A "BROAD and ambitious" village primary school, which is well above the national average for pupils' reading abilities, has been told it is meeting expected standards in its latest Ofsted inspection, though inspectors raised concerns about pupil attendance.
Cliddesden Primary School was visited by Ofsted inspectors on February 3 this year - just two weeks after a new interim headteacher, Larissa James, took on the role.
Under Ofsted's renewed inspection framework, schools are no longer rated outstanding, good, requires Improvement or inadequate. Instead, they are assessed against five categories: exceptional (top-tier performance), strong standard (excellent and consistent), expected standard (the standard expected of a school), needs attention (requires improvement) and urgent improvement (significant issues).
Cliddesden was rated expected standard in achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development. Attendance and behaviour were the only areas to fall short, receiving a needs attention rating. Safeguarding standards were found to be met.
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The school, which has 105 pupils, performed well above the national average in reading, with 88 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard compared to a national average of 75 per cent. Writing results were also strong, with 88 per cent meeting the expected standard against a national figure of 72 per cent. In maths, 75 per cent of pupils met the expected standard, broadly in line with the national average of 74 per cent.
Inspectors described the curriculum as "broad and ambitious" and said early reading and phonics provision was a particular strength. However, they noted that teachers do not always pick up on gaps in pupils' knowledge quickly enough and highlighted assessment as an area leaders are working to improve.
The report raised concerns about attendance, particularly among disadvantaged pupils. While the school's overall absence rate of 4.5 per cent was close to the national average of 5.2 per cent, inspectors said improvement for some groups was "not quick enough".
Data also showed a significant gap in outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Over the latest three-year average, just 22 per cent of disadvantaged pupils met the expected standard in the combined reading, writing and maths measure - compared to 68 per cent for non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.
The school's early years provision was praised, with the environment described as "calm and purposeful" and parents and carers said to be "highly positive" about the support their children receive.
Provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities was also found to meet the expected standard, with leaders said to have "well-established systems" in place.
Despite only being in post for a fortnight at the time of the inspection, interim headteacher Larissa James was praised for acting "quickly to understand the school's context, strengths and areas for development". Inspectors said leaders had a clear view of the school's priorities and were acting at pace.
They set two main priorities for the school going forward: ensuring teachers consistently check pupils' understanding and make timely adaptations to their teaching, and strengthening systems to monitor and improve attendance.
Cliddesden Primary School was contacted for comment.
