Cheadle Village Primary School

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

p.1

Miss K Leech Headteacher Cheadle Primary School Ashfield Road Cheadle Cheshire SK8 1BB

p.1

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 18 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 June 2014

p.1

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You are ably supported by your deputy headteacher, with whom you form an effective senior leadership team. You have an accurate view of the quality of education provided by the school. As such, your action plans are focused and effective. Your compassion for pupils is shared by the staff and governors, all of whom highly value your leadership.

p.1

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

Governors know the school well and hold you closely to account for the impact of your actions. You reinstated the school’s partnership with the adviser from the local authority. With his effective support, you began a programme of development, aiming to ensure a clearer focus on the areas for improvement from the previous inspection report. This programme has been effective, especially in developing middle leadership.

p.1

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

Parents are supportive of the school. The majority who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and those who spoke to me were positive about the recent improvements. One comment, typical of responses, included: ‘Children love coming to school and feel safe and nurtured. Fantastic children, parents and staff results in a fantastic school.’

p.1

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

Pupils spoken to during the inspection value their teachers. They said that teachers help them in a respectful way. They value the opportunities for responsibility such as ‘rights respecting rangers’. This is linked to your work on UNICEF as part of your commitment to promoting and improving the well-being and mental health of your pupils through the curriculum. The last inspection team asked the school to provide more opportunities for pupils to think and learn independently. This is now evident in the way that pupils work well together, supporting each other’s learning through high-quality discussions. In the early years, inspectors observed children cooperating well and sustaining their attention on activities such as working together to solve mathematical challenges. This enhances the quality of children’s independent learning.

p.1

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

You were also asked to develop the role of middle leaders in school. This has been effective. Middle leaders use assessment well to track pupils’ achievements and highlight areas for subject development. Well-thought-out staff development, supported by the local authority, has led to improvements to the quality of teaching that provide pupils with better outcomes.

p.2

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

During the inspection, we discussed areas where further work is required to support your school improvement. You acknowledge that pupils need to develop their problem-solving skills in mathematics further. This is so that they can use their prior learning to attempt more complex, unfamiliar mathematical problems. You also acknowledge that although an increasing number of the most able pupils are achieving higher standards, there is more work to do to increase the proportion of middle-ability pupils who reach the higher standards at the end of each key stage.

p.2

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records are detailed and of high quality. You record all safeguarding concerns thoroughly. You respond promptly, following up concerns with outside agencies when required. Governors and staff receive regular and detailed training to ensure that they have a thorough and up-to-date understanding of safeguarding issues. You and your staff care deeply for your pupils. Your pupils and their parents and carers know that they can rely on you and your staff if they have any worries.

p.2

Short inspection of Cheadle Primary School

Pupils understand about different forms of bullying and know how to stay safe, including when they are on the internet. This is because staff are effective at providing pupils with the information they need. All parents who responded to Parent View agreed that the school is a safe and happy place.

p.2

Inspection findings

 We agreed some areas of focus for this inspection. The first of these was to look at the actions taken by leaders to improve outcomes in reading. The actions taken by you have resulted in a consistent approach to the teaching of reading across the school. This recent prioritisation of reading, particularly the focus on developing pupils’ inference and deduction skills, is bringing about improvements to pupils’ progress. Texts are chosen, sometimes by pupils, to engage and improve the learning, especially of the most able. A new reading scheme has also been implemented to give a wider variety of books available to pupils. Reading now has a much higher priority than in previous years. Pupils enjoy reading and are given opportunities to apply their skills in a range of other curriculum areas. As a result, pupils are making better progress from their starting points and are becoming confident and competent readers. This is because, over time, they

p.2

Inspection findings

build up their skills and become proficient readers.  The next area we looked at was how you are improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Governors provide strong challenge to senior leaders, asking challenging questions about the effectiveness of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding. Consequently, leaders use information well to target pupils. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of pupils making good progress from their starting points. Misconceptions are quickly addressed by the adults, working with small groups or with individual children. This was evident in the quality of the interventions and the effective support for disadvantaged pupils observed during the inspection. The school’s own assessment information shows that the difference in achievement between disadvantaged pupils and others is diminishing. This is also reflected in pupils’ books. However, we agreed that there should be more opportunities for problem-solving in

p.3

Inspection findings

mathematics so that all pupils tackle more complex, unfamiliar problems with increasing success.  We also looked at how you are improving outcomes for boys across the school. Leaders’ work to ensure that boys and girls achieve equally well is effective. Boys are now more engaged by the curriculum because of themes based around learning which engage all pupils more readily. This is because your teachers plan effectively to engage boys and girls equally well. Teachers use a range of strategies to encourage boys to engage in learning. For example, in key stage 1, boys were enthused about writing about superhero powers. In key stage 2, boys writing a diary entry based on a Chinese play produced writing of high quality. Boys spoken to during the inspection told me that they enjoy school and are proud of their learning. Work in pupils’ books shows that the differences are diminishing between boys and girls in all subjects. However, we

p.3

Inspection findings

discussed that there could be more challenge for middle-ability pupils, to increase the proportion who achieve the higher standards.  The final area we looked at was attendance. You and the governors are aware that there have been attendance issues and you are taking appropriate action to bring about improvements. Attendance is now similar to that of other schools nationally. You ensure that good attendance is celebrated and you challenge unauthorised absences strongly. When asked, pupils were enthusiastic about the rewards on offer for full attendance, such as the trophy received if the whole class achieves the best attendance that week. You are raising expectations around attendance and, as a result, pupils are making better progress. The attendance leader monitors individual pupils and targets those with low attendance levels by providing individual support and rewards. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils has also increased. This is having a direct impact on improved

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.3

Next steps for the school

 they provide more opportunities for problem-solving in mathematics, so that pupils tackle more complex, unfamiliar problems with success.  they provide more consistent challenge to middle-ability pupils, in order to increase the proportions of those pupils who achieve at higher levels in mathematics and English. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Stockport. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3

Information about the inspection

Throughout the inspection I spoke to pupils about their work and school life, both formally and informally. I held meetings with you, the local authority school improvement partner and subject leaders to discuss improvements in their areas of responsibility. I also looked at work in pupils’ books.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I reviewed documentation, which included your evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and the school development plan. I spoke to parents at the start of the school day and considered 60 responses to Parent View.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I visited classes with you to observe pupils’ learning. I met with governors to discuss aspects of school leadership and management.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I reviewed a range of documentation about safeguarding, including the school’s record of checks undertaken on newly appointed staff.

p.4