Cross Farm Infant Academy

Inspection of Cross Farm Infant Academy Gresham Way, Frimley Green, Camberley, Surrey GU16 6LZ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Alison Stone. This school is part of The Kite Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have a responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jeremy Meek and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Debbie Andrews. There is also an executive headteacher, Dee Hughes, who is responsible for this school.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The school was last inspected under section 5 of the education Act 2005 12 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection. 4 and 5 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are welcomed into this warm and inclusive school. They celebrate each other’s individuality. Pupils who have recently joined from other countries are given bespoke support from staff. This helps them feel safe and well cared for by the whole school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have set high expectations for behaviour across the school that pupils readily rise to. The whole school community recognises the recent positive shifts in culture and behaviour. In lessons, pupils are mostly calm and focused. They enjoy being able to work and play together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a variety of opportunities beyond the academic curriculum. There is a particularly keen interest in music, where pupils take part in ‘rocksteady’ musical bands. Pupils can also choose from a range of clubs, including gardening, Spanish, playball and boogie bumps. Pupils have a voice in this school, through the school council.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are starting to benefit from the actions leaders have taken to improve the quality of education. For example, the teaching of the new phonics programme is already improving how pupils learn to read. However, across the rest of the curriculum, pupils do not yet acquire the full range of knowledge and skills that they need to be ready for key stage 2.

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better?

Recently, the school has started to make many improvements to the curriculum. The planning across each subject now reflects the school’s ambition for all pupils to learn a well-considered curriculum from the Reception Year through to Year 2. However, in many subjects, these improvements have just begun. Staff are still developing their understanding of the new curriculum. The activities pupils complete are not always clearly linked to the intended learning. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge, which makes understanding new learning more challenging.

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better?

The school’s teaching of mathematics reflects the initial impact of the improvements that are being made. Here, pupils benefit from clear explanations from staff who have a strong knowledge of the curriculum. Pupils can confidently link their new knowledge of number to what they have learned before. In mathematics and reading, teachers check what pupils know and can remember during their lessons. This allows teachers to adapt what they teach to inform pupils’ next steps and address any misunderstandings. However, this is not the case across the rest of the curriculum and the school recognises the need for further improvements.

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better?

The school increasingly promotes a love of reading with pupils. Staff have improved the library space and classroom displays. Reading success is celebrated by selecting ‘reading champions’. The phonics programme is generally taught effectively. Comprehensive staff training has ensured that staff teach reading well. During 4 and 5 October 2023

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phonics lessons, pupils learn effective strategies to sound and blend words. Staff routinely scan the room, checking how well pupils are learning. They pick up on where pupils need correcting and further support. The books that pupils read are well matched to the stage of reading that they are at. Most pupils are learning to read well and enjoy exploring stories across the school.

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Children get off to a good start in their schooling in early years. The curriculum is well considered. Staff prioritise developing children’s communication skills. Pupils get the extra support that they need to develop their speech and vocabulary. Staff positively interact with children to broaden their skills through play. Children develop secure relationships with adults, who help them prepare for key stage 1.

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Staff identify the individual needs of pupils as early as possible. They have a determination to remove any barriers to learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This includes helping some pupils with SEND to recognise and communicate their emotions. This helps them to share their feelings and enables staff to provide bespoke support when needed.

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Behaviour across the school is good. The school’s values permeate across all classrooms. Importance is placed on the whole school community engaging positively with all aspects of school life. Pupils live up to these values by being kind and treating each other with compassion. Pupils value the opportunities to pursue their interests. There are a wide range of clubs and activities available to them. Pupils appreciate the care staff take to help them manage their worries and emotions.

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The trust and governors work closely to support the school’s ongoing improvements. There is beneficial and regular engagement between the school, parents and the wider community. The positive views of the school are reflected in the responses to Ofsted’s survey, where the majority of parents said they would recommend the school to others.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Improvements across the whole school curriculum are in the early stages of implementation. As a result, pupils cannot always remember key knowledge and make links with their previous learning. The school should ensure that these curriculum improvements are embedded so that gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills are addressed.  In some foundation subjects, teachers do not always design tasks which enable pupils to build knowledge systematically. As a result, pupils do not always learn as 4 and 5 October 2023

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well as they could. The school should continue to develop teachers’ expertise through ongoing professional development to help them implement the curriculum effectively across all subjects.  Teachers do not always check if pupils are secure in their knowledge and skills before moving on to new learning. As a result, lesson activities are not always adapted carefully enough to help pupils achieve well across the curriculum. The school should ensure pupils’ understanding is checked so that any gaps or misconceptions can be identified and addressed quickly.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding ( this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 4 and 5 October 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Cross Farm Infant Academy converted to become an academy school in March 2016. When its predecessor school, Cross Farm Infant School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding.  The school has been part of the Kite Academy Trust since March 2016.  The school has seen several changes of leadership in recent years. The headteacher joined the school in September 2022.  The school does not currently 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 4 and 5 October 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 the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During this inspection inspectors held meetings with the executive headteacher, headteacher, inclusion leader, teachers and pupils.  The lead inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors and with members of the trust board. She also had a meeting with the chief executive officer.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design and religious education. In each subject, inspectors met with subject leaders, talked to pupils, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to some pupils read to adults. Other aspects of the school’s curriculum were also considered.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspection team took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and governors’ and trustees’ meeting minutes.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the free-text comments that were submitted. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff survey and gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Numera Anwar, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kate Magliocco Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 October 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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