Cadmore End CofE School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this school. They share warm and caring relationships with the staff, who listen to and work with pupils to solve any concerns.

As a result, pupils feel safe. Pupils know the school's values of love, honesty, respect, faith, courage and empathy. The values guide the way pupils behave.

Staff provide clear and consistent expectations, so the vast majority of pupils behave well.

This school is ambitious for all pupils to do well and achieve their best. Adults set clear expectations for learning and most pupils rise to meet these expectations.

They work hard in lessons and achieve well, especially in reading and mathematics.
.../>Pupils learn resilience from the leadership opportunities the school offers. For example, pupils can become school council members, eco leaders and forest school rangers.

These experiences develop pupils' understanding of democracy. The school's extensive and carefully planned outside learning provision helps pupils practise and consolidate further what they have learned in lessons. For example, pupils learn about rainforests in geography and then conduct tasks in the school's outside area to develop their understanding further.

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

Leaders provide a curriculum that builds pupils' knowledge from the early years to Year 6. Leaders make clear what all pupils need to know and remember. They have successfully adapted the curriculum for the mixed-age classes.

However, in music and French, this knowledge is not detailed precisely enough. This means that staff are not clear on what to teach and when in these subjects.

In most subjects, teachers have a good understanding of what to teach and lessons build on what pupils have already learned.

Teachers check on pupils' learning in lessons. This helps them to identify which pupils need more help or guidance. In reading and mathematics lessons, tasks are well matched to help pupils learn the intended curriculum.

However, in some subjects tasks do not always help pupils remember the key knowledge they need to. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

Leaders make sure no time is wasted in teaching children to read in the early years.

Pupils learn sounds well, and staff identify gaps in their understanding by checking what they can read. Books closely match the sounds that pupils know and need to practise. Skilled staff provide high-quality support for those who need to catch up.

As a result, pupils quickly become fluent readers.

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

They identify and assess pupils' needs well. Staff provide support so that pupils with SEND progress well through the curriculum. Teachers adapt teaching materials so that pupils can learn the same knowledge as their peers.

Some pupils also receive well-planned, one-to-one support so that they do not miss out on learning important ideas in a subject.

In the early years, children get off to an excellent start. The early years curriculum prepares children well for the next stage of their education.

The areas in which children learn are purposefully designed. Children cooperate well with each other and happily share resources with friends. During independent learning times, staff model expertly and encourage pupils to practise important vocabulary.

This helps pupils rapidly develop their communication and language skills.

The school is at the centre of the local community and leaders work tirelessly to ensure that all families feel part of it. The school extends pupils' experiences beyond the small community where they live through precisely planned visits and a programme of visitors.

For example, parents come in regularly to talk about the jobs they do, such as being a paramedic and the skills you need to become one. Most pupils speak with respect when discussing difference and diversity.

Behaviour in the school is good.

Pupils understand the school rules and expectations for behaviour. Staff ensure that pupils follow these rules consistently and pupils appreciate it when staff notice when they do. Therefore, pupils behave well on the playground and in lessons.

Most pupils show a positive attitude to learning and want to improve further.

Governors carry out their statutory duties effectively. They know the school well and monitor the impact of improvements sufficiently.

Governors challenge and support leaders to continually improve the school. Staff feel valued and appreciate the efforts of leaders to support their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In music and French, the school has not precisely identified the knowledge that pupils need to learn and when these should be taught. As a result, teachers are not clear about what to teach and when in these subjects. The school needs to ensure that subject leaders identify this important knowledge clearly so that pupils develop secure subject knowledge over time.

• In some subjects, the school does not provide tasks that ensure pupils retain important knowledge. Pupils remember the activity they do but do not always remember what they learned. The school should plan activities that implement the intended curriculum across all subjects so that pupils can remember knowledge over time.