Cirencester Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Cirencester Primary School is a friendly and inclusive place to learn. Pupils are happy and proud of their school.

They speak positively about the care, guidance and support they receive from staff. Older pupils are typically courteous and respectful to each other and to adults. They set a good example for younger children.

Leaders have raised expectations of pupils' learning and behaviour. Staff expect pupils to behave sensibly in lessons, and they do. At social times, pupils enjoy activities to keep them physically active, such as games on the field, or reading in the inviting library.

Pupils feel safe in school. They say that bullying and unkind behaviour ...does not happen often, but staff sort it out quickly when it does.

Through a carefully constructed curriculum, leaders plan 'experience days' to raise pupils' aspirations about possible future career paths.

As a result, many aspire to be engineers, authors or architects. Year 6 pupils enjoy learning about responsibility by taking on 'assembly leader' and 'infant helper' roles.

Leaders promote fundamental British values alongside the school values.

Pupils learn the importance of respecting everyone, regardless of difference. They understand right from wrong. Staff encourage pupils to celebrate diversity and value uniqueness.

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

Reading sits at the centre of the school's curriculum. Many children arrive at Nursery with limited communication skills. Staff immerse them in stories and language to develop their speaking and listening skills.

Children enjoy listening to and joining in with familiar stories and rhymes across the early years. Teachers follow a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics. Pupils quickly get to know the letters and the sounds they make.

Staff expertly match pupils' reading books to the sounds they are learning. This helps them to develop pupils' confidence and reading fluency. Leaders use assessment well to identify pupils who need extra support.

The sharp focus on reading continues into key stage 2. Pupils know the importance of reading for future success. Many say that they enjoy reading because it 'takes you to another world'.

Teachers successfully help pupils to understand and interpret meaning from texts. 'Reader's theatre' lessons enthuse and excite pupils to develop their expressive reading skills.

Leaders' work to construct a well-designed and ambitious curriculum is paying off.

Expert subject leaders have thought carefully about what they want pupils to learn. For example, leaders have woven important concepts, such as gender and religion, throughout different time periods in history. This enables pupils to connect new learning to what they already know.

Subject leaders have introduced a range of activities to assess whether pupils remember what they have learned in the long term. However, leaders recognise that this work is in the early stages. Not all subject leaders fully understand how well pupils learn the curriculum from early years to Year 6.

Leaders have invested in training for all adults. Staff benefit from sharing good practice and learning from each other. In physical education (PE), the subject leader uses video evidence to strengthen staff's expertise.

Most staff value the ongoing training they receive.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support. Staff know those with the greatest level of need.

They successfully adapt the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can learn alongside their peers. Occasionally, however, teaching is not adjusted precisely enough. Different groups of pupils sometimes find the work too hard and struggle to make links to what they have learned before.

Leaders support pupils to become confident and respectful individuals. Pupils' positive attitudes to learning help them to behave well in lessons. They sensibly discuss and debate a range of issues in assemblies, such as racism and discrimination.

Pupils display a mature understanding of themselves and of the wider world. They are well prepared for their future learning.

Governors share the aspirations of school leaders.

They know the school well and ask challenging questions of leaders. Governors check the information shared by leaders through visits to the school. Due to the disruption caused by COVID-19, they have set up a well-being committee to consider staff's workload when implementing changes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding leaders ensure that staff keep a close eye on pupils' safety and well-being. Staff have regular and up-to-date training.

They know how to identify and report any safeguarding concerns. Leaders respond swiftly to offer support to families and pupils who need help. Governors monitor the effectiveness of the safeguarding systems.

They ensure that checks are in place for the safe recruitment of staff.

Pupils know about the risks of social media, messaging sites and the internet. They value how staff support their mental health by posting messages of positivity on classroom displays.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is not consistently adapted well enough to support pupils' precise needs, including pupils with SEND. This means that some pupils struggle to connect new learning to what they already know as they move through sequences of work. Leaders need to ensure that teaching builds on what pupils already know and helps them to make sense of new learning.

• In subjects other than English and mathematics, leaders are developing the use of assessment. Not all subject leaders know what pupils do well and where they need to improve in all year groups. Leaders need to secure the use of assessment, so they know how well pupils learn and remember the intended curriculum.

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