Cliff Lane Primary School

Inspection of Cliff Lane Primary School Cliff Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 0PJ

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Carrie Broom. The school is part of Asset Education, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Clare Flintoff, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Simon Evans-Evans. 13 and 14 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are happy. They know that they have good relationships with adults, who they can go to if they need help. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are ready and keen to learn. The school supports pupils to achieve the high expectations that it has of them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are accepting of everyone’s differences. This encapsulates the warm and nurturing environment within the school. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and look after their mental health. The range of well-being exercises they engage in give them strategies to do this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have several leadership opportunities open to them. These include being junior road safety officers, members of the school learning council, members of the young planetarians team (eco-team) and librarians. The trust runs a pupil parliament across the schools within the trust. This involves pupils visiting each other’s schools and contributing to development in the schools.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a range of trips, visitors, and clubs available to them, which starts in the early years. These experiences help the pupils to broaden their knowledge and enhance their learning.

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better?

The school has developed at pace. The school’s motto, ‘do it right, do it well, do it!’, highlights the high aspirations that the school has of every pupil. The school has developed the curriculum to be ambitious, broad and well supported by additional opportunities.

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better?

The curriculum in many subjects is planned thoughtfully to ensure that pupils’ learning builds over time. In most areas of the curriculum, pupils remember their learning well. This is because teachers revisit topics and check closely what pupils know and can do. In a few subjects, however, this does not happen. Consequently, pupils are not as secure in their knowledge and understanding of some key content.

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better?

The school is highly inclusive. Staff have a thorough understanding of the differing needs of pupils. They address barriers to education so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. Pupils’ needs are identified and assessed carefully to ensure that they get the provision needed. The school works well with external agencies and is persistent in getting the right support for pupils. Staff are well trained and support the learning of pupils with SEND effectively.

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better?

Reading is a priority at the school, starting in the early years. Staff expertly deliver the school’s chosen phonics programme. They check carefully that pupils know their sounds before they move on. Pupils experience success when they learn to read, as staff match books to the sounds pupils know. Pupils enjoy sharing books with their 13 and 14 February 2024

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‘reading buddies’ and adults. Pupils enjoy choosing a variety of rich texts from the well-resourced library to complete their reading challenges. This helps to develop a love of reading.

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Children in the early years have well-established routines. Staff question children, and the children take turns to answer the questions. Rhymes and songs are used well across the curriculum to enhance learning. Children engage well with adults and are well prepared for learning in Year 1.

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The school has clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour, which pupils know and respond to positively. Staff have received training to manage behaviour appropriately and effectively. The school’s work to improve pupils’ attendance is having a positive impact. Staff work closely with families so that more pupils attend school regularly.

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There is a sharp focus on ensuring that pupils are well equipped for living in modern Britain. This includes pupils keeping themselves safe, especially online. Older pupils have learned a song or a rhyme for every aspect of staying safe, which they enjoy sharing. The curriculum for personal, social and health education covers wide- ranging themes. This helps pupils to develop as kind, tolerant and open-minded young people. Pupils learn how to be physically and mentally healthy and have healthy relationships.

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Leaders and staff share a clear and strategic vision for the school and its pupils. Staff are passionate about their roles and responsibilities. They value the professional development opportunities they have available to them to make them even better in their roles. Governors and the trust offer effective challenge and support, which has contributed to securing improvements as the school has evolved.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few foundation subjects, teachers do not revisit important knowledge, or check that pupils can recall the key knowledge they need to know. This means that teachers do not always help pupils to build on prior learning effectively. Therefore, pupils do not make as much progress as they could. The school should ensure that, in all subjects, the curriculum is planned and taught to provide pupils with the opportunity to revisit key content and knowledge so they remember more over time. 13 and 14 February 2024

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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). 13 and 14 February 2024

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CEO of the Trust

Date of previous inspection 27 May 2021, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher took on the role in September 2021.  The school uses two registered and two unregistered alternative providers.  The school operates its own breakfast and after-school clubs.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 13 and 14 February 2024

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 The lead inspector spoke with governors from the local governing body, one of whom was also a trustee from Asset Education. The lead inspector also met with the CEO and one of the deputy CEOs of Asset Education.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, music, geography, and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of work.  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.  Inspectors gathered the views of pupils by speaking to them during lessons and at breaktimes. They also considered 165 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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 Inspectors spoke to groups of staff and considered the 48 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  The inspectors considered 78 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. An inspector spoke to parents at the school gate.

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Inspection team

Katie Devenport, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Neil Taggart Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 February 2024

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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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