Queen Edith Primary School

Inspection of Queen Edith Primary School Godwin Way, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB1 8QP

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 11 and 12 July 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Queen Edith Primary is a school where pupils are encouraged to achieve well and to be happy. Pupils speak with great pride when they reflect on their school. They are interested and excited by the high expectations that staff have for their learning. Pupils benefit significantly from the shared commitment to their wider, personal development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils share in leaders’ remarkable drive to include everybody. This is reflected in the respectful way pupils talk about their peers. They see the cultural diversity in their community as a key strength. Individuality is celebrated, and this helps pupils to form an impressive sense of personal identity.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and cooperative. Through their good conduct, they contribute positively to the life of the school and the wider community. This includes through their ‘lighthouse squad’ leadership roles. Pupils trust all adults in school to respond to any worry they might have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The positive experiences pupils have at school motivate them to try their best. They appreciate the way teachers and support staff help them to achieve. Ultimately, pupils achieve well and are well prepared for their next stage of learning. They leave school with the social and emotional skills they need to succeed.

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better?

The work of leaders and staff is united in a drive to include all pupils in every opportunity. As a result, pupils' academic, social and personal needs are well met. These values underpin the ambitious, progressive curriculum that leaders have created. From the moment children join the school, they access carefully structured learning activities. These help them build strong knowledge over time.

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better?

Teachers have secure subject knowledge across the majority of the curriculum. They provide activities that help pupils apply their learning in increasingly complex ways. Teachers routinely check that pupils are remembering what they learn. They then adapt lessons if pupils would benefit from a recap or extra practice. In a few newer curriculum areas, staff are not as well trained or confident in the delivery of the knowledge. This means some pupils do not learn as consistently well as they do in more established subject areas.

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better?

Most teachers teach early reading well. They are well trained in the school’s chosen phonics scheme. Pupils receive regular, high-quality phonics practice to help them read more confidently. Pupils that need bespoke support are quickly identified. Extra support from skilled adults helps pupils make swift progress and keep up. This includes the most vulnerable pupils, including some who speak English as an additional language. On occasion, some adults are less confident in delivering the school’s phonics programme as well as leaders intend. 11 and 12 July 2023

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Staff are effective at identifying the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Adults working with pupils with SEND use their knowledge to effectively adapt the curriculum. This includes the Reception Year. This leads to clear plans that make classroom learning accessible to all pupils. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well and grow in confidence.

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There are clear and well-understood expectations for how pupils should behave. This begins with the youngest children in Reception where they follow well- established routines. Staff know pupils very well. This helps when individuals might need support to manage their feelings. Pupils say, ‘Everyone is nice and check you are okay.’ This sentiment is alive and is seen through the interactions of pupils at work and play. Leaders’ effective work with families is ensuring that pupils with lower rates of attendance are starting to attend school more routinely.

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The quality of pastoral support provided for pupils is exceptional. A sense of care and consideration infiltrates all aspects of school life. Adults know how to get the best out of pupils. Highly skilled family workers consider the broader developmental needs of pupils. This leads to accessible, specialised support for both pupils and their parents when they need it. Pupils say that they value the help they receive when they are struggling to manage their emotions through strategies like the ‘chill out’ room. There is a range of high-quality extra-curricular opportunities available. Clubs provide pupils with expert-led opportunities to develop their interests and talents. These opportunities include choir and embroidery.

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Governors are curious and ask relevant questions to check what leaders are telling them. They have a wider range of experience and expert knowledge to draw upon. Governors have ensured that staff are protected from unnecessary workload and pressures.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Routines for safeguarding pupils are reliable and effective. Leaders have established clear, well-understood systems for staff to raise and record concerns. Staff are well trained and knowledgeable about how to identify and act when they have concerns. They are confident in carrying out their safeguarding roles.

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Safeguarding

Leaders connect all relevant information about pupils and their circumstances. They spot concerns early and take effective action, such as providing support from a skilled family worker or with relevant external agencies.

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Safeguarding

Leaders complete all mandatory recruitment checks on adults employed in the school.

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Safeguarding

The curriculum provides pupils with the knowledge they need to stay safe. This includes when using the internet and online games. 11 and 12 July 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Staff subject knowledge in a small number of curriculum subjects is at an earlier stage of development. This leads to minor variations in how some lessons are taught, including in phonics. Consequently, some pupils’ learning is not as effective as it could be. Leaders, including governors, should refine their monitoring approaches to precisely check the impact of growing staff expertise. This is to ensure that the ambition of the curriculum is reflected fully in practice, maximising pupils’ progress 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. 11 and 12 July 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 December 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a change in headteacher since the previous inspection. The current headteacher took up post in September 2021.  The school provides term-time, after-school childcare for children in early years and Year 1.  The school makes use of one off-site registered 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.

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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 meetings with the executive headteacher, deputy headteachers and a range of other staff to explore provision across the school, including curriculum design and provision for children with specific needs, including SEND. 11 and 12 July 2023

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 The lead inspector met with four governors, including the chair of governors. A separate discussion was held with a school improvement partner from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, physical education, history and science. For each deep dive, inspectors met with curriculum leaders, looked at curriculum documentation, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and staff, spoke with children about their learning, heard pupils read with a familiar adult and looked at examples of their work.  Inspectors met with the designated safeguarding leads, the school’s secretary, governors and other staff to discuss safeguarding practices.  During the inspection, inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the single central record of recruitment and vetting checks, curriculum plans, school development plans and safeguarding and behaviour records.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s survey for pupils. Inspectors spoke with

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pupils about their experiences of school life and their learning in lessons to understand what it is like to be a child in this school. Inspectors also observed the behaviour of children in classrooms and outside areas.  Inspectors considered 117 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 67 parents’ free-text comments. Inspectors also considered 39 responses to Ofsted’s survey for school staff.

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Inspection team

Kristian Hewitt, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Nicola Shadbolt Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 July 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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