Captain Cook Primary School

Overview

Captain Cook Primary School continues to be a good school, characterised by a “strong caring ethos” where leaders place pupils’ best interests at the heart of decision-making. The school fosters a harmonious environment with “strong and trusting” relationships, where pupils are “warm and welcoming” and proud of their achievements. Leaders have successfully embedded a curriculum aligned with the school’s core values of “Discovery and Adventure” and “Endeavour and Resolution”.

Strengths

• Pupils benefit from a “thoughtfully considered” curriculum that builds understanding step-by-step, with particular success in history and reading.
• Staff morale remains high despite staffing changes, with new members receiving “expert mentoring” and feeling “very well supported”.
• The SENDCo has established a “structured approach” to support pupils with additional needs, including the introduction of a calming “Adventure Suite”.
• Safeguarding arrangements are “effective”, with detailed logs and regular training ensuring staff are up to date with legislation.
• Older pupils act as “excellent role models”, helping to maintain high standards of behaviour and a distinct sense of belonging.

Areas to improve

• The revised early years curriculum is “not fully embedded, particularly in Nursery”, limiting children’s acquisition of foundational knowledge and vocabulary.
• In mathematics, teachers provide “limited opportunities” for pupils to reason and problem-solve, which reduces the depth of learning.
• Occasionally, reading books are “not matched well” to pupils’ phonics knowledge, impacting reading fluency.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that leaders maintain detailed logs and ensure all staff receive regular training.