Cuddington Community Primary School

Cuddington Community Primary School Salisbury Road, Worcester Park, Surrey KT4 7DD

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and senior leaders have been resolute in their determination to improve the school. An enthusiastic and talented staff team has ensured that standards in teaching and learning are good throughout the school.  Pupils enjoy school and they attend regularly. They appreciate the many exciting activities that extend beyond the school day. Pupils behave well and they are attentive in their lessons.  Pupils in the school’s specialist resource centre are skilfully supported and they achieve well. Parents report how happy their children are in their learning.  Disadvantaged pupils receive carefully tailored additional support to help them to achieve their best. Teaching helps them to catch up when they fall behind in their learning.  There is some variation in the quality of provision. Teaching does not consistently meet the needs of lower-ability pupils or challenge the most able.  Leaders have helpful information about pupils’

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

progress. On occasion, they do not use their information precisely enough by supporting teachers with further strategies to adapt classroom provision.  Children in the Reception class develop strong skills in communication, reading, writing and number. They enjoy rich learning experiences that help them to make progress across all areas of their curriculum.  Pupils say that they always feel safe at school They are taught to keep themselves safe. Pupils trust the adults to help them if they have any concerns.  The school is effectively supported by The Howard Partnership Trust to which it belongs. Staff within the school have welcomed the helpful training that the trust has provided to develop their expertise further.  Highly committed local governors maintain an effective overview of the school. They challenge leaders to ensure that all pupils learn and achieve successfully.  Leaders have successfully improved pupils’

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

rates of progress in English and mathematics. The wider curriculum subjects engage pupils’ interests. However, teachers do not make enough links across these fully to support pupils’ achievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Embed recent improvements in teachers’ use of assessment to ensure that all pupils, particularly lower-ability pupils and the most able, access consistently well-matched learning activities.  Ensure that all leaders use their information about pupils’ progress sharply to refine their actions and improve teaching and learning still further.  Develop the curriculum so that teachers’ planning for the content of different subjects deepens pupils’ learning and further strengthens their progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Following a period of turbulence in staffing, the headteacher has led rapid improvements at the school. Senior leaders have persistently promoted their high expectations of staff and pupils. They have instilled a sense of pride in the school that everyone shares.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about their children’s experiences of school. They value its caring ethos. They say that the headteacher and his team are always approachable. Pupils confirmed to inspectors that everyone in school is friendly. They like their teachers and want to please them, and they enjoy their lessons.  Leaders have successfully improved pupils’ behaviour and attendance, and they have taken effective steps to promote positive attitudes to learning. They have placed a high level of importance on improving pupils’ engagement with school and learning, particularly in English and mathematics.  Supported by the multi-academy trust (MAT), the school has benefited from additional

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

leadership support. Leaders have supported teachers to improve their skills through high-quality training. The approaches promoted by the MAT are having an impressive impact on pupils’ current rates of progress.  Teachers and support staff say that leaders, both within the school and the trust, support them in their work. New teachers to the school appreciate how effectively they are helped to develop in their roles. They recognise that the training they receive has helped them to manage pupils’ behaviour well and meet their learning and development needs.  The school’s specialist resource, The Jubilee Centre, is well managed. Pupils spend time in the centre as a small group and are included as part of a mainstream class. Parents say that the centre has improved in recent years, and their children now attend very happily.  Leaders are rightly reviewing the school’s wider curriculum provision. Although

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

appropriate subject content is covered throughout the year, pupils’ learning in these subjects is not as well planned as it is in English and mathematics. They do not have enough opportunities to build progressively upon their earlier learning across a wide range of subjects.  Leaders promote pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development through the use of assemblies, and by linking the curriculum with interesting visits and visitors. The school’s inclusive ethos helps pupils to learn to be tolerant, to respect others, and to understand the importance of treating everyone as an equal. Assemblies about leaders inspired key stage 2 pupils to carry out some interesting research about leaders who represent different and diverse backgrounds.  Leaders and governors make effective use of additional funding and they take steps to ensure that it is having an impact on the progress and well-being of current pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

Funding for disadvantaged pupils is mainly used to help them access extra support in class through small-group work that deepens their knowledge and skills. It also helps to provide expert support to promote pupils’ emotional development.  The funding for physical education and sport has significantly increased pupils’ participation. Almost all of them regularly enjoy an activity that contributes towards their physical and mental health.  New and enthusiastic middle leaders have joined the school during the current academic year to add to the school’s team. They have not yet had enough time to have an impact on pupils’ outcomes in all classes. The leadership team does not always make full use of all of the information that they have about provision for pupils, their attainment and progress. They do not support teaching and learning precisely enough to benefit all pupils.

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Governance of the school

 Since the school joined the MAT, trustees have provided school leaders with strategic oversight, challenge and resources. Supported by a linked trustee, a local governing body makes checks on the school and reports to the board of trustees. Both governors and trustees have clear lines of communication and accountability. They understand the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and they know its ongoing development priorities.  Trustees are proud of the school’s recent improvements and they have the highest expectations for pupils to achieve as well as they can from their respective starting points. They aspire for the school to have an innovative role within the MAT. The trust’s chief executive is justly proud of the quality of the school’s specialist resource provision and its inclusive ethos.  Led by a highly effective chair, the local governing body understands the detail of the school’s work. Governors ask challenging questions of the headteacher. They make

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Governance of the school

visits to the school to find out for themselves what the school’s provision is like and elicit the views of pupils and parents. Governors fully understand their responsibilities for safeguarding, and they make robust checks to ensure that procedures work in pupils’ best interests.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders provide a safe environment for pupils and they do all that they can to keep them safe from harm. The trust maintains comprehensive procedures to ensure that all adults working within the school are checked to the highest standard.  Staff are well trained and regularly updated about all aspects of safeguarding. Everyone who works in the school understands how to recognise signs of abuse. Staff are confident about the school’s referral procedures should they have any concerns about a child.  The designated leaders for safeguarding know each pupil well. When safeguarding concerns occur, leaders work cooperatively with parents and they refer to other agencies in a timely manner. Leaders are persistent when making referrals to ensure that there is a suitable response so that families can get the help that they need.  As the designated leader for safeguarding, the headteacher maintains a visible

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Safeguarding

presence that inspires parents and pupils’ confidence. Key stage 2 pupils understood the importance of his safeguarding role. They appreciate what the school does to help them to keep safe, both in and out of school. Pupils have recently learned about stranger danger and the risks of gang culture. They know the rules to keep themselves safe when they are online and what to do with regard to cyber bullying.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers have strong subject knowledge, particularly in English and mathematics, which have been recent areas for whole-school development. Teachers communicate learning clearly in these subjects, which helps pupils to understand lesson content and their follow-on learning activities.  Teachers encourage pupils to talk about their learning. In mathematics, pupils explained the reasons behind their answers, making accurate use of technical vocabulary. Pupils have practical resources to help them in lessons, and they benefit from carefully tailored questions that help them to think for themselves.  Almost all pupils learn to use phonics effectively to help them with their early reading development. As pupils move through the school, they are introduced to high-quality fiction that challenges their thinking. Pupils’ reading gives them ideas for their own writing development. When pupils write, they accurately apply grammatical structures

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

that make their writing more interesting. A deepening awareness of vocabulary enriches the content of their writing.  Teaching and learning in the resource provision are effective because pupils’ needs and anxieties are understood precisely and are consistently well met. Teaching styles are adapted to ensure that pupils benefit from adults’ clear and consistent communication.  Teachers understand the needs of each of their disadvantaged pupils well. A pupil passport helps teachers to review progress and to take action should they fall behind. All teaching staff readily provide additional input where it is needed, supporting disadvantaged pupils to achieve as well as they can. Teachers ensure that these pupils participate actively in the lesson by answering the questions that they direct.  Pupils make effective use of teachers’ feedback to develop their understanding still further. They told inspectors that they have weekly homework for mathematics and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

English and a ‘making’ task three times in every term. They say that their homework helps them to be successful in their learning.  Teaching is effective because, for the most part, teachers use their assessments well in reading, writing and mathematics. They provide additional teaching input, as the need arises, to address pupils’ misconceptions and to extend their thinking.  Inconsistencies in teaching and learning occur when teaching tasks are not well matched to meet the needs of lower-ability pupils, including some with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). At times, the most able pupils are not challenged enough.  Teaching and learning are not strong across a broad range of subjects because the curriculum is not well developed. Links in learning between different subjects are not coherently made. For example, other than some data handling in science, there is limited evidence of mathematics being helpfully applied in other subjects. Pupils’ topic

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

books show that they have some interesting opportunities to extend their writing skills. However, writing in other subjects is not usually of the same high quality as in pupils’ English workbooks.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are supportive of each other during their learning times and when they are at play. The school’s encouraging ethos and its focus on good mental health helps pupils to grow strong inter-personal skills. As pupils develop, they increasingly accept the responsibility to try and sort out any friendship differences for themselves, before going to an adult.  Pupils, including the very youngest of them, understand what bullying is. They were adamant that there is no bullying, and nor are there any racist or homophobic comments at school. Should they need it, pupils trust any adult to help them to resolve an issue quickly. They say that if you have a concern you can easily tell a teacher or use one of the worry boxes.  Pupils benefit from weekly personal, social and health education lessons that coherently develop their understanding. Relative to their age, all pupils understand

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Personal development and welfare

what a good friend is, and the responsibility that friendship brings. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are introduced to challenging material, such as the risks of radicalisation, to develop their understanding of current world issues.  The vast majority of parents say that their children are thriving at the school. Typical of most parents was one who praised the level of care that staff show towards children and the ‘fantastic opportunities for developing the children’s emotional resilience, their understanding and tolerance of others’. The parent summed up that: ‘Children are valued at this school.’

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Adults are responsive to pupils’ good behaviours and attitudes. In lessons, pupils listened intently to the teacher, the adults who worked with them and to each other. This supports their good progress. Pupils in the resource provision were comparably engaged in their learning. They accessed learning activities, using their visual timetables, and they responded to the adults with enthusiasm.  Pupils understand the school’s rules and the procedures that are followed, should these be broken. They understand the need to reflect on poor behaviour choices. Leaders ensure that appropriate support is in place for pupils whose behaviour can sometimes be challenging. As a result, there has been a sharp reduction in incidents. When these occur, leaders skilfully follow them up to avoid any repetition.  Playtimes reflected the success of leaders’ approaches. Inspectors observed how less-

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Behaviour

formal time was sociable and mixed groups of pupils played happily together. Similarly, at lunchtime pupils chatted and helped each other.  Absence, including persistent absence, has reduced significantly during recent years. Pupils like being at school and they want to attend and enjoy all that is on offer. Pupils work hard and most of them have completed pieces of work of which they can be proud, particularly in English and mathematics.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 At the end of 2018, pupils’ attainment improved at the end of both key stages. Key stage 1 attainment rose to be in line with the national average for reading and writing, and above in mathematics. Key stage 2 pupils made similar progress to other pupils nationally, and attainment improved in reading and mathematics from the previous year. In recent years, a higher-than-national-average proportion of pupils have met the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.  Pupils’ current work shows that, throughout the school, they have greatly improved their knowledge of spelling, grammar and punctuation. They are linking their reading skills effectively with writing to increase fluency and produce innovative pieces of work.  Teaching strategies are helping pupils who have fallen behind to catch up rapidly, including the most able. Year 5 and 6 pupils are currently making impressive rates of

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Outcomes for pupils Good

progress to catch up on an earlier legacy of low achievement. Leaders have every reason to expect that, over time, increasing numbers of pupils will be equipped for secondary transfer by achieving the expected or higher standard.  There are a small number of disadvantaged pupils in each cohort. In past years their progress in literacy has been low at the end of Year 6, although in 2018 it improved in mathematics. Current disadvantaged pupils are making strong progress from their respective starting points as a result of the school’s carefully targeted provision.  In general, pupils with SEND are making strong progress from their starting points, although a few lower-ability pupils are not making steady progress in all areas of learning. While some pupils who do not meet the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check effectively catch up in Year 2, a few of them fall behind in their early reading development.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Workbooks from pupils in the resource provision show that they are making consistently strong progress, and they achieve particularly well by developing independence in writing.  There is evidence of pupils’ progress in the wider curriculum subjects as result of broadly appropriate coverage. However, pupils do not clearly build upon prior learning in these subjects so as to maximise their overall achievement.

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Early years provision Good

 Leaders place a strong emphasis on the importance of the early years, and they are fully aware of the specific needs to nurture young children. Leaders have a secure understanding of the curriculum and teachers make accurate assessments of children’s learning in each of the areas of learning.  Safeguarding procedures are effective. All of the adults who work in early years are sensitive to their care needs. They work closely with parents, welcoming them into school and encouraging them to share or contribute towards their children’s learning experiences.  Children typically join the school with achievement that is broadly typical for their age. Their good progress ensures that they are ready for Year 1. The proportion of children achieving the good level of development rose at the end of 2018 to be just above the national average.  Teaching is good because adults know each child well and they tailor their questioning

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Early years provision Good

to support pupils’ development. Teaching staff understand the learning barriers that disadvantaged pupils face, and they support children with SEND to develop their skills. At times, the adult-led learning activities do not consistently match children’s abilities to provide challenge, particularly for the most able pupils.  Pupils behave well. They take turns and wait patiently for each other to finish. Inspectors observed children enjoying a wide variety of learning experiences across the breadth of the curriculum. Children concentrated well on their learning in the outside area. They enjoyed their learning activities, especially when these encouraged them to explore for themselves.  Current children are making strong progress. Leaders are confident that, at the end of this academic year, a high proportion of pupils will reach or exceed the early learning goals. Nevertheless, some children have made inconsistent progress across some areas

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Early years provision Good

of learning during the course of the year. Leaders have not made enough use of this information to explore the reasons behind this and give further support to teaching and learning.  Parents told inspectors that their children flourish in the Reception class. They praised the varied activities of the curriculum, which focuses on the basic skills and on specific subject matter, such as developing children’s curiosity about religious festivals.  Even before children join the Reception class, the adults make sure that they have taken time to know their new entrants. Children come into school ready to learn, which helps them to get off to a flying start. The transition into Year 1 is equally well thought out and supports children to feel confident about moving on.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Headteacher Lee Herdman (Head of School)

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School details

Website https://www.cuddington.thpt.org.uk

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School details

Email address info@cuddington.surrey.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school with one class in each year group. It has a specialist resource provision for pupils with communication and interaction difficulties, The Jubilee Centre. This caters for 14 pupils who are placed by the local authority as a result of an education, health and care (EHC) plan .  The school converted to become an academy on 1 July 2016. Currently it is one of 11 schools within The Howard Partnership Trust, which is a Surrey-based MAT.  An extended period of staff turbulence began before the school’s conversion. The school currently has a more settled staffing position.  The school has a higher proportion of pupils who have an EHC plan than is typically found in most primary schools. It has a lower percentage of pupils who are identified as needing school support for their SEND.  The percentage of disadvantaged pupils is lower than the national average.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below that found nationally. The proportion from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average.  The school has a slightly higher percentage of pupil movement than other primary schools. Much of this has been in the upper key stage 2 classes.  The school is governed by a local governing body (LGB) that is accountable to committees of the MAT’s board of trustees. Through the LGB, trustees oversee the school’s finances, resources and the quality of provision.  The MAT provides regular support from an executive headteacher and a senior leader who extends the school’s expertise for teaching and learning in mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited lessons in each class to look at teaching and learning. They made other brief classroom visits to review the quality of the curriculum and the provision for particular groups of pupils. All of the observations were carried out jointly with school leaders.  Inspectors reviewed a sample of workbooks in English, mathematics and other subjects, representing pupils of different abilities. They discussed pupils’ work and progress with leaders.  Inspectors spoke with pupils in meetings, in lessons and at breaktimes. Observations of pupils’ behaviour took place during lessons, at playtime and lunchtime, and when pupils were moving around the school.  The inspection took account of the views of 39 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, which included 31 free-text responses. Inspectors also spoke with parents at the gate at the start of the school day.  The lead inspector met with the chair and deputy chair of the local governing body,

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Information about this inspection

trustees, senior and middle leaders and mixed groups of staff from the school. A meeting took place with the chief executive of the academy trust and the chair of the board of trustees.  Inspectors considered a range of school documentation, including the school’s improvement plan and leaders’ evaluation of the school’s current performance. They discussed with leaders their analysis of information about pupils’ achievement and behaviour, reviewed governing body minutes, the school’s website and its policies, and the school’s record of safeguarding and recruitment checks.  Inspectors reviewed attendance and behaviour records, and considered safeguarding documentation. Through discussion of a sample of case studies, inspectors evaluated how the school’s procedures work in practice to keep pupils safe.

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Inspection team

Linda Jacobs, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Becky Greenhalgh Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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