Cheetham CofE Community Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Cheetham CofE Community Academy continues to be a good school.

The principal of this school is Rachel Bruno. This school is part of Cheetham Church of England Community Academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is a single academy trust overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sarah Fletcher.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this welcoming community school. Teachers inspire pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to have high aspirations.

Staff help pupils to enjoy their learning and to achieve well.

Parents ...and carers value the range of opportunities for them to be involved in the life of the school. For example, during Ramadan, the school hosts a community Iftar meal, which many pupils, families and staff of all faiths join to celebrate breaking the day's fast.

Pupils are kind and friendly to each other. At playtimes, staff make sure there are lots of activities for pupils to enjoy. Anti-bullying ambassadors help to sort out any disagreements that may arise.

Pupils feel safe to be themselves. They know that other pupils will respect their cultures and beliefs.

Pupils are keen to volunteer their time to help to make the school better.

For example, pupils help to deliver communal worship and to look after the reflection spaces which are found in classrooms. Pupils can also grow and harvest fruit and vegetables in the school garden. This helps to foster a sense of community and belonging, which is felt throughout the school.

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum which provides pupils with a broad and rich learning experience. The school has thoughtfully designed the curriculum to reflect the specific context of its pupils and the local community. For example, teachers are determined that pupils learn and use a broad range of vocabulary.

This benefits all pupils, but particularly the high number of pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Teachers benefit from a well-designed programme of training and support. This helps them to develop their subject knowledge and increase their curriculum expertise.

Teachers typically design activities that are effective in helping pupils to learn and remember new knowledge. They make careful checks to make sure that pupils remember this information over time.

The school has robust systems in place to identify pupils who would benefit from additional help, including pupils with SEND.

Staff are well trained to provide suitable support to enable these pupils to learn successfully alongside their peers.

Pupils typically achieve well across the curriculum. Nonetheless, some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge in one or two subjects.

This is because the improved curriculums in these subjects have recently been implemented. This means that some older pupils in the school have not benefited from these improved curriculums over time.

The school has ensured that reading is at the heart of the curriculum, from the early years to Year 6.

It has recently strengthened the phonics programme. Staff have received comprehensive training so that they can support pupils to learn to identify and blend sounds with confidence. Skilled staff ensure that pupils have plenty of opportunities to practise their reading.

This means that most pupils quickly develop the knowledge that they need to read with fluency and accuracy. Staff in the Nursery class prepare children well for reading by teaching them to recognise common sounds.

Teachers create happy learning environments where pupils feel confident to participate and share their ideas.

Staff help pupils to behave well, using reminders, encouragement and praise. This means that lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. Leaders provide effective support to help pupils who find it more difficult to behave as teachers expect.

The school ensures that pupils acquire the knowledge that they need to be responsible citizens of modern Britain. For example, pupils learn about the features of government and the importance of democracy. Pupils practise the principles of democracy through the school-wide council.

This helps pupils to embed their understanding of how democracy works in Britain.

Pupils' learning in school is enhanced by a range of carefully selected trips and visits. These opportunities bring pupils' learning to life and provide them with new social and cultural experiences.

Pupils also benefit from participating in a diverse range of clubs, including sport and music clubs and a popular fungus club.

Leadership at the school has recently undergone changes, including at trustee level. Trustees ensure that they exercise their statutory duties fully.

They know the school well and provide appropriate oversight to ensure that any weaknesses are quickly addressed.

The school communicates well with parents and carers. It keeps parents informed about pupils' learning and achievement.

Staff spoke warmly of the culture of collaboration and support in the school. They told inspectors that leaders prioritise their well-being and make every effort to reduce unnecessary workload. As a result, staff are proud and happy to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some areas of the school's curriculum have recently been redesigned. As a result, some older pupils have not benefited from these improved curriculums over time.

This means that, in one or two subjects, some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge. The school should support teachers to identify and address these gaps in pupils' knowledge to ensure that they are fully prepared for the next stage in their education.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2014.