Chilton Community Primary School

Chilton Community Primary School Violet Hill Road, Stowmarket, IP14 1NN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The school has made good improvements to the quality of education since its last inspection. Consequently, pupils make good progress and achieve well including in English and mathematics.  The Nursery is outstanding because activities are very carefully developed to stimulate children's interest and curiosity. As a result, children make rapid progress in their development.  Teaching is good. Teachers and teaching assistants work closely together to ensure that pupils get help and support when they need it. Hence, pupils grow in confidence especially when tackling difficult work.  The school provides varied and interesting learning experiences which benefit pupils' personal development well. Hence, pupils enjoy their time at school.  Pupils behave well around the school including during play times. During lesson times, the school is calm and the atmosphere in classes is businesslike. Pupils know how to keep

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

themselves safe, they feel safe and are safe at school.  Governors have been a key driving force in helping the school to make important improvements since the last inspection. This, coupled with the good leadership provided by the headteacher, means the school is well placed to get even better.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils are not always given work or resources that are pitched at just the right level for their capabilities.  Work is marked well but written feedback to pupils is not always clear enough about their next steps in learning.  While children in Reception are usually taught well, sometimes they are given work that is not practical enough for their ages.  Not all leaders are involved sufficiently in checking the school's work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 lessons, of which four were jointly seen with the headteacher. In addition, the inspection team made a number of shorter visits to lessons to focus on specifc aspects such as the effectiveness of support for pupils with special eductional needs.  Members of the inspection team held meetings with three groups of pupils, the headteacher and other senior leaders, and members of the governing body including the chair and vice-chair. A discussion was also held over the telephone with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 11 responses to the online questionnaire for parents and carers, Parent View, in informing the inspection findings.  The inspection team looked closely at a range of documentation, including information on pupils’ performance, the school’s own analysis of its strengths and weaknesses, improvement plans, safeguarding and behaviour policies, and records and documents relating to the targets set for

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Information about this inspection

teachers to improve their work.  The inspection team listened to pupils in Years 1 to 4 reading and talked to them about their reading habits.

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Inspection team

Gulshanbir Kayembe, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Noureddin Khassal Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than other schools of this type.  The vast majority of pupils are White British and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium, which is extra government funding given to the school on the basis of the numbers known to be eligible for free school meals, in the care of the local authority or from service families, is above average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is well below the national average. The proportion at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well above average.  The school has a Nursery class which operates during the mornings. Children in their Reception year and pupils in Years 1 to 4 are taught in seven mixed-age classes.  The school runs a breakfast club each morning and this is managed by the governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the teaching across the school so that more of it is outstanding by:  making sure that teachers match the work they provide to the capabilities of all pupils in the class so that it is not too easy or too hard for anyone  ensuring that teachers choose resources with greater care in all lessons so as to maximise pupils' learning  ensuring that all pupils have reading books that are at the right level for their reading abilities  making sure that teachers provide written comments when marking pupils' books on what they need to do to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the work in the Reception/Year 1 classes so that there is a better balance between practical activities and sessions that are adult-led.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Involve all leaders in checking the work of the school and, hence, secure more improvements and greater consistency in the quality of teaching and marking across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children begin in the Nursery with skills and knowledge that are low for their ages and this is especially so in language and literacy. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and across Year 1 to 4 so that, through every key stage, the gap in attainment when they begin in Nursery and the expectations of attainment nationally is continuously narrowing. By the time they leave at the end of Year 4, pupils' attainment is comfortably in line with national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children make rapid progress in the Nursery, where they develop good levels of independence. Their personal and social development is nurtured extremely well here and they become increasingly confident as learners willing to try new activities and explore on their own.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children make good progress in Reception. They improve their skills in literacy, especially early reading and writing and learn to use letter sounds to help them to spell out words. Children learn to count and recognise numbers, and enjoy this most when learning in a hands-on, practical way such as playing skittles where they count out how many bottles of water they have managed to knock down with a ball.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children's learning in Reception slows sometimes because activities are not practical enough, for example, when listening to a story and answering questions about it in a group as opposed to role playing it. Even for some Year 1 pupils this is occasionally the case as they are not ready for the more formal learning in the National Curriculum because they are still catching up with pupils their age.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in Years 1 to 4 make good progress in their reading. They are making good headway in using the sounds letters make to help them to read new or difficult words and to assist them with their writing. Pupils say they like reading and it is clear, from their enthusiasm when they talk about their favourite books or authors, that they are learning to love books. One pupil reading to an inspector did not want to stop. Very occasionally, the books pupils are given to read are a little too easy or too hard.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has worked hard at developing pupils' writing and there has been sustained improvement in attainment over the last few years in both reading and writing. The good opportunities to write in different ways, for different purposes and in different forms help pupils to make their writing better, for example, when working on topics such as ‘Marvellous Mixtures’, a science theme.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are keen on learning about mathematics and become easily engrossed in their work especially when it makes them think hard. They become increasingly confident in solving problems and are good at sharing ideas to help them work out the answer.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported in lessons by teachers and teaching assistants. Classrooms and the areas outside the class are used very effectively to group pupils according to ability and provide those with special educational needs with work that is at just the right level for their capabilities. The adult support is used sensitively and carefully so that pupils with learning difficulties cope well with the work they are set.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium make good progress. The school has used the funding in a variety of ways, such as additional adult support, to enable good progress. Consequently, the gap in attainment between these pupils and others, which is often evident when they begin school, is more or less closed by the time they leave at the end of Year 4.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most of the teaching is at least good and the amount of outstanding teaching is increasing. Teachers form good relationships with their pupils and this engenders trust and confidence amongst pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan together to ensure that each lesson has a clear learning purpose. Pupils are given a good understanding of what they are expected to learn. Teachers build new learning well on the work done in the previous lesson so ensuring good continuity and a steady increase in the level of difficulty in the work provided.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants work very harmoniously together to support individual pupils. They use questioning well to promote understanding and to help pupils think through ideas. It is clear that staff know pupils well and exactly where they are in their learning so that they anticipate extremely well where pupils are likely to need a bit more help or support. Consequently, adults are very quick to respond when anyone gets a bit stuck.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Effective use of external support for pupils with special educational needs, for behaviour for example or speech and language difficulties, enables them to get more out of lessons in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make good use of resources to support learning, but sometimes resources are not chosen carefully enough to maximise pupils' learning. For example, in a literacy lesson, the teacher missed the opportunity to provide a template which gave them greater scope for developing and extending their writing. Consequently, the writing they produced was more limited.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally, the work provided is a little too difficult or too easy for some pupils in the class. In the main, though, the level of work is set at just the right level for all or almost all pupils. More- able pupils are challenged well most of the time by the level of work they are given.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants provide good-quality oral feedback to pupils about how well they are doing during lessons. The extent to which this is recorded in pupils' books varies and, therefore, pupils do not always remember, or are not always sure, about their next steps in learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are polite and friendly to one another and to adults around them. They get on well with one another and understand the importance of being kind to others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The good relationships established by staff support good behaviour during lessons. Any disruption to learning is rare and pupils respond quickly to teachers should they begin to go off task, lose concentration or become too chatty.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Records confirm that behaviour is good and that there are very few incidents of poor behaviour. Pupils agree that behaviour is generally good and that if they have any concerns they can raise them with their teachers. Most parents and carers responding on Parent View and to the school's own questionnaire agree that behaviour is good.  Pupils, through discussion, do not feel that bullying is a problem and this is confirmed by school records. Pupils are aware that bullying can take place via the internet and they know it is wrong. Assemblies and the school's programme for personal and social development are used well to help pupils understand moral issues and to promote positive social, moral and cultural values.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In discussions, pupils say they feel safe at school and they know about how to keep themselves safe. Observations and records indicate that the school looks after pupils well and has clear policies for behaviour which are consistently applied.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has led the school well and secured good improvements since the last inspection. She and governors set a clear direction for the school's future development and communicate this very effectively to staff.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching is well led with regular checks of lessons and good quality feedback to teachers about how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. This is backed up with good quality training and coaching to help staff to hone their skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 However, not all leaders are involved enough in carrying out checks on the quality of the school's work, particularly teaching. This means that some inconsistencies in the quality of teaching or marking, for example, are not addressed quickly enough.

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The leadership and management are good

 Data on pupils' ongoing progress are rigorously reviewed and analysed and quick action taken where individuals are beginning to fall behind or not doing as well as they should be. Consequently, there is no significant difference in the achievements of different groups of pupils. The pupil premium is used very effectively, for example, to fund the breakfast club which, together with exemplary checking and follow-up of absence, has resulted in improvements in the attendance of targeted pupils, and this in turn has supported the continuity of their learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school evaluates how well funding is used including the pupil premium. It was used initially to fund one-to-one tuition but this was not making enough difference to the learning of pupils for whom the funding is intended. The school has found that teaching these pupils in small groups has been more effective.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has made good use of the effective support from the local authority to help it to assess how well it is doing and to secure key improvements in teaching and learning and, hence, in pupils' achievement over time.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors take an active role in the work of the school. They have a well-structured programme for checking the school's work, for example, through their committees and purposeful visits to the school. Governors understand the performance of pupils and have worked with senior leaders to develop meaningful ways for the data on pupils’ progress to be presented so that it is easy to see how well different groups are doing. The governing body pays equally good attention to the quality of teaching and the performance of staff. Pay awards are linked closely to targets for improvement. This is a good example of the prudence with which governors manage the school finances. They also keep a close eye on how well pupil premium funding is spent and the difference it is making to pupils' learning and wider development. Governors meet their statutory duties including those around safeguarding.

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The leadership and management are good

Consequently the school is well run and a safe place for pupils and staff.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 124622 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 402280

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school First School category Community Age range of pupils 3–9 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 171 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anthony Baxter Headteacher Elizabeth Bennett Date of previous school inspection 18 November 2009 Telephone number 01449 612928 Fax number 01449 672955 Email address office@chilton.suffolk.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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