Cyril Jackson Primary School

Inspection of Cyril Jackson Primary School Limehouse Causeway, London E14 8AQ

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

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

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The headteacher of this school is Hodo Dirir. This school is part of University School’s 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), Gillian Kemp , and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Peter Heathcote .

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Ofsted has not previously inspected Cyril Jackson Primary School under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged Cyril Jackson Primary School to be outstanding, before it opened as an academy. 24 and 25 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone at Cyril Jackson fully embraces the diverse local community and the range of languages spoken. Pupils who start school at different points during the year are welcomed with warmth, sensitivity and kindness. Staff support pupils to understand and follow the school’s high expectations. Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They love learning and typically achieve well, including in national assessments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the rich and purposeful personal development offer available to them. They readily engage in a wide variety of opportunities that help to prepare them to be respectful, resilient and active citizens. Activities such as ballet, dance and community work help to foster pupils’ talents, interests and sense of responsibility.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and are kept safe at school. They are confident to share any concerns they may have and trust staff to resolve them swiftly. Pupils play an active role in contributing to the positive and respectful culture. For example, they have helped to develop the school’s child-friendly safeguarding guide.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is exceptional. They understand and rise to the high expectations staff have of them. On the rare occasions pupils’ behaviour falls below the school’s expectations, staff hold effective restorative conversations to help pupils understand right from wrong.

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

The curriculum is engaging, broad and ambitious. The school has identified the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils should learn. This is well-sequenced so that pupils build their understanding cumulatively. For example, in mathematics, children in the Reception Year secure their understanding of numbers and doubling. Older pupils build on this strong start when they practise addition of larger numbers and decimals.

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

The curriculum in many subjects, including in English and mathematics, is well implemented. In these areas, teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain and model new ideas with clarity and precision. This helps pupils to build a depth of knowledge and understanding so they can tackle more complex ideas. However, some aspects of the broader curriculum are not as well implemented. In these instances, activity choices do not consistently reflect the ambition of the curriculum. Similarly, checks on pupils’ knowledge are not used as well to identify and address misconceptions. This means that some pupils do not develop the same depth of understanding and are not as thoroughly prepared to learn these subjects at the next stage of their education.

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

Children thrive in the early years. The school has identified precisely what children will learn and in what order. Skilled staff support children through high-quality interactions. Staff deliberately choose activities to develop children’s knowledge, skills and language across all areas of learning. 24 and 25 June 2025

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Children in the Nursery enjoy engaging in familiar rhymes, songs and stories. This prepares them well for learning phonics from the start of the Reception year. Staff have the expertise to teach phonics and reading effectively. They carefully match the books that pupils read to the sounds they learn. This helps pupils to gain confidence and fluency. If pupils fall behind, they receive the support they need to help them catch up quickly. Pupils talk excitedly about the ‘twenty-five books challenge’, which each year group are encouraged to read.

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Teachers understand the needs of their pupils well. This begins in early years, where staff swiftly identify children who need additional support. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are nurtured to be confident learners. The school supports pupils with SEND to access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers, wherever this is possible. Furthermore, the ‘Language Resource’, a specially resourced provision, provides tailored interventions for pupils who need extra help with their spoken and written language.

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The school has cultivated a highly effective behaviour culture, underpinned by clear expectations that pupils consistently meet. Staff model the behaviours they wish to see, and pupils respond exceptionally well. They demonstrate exemplary conduct, both in class and during social times. Learning takes place without disruption. The school promotes the importance of regular attendance effectively. It has robust procedures in place and responds quickly if pupils’ attendance starts to decline. Consequently, most pupils have consistently high rates of attendance.

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The emphasis the school places on pupils’ wider development is exceptional. The school ensures that pupils understand how to be healthy, respectful and value diversity. It encourages pupils to nurture their talents and embrace new experiences. For example, pupils have created a ‘bucket list’ of activities they want to experience, including visits to museums. This supports pupils to understand the value of their voice, which is then used to shape their school. Pupils relish the opportunity to explore different options for their future on ‘Careers Day’ and to take on leadership roles, such as anti-bullying ambassadors and assembly ushers.

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Leaders and those responsible for governance demonstrate a high ambition for all. Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate the training they are given to do their jobs well and feel supported to manage both their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few foundation subjects, the curriculum is not implemented consistently well. In these instances, pupils do not get sufficient opportunities to practise and apply their learning. As a result, some pupils do not develop the depth of knowledge they need to achieve highly and be fully prepared for the next stage of their education. The school should ensure oversight of these subjects is used to check the tasks and activities chosen consistently to match the ambition of the intended curriculum, so that pupils learn and remember more in these 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.

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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). 24 and 25 June 2025

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School details

Website www.cyriljackson.towerhamlets.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger than the average-sized primary school.  The school is organised over two sites. Children in early years and pupils in Years 5 and 6 attend the ‘South Building’ located at Limehouse Causeway, Limehouse, London E14 8AQ. Pupils in Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 attend the ‘North Building’ located at 51 Three Colt Street, Limehouse, London E14 8HH.  The school joined the University Schools Trust, East London, in September 2021.  The school operates a Language Resource Provision, a specially resourced provision for pupils with communication, speech and language needs.  This 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 24 and 25 June 2025

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(quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years 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 and senior leaders.  Inspectors held discussions with the CEO of the University School’s Trust as well as with governors, including the chair of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, art, religious education and mathematics. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central

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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.  Inspectors gathered the views of pupils, parents and staff through discussions and their responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Lisa Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Miz Mann Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 June 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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