While some schools saw their Ofsted ratings improve, some were told they need to do more to get a better rating.
Across the year, Ofsted has visited many schools across Cambridgeshire. Among these schools, some have improved their overall status, but some were told they need to improve in certain areas.
In an Ofsted report, inspectors look at schools in five areas, and then give the school an overall rating. These areas are: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.
Here are some of the schools that have been told to improve in 2025 across Cambridgeshire.
School where ‘too many pupils’ make others ‘afraid’
Queen Katharine Academy in Walton, Peterborough, was inspected on March 25 and 26. It was rated ‘inadequate’ in the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes, and ‘requires improvement’ in personal development and leadership and management.
It was then rated ‘good’ for sixth form provision. In their report, inspectors said the school had “too many pupils” who behaved “in a way that leaves other pupils feeling afraid or unsafe”.
Inspectors added that pupils behaved well in class, but during “social times”, pupils didn’t behave as good. The school is overseen by the Thomas Deacon Education Trust.
Interim principal Rick Carroll said that the school was ‘disappointed’ with the rating, but was taking steps to improve.
Nursery ‘requires improvement’ after first inspection
Lilliput Day Nursery in Lincoln Road, Peterborough, was inspected by Ofsted in April. This was the nursery’s first inspection after it was registered in December 2023.
Ofsted rated it as ‘requires improvement’ across all areas. Inspectors criticised the nursery’s teaching, and said that teachers “did not have clear intent” about what they wanted individual children to learn.
However, Ofsted did praise the nursery’s development of hand-eye coordination and communication skills. A spokesperson for the nursery told CambridgeshireLive that while it was ‘disappointed’ with the inspection outcome, the staff appreciated the “many positives highlighted by the report”.
Nursery drops from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’
Little Munchkins Nursery and Pre-School in Medway Road, Huntingdon, was inspected on May 7. The school dropped from a ‘good’ rating in 2020 to ‘requires improvement’ across all areas in 2025.
Inspectors said children “did not benefit from a well-designed curriculum that builds securely on what they know”. It also highlighted problems with staffing arrangements and said staff were unable to spend enough time talking to children.
Ofsted did recognise how children were happy at the school, stating they were “eager to start their day”. Inspectors also said children built strong bonds with staff members.
A spokesperson for the nursery said that “although the grading was not what we hoped for”, it was “already putting steps in place” to make the improvements.
School had high numbers of ‘persistently absent’ pupils
All Saints Interchurch Academy in March was inspected on June 10. The school was rated ‘requires improvement’ in two areas, but ‘good’ in three areas.
The areas it was told to improve on were the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes. It was previously rated ‘requires improvement’ in behaviours and attitudes in January 2023.
Ofsted highlighted that a “significantly high” number of pupils were “persistently absent”, despite overall attendance levels improving. Inspectors praised the “considerable” leadership changes and said it created “stability”.
The report added that the school was developing its curriculum to be “broad and ambitious”. A school spokesperson said it was “encouraged” by the report and it reflected a “positive momentum building across our school”.
School staff share ‘disappointment’ after ‘requires improvement’ rating
Spring Common Academy in America Lane, Huntingdon, was inspected on June 17. It was rated ‘requires improvement’ in four areas, which were quality of education, personal development, leadership and management, early years provision, and sixth form provision.
It was rated ‘good’ in behaviour and attitudes. Inspectors said there was not a “shared view across the school of what high expectations should look like in different subjects and phases”.
The report also said there was a lack of “structure and consistency” with the school’s approach to phonics. A Horizons Education Trust spokesperson, which oversees the school, said the ratings were ‘disappointing’. It said it was “fully committed” to improving the areas.
School downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’
The Waldorf Cambridge School in Hinton Road, Fulbourn, was inspected between July 8 and 10. It was rated ‘requires improvement’ in three areas which were: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management.
It was rated ‘good’ in personal development and early years provision. This moved the school from an overall ‘good’ rating to ‘requires improvement’.
Inspectors said that while time was allocated for children to read, some pupils didn’t “get the consistent support they need to develop fluency and expression”. The report also said systems to identify needs and provide the help were “not consistent” across the school.
However, inspectors did say pupils “enjoy coming to school and feel safe”. Teacher and learning lead Tina Hobday said she was “pleased” with the praise from the inspectors. She added that they were “confident that we can make changes in classrooms and paperwork”.
Pre-school ‘inadequate’ after children fall off trampoline
The Little Owl Pre-School, based at Dry Drayton Primary School, was rated in July. Its rating dropped from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ after children were injured on a trampoline during the inspection.
In their report, inspectors said staff members “grouped small trampolines together on an uneven surface and did not supervise children effectively when they were using them” during the inspection. These children then got injured.
Inspectors added that action was taken to improve risk assessments and the provider took “immediate steps to reduce the risk of this same accident happening again”. However, Ofsted said the risk assessments of the premises and resources were “still not robust”.
The July report also described how inspectors were not given evidence proving that staff had taken enhanced criminal record checks. A Little Owl committee spokesperson previously said the team “worked tirelessly to tackle the issues” addressed and that it was “proud of the transformation in such a short time”.
College told to improve
The Sir Harry Smith Community College in Eastrea Road, Whittlesey, was inspected on September 30. It was rated ‘requires improvement’ in all areas.
While Ofsted praised the school’s “broad and often ambitious curriculum”, it said “important knowledge” was “not always taught well enough”. Ofsted also criticised problems with the experience of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Inspectors said SEND pupils would “sometimes find it hard to enjoy school”.
Despite this, inspectors said most pupils “treat each other with respect”. At the time, Principal Dawn White said while the outcome was ‘disappointing’, the school was making improvements in “key areas”.
