The Gateshead Cheder Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 November 2024

Pupils genuinely enjoy coming to school. They are enthusiastic about their lessons and the supportive environment that the school provides. Pupils are happy, secure and eager to contribute. Pupils trust staff to help them should they have any concerns. There is a strong sense of safety and belonging. Pupils are keen to do well. They demonstrate high levels of respect towards staff, visitors and each other. Pupils conduct themselves well in lessons and during social times. This contributes to a supportive, welcoming and calm atmosphere. Parents and carers appreciate the care shown to their children and the positive relationships that underpin the school's ethos. Staff and governors share high ambitions for what pupils can achieve. However, some areas of the curriculum are not fully developed. Some subjects are not as well considered or resourced as others. This limits what pupils achieve. While pupils have opportunities for personal development, the school does not ensure that all the required content to fulfil the independent school standards (the standards) is covered. Children in the early years quickly settle into new routines. Kind staff look after these youngest members of the school. Older pupils celebrate the success of younger peers as they master their phonics. The school choir sings about a range of important themes, such as world peace.

What the school should improve

• The school has not ensured that all teachers have sufficient knowledge of the subjects they teach. This leads to inconsistencies in how well some subjects are taught. Some pupils do not develop a strong and secure understanding of key concepts. This affects how well they build up their knowledge over time. The school should ensure that teachers receive the support they need in order to teach the curriculum well.
• In the secondary phase, as at the time of the last inspection, subjects do not consistently build on the knowledge pupils have gained in earlier years. This sometimes leads to gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should ensure that the curriculum better enables pupils to build knowledge coherently from the primary to the secondary phases.
• While the headteacher provides strong leadership in curriculum development, the lack of additional expertise to support this work limits the school's ability to deliver a consistently high-quality education for all pupils across all phases. The proprietor body should take further action to expand the leadership capacity in curriculum development and implementation, ensuring the necessary improvements are made.
• The school does not ensure compliance with the standards related to the protected characteristics. Pupils are not given opportunities to develop a full understanding of diversity, inclusion and the rights of others. The school should ensure that it complies with statutory guidance on relationships guidance and that knowledge of and the encouragement of respect for the full range of protected characteristics are taught.

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