Coulsdon CofE Primary School

Inspection of Coulsdon C of E Primary School Bradmore Green, Old Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 1ED

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Inspection dates: 8 and 9 November 2023 and 8 May 2024

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

This school was last inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 12 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection. 8 and 9 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to belong to this welcoming community. They show kindness to each other, valuing different characteristics, choices and faiths. Relationships between adults and pupils are respectful. Pupils behave well in classrooms and around the school. They know they can talk to staff if they have any worries, and they trust adults to help them. This ensures that pupils feel safe and are kept safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Over time, the curriculum has not equipped pupils with the knowledge they need to achieve well and be well-prepared for the next stage of their education. Changes have been made to improve the curriculum, but these are recent and have not impacted fully. Staff encourage pupils to try their best. Pupils work hard and enjoy talking about activities that have sparked their interest.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school nurtures pupils’ confidence and resilience. Pupils enjoy looking after the environment, including maintaining the school pond. They learn about finance and budgeting, taking part in an enterprise project. Enrichment activities provide pupils with opportunities to explore new experiences. Pupils enjoy representing their school in sporting and music events. Members of the school council are proud of the impact they have on the school community. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s support for their children.

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better?

There have been several changes to leadership and governance. Leaders have been swift in evaluating the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They recognise that the curriculum has not sufficiently supported pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding. Over time, pupils have not been as well prepared for the next stage of their education as they should. This is reflected in historic published outcomes, in which pupils do not achieve highly. Leaders are ambitious for pupils. They are making several changes to the curriculum, especially in English and mathematics, and, more recently, in other subjects. Many of these changes are recent or planned for the future so are not embedded securely.

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better?

Governors understand their roles and support leaders’ work. Systems to enable leaders and governors to evaluate this work are underdeveloped. This means there is not a sufficiently robust understanding of the impact recent changes are having. As a result, some of the variability in curriculum implementation has not been identified and used to inform future priorities. Leaders have created an environment where staff feel well supported and excited about the direction the school is taking. Staff value the school community and the help they receive from each other.

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better?

In some subjects, important content has been identified and well sequenced. This helps pupils to embed knowledge before tackling new ideas. For example, in mathematics, children in early years learn to count in different steps. Older pupils use this knowledge when adding and multiplying to find the perimeter and area of 8 and 9 November 2023

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regular and compound shapes. Similarly, in science, pupils learn about the different food groups. This supports them to understand what constitutes a healthy diet.

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In other subjects, and areas of learning in early years, the curriculum is less well designed. Important aspects of subject content are not fully considered, and the small steps of learning pupils need to secure have not been identified. This means that teaching and assessment in these subjects is not sufficiently focused on what pupils need. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and struggle to understand more complex ideas.

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Teachers generally have secure subject knowledge and present information clearly. Pupils are given opportunities to revise and build on their prior learning. Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and typically receive skilled support. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to tasks and use resources appropriately to meet different needs.

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Historically, pupils have not secured strong outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Leaders are rightly prioritising improving pupils’ reading. External specialists help staff acquire the necessary expertise to implement the agreed phonics programme. Pupils practise reading books that are well matched to the sounds they know. This is helping those at the early stages of reading to read with increased fluency. Any pupils falling behind are quickly identified and supported to catch up. A positive culture of reading develops throughout the school. For example, class ‘reading ambassadors’ support younger pupils with reading. Pupils enjoy their frequent visits to the local library.

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The development of pupils’ vocabulary is prioritised, including in early years, where staff develop children’s communication through the different areas of learning. Across the school, there are inconsistencies in how effectively this is done. Sometimes, staff do not use vocabulary with precision. In these instances, pupils’ own language use is less accurate.

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The school has recognised there is work to be done to improve older pupils’ reading and writing. Leaders have designed a more focused curriculum in this area and have provided additional training for staff. However, this work is not sufficiently focused on addressing the existing gaps in pupils’ knowledge. For example, some pupils do not read with sufficient fluency to access age-appropriate texts, while others are less confident in spelling and handwriting. As a result, older pupils struggle to write at length in different subjects and their written work is of varying quality.

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Pupils attend regularly. Leaders know families well and provide effective support when required. Behaviour is positive and pupils focus well on their learning. Playtimes are happy, and pupils enjoy organising activities. A wealth of opportunities are provided to enhance pupils’ personal development. For example, pupils are well supported to develop as conscientious local and global citizens who understand and respect different beliefs and values. Pupils enjoy outings that enrich the curriculum. 8 and 9 November 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, and in aspects of early years, the existing curriculum is not sufficiently designed or consistently implemented. As a result, pupils have not secured the cumulative knowledge and vocabulary they need to achieve well, including in national assessments. The school needs to ensure that the revised curriculum is fully implemented so that pupils deepen their understanding in different subjects over time.  The provision for developing older pupils’ language is not embedded or sufficiently focused on addressing gaps in their knowledge and understanding. As a result, some pupils do not read with sufficient fluency, while others are less confident in spelling and handwriting. This impacts on the quality of written work in different subjects. The school should fully implement their plans to improve this aspect of their work. This includes ensuring that assessment is used well to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Systems to check and evaluate the impact of recent curriculum changes in some subjects are underdeveloped. This means the school does not have a sufficiently robust understanding of the impact of recent work in these areas. As a result, some of the variability in curriculum implementation is not consistently identified and used to inform future priorities. The school needs to make sure the implementation of the curriculum is checked, and that this information is used to further inform school improvement work.

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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 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 8 and 9 November 2023

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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). 8 and 9 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 November 2011, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has undergone changes to leadership and governance since the last inspection. The school has had three headteachers since the previous inspection. A new headteacher was appointed in April 2023. A deputy headteacher was appointed in September 2023. Several subject leaders are also new to their roles.  Leaders do not make use of 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.

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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. 8 and 9 November 2023

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 The school was initially inspected on 8 and 9 November 2023. On 8 May 2024, two of His Majesty’s Inspectors returned to the school to gather further evidence on aspects of the quality of education, early years provision and leadership and management. The evidence gathered from all three days was used to inform the final judgements.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders and a range of staff. They also met with governors, a representative from the local authority and a representative of the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and art. Activities included discussions with leaders and teachers about the curriculum, visiting lessons, speaking with groups of pupils about their learning, and a scrutiny of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  Inspectors checked the school’s policies and records, including those related to

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behaviour and pupils’ wider development.  Inspectors considered the responses of parents and staff to Ofsted’s online surveys.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 held meetings with staff and spoke with pupils during social times. They observed pupils’ behaviour across the school, including as they arrived and left school.

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Inspection team

Sacha Husnu-Beresford, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lascelles Haughton, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Nick Turvey His Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 November 2023

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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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