Caldecott Foundation School

Overview

Caldecott Foundation School continues to be a good school, offering a "calm, purposeful atmosphere" that supports pupils’ learning and personal development. The inspection confirms that leaders have improved the curriculum to better balance academic and personal growth, ensuring pupils are "securely equipped" for their next steps in employment or education.

Strengths

• The school fosters strong relationships, with staff responding to challenging behaviour with "patience, sensitivity and quiet good humour."
• A "broad and balanced curriculum" provides a secure framework, with particular success in teaching reading through an effective phonics programme.
• The forest school programme makes a "strong contribution" to pupils’ personal, social and academic development.
• Staff morale is high, characterised by "strong teamwork" and approachable leadership.
• Governors provide "robust challenge" and are determined to ensure pupils are well prepared for life in Britain.

Areas to improve

• Staff sometimes "lack the depth of subject knowledge" to teach all subjects consistently well, particularly in recently revised areas like PSHE.
• Consequently, the curriculum is not always adapted as effectively as it could be to meet pupils’ individual needs in these subjects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff following the mantra "if it doesn’t feel right, tell someone" and reporting concerns promptly.