Stapleford Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Stapleford Community Primary School Bar Lane, Stapleford, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB22 5BJ

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Outcome

Stapleford Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that school is a happy and safe place to be. They can talk to their teachers if they have a worry. Their teachers help them to make friends and to care for one another. Bullying is rare and pupils indicate that if they have any friendship issues, the adults help to sort it out. Relationships in classroom and around the school are warm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy talking about what they have learned. They are proud of their work, and they are proud of what they know. For example, they can confidently identify the bones in the human skeleton and recall their times tables. They concentrate and listen well in class because their teachers have high expectations of them. They appreciate the way that teachers read stories to them in character. The curriculum helps pupils to learn about the wider world and to appreciate different cultures.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have plenty of opportunities to develop their interests and talents. They can sing, play instruments in assemblies, act in plays and learn to swim in the school’s swimming pool. They can also take part in competitions that teachers organise for them. Pupils enjoy learning from interesting visitors, and they enjoy going on trips that leaders organise for them, such as visiting a local water sports centre.

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

Leaders and teachers have worked together to create a broad and balanced curriculum, considering the views of pupils and their parents. They agreed the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn to be successful in the next stage of learning. This includes the subject-specific vocabulary that would help pupils to understand the subject content. In some subjects, the curriculum is at an earlier stage of development. In these subjects, work on choosing and ordering curriculum content is in progress. Leaders continue to seek expert advice on how to create high-quality curriculums.

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

Teachers design lessons to help pupils understand new words and concepts. Their explanations are clear and teachers usually give pupils sufficient opportunities to practise 14 and 15 June 2022

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new learning. Pupils sometimes struggle to recall and use subject vocabulary, such as in science. This is because teachers sometimes do not provide sufficient opportunities to rehearse newly taught vocabulary.

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Leaders have recently implemented a new programme for teaching phonics. They have trained staff to deliver this programme and they have invested in new sets of books for pupils to practise their phonics. As a result, pupils have a strong start in reading. Leaders provide additional catch-up support and opportunities to practise for pupils who are struggling. Leaders have also carefully chosen the books that teachers will read to pupils. Pupils experience a range of authors, genres, time periods and cultures. They are developing a love of reading.

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Assessment is timely and helps leaders understand what the gaps in pupils’ learning are in some subjects, including mathematics, reading and science. In other subjects, assessment helps to give teachers information about how pupils are progressing through topics, but does not give leaders information about where pupils’ gaps in learning are.

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Staff ensure that pupils listen and concentrate. They have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. As a result, lessons are calm, pupils work without disruption and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive plenty of extra support from the adults in the classroom. Leaders work closely with outside agencies and parents to ensure provision meets the needs of pupils with SEND.

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Leaders are keen for pupils to have a wide variety of trips, visitors and experiences. There are plenty of opportunities to develop pupils’ talents and interests. Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to develop their awareness of different peoples, cultures and religions through, for example, inviting members of the local community to talk to pupils about their religious festivals, and to read familiar stories to them in different languages. Pupils learn that being healthy is about looking after the mind as well as looking after the body.

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Leaders are proud of the new nursery. They intend to provide a seamless curriculum so that younger children learn the stories and songs that will help them to be successful in future learning. Trust leaders and governors are helping school leaders to focus on improving the quality of education. They are also mindful of staff workload and well- being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know pupils and their families well. They work closely with outside agencies and with carers to safeguard children. Systems for recording concerns are thorough and leaders’ responses are swift. These systems are regularly checked by leaders. Leaders carry out appropriate background checks on staff and volunteers. 14 and 15 June 2022

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All staff know the latest government guidance for safeguarding. Staff know the signs of harm. Pupils know they can go to an adult if they have a worry. The curriculum teaches pupils about how to stay safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, leaders have not yet identified and set out the content to be learned in sufficient detail. Leaders have identified actions to improve these curriculums. Leaders need to ensure their actions for improvement enable pupils to benefit from a high-quality curriculum across all subjects.  Opportunities for pupils to rehearse new vocabulary are inconsistent. As a result, not all pupils are able to remember and use subject-specific vocabulary. Leaders should ensure that teachers provide more consistent opportunities for pupils to rehearse and use new vocabulary.  In some subjects, assessment does not help leaders to know how well pupils have remembered the curriculum. This means that leaders cannot identify pupils’ gaps in knowledge. Leaders should review the current assessment systems so that more useful information can help teachers identify and address pupils’ gaps in knowledge.

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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 predecessor school, Stapleford Community Primary School, to be good in June 2013.

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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. 14 and 15 June 2022

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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. 14 and 15 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227554 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

 The school became part of the Anglian Learning Trust in March 2018.  The school runs an on-site nursery for 3- to 4-year-olds.  The school runs an on-site breakfast club and after-school club for pupils at the school.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with members of the school senior leadership team, the SENDCo, the trust director of primary education and members of the local governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at some samples of pupils’ work. 14 and 15 June 2022

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 The inspector also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about curriculums in other subjects.  The inspector looked at the school’s single central record of employment checks and the school’s records of safeguarding concerns, and spoke to leaders, teachers and pupils about safeguarding.  The inspector considered 51 responses made by parents to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, including 34 free-text responses. The inspector also considered 13 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Hannah Stoten, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 14 and 15 June 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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