Streatley C.E. Voluntary Controlled School

Inspection of a good school: Streatley C.E. Voluntary Controlled School The Coombe, Streatley, Reading, Berkshire RG8 9QL

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Outcome

Streatley C.E. Voluntary Controlled School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils to achieve their best. Pupils respond positively to these. They are motivated by the positive ‘can do’ attitudes modelled by staff. This helps pupils to be confident when they attempt new activities. Pupils work together happily and support each other well. This includes playtime when older pupils willingly play games with younger children. Everyone is included and pupils value the close community, which they describe as ‘a family’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils keenly participate in wider learning activities. Regular opportunities for outdoor learning, such as on ‘The Beach’, develop their social and leadership skills. Pupils learn to value the environment and understand how their actions can result in positive and negative changes. They act responsibly across the school site and look after the outdoor equipment well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between pupils and staff are warm. Staff model respectful behaviour, which pupils mirror with their positive conduct across the school. Pupils are confident that if they have worries, staff will address these promptly. Pupils are cared for attentively by staff, which means they feel valued and safe. Pupils’ positive and resilient attitudes demonstrate the school’s effective work to develop ‘happy, healthy humans’.

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

The curriculum is broad and ambitious. It fully meets the national curriculum and carefully builds pupils’ knowledge from early years to Year 6. An effective cycle of curriculum reviews has further refined the order and time given to teach new knowledge. These reviews ensure that the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are met. Subject leaders are knowledgeable about their subjects, drawing on research to inform their thinking. They make well-judged decisions about curriculum improvements. 16 November 2023

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Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. This is continuously developed, including for new staff. Consequently, teachers explain and model new knowledge across subjects well. They reflect on their experience of teaching content and tweak how they explain difficult concepts. Activities in lessons are well chosen. For example, in early years, carefully chosen resources encourage children to be curious, which supports them to learn well. Assessment is used to identify how well pupils learn the curriculum over time. However, across the school, there is some variation in how well staff respond to pupils when they find learning difficult. At times, this affects how well some pupils learn and reduces their engagement in activities.

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Pupils with SEND are well supported. The school prioritises the identification of pupils’ needs and works hard to ensure that these are met through appropriate adaptations. This includes working closely with external agencies to draw on their expertise. As a result, pupils with SEND progress well through the planned curriculum.

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The school has a rigorous approach to reading. In the early years, children start learning phonics in their second week. Their progress is closely tracked, and targeted catch-up is put in place for any children who are struggling. This includes pupils who join the school mid-year so that they also become confident and fluent readers. The reading curriculum, with rich texts, develops high levels of comprehension and skills of evaluation across pupils. This is reflected in the school’s strong reading outcomes in 2023.

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Behaviour is positive across the school. In lessons, pupils respond promptly to the teacher’s instructions and follow clear routines. In a few cases where pupils become distracted, they are mostly refocused quickly. Pupils know the rules well and understand why these are important. They choose to uphold these around the school, which means behaviour is calm and considerate. This is reflected in their conduct around the school. Pupil’s well-being is prioritised and supported well by effective pastoral care.

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Pupils’ wider development is a high priority. Rich and carefully planned opportunities achieve the school’s aim for pupils ‘seeing beyond Streatley’. The opportunities are tailored to meet pupils’ needs. Pupils are loyal to their ‘House’ and pupils actively contribute to competitions. They learn about wider society and cultures because these are woven through the curriculum and supported by a range of trips. Leadership roles provide opportunities for pupils to experience responsibility and contribute to running activities. Pupils aspire to these roles and proudly undertake them.

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The school is diligently led with a continuous focus on improvement. Leaders have an accurate view of the schools’ strengths, and what needs to be embedded or improved further. Staff value initiatives introduced to reduce workload which enable them to work more efficiently. Governors have strong oversight of the standards across the school and meet their statutory responsibilities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 16 November 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teaching is not always as responsive as it could be to pupils’ needs as they arise during lessons. This means that some pupils learn less well than they could when they struggle with the work set. The school should ensure that all staff have the knowledge to adapt their approach to ensure that all pupils develop a secure understanding.

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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 March 2014.

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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.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with 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). 16 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school is part of the Church of England, Diocese of Oxford. The last Section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in June 2019.  The school has some mixed-year group and some single-year group classes.  The governing body manages before-school childcare provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and teachers. The lead inspector met with three governors, including the chair of the governing body, the local authority school improvement adviser and a representative of the Diocese. 16 November 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector did additional work looking at curriculum plans and work scrutiny in religious education.  The inspectors observed playtime activities.  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 the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school. They looked at the schools’ self-evaluation

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documents and school improvement plan.  The inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the additional free-text responses. This included speaking to parents at the gate.

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Inspection team

Phillip Blagg, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Sackett His Majesty’s Inspector 16 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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