Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School

Inspection of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School Station Road, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore, Rugby, Warwickshire CV23 0BT

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding for overall effectiveness at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since March 2015. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 4 and 5 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive school, which pupils are proud to attend.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and kind. They look out for each other and are respectful of differences between them and others. They enjoy warm and nurturing relationships with staff in school. Behaviour around school is positive and no learning time is lost. Pupils are taught how to be resilient. They enjoy living up to the mantra of ‘I can’t do it yeti’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the plethora of opportunities on offer. From the ‘writing guild’ to ‘peer mediators’, pupils take their responsibilities seriously and confidently talk about how they contribute to the wider life of the school. The school offers a variety of clubs and activities throughout the school day, including an early-morning choir and the lunchtime ‘pop-up clay club’, allowing pupils to explore their interests beyond the classroom. Pupils enjoy learning about other faiths and visiting places of worship.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school wants the very best for every pupil, and they achieve well in national assessments. However, the school does not have sufficient oversight of the impact of some aspects of its work. This means that pupils, particularly in the early years, do not achieve as well as they could.

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

Pupils learn to love reading. A phonics programme is in place and staff have received appropriate training. In the new pre-school, children begin learning how to make and recognise the sounds they need for their next stages of learning to read. From Reception Year onwards, pupils, including those at the very earliest stages of learning to read, practise their reading in books matched to the sounds they know. Regular checking identifies pupils who are falling behind. Extra support is quickly put in place.

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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. Routines and expectations are set out from the very start. Any special educational needs/and or disabilities (SEND) are identified, and the school uses specialist external support to ensure that needs are met. While the early years curriculum is carefully constructed to build children’s knowledge and appeal to their interests, not all staff are skilled in ensuring that children get the very best from every activity. Some activities do not match the intended learning and some of the adults’ interactions with children do not help the children to develop the vocabulary they need. The school has not identified that there is some inconsistency of approach or that some pupils’ errors are not picked up quickly enough. This means that some children are not as ready for Year 1 as they could be.

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

In some subjects, such as mathematics and science, the curriculum identifies what pupils are to learn and the order in which they will learn it, from the early years up to Year 6. This helps pupils to build on their learning over time. For example, in science, Year 6 pupils dissecting a pig’s heart could link new ideas to their previous learning about exercise and physical health. Pupils confidently describe the circulatory system using 4 and 5 February 2025

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terms such as ‘de-oxygenated and oxygenated blood’. Pupils with SEND rightly access the same curriculum as their friends. Adaptations, where needed, are mostly effective.

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The school’s programme for personal development is a strength. For example, pupils benefit from learning about career opportunities, including from previous pupils at the school. Residential trips help pupils to develop teamwork and perseverance. Initiatives such as ‘British values week’ help pupils to be prepared for life beyond school. For instance, they learn about voting and enjoy the ‘debating club’. A visit to the beaches of Normandy helps pupils to develop respect and empathy. Carefully chosen texts and stories deepen pupils’ understanding of other important topics.

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The governing body does not have a sufficient understanding of what is working well or where further improvements are needed. This means that they are unable to hold the school to account effectively. Stakeholders’ views of the school are mixed. Some staff and parents are dissatisfied with some aspects of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Some aspects of safeguarding are not as sharp as they should be. This includes ensuring that systems, processes and policies are up to date and followed consistently, and ensuring that all staff have received the appropriate training and understand statutory guidance. Despite this, pupils are well cared for in school. All staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. There are systems in place to ensure that concerns are reported, and these are followed up effectively.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In the early years, some activities and interactions do not match the intended learning and do not help children to develop the vocabulary they need. This slows the progress that these children make. The school should ensure that activities and interactions support the intended learning and have the impact that the school intends.  Governors do not have sufficient understanding of the school’s work and so do not provide the challenge and support needed to bring about further improvements. The school should ensure that it routinely evaluates its provision and uses the information so that governors have the knowledge to offer support and robustly hold leaders fully to account for the work of the school.  The school has not communicated effectively with stakeholders. Some stakeholders have negative perceptions of the school’s work in some areas, which has led to uncertainty and dissatisfaction. The school should ensure that opportunities to engage

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

are meaningful and help all stakeholders to regain confidence in the school’s work. 4 and 5 February 2025

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 There are some minor weaknesses in the school’s safeguarding procedures. This means there is the potential for some safeguarding actions and checks to be missed. The school needs to ensure that all required safeguarding checks, policies and processes are up to date, in place and consistently followed.

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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). 4 and 5 February 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.cliftonupondunsmoreprimaryschool.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 3 and 4 March 2015, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 This Church of England school is part of the Diocese of Coventry. The last section 48 inspection for schools of a religious character took place in July 2023.  The school does not use any provider of alternative provision.  The school provides on-site before- and after-school care.  The school has recently opened an on-site, governor-led pre-school.

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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. 4 and 5 February 2025

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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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher and acting special educational needs coordinator and other leaders in school. The lead inspector met with the chair and other representatives of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke on the telephone with a representative of the Diocese of Coventry and met with a representative of the local authority.  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 has created an open and positive culture around

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons where they were available, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors also looked at the available curriculum documents and looked at pupils’ work in some other subjects.  The inspectors considered the responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school.  The inspectors took account of responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the free-text responses. The inspectors also considered the responses to the pupil survey and spoke to parents at the school gate.

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Inspection team

Rachel Henrick, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Helen Quinn Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 February 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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