Cedarwood Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Cedarwood Primary School Wilkinson Drive, Kesgrave, Ipswich, Suffolk IP5 2ES

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 January 2023

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Outcome

Cedarwood Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils really enjoy attending Cedarwood School. They love the many practical activities they do as part of lessons. These help them have a strong understanding of what they have learned and, as a result, they achieve well. Leaders are ambitious for what pupils can accomplish and have high expectations for their behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very polite and welcoming. An increasing number of pupils who speak English as an additional language are joining the school. Pupils look after them and make sure they are included in their play at breaktimes. Pupils have access to a wide range of play equipment and facilities outside.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm, and pupils are focused in lessons. They work hard. They enjoy sitting together to listen to stories. Pupils have lots of responsible jobs and they also read to younger pupils at lunchtimes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is very little bullying and pupils are very sure that if others are mean to them, the adults will sort it out quickly.

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

Leaders have made sure that there is a well-planned curriculum in place. The skills that pupils will learn in each subject are clearly sequenced from the early years to Year 6. Planning documents support teachers in building links to learning that has come before. Teachers provide opportunities to make sure pupils’ learning is embedded in their long- term memory. Teachers regularly check on what pupils understand. As a result, pupils have excellent recall of the core knowledge and skills they are taught. They achieve well.

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

Teachers use activities that help pupils to understand their learning. For example, pupils who had recreated the digestive system in a lesson were very clear about what role each part of the human body played in the process. 18 and 19 January 2023

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Teachers are ambitious for pupils and know that many have the potential to deepen their understanding of topics covered. Pupils are introduced to topics that stretch beyond the national curriculum. Teaching is sometimes not as effective as elsewhere in enabling pupils to access and fully understand these most complex concepts.

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Reading is celebrated at Cedarwood. The library sits at the heart of the school, offering a wide range of attractive books. Leaders have chosen a core ‘reading spine’ of books that each class will read. These have been carefully chosen to have a mix of genres and diverse authors. The books that early readers take home are well matched to the recently introduced phonics scheme. Pupils who are struggling to read are closely tracked and receive short, focused additional teaching to help them catch up. Adults read daily with these pupils.

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Teachers have been exploring different ways of pupils practising their early letter formation. Pupils copy worked examples, write sentences in books or write on whiteboards. Children in the early years get lots of opportunities to practise large and fine motor skills through their play. For example, they make ‘X-rays’ and lists of patients in the ‘vet surgery’. However, some pupils throughout the school do not have good enough pencil grip to support strong letter formation or posture for writing.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported at Cedarwood. Plans to meet their needs are specific on what help and support they need. These adaptations are used well in the classrooms. Pupils with SEND speak with enthusiasm and confidence about their learning. Pupils who speak English as an additional language have a well-thought-out induction process and additional resources to help them learn.

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Staff use a consistent, positive approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. Pupils who struggle to behave have a range of strategies to help them. Pupils in the older years help younger pupils sort out minor disagreements at playtime in their roles as ‘anti-bullying ambassadors’. These pupils also run clubs for others at lunchtime with activities such as yoga and origami.

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Pupils are encouraged to be reflective in their work. The teaching of key values, such as respect, is woven through the curriculum. Pupils are kind to each other and accepting of differences.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders. They value the collaborative approach that they take to developing the curriculum further. Governors support the school improvement process effectively and know the school well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know the pupils well. Pupils feel that there is always someone they can talk to if they are unhappy or worried. They have been taught how to keep themselves safe online 18 and 19 January 2023

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and out and about and have good understanding of this. Staff are well trained and regularly updated so they are aware of the signs that pupils might be at risk.

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Staff work closely with parents and carers, many of whom are highly positive about the relationship that they have with the school. Leaders ensure that other agencies are involved when required to ensure that pupils are safe.

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Record-keeping of safeguarding is thorough and all appropriate checks are made on adults in the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Over the last few years, partly as a side-effect of COVID restrictions, some pupils have not been taught good enough posture for writing, meaning some have poor pencil grip. Leaders need to ensure that pupils in the youngest years get enough opportunities to develop their fine motor control, so they develop good habits before moving through the school.  The curriculum is ambitious. However, the steps to teach the most complex aspects are sometimes not precise enough. This means that some pupils struggle to understand the most challenging parts of the curriculum. Leaders need to make sure teachers have the knowledge of how to plan these precise steps between lessons effectively.

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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 July 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. 18 and 19 January 2023

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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. 18 and 19 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10212444 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 7 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has its own breakfast and after-school clubs.  No pupils currently attend alternative provision.

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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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, senior leaders and other members of staff. They met with members of the local governing body. They spoke to a representative of the local authority by telephone.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, science and geography. For each of these, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also looked at pupils’ work and plans for some other curriculum subjects. 18 and 19 January 2023

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 The inspector observed playtimes and visited the breakfast club.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector scrutinised the single central record and a wide range of safeguarding files. They spoke to leaders, including the designated safeguarding leaders, staff, pupils and parents.  The inspector considered the 99 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. They took the 117 responses to the pupil survey, and the 38 responses to the staff survey, into account.

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Inspection team

Tessa Holledge, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 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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