Schools & FE · Report card

St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Cromhall

Inspected 16 Jun 2026 · published 17 Jul 2026 · URN 109181

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Victoria Griffin (lead), Julie Fox

What we read, and from where

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Achievement verified
Needs attention
Attendance and behaviour verified
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching verified
Needs attention
Early years verified
Expected standard
Inclusion verified
Strong standard
Leadership and governance verified
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
16 Jun 2026
Inspectors verified
Julie Fox, Victoria Griffin
Postcode verified
GL12 8AL
Name on report verified
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School,
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
109181

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Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementNeeds attention
Attendance and behaviourExpected
Curriculum and teachingNeeds attention
Early yearsExpected
InclusionStrong
Leadership and governanceExpected
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+65Positivemore positive than 35% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisehigh expectationspositivethrivevery welleffectivelyenjoywell supportedstrong

Criticismnot consistentlyconcernsvariablenot yetnot effectivegapslackspersistently absent

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1388w+64
Leadership218w+80
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve56w+25

Strengths

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Concerns

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While staff have developed subject expertise and skills to help them support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, teaching approaches are not consistently effective. p.4

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

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Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 15
Words of findings: 1,713; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Hard; Flesch 42, typical 43
Average sentence: 16 words
Next steps: 3; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 11%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 49%Leadership 8%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 2%About the inspection 39%

Full report text

Cromhall

Address: Church Lane, Cromhall, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 8AL Unique reference number (URN): 109181

p.1

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.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

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

p.1

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.

p.1

Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have robust systems in place to identify pupils’ barriers to learning and attendance. This extends beyond pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders and staff know every child well, including those who are financially disadvantaged and those known to social care. These pupils are well supported and this support is skilfully adjusted, when needed. This includes commissioning alternative provision when it is in the best interests of the pupil. The school uses additional funding appropriately, primarily to help drive necessary improvements in the quality of teaching but also to ensure financially disadvantaged pupils are able to access clubs and trips. Pupils with education, health and care plans receive appropriate additional help, which makes a tangible difference to their learning and wellbeing. Leaders work tenaciously within the local area partnership in order

p.2

Inclusion Strong standard

to access additional specialist services and advice when needed. Parents of pupils with SEND value the carefully considered interventions and open communication with the school. As a result of the strong systems and processes in place, vulnerable pupils thrive at this highly inclusive school, often making excellent progress from their starting points.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations of attendance and punctuality. Their work to ensure pupils attend well has been highly effective. Through close analysis and supportive work with families, overall attendance is high and vulnerable groups attend very well compared to others locally and nationally. Pupils who may have struggled to attend school previously, or who have had disruptions to their education, often settle well here and begin to thrive. Very few pupils are persistently absent. When this is the case, the school puts in place additional support effectively.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils typically have positive attitudes towards school. They value the warm and trusting relationships they have with staff. They say that bullying is very rare, and when they have disagreements, staff help them to resolve their differences. They understand the school rules, which are underpinned by the school's Christian values. Staff rarely have to use significant sanctions. Pupils respect one another and each other's differences. They play harmoniously together at playtimes, benefiting from clear and high expectations and routines.

p.2

Early years Expected standard

Children in Reception learn with purpose and joy. The learning environment is carefully planned to enable children to use their imaginations and apply their formal learning in ways that engage and excite them. Children get off to a great start with phonics, building their knowledge of sounds and words alongside their transcription and spelling skills. They develop a deep understanding of number. Staff take every opportunity to embed this knowledge when playing games and reading stories. Children are exposed to a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts. They get to know many of these in detail, enthusiastically retelling the stories and using new vocabulary. Children's physical and emotional development is also planned for. For example, children are encouraged to describe how they are feeling at the start of the day and talk about learning and their feelings during snack time. Staff have a detailed understanding of what children's strengths and areas for

p.2

Early years Expected standard

development are, adapting the curriculum to fill any gaps. As a result, children typically achieve well in the early years, increasingly so as the provision has improved over time. Staff are skilful at identifying any barriers to learning children may face, working effectively with families to ensure children feel happy and settled.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders, including governors and the local authority, have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development. Since the previous inspection, they have had considerable impact in a number of areas, most notably on provision for pupils' personal development, the early years, inclusion and attendance. They have put in place a broad and ambitious curriculum and acknowledge that swift and robust action now needs to be taken to ensure that it is taught consistently well. The professional learning programme for staff is beginning to help with this, including support for subject leaders to accurately monitor the impact of their areas.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have built positive relationships with parents, other schools and the local community. Governors support and challenge with passion and commitment and understand their roles. They fulfil their statutory responsibilities and are wholly committed to making decisions in the best interests of pupils.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Since the previous inspection, the local authority has worked closely with the school to raise standards in teaching and achievement. It has provided appropriate support and challenge. This has enabled leaders in enhancing the effectiveness of teaching and driving further improvement. This has run alongside some notable challenges related to variations in pupil numbers. This has understandably caused some uncertainty among staff, although typically they feel well supported with their workload and wellbeing.

p.3

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils' positive relationships with staff mean they feel happy and well cared for. Pastoral support is a strength of the school. There is an abundance of opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests. This has been a priority since the previous inspection and an aspect of the school which parents particularly value. Pupils take part in a range of sporting activities and events in the local area, and the school also hosts its own events, such as a girls' tag rugby competition. Leaders ensure that rates of participation are high, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have also prioritised music provision, including whole-class tuition in clarinet and ukulele. A high proportion of pupils also have individual music tuition. Staff and governors are committed to putting on other clubs and activities throughout the year, such

p.3

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

as art, chess and a successful book club for older pupils. The after-school singing club is a

p.3

Needs attention

highlight for many, bringing pupils from all ages together. Pupils also produce artwork which is exhibited at a community event each year. Links within the community are strong.

p.4

Needs attention

Pupils learn from an appropriate personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum. They learn about how to keep themselves safe when out and about, as well as online, and how to build healthy friendships. Pupils learn about world religions alongside Christianity. Assemblies help to reinforce important learning from the PSHE and religious studies curriculums, developing pupils' understanding of discrimination and fundamental British values. Pupils learn about current affairs and have time to think about important issues. Most pupils retain what they have learned, but where teaching is weaker, pupils' knowledge sometimes lacks depth. Typically, the curriculum prepares pupils well for life beyond school.

p.4

Achievement Needs attention

Leaders have taken some appropriate action to ensure pupils achieve more highly. However, outcomes in national tests remain variable. While financially disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points, typically pupils' outcomes are below national averages by the end of key stage 2. Too many pupils do not achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. This means they are not fully prepared for secondary school. While the curriculum has been strengthened, variability in the quality of teaching is not yet ensuring that gaps in some pupils' knowledge are closing quickly enough. Pupils sometimes struggle to recall what they have been taught in wider curriculum subjects such as history and geography. Children in Reception typically achieve well and talk with confidence about their learning.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have taken decisive action to improve the curriculum since the previous inspection. It is now broad, ambitious and carefully planned in 2-year cycles to ensure it meets the needs of mixed-age classes. Some clarity has been provided for staff in terms of pedagogy, but the delivery of the curriculum remains variable. While staff have developed subject expertise and skills to help them support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, teaching approaches are not consistently effective. When teaching is effective, teachers provide clear explanations and model learning to pupils so they know how to complete independent work. They check for understanding and provide work that enables pupils to build knowledge and skills sequentially. However, this is not consistently the case. Sometimes, the work pupils complete lacks purpose and clarity and teachers do not check what pupils know. This means some complete work quickly and others flounder.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have taken some appropriate action to strengthen the reading, writing and mathematics curriculums. The teaching of phonics is effective, but work to improve pupils’ reading fluency and writing accuracy and stamina is less effective. While leaders have sharpened their focus on the teaching of vocabulary, this is also not yet being taught consistently well. In the early years, teaching is more effective.

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