Churchfield Primary School

Inspection of Churchfield Primary School Snydale Road, Cudworth, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S72 8JR

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher is Jonathan Bean. The school is part of Waterton Academy Trust, which means that other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Dave Dickinson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Stephen Johnson. 25 and 26 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Churchfield Primary School is at the heart of the local community. Every child is at the heart of the school. The school team lives and breathes the school ethos: to enable all children to grow as independent learners, achieve more than they ever believe they could and shine as unique individuals. Pupils love coming to school. They feel safe and cared for.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between adults and pupils are friendly, good humoured and respectful. Adults take the time to get to know individual pupils incredibly well. Pupils feel valued. Pupils behave well in class and at less structured times. Bullying is extremely rare. Pupils are confident that adults would sort out any problems swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from an exceptional personal development programme. They talk enthusiastically about a vast range of clubs, visits and events. Opportunities to play a musical instrument, to perform on stage, to attend sporting tournaments and to take part in fundraising events are commonplace.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher took up post in September 2021. Since then, the school has worked to systematically review the entire school curriculum. Most subjects are now well designed and pupils achieve well. However, there is more work to do in mathematics. Leaders are aware of this.

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better?

Leaders and staff have developed an ambitious curriculum. Pupils say they find learning interesting and enjoyable. Most subject curriculums are effective in helping pupils learn more and remember more over time. For example, Year 6 pupils can demonstrate their growing scientific knowledge about the human body by explaining the impact of a healthy diet and exercise on their resting heart rate.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those in the specially resourced provision, benefit from strong support to help them to meet their individual targets and keep pace with the school’s curriculum.

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better?

The school has prioritised the teaching of reading from early years. Highly effective phonics teaching is consistent across the school. Teachers quickly identify gaps in pupils’ understanding and address them quickly. Extra support is prioritised to help pupils who find reading difficult. Across key stage 2, whole class reading lessons and a targeted approach to developing fluency are beginning to have a positive impact on reading comprehension outcomes. Pupils demonstrate an enthusiasm for the books they are reading in class and are keen to share ideas and to listen to others.

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better?

Work to develop the mathematics curriculum is in its infancy. The curriculum does not support pupils well to learn their multiplication tables and there are insufficient opportunities within lessons for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge to reasoning and problem-solving. Many pupils do not achieve as well as they could. 25 and 26 June 2024

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Leaders are aware of this and plans indicate that work will begin soon to improve mathematics in line with the rest of the curriculum.

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Children in the early years get off to a strong start. They achieve well in relation to their starting points. Staff expertly develop children’s language and communication. Familiar stories, songs and rhymes are used to support learning. The indoor environment is carefully designed to meet the needs of all children and in all areas of learning. The outdoor learning area is not as well developed. Leaders have ambitious plans to bring this up to the same standard as indoors.

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Pupils’ attitudes to school are positive. However, some pupils do not attend school often enough. As a result, they are missing out on essential learning. The school ensures that it prioritises the support for families and challenges poor attendance. However, for a significant group of pupils, absence remains high.

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The school’s programme for pupils’ personal development is at the centre of learning. The curriculum for personal, social and health education is planned and sequenced with care. Pupils know the difference between right and wrong. This is reflected in how they treat each other. Pupils develop a mature understanding of diversity and equality. They willingly volunteer to take responsibility for making their school a better place. Bistro buddies, junior journalists and reading ambassadors have all received training for their important roles. Pupils have been taught to stay safe, know about puberty and can describe the differences between age-appropriate healthy and unhealthy relationships.

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Those responsible for governance know the school exceptionally well. They provide highly effective support and challenge for school leaders. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support they receive from leaders around workload and well- being. Leaders provide highly effective professional development opportunities for all staff. This has led to staff developing a high level of expertise. Parents are also full of praise for the school and appreciation for the care and education their children receive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Work to develop some key aspects of the school’s mathematics curriculum is not complete. The curriculum does not enable pupils to learn their multiplication tables well enough and pupils do not consistently get the opportunity to apply their mathematical knowledge to reasoning and problem-solving activities. Pupil outcomes in mathematics are low. The school should continue to develop its 25 and 26 June 2024

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curriculum for mathematics to ensure all important knowledge is carefully planned and sequenced and that outcomes improve.  Attendance is low for some pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. Low attendance means these pupils are missing important learning. The school should ensure that their ongoing work with families continues to be a priority and leads to improvements so that all pupils attend school regularly.

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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). 25 and 26 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The Board of trustees

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Churchfield Primary School converted to become an academy in December 2019. When its predecessor school, Cudworth Churchfield Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good.  The school is part of Waterton Academy Trust.  The school has a breakfast and after-school club.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school runs a specially resourced provision for pupils with communication and interaction needs aged four to seven on its site. It is called Waterton Assessment Centre.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 25 and 26 June 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 met with the headteacher and other school leaders.  The inspectors met with the CEO and deputy CEO from the multi-academy trust, and representatives from the academy standards committee.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education and science. For each deep dive, inspectors 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. They also looked at pupils’ work and talked to leaders about the curriculums for geography

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and design technology.  The lead inspector listened to pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around the school, and at playtime and lunchtime.  Inspectors visited the school’s specially resourced provision, The Waterton Assessment Centre.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their views of the school and learning, behaviour and safety.  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 created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first  The inspectors analysed the pupils’ and staff’s online questionnaire responses. They also considered responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, Parent View, including comments received via the free-text facility as well as by

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email. Inspectors also talked to parents in the school playground.

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Inspection team

Tracy Duffy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Knight Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 June 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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