Crudgington Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Crudgington Primary School School Lane, Crudgington, Telford, Shropshire TF6 6JF

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Outcome

Crudgington Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Adam Ames. This school is part of the Learning Community Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jane Hughes, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Michael Briscoe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Crudgington Primary School have ‘pride, passion and purpose’ in all that they do. They believe this motto is important and comment that ‘these words help us all to improve’. The school has high expectations of all pupils. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Many parents agree.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils always try their best in school. They follow the school rules of ‘ready, respectful, safe’. They believe these rules help them to behave well. Pupils know that adults are there to help them if needed. They know who is responsible for keeping them safe in school. This includes the group of pupils known as the ‘super safeguarding squad’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn the importance of teamwork and responsibility by being members of different groups, such as the school council or being class ambassadors. The school encourages pupils to be aspirational. As part of this work, pupils learn about different careers, such as farming, medicine and the military, from visiting speakers. Pupils enjoy attending clubs such as drama, singing, mindfulness and dance.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has worked very hard to further develop its curriculum. The curriculum is well thought out. The school has identified the key knowledge that it wants pupils to know and remember, including in the early years. Curriculum plans for all subjects break learning into small steps.

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

Staff have received training and support to deliver the curriculum well. They regularly revisit prior learning in lessons. In addition, staff use more formal assessments to check 28 November 2023

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whether pupils are following the curriculum as they intend. However, leaders have identified that, in a small number of subjects, these assessments do not always check the most important content that pupils need to learn. As a result, gaps in pupils’ learning are sometimes missed and are therefore not addressed. This slows pupils’ learning.

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Subject leaders regularly make checks on how well their curriculum is delivered. As a result, leaders know where further improvement is needed. Nonetheless, leaders acknowledge that they have not always acted as quickly as they could to address what they have found.

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Staff nurture a love of reading. This begins at the start of the Reception Year. Children in the early years enjoy exploring the interesting language that they encounter in different books. Across all year groups, pupils build an appreciation of different types of books, including poetry and non-fiction. Leaders have high expectations of pupils. Many of the texts they read are demanding. Pupils rise to this and, by the time they are in Year 6, they have favourite texts, which includes texts by authors such as Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe.

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The school prioritises the teaching of phonics. Staff are well trained in delivering the phonics programme. Pupils have regular opportunities to practise the sounds they are learning. The books they read help them to develop their fluency in reading. The school acts quickly to support pupils who need extra help. These pupils often receive this support on the day that this need is identified. Parents are well informed, so they can support their child’s reading at home.

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The school has suitable systems in place to identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. While pupils with SEND are generally supported well, on occasion, teachers do not make the necessary changes for pupils with SEND in lessons to help them learn well. In addition, some parents of pupils with SEND would like to have more opportunities to discuss their child’s needs so they can support their child further.

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The school has worked hard to make sure that pupils attend school regularly. This work has had a positive impact. Pupils feel rewarded for attending school, and those families who need support with their child’s attendance receive it quickly.

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Pupils’ wider development is a strength of the school. The school has carefully mapped out where wider opportunities can be provided in the curriculum. This includes opportunities to develop pupils’ awareness of fundamental British values and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As a result, pupils have a highly effective understanding of these. Pupils feel that trips and visitors to school help them to remember what they have learned. For example, a trip to a chocolate factory helped them to learn about produce from around the world in geography.

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The trust leaders and governors know the school well. They are very aware of the challenges staff face in a small school. The trust is facilitating work to support staff’s workload. 28 November 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The assessments the school uses in a small number of subjects do not always check the most important content pupils need to learn. As a result, gaps in pupils’ learning are sometimes missed and are therefore not addressed. This slows pupils’ learning. Leaders should ensure that assessments closely match and check the most important content that pupils need to learn.  Support for some pupils with SEND is not always as effective as it could be. Teachers do not always make the necessary changes for pupils with SEND in lessons. This means that some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school should make sure that all pupils with SEND are able to learn well in lessons.

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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 predecessor school, Crudgington Primary School, to be good in March 2017.

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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.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 28 November 2023

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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). 28 November 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative providers.  The school operates a before- and after-school club.  The school is part of the Learning Community Trust, which consists of 10 schools.

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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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with th school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the lead inspector held meetings with the headteacher and the trust director of primary education. He also met two members of the local governing board, including the chair of the board, and he met with the chair of trustees and CEO of the multi-academy trust.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered 28 November 2023

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. They met with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and viewed examples of pupils’ work.  An inspector observed children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 read to a trusted adult.  The inspectors spoke with members of staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  The inspectors considered the responses, including the free-text comments, to Ofsted Parent View. They also considered the responses to the staff and pupil surveys. An inspector spoke to parents at the end of the school day.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This includes the school’s improvement priorities, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND

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records, behaviour records, attendance records and minutes of meetings held by the trust board.

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Inspection team

Barry Yeardsley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Newby Ofsted Inspector 28 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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