Colnbrook Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Colnbrook Church of England Primary School High Street, Colnbrook, Berkshire SL3 0JZ

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Outcome

Colnbrook Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Tom Brunson. This school is part of Slough and East Berkshire Church of England Multi 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 (CEO), Chris Spencer, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Chris Tomes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning support them to achieve well across the school. Pupils respond positively to the high expectations of staff and are motivated to achieve ‘Bonus Points’. These recognise sustained effort, which is evident across lessons where pupils work purposefully through activities. Pupils enjoy learning and willingly volunteer to answer questions and make contributions to class discussions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values support pupils to develop self-confidence and consideration for others. Across the school, pupils keenly help others when they can. They buddy with new pupils joining the school, supporting them to settle in quickly and make friends. At playtime, pupils across different years seek to involve others in games, sharing and using the wide range of outdoor equipment responsibly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), embrace extra-curricular opportunities. There is high participation in clubs because pupils enjoy developing new skills. They keenly anticipate whole-school events, such as the forthcoming ‘Colnbrook’s Got Talent’. These events, along with the close community, support pupils to thrive. Parents and carers value the school’s work highly. One captured the views of many, saying that the school ‘fosters a supportive environment where children are encouraged to reach their full potential’.

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

The school’s curriculum thinking is strong. The broad curriculum is continuously refined so that the arrangement of knowledge and skills carefully supports pupils to build deeper 19 and 20 March 2024

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understanding over time. In early years, the curriculum considers children’s starting points so that it powerfully develops their essential social and learning skills. Reading is prioritised throughout the curriculum. Children start learning phonics from the very beginning of Reception. If pupils struggle to apply sounds or read words, additional daily sessions help them catch up rapidly.

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Some published outcomes from 2023 do not fully reflect the strengths of provision at the school. National curriculum test results show that pupils who experience the school’s curriculum from the word go do well. The school is working effectively to support those who join part-way through a school year or phase. There are extra sessions to help to identify any gaps in knowledge they might have and to help them catch up. This is particularly the case for pupils who join with little or no English language.

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Teachers mostly explain new ideas clearly, drawing on their secure subject knowledge. Learning activities challenge pupils when they apply new learning. Staff use individual support plans to know how to adapt these activities effectively for pupils with SEND. Teachers’ use of assessment in core subjects addresses pupils’ knowledge gaps quickly and ensures that pupils know how to improve their work. However, in some foundation subjects, assessment does not identify when pupils do not have an accurate understanding. As a result, some pupils have knowledge gaps that are not addressed.

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Pupils, including pupils with SEND, talk confidently about their learning in core subjects. They explain important ideas, methods and vocabulary from earlier learning. For some, their recall is weaker in some foundation subjects, where some have gaps in key knowledge they have previously learned. In the specially resourced provision, pupils with more complex SEND make sustained progress through the planned curriculum supported by highly skilled staff.

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Pupils behave responsibly around the school. In early years, staff attentively teach the children routines and language that support strong learning behaviour. These lay the foundations for behaviour in lessons, where pupils work with focus and are respectful towards each other and staff. When class discussions happen, pupils wait for their turn to contribute ideas. If pupils lose focus, staff act quickly to re-engage them in the learning. Playtime is happy and orderly, with pupils willingly sharing equipment. They take care to make sure that their activity does not affect the games other pupils are playing.

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Pupils’ character development is a high priority. Through the school’s wider curriculum, pupils learn about the value of diversity. They explore differences in beliefs and lifestyles, so they can develop understanding of modern society. This is supported by diverse texts, which are woven through the curriculum. Pupils enjoy reading these and are encouraged to be curious about them. Pupils learn how to stay safe, including online, and develop understanding of important issues, such as consent. A range of trips provide pupils with memorable experiences, which broaden their perspectives.

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The school accurately identifies areas for further improvement and works closely with the trust to ensure these are embedded. Staff are very positive about working in the school and appreciate the strategies used to support their well-being, including keeping their workload manageable. 19 and 20 March 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, pupils do not recall or accurately understand previous learning. They struggle to explain important knowledge and concepts they have previously been taught. The school needs to embed its approaches to revisiting knowledge and assessment so that these address knowledge gaps and support pupils to remember important knowledge over time in all subjects.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2018.

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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 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 19 and 20 March 2024

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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). 19 and 20 March 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Slough and East Berkshire Church of England Multi Academy Trust.  The school provides a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND. This is for 10 pupils with speech, language and communication needs and moderate learning difficulties.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  This is a Church of England school in the Diocese of Oxford. Its last section 48 inspection took place in March 2022.  The governing body manages before-school breakfast club 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. 19 and 20 March 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, assistant headteachers and subject leaders. He also met with representatives from the local governing body and multi-academy trust, including the CEO.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and design technology. 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. He also looked at samples of pupils’ work in history.  The inspector observed playtime activities.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff, and pupils; and considered

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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 inspector considered the responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views on the school. He also looked at the school’s self-evaluation documents, trust reviews and school development plan.  The inspector took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the additional free-text responses. He also spoke to parents at the school gate.

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Inspection team

Phillip Blagg, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 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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