Chiltern Primary School

Chiltern Primary School Chiltern Way, Duston, Northampton, NN5 6BW

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Inspection dates 28 February–1 March 2013

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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.  Most pupils achieve well across the school because teaching and learning are generally good.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress because of effective teaching.  Children’s progress in phonics (the links between letters and sounds) is outstanding in Reception.  Behaviour is good and pupils feel safe because they know staff care about them.  The headteacher has successfully tackled issues highlighted in the previous inspection and significantly improved teaching and achievement. Staff work well as a team.  Governors are equally committed to improvement and use their individual expertise well to support staff. Their regular visits help them to find out for themselves how effectively the school is tackling its priorities.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some independent learning activities in Reception are too easy and prevent children from making good progress.  Teachers’ introductions to lessons and closing remarks at the end are sometimes too long. This slows pupils’ learning down and reduces their progress.  The checks leaders make on teaching are not sharp enough to ensure that all teachers have high expectations of what their pupils can achieve.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed all of the teachers in 15 lessons. Three were joint observations with the headteacher and one of the two assistant headteachers.  Meetings were held with the pupil council and a group of eight Key Stage 2 pupils, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, and staff with leadership and management responsibilities.  A discussion took place with a representative of the local authority to assess the support and advice provided for the school.  There were 15 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) by the end of the inspection. The inspector took account of these and also sought the views of parents and carers as they arrived at school with their children.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ recent and current progress, planning for school improvement, minutes of governing body meetings and records of checks on teaching and

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Information about this inspection

pupils’ achievement.  Records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding were scrutinised.  The breakfast club and after-school club were also visited.

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Inspection team

Joseph Peacock, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Vreta Bagilhole Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school but numbers are increasing. Next September, new buildings provided through a private funding partnership will accommodate an intake of 60 in Reception and 60 in Year 3. Eventually, there will be two classes in each year group.  The school teaches children in the Early Years Foundation Stage in one Reception class. There is one class for each year group except in Year 2 where a teacher and teaching assistant have been provided to develop a second class which only has five pupils at present.  The proportion of ethnic minority pupils is increasing and now accounts for one third of all pupils. Twenty per cent of pupils are learning English as an additional language and most of these are at the early stages of learning to speak English.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding for children known to be eligible for free school meals, in local authority care, or with a parent in

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Information about this school

the armed services, is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is broadly average. The proportion who are supported at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is above average. Eight pupils are on the autistic spectrum.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision for its pupils off site.  Pupils frequently join or leave the school partway through their primary education. Some have recently arrived in this country.  Day care, organised and managed by the governing body, is provided each morning and after school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that more children achieve the age-related standards in each area of learning by the end of the Reception Year by increasing the level of challenge in activities which children choose for themselves.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 by ensuring that:  the work teachers set meets the needs of pupils of different abilities in all parts of the lesson  teachers’ explanations and lesson introductions are clear and succinct and hold pupils’ attention and interest  leaders check teachers’ planning and the quality of teaching and learning in lessons regularly to make sure that teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are high enough.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start school with skills and understanding well below those typical for their age. Speaking and listening skills are much lower than usual because of the increasing number of children with limited English. Although most children make good progress, their attainment when they join Year 1 is below the level expected.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Reception, most children make outstanding progress in learning letters and their sounds due to the excellent arrangements for the teaching and learning of phonics. Children are taught in relatively small groups with others of similar ability, ensuring that learning is relevant to their individual needs. This is especially helpful for children who speak English as an additional language.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children work well together in Reception. In one lesson, for example, the groups working with adults indoors and out made significant progress in phonics, in counting and adding numbers or writing labels when planting flower seeds. However, some of the activities children choose for themselves, such as playing with construction materials or using wheeled toys, lack purpose or challenge and do not hold the children’s interest for long. Progress is not as good as it should be in these activities.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Staff work hard to overcome the significant barriers to learning pupils face. Attainment fluctuates from year to year, but over time is rising in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 and 2 to reach average standards, overall, that are broadly average by the time they leave.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 More-able pupils generally do well but the low starting points pupils bring to the school mean that the proportion of lower attaining pupils who achieve average standards is not yet high enough. The number of average ability pupils who achieve above-average standards is rising, but only slowly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Years 1 and 2, pupils make good progress in reading and writing because of the school’s continued emphasis on learning phonic skills. This gives pupils secure strategies for reading and spelling words. Throughout, there are good opportunities to write in lessons, with pupils often using computers. Parents who listen to their children read often are helping to raise standards.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards are rising in mathematics because all pupils know what their targets are. The regular use of practical tasks by teachers, such as estimating and measuring the field and playground, and using computers to write number sentences are ensuring that these targets are met by the great majority of pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good. The expertise of teachers and teaching assistants, who work closely with individuals or small groups of pupils, makes sure that all achieve well. Pupils who are on the autistic spectrum, for example, are fully integrated in lessons and usually have individual support with their tasks. This enables them to make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The effective assessment of pupils’ language skills quickly identifies which pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds need extra support to learn to speak English. This includes many of those who join the school during the course of Key Stage 1 and 2. A teacher with specialist knowledge and training provides daily support for these pupils in small groups. This support successfully promotes skills in reading, writing and mathematics, as well as developing pupils’ understanding and use of English.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has used its additional funding to provide individual help for pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium. This has been effective, and most of these pupils make good progress. There is now no significant gap between the attainment in English or mathematics of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and others in the school. This group of pupils also progresses well when compared with similar pupils nationally.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mostly have high expectations of pupils. Most use assessment information effectively to match tasks in reading, writing and mathematics closely to pupils’ different ability levels. At its best, teaching ensures that there is a good pace to learning. Teaching assistants are particularly helpful in ensuring that pupils of all abilities succeed in completing their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In Reception, teachers and teaching assistants ensure that children have the support they need to learn new skills. The teaching of phonics is a key strength, enabling all to learn letters and their sounds quickly. Staff and volunteer helpers are very caring and attentive, ensuring that all children enjoy their time in this class.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make frequent and accurate checks on pupils’ rates of progress. This is much improved since the previous inspection. Those who are falling behind are quickly identified and supported. All pupils know what level they are working towards from assessment sheets in the front of their exercise books, and what they need to do to achieve it.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking is thorough and gives pupils clear guidance on how to improve their work. This has been improved significantly since the previous inspection.

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The quality of teaching is good

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because their individual learning needs are recognised and catered for in teachers’ lesson planning. Skilled and conscientious teaching assistants make sure that pupils on the autistic spectrum or those who speak English as an additional language are well supported, both in the classroom and outside it.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a few lessons, teaching requires improvement. In these, teachers talk for too long to the whole class and some pupils lose concentration as the introduction is either too hard or too easy for them. Lengthy introductions and ends of sessions that are not relevant for different groups of pupils mean that, in some lessons, some pupils do not make the progress they should.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are well behaved. This adds to the family atmosphere in school. ‘Everyone who works here is welcoming’ was a typical comment from pupils. All enjoy attending the breakfast and after-school clubs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are safe and enjoy coming to school. Attendance is average and there have been few exclusions in the past two years. Parents spoken to during the inspection agree that their children enjoy school and feel safe. ‘It is a hidden gem with a village school atmosphere in town’ was a typical view.  Pupils are rarely concerned about bullying. All pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying, such as making racist comments, name-calling and misuse of mobile phones or emails. The school takes care to ensure that pupils who do not speak English confidently have someone who can translate their concerns and make them known to staff.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is consistently well managed and any cases of inappropriate behaviour are normally dealt with immediately and effectively by staff. Pupils greatly appreciate the work of the learning mentor who, they say, listens to their concerns and helps to sort out any disagreements quickly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The effective leadership and management of the headteacher and two assistant headteachers have created a strong staff team. Together with staff, previous issues have been successfully tackled. More recently, challenges presented by increasing numbers of pupils, including many for whom English is an additional language, have been met. As a result, all groups of pupils are making good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior staff and subject leaders are fully involved in the process of checking pupils’ progress on a regular basis. Any pupils who are falling behind in any subject are identified each half term and supported. Staff are working as a team to enable even more pupils to attain higher standards.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching is checked in detail through half-termly lesson observations, helping to make sure that it is effective in promoting learning. However, these checks are not always sharp enough to ensure that teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils in all parts of lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership and management of provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are good. Parents and carers are fully informed about progress and involved in regular reviews. Most are pleased with the learning support provided for their children by staff and specialists from a wide range of other agencies, such as educational psychologists.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and the governing body make sure that progression through the pay scale is closely linked to teachers’ performance. The Teachers’ Standards are used effectively to judge the quality of teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provided effective support during the period of marked change when the school took significant numbers of newcomers and pupils who were learning English as an additional language. The local authority now checks the school’s performance each term to see that all groups continue to make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The good range of after-school clubs in sport and music contributes well to pupils’ achievement and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Religious studies, topics covering world religions and well-established links with Gambia and Uganda give pupils a good understanding of other cultures and faiths.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school fosters good relations with parents and carers. Those who responded to Parent View were very positive about their children’s experience of school. All agreed that staff treat every pupil equally, and they appreciate the family atmosphere. Discrimination is not tolerated in any form.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has reviewed and revised its role to fit in with changes to the school intake. They are keen to use their individual expertise to gather evidence from monitoring visits and help the school to raise standards. Through their frequent visits, they know how good teaching is and how the school’s performance compares to that of other schools nationally. All insist on being kept fully informed by staff and the headteacher. They are beginning to use their monitoring visits to check much more closely on the school’s progress with its identified priorities. The performance of the headteacher and all teachers is checked

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The leadership and management are good

using information about pupils’ progress and the standards achieved, and governors take these into account when determining pay and promotion. Governors are appropriately trained. All are expected to attend training sessions. Financial resources, including pupil premium funding, are well managed and their impact checked. The governing body has a good knowledge of child protection and safeguarding matters, and all current national requirements relating to safeguarding are met.

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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 121924 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 402065

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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 Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 215 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sylvia Lake Headteacher Penny Howell Date of previous school inspection 23 September 2009 Telephone number 01604 753830 Fax number 01604 588156 Email address bursar@chiltern.northants-ecl.gov.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

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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