Cedars Park Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending a vibrant and welcoming school. The clubs and trips captivate pupils' interests, encouraging them to attend school regularly. They are proud of the award they achieved this academic year as the school who sold the most poppies for Remembrance Sunday.

Pupils are eager to take on leadership roles. They take pride in being school councillors, house captains and peer mentors. They are resilient if their application proves unsuccessful, trusting that the selection systems are fair.

In this way, pupils build an age-appropriate understanding of democracy, preparing them well for adulthood.

Pupils understand and live out the school motto, 'no l...imit to learning'. It inspires them to try their best in everything they do.

In lessons, pupils typically pay close attention to staff and work hard.

Around school, nearly all pupils behave in a calm, orderly way. They understand the 'behaviour zones' which motivate pupils to behave suitably.

Pupils benefit from the positive relationships forged between them and school staff. These relationships contribute towards pupils being safe, trusting adults to help them if needed. Pupils know that bullying incidents are few and far between.

Pupils believe that staff deal with it well on the rare occasion it occurs.

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

Leaders have thought carefully about how learning develops over time so that pupils practise and embed important knowledge and skills. For example, in physical education, younger pupils explain how to cup their hands and track the ball to catch it.

Older pupils develop this skill to successfully catch balls at speed while playing team games, such as netball. Teachers have the necessary subject knowledge, using this to break down and explain challenging concepts clearly for pupils. Teachers make regular checks on pupils' learning.

They identify gaps quickly and put additional support in place, when needed. As a result, pupils make sound progress and many achieve highly.

Leaders are passionate about ensuring pupils learn to read.

Staff receive training so they can teach a high-quality reading curriculum. Teachers deliver the systematic phonics programme skilfully. Pupils quickly learn how to pronounce sounds accurately, helping them to read with increasing accuracy and confidence as they grow older.

Having books that closely match the sounds pupils know encourages this. They independently use different strategies to read unfamiliar words. Leaders oversee pupils' progress effectively, using their checks to ensure pupils receive suitable support in an effort to ensure they keep up with the pace of learning.

Reading is celebrated in many ways across the school. Pupils thoroughly enjoy the whole-school events that allow them to engage in reading activities for the entire school day.

For pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), leaders work supportively with teachers to identify emerging needs and put adaptations in place.

These changes help pupils with SEND to access learning in class, making progress from their starting points. As needed, leaders work closely with other agencies to secure support for their pupils.

The early years curriculum is well designed.

Children know the routines and manage themselves well. The outdoor environment supports children to learn. Children make detailed observations, developing their conversation skills.

They also weave in learning from lessons, such as counting a creature's number of limbs. In their effort to ensure children complete activities quickly and to a high standard, occasionally adults provide too much guidance. This limits children's ability to demonstrate what they know and can do.

It also shows in children being less enthralled by what they are learning.

The personal, social and health curriculum is well planned and supports pupils' wider development. Learning about people whose faith or culture differs to their own encourages pupils to be accepting.

Pupils talk openly about how being different is okay. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of consent and healthy relationships. Visits to museums and theatres add to pupils learning in school, as well as broadening pupils' experiences.

School leaders work openly with trust leaders and members of the local improvement board. Those involved in governance have the skills and expertise to check procedures and offer appropriate challenge to school leaders. Doing so helps to ensure honest evaluation, identifying and resolving issues well.

Staff, including those new to the profession, are proud to work at the school. Leaders contribute to this feeling, being considerate of staff workload and well-being. Though leaders reach out to them, some parents find communication from the school unclear.

These feelings of frustration then hinder parents' involvement in school life, such as how best to support children's learning in the home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Keeping pupils safe is a high priority for all leaders.

Staff receive training and regular updates to help them identify potential risks. Everyone understands their responsibility to report concerns, however small. Robust systems and checks, including those relating to safer recruitment, ensure nothing gets overlooked.

Leaders act on referrals swiftly. They are tenacious at following up with external agencies. This ensures pupils and families receive the help they need.

There is strong pastoral and nurture support for pupils to strengthen emotional well-being. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe as part of the curriculum. They understand risks when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, in the early years, how staff arrange activities hinders children's ability to apply and demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Consequently, children may complete activities that give the illusion they know more than they do, or the activity may lack sufficient challenge for children. Leaders should ensure that all activities are skilfully set out to enable children to develop the key characteristics of effective learning well.

• Some parents think school communication could be improved. They feel out of touch with what is going on in school and their children's education. Leaders should review their systems for communication and working in partnership with parents to ensure these relationships are as positive as those between leaders, staff and pupils.