Cumnor Church of England School (Voluntary Controlled)

Inspection of a good school: Cumnor Church of England School (Voluntary Controlled) Oxford Road, Cumnor, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 9PQ

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Inspection dates: 23 and 24 November 2022

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Outcome

Cumnor Church of England School (Voluntary Controlled) continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this welcoming and caring school. They are encouraged to ‘love others as you love yourselves’, and they certainly do. There are warm and supportive relationships between staff and pupils. This helps pupils to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All staff have high expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour. Pupils behave well in class and around the school. Bullying is rare. Pupils know that adults are always on hand to help should they need them or if there are any instances of unkindness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk with great enthusiasm about the many opportunities they have outside the classroom, such as the Year 5 residential and trip to see ‘Matilda the Musical’. Adults make great use of the local environment to bring learning to life, such as visits to the local church and exploring the surrounding countryside. These experiences help pupils to connect their learning with the wider world.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff morale is high and there is a strong sense of teamwork across the school. Parents and carers are positive about the school. One parent said, ‘It is a brilliant school and all the staff there work so hard to keep it running to a high standard.’

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

Leaders have developed an interesting and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most subjects, the curriculum is well sequenced. Leaders have identified the key knowledge and vocabulary pupils need to learn from the early years to Year 6. Staff make sure pupils revisit and recap knowledge previously taught, including in other subjects.

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

Where the curriculum is fully effective, pupils are able to remember more over time. For example, in mathematics, pupils can recall key mathematical vocabulary when learning 23 and 24 November 2022

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new concepts. However, in a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not set out the precise vocabulary and knowledge to be taught. This means pupils may miss out on required key learning they need to achieve as well as possible.

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Leaders have made the teaching of reading a high priority. Phonics is taught well so that children in the early stages of learning to read become fluent and successful quickly. They read books that are closely matched to their phonics knowledge. Support is in place to ensure pupils catch up quickly if they fall behind. Pupils with SEND have their needs identified early and are supported effectively. Teachers make successful adaptations to how learning is delivered to enable pupils with SEND full access to the curriculum. Leaders make sure that pupils experience a wide range of texts that link to the topics they are learning. Teachers share their love of stories and pupils talk enthusiastically about the stories they have listened to. Pupils can name favourite authors and the books they are currently reading in school. They demonstrate a love of reading.

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Pupils have lots of opportunities to learn about numbers as soon as they start in Reception. This is typical of the carefully considered early years curriculum. The learning activities in the indoor and outdoor environments provide opportunities for children to revisit prior learning. Pupils, including the youngest children, behave very well. There is a calm atmosphere around the school. Pupils play well at lunchtimes. In lessons, they share and discuss their ideas in a considerate way. Pupils’ attendance has remained high because of the strong oversight and support provided by leaders and staff.

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Personal development is a real strength. Throughout the curriculum, leaders have identified opportunities to promote pupils’ broader development. In outdoor learning activities, pupils learn how to solve problems and build their knowledge of the natural world. They enjoy learning musical instruments, cooking and performing at school assemblies. Pupils attend a wide range of clubs that help to extend learning beyond the school day. Visitors and trips help pupils learn about different cultures and religions. Pupils relish the opportunity to develop their leadership roles as part of the school council. The council members play an active part in looking after their environment and the school’s facilities. This helps to build a strong sense of community.

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Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They feel well supported and appreciate the high-quality training they receive to continually improve their practice. Leaders, including governors, are considerate of staff workload and well-being. All staff say they are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established a culture of vigilance. Regular training ensures that all staff know how to report any concerns about a pupil. Record-keeping is thorough and well organised. Staff work well with other agencies to support pupils and families when necessary. 23 and 24 November 2022

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Through the curriculum, staff teach pupils about how to keep themselves safe, including how to keep safe online and in the wider community. Parents, pupils and staff agree that the school is a safe place to be. One parent said, ‘I have been particularly impressed by the level of care and attention given to the emotional well-being of my child.’

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a minority of subjects, leaders have not identified precisely what subject content and vocabulary pupils need to learn and in what order. While the ambition of the national curriculum is covered, the curriculum is not fully supporting pupils to develop an in- depth understanding of some concepts so that they achieve as well as they could. Leaders should make clear what knowledge and vocabulary needs to be prioritised and establish exactly when this knowledge should be taught and recapped.

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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 an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 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. 23 and 24 November 2022

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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. 23 and 24 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10242013 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 September 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  A significant number of teaching and support staff have joined the school since the previous inspection.  An external provider offers a breakfast club and an after-school club on the school site.  This school is a voluntary-controlled Church of England school in the Diocese of Oxford. Its last section 48 inspection took place in September 2017.

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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 school leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and music. For each deep dive, the 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 samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about other subjects in the curriculum. 23 and 24 November 2022

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 During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher and members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority and a separate telephone conversation with a representative from the diocese.  The views of parents, pupils and staff were considered through Ofsted’s online surveys.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector looked at the school’s training records, spoke with pupils and checked staff’s safeguarding knowledge to ensure that pupils are safe.

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Inspection team

David Harris, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 November 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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