Cuddington Community Primary School

Cuddington Community Primary School Salisbury Road, Worcester Park, Surrey KT4 7DD

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Inspection dates 4  5 May 2016 and 7 June 2016

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Standards in writing are too low. Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 are not catching up quickly enough to make up for underachievement in the past. Too few pupils reach the higher levels in writing at age seven or 11.  Teachers do not make best use of techniques such as questioning to thoroughly check pupils’ knowledge and understanding in lessons and set work at the right level of challenge. They sometimes miss or overlook pupils’ misconceptions.  Leaders, including governors, do not analyse the achievement of groups of pupils, such as the most able or disadvantaged, in sufficient depth so as to identify which need more support or challenge.  Some pupils, particularly those of average ability, do not make enough progress in mathematics.

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The school has the following strengths

 Leaders, including the recently appointed head of school, supported by the Howard Partnership Trust, know what needs to improve, including in teaching, and are now setting about it in a systematic way. For example, pupils’ reading has improved recently because of changes to the way it is taught.  Most pupils, parents and staff are positive about the changes made and recognise the signs of improvement.  Achievement in the early years and key stage 1 is good because high-quality teaching ensures that children make good progress.  Safeguarding procedures are rigorous. Parents agree that pupils feel safe and behave well.  Pupils with special educational needs, including those in The Jubilee Centre, make good progress because of high-quality support.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language often achieve more highly than their peers in school and nationally.  Governors now know the school well. They have

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The school has the following strengths

received appropriate training that is beginning to enable them to challenge and support senior leaders effectively.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in key stage 2 and achievement in writing and mathematics by: setting work that is consistently at the right level of difficulty for pupils of different abilities, so that they are appropriately challenged increasing opportunities for pupils to write at length and in a wide range of subjects ensuring that teachers check pupils’ understanding and address misconceptions effectively.  Strengthen the impact of leaders and managers by ensuring that: support for current staff and the induction and monitoring of new staff focus on securing teaching which is of a consistently good quality across all year groups information about the achievement of different groups of pupils is analysed, effective action is taken where any groups are not performing as well as others, and the impact of actions taken or the use of additional funding, for example for disadvantaged pupils, is evaluated thoroughly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 New leaders have set about improving the school methodically over the last 18 months. There have been improvements in teaching and learning, particularly in the early years and key stage 1, higher standards in reading and much improved governance. Leaders have successfully eradicated the weakest teaching and strengthened systems to hold teachers to account. As a result, the school is moving forward with a high level of commitment to ensuring that pupils get the best deal. Leaders know there is more to do.  Leaders know the school well. They have prioritised the right things at the right time. Establishing strong leadership at different levels has been instrumental in ensuring that standards are beginning to rise. The newly appointed head of school has a strong vision for school improvement and he has quickly gained the respect of the majority of pupils, staff and parents. As one parent recognised, ‘The school is increasingly

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

improving under new leadership. Efforts are being made and this is reflected around the school in different areas’. The majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire would recommend the school to other parents, although some, and some pupils, expressed concerns about the unavoidable turnover of teachers in key stage 2.  Leaders have steered improvement wisely this year, coordinating a wide range of high-quality support. The Howard Trust Partnership, external consultants and other senior leaders from local schools have all contributed to developing the expertise of staff. The head of school, supported by the executive headteacher from The Howard Partnership Trust, has driven forward much-needed improvements in the monitoring and evaluation of teachers’ performance, accurately tailoring the level of support required.  Leaders have devised a new assessment system to meet the requirements of the revised national

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

curriculum and now gather useful information about how well pupils are learning. This year, systematic checking by teachers and leaders has led to staff looking more meticulously at pupils’ performance information. This is helpful as it ensures that pupils who are at risk of falling behind are identified promptly and appropriate support is triggered. However, leaders’ work to analyse how well different groups of learners are performing, such as disadvantaged pupils, the most able pupils or those who speak English as an additional language, is at an early stage.  Subject leaders in English and mathematics have a strong sense of strengths and weaknesses in their subjects. They regularly undertake monitoring activities, keeping a close eye on learning in their subjects. They are receiving useful support and training that are enabling them to lead further improvements.  Improvements in leadership and teaching in the early years and key stage 1, including the teaching of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

phonics (letters and the sounds they represent), are resulting in better achievement for younger pupils. The Jubilee Centre benefits from exceptional leadership and teaching. All staff know and care about each individual pupil. As a result, pupils in the centre receive high-quality provision that closely matches their individual needs and ensures that they make the progress of which they are capable.  The curriculum covers the full range of subjects, although there is sometimes insufficient challenge for pupils to reach the higher levels. Classrooms are organised and resourced appropriately. Displays support learning across the curriculum well. There is a comprehensive programme of school visits.  Leaders promote equality of opportunity well in this diverse community where a high proportion of pupils are from ethnic minority groups. Assemblies promote British values and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

cultural development effectively. For example, in an assembly, pupils thoughtfully explored the meaning of respect, empathy and compassion linked to Autism Week.  Leaders have used the pupil premium funding to provide additional teaching and welfare support for the most disadvantaged pupils, some of whom have special educational needs. Leaders monitor the progress of these pupils closely on an individual basis, and provision is adjusted appropriately when it is found that their achievement is not as good as it could be. Gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and that of others are closing steadily.  The primary school sports funding has been used well to improve the confidence and skills of teachers who teach physical education and sports. Additional extra-curricular activities provide opportunities for all pupils to participate in more sports and represent the school in competitive games.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school Most governors are newly appointed since the last inspection and the subsequent review of governance. They understand their roles well and have completed appropriate training to enable them to challenge and support leaders effectively. Two governors are national leaders of governance, which brings additional expertise, in particular in challenging leaders over the impact of their work. Governors have a good understanding of the challenges the school has faced and are determined to bring about improvements in the quality of teaching and learning. They are aware of the need to continue to close the gap between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others in the school and nationally. However, as yet, they do not receive robust enough information on the performance of different groups of pupils to enable them to check how well the school is doing.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Members of the trust oversee safeguarding

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

arrangements, satisfying themselves that procedures are robust and high levels of care are afforded to all pupils. Leaders ensure that staff are kept up to date with safeguarding matters and receive timely training, including in preventing extremism and radicalisation. Staff work well with outside professionals, for example to ensure that families who from time to time require additional help are put in touch with experts who can offer assistance.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Although there have been improvements in teaching in the early years and key stage 1 since the last inspection, the quality of teaching in key stage 2 is not good. Pupils, particularly in Year 5 and Year 6, are often not making the progress they need to in order to reach the standards they are capable of in writing and mathematics.  Improvements in writing, especially in key stage 2, remain a key priority for the school. Teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to develop stamina for writing at length, both in English and across the curriculum.  In mathematics, many pupils are benefiting from opportunities to apply their skills to more complex problems. They respond well to activities that challenge their thinking. However, in some lessons in key stage 2, teachers’ questioning does not explore pupils’ understanding in sufficient depth. When this is the case, misunderstandings are overlooked and progress slows, particularly for average-ability pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Low expectations in some classes in key stage 2 limit pupils’ opportunities to achieve their potential. Sometimes tasks are too easy for the most able pupils. They are expected to complete basic work before accessing activities that provide a higher level of challenge. As a result, they do not achieve as well as they should.  The quality of work in pupils’ mathematics and writing work books in key stage 2 is variable because not all teachers have high enough expectations. Some teachers provide useful feedback to pupils. However, the quality of pupils’ responses is variable and, in some cases, misconceptions persist and are not picked up by teachers.  Teaching in the younger year groups is effective. Explanations are clear, and teachers and teaching assistants pinpoint misconceptions astutely, and then skilfully reshape activities to address them. For example, in a Year 2 mathematics lesson, pupils were able to solve problems involving two-dimensional

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

shapes because of the clear guidance they received. A teaching assistant helped pupils through her insightful, open-ended questioning to recognise and learn about the properties of two-dimensional shapes.  Good phonics teaching in the younger year groups ensures that pupils become confident readers and writers by the end of Year 2. In a Year 1 lesson, the teacher created a night-time scene, with all the pupils lying on the carpet pretending to be asleep. She then showed a picture of the sun rising at dawn and the pupils woke up with ‘a yawn at dawn’. This enhanced pupils’ learning of the ‘aw’ sound, followed by a series of repetitions to reinforce the spelling of the sound visually, orally and aurally.  Pupils’ reading homework in key stage 1 is supported well by parents, and encourages young pupils’ enthusiasm for reading.  The teaching of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those with autistic

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

spectrum disorder, in The Jubilee Centre is good. Teaching assistants are deployed effectively to support interventions and group work. These sessions are tailored to the learning needs of individual pupils, ensuring that these pupils make good progress.  Pupils who enter the school at an early stage of learning English make good progress because of the targeted provision they receive.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Relationships are strong. Staff, including the head of school who knows every pupil well, are caring and prioritise pupils’ safety and well-being. As pupils in Year 6 reported, ‘Everyone is kind’.  Pupils enjoy coming to school. This is reflected in improved attendance, which overall is now above the national average. However, more needs to be done to further improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils.  Staff, especially those in The Jubilee Centre, work effectively with outside agencies to promote the welfare of pupils. Through these partnerships, staff ensure that vulnerable pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive high-quality care, guidance and support.  Pupils enjoy playing together in the extensive, well-maintained grounds. Pupils from The Jubilee Centre join others at well-supervised playtimes, which promotes their inclusion in the school community. The

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Personal development and welfare

school has received the Quality Inclusion Mark for its work in this area.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils across the school are calm and the atmosphere in lessons is purposeful, although some pupils understandably lose concentration when the work is not sufficiently challenging.  Pupils are well mannered and courteous to each other and to adults. Staff have high expectations of behaviour and promote positive moral and social attitudes in lessons, at playtimes, through assemblies and in displays around the school.  Pupils told inspectors that incidents of bullying and racism are extremely rare, with some commenting that it does not happen at all. Pupils have a good understanding of online bullying and of how to deal with it, even though they have not experienced it directly.  Most parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, believe that their children behave well in school and that they are well looked after.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Not enough pupils reach the standards expected for their age in writing. Improvements this year in key stage 1 are not mirrored in key stage 2. Leaders’ efforts to raise standards higher up the school have been hindered by staffing changes and the legacy of weaker teaching. Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 are not making up for lost ground as quickly as is needed.  Too few pupils achieve the higher levels in writing. Recent changes have begun to provide pupils with more opportunities to write at length and to practise their skills in a wider range of genres. Although well judged, these changes are very new and require further development to have an impact on standards.  Standards are rising in key stage 1. The quality of teaching has improved and more pupils are prepared by age seven for the challenges of key stage 2. Subject leaders have made a good contribution to these improvements. For example, the English leader has introduced a scheme for motivating boys by

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

encouraging their writing, including outside lessons.  In 2015, standards in the Year 1 phonics check were below those seen nationally. However, leaders have successfully arrested the decline through changes to the way phonics is taught and assessed and by earlier intervention. The school’s information shows that more pupils are acquiring the early reading skills they need than in the recent past. Most pupils who did not reach the standard last year have now caught up, because of high-quality teaching in Year 2.  Inspectors’ scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that the majority of pupils, including the most able, make significant progress during their time in the early years and key stage 1. However, progress in some key stage 2 classes is inconsistent, especially for the most able in writing and average-ability pupils in mathematics.  The gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers are closing steadily. Some gaps remain, in part

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

because some disadvantaged pupils have especially complex needs. Recently introduced interventions, funded by the pupil premium, are beginning to have an impact on narrowing the remaining gaps.  Overall, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress because of the good additional support they receive. Leaders, including those responsible for pupils in The Jubilee Centre, identify the needs of these pupils accurately and ensure that they get the right support to make good progress.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language also make good progress and their attainment is often higher than that of their English-speaking peers, in school and nationally, by the end of Year 6.

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Early years provision is good

 Most children join the Reception class with knowledge and skills that are typical for their age. Effective teaching gets them off to a good start, so that by the time they move to Year 1, the proportion achieving a good level of development is above average.  The quality of teaching and provision in the early years is high. The environment is language rich, with lots of prompts to encourage children’s thinking across all areas of learning. Staff are skilled in checking on and developing children’s understanding without putting words in their mouth, as seen for example when children were designing and testing boats that would float.  Early years is well led. The Reception teacher is passionate about the quality of education the children receive, showing drive and determination for constant improvement of the provision. For example, she has identified that boys develop their fine motor skills more slowly than girls, which has an impact on

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Early years provision is good

their writing. To address this, staff ensure that all children join in the many activities on offer to promote children’s fine motor skills, for example, writing with a range of different tools including chalks, cutting with scissors, dough modelling and using construction equipment.  Children enjoy their experiences in the Reception class because staff maximise opportunities for making learning fun. For example, during the inspection, learning revolved around the theme of ‘bears’. The children acted out the story ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, wrote instructions to remind the bear going to the beach what he needed to take, and counted bears in number work.  Most-able children are challenged to reach their potential and exceed expectations for their age by the time they leave the Reception class. Disadvantaged children and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those based in The Jubilee Centre, are well supported to make good

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Early years provision is good

progress from their starting points.  Behaviour in the early years is good. Routines are well established and consistently applied by all staff, both indoors and outside. Children show high levels of resilience, becoming fully absorbed in their activities. They are calm and work and play together harmoniously because they feel safe, secure and happy.  Staff receive high-quality training in all aspects of keeping children safe and addressing their well-being. Children know how to keep themselves and one another safe.  Parents’ views of the early years provision are unanimously positive. One parent wrote, ‘My son’s teachers are very inspirational and, as a result, he and the other children in the class are very keen to learn and enjoy going to school’.

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School details

Unique reference number 124963 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 10012226

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School details

This inspection 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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Williamson Head of school Lee Herdman Telephone number 020 8716 2677 Website www.cuddington.surrey.sch.uk Email address info@cuddington.surrey.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 21  22 January 2014

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  In September 2012, an additional resource provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder opened, known as The Jubilee Centre. It provides 14 places for pupils across the primary age range. Currently there are 12 pupils on roll.  The school’s leadership team, at all levels, has changed considerably since the previous inspection. The executive headteacher, head of school and the vast majority of the governing body, including the chair, are all relatively new to post.  In November 2014, the local authority introduced The Howard Partnership Trust to the school, a Surrey- based multi-academy trust led by an outstanding school. It drew up a memorandum of understanding and appointed an interim headteacher to run the school. The new head of school was appointed in September 2015. He is supported by an executive headteacher from The Howard Partnership Trust.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of pupils in receipt of the pupil premium is less than half the national average. Funding currently supports pupils who are eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage, with those of Asian background forming the next largest group.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average, with many of these pupils entering the school at the early stages of learning English.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.  A breakfast club and after-school provision run by a private provider are available. They were not part of this inspection.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors first visited the school in May 2016. Through no fault of the school, the inspection was deemed incomplete. Two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors visited the school in June 2016 to gather more evidence about the school’s overall effectiveness.  During the first visit, inspectors visited lessons in all classrooms, some with the head of school, the executive headteacher or interim deputy headteacher. During the second visit, 11 lessons were observed, three jointly with the head of school.  Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work. They heard pupils read and spoke to pupils about their views of the school.  Inspectors held discussions with staff, subject leaders, governors and representatives from The Howard Partnership Trust and the local authority.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, behaviour and attendance records, governing body documents, and documents

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Information about this inspection

relating to the monitoring of teachers’ performance, and safeguarding.  The views of the 30 parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account, as well as discussions with parents.  The views of 15 staff who completed questionnaires were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Angela Konarzewski, lead inspector (May 2016) Ofsted Inspector Andrew Hogarth (May 2016) Ofsted Inspector Elizabeth Farr, lead inspector (June 2016) Her Majesty’s Inspector Alison Bradley (June 2016) Her Majesty’s Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted.

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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