Cage Green Primary School

Inspection of Cage Green Primary School Cage Green Road, Tonbridge, Kent TN10 4PT

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Joanna Styles. This school is part of Connect Schools Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Andrea Carter, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Scott Pinder. 8 and 9 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘I love Cage Green and I know Cage Green loves me,’ was how one pupil explained what it is like to attend this happy, friendly and successful school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know well the school’s values of determination, excellence, integrity, respect and responsibility. From a young age, pupils embrace these and aspire to meet them. They become confident, well-rounded and respectful individuals. Pupils are inspired and empowered to become active citizens and leaders in many different ways. They are proud to be members of the eco-committee, justice league or anti- bullying ambassadors, to name just a few. Pupils are also impeccably polite and respectful. They hold doors for others and reply, ‘You’re welcome’ when thanked for doing this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In lessons, pupils show impressive levels of focus and concentration, including in the Phoenix Centre. Pupils are highly motivated and enthusiastic about learning. They rise to the high expectations that this aspirational school has for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At breaktimes, an imaginative range of pallets, tyres, tubes, guttering and ropes promote pupils’ curiosity, creativity and teamwork. This is typical of the careful thought that has gone into everything that pupils experience. The school takes any rare anti-social behaviour extremely seriously and deals with it well.

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better?

Outstanding leadership has totally transformed this school since it opened as part of the Connect Schools Academy Trust. The school has high aspirations for every single pupil. Pupils themselves make a striking contribution to the school’s positive culture through their admirable conduct and attitudes. Strong governance and well-judged support from the trust’s small executive team unite everyone in a common purpose.

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better?

‘More people, more places, more choices for our tomorrow’, is the clear mantra that runs deeply through everything the school does. This includes the seamlessly planned curriculum from early years onwards. Pupils in the Phoenix Centre access the same ambitious curriculum, adapted to meet their needs. Opportunities to expand pupils’ life experiences and vocabulary are carefully planned.

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better?

The curriculum is brought to life by skilled staff, who teach it with clarity and precision. The school’s approach to assessment of ‘lesson-by-lesson, term-by-term, year-by-year,’ is well established. It is used effectively by adults to check that pupils’ learning ‘sticks’.

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better?

The culture of reading is strong. Phonics teaching is confident and well established. Pupils develop excellent reading habits and, often, a genuine love of reading. Careful thought has gone into the range of texts pupils encounter across the school. Pupils who fall behind are quickly identified and given extra help. The school’s continuing work to improve reading is a mark of its relentless determination to secure the very 8 and 9 November 2023

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best outcomes. The school is still striving to overcome a legacy of weaker past practice that still shows in aspects of the key stage 2 test results.

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The school serves pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families extremely well. There is a tight approach to planning, giving and reviewing support. Staff know pupils well and habitually use individual approaches and resources that work. The environment, routines and activities in the Phoenix Centre are specifically designed according to pupils’ needs.

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From early years onwards, children and pupils remember and use what they learn, so get better across subjects. On top of this, the school’s commitment to developing pupils as well-rounded individuals is exemplary. Pupils are inspired by a wealth of opportunities to make a difference in the community, or grow and flourish in leadership roles. These opportunities are open to all. The school makes sure that pupils who would benefit most take part in wide-ranging activities from sport to music and origami to cooking.

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The school is uncompromising in its determination that pupils need to come to school every day. This approach is sensitively balanced with suitable empathy, understanding and support. Staff work closely with families. Considerable time and effort are invested in the constant search for any possible factor that might help reduce absence. Recent attendance figures show this tenacity is paying off. Improvements in the attendance of disadvantaged pupils is a particular success.

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Relentlessly high expectations and unfailing self-awareness mean that the school understands exactly where it excels and where it wants to achieve even more. There are convincing ongoing plans aimed at securing the highest quality of education in all respects. Staff feel consulted and involved in the drive to improve the school and unanimously proud of what has been achieved.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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What does the school need to do to improve?

 More refinement is needed for the school to secure the highest quality of education and consistently excellent outcomes that it desires for all pupils in all things. There is more to do to ensure that the last remaining subjects are as comprehensively developed as others, and to fully eradicate some minor variabilities in how effectively different aspects of the curriculum, teaching and assessment are realised. The school should continue to implement its proven and successful strategy and approach to school improvement, so that the quality of education the school aims for and intends is embedded consistently and securely. 8 and 9 November 2023

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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). 8 and 9 November 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Cage Green Primary School joined the Connect Schools Academy Trust in July 2019 at which point it was legally defined to be a new school.  Since the predecessor school of the same name was last inspected, the number on roll has decreased considerably. The mainstream provision now has a single class in each year group.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND called the Phoenix Centre. The centre currently has 21 of 22 available places filled, with pupils from Years 2 to 6. Pupils who attend all have education, health and care plans and a primary diagnosis of autism.  At the time of the inspection, the school was not using any alternative provision.  The school offers a before- and after-school club. 8 and 9 November 2023

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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.  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.  Inspectors met with the chief executive officer, headteacher, other leaders and staff. The lead inspector met with trustees and governors, including the chair of the board of trustees and the chair of the local governing body.  As part of the evidence about the quality of education, inspectors carried out focused activities in relation to certain subjects (deep dives). Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their

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Information about this inspection

learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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.  Inspectors spoke with staff, pupils, parents and carers. They also carefully considered survey responses returned by 48 parents, 37 pupils and 22 staff.

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Inspection team

Clive Dunn, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Scott Reece His Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 November 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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