April 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are delighted to share with you the outcome of the recent Ofsted Inspection of Cadmore End CofE Primary School and Nursery. The inspection evaluated the schools effectiveness in the areas of Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and Leadership and Management.
In every one of these areas the school was judged to be “Good”.
In his closing feedback to the staff and governors, the lead inspector congratulated the school for the work that had been put into achieving this “Good” judgement, noting that the inspection framework had changed significantly since our last inspection in 2018, with Ofsted’s expectations having risen in all areas.
I would like to take this opportunity to echo the inspector’s congratulations to all the staff at Cadmore – It is their expertise, hard work and determination that has been so positively recognised in the inspection report.
The published inspection report details the inspectors’ findings in full, but I would like to highlight a few key points from the report and the inspector’s feedback on the day.
When it comes to Quality of Education, the inspectors found a school that is “ambitious for all pupils to do well and achieve their best.” And where pupils “work hard in lessons and achieve well, especially in reading and mathematics.”
In terms of Behaviour and Attitudes, the inspectors noted that “Behaviour in the school is good” and praised the really warm atmosphere and the respectful interactions between both adults and children throughout the school.
When it comes to Personal Development, the inspectors observed that the school was particularly strong in pastoral development, such that children have a good understanding of healthy living (both mentally and physically), and said that our forest school was “one of the most deliberate” that they had seen, both in terms of character development and integration with the rest of the curriculum.
The inspectors were also extremely complimentary of the school’s EYFS provision, especially our precisely planned curriculum, the opportunities for developing communication and language, and the way that “Children cooperate well with each other and happily share resources with friends” - Something which sounds easy, but takes a lot of work to achieve!
The last area of judgement relates to Leadership and Management. The inspectors said that leaders have a really strong ambition for all pupils to receive the best education, they “identify and assess pupils’ needs well”, and that governors “Know the school well” and “challenge and support leaders to continually improve the school.”
Finally, I wanted to quote a sentence directly from the inspector’s verbal feedback, because I believe it perfectly captures what Cadmore End is all about. The inspector said:
“[There is a] really strong, inclusive culture in this school that promotes equality for all, and that is really modelled through all staff and through the leadership, because all children are welcome here and [the school does] everything [they] can to care, nurture and educate.”
Please do take the time to read the report and I hope you feel as proud as I do of the dedication and hard work that the staff and pupils put into showing what a brilliant school Cadmore really is.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Westby
Chair of Governors
March 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are delighted to share with you the outcome of the recent Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) inspection of Cadmore End Church of England Primary School and Nursery. The inspection evaluated how effective the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, is in enabling pupils and adults to flourish, and we are thrilled to inform you that we have been given an overall rating of “Good”.
The report commends the school's leaders for their passion for living out the vision and driving the policies, direction, and daily workings of the school. The inspector praised our focus on creating a strong community founded on love, which helps to foster a safe and happy environment for our pupils, and enables great things to flourish from small beginnings.
The report also highlights areas where we can improve. In particular, the effectiveness of Religious Education (RE). The inspector found that our current RE curriculum limits pupils’ opportunity to learn at greater depth in the subject, which we believe to be a fair assessment and vindicates our decision to implement a new and improved RE curriculum at the start of the summer term.
It’s was unfortunate timing that the inspection happened before the introduction of this new curriculum, as whilst the inspector spoke positively of what he saw, there was not yet any evidence to assess its effectiveness, so it couldn’t be considered as part of the inspection.
Please do take the time to read the report in full and I am sure you will see that it encapsulates our school perfectly, through comments such as:
“Everyone is warmly welcomed to quickly become part of a loving school family”
“The quality of relationships and behaviour is exceptionally positive”
“The school's curriculum is crafted to meet the needs and context of the school, tailored to pupils’ needs, and built on their vision to sequentially plan for growth and the flourishing of all individuals.“
I am proud of the dedication and hard work of our staff, pupils, and governors, and we are grateful for your ongoing support.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Westby
Chair of Governors