Our School
"Cranham is like a family where all staff and governors work together for a common goal. They make sure each pupil is known, loved and flourishes."
Welcome to Cranham Primary!
On behalf of all staff, children, parents and governors, I would like to welcome you to Cranham Primary. We are a small voluntary aided Church school, located in the beautiful village of Cranham, within driving distance of Gloucester, Cheltenham and Painswick. Our emphasis is on the outdoors and on nurture, and our small class sizes allow us to tailor our provision to enable every child within our care to flourish and meet the high expectations we have for them both academically and personally. Our three core Christian values help to celebrate what we are all about: courage, compassion and community.
"Pupils enjoy coming to school because they feel part of a family. They enjoy their learning.... Relationships between staff and pupils are exceptionally strong." (Ofsted May 2024)
Sowing the seeds of learning...
"Cranham Church of England Primary School is a compassionate and inclusive school with its vision at the very centre of its work. Pupils are immersed in a community where Christian values are sensitively woven across learning and living together. Every child is encouraged and enabled to flourish."
What a sense of family, and what outstanding staff! (Y5 parent)
Ethos & Outcomes
At Cranham Primary, our aim is to nurture our children to flourish in every way, just as the Sower nurtured the seeds in the good soil, and just as God nurtures each of us. Our strong academic results reveal just how successful we are at encouraging our children to be the best they can be, but we are equally proud of their spiritual, social, emotional and physical development. Our vision is at the heart of everything we do: the courage for our pupils and staff to aim high and achieve our potential, the compassion we show to one another each day to ensure that school is the place we all want to be and the strength of our community, which is exceptional not just in our school but in the village around us. We also encourage and enable courageous advocacy, inspiring our children to make a difference to the world around them through charity and community work.It has a warm family feel, where everyone knows each other, and a safe learning environment. (parent)
Learning
We are fortunate enough to be able to arrange our pupils in small class sizes, allowing every child to have the adult attention and support they need; we individualise our learning, and tailor our curriculum in response. Staff at Cranham have a range of strengths and interests, particularly in art, music, history and foreign languages, and we make the most of these talents to provide a varied and creative curriculum for our pupils. At Cranham, we love to be outdoors and regularly use our beautiful surroundings to support our learning. We have a trained Forest School teacher who provides a weekly session for our children. We also explore Gloucestershire further through termly trips, and take every opportunity to invite visitors into school to help to inspire our learning. Atlas Sports organise PE sessions, clubs and tournaments for our pupils, and we provide a range of extra-curricular after-school clubs, so there really is something for everyone here at Cranham. Our strong academic results are testament to the quality of our teaching.
Pastoral care has been excellent from all staff. (parent)
Environment & Community
We are so fortunate to be situated in the most beautiful part of Gloucestershire with some of the most fabulous views in the country. We are surrounded by woodland and common land and this encourages us to be outdoors often. We have access to excellent local facilities including the daily use of a large playing field and tennis courts which we use for PE sessions and to provide plenty of space every lunchtime for our KS2 children to run free. We regularly make use of our village church which is just down the lane from us, and our village hall. We also have strong links with the local Scout Headquarters and often use their facilities for events.
The community feel, friendly atmosphere and approachable staff make this a very special place. (parent)
Amenities
We know how tricky juggling work and school can be and we strive to support our parents as much as we can - we offer wrap-around childcare to help with this. We are fortunate enough to provide our children with the most delicious and nutritious home-cooked, locally sourced school meals, made freshly on site by our talented chef. We have ample school-side parking for collection and drop-off and we are situated less than 10 minutes from Brockworth and less than 20 minutes from Stroud and Cheltenham.
We are so proud of the difference our school makes to the lives of the pupils, parents, staff and community around us. But don't take our word for it...
...see what our parents have to say about us.
At Cranham Church of England Primary, we all belong to a very special family; each of us feels so fortunate to work and learn here as part of our supportive community of staff, children, parents and governors giving our all to make this school the best it can be. Come and see if our family is right for your family!
Sarah Scott
Headteacher
What did SIAMS say about our school?
"Cranham Primary is a very small rural school with a large heart. A nurturing school where the Christian vision and values of courage, compassion and community disseminate in all they do. School leaders are relentless in supporting the needs of pupils of all abilities and backgrounds. As a result, they progress well and reach their full potential at the primary stage of education. Pupils develop curiosity, a love of learning and appreciate God’s wonderful world through exploration and use of local resources and places.
There is an inclusive, nurturing ethos which is testament to strong Christian leadership at all levels. Parents can identify how the school’s Christian values impact on their children’s behaviour and attitudes and they feel welcome and involved in the life of the school. They are confident in the school and the way in which, through the positive modelling of Christian values, it gives their children an excellent start in their educational and spiritual journey."