Cherry Hinton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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

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Mrs Patricia Yoxen Headteacher Cherry Hinton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School High Street Cherry Hinton Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB1 9HH

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Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 10 January 2018, 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 July 2013.

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Primary School

Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I have identified some priorities for improvement which I advise the school to address. In light of these priorities, the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection. There is

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

There has been a period of significant change at Cherry Hinton Church of England Primary School since the previous inspection. You took up your position as headteacher in 2014, and your deputy headteacher took up her role in September 2017. You have overseen the final years of the transition from an infant school to a primary school. The first cohort of pupils took key stage 2 assessments in 2015. The governing body has supported leaders well as the school has undergone this period of change. Governors have clear commitment to and make a significant contribution to the school’s philosophy that all pupils are equally important.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Despite these changes, you have successfully maintained the calm, kind atmosphere noted in the 2013 inspection report. Parents and carers told me how much they value the ‘friendly community’ that adults and pupils successfully generate. All parents who completed Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, agreed that their children are happy at school. Pupils were equally positive, and many said that they appreciate ‘how much our teachers help us’ and, ‘We get on well and no one is left out.’

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Leading a school that has taken on an additional key stage as it becomes a primary school has not been without its challenges. As part of your school improvement strategy, you and your leaders amended the way that mathematics and English are taught. The effect of your actions can be seen in the improvement in pupils’ attainment by the end of key stage 1, which was above average in reading and mathematics and average in writing. The impact of this work is not as clear in pupils’ achievement in key stage 2, where outcomes in reading are not yet good. You are rightly making this a focus of your school improvement work.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You also took effective action to improve the quality of provision in the early years. As a result, children make a strong start to their education in the well-organised and purposeful Nursery and Reception classes. As a result of strong leadership and effective teaching, children develop confidence in their learning and play. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development has risen dramatically and has now been broadly average for three years. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening test by the end of Years 1 and 2 remains above average.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

A larger proportion of pupils join the school mid-way through a key stage than is typically the case. You explained to me that, as the school has grown, the range of pupils’ needs has become more diverse. You and your staff are proud of, and fully embrace, the school’s inclusive approach – a fact noted by parents, one of whom commented on how successfully leaders have developed an ‘inclusive and inspirational learning community’. Provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is well led. Leaders ensure that pupils’ needs are identified accurately, appropriate interventions put in place and their academic and social progress carefully tracked. As a result, pupils who have SEN and or/disabilities are making good or improving progress.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Pupils’ considerate behaviour reflects the school’s values of Agape, Courage and Thankfulness (ACT). The overwhelming majority of parents, pupils and staff who completed the online surveys agree that pupils behave well. Inspection evidence confirms this. Pupils are polite, inquisitive and eager to learn. Pupils’ cheerful and positive attitudes seen on the day of the inspection endorsed parents’ comments that their children are happy and keen to come to school.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Leaders, including governors have ensured that there is a strong culture of safeguarding at Cherry Hinton Church of England Primary School.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Parents and staff agree that children and pupils are safe. Pupils told me that they feel safe because of the care and attention provided by adults in the school. Pupils confidently explained the strategies they would use to stay safe when online. They also told me that they value the work of staff in ensuring that pupils understand what bullying is and, on the rare occasion it does occur, making sure it is dealt with effectively.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Staff receive appropriate safeguarding training. They know the signs that indicate that a child may be at risk and in need of support. Staff expressed confidence that if they were to report a concern it would be dealt with in a timely, effective way by the designated safeguarding lead. Leaders’ well-kept records confirm this.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Governors ensure that the record of checks carried out when recruiting staff is accurately maintained. The governing body also commissions a regular external audit to provide further assurance of the effectiveness of this aspect of the school’s work.

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Inspection findings

 My first key line of enquiry was to establish the progress pupils are making in reading in key stage 2. This was because, over the past two years, middle-ability pupils’ achievement in reading was low, as was that of disadvantaged pupils. Over the same period, pupils’ attainment in reading has also been lower than is the case nationally. Through careful analysis and reflection, leaders have a precise understanding of the reasons why pupils did not achieve well in reading in key stage 2. As a result, leaders have amended the way that reading is taught to ensure that pupils better develop their skills of comprehension, inference and explanation.  Pupils know and understand the reading skills they are developing and told me how much they enjoy learning through this new approach. The impact of this work can be seen in the increasing confidence with which pupils make inferences and comment on the context of different texts. This has led to improved pupil

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Inspection findings

outcomes in reading by the end of key stage 1. However, we agreed that this work is not yet leading to consistently good progress for pupils across key stage 2. Leaders recognise that it is a priority to ensure that they review what is working well and that it is applied consistently and effectively by all teachers.  The second key line of enquiry was to establish the effectiveness with which leaders are ensuring that disadvantaged pupils make good progress. This is because, over the previous three years, disadvantaged pupils have not made the progress they should have by the end of key stage 2. Leaders were disappointed with pupils’ outcomes last year. They know that there is work to be done to ensure that the well-judged and skilful pastoral support offered to disadvantaged pupils leads more quickly to better academic progress.  Evidence from work in disadvantaged pupils’ books demonstrates that the

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Inspection findings

progress they make is mixed. While some make good or improving progress, others are not yet translating their increased confidence into the faster progress they need to make. Some teachers are more skilled than others in successfully challenging and enabling disadvantaged pupils to achieve their best.  To establish whether the school continues to provide a good quality of education, I also sought to determine the progress that pupils have made in subjects other than English and mathematics. Pupils have access to a rich, broad curriculum, which leaders keep under regular review to ensure that it is well matched to pupils’ interests and needs. Recently, leaders have introduced an enquiry-based approach to learning in subjects other than English and mathematics. Pupils explained how much they enjoy learning through the school’s chosen topics such as mountains, Rome or World War Two.  A scrutiny of work in pupils’ books and folders demonstrates that they relish the

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Inspection findings

chance to apply their literacy skills across the curriculum: for example, the science work on rockets and the geography work on volcanos. Pupils typically make good and improving progress in subjects across the curriculum. However, subject leaders do not precisely track the progress that groups of pupils make across the curriculum so they are better placed to ensure that appropriate intervention is put in place when a pupil or group of pupils falls behind.  My final line of enquiry was to establish the impact of leaders’ actions to improve the attendance of the small number of pupils who do not attend as often as they should. This was because, while pupils’ attendance overall was broadly average in 2016, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils was lower than it should have been.  Pupils’ attendance overall continues to be broadly average. However, there have been fluctuations in the attendance of some groups of pupils. As noted at the

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Inspection findings

time of the previous inspection, the tireless work of staff, including the family support worker, is having a positive impact on increasing pupils’ attendance. Should the need arise, support is put in place not only for pupils, but also for families. However, there remain a small number of pupils who do not attend as often as they should.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the work that has improved pupils’ confidence and progress in reading at key stage 1 has a similar impact for pupils at key stage 2  they continue the work to develop further disadvantaged pupils’ confidence in their learning and play, to ensure that they make at least good academic progress  subject leaders more carefully track the progress that groups of pupils are making in subjects other than English and maths and then intervene to provide pupils who fall behind with the appropriate support they need to make at least good progress  all groups of pupils attend as well as they should.

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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 Ely, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cambridgeshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

 I held discussions with the headteacher about the key lines of enquiry for this inspection, leaders’ evaluation of the quality of education, plans for future improvement and information about current pupils’ learning.  I met with other senior leaders, the school business manager, subject leaders and the chair of governors together with four other governors. I also met with a representative of the local authority.  I examined documents such as: the school’s improvement plans; leaders’ monitoring and analysis of the progress that pupils make; pupil premium reports; and the school’s safeguarding arrangements, records, files and documentation.  Together with the headteacher, I observed children and pupils learning in several classes. We looked at examples of children’s and pupils’ work to explore the progress they are making over time.  I spoke with a group of 10 pupils and with others informally during lessons

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Information about the inspection

regarding their learning. I also considered the views of 39 pupils who responded to the online survey.  I considered the views of parents I spoke with at the start of the school day. I also took into account the views of 26 parents who responded on Parent View and of the 12 parents who left comments on the Parent View free-text service. I also considered parents’ views expressed in the school’s own surveys.  The views of 16 staff who completed Ofsted’s staff questionnaire were taken into account.

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