Rodmarton Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Rodmarton School Rodmarton, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6PE

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Outcome

Rodmarton School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Rodmarton Primary School is a warm, welcoming and exciting place for pupils to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff communicate well with parents. As a result, they know pupils and their families well. Parents value the support of adults and speak highly of the school. One parent said to inspectors, ‘I cannot praise the school enough.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Rodmarton Primary. They are proud to be members of the school. Pupils are well mannered and sociable. They have positive attitudes and are keen to learn. Adults care for pupils well and form positive relationships with them. Pupils say they feel safe at school and parents agree. Pupils confirm poor behaviour and bullying are rare. However, they are confident that adults will sort out any problems if they arise.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff are well aware of the impact of the pandemic on pupils’ well-being. As a result, they provide effective support, including nurture groups, art therapy and mindfulness. This helps pupils to understand and manage their emotions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults have consistently high expectations of pupils. Pupils behave well and work hard. The school provides pupils with memorable learning experiences, which enhance the curriculum. For example, pupils enjoy trips to Cotswold Wildlife Park and Cadbury World.

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

Senior leaders are ambitious and committed to improving the school. They have developed a high-quality curriculum that interests pupils and motivates them to learn. Children learn to read as soon as they start school. Teachers provide pupils with regular opportunities to practise phonics and develop wider reading skills, such as comprehension. Pupils apply their knowledge of phonics to help them spell words accurately. Teachers support pupils to be confident and fluent readers. Pupils enjoy reading a wide range of exciting books and hearing adults read to them. 8 March 2022

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In mathematics, pupils routinely use what they know to find things out. For example, pupils in Year 1 use their understanding of ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ to order a list of numbers. Pupils partition two-digit numbers to help them with addition. The modern foreign languages curriculum is well sequenced. This enables pupils to develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in Spanish.

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The geography curriculum helps pupils to develop their knowledge of different places. For example, pupils use maps to locate the equator and rainforests. They use words such as ‘humidity’ to describe the climate. Leaders have plans to review and adapt sequences of learning in geography. This is to ensure that they identify, even more precisely, what they want pupils to learn, and by when.

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Most pupils progress well through the curriculum. However, in some subjects, sequences of learning do not identify the precise building blocks of knowledge that teachers need pupils to learn. This limits how well pupils can build their knowledge so that they are well prepared for what comes next.

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Teachers routinely check how well pupils are learning the curriculum. This allows them to identify when pupils need extra help. For example, some pupils have gaps in their learning due to the pandemic. Teachers regularly revisit learning and provide additional teaching to help pupils to catch up.

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Leaders with responsibility for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have a good knowledge of these pupils’ needs. Leaders work closely with staff and external agencies to ensure pupils are given timely and effective support. Pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of school life. They are well supported to learn the same curriculum as their peers.

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The school offers exciting opportunities to enrich pupils’ wider development. For example, pupils can join the eco committee or school council. Players from Forest Green Rovers work with pupils to develop their resilience and team-building skills. Pupils are encouraged to try different clubs, such as drama, rugby and jewellery-making.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Adults are quick to identify when a pupil might be at risk. Leaders work closely with families and specialist agencies so that pupils get the help they need. Leaders maintain thorough records and regularly check the impact of their actions. Leaders make the necessary checks to ensure that adults are safe to work with children. Staff have regular updates to safeguarding training and can explain how to refer concerns.

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Safeguarding

The curriculum helps pupils to understand how to stay safe. For example, police visit the school to teach pupils how to use the internet safely. 8 March 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the curriculum does not identify the key knowledge pupils need to learn, and by when. As a result, learning is not sequenced well enough. Pupils do not build on prior knowledge so that they know and remember more. Leaders must ensure that the curriculum identifies the key knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn so that pupils progress well through the curriculum 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 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.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2016.

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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. 8 March 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.rodmartonschool.co.uk Date of previous inspection 20 and 21 September 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The chair of governors has recently stepped down from the post. The vice-chair of governors is currently the acting chair of governors.

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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 held several meetings with the headteacher. An inspector also met with the special educational needs coordinator.  An inspector held a meeting with a group of governors and had a telephone conversation with a local authority representative.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at some samples of pupils’ work. 8 March 2022

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 An inspector also met with the subject leader for modern foreign languages and looked at curriculum plans and a sample of pupils’ work.  Inspectors reviewed the school’s safeguarding records and checked the school’s single central record. They discussed safeguarding arrangements with the headteacher, who is the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors also spoke to pupils and adults about safety.  Inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at different times of the day, including breaktime and lunchtime.  Inspectors spoke to pupils, staff and parents to gather their views. They reviewed 60 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, along with 27 additional free-text comments. Inspectors also took into account 64 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and 12 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Catherine Beeks, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Gareth Simons Ofsted Inspector 8 March 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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