Clare Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Clare Community Primary School Erbury Place, Clare, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 8PZ

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 January 2025

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Outcome

Clare Community Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Lorna Stranger. This school is part of the Stour Valley Educational Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Rachel Kelly, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Keith Haisman.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At this school, everyone cares and feels cared for. Pupils and staff support and encourage each other. Staff model to pupils the ‘Clare values’. Pupils have opportunities to take on leadership roles. They raise funds to achieve their goals and make changes to the school, such as the well-being garden. This increases pupils’ awareness of the world around them. Pupils feel they are valued members of the school community and that their ideas are acted on.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils increasingly achieve the ambitions of the well-designed curriculum. They take pride in their work. They are eager to share their learning and can recall important information across a range of subjects. Pupils are confident to ‘have a go’ and learn from their mistakes. Children in early years learn to communicate their needs and to negotiate, share and settle quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils reflect on their own beliefs and show respect for those of others. They are confident to share their beliefs and what makes them unique and special. Pupils know how to stay safe and what to do if they are anxious or worried. Playtimes and lunchtimes are positive. There are lots of things to do. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and behave well. 21 and 22 January 2025

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

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school adopted a new curriculum to meet the needs of its pupils. The content of the curriculum is ambitious and starts in the early years. In English and mathematics, the curriculum has been in place for longer. Staff know the content of the curriculum and have considered how best to teach it. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the support they need to overcome any barriers to learning. This helps pupils with SEND to learn successfully and enables them to progress in many subjects. In some subjects that are at an earlier stage of implementation, the resources for delivering the curriculum and adaptations for pupils with SEND are less well developed. As a result, pupils do not always achieve as well as the school intends.

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

Reading is a priority. Pupils who fall behind in phonics have support to help them catch up. Children in the early years love sharing books. Pupils’ enthusiasm for reading continues as they get older. They are eager to read the recommended texts for their year group. Pupils talk about the use of vocabulary and grammatical features in what they read. They learn to apply these in their own writing.

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

In mathematics, teachers model and scaffold pupils’ learning. This helps pupils grasp new concepts. Staff anticipate who might struggle when introducing new learning. They make adaptations and encourage pupils to use strategies, such as models and images, to support them with their reasoning and problem-solving. This helps pupils build confidence and secure their understanding.

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

Children in the early years settle quickly. Staff encourage and develop children’s interests. They check that children have participated in the range of learning across the Reception class. Children are confident to try and explore new things. They are well prepared for Year 1.

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

The school has considered the breadth of experiences pupils should have beyond the curriculum. These experiences include camping, residential visits and seeing live music and performances. Pupils have opportunities to represent their school at sporting events. Their artwork is exhibited in the community. Clubs and music lessons are open to all. As a result, pupils experience new things and develop their talents and interests.

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

Pupils in Year 6 are well prepared for the move to secondary school, and their transition is well planned. The care provided to pupils extends to the wider community. Parents and carers are confident to ask for help, for example when struggling to get their child to attend school. This means that pupils attend well and have the support they need at home and school. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the impact the school is having on their child’s education.

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

Staff value the quality of training and support they receive from the school and trust. Leaders prioritise staff well-being and workload. Changes made since the last inspection have been well planned and implemented. Leaders and staff are eager to learn and 21 and 22 January 2025

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collaborate with other primary schools to continue to improve the quality of education. This is reflected in the plans to transition to a new, larger trust.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, the curriculum is at an early stage of implementation. In these subjects, teachers do not routinely adapt teaching or use resources effectively to support pupils’ learning as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers adapt teaching activities and use resources to help pupils achieve as well as they can across all areas of the curriculum.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in February 2020.

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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. 21 and 22 January 2025

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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). 21 and 22 January 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 February 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed.  The school uses one alternative provision.  The school is part of the Stour Valley Educational Trust. Trustees have agreed to join the Anglian Learning Trust.

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Information about this inspection

 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 21 and 22 January 2025

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 The inspector met with the headteacher, the senior leadership team, the special educational needs coordinator, the CEO of the trust, the chair of trustees and members of the local governing body.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector considered the responses and free-text responses submitted by parents to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.

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Inspection team

Oriana Dalton, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 21 and 22 January 2025

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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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