Cubitt Town Infants' School

Inspection of Cubitt Town Infants’ School Manchester Road, Isle of Dogs, London E14 3NE

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at the school feel safe and well cared for. They have opportunities to gain knowledge in most subjects and learn more about the world they live in. Pupils learn some of their science topics about animals through visits to the local farm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff support parents and carers to help their children learn. The school provides a range of activities for parents. These include reading and art workshops, as well as parenting courses. Parents said they appreciate the workshop sessions that they attend.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils across the school behave and conduct themselves well. Staff set clear expectations and reward pupils for their efforts. Pupils are welcoming, polite and interested in learning more. They know who to speak to if they are worried. The school deals with any incidents of bullying appropriately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff do not always have high enough expectations of what pupils can learn. The subjects pupils learn are not all well planned. This means that pupils are not prepared for the next stage of their learning. They have gaps in their knowledge. Teaching does not focus enough on what pupils know and what they need to learn next.

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better?

Leaders, including governors, know that the quality of education is not good enough. This is partly because teachers need to deepen their subject knowledge across a range of subjects.

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better?

Leaders have started to improve some subject areas, such as science and art. In these subjects, leaders have focused on what pupils need to learn. This means that teaching helps pupils to learn more and do more. For example, pupils’ development in art is linked to relevant trips or visits. Pupils visited Canary Wharf to look at the architecture and develop their sketching skills. Pupils could speak confidently about line and colour.

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better?

The teaching of reading is not strong enough. Phonics teaching in the early years is not focused on pupils learning how to blend sounds to make words. This means they are not ready for their next stage. Year 1 teachers know they need to find ways to help pupils catch up and close gaps in their learning. Some of the activities teachers choose are not helping pupils to develop their reading to a high standard. They do not always think about the best ways to help all pupils learn how to read and foster a love of reading.

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better?

Year 1 phonics outcomes improved last year. However, leaders have not planned the teaching of reading from the early years to Year 1. This means that pupils are 5–6 November 2019

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still not well prepared for the next stage. Pupils’ reading and comprehension knowledge are not strong. For instance, when listening to some Year 1 pupils read, they struggled with letter sounds they had learned. They found it hard to blend sounds to make words.

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Mathematics teaching is not well planned. It does not always take account of what pupils already know and what they need to learn next. This means that, sometimes, pupils do work that does not build on previous learning.

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Pupils do not achieve highly in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders do not have a sharp focus on developing carefully considered and well-structured subjects. It is important that subject plans allow pupils to build on knowledge and skills throughout their time at the school.

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Pupils develop a positive attitude to learning. They behave well in class and during social times. As a result, teachers can focus on teaching without interruption.

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Pupils enjoy learning and receive additional help when they struggle. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The support they get enables them to access the same activities as everyone else.

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The school has a range of after-school clubs and workshops. Alongside the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) programme, these help pupils learn new skills. Pupils also learn about their community, themselves and healthy eating. However, this does not link with the knowledge they should also gain in subjects such as reading, mathematics and geography. This means that pupils’ skills and understanding are limited.

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Leaders and governors have not maintained a good quality of education. The school is not well led and managed. Governors have not set a clear strategy to raise standards. They have not consistently held leaders to account.

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Leaders have found creative ways to engage parents and their community through the use of a parent liaison officer. Parents spoke about how much they appreciate this support and how it has helped them personally, as well as supporting their children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have created a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Training has helped staff understand local risks, and what to look out for when considering if a child is safe. Clear processes are in place so all staff can record and report concerns and incidents. Staff need to ensure that parents are always kept 5–6 November 2019

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informed of incidents concerning their child. Staff act promptly to ensure that all pupils are safe and any relevant external agencies are contacted.

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As part of the PSHE curriculum, pupils find out how to keep safe online and in their local area.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not carefully planned, sequenced or thought out from the early years to the end of Year 2. Pupils are not well prepared for each stage of their education. Leaders need to develop an ambitious curriculum that demonstrates high expectations for all pupils. Subjects also need to include more opportunities for personal development. Leaders should ensure that all staff know what an effective curriculum looks like and what challenging outcomes all pupils need to achieve.  The teaching of reading is not strong. Leaders need to ensure that phonics teaching is effective, from initial sounds, decoding and blending in the early years to fluency in Years 1 and 2. Pupils need help to develop their understanding of what they read.  Teachers need support to deepen their subject knowledge across a broad range of subjects. This will help pupils to learn and know more.  Leadership is not strong. Leaders need to have a clear strategy to improve the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

school so that pupils get a good quality of education. Governors need to hold school leaders rigorously to account.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 5–6 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110403 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 January 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger than average, three-form entry, infant school.  The school runs a nursery with separate morning and afternoon sessions each day.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We held meetings with the headteacher, governors, a representative from the local authority, curriculum leaders, teachers and the special educational needs co- ordinator. Meetings were also held with the parent liaison officer and support staff. We also spoke to parents.  We did deep dives in reading, mathematics, geography, science and art. This involved visiting lessons with school leaders, looking at pupils’ work and talking to teachers and pupils. We listened to pupils read and spoke to them about their learning and school experiences.  Inspectors scrutinised school documentation, including some policies. We reviewed the single central record and training logs and discussed how pupils are kept safe. 5–6 November 2019

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Inspection team

Jennese Alozie, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Lack Ofsted Inspector 5–6 November 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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