Cheam Common Junior Academy: Kingsmead Avenue, Worcester Park KT4 8UT Tel: 020 8337 1844

email: ccjoffice@leoacademytrust.co.uk www.cheamcommon.org.uk

Last week we had our annual Challenge Partners Review. This review was led by a current Ofsted inspector and ex headteacher who joined virtual meetings with staff and pupils focused around two areas: Middle Leadership and Inclusion. We are delighted to share with you some key highlights shared in the report. We are extremely proud of the staff and pupils and what has continued to be achieved during a disruptive year. Thank you as always for your continued support.

● This is a school where the ambition to be excellent is at the heart of all it does. The Principal and Senior Leaders are exceptionally talented at enabling and empowering all who work in the school to make a very positive contribution to school improvement. Subject leadership and leadership of other important aspects, such as special educational needs (SEN), are of a high quality.

● Each subject leader is involved in checking the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. From this, they are able to provide any necessary training or support for teachers. These very effectual leaders ensure that there is high-quality teaching in their subject and that the balance of each subject in the curriculum is even. Therefore, achievement is consistently high in each subject across the school.

● Middle leaders have responsibility for reviewing the curriculum and for whole-school self-evaluation. They actively contribute to the school’s self-evaluation and development plan and, as a result, this enhances their accountability and their ownership of their subject areas.

● Middle leaders are actively involved in facilitating meetings, weekly planning sessions and research projects. There are regular hub meetings with mathematics and English champions and working parties for art and design and technology subject leaders. These arrangements have led to rapid improvements in many areas, such as lesson differentiation strategies.

● Middle leaders take an active role in reviewing pupils’ progress through regular standards' meetings. The information emerging from these meetings enable staff to provide additional support for those pupils who require it. Consequently, pupils’ achievement continues to improve markedly and their work during the lock down period has been forensically analysed by subject leaders.

● The leadership of continuing professional development is of first-class quality. The wide, varied and personalised range of training opportunities offered helps to reduce staff workload and increase pupil engagement at the same time. The school also actively participates in several outreach projects and these have significantly promoted pupils’ mathematical and information technology skills.

● There is a strong vision and a clear strategic direction for the school. The Principal and Senior Leaders have created an ethos where middle leaders drive positive change as the ‘engine room’ of the school. Middle leaders understand the need to ensure that no pupil is allowed to regress and they coordinate a variety of interventions for them. For example, pupils in Year 4 have benefited from the additional support provided to improve the quality of their writing skills.

● Middle leaders warmly embrace the quality assurance processes and consider that their ideas are listened to and valued. For example, the new English subject leader confirms that the school’s burgeoning coaching programme is a promising addition to the school’s arsenal of supportive strategies.

● Subject leaders continue to sharpen and improve their monitoring and evaluation skills so that teaching and pupils’ learning improve faster and are consistently of a high quality across the curriculum.

● Middle leaders have carefully and meticulously considered the intent, implementation and impact of their subject curricula. Leaders of English and mathematics, for example, are able to demonstrate ways in which they have sensibly and cautiously revolutionised their curricular areas.

● Leaders steadfastly continue to refine and develop the school’s curriculum to ensure that it prepares pupils for life outside of school and for the next stage of their education. For example, the school’s innovative approaches to digital technology are ensuring that pupils become accustomed to using a wide range of applications and programmes.

● Cheam Academy Junior School goes well beyond the expected, so that pupils have access to a wide, varied and rich set of experiences. Opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests are of exceptional quality. There is strong take-up by pupils of the opportunities provided by the school and the most disadvantaged pupils benefit from this excellent work. The school provides these

rich experiences in a coherently planned way as part of the curriculum and through extra-curricular activities. There is a thriving school orchestra, peripatetic music lessons, pupils in Year 3 participate in weekly drumming lessons, while all pupils in Year 4 learn the trumpet. Furthermore, pupils’ learning is enriched by the developing nurture and Forest School provision.

Even better if...

...the long-term impact of the school’s coaching programme continued to be carefully evaluated.

Inclusion

● There are no significant differences in the outcomes of pupils. Disadvantaged pupils, those with additional learning needs and their peers perform equally well in this high performing school.

● The school takes its responsibility for promoting inclusion, equality of opportunity, fostering harmonious relationships and tackling discrimination very seriously. This ensures that those pupils who might be at risk of underachieving make outstanding progress. Discrimination in any form is not tolerated and pupils with a wide range of specific learning and emotional needs are warmly welcomed.

● During the lockdown periods the school’s inclusion provision embraced a range of successful strategies, such as Chromebooks and dongles, therapy packs and targeted virtual intervention groups. As a result, pupils’ strong reading and mathematical skills have been buttressed well.

● The attainment of each individual pupil is tracked carefully so that they receive the support that will enable them to accelerate their progress.

● Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported extremely well. Staff work closely with families to identify pupils’ needs and find ways to help them learn. This has been particularly successful for those pupils who find it difficult to manage their feelings and get on with their work.

● The leadership of SEND is highly effective. Staff receive regular, purposeful training that ensures that they have a strong and secure understanding of how to support pupils, whatever their needs. Regular special educational needs progress reports provide parents with the opportunity to discuss concerns and check the progress that their child is making.

● There is a very positive ethos and culture where all pupils are valued and given opportunities to thrive and succeed. Leaders and staff are very determined that every pupil should have access to all aspects of school life. Their vision and aspirations for pupils are very high.

● Curriculum planning encourages the promotion of real-life, hands-on experiences to accelerate pupils’ understanding, especially for the disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. For example, one SEND pupil sent the principal an electronic message during the consultancy to inform her of his research on an amphibian called, amoxlotl, or the walking fish.

● There are around fifty clubs in school, forty-five of which are free, and staff ensure that all pupils have equal opportunities to attend. The school goes above and beyond to ensure that there is something for everyone and to involve pupils in these decisions. Pupils confirm that the wide range of sporting opportunities, which include kayaking on the River Thames and AllStar cricket, help boost their self esteem and extend their social and emotional skills.

● The family support worker has fortified the existing positive relationships with families, helped to ensure the success of online learning strategies and boosted pupils’ high attendance rates.

● The pupil voice is a strength of the school and pupils of all ages take an active part in various groups, including the School Council, Learning Council, Digital Leaders and Sports Captains. They confirm that the school takes their views seriously and that these activities reinforce their personal and social skills and well-being.

Even better if...

...the refinement of the nurture provision was continued to enable even more of the pupils’ outcomes to be met, enabling it to be recommended as an area of excellence in the next review.

Classes 2021

Children across the school enjoyed meeting their new teacher this week and completing some team building activities in their new classes. We look forward to seeing all you achieve next academic year!

Thank you and well done to our Sports' Leaders who did a fantastic job of running the Cheam Common Infants' Sports' Day this week.

Year 4 Whole Class Brass Performances

Cheam Common Visit The Oval

Year 4 Cricket at Beddington Park

Year 5 Now Press Play - Life of a Victorian Child

Year 3 London Eye Google Sites

Year 3 have worked exceptionally hard drafting and writing a non-chronological report on The London Eye. Today they published on Google Sites and each one looks amazing!

Jake's Google Site

Architha's Google Site

Jonah's Google Site

Evan's Google Site

Gabbie's Google Site

Year 6 London Landmarks

Tickets cost £2 each.

To purchase tickets please click here.

You will need to answer the following question: Which colour is associated with a Smurf? (Clue...blue)

Good luck and thank you for your continued support!

Click here to view this month's SEND newsletter.

Anna Freud Transition Video and Parenting Courses

The Anna Freud schools team have launched their Moving up! transition animation and toolkit. Click here to access the animation and click here to access the booklet.

Follow us on Twitter!

You can get all of the latest news and updates from Cheam Common by following us on Twitter. We use our Twitter account as the news feed of Cheam Common Junior. We also use Twitter to keep parents up to date with residential trips, sports and music news, year group trips and other areas of school life.

@CCJacademy