Great Chart Primary School

Great Chart Primary School Hoxton Close, Singleton, Ashford, Kent TN23 5LB

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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This is an outstanding school

 The headteacher leads the school exceptionally well. Since her appointment, the school has made rapid progress to become outstanding.  Leadership at all levels is extremely effective. Senior leaders know the school well and are clear about their responsibilities.  Middle leaders are very capable and trusted to lead in their individual areas of responsibility. Because of this, they have a very positive impact on the quality of teaching and learning.  Governors carry out their role in a very effective manner. They have ensured that school leaders focus on the right priorities for improvement.  Teachers have high expectations of behaviour and the progress pupils make. Because of this, pupils’ attitudes to learning are overwhelmingly positive, in turn ensuring that teachers are able to teach and rarely have to worry about poor behaviour.  Pupils know how to improve their work because teachers and support staff afford great importance

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This is an outstanding school

to this aspect of learning.  The standards pupils achieve as they move through the school are much higher than those seen nationally.  The hard work and dedication of non-teaching support staff ensures that pupils and teachers benefit from a school environment which is safe and extremely conducive to learning.  Teachers ensure that pupils of all abilities are challenged well. They constantly assess pupils’ understanding and are not afraid to reshape their teaching if required.  Because relationships between pupils and staff are so strong, pupils are not afraid to have a go and make mistakes. Pupils understand that success comes through working hard.  Pupils make very strong progress. Their outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are consistently better than those seen in most schools nationally.  Disadvantaged pupils do well. Their progress and attainment is better than that of other pupils nationally, although doesn’t yet match that of

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This is an outstanding school

other pupils in the school.  Because of the high quality of leadership and provision that matches their needs well, children in the early years foundation stage benefit from an excellent start to their education.  Pupils enjoy coming to school. Attendance is very good and much better than that seen in many schools nationally.  The school collaborates well with other local schools, but leaders should consider sharing the many strengths of the school more widely.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue the relentless drive to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, so that their achievements match those of other pupils in the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Share the considerable strengths of the school more widely, so that greater numbers of children benefit from the excellent quality of education this school and its leaders have to offer.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The headteacher leads the school with a quiet, understated authority. Her vision is one of excellence. She leads by example and teaching and support staff are very clear about what is required of them. Because of this, they are very motivated and take a great pride in the school. Staff enjoy working here.  Senior and middle leaders are talented and dedicated. Since her appointment, the headteacher has enabled them to lead in their different areas of responsibility, thus creating a culture where staff take collective responsibility for improving the school. Leaders realise that ‘doing things’ doesn’t necessarily ensure success, and are not afraid to ‘change things’ if their actions are having less impact than required.  Self-evaluation and improvement planning are strong. Governors and staff at every level are clear about the strengths of the school and those areas that could still be better. Because of this, the school has

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

focused on the right areas for improvement.  Staff benefit from a good range of professional development, closely matching their own needs and linking seamlessly with the school’s wider priorities for improvement. The management of staff performance, including that of non-teaching support staff, is very effective. Because of this, pupils benefit from excellent provision and an exceptional learning environment, both in and outside the classroom.  Pupils enjoy a curriculum that is constantly evolving to meet their needs. Staff work hard to make learning exciting and relevant so that all pupils engage well. Recent changes to the content of topics to ensure that boys are better inspired to learn have already had a very good impact, especially in key stage 1.  The social and emotional aspects of pupils’ education are very well met. Opportunities for pupils to reflect on their own beliefs and values while understanding and respecting those of others are woven through

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

the day-to-day curriculum.  Special events such as multicultural weeks or a careers week for Year 6 pupils enhance the curriculum. Educational visits are the norm. An inspector accompanied pupils from Year 2 on a visit to a local sports stadium during the inspection. Pupils arrived at the stadium in total awe, unable to contain their excitement at the prospect of being able to use the facilities it had to offer.  Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is used very well. Senior leaders and governors have high aspirations for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds or pupils who have special educational needs or disability.  Physical education and sports funding is also used very effectively. Pupils benefit from a wide range of sporting opportunities. Facilities for physical education are exceptional, including a climbing wall and outdoor gymnasium, which are used by pupils at break and lunchtimes.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 Although school leaders work very well in partnership with other settings and agencies, they should give further consideration to sharing the school’s strengths more widely, to the benefit of other local schools.  The support of the local authority has been ‘light touch’ in nature, due to the school’s obvious strengths. Leaders and governors have appreciated the local authority’s support in the recent past, especially where advice and guidance were needed around safeguarding and personnel matters.  The governance of the school – Governors know the school very well. They think strategically and have become much more effective since they reconstituted the governing body last year, ensuring that its structure and the way it operates is fit for purpose. – Members of the governing body understand the balance required when offering challenge and support to the headteacher and other leaders. Their attendance at the school’s annual ‘visioning day’ helps

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

them maintain close links with staff. Partnerships developed by individual governors with middle leaders in the course of monitoring their specific areas of responsibility are also strong. – Despite the school’s obvious successes, governors told the lead inspector they aspire to be better, so that the school in turn can be better. They see self-evaluation and improvement as a ‘team game’, with governors very much part of the team. One governor offered the opinion that to be rated outstanding would not be seen as the pinnacle of success by the governing body. Complacency is not an option in this school.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff and governors are aware of their collective responsibilities to keep children safe. Day-to-day routines are robust. Risk assessments for school trips, or the monitoring and maintenance of the school’s grounds are afforded a high degree of importance. Staff

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

have been trained to an appropriate level, depending on their level of responsibility. Procedures for the recruitment of staff, including checking references and carrying out statutory checks, are carried out efficiently. Pupils were very positive about feeling safe in school. Parents told inspectors that they feel their children are well cared for and very safe in school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Teachers have very high expectations of pupils, both for their general behaviour and the way they apply themselves to their learning. Because of this, pupils have a clear understanding of what is expected of them in the classroom and work hard to achieve their best.  The school’s renewed focus on ensuring that pupils know how to improve their work is paying dividends in the form of pupil progress. Teachers and teaching assistants constantly assess pupils’ understanding and do not waste opportunities to add further challenge or move learning on when appropriate. Because of this, pupils make exceptional progress.  Staff constantly assess the impact of their teaching, ensuring that pupils who have not fully grasped certain concepts, or who are in danger of falling behind, receive targeted support through high-quality interventions. These interventions are dynamic in nature and often delivered within a day of problems

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

being identified, so that misconceptions can be quickly addressed and pupil progress maintained.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. Inspectors saw a number of examples where pupils were challenged well beyond what might normally be expected, because teachers are confident in their own ability to extend pupils’ learning. This was evident across the school, from Year 1, where pupils worked hard to solve number problems with time, to Year 6 pupils, who were rewriting their own versions of ‘The Hobbit’.  Teaching staff cater well for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and pupils who have special educational needs or disability. Although additional support is available, the expectations for pupils from these groups are equally as high as those for other pupils in the school, ensuring an equality of provision and a clear message that all pupils need to make strong progress to achieve their best.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Relationships between pupils and staff are strong. Teachers ensure that pupils learn life skills as well as how to read and write. Pupils told the lead inspector that teachers always expect them to do more, and that they should, ‘never, ever, give up’.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils are confident and display very positive attitudes to school because of the high levels of care and support afforded to them by staff.  Because pupils are not afraid to get things wrong, they understand that working hard and trying their best will eventually bring success. The culture that hard work brings rewards is well established, as is older pupils’ understanding of taking increasing responsibility for their own learning.  Pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is supported very well through the school’s curriculum. Pupils’ understanding of how to stay safe in different everyday situations is also highly developed, with exceptional work being delivered by staff regarding internet and social media safety.  Pupils told the lead inspector that they enjoy coming to school and feel very safe. When questioned,

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Personal development and welfare

pupils told inspectors that bullying is non-existent, although ‘people do sometimes fall out’. One pupil said she feels that school ‘feels like a home to me… it’s somewhere I like to be.’

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. During the inspection, inspectors saw no evidence of poor behaviour or any conduct that gave even the slightest cause for concern. Pupils are polite and respectful. They have a very highly developed sense of right and wrong and ‘play by the rules’ in the playground.  Because of the very good quality of teaching and high expectations, behaviour in classrooms is mostly exemplary. Pupils disapprove of time being wasted or any interruptions to their learning.  The school has a very good track record of supporting those few pupils who sometimes find fully engaging with their learning a challenge. Parents praised school leaders for their tolerance and understanding when their children were finding things ‘difficult’.  Attendance is excellent. The continuing work of school leaders to ensure that parents understand their children need to attend school regularly means that absence, including persistent absence, is well below

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 Because pupils make exceptionally good progress, their outcomes are much better than those seen in most schools nationally. In the last two years, standards at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics have been much better than those seen nationally. The progress of pupils currently in the school is very strong and compares equally well with that seen in the past.  Children make exceptional progress from their different starting points in the early years phase. Because of this, high proportions of them leave Reception extremely well prepared for Year 1. The numbers of children achieving at least the expected level in literacy and mathematics are very high compared to national averages.  The number of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) in Year 1 is much higher than national averages. This is also the case for disadvantaged pupils, who

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

outperformed other pupils nationally last year. Outcomes in phonics by the end of Year 2 also compare very favourably with national averages.  By the end of Year 2, pupils achieve levels higher than those seen nationally, significantly so in reading and writing. In the past, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and pupils who have special educational needs or disability have been less successful than other pupils in key stage 1. Because the school has made this the main focus for improvement, these pupils are now making the rapid progress required to catch up.  Outcomes for pupils at the end Year 6 are much better than those seen in most other schools, including outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, who make much better progress and achieve at higher levels than other pupils nationally. However, disadvantaged pupils do not yet match the extremely high levels of attainment achieved by other pupils in the school.

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 Outcomes for the most-able pupils, capable of achieving at higher levels, are excellent. The school compares very favourably with other schools nationally when taking their achievements into account by the end of key stage 2.  The proportion of pupils exceeding the progress expected of them in key stage 2 is very high compared to national averages. This includes the progress made by disadvantaged pupils. Because of this, the numbers of pupils achieving at higher levels in reading, writing, mathematics and English grammar, punctuation and spelling were significantly higher than in other schools nationally last year.  Outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs or a disability are very good. By the end of key stage 2 all have made the progress expected of them. Outcomes in reading are broadly in line with those of other pupils nationally, while outcomes for writing and mathematics are better than those seen for

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Early years provision is outstanding

 Because of the exceedingly high quality of provision, children get off to a very good start in the early years. Leadership is strong and very effective. Outcomes for children are excellent.  Staff know the children well. Arrangements for children starting school are very strong. Parents appreciate the ‘tea and tissues’ sessions arranged to support them with their child’s transition into school, as well as further sessions informing them about different aspects of the early years curriculum as the year progresses.  Children benefit from an exciting and inspiring learning environment, which staff use very effectively to support learning. Because assessment procedures are excellent, staff are able to plan learning opportunities well, ensuring that children make excellent progress.  In the past, outcomes for boys, while being very good, have not matched those for girls. Leaders have worked hard to remedy this, including making some fundamental changes to the way learning is planned.

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Early years provision is outstanding

Because of this, boys are now making the same excellent rates of progress as girls.  Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds do very well in the early years phase, making excellent progress from their different starting points. By the end of Reception, they achieve in line with other children in the school and well above other children nationally.  Children concentrate well and sustain high levels of engagement in the activities planned for them by staff. They were very keen to tell inspectors what they were learning, explaining their ‘maths motto’ of ‘make it, draw it, write it’, and how this helps them understand what numbers really mean.  Children behave very well. Staff have high expectations and routines are very firmly established. Parents were very positive when they spoke to inspectors. They appreciate the very high levels of pastoral care offered to their children, as well as the excellent progress they make.

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School details

Unique reference number 118375 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10011124

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 480 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Keith Robbins Headteacher/Principal/Teacher in charge Mrs Wendy Pang Telephone number 01233 620040 Website www.great-chart.kent.sch.uk Email address office@great-chart.kent.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 30 November – 1 December 2010

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Information about this school

 Great Chart Primary School is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The school has a smaller than average proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding) is lower than the national average.  Early years provision is full time in Reception.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector conducted a learning walk around the school, visiting most classrooms, accompanied by the headteacher.  Inspectors conducted 18 lesson observations across the school and accompanied one year group on an educational visit to a local sports stadium.  Meetings were held with pupils, parents, the headteacher and senior leaders, middle leaders, the chair of governors accompanied by three other governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors looked at a range of pupils’ work, heard pupils read and observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school at break and lunchtimes.  The lead inspector attended an assembly.  Inspectors considered the views of parents, taking into account 114 responses to the online parent questionnaire, Parent View. The inspectors also considered 85 freetext responses submitted by parents.  Inspectors considered the views of staff using the staff questionnaires provided by the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents including those to do with safeguarding, attendance, minutes of meetings of the governing body, information about pupils’ outcomes provided by the school, the school’s self-evaluation of its own performance and the school’s improvement planning.

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Inspection team

Clive Close, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Dr Rosemary Addison Ofsted Inspector Susan Child Ofsted Inspector Joseph Figg Ofsted Inspector Judith Sumner Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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