Creeting St Mary Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Creeting St Mary Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School All Saints Road, Creeting St Mary, Ipswich, Suffolk IP6 8NF

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Outcome

Creeting St Mary Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Creeting St Mary Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School enjoy school and feel safe. They show care for each other and have fun together during lessons and playtimes. Pupils are polite and articulate. They know how to listen to and accept the views of others. Pupils and parents reported that staff deal well with the rare occasions of bullying to ensure it stops and does not reoccur. Nearly all who completed Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, say that the school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about learning. They use the school’s motto, ‘Anything is possible’, when facing tricky tasks. Pupils usually work hard and share the high aspirations staff have for them. One pupil told inspectors, ‘We like challenges because they are good for us.’ Inspectors saw this in lessons.

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

Leaders have redesigned curriculum plans in some subjects. These plans are very well organised and provide explicit guidance to staff about what pupils must learn and when they should learn it. Staff follow leaders’ plans closely so that pupils learn in sensible steps. Staff give pupils lots of time to review and practise what they have learned. Staff also provide opportunities for pupils to use what they have learned in new situations. They meticulously check how well pupils have remembered what they have learned. Teachers use this information to plan future learning activities. As a result, pupils remember well what they have been taught.

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

At times, the resources staff use do not always match the expectations of curriculum plans. As a result, these resources do not support pupils’ learning well. On occasion, pupils are not prepared with the knowledge they need to use some resources. 9 February 2022

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Leaders want pupils to enjoy reading. They relentlessly ensure that all pupils learn how to read well. Staff are well trained and use leaders’ chosen approach to phonics well. Pupils and the children in the early years take pride in their reading and see it as important. One child in Reception class, after reading a list of words, summarised the pride felt by others by declaring: ‘I did it! I’m a reader!’ Staff provide pupils with opportunities to read lots of different types of texts on a regular basis. Leaders have given parents lots of ideas to help them support their children at home. Staff provide effective help for those pupils who find reading difficult or who need extra help.

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Pupils behave very well in lessons, during break and at lunchtimes. They told inspectors that pupils do not disrupt learning. Children in Reception quickly learn the school values and how to behave well at school. Staff ensure that pupils focus well on their learning most of the time. Occasionally, staff do not spot quickly when pupils have lost concentration.

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Leaders have created an impressive curriculum for pupils’ broader development, which encourages pupils to be ‘willing to have a go’ at different opportunities available to them. For example, the residential learning experiences, starting in Reception class with a sleepover at the school, are very popular and well attended. Most pupils take part in at least one of the many clubs available at the school.

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Staff teach pupils about different faiths and how different beliefs influence how others live their lives. Pupils are confident and articulate in their learning in this area. However, staff are not as confident or precise in teaching about the diverse lifestyles in modern Britain. Pupils are less articulate in discussing these aspects of their learning as well as they do other areas of the curriculum.

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Leaders invest significant time, resources and support to ensure pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can access and progress across the full curriculum effectively. They also know pupils well, and carefully consider any difficulties pupils have with learning or their personal development. Leaders seek guidance from an appropriate range of external agencies in order to ensure that they keep as up to date as possible to meet pupils’ needs. Nearly all parents of pupils with SEND who took part in Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, reported that the school gives these pupils the support they need to succeed.

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Governors and leaders act in the best interest of pupils. They also work well with staff to ensure reasonable workloads.

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In discussion with the headteacher, the inspectors agreed that improving the deployment of resources to match the curriculum aims and supporting staff to teach the protected characteristics more effectively may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection. 9 February 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff and governors at the school have the necessary training to carry out their safeguarding duties effectively. They understand the risks pupils face and are on the lookout for signs of harm. When concerns arise, staff know what to do and act appropriately.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that pupils learn about the risks they face when online. Pupils know what to do if they have concerns. They told inspectors that they feel confident that any adult at school would be willing and able to help them.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that background checks of adults are undertaken to determine if they are suitable to work with children.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, learning resources provided by staff do not match the aims of the curriculum plans well enough. This means that sometimes pupils do not have the knowledge necessary to use some resources to improve their learning. Similarly, sometimes adults give resources to pupils that do not help them well enough to move on to the next stages of their learning. Leaders need to ensure staff have the training and resources necessary to provide pupils with what they need.  There is a wide-ranging and well-thought-through curriculum plan for teaching pupils about the important British values, including the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. However, staff do not teach diverse lifestyles in modern Britain as precisely as they do other aspects of the curriculum. As a result, pupils do not have the vocabulary to discuss issues as fluently as they can discuss other areas of their curriculum. Leaders need to ensure that staff deliver this area of the curriculum as

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

proficiently as they do all other areas.

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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 evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately. 9 February 2022

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This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 9 February 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.creetingstmary.suffolk.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses no alternative provision.  The school is a Church of England school. The school had a section 48 inspection for schools with a religious character on 10 March 2017. The school’s next section 48 inspection has not yet been scheduled due to COVID-19.  The school has a breakfast club that operates from 8am until 8:30. The breakfast club can cater for 20 children.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with members of the governing body, the headteacher, members of the senior leadership team and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject 9 February 2022

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leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke to leaders and staff and looked at records about safeguarding, the school roll, the behaviour of pupils, the provision for pupils’ personal development and leaders’ approach to managing the workload of staff.

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Inspection team

Al Mistrano, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Mitcheson Her Majesty’s Inspector 9 February 2022

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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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