Lakeside Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Lakeside Primary School Hatherley Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 6HR

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy, welcoming and inclusive school. The school’s ‘PROUD’ values, such as politeness, resilience and determination, are woven through all that the school does.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils. It provides a rich curriculum with exciting experiences. For example, pupils create a ‘rain garden’ in the school wetland. Pupils visit a Roman villa to enhance their learning in history. Pupils design, build and race a go-kart in engineering club. Experiences such as these motivate pupils to learn, and help them to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school inspires pupils to develop a love of reading. The wide selection of books and bright murals depicting different novels invite pupils to become absorbed in the world of literature. Pupils uphold the school’s high expectations of them. Their behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary. Pupils are polite, friendly and hard-working. Pupils enjoy school and are proud to attend.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff forge supportive partnerships with pupils and families. The school understands pupils’ needs well. Pastoral provision is well planned and highly effective. Pupils trust adults and feel safe at school. The overwhelming majority of parents rate the school highly. They typically comment on the ‘fantastic school’, with ‘wonderful staff’ who help their children to thrive.

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

Leaders and staff share high aspirations for pupils’ achievement and love of learning. The sense of teamwork in the school is tangible. Staff morale is high because they feel well supported. 25 and 26 March 2025

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The school has embedded an ambitious and well-designed curriculum. This clearly outlines the knowledge and skills pupils must learn.

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Reading is prioritised. Children learn to read as soon as they start school. Pupils learn higher-order reading skills, such as comprehension and inference. The teaching of reading is consistently strong. Pupils achieve particularly well in this subject. Pupils enjoy choosing books to read for pleasure. Pupils who find reading tricky receive extra practice. This improves their confidence and fluency and helps them to catch up with their peers.

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Teachers have good knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They provide clear explanations, and model what they want pupils to do. For example, in Year 2, pupils are shown how to start at zero when using a ruler, to help them to measure accurately. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to revisit and build on previous learning. This enables pupils to practise their skills and deepen their knowledge. For example, Reception children count objects and match them with corresponding number cards. Children explore different ways of making individual numbers and learn how to write these as calculations.

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The school routinely checks how well pupils are achieving. This enables teachers to identify if pupils have gaps in their knowledge, or if they require additional challenge. Teachers use the information from these checks to adapt teaching when required, so that pupils secure the knowledge they need for the next steps in their learning.

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The school skilfully identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps them to provide sharply focused teaching and pastoral support. As a result, pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as others and make good progress from their starting points.

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Pupils behave extremely well. They have consistently positive attitudes to learning, because they find learning fun. Breaktimes are happy, sociable occasions. Pupils enthusiastically engage in a range of physical activities such as circus skills, skipping and ball games. Pupils can also spend time with their friends in the ‘quiet garden’.

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Pupils who need specialist support to recognise and manage their emotions enjoy the sanctuary of ‘The Den’. Pupils who access this area benefit from this quiet, safe space. At lunchtime, pupils can also go to The Den to draw, play games and talk about their feelings. This helps pupils to manage their emotions appropriately. It is also helping to improve their attendance.

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Most pupils attend school regularly. However, despite the school’s support, some disadvantaged pupils and some pupils with SEND do not come to school as often as they should. As a result, they miss out on important learning and the exciting experiences the school offers. This limits how well the school can enable pupils to achieve their potential.

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The school supports pupils’ wider development well. For example, pupils can visit the theatre, learn a musical instrument, or practise mindfulness. They can join clubs such as hockey, choir and animation. 25 and 26 March 2025

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Pupils are encouraged to think of those less fortunate than themselves when they raise money for charity. They enjoy events such as ‘Aspiration Day’, when they consider future career choices, such as architecture and engineering. Pupils proudly take on positions of responsibility, including roles as well-being ambassadors and sports captains.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some disadvantaged pupils and some pupils with SEND do not attend school as regularly as they should. This means they are missing out on vital education and are at risk of falling behind in their learning. The school should continue to ensure it works closely with parents to highlight the importance of regular attendance, and remove any barriers to better attendance, so that pupils benefit from all that the school has to offer.

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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 January 2020. 25 and 26 March 2025

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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). 25 and 26 March 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 28 and 29 January 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher began in post in September 2022. There have also been some other changes to leadership since the last inspection.  The school provides before- and after-school care for pupils on the school site. This is run by an external provider.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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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.  The inspector held several meetings with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. The inspector also held meetings with other leaders, including the special educational needs coordinator, the curriculum leader and subject leaders. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 The inspector met with the behaviour lead and the pastoral leader.  The inspector held a meeting with a group of governors. She also had a telephone conversation with a representative from local authority.  The inspector 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 inspector listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult.  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.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at various times during the day, including breaktime, lunchtime and assembly.  The inspector met with groups of pupils and staff and spoke to some parents to gather

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their views. They reviewed responses to the online parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, along with free-text comments. The inspector took account of the responses to the online staff and pupil surveys. In addition, the inspector reviewed the school’s own parent, staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Catherine Beeks, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 March 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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