Cedars Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and love coming to this vibrant, busy school. The school's 'PRIDE' values of purpose, respect, independence, determination and equality are understood and lived by all.

There is an impressive culture of inclusion. Every pupil is highly valued and staff go above and beyond to make sure everybody feels safe, supported and respected. Staff know pupils exceptionally well and are particularly skilled at supporting their emotional health.

This results in relationships in school being highly positive.

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Teachers insist that work in books is of high quality.

Their work shows that pup...ils listen, take care and strive to do their best.

Pupils are courteous; they treat one another with respect. Pupils conduct themselves well.

If pupils have any difficulties, staff resolve them quickly.

Pupils are proud of their school and are rarely absent. There is no tolerance for absence here; staff work tirelessly to ensure pupils come to school as often as possible.

Pupils' absence has reduced steadily in recent years.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious and meaningful. Across all subjects, the school has set out the key knowledge and skills pupils need to learn.

Regular opportunities to revisit previous learning usually help pupils to know and remember more. In mathematics, for example, pupils can readily recall key knowledge, including their multiplication tables. They use this effectively when solving mathematical problems.

In a few subjects, planned opportunities for pupils to revisit their prior learning are less effective and their recall is not as secure.

In 2023, the proportion of pupils at the end of key stage 2 who attained the expected standard in reading was below the national average. However, many of these pupils joined the school at an early stage of learning to speak English.

The school, using high-quality texts to familiarise pupils with a wide range of literature, alongside developing pupils' oracy and vocabulary, helps pupils make good gains in learning English. Teachers model language in lessons with deliberate precision and accuracy. Pupils' spoken communication develops well because of this.

The school provides well for pupils at an early stage of learning to read. The school knows that reading is vital for pupils to access the rest of the curriculum. Adults who teach phonics are highly skilled because the school has ensured they are trained well.

Pupils are quickly supported to become fluent readers. There is a particular strength in how well the school teaches reading to those pupils who are at an early stage of learning to speak English. Considering their starting points, these pupils achieve well and are quickly able to access the wider curriculum.

Pupils mostly display very positive attitudes to learning, although sometimes they lose focus in lessons where teachers have been less successful in helping pupils understand the purpose of their work.

Another standout feature is how effectively the school identifies and supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are expert at providing them with targeted support, enabling pupils with SEND to achieve well.

Pupils benefit from an exceptional range of extra-curricular activities. These include visiting the Houses of Parliament, a residential trip and working alongside a local MP. The school has carefully curated a bespoke offer of one hundred cultural and personal development activities that reflect pupils' needs, aspirations and experiences.

For example, in Year 5 pupils become presenters and in Year 6 they become entrepreneurs. These add to the extensive personal, social and health education curriculum. Pupils understand equality thoroughly and celebrate difference.

They are extremely well prepared to become active citizens in modern Britain.

The school is an integral part of the community. It is exceptionally successful at engaging with parents and carers, who speak highly of the support it offers them.

The school and trust highly value the staff in this learning community. They have created an impressive culture of continual professional learning and development. Staff become highly qualified and expert in those aspects of education that are most useful for this school.

Research is a key part of a drive for continual improvement. The strategic oversight here is exceptional.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has worked hard to build retrieval practice into lessons and this is proving effective. However, in a small number of subjects, this is not done as effectively, and pupils do not retain key knowledge securely. The school should ensure that the strong retrieval practice seen in most subjects is equally effective in all subjects so that pupils know and remember more across the curriculum.

• Sometimes, pupils lose focus in lessons because teachers have not ensured that pupils are clear about the purpose of their work. This means that their learning is not maximised. The school should ensure pupils know the purpose and value of what they are learning in order to help them remain engaged and demonstrate positive attitudes in lessons.