Cameley CEVC Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Cameley CofE VC Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 29 June 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in May 2014.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment in 2015, you have worked tirelessly to make sure that pupils are receiving a good level of education.

You have steered the school steadfastly through difficult staffing situations that had temporarily halted progres...s for pupils. Now, staffing is secure and staff are well trained. Pupils are making rapid progress, particularly in English.

Pupils experience a rich curriculum, both in school and out. As one parent commented: 'The head teacher has a clear strategic purpose and direction and this is motivated by giving the pupils access to as wide a range of opportunities as possible to develop not only their academic skills in line with government established criteria but, also, their personal development and life skills.' Pupils are very polite and eager to engage in conversation about their work.

You make sure the school is at the centre of the community and a thriving hub for parents and local residents, as well as pupils. You have focused unceasingly on the teaching and learning in the school and have raised expectations of staff, pupils and parents. You have made significant changes to subject leadership in English, mathematics and early years.

These changes will bring vital extra capacity to your management team. You know that the wider leadership capacity was not secure in the past so are keen to manage this distributive leadership proficiently in the future. Governance has changed, too, with a new chair appointed in the spring.

Most governors are new to their positions but are training assiduously so that their support maximises effectiveness. Together, you and the team have employed good teaching methods to enable all pupils to learn effectively. This includes an efficient marking and feedback policy.

The policy provides guidance on aspects of learning that pupils need to embed or alter to make work accurate and of the highest standard. Currently, the system is used to greater effect in English than mathematics. You are aware of this and intend to work with the new leader of mathematics to improve this.

The development of writing in the school is a credit to the unstinting work undertaken by you and the leader of the subject. Pupils of all abilities are producing extended writing that is focused, accurate and stimulating. Pupils exhibit a rich vocabulary that enhances their work.

Even the younger pupils in Year 1 are fluent readers and their ability to access texts from a young age aids their awareness of writing styles and the associated vocabulary. The teaching of phonics is well established and pupils are achieving above the national average in their tests currently. This contributes to the accuracy of pupils' writing in the school.

Safeguarding is effective. ? The school's policies to ensure that pupils are well protected are in place. All staff, including governors, undertake training in child protection and you test the understanding of staff on a regular basis.

The checks undertaken on staff, visitors and recruitment are stringent. You are diligent and make a strong contribution to the safety of the pupils in the school. Through your work with a wide range of outside agencies, vulnerable pupils are supported well.

You understand the needs of the local area in protecting the community's pupils. You have secure processes for monitoring and recording any safeguarding concerns. Staff are trained in how to keep pupils safe from abuse, sexual exploitation, and from the influence of radical or extreme views.

Inspection findings ? We investigated if the progress of pupils had improved since the end of year tests in key stages 1 and 2. Pupils have made rapid progress this year. You have introduced assessment information that focuses on individuals and their achievement.

Teachers are able to evaluate where there are successes, and use the tracking system you introduced to identify where intervention is necessary to ensure that pupils catch up. ? Teachers are more skilled in challenging pupils following the work you have done to raise expectations. You have engaged with parents, too, and introduced them to the curriculum being followed by their children.

In this way, they know how to support their children when working at home. Parents talked of their appreciation of this when I met with them before school. Skills and presentation in English are stronger than those in mathematics.

You are confident that your new mathematics leader can redress this issue. ? As the outcomes for the early years were below the national average in 2016, we looked at the development of children in this phase. In order to improve their learning, you have remodelled the outside area and there are now good and stimulating activities in which children can engage.

These test their numeracy and understanding of concepts such as more or less, higher or lower, as well as other important aspects of their early learning goals. In addition, there is equipment on which children can take risks safely with regard to their balance and agility. Inside, children are directed to write and improve their motor skills.

The nursery children, who joined in April 2017, take part in these activities alongside the Reception children and are making good progress. Some are as adept as those in Reception. The phonics leader works in the early years now and provides children with an excellent start to their reading and writing.

• The school has a very high proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, sometimes as much as 40% of a year group. You are the special educational needs coordinator and are successfully ensuring that their achievements and those of disadvantaged pupils are in line with others in school and nationally. However, the attendance of a minority of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities remains stubbornly low.

Your commitment to the pupils of this school means that you will continue to work with the families until the attendance of these few is in line with others in the school and nationally. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? the teaching of mathematics improves skills and learning to the same extent as presently seen in English ? leadership is distributed appropriately within the school so that monitoring and accountability remain effective in securing rapid progress for pupils ? the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is at least in line with the national average. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Bath and Wells, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Bath and North East Somerset.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Kathy Maddocks Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you, middle leaders, governors, the school improvement adviser for the local authority and pupils. I visited lessons for all classes in the school.

I looked at the quality of work in pupils' exercise books. I considered documentary evidence relating to the impact of the school's work, including safeguarding. I took into account 23 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, and 13 comments written by parents plus the 12 responses from staff and the 23 pupil responses to the Ofsted online survey.