Stretham Community Primary School

Inspection of Stretham Community Primary School Wood Lane, Stretham, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 3JN

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 12 and 13 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Stretham, pupils are proud to follow the school’s mantra of ‘be ready, be respectful, be safe’. Pupils feel safe at school. They learn how to keep themselves safe, including how to stay safe online and when cycling to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school. They enjoy the different ways they can be responsible and contribute to the school. These include being lunchtime ambassadors, members of the active crew and house captains. Almost all parents agree with pupils’ views on this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful towards each other. Lunchtimes are well managed and there is a harmonious atmosphere. Pupils from different classes and year groups like playing together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the school’s high expectations for them. They achieve well in subjects like reading and mathematics. Pupils enjoy taking part in lots of different visits to enhance their learning. This includes trips to museums, pantomimes and local arts festivals.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know what to do if they have a worry, and feel confident about going to staff with them. Pupils trust adults in the school to deal with bullying if any incidents were to occur.

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

The school is ambitious for all pupils to be confident readers. Staff know what to teach, and when, for pupils to develop their skills in reading. The reading curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge over time in a structured, sequential fashion. This starts in early years with phonics, and runs through to the end of Year 6. Staff regularly assess and check pupils’ progress in phonics. This helps teachers to ensure that pupils master their current learning before moving on to the next step. There is strong support for weaker readers.

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

The school has put in place a well-designed curriculum. In most subjects, staff are clear about what pupils need to learn. They make sure that pupils connect new knowledge with previous learning. Staff check pupils’ understanding carefully. However, at times, learning is not broken down into manageable chunks. When this occurs, pupils are not able to understand and retain all that is being taught. This is because pupils engage less in their learning as they become overloaded. Consequently, pupils do not learn or remember as much as they should.

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

Early years is a stimulating and engaging environment for children, based on their different interests. There is a clear focus on getting to know children and families before children join the school. Staff take opportunities to develop communication and language around and beyond these interests. In early years, activities are set out to provide clear learning opportunities for all areas of the curriculum. Children engage with and learn from these planned learning activities.

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

The school has focused on improving attendance. There are effective systems for monitoring absence. These include daily procedures for checking on absent pupils, 12 and 13 November 2024

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including home visits if contact cannot be made with the family of an absent pupil. The school is doing all that it reasonably can to achieve the highest possible attendance.

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Pupils are well behaved. The school has created a positive environment for pupils. It is clear that poor behaviour is not tolerated. This includes rare incidents of bullying, homophobia and racism. If incidents of poor behaviour occur, the school is quick to deal with them. The foundations for positive behaviour are built in the early years. This is where staff begin teaching children what are acceptable or unacceptable ways of interacting with each other. For example, children learn early routines such as sharing and taking turns. Pupils say that they value the school’s ethos of fairness and respect for others.

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The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is strong. This includes an effective system to identify the specific needs of pupils with SEND. The school puts appropriate support in place as soon as these needs are identified.

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The school promotes pupils’ personal development well. For example, pupils have lots of opportunities to learn about other people and help those in need. They support various local and national charities. Pupils are prepared for their next steps, for instance links with a local college help pupils in Year 6 to find out about secondary school life.

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Governors have high ambition for the school and its pupils. They know the school well and are accurate when they identify the challenges it faces.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes learning is not broken down into clear, manageable chunks. This causes pupils to become overloaded with what they need to know and remember to move forward with their learning. As a result, pupils’ engagement dips and they do not retain as much information as they should. The school needs to ensure that staff receive appropriate training so that pupils are able to consistently secure appropriate knowledge in all lessons.

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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. 12 and 13 November 2024

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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). 12 and 13 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Jon Partridge and Jonathan Rist (Co-Chairs)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been several changes to school leadership since the previous inspection, including the appointment of a new headteacher and a new deputy headteacher.  The school does not use any alternative education provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 12 and 13 November 2024

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 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 senior leaders, subject leaders, other members of staff and the governing body, including the co-chairs of governors. Inspectors also spoke with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with pupils about their learning, looked at samples of pupils’ work and spoke with teachers. The lead inspector listened to pupils read with a familiar adult.  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

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors spoke with pupils during lunchtime. They observed their behaviour during these times. There were no responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for pupils.  Inspectors had informal conversations with parents at the end of the school day. Inspectors also took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View.  Inspectors analysed the 18 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for school staff. They also held discussions with several staff during the inspection.

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Inspection team

James Adkins, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

James Chester Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 November 2024

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