Feedback From Mr Dadds re: Ofsted 26 & 27 November 2024

As you can see the overall judgement grade has been removed and schools are now just judged in each of the 5 core areas. After their inspection the team felt that we were now Requires Improvement in all areas. This obviously comes as a disappointment to all of us at Clifford Road but the inspection was fair and the feedback we have received will enable us to improve the school and the education we provide your children.

Despite the outcome the inspection team could see many positives for pupils attending Clifford Road. These include:

· Pupils enjoy coming to school. Older pupils are aware of the newly introduced school values of ‘Be Kind, Be Honest and Be Respectful’. Adults want the best for pupils and are kind and caring.

· The school has had frequent changes in leadership recently and this has led to disruption to pupils’ learning. New leadership is now in place, and changes to mathematics and reading, although very new, are starting to show as green shoots of improvement.

· Staff in early years are warm and welcoming. They know the children well. Children are confident and happy. They enjoy being read a wide variety of books.

· Overwhelmingly, staff enjoy working at the school and appreciate the support that new leaders have given them through recent changes and with workload.

This outcome is a result of the turbulence the school has been through during the last 2 years and unfortunately the school has suffered due to this. However I hope that you can see that from September the leadership team and I have made extensive changes to improve the education of all. Those changes include:

· Introducing new English and Maths curriculums to ensure these subjects are pitched at the right level for the children, are engaging and enjoyable for them as well as providing the teachers with an outline to strengthen their teaching.

· The three core messages of ‘Be Kind, Be Honest and Be Respectful’ are being used with children whenever we need to support behaviour to ensure a consistent approach for pupils and staff.

· The SLANT approach has been introduced to classrooms to ensure children are actively engaged when teachers are speaking and to give pupils an understanding of good learning behaviours.

· Introduced a new attendance approach, bringing the school in line with government and county expectations that has resulted in an above average attendance percentage for our pupils.

Since the Ofsted inspection we have made additional changes to react quickly to their findings. These include:

· Drafting a new behaviour policy which will be shared with you in the coming weeks.

· Introducing new geography, history and science curriculums.

· Increased SEND support by ensuring Miss Piper has more time out of class.

· Streaming phonics so all children are taught at the correct level to ensure rapid progress.

Further plans are being drawn up to zone the playground at lunchtimes to ensure that all children feel safe and secure. We are also investigating widening the opportunities for all pupils by increasing external visitors to enhance the curriculum.

Since I have joined the school in September it has been my drive to improve all aspects of school life. It is clear that we are progressing on that journey and your comments as parents throughout the Ofsted process highlighted that you can see these changes around the school. The Ofsted parent view was very positive and I know from the comments I have had from many of you that you can see that the school is now changing for the good. However if any of you are concerned or would like to ask questions about the report then please see me on the playground or book an appointment with the office team.

I believe, as the inspectors did, that the team we have at Clifford Road is dedicated to the school and ensuring that every single child gets the best education possible. I am sure we can count on your support as we achieve this. 

Yours sincerely

Mr Cieran Dadds