Maidenhead & Windsor

Children who attend Cookham Rise Primary School, Maidenhead get an acceptable level of education, meeting or exceeding the expected levels for their age – but the school is determined to do even better and has embarked on its improvement journey as a matter of priority.

The 198-pupil Maidenhead school went under the microscope of an Ofsted inspection team in May and scored a grade 2 (good) for the personal development and wellbeing of the pupils, and grade 3 (satisfactory) for a number of other areas, including achievement and standards, teaching and learning, curriculum and activities, and care, guidance and support.

The inspectors, whose report has been published and circulated to parents, identify four areas for further development and will monitor progress under the terms of a Notice to Improve.

The report points to the good progress made by pupils, particularly in the foundation stage where they receive a good education and have well-developed skills for their age. There is also praise for the work done with children with special educational needs.

Teaching is satisfactory overall with teachers enabling Maidenhead pupils to enjoy their education – and while all ages meet or exceed the expected levels for their age the school has already started to analyse a recent decline in national test results in English, maths and science, especially by more able pupils to help them achieve even better standards.

Personal development and wellbeing are good. Pupils enjoy school, which is reflected in their punctuality and good attendance. The inspectors also comment favourably on the children's behaviour and the good progress they make in their spiritual, moral and cultural development. Pupils are well cared for and supported, with robust child protection procedures, and the school works well with other specialist agencies to identify problems pupils face and make sure they get the support they need.

Areas identified by the inspectors to help Cookham Rise, Maidenhead improve even further include the need to: have effective long-term leadership and management, to improve Key Stage 2 performance in English maths and science and to communicate better with parents.

Headteacher Christina Hibbins, who took over the reins as acting head just days before the inspection team arrived, said: "We are pleased by the many good elements in Cookham Rise that have been recognised by the inspectors and are delighted that they identified the caring and supportive environment in which our pupils thrive.

"We fully accept the need for areas of our management and performance to be addressed and we are already making good progress with an improvement plan which we believe will make the school even better in the months and years ahead."

Gaynor Sprules, chair of governors, commented: "The inspectors recognise that we have a clearly-targeted action plan in place to take us forward and that, working with the LEA, we have a clear view of what needs to be done. We have achieved a great deal already and this gives us a solid foundation for what we want to achieve in the future.

"Cookham Rise has a lot to be proud of. We just want our standards to be even better."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead