Chetwynd Spencer Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Lorraine Tonks Headteacher Chetwynd Primary Academy Chetwynd Road Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG9 6FW

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

Following my visit to the school on 13 June 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since your school was judged to be good in September 2014.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

Based on the evidence gathered during the short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvements in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have firmly established your vision for Chetwynd and communicate high expectations of pupils’ achievements in every year group. Pupils understand Chetwynd values and work hard in and out of the classroom to show them. The celebration of school values and the ‘starfish’ roll of honour displayed in the hall are greatly valued by your pupils. You are passionate about raising academic achievements and providing children with a supportive and friendly environment in which to develop. A notable strength of the school is pupils’ positive enthusiasm for learning. Pupils work hard to support each other and this makes new pupils joining the school feel welcome and settle in easily.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

You provide a clear direction for the improvement of your school and this is shared and communicated with all those in the school community. Parents and carers speak highly of your inspirational leadership and value the high-quality nurture and support which lie at the heart of your school. This ensures that new pupils settle easily and are welcomed, which in turn enables them to achieve well. Parents comment on how hardworking the teachers are and openly express their pride in the ‘excellent quality of education’ which the school offers. Pupils are excited by the new curriculum and the opportunities which you have created to extend their learning outside the classroom.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

They are keen to start growing their own food and add more animals to the chickens you already have. Your plans to develop the curriculum further and deepen the mathematics content are taking shape.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

Attendance is high and this is testament to pupils’ enjoyment of coming to your school. Your belief in what every child can achieve has created a positive learning culture in Chetwynd. As a result, pupils have a can-do attitude, enjoy learning and are openly ambitious. This provides a powerful platform upon which to build for their future successes.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

You have established a highly effective senior leadership team and this extends to all leaders in your school, who are openly celebrated as ‘champions’ in their own right. Your shared experience and mutual respect for each other sets the tone for the cohesive and highly professional standards of the Chetwynd staff. Staff well- being is at the heart of your leadership and staff value being a part of the school. Together, you have led improvements in teaching and successfully addressed the areas identified for improvement in the previous inspection. As a result, academic standards have risen throughout the school. You have identified appropriate priorities to continue to improve the school.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

Children in the early years make excellent progress from their starting points and this is echoed through each key stage in the school. By the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6, attainment and progress are above the national averages and have been for several years. Teachers are adept at supporting all pupils and this is having a positive impact on pupils’ academic achievements. Teaching and learning remain a continual focus and passion for your leadership team.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

Governors and trust leaders have an insightful understanding of the school. Their wealth of experience of school governance and wide range of skills provide a sharp strategic focus on the future of the school. They have acted to implement and oversee the recent expansion of the school, creating additional classrooms and places for the growing school roll. Governors support school improvement well and use a range of information about the school to effectively challenge school leaders. They make frequent visits to the school to see first hand the high quality of leaders’ work.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

Leaders, governors and trust directors place a high priority on safeguarding. They ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are effective and records are meticulously kept. Rigorous checks are made on staff’s suitability to work with children and governors’ monitoring shows their excellent awareness of their own statutory responsibilities. Training is kept sharply up to date. Staff and governors have a thorough understanding of current safeguarding guidance; this includes the ‘Prevent’ duty and all safer recruitment practices. You make effective use of an online system to record concerns, which means that vulnerable pupils receive help and support quickly. You know your pupils and families well and use established partnerships with external agencies to provide carefully crafted support for the most vulnerable if needed.

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Short inspection of Chetwynd Primary Academy

Pupils say that they feel safe in school and know how to keep themselves safe when using online technologies. Assemblies and workshops help pupils and parents understand how to manage risks when using the internet and keep a high profile for the school’s safeguarding practices. Every opportunity is taken to keep your pupils safe.

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Inspection findings

 I looked closely at the actions leaders are taking to raise standards and accelerate progress as pupils move through each key stage in the school. Leaders have ensured that plans to improve the school are sharply focused and place high value on continually raising the quality of teaching. You have set a clear vision for the school and you have the absolute commitment and support of your leadership team. All members of the leadership team monitor and check pupils’ progress rigorously. Systems in place ensure that any pupil who is struggling is quickly picked up for support and intervention. This swift action has contributed to a rise in standards in every year group. The school has been successful in embedding the mastery approach to the teaching of mathematics and ensuring that pupils exceed the national averages for achieving the expected and higher standards.  Leaders have extended this strategy across other subjects and continue to raise

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Inspection findings

the achievements of every pupil. In both reading and writing Year 6 pupils outperform others nationally at the expected and higher standards. Progress in reading is significantly high. Outcomes for children in the early years exceed national averages and this continues through Year 1, where the phonics results are high year on year. Analysis of the school’s current information shows that pupils in all year groups are continuing this upward trajectory.  I looked closely at the quality of teaching throughout the school and the impact it has on pupils’ learning. Teachers have excellent knowledge of their subjects and plan lessons which meet the needs of all of their pupils.  Leaders in school who are specialists in English and mathematics have been integral in driving forward new developments such as the ‘Rainbow Grammar’ programme and working with colleagues to raise their confidence and skills. Excellent use is made of training partnerships with other schools and teachers

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Inspection findings

are encouraged to share best practice. High-quality marking and feedback helps pupils to improve their work and older pupils explain that this helps them to ‘understand what we have done well and makes learning more meaningful’.  Finally, I looked at the impact of the school’s strategy for supporting the achievement of disadvantaged pupils to bring them in line with all pupils nationally. Leaders have established a programme of activities to support this group of pupils and been meticulous in checking the impact which each activity has. The breakfast club has been effective in raising the attendance of this group to above the national average and successfully reducing persistent absence. Lunchtime clubs for mathematics show good impact on the proportions of disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard and for Year 1 and Year 4 pupils exceeding this. Overall, there are no patterns of underachievement and

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Inspection findings

school leaders have ensured that strategies are securely in place for this to continue.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the impact of the new curriculum is maximised by integrating more mathematics- related activities into each topic.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Nottinghamshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, we met regularly and along with your deputy and assistant headteachers observed teaching in several classes. We looked at pupils’ work in lessons and I spoke extensively to pupils about their work and experiences in school, throughout the day. I met with three members of the governing body, including the chair, and with three senior members of the academy trust, the chief executive officer, primary director and the director of quality and standards. I spoke with a group of pupils who hold specific responsibilities and also listened to pupils reading. Your middle leaders were available to talk about their areas and what impact this is having on raising standards further. I reviewed the school’s single central record, pre-employment checks and safeguarding procedures. I spoke with parents outside school in the morning and after the celebration assembly at the end of the day. I took note of their views through the 115 responses to the online

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Information about the inspection

survey, Parent View, and a letter received during the inspection. I also considered the 30 responses to the staff survey and 93 pupil surveys completed, and scrutinised the school’s website. All of my discussions were focused around the lines of enquiry that were formed and agreed in order to test if the school remains good.

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