Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy

Overview

Pupils at Cleves Cross Primary and Nursery School Academy “thrive because the school has high aspirations,” benefiting from an “exceptional personal development offer.” The report highlights strong behaviour, effective early years provision, and diligent governance, though it notes that curriculum implementation and assessment practices require refinement in certain subjects to ensure consistent pupil progress.

Strengths

• Pupils receive an “exceptional personal development offer,” engaging in diverse experiences such as international exchanges and debating, which prepares them to be “positive citizens of the future.”
• Staff teach phonics “skilfully,” ensuring children learn to read successfully from an early age, with those needing extra support quickly catching up.
• Pupils conduct themselves “exceptionally well,” understanding their rights and responsibilities, while maintaining “warm, positive relationships” with staff.
• The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is “carefully selected,” providing a “well organised and stimulating” environment that develops speech and language skills effectively.
• Governors undertake their roles with “diligence and skill,” prioritising staff well-being and ensuring the school has the necessary training opportunities to continue growing.

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure staff understand how to implement the curriculum effectively, as explanations in some subjects do not help pupils learn as well as they might, and pupils lack sufficient opportunity to practise skills.
• Assessment systems in some foundation subjects are not effective enough to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge, meaning staff do not always address these gaps quickly enough.
• The outdoor learning area in the Early Years Foundation Stage is “less well developed,” preventing children from benefiting fully from this aspect of the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”