Caldershaw Primary School

Inspection of Caldershaw Primary School Edenfield Road Rochdale, Lancashire OL12 7QL

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

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

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since December 2011. 17 and 18 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive and flourish at this school. They benefit from the school’s unwavering determination to provide the highest quality of education. Pupils value and enjoy their learning. They excel in their studies and achieve highly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. They learn to uphold the school’s ‘CARE’ values, which guide them to treat everyone with equal kindness and respect. This fosters a warm and nurturing atmosphere, where pupils feel secure and confident to be themselves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils take on roles that make a positive contribution to the school community. These responsibilities include eco-committee and school council members, who work to improve the school environment and organise events to benefit charities and the local community. Children in the early years form positive connections with their ‘buddies’ in Year 6, who act as mentors and positive role models.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils delight in the plentiful opportunities to develop their talents and interests. For instance, they relish fossil and chess clubs, as well as a variety of sports, including dodgeball, gymnastics and archery. Pupils in the school choir enjoy regular opportunities to perform their repertoire, which includes songs that display pupils’ learning of French. Staff make sure that the activities on offer are accessible to all.

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better?

The school is determined that every pupil should benefit from an exceptional education. It has designed a highly ambitious curriculum that flows seamlessly from the beginning of the early years to Year 6. The school has ensured that the information that pupils should learn is clearly defined and broken down into small steps. This enables pupils to develop a secure body of knowledge over time.

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better?

Teachers benefit from a highly effective programme of training and development. This empowers them to craft learning that successfully promotes the development of pupils’ understanding. Children in the early years benefit from well-designed activities and high-quality interactions with adults. This enables them to master new concepts quickly.

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better?

Teachers are adept at checking that pupils have grasped the intended learning. They swiftly diagnose and address any misconceptions that pupils may have. The school has developed effective strategies to ensure that pupils regularly revisit prior learning. This helps pupils to remember the information that they will need for future learning. Throughout the school and across the full spectrum of subjects, pupils achieve highly.

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better?

Expert staff swiftly identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They make suitable adaptations that enable these pupils to successfully participate fully in school life. 17 and 18 April 2024

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The school has a strong culture of reading. Pupils are exposed to a plethora of inspirational texts and authors, which are thoughtfully chosen to ignite their passion for reading. In the early years, children enjoy sharing stories with staff, enthusiastically joining in with their favourite passages. The school’s phonics programme is particularly effective. Pupils swiftly develop the knowledge that they need to begin reading. The school has carefully selected books that allow pupils to rehearse the sounds that they already know. Staff make frequent checks on pupils’ phonics knowledge, identifying pupils that would benefit from extra help. These pupils receive the additional support that they need.

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The school has high expectations of pupils’ attendance and punctuality. It works closely with parents and carers to overcome any barriers that may prevent pupils from attending school as often as they should. As a result, pupils are rarely absent.

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Pupils maintain the highest standards of conduct. They are friendly and polite, eager to offer a cheery greeting to anyone that they meet as they travel around school. In the early years, staff ensure that children settle in quickly. They help children to learn important social skills that enable them to forge positive relationships with adults and with their peers.

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The school’s provision to support pupils’ personal development is exceptional. Pupils benefit from a rich and varied programme of learning that is well matched to their ages and life experiences. For example, following COVID-19 restrictions, the school focused on helping pupils to maintain positive mental health. Pupils benefit from an array of wider opportunities, such as many outings that help to enhance their learning. These include residential trips, as well as visits to museums and to places of worship.

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Governors are highly effective in holding the school to account. They ensure that they have the information that they need to accurately evaluate the school’s strengths and to identify any areas for improvement. For example, governors routinely check that any proposed changes to school procedures will not generate unnecessary or excessive workload that may impinge on staff’s well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 17 and 18 April 2024

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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). 17 and 18 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 December 2011, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides a breakfast and after-school club for pupils.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, including the headteacher, and a range of staff. The inspectors also spoke with representatives of the local governing body, including the chair of governors. 17 and 18 April 2024

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 Inspectors met with representatives of the local authority and an independent school improvement partner.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of evidence, including leaders’ self-evaluation documents, improvement plans and minutes of meetings of the governing body. Inspectors also reviewed records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  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 spoke with pupils about their experiences of school and their views on behaviour and bullying. They observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at social times.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a

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sample of lessons, spoke with some teachers and with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum in some other subjects with leaders.  Inspectors observed pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for pupils and for staff.

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Inspection team

Charlotte Oles, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stephanie Swift Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 April 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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