Cherbourg Primary School

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

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Dr Julie Greer Headteacher Cherbourg Primary School Cherbourg Road Eastleigh Hampshire SO50 5QF

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 23 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 November 2012.

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school, and has implemented several improvements since the last inspection. Cherbourg Primary School offers a particularly nurturing and inclusive community atmosphere. Together with governors and staff, you and your leadership team are very ambitious for the pupils in your care and passionate about improving the quality of provision for all pupils, particularly the most vulnerable. You provide energy, vision and clear leadership which is recognised and highly valued by pupils, staff, parents and the local authority. As one parent commented, ‘a wonderful, caring school that supports my children in every way; they are happy, are thriving, and enjoy all aspects of their learning’.

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

In the past, pupils have made well above average rates of progress in reading and writing by the end of key stage 2 and average progress in mathematics. However, in 2017, although progress remained strong in reading and writing, outcomes in mathematics dipped. Consequently, the proportions of pupils who achieved standards expected for their age in mathematics were below national figures. This is no longer the case. Recognising the need for improvements, you have restructured leadership, delivered training for teachers and so reinvigorated the teaching and learning of mathematics across the school. Senior leaders are very aware that these improvements are ongoing, but current pupils’ work evidences that they are making much stronger progress in mathematics than in the past. At the same time, you have continued to improve teaching and assessment in reading and writing. As a result, all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who speak English as an

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

additional language, make good progress from their starting points. Leaders are rightly focused on raising the level of challenge in teaching so that a greater proportion of pupils than previously achieve the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

Senior leaders ensure that bespoke support is offered to pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities and that they are supported very well both pastorally and academically. There is a strong sense of teamwork between leaders, support staff and teachers. They share a passionate commitment to the inclusive ethos of Cherbourg Primary School. The school’s ‘Jarjums’ resource provision offers first-class support to pupils who have social, emotional or mental health needs. Parents are quick to recognise the quality of support on offer, with comments such as, ‘My child attends Jarjums and I have been impressed with the expertise that has been shown throughout the school. The headteacher is extremely approachable and has given valuable advice.’ Staff ensure that all pupils with SEN and/or disabilities are very effectively integrated into lessons. The local authority has recognised the school’s strengths in this area, supporting you to introduce and

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

embed the introduction of similar provision in other schools.

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

In lessons, pupils have very positive attitudes, engage well with staff and work hard. Very positive relationships engender a sense of teamwork and trust. These enable staff to support those pupils who have behavioural needs particularly well so that they are able to engage fully in classroom-based learning activities. All pupils are encouraged to take care and pride in their presentation and in making their work the best it can be. Pupils respect each other’s ideas and they work and play very well together. Any incidents of poor behaviour are managed well.

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

Leaders’ detailed self-evaluation of the school is carefully considered. As a result, staff share a pride in the school’s strengths and are sharply focused on the areas that the school can improve further. Detailed planning, coupled with regular monitoring, ensures that leaders are taking the right actions to make these improvements. Governors are a dedicated team. Some have supported the school for many years. They pay regular visits to the school and are kept up to date via leaders’ thorough tracking and reports. Governors are actively involved in monitoring activities, setting targets for yourself and senior leaders and supporting school improvements. Leaders and governors are aware that more needs to be done to ensure that the school website meets all requirements, including the publication of the latest school policies. They are currently working to achieve this.

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

You ensure that the school has robust procedures and well-understood systems to manage safeguarding requirements. Leaders maintain detailed records and ensure a culture of vigilance at the school. All staff have appropriate and up-to-date training so that they can spot and deal with any problems quickly. You are proactive, liaising with external agencies, and challenging where necessary, to ensure timely and appropriate support is sourced to support vulnerable pupils. Overall, pupils’ attendance is in line with the national average. You recognise that some groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, had poor attendance rates in the past. Leaders promote the value of good attendance well. They have worked closely with parents and outside agencies to support improvements. Most parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, confirmed that their children are happy and feel safe.

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Short inspection of Cherbourg Primary School

Pupils report that they know how to keep themselves safe, including when on the internet. Pupils told me that they know who to go to should they have any concerns, and that they trust staff to resolve them. Pastoral and teaching staff work closely together to ensure break and lunchtimes are orderly and that children socialise well together.

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Inspection findings

 During this inspection, as well as evaluating safeguarding arrangements, I focused on specific aspects of the school’s provision, including: - the progress that pupils make in Reception and key stage 1 - how well leaders have responded to address weak outcomes in mathematics - the attendance of some groups of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities - the quality of learning in the wider curriculum.  In Reception Year, the indoor and outdoor learning environments offer a range of engaging and stimulating learning opportunities. Children gain confidence from their good relationships with staff and collaborative play with others. Detailed tracking systems are used to inform teaching approaches and to map the good progress that children make from their starting points. This ensures that children develop a suitable range of skills that prepare them well for key stage 1. Leaders

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Inspection findings

agree that more effective use of the outdoor learning environment would support even better literacy and number skills development.  The high-quality teaching of phonics and promotion of the school library underpin the strong progress that pupils make in their reading skills by the end of key stage 1 and the latter helps to foster a love of reading. Outcomes in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 have not been strong in the past. Teachers have worked hard to address this and current pupils’ work shows that they are making better progress in these areas. More still needs to be done to challenge the most able and improve the proportion of pupils working at a greater depth of understanding.  Progress in mathematics by the end of key stage 2 in 2017 was below national figures, while reading and writing outcomes were in line with national averages. Leaders wasted no time in addressing this and current cohorts are making

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Inspection findings

stronger progress. Training for teachers and shared planning have resulted in improved subject knowledge and higher teacher expectations. Consequently, standards in mathematics have risen across the school. Visits to lessons and pupils’ work demonstrate that teachers are promoting more opportunities for reasoning than they had in the past. In most classes, pupils respond well to teachers’ feedback to refine, edit and improve their work. Although standards have improved, more needs to be done to promote deeper thinking and problem- solving in mathematics.  Leaders have been active participants in local networks of schools which share ideas and moderate pupils’ work. Subsequently, leaders of English and mathematics have developed and shared resources with teachers and ensured a consistency of approach across the different year groups. Regular assessment and monitoring allow leaders to track the progress of individual pupils and to

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Inspection findings

challenge staff. Leaders and governors are rightly focused on ensuring that an increasing proportion of pupils achieve the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.  Overall attendance is regularly in line with or slightly above national figures, and leaders take all appropriate actions to challenge improvements to target groups of pupils. Historically, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities has been below that of their peers. However, school records show that this was due to complex and multiple issues faced by these pupils. Newsletters and awards are used to good effect to actively promote the value of good attendance. Staff ensure that appropriate and timely action is taken to support vulnerable pupils and their families when the need arises. As a result, current overall attendance figures, including that of these groups, have

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Inspection findings

improved slightly.  The school offers a broad and rich curriculum. The wide assortment of sporting clubs, trips and visits are highly valued by pupils and parents. In most classes, pupils’ books show that they are challenged to apply their extended writing skills. However, mathematics skills are not yet routinely promoted well across the curriculum. A small minority of teachers do not routinely offer challenging enough tasks in science and humanities to promote deeper thinking and the development of subject-specific skills. Consequently, progress is good, but not yet as consistently strong across the broader curriculum as it is in English and mathematics.

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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

 progress in mathematics continues to improve across the school

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Next steps for the school

 improved levels of challenge enable a higher proportion of the most able pupils to achieve the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics

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Next steps for the school

 the quality of pupils’ work and the depth of learning in science and the wider curriculum is consistently as good as the best in the school.

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Next steps for the school

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

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Information about the inspection

I held meetings with you, other school leaders, five members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. Jointly with yourself, I visited most of the classes to look at teaching and learning. Together with the senior leadership team I looked at a range of pupils’ work in their exercise books. I also visited the school’s breakfast club and after-school ‘Bugs Club’. I observed pupils’ behaviour at break and lunchtime and around the school, and had a meeting with a small group of pupils.

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Information about the inspection

I took into account 71 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and five paper versions of the survey that parents returned to me via the school. I spoke to a number of parents at the beginning of the day. I took into account the views expressed in the staff survey and reviewed a range of documents, including reports to governors, feedback from the local authority, pupils’ progress information and safeguarding policies, procedures and checks.

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