Welcome to
Cotham Gardens Primary School

We are delighted to welcome you to Cotham Gardens Primary School, a school where pupils are officially ‘happy and safe’!

These are exciting times for our school. In September 2024, a new leadership model was introduced and this has already made a significant impact, bringing positive change to the school. Central to this, we have introduced a far-reaching plan to transform all aspects of learning, support and development for every child – a fact acknowledged by our recent Ofsted report.

Ofsted also made the following comments:

• Our pupils are 'happy and safe'.
• The curriculum is well-designed to identify what pupils will learn from Reception to Year 6.
• Children learn to read as soon as they start in the Reception Year. At this early stage, children read books that match the sounds that they know. They also develop a strong grounding in numbers and early mathematics.
• There is a rigorous approach to securing pupils’ attendance at school. Staff work closely with families and external agencies to gain an understanding of the causes of any absence. This work has had a demonstrable impact.

We have taken action within our trust board to bring about the improvements that are required, particularly in the quality of education. Ofsted's inspectors said that recent work to solidify governance and to introduce a more strategic approach is ‘laying the foundations’ on which to build for the future. As leaders, governors and the whole staff team, we are all motivated and determined to address the issues where Ofsted said we still need to improve, whilst consolidating the work already done in the past few months.

Cotham Gardens is a happy place where we foster an environment in which children have the chance to showcase all their talents. We will be continuing to engage with parents as we continue this exciting journey and remain extremely grateful to everyone for their overwhelming support of the school since the report's publication.

Chris Seaton                                             Emmeline Smith

CEO of the Trust                                    Head of School