Cockfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection of Cockfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Cockfield, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 0LA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good School 25–26 February 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Cockfield Church of England Primary School is a school where pupils feel happy and safe. They trust staff to look after them. Pupils think of school as a caring family and will be sad to leave. Parents and carers agree that their children are well cared for. ‘This is a lovely school that encourages our children to be the best they can be,’ is typical of parents’ views.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders set high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and want them to do their best. Pupils understand how they are expected to behave and most behave well. Staff act quickly to improve pupils’ behaviour on the few occasions when it is required. Pupils say that bullying is rare. They are confident that if it happens, adults sort it out quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that there are lots of memorable trips linked to pupils’ learning. Pupils enjoy learning and the extra activities provided for them. They work hard for their community. They raise money for charities, for example by holding a Macmillan coffee morning and supporting the NSPCC. Pupils take part in many sporting activities and clubs, including gym and rock band. Pupils of all ages are proud to serve on the school council.

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better?

Leaders have made rapid improvements to the curriculum. Teachers have been fully supportive of this change and have worked hard to make it happen. Leaders provide all teaching staff with regular training so that they can teach subjects well. Teachers carry out their responsibilities willingly and well. They feel valued.

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better?

Leaders have designed a curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge and skills over time. Plans are fully in place in all subjects. Teachers plan lessons so that pupils learn the content in an order which helps them know and remember more. During lessons, teachers check that pupils have learned what they need to know and offer lots of support to help them.

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better?

Pupils usually develop secure knowledge over time. They remember much of what they have been taught. They can apply this to new work. Their firm understanding of subject-specific vocabulary helps them understand new ideas. On occasions, teachers do not follow leaders’ plans well. When this happens, pupils do not learn as effectively.

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better?

Reading is a priority for all pupils. In Reception, children make a quick start to reading. Staff provide a highly structured approach to learning letters and the sounds they make. Children remember this knowledge and use it well. Pupils read books which are closely matched to their reading ability. Any pupils who struggle are quickly helped to catch up because staff pay close attention to their development. Older pupils’ reading skills are well developed. School 25–26 February 2020

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The early years provision gives children a positive introduction to their formal education. This is because staff understand children’s needs very well. The carefully planned curriculum supports children’s physical development as well as their wider learning. Activities and play sessions are challenging and capture the interest of pupils.

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Staff support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Staff make suitable adjustments to teaching which help pupils to learn with everyone else. Pupils with SEND take a full part in all lessons.

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Pupils are very polite and friendly. In most lessons, they work very hard. At breaktimes and lunchtimes, most pupils play together sensibly. They are proud of their school and their attendance and punctuality reflect this.

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Pupils enjoy an extensive range of trips, connected to what they learn about in school. They are active in sports and healthy exercise. They enjoy responsibilities. For example, older pupils help younger children settle into school and make friends. Others lead the school’s energy efficiency work. Teachers make sure that pupils have high-quality opportunities to develop a thorough understanding of British values and different faiths.

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Governors know their school well. They value the work of the headteacher and staff and hold them to account for the improvement of the school. Governors organise their work and time so that they can give careful attention to the most important development work of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils’ safety is of great importance to leaders and staff. Staff are well trained. They understand what they must do if they have concerns about children’s safety. Leaders act quickly in response to concerns and refer them to appropriate external agencies.

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Safeguarding

The school makes sure all staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children by carrying out thorough checks. Pupils and parents receive useful guidance about staying safe online. Pupils feel safe in school and are confident they can raise concerns with staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is sometimes not taught as planned. As a result, some pupils do not learn what leaders and teachers intend them to. Leaders need to make sure that all teachers consistently follow the agreed curriculum plans. School 25–26 February 2020

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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 are the school and you are 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. School 25–26 February 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121398 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.cockfieldprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has undergone several staff changes since the previous inspection.  This is a smaller-than-average sized primary school.

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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

 Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior teacher, subject leaders, teachers, members of teaching support staff, office staff, the special educational needs coordinator and the early years leader.  Meetings were also held with members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  We spoke with pupils to gather their views of the school. We observed pupils’ behaviour at playtime, assembly and in different classrooms.  We did deep dives in the following subjects: reading, writing, mathematics, science and geography. These entailed meetings with pupils, teachers and leaders, visits to lessons and an examination of curriculum plans and pupils’ work. School 25–26 February 2020

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We checked the curriculum provision in other subject areas during the second day of the inspection.  We heard pupils read and visited phonics lessons and guided reading lessons.  To inspect safeguarding, meetings were held with the headteacher and senior teacher, pupils, teachers and governors. Child protection records were also examined.  We looked at the 19 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as the nine free-text responses. We spoke with 15 parents to gather their views about the school and looked at the 10 responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire. There were no responses to Ofsted’s survey of pupils’ views.  We scrutinised a wide range of documents, including those related to behaviour, attendance, exclusions, the school’s evaluation of its own performance and the school’s development plan.

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Inspection team

David Turner, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Duncan Ramsey Ofsted Inspector School 25–26 February 2020

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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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