Cawston Grange Primary School

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

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Ms Susan McGonagle Headteacher Cawston Grange Primary School Scholars Drive Cawston Rugby Warwickshire CV22 7GU

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Short inspection of Cawston Grange Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 27 November 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 October 2014.

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Short inspection of Cawston Grange 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

Leaders have started to take action to address the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has improved. However these pupils are still not making the progress of which they are capable.

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

Governors are new to their roles. They have a range of skills and have been quick to gain an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Your termly report to governors now details current pupils’ progress, and this is discussed at the governors’ meetings.

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

When learning meets their needs, pupils concentrate well. However, pupils struggle to maintain their concentration when working independently, particularly in reading. Pupils behave well when moving around the school. They are polite and courteous. Pupils enjoy school. As a result, attendance for the past three years has been above the national average. However, attendance rates for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are low, and leaders have not taken action to address this. Safeguarding is effective.

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

School leaders make effective checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Designated safeguarding leads receive appropriate training to undertake their role and act on concerns appropriately. Leaders provide training so that all staff are vigilant and know how to respond to safeguarding concerns, including those relating to radicalisation, extremism and child exploitation. Leaders ensure that children receive timely support. They work effectively with external agencies to ensure that children are safe, for example when writing and reviewing risk assessments.

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Inspection findings

 For the past three years, the achievement of disadvantaged pupils has been below that of other pupils nationally. Leaders have taken a range of actions to support disadvantaged pupils, for example the provision of a nurture group to support pupils’ emotional well-being. However, leaders do not evaluate the impact of their actions effectively. They do not have a plan for how they are going to spend the pupil premium funding, and governors do not hold leaders to account for the impact of this funding on improving disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes. The teaching of reading is not consistently effective in classes. On occasions pupils do not understand the work that is set for them, particularly when they are not working directly with the teacher. Pupils do not develop the necessary skills of fluency and accuracy to enable them to read well. As a result, their comprehension skills are often weak. Sometimes girls dominate learning

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Inspection findings

because teachers direct more questions at girls than boys.  Leaders have not identified all the right priorities for improvement. For example, the school improvement plan does not focus sufficiently on improving the progress of particular groups of pupils, such as disadvantaged pupils. As a result, these pupils do not achieve as well as they should.  Pupils use models and images effectively in their practical mathematics work to aid their understanding. For example, in Year 2 pupils develop their understanding of place value by using arrays. Teachers use mathematical language well in some classes, and pupils learn how to apply this to their work. However, the teaching of mathematics is not good enough across the school. Work does not deepen the mathematical understanding of the most able pupils.  Pupils’ writing is improving across the school because teachers are becoming increasingly skilled at teaching it. However, disadvantaged pupils do not make as

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Inspection findings

much progress as they should. This is because teachers do not prioritise their needs in the class. In key stage one, pupils write extended sentences using adventurous vocabulary. However, in some classes, teachers do not expect boys to work as hard as girls. On occasions, boys do not achieve as well as they should.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is increasing and is higher than the national average. Although the progress of these pupils is improving, they are not making the progress of which they are capable. This is because leaders do not monitor and evaluate effectively enough the provision and outcomes for pupils with SEND across the school. This means that leaders do not know sufficiently where there are weaknesses in provision and are not taking the necessary action to address these weaknesses.

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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

 pupils have more opportunities to deepen their mathematical understanding so that pupils, including the most able pupils, make good progress in mathematics.  pupils’ fluency and comprehension skills improve so they can apply them effectively when reading independently  they thoroughly evaluate the impact of pupil premium funding to ensure that the spending of the grant is improving outcomes and attendance rates for disadvantaged pupils  improvement plans focus on the most important priorities, and governors hold leaders to account for the impact of their actions on improving teaching and pupils’ outcomes  leaders make thorough checks on the support provided for pupils with SEND to ensure that the progress of these pupils improves and they attend school regularly.

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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 Warwickshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and other leaders. I looked at achievement information for current pupils and reviewed your self-evaluation summary and school improvement plan. I scrutinised safeguarding records and discussed a range of matters relating to pupils’ safety and welfare. Together, we observed learning in parts of lessons. I talked to pupils about their learning and looked at their work. I undertook a scrutiny of pupils’ work in mathematics with school leaders. I met with the newly appointed chair of the governing body. I considered 76 responses made by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and spoke to seven parents at the start of the school day.

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