Canterbury Cross Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Canterbury Cross Primary School Canterbury Road, Birchfield, Birmingham, West Midlands B20 3AA

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Outcome

Canterbury Cross Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Enter any classroom and you are greeted with a sea of smiling faces. Pupils are busy at work, learning new skills and solving problems. They show eagerness to answer tricky questions posed by the teacher. Pupils’ work ethic is good. Right from their time in Nursery class, children are encouraged to try their hardest. Teachers’ expectations are high for all. The curriculum is exciting. Classroom activities motivate pupils to learn about a wide range of topics. Pupils go on trips to places of interest that support their learning. Pupils achieve well and are prepared for secondary school by the time they leave.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They know their teachers care for them and want them to do well. Pupils are respectful towards each other. They are polite and usually behave very well. Rarely do pupils ever hinder the learning of others during lessons. Bullying is not tolerated. It sometimes happens but is dealt with quickly. This reduces the likelihood of it happening again. Pupils are safe in school because everyone looks out for one another. Pupils have a real say in whole-school decision-making. They make a positive difference to the school’s future.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leadership of the school is strong. Senior leaders ensure that improving pupils’ learning is their top priority. They continually ask the question, ‘Are pupils getting the best deal?’ When they are not, they quickly do something about it. For this reason, the school has improved further. Leaders are genuinely interested in the views of everyone when thinking about how they can make things better. Parents are mainly very positive about the school. One parent spoke of the ‘caring, considerate and supportive staff’. These characteristics are plain to see.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum is well-crafted and fit for purpose. It sets out with clarity what pupils are expected to learn during their time at school. Staff, who know pupils well, work hard to provide pupils with a good quality education. They ensure that pupils are taught content in an order that helps them build their knowledge over time. However, occasionally 3–4 December 2019

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teachers attempt to cover too much content in a unit of work. When this happens pupils do not gain that real depth of understanding. This results in work that is not consistently of a high quality.

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Children get off to a promising start in the early years. They develop good learning habits and routines. Across the school, teachers are skilled in demonstrating to pupils what they need to learn. Teachers ask questions to explore pupils’ understanding. They provide almost immediate feedback and address misconceptions quickly. Teachers make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not have their curriculum narrowed. They receive the same broad learning experiences, although teachers adapt work to help them achieve well.

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Enabling pupils to be literate and numerate is embedded across the curriculum. The teaching of reading is strong. Pupils grasp the basics of reading from an early age. They use their phonics skills exceptionally well. Pupils achieve very well in mathematics. Teachers help pupils to reinforce their learning in one subject by applying it to another. For example, pupils extend their mathematical understanding of Venn diagrams by using them in science. Pupils usually make strong progress in writing, although their handwriting is less well developed. This holds back some pupils from writing legibly at speed.

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Each term, every pupil gets the opportunity to go on a trip or have a visitor in school. This helps to broaden pupils’ horizons. For instance, they go to Dovedale in the Peak District to experience a rural location. Pupils learn why it is important to respect individual differences and get along together. They are aware of the important things they learn in school such as how to work as part of a team. Pupils have high aspirations for their futures. They hold special positions such as school council members or playground buddies. They take these responsibilities seriously. Pupils benefit from extra-curricular activity clubs, including multi-sports and craft.

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Pupils’ behaviour is seldom less than good. In lessons, pupils are focused and show commitment to their learning. They work well together and share. Pupils understand the school’s approach to dealing with behaviour and enjoy working towards rewards. Pupils get along on the playground. They understand what bullying is and know that it is unacceptable. Pupils attend school regularly. Leaders do everything possible to maintain high rates of attendance.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff know that keeping pupils safe from harm is paramount. Staff keep a watchful eye for any pupils that may be at risk. They report their concerns to safeguarding leaders without delay. The follow-up to any allegations is appropriate – the child’s needs always come first. The school works closely with other agencies to get the right support for children and their families. Pupils are kept safe in school. They are taught about safety through the curriculum. They know how to stay safe online and why it is important not to share personal information with strangers. 3–4 December 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, such as art and design, teachers attempt to cover too much content in the time available. This means that pupils move on too quickly and do not develop a real depth of understanding. Leaders need to make some refinements to curriculum plans to ensure that pupils have enough time to study some topics in more depth.  Some of the pupils’ handwriting in key stage 2 is not consistently well formed or joined. This prevents them from writing fluently and at speed. Younger pupils do not have enough frequent, direct teaching of handwriting. Teachers need to equip all pupils with the skills to ensure that they can form a neat, cursive style of writing by the start of key stage 2.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Canterbury Cross Primary School, to be good on 26–27 February 2014.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 3–4 December 2019

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pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 3–4 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10122528 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This is the school’s first inspection since it converted to an academy in February 2017.  The school is a single academy trust. There is a board of trustees for the Canterbury Cross Education Trust.

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Information about this inspection

 Subjects considered as part of this inspection were reading, science, and art and design. I carried out lesson visits to see these subjects being taught and looked at pupils’ work. I talked to pupils about their work. I spoke to teachers who taught these subjects and held discussions with subject leaders.  I explored safeguarding arrangements by reviewing safeguarding records, checking the safety of the school site, talking to staff and pupils about how they keep safe and checking the school’s single central record of pre-employment checks. I met with the school’s designated safeguarding lead and attendance officer.  I met with the headteacher, two deputy headteachers, the special educational needs coordinator and subject leaders. I also met with trustees, including the chair.  I considered 28 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to the Ofsted pupil survey. I took into account 25 responses from parents on Ofsted’s Parent

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View. There were 20 free-text comments from parents.

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Inspection team

Tim Hill, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 3–4 December 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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