Chiltern Primary School

Inspection of Chiltern Primary School Chiltern Way, Duston, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN5 6BW

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 22–23 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being part of this calm, caring school. They feel safe and know that staff will help them when they need it. They respect their teachers. In the classroom, they listen well and are ready to learn. However, leaders do not ensure that teachers give pupils enough of the right work to achieve their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders want pupils to be thoughtful citizens and have pride in themselves. They have given careful thought to what pupils learn about attitudes and beliefs. Leaders have not been as clear about important learning in academic subjects. Leaders ensure that topics are interesting. They organise visitors and ‘wow’ events to ‘bring learning to life’. Despite this, pupils do not remember what they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities. They are keen to be ‘helping hands’. They are helpful school councillors and help new friends with learning English. They respect differences. They know that some classmates need extra help to manage their emotions, for example.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and friendly around school. They think rules are fair and enjoy receiving electronic tokens for trying hard. Pupils say that bullying is rare and that adults are quick to sort it out.

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better?

Leaders have maintained the ethos of care across the school. They have improved staff’s consistency in managing behaviour. Pupils now behave well and are keen to learn. Leaders’ actions to improve the quality of education have not been as robust.

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better?

Leaders make sure that phonics is well taught from the very start. The phonics leader provides regular training. Teachers check that pupils remember the sounds they have learned. They are quick to provide extra help to make sure that pupils who fall behind catch up and keep up. Pupils acquire good early phonics skills.

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better?

Leaders do not make sure that pupils’ reading skills build from this strong start. They have provided some materials to help planning. However, leaders are not clear about what approaches staff should use or what pupils should learn year on year. They have not checked how well the reading curriculum is being implemented. All teachers aim to cover the programmes of learning for pupils. Some teachers ask probing questions and adapt teaching well, ensuring that work is demanding. This is not consistent across all classes.

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better?

In mathematics, leaders have put in place a well-sequenced curriculum. However, they have not made sure that all teachers have a secure knowledge of this subject. Teachers do not build well enough on what pupils already know. These weaknesses limit pupils’ ability to tackle more demanding work. 22–23 January 2020

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Pupils do not develop sufficient fluency in mathematics. Sometimes they remember a ‘rule’ that is incorrect. For instance, some Year 5 pupils believe that, ‘If you multiply a number, it will always get bigger’.

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Leaders have checked that the curriculum covers what it should in other subjects. They make sure pupils cover interesting topics. They have not yet identified the most important knowledge and skills they want pupils to remember. Most subject leaders are new to their role. They have not yet received training or the time they need to fulfil this role.

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Leaders accurately identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They are diligent in making sure pupils’ pastoral needs are met. They want to ensure that learning targets are better matched.

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Staff in early years ensure that children get off to a strong start. Parents and carers enjoy workshops to support their child’s learning. Children are quick to join in the clear routines. Staff develop children’s language skills at every opportunity. Teachers make sure children get off to a strong start with learning phonics and numbers. Children enjoy practising. For example, they were ‘happy frogs’ when jumping on the letters to win the word. Children are well prepared for Year 1.

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Pupils behave well. Leaders use local links well. Pupils work with the local mayor to understand democracy. They enjoy singing at a local care home. The police and fire brigade come in to talk to pupils about safety. Visitors from different faiths answer pupils’ respectful questions, for example about pilgrimage.

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Staff appreciate that leaders care about their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that staff are well trained. Staff take the welfare of pupils seriously. They are confident to share any concerns. Some staff receive training to give extra emotional support to pupils who need it.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work well with other agencies and organisations. They ensure that pupils and families get help when they need it. Checks on pupils’ absence and staff recruitment are thorough and timely.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. For instance, they understand how to stay safe online and what to do if they feel worried. 22–23 January 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not established a consistent approach to the teaching of reading that builds on pupils’ secure phonics knowledge. Pupils are not consistently building up the skills and knowledge they need to successfully tackle more demanding work. Leaders should establish a consistent approach to teaching reading, in line with their curriculum ambition.  Leaders have mapped out coverage of subjects across the curriculum and started providing guidance for teachers to improve sequencing of learning across year groups. However, they have not yet identified the most important knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn. Pupils do not consistently remember enough of what they are taught. Leaders should ensure teachers are clear about what should be taught and revisited, so pupils remember more and achieve well across all subjects.  Leaders have not provided teachers with sufficient training to secure consistent

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

subject knowledge across the subjects they teach, including mathematics. Teachers are not consistently skilled in making adaptions to meet the needs of all pupils, particularly in ensuring that work is sufficiently demanding. Leaders should ensure that teachers deepen their subject knowledge so more pupils achieve what they are capable of. They should ensure that teachers set work that is appropriately demanding.  New curriculum leaders have not received sufficient support to fulfil their role effectively. This means they are not yet able to help colleagues to improve the quality of education in their subject area. Senior leaders should ensure that leaders receive appropriate training and time to undertake their intended role.  Senior leaders have plans to improve the focus and rigour of monitoring and evaluation of curriculum implementation. These need to be put in place, so that weaknesses are accurately identified, and effective action is taken quickly, in

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

order to improve the quality of education.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 22–23 January 2020

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 22–23 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121205 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 October 2017, 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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Information about this school

 There have been no significant changes to the school since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher and two assistant headteachers. We met with the chair and vice-chair of the governing body, and four other governors. We spoke to a representative of the local authority.  We did deep dives into these subjects: reading, writing, mathematics, history and science. This included discussions with subject leaders, teachers and pupils, visits to lessons with leaders and scrutiny of pupils’ work.  We checked the school’s approach to safeguarding. We met with the designated safeguarding lead and school administrative staff. We scrutinised documentation, including school policies and records of recruitment and vetting checks. We spoke 22–23 January 2020

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about safeguarding to a range of staff, including breakfast club supervisors, lunchtime supervisors, office staff and classroom-based staff.  We spoke to pupils about their school. We observed pupils during the school day, including at lunchtime and breaktime. We spoke to parents at the start of the school day and considered the 30 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. We considered the 46 responses to the online staff questionnaire in paper format. There were no responses to the online pupil questionnaire to consider.  We examined a range of documentation, including published information about the school’s performance in national assessments, the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s improvement plan, information related to behaviour and attendance, and information published on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Mandy Wilding, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Heidi Malliff Ofsted Inspector 22–23 January 2020

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regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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