Chandlers Field Primary School

Chandlers Field Primary School High Street, West Molesey, Surrey, KT8 2LX

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Overall effectiveness

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

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because:

 Improvement since the previous inspection has not been sufficiently rapid to ensure that Year 6 pupils reach national expectations in English and mathematics.  Teachers’ expectations are not high enough in writing, and for this reason attainment in writing has declined for pupils in Key Stage 1 and the more able pupils in Key Stage 2.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning vary. For example, they often complete a writing task too quickly and are not always encouraged to go back and make improvements.  Too few Year 1 pupils reach the expected level in their letters and sounds (phonics) test and so find spelling difficult.  Children’s writing skills are underdeveloped by the time they enter Year 1.  Checks on the quality of teaching have not ensured that there is enough good or better teaching and work can be either too hard or too easy for some groups of pupils.  The school development plan does not show how and by when improvement will be

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because:

established.  Governors do not always use national benchmarks to measure improvement.

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The school has the following strengths:

 The new headteacher and her senior team work closely with governors to establish and clarify the direction for school improvement.  The rate of attendance has been successfully increased since the previous inspection so that it is now close to the national average.  Good partnerships with parents and carers mean that children settle quickly and happily and so get off to a good start in the Nursery.  Teaching assistants use their skills well in most lessons. They use their keen powers of observation in a positive, practical way to help and support pupils when they need it most.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 29 lessons, 10 of which were joint observations with the headteacher or the deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, three governors, a local authority representative and school staff, including the senior leaders and the leader in charge of provision for vulnerable or disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. In addition, some pupils read to the inspectors.  The inspectors took account of the 62 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and spoke to some parents and carers before school.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and safeguarding records. The inspectors reviewed pupils’ work in a large sample of English and mathematics books, including some from

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Inspection team

Liz Kounnou, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Juliet Ward Additional Inspector Bryan Meyer Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Chandlers Field is a larger-than-average sized primary school  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above average. The pupil premium provides additional funding for looked after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and pupils who have a parent or carer in the armed services.  The proportion of pupils who are of minority ethnic heritage is above average. About a quarter of pupils speak English as an additional language. A few pupils are from Traveller families.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action, through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. This group has a wide range of needs, including those with speech, language or communication needs, behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, moderate or specific learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder, visual impairment or physical disabilities.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the national minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  A new headteacher was appointed in April 2013. Since the previous inspection the school has had a sustained period of instability in leadership, and a substantial number of staff changes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, particularly in writing, by:  making sure that there are more opportunities for pupils to complete longer writing tasks in all subjects  making writing tasks more open-ended so that pupils are not limited and can extend or use their skills fully  making sure that pupils have a better knowledge of letters and sounds (phonics) and use these skills to improve their spelling, especially in Key Stage 1  providing more opportunities for children to develop early writing skills, both indoors and outdoors, in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leaders at all levels in their drive to raise the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better across the school by:  strengthening the checks made on teaching and learning and establishing a tight timetable of actions to bring about rapid improvement  sharpening feedback to teachers so that they know precisely how to improve teaching  making regular checks to ensure that changes are made  providing tailored opportunities for teachers to extend their skills through professional development activities, such as coaching and mentoring, and check the impact of these on increasing pupils’ progress and improving pupils’ attitudes to learning  making sure that governors use national benchmarks robustly to keep a check on the school’s performance. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because too few pupils make fast enough progress throughout their time at school.  When children start school their knowledge and skills are typically below those expected for their age. By the time they leave at the end of Year 6, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is below the national average.  In the 2013 national writing assessments, standards declined in Key Stage 1. In Key Stage 2, few pupils did better than expected and in the Early Years Foundation Stage less than half the children reached the level expected of them by the end of Reception. This is mainly because teachers’ expectations of what pupils’ could achieve are too low in this subject.  The more able pupils do well in reading, where the level of challenge has improved. However, they do not reach their full potential in writing because the work is often too easy.  In Key Stage 1, pupils’ grasp of how to link letters and sounds (phonics) is not secure because

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

teaching of these skills is not sufficiently fast paced or precise in the Early Years Foundation Stage or in Years 1 and 2. This limits pupils’ ability to spell.  Pupils from minority ethnic heritage, those from Traveller families and those learning to speak English as an additional language make steady progress across the school, but do not make better progress because teaching is too variable and the level of challenge too low to secure good achievement.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs do very well because carefully trained teaching assistants provide relevant guidance to support their learning. They notice when pupils need help and ask astute questions to help pupils overcome misunderstandings.  More pupils supported by the pupil premium grant reach national expectations in Year 6 for English and mathematics than other pupils, but none reach the higher levels. Overall, they fall

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

behind by about a term in comparison to others. These gaps are narrower than those found nationally between the two groups.  Pupils do better in reading than writing. Workshops, leaflets and charts on reading have been effective in helping parents and carers become partners in their children’s learning.  Specific support in small groups, in a well-resourced ‘maths room’, helps pupils address misunderstandings in mathematics. The more able mathematicians are beginning to receive a good level of challenge in the ‘top maths sets’, for example Year 6 pupils who grasped the concept of equivalent fractions were expected to put some tricky examples in order from smallest to largest.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it does not always promote good achievement.  Pupils are not sufficiently challenged, particularly in writing, because teachers’ expectations are not high enough to promote rapid progress.  Work is sometimes too easy for pupils, particularly in writing, and this limits their progress. Pupils’ progress also slows because teachers are not skilled in adapting work in the light of checks they make on the levels pupils have reached.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers provide suitable activities to promote most areas of learning; the most successful are those that help children develop their personal and social skills. Children have a lot of fun in the Nursery. However, there are few opportunities for children to develop early writing skills, either indoors or outdoors, and as a result, few children take the opportunity to include writing in their play.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils know what they are going to learn because teachers tell them and give them a checklist of what they have to do. The checklists are helpful to pupils, and show them what tasks they must complete but do not always explain how they can quantify their success.  Pupils respond to instructions well. Teachers’ explanations are clear so that pupils understand what is expected of them. Tasks are regularly broken down into small steps so that pupils do not become confused. On occasions teachers draw pupils’ attention together to check how well they are doing, or move pupils on to the next step.  Pupils make effective improvements to their work when teachers mark their work regularly against the school policy. However, this is not always the case and sometimes pupils’ failure to respond to comments goes unnoticed.  Pupils enjoy using technology to present their work to the class and regularly assess how well

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

they have done, for example, Year 2 pupils used a green pen to underline rhyming words in their poems.  There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to discuss their ideas with partners or in groups and answer searching questions. Pupils show considerable confidence in answering questions and sharing ideas because teachers value their responses.  Relationships are good. Teachers use a lot of praise to encourage pupils so that they work in a happy and relaxed atmosphere.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning in some lessons are not good enough. Their progress slows when they have too much time to complete routine activities and rely heavily on adult support. Pupils do as they are asked and show pride in simple tasks because staff value their efforts. Most pupils take care to present work neatly, especially in mathematics.  Pupils behave well all around the school. They are kind and thoughtful, both to visitors and to one another. Pupils enjoy taking responsibility and are good ambassadors for the school. They are proud to be members of the school community.  Pupils are clear about how safe and comfortable they feel in the school and are confident that when rare incidents of bullying occur staff respond quickly to resolve any issues. Pupils know what constitutes bullying and are well informed about e-safety. A very small minority of parents and carers raised concerns about bullying through the online questionnaire Parent View, but

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

these were not confirmed by the evidence gathered during the inspection.  Pupils are well aware of the need to treat others with respect and consideration regardless of any differences. They explain that some pupils have specific problems and know they must be careful not to ‘wind other people up’. These caring and thoughtful attitudes are due to the school’s reflective approach, for example, pupils are encouraged to consider the impact of their own actions on others.  Activities such as International Week help to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and contribute to the harmonious relationships.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because there has not been enough focus on the rapid improvement of teaching and learning.  Checks on the quality of teaching are not regular enough to ensure that teaching is good or better throughout the school. Checks often focus more on what the teachers do than its impact on pupils’ learning. Good practice is not widely shared, particularly where it is needed most.  Regular use of a new electronic tracking package to measure pupils’ progress means that leaders are beginning to identify areas of concern quickly from Year 1 to Year 6. Teachers are accountable for addressing any areas of concern, and specific performance management objectives set to raise attainment further. Tracking in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not as robust and this hampers leaders’ abilities to identify key areas for improvement.  The new headteacher has established a sense of purpose and direction shared by almost all

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The leadership and management require improvement

staff. The school development plan identifies the right priorities to improve the school. A key success is the way that teaching assistants work with pupils. Ongoing training, directly designed to meet the needs of teaching assistants, enables them to be fully effective in supporting learning.  A concerted effort by school leaders, including governors, has improved the rate of attendance since the previous inspection. The attendance manager communicates regularly with parents and carers. Consequently, attendance continues to show an upward trend and is now close to the national average.  Additional funding to improve sports provision has not yet been received. School leaders know their allocation and plan to use funds to supplement the good number of sports clubs already provided, and increase skills in coaching for team sports. The school’s active support to ensure that a wide range of pupils takes part in all after-school or extra activities demonstrates a strong

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The leadership and management require improvement

commitment to equality of opportunity.  The local authority provided intensive support for the school after the previous inspection, in particular to help the school through a period of instability in leadership, and more recently to recruit some advanced skills governors.  The governance of the school:  The members of the governing body have worked closely with the local authority to appoint a new headteacher. They ask some penetrating questions in their meetings to check how well all groups of pupils are doing, including girls, the most able and those supported by the pupil premium grant. They have a strong sense of purpose and want to improve the school further still, but sometimes rely on their knowledge of the recent changes that have been introduced rather than comparing school performance against national benchmarks. This means that their view of how well the school is doing now is not fully accurate, particularly their view of pupils’

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The leadership and management require improvement

achievement and the quality of teaching. Governors have implemented a robust new performance management policy in line with new requirements to match pay and performance. They ensure that statutory duties such as safeguarding are met and that financial resources are managed well. The governing body works closely with the local authority to develop its skills in holding the school to account.

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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 125125 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 426511

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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 3  7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 438 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Edward Palmer Headteacher Gilly Gordon Date of previous school inspection 12  13 September 2011 Telephone number 020 8224 4731 Fax number 020 8224 4737 Email address info@chandlers-field.surrey.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

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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