Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Kim Price Headteacher Cuddington and Dinton Church of England School Upper Church Street Cuddington Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP18 0AP

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

Following my visit to the school on 19 October 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2012.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

In the five years since the previous inspection, there have been considerable changes in staffing. Through these changes you have shown strong determined leadership. You have created an environment which is ambitious for pupils, staff and the wider community. You have focused on developing the capacity and effectiveness of your teaching staff. Good-quality training for staff ensures that pupils make good progress. All staff and governors are working hard to live up to the school’s vision, ‘To realise the potential in all’. Staff morale is high. There is a strong sense of teamwork, and all staff feel proud to be members of the school.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

Parents describe the school as ‘amazing’, ‘wonderful’ and ‘fantastic’. The vast majority believe the school is well led and managed. One parent described the school as: ‘an extremely well led, warm and nurturing school, with strong values’.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

Central to the school’s ethos is the importance of each child. Relationships between staff and pupils are excellent. Pupils are proud of their school and appreciate the good learning opportunities provided. One pupil said: ’all our teachers teach us so well, so we are all well prepared to face anything’.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

At the time of the last inspection, inspectors highlighted good teaching, high standards and strong leadership. You and your leadership team and governors addressed the key priorities for improvement identified by the previous inspection. For example, you were asked to ensure that the most able pupils were consistently challenged and given opportunities to develop their own ideas and organise their own learning. In lessons, you offer the most able pupils a range of tasks that enable them to reflect upon their learning and challenge themselves. As a consequence, you are ensuring that more of these pupils are making better progress and achieving higher standards in their learning.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

Senior leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and those areas requiring further improvement. Pupils make stronger progress in mathematics and reading than they do in writing. There are some inconsistencies in the quality of the teaching of writing in some classes. You have clear plans to tackle this to ensure that the progress of pupils in writing matches the progress achieved in reading and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

You have created a culture in which safeguarding is of paramount importance to ensure the welfare of pupils. Staff are appropriately trained to understand and carry out their safeguarding duties. The school has developed appropriate procedures to protect pupils. For example, regular review and effective monitoring by governors hold leaders to account effectively. Records are detailed and of high quality. Robust procedures ensure that all statutory checks are completed for adults working in the school.

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Short inspection of Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

Pupils say they feel safe in school because staff ‘want you to be the best you can be’. The vast majority of parents who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, agree that their children are well cared for and feel safe in school. Pupils flourish in an atmosphere of mutual respect and a safe and happy environment.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection, we agreed to look at the effectiveness of safeguarding; the progress of pupils, including boys, in writing and phonics; how effectively you have improved the teaching of mathematics; and how effectively you are improving progress in school and in the early years.  The school was right to focus on improving the outcomes in mathematics in the last academic year. In 2016, pupils’ progress in mathematics had decreased from previous years. Leaders reorganised the mathematics curriculum and raised expectations among the staff. This has resulted in pupils making stronger progress.  The teaching of phonics is good. Senior leaders implemented clear and effective actions to improve reading, following the results in the national assessments in 2016. Teaching of reading is organised to focus on the individual needs of pupils. This approach, coupled with higher expectations, means that pupils are now

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Inspection findings

making better progress.  Pupils make good progress in writing, but it is not as strong as in mathematics and reading. You have introduced changes to improve the teaching of writing. Where these changes have been implemented effectively, pupils, including the boys, are making better progress. However, these changes are not yet consistent across the school.  Pupils make good progress and achieve well in the early years. Senior leaders have implemented changes to the provision which have resulted in better learning activities and higher expectations. This has led to improved outcomes. The outdoor provision in the early years environment is an area that you have recognised needs further development. Outdoor learning is limited and sometimes constrains children’s learning opportunities.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:  the teaching of writing is consistent across the school  the early years outdoor provision is developed into a purposeful learning environment

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Oxford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Buckinghamshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you, your assistant headteacher and your staff. We talked about the improvements which have been made since the last inspection. Together, we undertook observations of learning in lessons. I examined pupils’ work, focusing on writing. I also held discussions with five governors, including the chair of governors, and talked informally to pupils in lessons. A phone call took place with a representative from the local authority. Before the inspection, I examined a variety of documents, including the school’s website, published performance data and a summary of your school’s self-evaluation document. I took into account the views of 97 parents who responded to ‘Parent View’ and 20 staff questionnaires. A range of documentary evidence was evaluated, including documents relating to safeguarding and governance.

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