Cromwell Academy

Cromwell Academy

Address: Parkway, Hinchingbrooke Park, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 6JA Unique reference number (URN): 141297

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Levels of attendance are in line with national averages and improving. Leaders' sharp oversight of attendance results in most pupils attending school most of the time, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who are disadvantaged. The importance of regular attendance is actively promoted by staff. The few pupils who have the highest absence are closely monitored. Leaders work proactively and successfully with families to address this and improved attendance is also sustained.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Staff use school systems well to help pupils conduct themselves maturely in their lessons. They focus on their work and disruption is rare. Pupils understand what bullying is and know how to report it. They trust adults will sort out any concerns. Pupils are treated fairly and value the rewards offered for making the right behaviour choices. Any sanctions are also universally understood. Staff and pupils demonstrate high levels of respect for each other. Leaders are forensic in their behaviour analysis and respond proactively to any emerging trends. In most instances, this leads to a harmonious school. Leaders have recently recognised a need to improve the consistency of how well some older pupils interact at break and social times. Work on this has only just started and so is in its early stages.

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Early years Expected standard

Children in the early years follow a well-designed curriculum. They are happy and enthusiastic learners who cooperate well. Staff use story, rhyme and songs effectively to build children's vocabulary and language skills. For example, children in pre-school are confident in understanding what 'evergreen' means. Children also have a secure grasp of early number and many know the different ways to make the same number. Children from the outset move at an appropriate pace when learning the letter sounds to read words. More recently, children are getting to grips with early reading more successfully, so they are now better prepared for Year 1.

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Early years Expected standard

Children are encouraged to apply their learning in their independent play. Adults interact well with children. Staff listen to children carefully and typically ask questions that help them to develop their learning. In pre-school, for example, children are adeptly guided to order numbers. Staff skilfully address misconceptions. However, sometimes the learning activities or approaches staff take do not engage children in purposeful learning for a sustained period of time. This means some children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are not always as fully engaged in meaningful learning as leaders intend.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff receive clear, accurate and up-to-date information about the pupils they teach. As a result, staff know the specific needs and backgrounds of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and/or who are in receipt of pupil premium funding. Staff use well-established processes to identify pupils who may have other vulnerabilities and barriers to their learning. They help pupils, including through the use of pupil premium funding, to overcome academic, social and other challenges. The school manages to induct and integrate pupils who may join part way through the school year or who are on the school roll for short periods of time well.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff receive training about inclusive strategies. In many respects, staff support pupils with SEND effectively. They make adjustments to the environment in which pupils learn so that they feel comfortable and able to participate in school life. More recently, this has ensured that some pupils with SEND, who were learning outside of the classroom, now successfully take part in their lessons alongside their peers. However, the adaptations that teachers make to learning are not consistently effective.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have recently strengthened the checks on how well pupils progress through the curriculum. This work is accurately focused but is in its infancy. Leaders liaise well with a range of external agencies for advice and support.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The school has managed very well the recent changes in leadership at school and trust level. Leaders are astutely aware of the strengths and also the needs of the school. They have wasted no time in starting to take action to address areas they have accurately identified to improve. Staff are fully on board with the leaders' vision for the school. Staff appreciate how well leaders support them in relation to their workload and wellbeing, as well as their professional development. Leaders at all levels have the required knowledge, skills and unwavering determination to continue to improve this school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors and the new trust also know the school well. Governors have ensured the rationale for moving to a new trust and change in leadership is in the best interests of pupils and staff. Trustees and governors hold the school to account effectively.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Overall, the school works positively with parents. The vast majority of parents are very supportive and appreciative of leaders' actions. Leaders have recognised the need to ensure that parents are more proactively engaged in school more widely and have started to address this.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils follow a well-designed and considered personal development programme. Pupils learn about healthy and safe relationships at an age-appropriate level. They understand the benefits of active lifestyles. Pupils typically talk with maturity about the importance of equality, avoiding stereotypes and respecting difference. Most pupils talk candidly about why understanding different cultures and religions is important. They are not afraid to call out discrimination if they see it.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Older pupils show a secure understanding of concepts such as democracy and why following the law is important. Several can relate this to their own experiences in school, such as elections and the need to follow 'the Cromwell way'. Girls and boys, for example, speak highly of how well everyone is encouraged to try different activities which may historically have been more sex specific, such as football, crochet or cooking.

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Needs attention

Pupils are given equal opportunity to develop their talents and interests. They are encouraged to participate in a range of school clubs, with reasonable adjustments made for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have ensured that there are more clubs available at lunchtime or that are subsidised to ensure fair access for all, including disadvantaged pupils.

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Needs attention

Pupils appreciate that jobs and responsibilities are allocated fairly. They describe role application processes, presentations and voting for roles such as house captains and school council representatives. This typically promotes their confidence and independence. Roles such as library monitors, reading champions and eco-council representatives provide several pupils the chance to develop community awareness.

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Needs attention

The school places a key emphasis on pupils' wellbeing. They learn about how to look after themselves, including in relation to their safety online. Pupils value the high levels of care and support they receive from staff. They like how they have adults that listen to them if they have any worries. Parents also appreciate this.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils who have lower starting points or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not have gaps in knowledge filled or misconceptions addressed as quickly as they should. This limits the amount of progress they make. There are missed opportunities for pupils who are ready to move their learning on, to have their knowledge extended.

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Achievement Needs attention

Overall, pupils, including those who arrive at differing points in their school career, achieve in line with their peers nationally. Most pupils gain the knowledge needed to become fluent readers, accurate writers and have secure mathematical knowledge. As a result, they are prepared for their next steps in education.

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Achievement Needs attention

Across the wider curriculum, pupils typically have effective recall of prior learning, for example in history, science and art. They articulate how visits and trips have improved their understanding of a topic.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders make sure staff know the specific needs of pupils in their class, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or with other barriers to learning. Staff are getting to grips with how best to adapt learning to meet these needs. Leaders recognise there is more work to be done to enhance staff expertise in this area. While staff sometimes make general adaptations to support pupils, this is not routinely evident. The work set for pupils with SEND across the school is not precisely matched to their specific needs. Gaps in knowledge are not filled quickly enough.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

More positively, leaders have a clear understanding of how well the curriculum is taught and know where improvements are needed. There is an ambitious and well-considered curriculum in place. Staff understand how this knowledge builds year on year. Staff refer pupils to prior learning. The curriculum offer is bolstered by extra visitors in school and trips. Teachers overall have appropriate subject knowledge.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teachers check pupils have understood new learning and vocabulary. Staff identify pupils who need extra support in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils learn how to read following an agreed whole-school approach. This is typically taught well, including by support staff.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils at this school develop into articulate, thoughtful and well-rounded individuals. They hold very positive views of the school, attend well and have a secure sense of belonging. Staff quickly get to know pupils' likes, interests and needs regardless of whether they arrive in the early years or midway through the school year. Pupils, from early years upwards, settle quickly into school and make friends. The warm, daily welcome from the much-loved dog at the school gate and teachers at the classroom door contributes to a calm and positive start to the day. Pupils are cared for and safe. The positive relationships between staff and pupils are clear to see. Pupils are not overly concerned about bullying and have confidence in staff to sort out any problems. They understand the high standards of 'the Cromwell way' and most pupils follow this well. Pupils relish receiving 'above and beyond' certificates for their kind behaviour.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Staff are keen for pupils to succeed. Pupils enjoy how staff bring the curriculum to life, for example through trips to museums to learn about history. Overall, pupils at this school achieve in line with their peers nationally. Some pupils, though, are capable of having their knowledge deepened further. Staff strive to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can access the curriculum. However, these pupils often receive work that is not matched precisely enough to their needs. This affects how quickly their gaps in knowledge are addressed.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils value opportunities to develop their musical and sporting interests. They benefit from the range of clubs on offer, including the wider choice of lunchtime clubs so that more pupils can take part. Pupils have their horizons broadened and try new experiences which help prepare them for life beyond school, such as the chance to go to the seaside or take a train ride.

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Next steps

• Leaders should ensure that teachers across the school know how to design and adapt learning activities that precisely meet the needs of pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). • Leaders should ensure that pupils with SEND across the school make suitable progress through the curriculum from their starting points. • The school should continue to ensure that older pupils develop consistent self-discipline

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Team inspectors:

Catherine Assink, Ofsted Inspector Peter Hynes, Ofsted Inspector during unstructured times. • Leaders should ensure that staff in the early years consistently tailor pedagogical approaches to sustain children's engagement in meaningful learning activities.

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About this inspection

This school is part of The CAM Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Claire Heald, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sue Williamson.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the executive headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the trust director of primary education, the chief executive officer, the chair of the trustees, the chair of governors and two members of the local governing board during the inspection. Inspectors also spoke to other trust staff, school staff, pupils and parents.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school has recently moved to The CAM Academy Trust in January 2026. This was because of a merger with the school's previous trust.

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About this inspection

Since September 2025, the school has been led by a newly appointed executive headteacher.

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About this inspection

The school runs a pre-school within its early years provision. The pre-school caters for children from the age of 2.

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About this inspection

The school also manages its own before- and after-school clubs.

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About this inspection

Currently, the school uses two unregistered alternative providers.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. National average: 26.3%

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 63% 62% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 55% 61% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 63% 60% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 75% 75% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 75% 72% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 66% 71% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 72% 74% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 71% 73% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 72% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 36% 47% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 43% 44% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 55% 63% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 57% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 64% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 4.7% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.1% 5.5% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.5% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 13.0% 13.3% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 13.7% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 14.1% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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