Churchdown Parton Manor Infant School

Inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Infant School Craven Drive, Churchdown, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL3 2AG

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 26 and 27 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is welcome and everyone matters in this school. Each pupil is valued for who they are and what they bring to the school family.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Every adult involved in the school has one aim: to provide the very best education and experience for every individual pupil. The level of pastoral care is exceptional. All staff go out of their way to make pupils feel safe, happy and able to learn. By following the school’s code of ‘GEM powers’, pupils learn to be kind, resilient and independent.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive in this environment. They behave well and work hard. As a result, their achievement is strong. They learn the school’s ambitious curriculum well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school serves pupils with a very wide range of needs. Within the school community, there is a significant number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Some of these pupils require highly specialised provision. The school goes to great lengths to provide the facilities and expert teaching that these pupils need. This helps pupils of all abilities to participate in school fully. For these pupils, progress comes in very small steps. The school achieves its aim for them. There is much to celebrate about how well these pupils succeed.

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

The curriculum is mapped out in detail from pre-school to the end of Year 2. The curriculum includes the very small steps of progress that pupils in the Orchard and Acorn rooms need to make. Therefore, all pupils follow the same ambitious curriculum, even though some are at a very early stage of learning it. This makes the quality of education highly inclusive.

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

Reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. This reflects the school’s determination that every pupil will learn to read. This includes pupils with high levels of SEND. As soon as children start school in Pre-school or Reception, they begin to learn about phonics. During Year 1, pupils learn to read and write words correctly. By the end of Year 2, pupils learn to read independently. The very complex SEND needs of some pupils make them unable to undergo formal testing at the end of Year 1 or Year 2. This affects the school’s published outcomes for phonics.

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

In pre-school, children experience an exceptional start to school life. This continues as others join them in the Reception Year. They develop the early skills that are crucial to success as they move through into Year 1. This happens because teachers continuously assess each child and identify the next steps they need to take. Children learn the curriculum through a carefully designed balance of direct teaching, playing and exploring. Through these activities, children develop curiosity and learn to think creatively.

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

Teaching in Years 1 and 2 builds securely on these foundations. Teachers make clear what pupils need to learn in each lesson and how they can be successful. Teachers adapt 26 and 27 November 2024

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lessons skilfully, where needed, so that pupils keep up. In particular, the adaptations made for pupils with SEND meet their needs very well.

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Teachers assess pupils’ factual knowledge to identify who is on track and who needs extra help. For example, they check which phonics or number facts pupils know. Teachers also check how well pupils have learned knowledge in subjects, such as history, geography or science. However, in these subjects there is more to learn beyond facts and figures. Pupils also need to learn how to think like a historian or act like a geographer or scientist, for example. Teachers do not assess whether pupils are developing these skills. Early work is being done to change this, but it is too soon to have made a difference.

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The school promotes pupils’ personal development exceptionally well. Children in the early years learn to understand and manage emotions. They learn to share, take turns and cooperate. From this strong start, pupils learn respect, perseverance, patience and fairness. Pupils in Year 2 give convincing examples of tolerance and democracy. For example, they showed an inspector the ballot box used to elect the school council. They explained confidently that the same process results in the choice of Prime Minister.

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A knowledgeable and hardworking governing body oversees the work of the school. Governors commit to doing whatever is necessary to overcome barriers to any pupil’s learning. They have invested significantly in provision for pupils with SEND and wish to do more. Leaders’ decisions are always made with pupils’ best interests at heart.

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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, teacher’s checks do not focus well enough on whether pupils are developing the skills they need. This means, for example, that teachers do not know if pupils are learning to think scientifically or like an historian or geographer. This can stop pupils from achieving highly across the whole curriculum. The school must ensure that assessment helps teachers to check pupils’ learning of both knowledge and skills securely across all subjects.

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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. 26 and 27 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). 26 and 27 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11and 12 December 2018 under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of a federation with Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School, which is located on the same site. The schools are led by a single governing body and the same headteacher.  The school is registered to provide for two-year-olds. There are currently no two-year- olds at the school.  The school currently uses three unregistered alternative provisions.  A significant proportion of the school’s pupils have education, health and care plans . These pupils have a range of needs, including physical disabilities; cognition and learning difficulties; social, emotional and mental health conditions and autistic spectrum conditions.

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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 26 and 27 November 2024

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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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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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, other senior leaders, members of the governing body, including the chair and a representative of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art and design. 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 listened to some pupils read.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum documentation for all other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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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.  To evaluate pupils’ behaviour and attitudes and provision for personal development, inspectors: observed pupils in class, as they moved around the school and a breaktimes; spoke informally to pupils in lessons and at breaktimes, met with four groups of pupils; held discussions with teachers and teaching assistants and scrutinised documentation relating to attendance, behaviour and the provision of clubs, trips and other activities.  Inspectors spoke to parents before and after school and took account of the written comments in the Ofsted Parent View survey. Inspectors considered the information in the online surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Sandy Hayes, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Fox Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 November 2024

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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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