Cheapside CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Cheapside CofE Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Cheapside is a very happy, warm and welcoming school. Pupils enjoy learning here and rise to the high expectations set by staff.

This is reflected in pupils' positive attitudes to learning and the quality of work they produce. They benefit from an enriched curriculum which includes high-quality outdoor learning and a range of visits and trips. Pupils take pride in celebrating their achievements.

Positive relationships underpin the mutual trust and respect here. Parents and carers appreciate how 'staff go above and ...beyond' to support their child. As one rightly observed, 'Every child is nurtured and cared for on an individual basis, and nothing is too much trouble.'



Pupils behave well and are polite and welcoming. They hold doors open for adults and cheerfully greet staff and visitors. They play and work together happily and look out for each other.

As one pupil said, 'The best thing about our school is not just the facilities, but the kind staff and the friends we make here.'

Year 6 pupils relish the opportunities to support younger children. Across the year groups, pupils proudly undertake leadership roles that helpfully contribute to the wider life of the school.

These include responsibilities such as being inclusion ambassadors, well-being champions, playground equipment helpers and many others. All pupils are supported to flourish here.

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

Cheapside is a nurturing, inclusive school where there is a shared passion to provide all pupils with a broad, high-quality education.

There is a family feel here. Staff and pupils are committed to the school's aim that all pupils should 'achieve their best in thought, in word, in deed.' The school's values underpin the respectful, studious and happy learning environment.

Leaders and governors know the school's strengths and areas for development well. They support and challenge staff effectively, with a clear focus on school improvement and staff well-being. Staff value the support they receive to manage their workload successfully.

The curriculum is regularly monitored and refined to ensure it motivates and engages pupils. Classroom learning is enriched and extended through access to outdoor facilities, such as the wooded learning area, pond and allotment. Throughout the school, most subjects are well considered and organised with the knowledge pupils need to learn and in what order.

This is particularly true in relation to English and mathematics. Here, effective training helps teachers maintain a strong subject knowledge. Pupils' learning is regularly monitored and well-targeted activities help them apply their prior knowledge in new situations.

Pupils keenly recall how their knowledge and skills have built steadily over time.

The curriculum in some subjects is less well developed. The school needs to identify the specific knowledge pupils should acquire and when more accurately.

Refinements are needed to address minor gaps and inconsistencies in the curriculum for these subjects. The school has rightly prioritised curriculum improvements to ensure pupils know and remember more in these areas over time.

Developing pupils' reading skills while promoting a passion for reading is rightly given high priority.

This begins straight away in Reception, where staff are trained well to deliver the phonics programme. Across the school, staff teach the early reading curriculum with accuracy and confidence. Effective monitoring enables targeted support for any pupils who fall behind.

Over time, pupils become confident and fluent readers.

Pupils enjoy their learning in mathematics and gain the confidence to solve increasingly complex problems as they move through the school. They tackle the challenges set in lessons enthusiastically and can confidently discuss the methods they use.

When any pupils require extra help, bespoke teaching and support is given. Disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are supported well. Staff work as a team to identify pupils' needs precisely and develop bespoke teaching that helps them achieve well over time.

Pupils' behaviour across the school is impressive. This begins in Reception, where clear routines and structures are swiftly established. Positive relationships and clear expectations typically enable pupils to concentrate and enjoy their work.

Any disruptions are rare. In the past, attendance figures have dipped. However, this is a school that knows its families well.

Helping all pupils to attend regularly is a priority. Where some have found this more difficult, bespoke support has been effective in reducing absence.

Leaders ensure that all pupils benefit from the school's impressive personal development programme and enrichment opportunities.

Pupils benefit from an engaging selection of trips, visits and motivational visiting speakers. They have many opportunities to take on responsibility, make tangible contributions to the school community, and learn valuable life skills. The curriculum promotes pupils' character, confidence and resilience well.

At Cheapside, pupils are nurtured well to become independent learners who are confident and prepared for their next steps by the time they leave the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some foundation subjects, the curriculum is at an earlier stage of development.

At times, the learning here does not build sufficiently on pupils' prior knowledge so some pupils do not make the desired connections within or between subjects. As a result, their progress in these areas is less consistent. The school should continue to refine the curriculum in these subjects and its ongoing support for staff, so that pupils achieve consistently well across all subjects.

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 to be good 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 good for overall effectiveness in December 2019.

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