Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Church Road, Carleton Rode, Norwich, Norfolk NR16 1RW

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Outcome

Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that one or more areas may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Carleton Rode is a friendly and welcoming school. Pupils are happy and feel safe. They enjoy the time they spend in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn about the importance of treating others fairly and respectfully through their school values. They behave well in lessons and at breaktimes. Pupils respect each other and listen to what others have to say. Pupils work well in groups where they can share their ideas. Older pupils demonstrate maturity and focus when they are working independently.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a clear understanding of what bullying is. They say that it doesn’t happen in school because staff help them sort out any problems at an early stage. Pupils appreciate the time staff give them to talk things through when they have worries or concerns. Pupils know what to do to keep themselves safe, including when online.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They appreciate the work of leaders and staff to create a supportive and nurturing environment in which their children feel safe and happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are not experiencing a curriculum that enables them to know more and remember more in all the subjects that they study. This means that there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This is limiting their progress in a range of subjects, including for weaker readers in their reading. 16 June 2021

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

Leaders have carried out work to ensure that the curriculum for all subjects covers all the areas that are required by the national curriculum. Work is underway to develop the school’s curriculum so that what pupils learn builds on knowledge they have learned previously. In some subjects, for example geography, this work is at an early stage.

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

Leaders introduced a new phonics programme in September 2019. This is providing a more systematic approach to teaching phonics and early reading. Younger pupils are reading books that match the sounds they are learning in school, which is starting to help pupils to develop their early reading skills.

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

Pupils say they enjoy reading. They experience a wide range of texts in school. Focused discussions help pupils to deepen their understanding of what they have read. While some training has been delivered, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has delayed all staff receiving the training they need to teach phonics and reading effectively across the school. This has resulted in weaker readers not getting the targeted support they need to address gaps in their phonics knowledge. These pupils are not building their confidence as fluent readers as quickly as they should. This limits their progress in reading and in other areas of the curriculum.

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

In mathematics, the planned curriculum is helping pupils to make good progress. There are regular opportunities for pupils to practise their recall of important mathematical knowledge. Pupils can talk about what they know and remember in mathematics. They can connect what they are learning in lessons with what they have learned before. Leaders ensure that the curriculum for mathematics is adapted well to meet the needs of pupils. Teachers have had the training to ensure they have appropriate knowledge and skills to teach all aspects of mathematics. Teachers check pupils’ understanding is secure before they move on to the next area of learning.

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

Staff provide well for pupils’ personal development. Through school council, pupils discuss ways to improve their school. Pupils are proud of the contribution they have made to enable forest school activities to take place. Pupils raised money towards this through a school enterprise project. This project also taught them skills in enterprise and financial management.

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

Governors are clear about the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement. They monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum in all subjects, and how well pupils achieve. Governors hold leaders to account for their work by checking the well-being, safeguarding and achievement of all pupils.

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

In discussion with the school lead, we agreed that the further development of the curriculum, including for phonics and reading across the school, may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 16 June 2021

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Governors and leaders know the importance of their role to ensure the safeguarding and well-being of pupils and of staff. Staff are trained and well informed on wider safeguarding issues such as county lines. Record-keeping is secure and robust. Staff are vigilant. They report concerns promptly, using the school’s agreed procedures. There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school.

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A small number of pupils attend the school under arrangements for ‘flexi-schooling’. The plans for this have been made in discussion with parents on an individual basis. There is currently no written policy or procedure in place regarding flexi-schooling. There are no records of the arrangements that are in place, or of the agreements that have been made with parents. Leaders and those responsible for governance acknowledge that this requires urgent attention.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders and those responsible for governance must ensure that all pupils are supported effectively to attend school full time. Pupils who are on part-time timetables should be integrated into school quickly, so that they do not miss out on education.  Leaders have introduced a new programme for phonics and early reading. Not all staff have received the training they need to deliver the programme confidently and consistently. This means that not all pupils are making the progress that they should in reading. Leaders must ensure that staff across the school are given the training they need to teach phonics and reading. Leaders must ensure that weaker readers are given the support they need to catch up quickly so that all pupils become confident and fluent readers.  Leaders have been working across the federation to develop the curriculum. They have ensured that the curriculum for each subject covers the areas of the national

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum. Leaders need to make certain that this work continues so as to ensure that pupils experience a curriculum that is ambitious and well sequenced in all subjects.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good 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 school to be good on 6 and 7 July 2016. 16 June 2021

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How can I feedback 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 feedback my views?

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

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How can I feedback 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 here .

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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. 16 June 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10197313 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing board

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School details

Website www.carletonrodeprimaryschool.com/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 and 7 July 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In September 2018, Carleton Rode CEVA (Church of England Voluntary Aided) Primary School and Forncett St Peter CEVA Primary School joined together as a partnership of schools. This arrangement was formalised as a federation of two schools in September 2019, when together they became the Carleton Rode and Forncett St Peter CEVA Primary Federation. The new executive headteacher was appointed in 2019 with responsibility for both schools. There is a single federation governing board.  Carleton Rode CEVA Primary School and Forncett St Peter CEVA Primary School are registered separately with the Department for Education. Each school is inspected separately by Ofsted.

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Information about this inspection

 At the time of this inspection, the school was being led by the school lead in the absence of the executive headteacher.  As part of this inspection, we held meetings with the school lead, who is also the leaders responsible for early years, phonics and mathematics, and the designated leader for safeguarding. A telephone conversation was held with the leader for geography, who is based in the federated school. 16 June 2021

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 The lead inspector met with five members of the governing board, including the chair and vice chair of governors.  The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority to discuss the local authority’s work and support for the school. They also discussed the school’s arrangements for flexi-schooling.  Inspectors considered reading, mathematics and geography to evaluate the quality of education. In each subject, we carried out lesson visits and had discussions with staff and pupils, and with subject leaders. We also looked at pupils’ work.  We observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at playtimes. We listened to what pupils had to say about their school.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documents, including the school’s plans to develop the curriculum, feedback from the local authority and evidence of the work of the governing board. Inspectors scrutinised the records the school keeps in relation to

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safeguarding and attendance. Inspectors spoke with staff and pupils to understand the school’s culture of safeguarding. Inspectors ensured that safeguarding training is up to date for all staff.  Inspectors reviewed the 20 responses submitted by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including 15 free-text responses. We reviewed the results of the eight responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Katherine Douglas, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Damian Loneragan Her Majesty’s Inspector 16 June 2021

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