Cold Aston Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Cold Aston Church of England Primary School Cold Aston, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 3BN

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The executive headteacher of this school is Alison Rawlings. This school is part of North Cotswold Schools Federation MAT, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Jackie Buckland, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Melanie Huttunen.

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Ofsted has not previously inspected Cold Aston Church of England Primary School under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged Cold Aston Church of England Primary School to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in 2015, before it opened as Cold Aston Church of England Primary School as a result of conversion to academy status. 20 and 21 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s vision of ‘journeying together with love and trust’ shines through in every aspect of school life. Staff know and care for pupils very well. Pupils appreciate morning ‘check-ins’ where they learn to share their feelings effectively. This develops a strong sense of belonging and sets a positive tone for each day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish academically and socially. This is due to the school’s high expectations of pupils to be well prepared for the future. Typically, pupils listen carefully in class, behave sensibly and experience success. They uphold the school’s core values of respect, responsibility and resilience. For example, pupils learn to ‘never give up, even when it is hard’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Warm relationships are central to the school’s success. Pupils trust staff to help them with any worries they may have. The school empowers pupils to be proud advocates for themselves and others. For example, pupils organise the annual talent show and run a community café. A highlight for many is the weekly celebration assembly, where pupils like to nominate their peers for the ‘values cup’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers express highly positive views of the school. They describe it as a ‘gem’ in the community and one that is ‘building good humans’.

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

With strong support from the trust, leaders have steered the school positively through the reorganisation of the mixed-age classes. Staff are exceptionally proud to work at the school. They embrace the value the school places on their workload and professional development. Many benefit from working alongside other schools in the trust to share good practice.

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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum for its mixed-age classes. It sets out what pupils need to know and remember. Staff refer to the subject-specific vocabulary they expect pupils to understand and use. For example, pupils in Year 3 explain the concept of ‘invasion’ when discussing the Romans. In Year 6, pupils understand how and why the artist Escher used ‘tessellation’. Pupils remember their current learning well. However, at times, the school does not make the links to pupils' prior learning explicit enough. This means that the depth of what pupils know and remember over time varies between subjects.

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

Reading is a priority for the school. Younger pupils quickly learn the letters and the sounds they make. If pupils fall behind, they receive timely help and support to keep them on track. Staff place a sharp focus on developing pupils' communication skills. They weave stories and songs throughout the day. Pupils in Year 1 eagerly retell the story of ‘Farmer Duck’. They confidently use language such as 'overwhelmed' and 'bone idle' to describe the characters. By Year 6, pupils enjoy reading and do so with increasing fluency, intonation and accuracy. 20 and 21 May 2025

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Teachers use many successful strategies to implement the curriculum. For example, through practical activities, pupils in Year 1 could confidently identify doubles and halves of numbers. By modelling how to use high-quality vocabulary and punctuation, many pupils wrote complex sentences and used ambitious words in their written work. However, the school’s checks on pupils' understanding occasionally lack precision in some subjects. Where this happens, pupils do not secure important knowledge in their long-term memory.

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The school has effective systems to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils’ individual plans match their specific needs. The school reviews the support pupils with SEND receive to check it has the necessary impact. Staff adapt learning effectively, which enables pupils with SEND to enjoy the same curriculum as their peers.

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The school is a calm place to learn. It is rare for poor behaviour to disrupt learning. Pupils of all ages play and collaborate harmoniously. For example, older pupils enjoy leading parachute games at lunchtime for younger pupils. The school manages attendance robustly. Consequently, pupils’ attendance is high.

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The school meticulously plans many rich and purposeful experiences to broaden pupils’ development. Immersive experiences add to pupils’ cultural awareness. These include trips, art workshops and visits to different places of worship. Pupils have a voice in school life. They help with important decisions such as fundraising for playground improvements. Pupils actively participate in various clubs, from mock trials to gardening. They debate on current affairs. This helps them to understand the concepts of democracy and equality and to respect the views of others.

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Trustees and members of the local academy council have secure oversight of the school’s work. They use their growing expertise to support and hold the school to account for the quality of education pupils receive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, the school does not make the links to pupils' prior learning explicit enough. This prevents pupils from deepening their understanding of important concepts. The trust and school should ensure that pupils can connect their current and prior learning so that they develop a depth of knowledge across all subjects.  In a few of the wider curriculum subjects, the systems to help pupils recall knowledge are not as well developed as they are in others. As a result, some pupils cannot retrieve important content easily. The trust and school should continue to strengthen 20 and 21 May 2025

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how it ensures that teaching supports pupils to secure important knowledge in their long-term memory.

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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). 20 and 21 May 2025

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School details

Website www.coldastonprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school converted to become an academy in October 2022. It is part of North Cotswold Schools Federation MAT.  Several changes to leadership and have occurred in recent years. The current executive headteacher started in September 2024. She is also headteacher of Swell Church of England Primary School. Both schools share a local academy council.  The school is part of the Diocese of Gloucester. It received a section 48 inspection for schools of a religious character in November 2019. Its next inspection under section 48 is due within eight years of this date.  The school manages and operates a before- and after-school club.  At the time of the inspection, there were fewer than five children on roll in the early years foundation stage phase. As such, the inspectors did not give a grade on the provision to avoid identifying individual children.  The school does not currently use any alternative 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.  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 held discussions with the executive headteacher and other school staff. The lead inspector met with a representative from the trust board, the CEO, the school improvement lead, the safeguarding and behaviour lead and members of the local academy council.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, English, 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. Inspectors also considered

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Information about this inspection

the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to some pupils reading to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: met the designated safeguarding lead; checked the single central record of adults working in the school; took account of the views of 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.  Inspectors considered a range of school documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation documents and minutes of trustees’ and local academy council meetings.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at lunchtime. They spoke with pupils and staff about behaviour.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how the school supports their workload and well-being.  Inspectors spoke with some parents at the start of the school day. They considered

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Information about this inspection

responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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Information about this inspection

Dale Burr, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Information about this inspection

Nicky McMahon His Majesty's Inspector 20 and 21 May 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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