Cheam Park Farm Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Cheam Park Farm Primary Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

The principal of this school is Craig Hudson.

This school is part of LEO Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Phillip Hedger, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Dean Clark.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a wonderful place to play and learn.

Pupils feel really happy and safe because they trust the adults around them to look after them. They say there is very rarely, if ever, any bullying but they ...know it would be dealt with promptly were it to happen. Parents and carers echo pupils' positivity.

Words such as 'amazing', 'nurturing' and 'fantastic' are typical of their comments.

Both LEO Academy Trust and the school are highly ambitious for all their pupils. Children get off to a fantastic start in the engaging and stimulating early years.

The excellent quality of education and first-class pastoral care ensure that all pupils are exceptionally well prepared for secondary school. For example, pupils achieve well-above-average results in national tests.

The school promotes pupils' personal development exceptionally well.

It offers pupils an extensive range of opportunities to broaden their horizons, such as being part of the pupil leadership team, being a digital leader or a member of the eco-squad. There is also a comprehensive calendar of trips, visits and other special events. Older pupils lead clubs for younger pupils, support them at playtime and present assemblies.

In this way, pupils leave the school as mature, well-rounded individuals, ready to take their place in modern Britain.

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

The school ensures that the broad and very engaging curriculum is delivered through highly skilled teaching. Children acquire a strong grounding in key concepts in mathematics, reading and writing in the early years.

This gives them a firm foundation on which to build future learning, which teachers throughout the school exploit to maximum effect. For example, pupils' strong understanding of place value aids them greatly when multiplying in lessons about money.

Reading is of optimal importance.

The school prioritises reading as the gateway to the entire curriculum. Children in Reception learn a range of sounds confidently so that they can blend them effectively. Staff check diligently how well pupils are learning these sounds.

They put additional strategies in place quickly for any pupils in danger of falling behind. This careful checking applies across the curriculum. In this way, any gaps pupils might have in their learning are filled rapidly.

Staff use effective strategies to support pupils who need additional help. For example, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), or pupils at an early stage of acquiring English, have their needs identified swiftly and met deftly. Staff use a wide range of resources very well, including technology, to support pupils' knowledge and understanding.

Teachers deliver the curriculum expertly. They choose resources carefully for maximum benefit to pupils. They use technology expertly to enhance pupils' learning.

They design tasks that make learning clear and accessible. The school is adamant that all pupils acquire precise, technical vocabulary for each subject. Teachers provide pupils with guidance so that they can talk and write fluently and with accuracy across the curriculum.

This greatly enhances pupils' academic outcomes.

Staff have expert knowledge of the subjects they teach. They are adept at spotting and addressing any misconceptions pupils may have.

Consequently, pupils' achievement across the curriculum is superb. Pupils remember key learning across subjects deeply. For example, pupils talk confidently about how their knowledge in science is building, from learning about herbivores and carnivores in key stage 1, right up to the Linnaean system of classification in Year 6.

Pupils behave exceptionally well. The school has established widely understood policies that promote positive behaviour very effectively. Right from the early years, staff teach children how to be effective learners and how to meet the school's high expectations.

The school focuses on developing pupils' social skills and readiness to learn. As a result, pupils learn to manage their own behaviour very effectively.

Provision for pupils' personal development is exceptional.

Aiming for all pupils to become 'LEO Explorers' means pupils receive very strong support to develop their character. Pupils talk animatedly about the many clubs they are offered as well as the residential trips, starting with one night in school in Year 3 and culminating in a week residing on the Isle of Wight. The school also ensures that pupils develop a deep sense of fairness and empathy by, for example, focusing on anti-bullying and teaching them about the negative impact of discrimination.

The school works highly effectively with staff. It creates optimal opportunities for staff to develop professionally. For example, staff share good practice with colleagues across the trust and beyond.

The school also does all it can to reduce workload. As a result, staff are overwhelmingly positive about working at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in June 2019.

Also at this postcode