms behind. There were, however, only four pupils in the class group in total and all these pupils made good progress relative to their starting points. School records confirm that this gap is closing rapidly for pupils currently in the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved considerably since the last inspection so that it is now consistently good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers have good subject knowledge. They plan stimulating lessons with good use of a wide range of resources, for example when using interactive whiteboards to make lessons interesting as well as helping to hold pupils’ attention.  There is a very positive climate for learning in lessons and very good relationships between adults and pupils. Teachers make particularly good use of ‘learning partners’, where pupils talk together to share their ideas. This shared working helps them to clarify their thinking and rehearse their ideas before writing.  The best learning happens when teachers have high expectations of learning and behaviour. They plan work that is at the right level of difficulty to challenge pupils and move learning forward. In a very good mathematics lesson for the oldest pupils in the school, for example,

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils were stimulated and enthused to tackle some real-life problems linked to data from a local grocery shop. They were challenged to find and use the most efficient methods of calculation to arrive at the answer. Sharp questioning by the teacher ensured learning moved at a brisk pace and that all pupils made good progress.  Not all teaching is as good as this, however. In the very few less successful lessons questioning of pupils is not sufficiently focused. The pace of the lesson then slows and so does the rate of learning.  Marking of pupils’ books in all subjects takes place regularly and is thorough. Teachers provide comments on what pupils have to do to move on to the next stage and pupils appreciate this. They do not, as yet, have sufficient opportunities to respond to this marking and learn from the advice given, especially in their writing.  Pupils’ progress in writing is good but not yet as strong as in reading and mathematics. This is

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The quality of teaching is good

particularly the case with more-able pupils, who are not always challenged sufficiently. Pupils have insufficient opportunities to write at length across a range of subjects to enhance and develop writing skills further.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because teachers break learning down into small, achievable steps. They give clear explanations and make effective use of a variety of resources to make learning practical and interesting.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have good, and on occasion exemplary, attitudes to learning. Behaviour in and around the school is good and this makes a very positive contribution to pupils’ learning and personal development. Only on rare occasions, when teaching is less stimulating, does pupils’ attention wane.  Pupils say that they feel safe and well looked after and parents agree. In the words of one pupil, ‘This is a friendly school and we have fun learning interesting things’.  They have a good understanding of what constitutes bullying, including cyber-bullying. They say that bullying is rare but would be dealt with swiftly. Pupils really appreciated the work in their ‘anti-bullying’ project. They know how to keep themselves safe in a range of other situations.  Parents express overwhelmingly positive views about pupils’ behaviour.  Staff have worked extremely hard to improve attendance. These efforts have been very

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

successful and attendance is now above the national average. The very successful breakfast club has had a particularly positive impact on both attendance and punctuality.  Pupils relish taking on responsibility. They enjoy acting as playtime buddies and welcome the opportunities to care for younger pupils at break and lunchtime.

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The leadership and management are good

 The determined leadership of the headteacher has ensured that the school has moved forward at a good pace. Well supported by governors, he has taken decisive action to address weaknesses in teaching. Key aspects of the school have improved since the last inspection. Those in charge of different areas of the school’s work are developing their skills well. As a result, there is good capacity for the school to secure further improvement.  Leaders know the school’s strengths and weaknesses well. They know what needs to be done to make further improvements. Procedures for checking on the quality of teaching are rigorous and are linked to training to help teachers enhance their skills. Training provided for all staff matches the needs of the school well. All staff work well together as a cohesive team, closely focused on improving pupils’ achievement. Senior leaders have not as yet, however, provided sufficient

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The leadership and management are good

opportunities for the very best practice in school to be shared more widely.  There are robust systems for checking the progress of all groups of pupils. Promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination lie at the heart of the school’s work. This is an inclusive school where all pupils get on well together. Links with a range of partners bring considerable benefits to pupils’ learning and personal development. The school works well with outside agencies to ensure that pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable get the extra support they need. The school has a strong sense of community.  Curriculum provision is good. There is an appropriate focus on developing pupils’ basic skills in reading and writing but they also benefit from a broad range of other activities and experiences. For example, curriculum provision is enhanced by a wide range of educational visits to such places as the local beach, the Theatre Royal in Newcastle, a Hindu temple, the airport and the

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The leadership and management are good

local cenotaph. They also appreciate the range of extra-curricular activities on offer. This all makes a positive contribution to pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development through working in teams, showing initiative, developing a sense of right and wrong and improving self- confidence.  The local authority provides good, light-touch support for the school. This support is very much appreciated.  Statutory safeguarding requirements are met.  The governance of the school:  Governance has improved since the last inspection. The governing body is well organised and the individual skills and expertise of its members are utilised to good effect. Governors fully support the drive to improve teaching and raise achievement. They are aware of school performance and how this compares to other schools. They challenge the school’s leaders and hold them to account for the school’s performance, and they access relevant training to

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The leadership and management are good

develop their own skills. They are aware of the links between staff performance, pupils’ progress and movement on the salary scale and support the headteacher with decisions in relation to this. They make visits to school to check on how effective leaders’ actions are. They monitor finances well to ensure value for money, including the pupil premium, and to make sure it is spent in the best interests of the pupils.

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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 122179 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 420769

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 60 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kim Green Headteacher Paul Frost Date of previous school inspection 4 November 2009 Telephone number 01670 825218 Fax number 01670 825218 Email address paul.frost@northumberland.gov.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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