Crawford's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Crawford’s Church of England Primary School Green Road, Haughley, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3QZ

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 January 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 24 and 25 January 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Crawford’s are very happy. Pupils have positive relationships with adults in the school. During lessons, pupils know that they are expected to behave well and work hard. Pupils do this well. Pupils enjoy their learning. This helps them to develop a good knowledge of what they have learned. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about their class stories. They recite rhymes from classic A A Milne texts with confidence.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have access to an exceptionally wide variety of resources to encourage play and exploration. Pupils build dens, role play shops, create ‘potions’, and climb crates and trees. They create huge, collaborative artworks and make minibeast habitats. Pupils work with others and develop their play over several days. They are aware of risk and consider what they must do to minimise this. Pupils look out for each other and make sure that everyone is included.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils across the school are benefiting from the improved reading and mathematics curriculum. All pupils can access the planned learning because teachers make sure that those pupils who need it have additional support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying and unkind behaviour are rare. Pupils are clear that when this does happen, staff sort it out quickly.

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better?

Leaders have made sure that there is a good-quality curriculum in place. Most subjects have highly detailed plans that help teachers to know what specific vocabulary and key concepts should be covered. Leaders intend to further develop the very few subjects that do not have as much detail. Leaders lengthened the school day to ensure that enough time is available for both the academic learning and extended play.

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better?

Staff are skilled at teaching early reading. They support pupils to learn and read the sounds in words. Any pupils at risk of falling behind get the help that they need to catch up. The books that pupils take home are well matched to the sounds that they know. This helps pupils to read accurately and with understanding. Older pupils like reading and can name a wide range of favourite authors.

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better?

In most classes, pupils ably plan out ideas and produce high-quality writing. Children in early years enjoy writing and include this in their play. In a minority of year groups, pupils do not have enough opportunities for practising and using their writing knowledge across the curriculum. The way in which handwriting is taught varies. Some pupils do not produce as high-quality work in other subjects as in their English lessons.

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better?

During lessons, teachers check what pupils know and understand. Teachers adapt lessons well for pupils, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or 24 and 25 January 2023

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disabilities (SEND). Teachers are trained to develop their practice further, for example in how to support pupils to use practical resources in mathematics. Teachers adapt their teaching so that pupils with SEND learn successfully.

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The school’s core values, known as ‘cogs’, are woven throughout the curriculum. Leaders and staff refer to these regularly in lessons and assemblies. Pupils know these values and demonstrate them through their good behaviour. Leaders ensure that pupils learn about diversity and life beyond the local area.

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Leaders have chosen to introduce extended play and outdoor learning for all pupils. This has been done to promote pupils’ confidence, collaboration and discussion skills. Assemblies encourage pupils to think about new play ideas and understand how to safely approach risk. However, the overall planning for play and outdoor learning does not lay out clearly enough how skills and knowledge in these sessions will develop over time.

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Staff are supported well by the leadership team. Teachers work closely with the trust to improve the curriculum. For example, teachers have recently received guidance to strengthen the reading and mathematics curriculum. Subject leaders know their subjects well and support colleagues in the delivery of these. Leaders closely track reading, writing and mathematics, putting in extra sessions where needed.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained and regularly updated so that they can confidently identify any risks to pupils. Leaders’ record-keeping is detailed and routinely reviewed to spot any patterns of concern.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a positive working relationship with families, making sure that pupils get any help they need. Pupils are taught to stay safe. They are clear about what they would do if they encountered problems when playing games online. They are highly aware of how to keep themselves physically safe while playing.

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Safeguarding

Leaders fulfil their statutory responsibilities well. They carry out required pre- employment checks thoroughly and record these accurately.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, and for outdoor learning, leaders’ curriculum planning and thinking are not detailed. Leaders have not clearly identified the important knowledge and skills that they want pupils to learn and build on from year to year. This hinders pupils’ progress. Leaders should ensure that their curriculum 24 and 25 January 2023

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plans identify important knowledge and skills and order these in a way that enables pupils to make strong progress in all areas of the curriculum.  There are inconsistencies in the way in which writing and handwriting are taught across the school. A minority of pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise and use their writing knowledge in subjects other than English. Some pupils develop poor pencil grip and letter formation. This is not picked up by teachers. Leaders need to ensure that all pupils have enough opportunities to write and that the chosen ways of teaching writing and handwriting are taught effectively in all year groups. Leaders need to ensure that the quality of pupils’ written work is of a high standard in all subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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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. 24 and 25 January 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 When the predecessor school, Crawford’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, was inspected in October 2015, it was graded as good.  The school is part of The Tilian Partnership multi-academy trust.  The school has a Christian religious character and is part of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Its next section 48 inspection (which is a Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools), is due this academic year. The most recent section 48 inspection was in February 2016. At that inspection, the religious aspects of the school’s provision were graded as good.  The school has its own breakfast and after-school clubs.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 24 and 25 January 2023

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 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 the headteacher, senior leaders and other members of staff. They met with the co-chairs of the local governing body and the chief executive officer.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, physical education, and art and design. For each of these, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at plans and visited some lessons in other curriculum subjects.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised the single central record and a wide range of safeguarding files. They spoke to leaders (including the designated

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safeguarding lead), staff, pupils, and parents and carers.  Inspectors considered the 21 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. They took into account the 19 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and the eight responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Tessa Holledge, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jackie Mullan Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 January 2023

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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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