Colliers Green Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Colliers Green Church of England Primary School Colliers Green, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2LR

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children come first at this small, welcoming school. Adults understand this and respond accordingly, though pupils themselves know that they have their own part to play in making this a happy place to be. Pupils are positive about learning. Most are achieving well. All are polite. They say thank you without being prompted and are welcoming to visitors. They listen to their teachers and behave well during lessons because routines are firmly established, and the expectations of staff are clearly understood. This is also true in the small early years phase, where children benefit from a vibrant learning environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff enjoy working here. They take a child-centred approach in all they do, which is appreciated by parents and recognised by professionals from outside of school. Pupils feel safe here. They describe their school as a kind place. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds do well because expectations of what they can achieve are high. Older pupils support younger pupils well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) enjoy the inclusive environment of the school. They are supported appropriately by adults when needed, though are often able to work independently or in partnership with their peers because of the way staff adapt learning.

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

This is a good school, where staff understand what is working well and are reflective about what needs to be better. Much has been done in the last two years to review the curriculum offer to ensure that it meets the needs of all pupils. Reviews of subjects such as history, geography and art have taken place, with changes made to what pupils will learn as they move through the school. Because of this, the school’s curriculum beyond mathematics and English is evolving well over time.

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

Pupils mostly engage in learning very well and are keen to learn new things. Classroom visits, including to Reception as part of a focus on art, showed this to be the case. Pupils happily remember what they have learned in the past. They talk confidently about mixing different shades of colour or about artists, such as Seurat and pointillism. They are keen 27 June 2024

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and confident artists themselves because the art curriculum motivates them. Pupils with SEND are equally enthused by art because of the inclusive approach of staff and the additional support provided when it is required.

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Pupils are happy to talk about their favourite subjects and their favourite trips out of school. Many educational visits take place in the local area. Staff are keen to take advantage of any opportunity to bring learning to life or enrich pupils’ knowledge and enthusiasm for the countryside, the arts, or sport. Forest school is a favourite. Working with English National Opera in partnership with another local school and picking strawberries at a local fruit farm to turn into jam, also rate highly.

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The school has worked hard to refresh the way pupils are taught to read over the last year. This has included additional training for staff and new resources to supplement the school’s chosen phonics programme. This is having a clear impact on improving pupils’ early reading skills, but there is still variability in the way some staff teach phonics, including to pupils who need additional support.

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The lead inspector’s discussions with different pupil groups revealed that they enjoy a wide range of books and authors. Pupils read widely and often. Older pupils think that the profile of reading has been raised recently, though reflect that this might be because of the higher expectations of staff now that they are in Years 5 or 6.

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Pupils’ achievements in mathematics by the time they leave the school are sound. However, classroom visits identified that in some mathematics lessons, staff are not challenging pupils enough. At times, the activities pupils are expected to participate in do not engage them well enough. When this is the case, pupils become passive learners and opportunities to accelerate their progress are lost.

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The school’s pastoral programme is effective and promotes pupils’ well-being positively. Recent impressive reductions in rates of persistent absence pay testament to this work. The school’s Christian ethos underpins pupils’ moral and spiritual education. Regular assemblies celebrate achievement and value kindness. The termly calendar is threaded with additional activities and events that support pupils’ understanding of equalities and diversity and the world beyond the school gates. Annual and bi-annual events such as competitive sports and residential trips are keenly anticipated by pupils, parents and staff alike.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasion, some staff do not implement the school's early reading programme as consistently as they might. When this is the case, the quality of phonics teaching is variable. This means that pupils do not always benefit from the highest quality phonics 27 June 2024

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teaching they require. This is also the case for some pupils who are struggling with reading. The school needs to ensure that its phonics programme is delivered with total fidelity by all staff who teach pupils to read.  In some classes, staff are not as skilled at implementing the school's intended maths curriculum as they might be. As a result, pupils’ learning is not as strong because the activities they are expected to complete are not engaging or challenging enough. The school needs to ensure that all staff deliver the intended curriculum consistently well to maximise pupils' progress in mathematics.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2015.

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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 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). 27 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a voluntary aided Church of England primary school in the Diocese of Canterbury. The school also works closely with the local authority.  The school’s last section 48 inspection took place in June 2018.  This is a small school with one Reception Year class and three mixed-year classes for Years 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 5 and 6.  The school does not use alternative 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.  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 a wide range of meetings with leaders at all levels, as well as teaching and support staff. The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body 27 June 2024

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accompanied by five other governors. He also held telephone conversations with officers from the local authority and the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. 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. The lead inspector heard some pupils read to a known adult. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects with leaders.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of parents, 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.  I nspectors gathered evidence to explore the impact of pupils’ behaviour, the school’s

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wider curriculum offer and how leaders support staff with their workload.  Pupils were talked to throughout the inspection to gain their views about the school. The lead inspector also met formally with a representative group of pupils.  Inspectors considered the views of parents submitted through Ofsted Parent View. The views of pupils and staff were also considered through Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Clive Close, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Baljit Bhabra His Majesty's Inspector 27 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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