Catcott Primary School

Inspection of Catcott Primary School Manor Road, Catcott, Bridgwater, Somerset TA7 9HD

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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 Good 13 and 14 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Catcott Primary School are happy and safe. The school values of curiosity, creativity and compassion shape the whole curriculum. Outdoor learning is a favourite part of the day. Pupils relish the regular sessions they spend in the forest area learning new skills. As a result, pupils find their time in school fun and exciting, and they learn a lot.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for pupils to experience a high-quality education. It has markedly improved the curriculum and staff’s subject knowledge so that pupils learn, remember and can do more over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and during social times. They are polite and courteous to adults and each other. Pupils live up to the school’s high expectations. Bullying is rare. Staff build warm relationships with pupils. Pupils are confident that staff will sort out any worries or concerns they may have. This contributes to a harmonious atmosphere in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wide and diverse range of extra-curricular activities they can attend. These include multi-sports, arts and crafts, construction and choir. Pupils develop their leadership skills through opportunities to become house captains or school councillors. These experiences help them to build their confidence.

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better?

Children get off to a flying start. Adults build positive and caring relationships with children and their families. The well-thought-out provision in the early years promotes learning effectively. This means that children are ready for Year 1.

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better?

The school prioritises early reading. As soon as children in Reception Year are ready to learn to read, they do. They learn phonics in a logical order. Teachers provide effective support for those pupils who fall behind. The books that pupils read match the sounds that they know. This helps pupils to develop their fluency and become capable readers. Pupils enjoy reading. They are introduced to a wide variety of high- quality texts from the well-resourced library. However, the approach to teaching reading to older pupils varies between classes. This slows progress for some pupils.

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better?

In most subjects, pupils learn, do and remember more over time. Teaching helps pupils to build on what they already know. For example, in mathematics, teachers use resources effectively to develop pupils’ mathematical understanding. They explain new concepts clearly and model mathematical vocabulary well. Across many subjects, teachers provide frequent opportunities for pupils to revisit and consolidate new learning. As a result, pupils progress well through the curriculum, tackling increasingly complex concepts. However, where subjects are less developed, the curriculum is not routinely implemented as well as the school intends. In these subjects, pupils do not learn the same depth of knowledge as they do in the more established subjects. 13 and 14 March 2024

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The school has taken effective action to strengthen the writing curriculum. For example, it has made sure that staff have the subject knowledge they need to teach writing effectively. This is having a positive impact on the quality of writing across the school. Therefore, the published outcomes for writing in 2023 do not fully reflect how well current pupils are learning.

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The school is ambitious for what pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can achieve. Staff know these pupils well. Individual pupil plans are precise. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to help pupils learn alongside their peers. The school works closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that pupils get the right support. As a result, pupils with SEND learn well.

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Some groups of pupils do not attend regularly enough. This results in these pupils missing out on learning and not building their knowledge well over time. The school is taking positive action to improve attendance. However, there is still more work to be done to reduce persistent absenteeism further.

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A strong personal, social and health education curriculum supports pupils’ well-being and wider development. Pupils have a good understanding of different religions and views. For example, they accept that different opinions and beliefs of others should be respected. Pupils are well prepared to contribute positively to society as respectful citizens.

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The school has a committed group of governors who fulfil their roles well. They receive accurate information about the school. This helps governors to understand the school’s strengths and priorities. Their intelligent work to support and challenge leaders enhances the effectiveness of the school.

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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 subjects, including reading in key stage 2, the curriculum implementation is not consistent across all classes. Consequently, pupils do not develop sufficient depth in their knowledge and skills, and their progress is slowed. The school should continue to develop staff expertise to implement the curriculum more effectively and help pupils build knowledge and skills over time.  Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This leads to gaps in their knowledge and understanding. The school should continue to develop and extend the strategies it uses to work with parents to improve attendance so that pupils do not miss out on important learning. 13 and 14 March 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 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 July 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one registered alternative provider.  The school has an onsite breakfast club, which is managed by the school.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 13 and 14 March 2024

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 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 held discussions with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, members of the senior leadership team and other staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body and the school improvement partner.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and computing. For each deep dive, the inspector 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.  Inspectors looked at school documentation in other subjects.

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 Inspectors listened to pupils reading to an adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors met the designated safeguarding lead, checked the single central record of adults working in the school, took account of the views of 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 observed pupils’ behaviour around school and in lessons. They spoke with pupils to gather their views about behaviour and safeguarding.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. They also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil questionnaires.  An inspector spoke with parents to gather their views and opinions about the school.

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Inspection team

Neil Lankester, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tom Page Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 March 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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