Cadle Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

The school is a happy, caring and homely community.

Within the 'Cadle School Family', staff work very effectively to provide an inclusive and friendly ethos where pupils are polite and behave respectfully. Pupils' emotional well-being is the root of all success at the school. The colourful 'rainbow' environment promotes positivity successfully, which is reflected in pupils' attitudes to learning through the school.

During their time in school, most pupils make good progress. Pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) and those who attend the specialist teaching facility (STF) make good use of the effective range of learning experiences on offer and make good progress in most areas of learning from their individual startin...g points. Teachers and learning assistants support all learners in terms of their achievement to develop their literacy and numeracy skills successfully.

However, opportunities to develop pupils' information and communication technology (ICT) skills are not developed well enough. Teachers set clear learning objectives and use a range of original experiences to engage pupils' interest and enthusiasm well. The school's curriculum provides a wide range of stimulating activities through all areas of learning and experience.

Although teachers use an effective range of teaching methods in their classes, the tendency to over-direct activities, particularly from Reception to Year 2, hinders pupils' ability to work on tasks independently. In addition, learning and play experiences in the outdoor area to challenge pupils are less well developed. The acting headteacher has shared her vision successfully with stakeholders.

She contributes well to ensuring an inclusive and caring environment for all. As a result, she has developed a strong team and there is a clear sense of trust between pupils and staff. The acting headteacher has a sound understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement.

Members of the governing body are very supportive and well informed. Although the school uses the pupil development grant to support all vulnerable pupils in their emotional well-being, there are inconsistencies in the way it used to support all vulnerable learners in developing their skills, particularly those who are more able. Recommendations R1 Provide opportunities for pupils from Reception to Year 2 to take responsibility for their own learning and become independent learners, especially in the outdoor area R2 Ensure that the pupil development grant is used consistently to support the literacy and numeracy skills of all vulnerable pupils, particularly those who are more able R3 Improve pupils' ICT skills, from Year 3 to Year 6 What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.