Henry Chichele Primary School

Inspection of Henry Chichele Primary School School Lane, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire NN10 8NQ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 19 and 20 April 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are cheerful and polite. They say that it is easy to make friends at Henry Chichele. They enjoy playing together on the playground. Pupils make the most of opportunities to be physically active at breaktimes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They know that there is support available if they are worried about anything. Pupils are taught to share any concerns they might have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils and they want the very best for them. However, the quality of education at Henry Chichele is not good enough. Pupils do not make the progress they could because the curriculum is not sufficiently well planned and taught.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have recently made improvements to the way in which behaviour is managed. However, low-level disruption in some lessons can make it difficult for pupils to concentrate.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know what bullying is and how to report it. They told inspectors that bullying does not happen often. Pupils know that it is not acceptable.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many parents and carers are happy with the school and they appreciate the hard work of the staff. However, others raised concerns about poor behaviour in some classes and the effectiveness of the support for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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better?

There have been several staffing changes at Henry Chichele recently. The acting senior management team has provided steady leadership in these challenging circumstances. However, leaders know that many aspects of the school need to be improved.

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better?

In several subjects, the sequence of learning is not precise. In these subjects, leaders have not identified what pupils need to know and when. As a result, pupils do not build their knowledge step by step in a logical order. Some aspects of the early years curriculum are not planned well enough. It is not always clear what children are expected to learn by doing some of the activities that are set up in the early years classrooms or outside.

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better?

Teachers usually explain things clearly. They demonstrate how things should be done, so that pupils can be successful. However, in most subjects, teachers do not go over the important knowledge that has already been covered. They do not make links between pupils’ prior learning and what they are learning now. This means that pupils can struggle to remember what they have been taught in the past and do not deepen their understanding over time. 19 and 20 April 2023

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Teachers do not always adapt their lessons well enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. In some instances, the individual support for pupils with SEND could be more precise.

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Pupils enjoy reading. They love visiting the school library. Children begin to learn to read the moment they start in Reception. Leaders are doing everything they can to raise attainment in phonics. They have ensured that all staff have the expertise they need to teach pupils how to read. Staff deliver the school’s chosen phonics programme consistently. Staff make regular checks on the letter sounds that pupils remember. If anyone needs extra help, they are given it straightaway. The books pupils take home contain the letter sounds that they know so they can become confident, fluent readers. However, leaders have not clearly set out what needs to be taught to develop pupils’ reading comprehension in key stage 2.

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Leaders have improved the way in which more serious incidents of misbehaviour are recorded, analysed and acted on. However, lessons can be interrupted by calling out and silliness in some classes. Staff do not deal with this type of behaviour consistently well, which means that it sometimes continues, particularly in Year 5 and Year 6.

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Leaders respond quickly when attendance is below where it needs to be. Leaders are focused on reducing the rate of persistent absence for disadvantaged pupils and they have suitable procedures in place to do so.

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Leaders have thought carefully about the curriculum for pupils’ personal development. However, it is not preparing pupils for life in modern Britain as well as leaders intend. In particular, pupils lack knowledge and understanding about lifestyles and beliefs that are different from their own.

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Staff recognise the hard work of the acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher in recent months. They appreciate the time that has been given for them to carry out their subject leadership responsibilities. However, some leaders do not have an accurate understanding of how well their subject is being taught.

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Governors know that they need to widen the checks they carry out to ensure that the quality of education is high across the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding has a high profile at Henry Chichele. Leaders provide regular training and updates on safeguarding. Leaders check that staff understand their responsibilities and they have the knowledge they need to keep children safe. This ensures that staff are aware of the signs that might show that a pupil needs help. Staff report concerns straightaway. Record-keeping is detailed. Governors make sure that the safeguarding policy is being followed. Pupils learn what it means to feel 19 and 20 April 2023

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safe. They know to tell an adult if they feel unsafe. High-quality mental health support is provided for anyone who needs it.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not clearly identified what they want pupils to know and remember in all subjects. This means that pupils do not have a sufficient depth of understanding by the time they reach the end of key stage 2. Leaders must ensure that the important knowledge pupils must remember is set out sequentially in all subjects, with a precise progression from early years through to Year 6. Leaders must then make sure that teachers systematically revisit what pupils have learned before, helping them to understand and recall it securely.  The intended learning outcomes for some of the free-choice activities in early years are not always clear. As a result, children gain little knowledge from the time they spend on some of these activities. Leaders must ensure that children are engaged in meaningful learning throughout the early years setting. Teachers must make sure that children get the most from all the activities they do by

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

establishing consistent expectations and routines for independent learning.  Some of the plans for supporting pupils with SEND lack precision. Teachers do not always adapt their teaching well enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. As a result, some pupils with SEND do not make sufficient progress against their individual targets or receive the exact support they need in lessons to learn the curriculum. Leaders must ensure that all pupils’ needs are assessed accurately. They must set plans that precisely match pupils’ needs and ensure that these are reviewed regularly. Leaders must make sure that all teachers understand how to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.  Some staff do not deal with incidents of low-level disruption effectively. In some classes, the expectations of pupils are not high enough, and the response to low- level disruption is inconsistent. This means that some pupils do not focus well

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

enough on their learning, and it is harder for others to concentrate. Leaders must work with staff to help all pupils develop positive and respectful attitudes towards learning. Leaders must ensure that all staff address instances of disruptive behaviour swiftly and effectively.  Leaders have set out an ambitious curriculum for pupils’ personal development. However, pupils’ recall of what they have been taught about healthy lifestyles, relationships, and equality and diversity lacks detail. Leaders must review the implementation of the personal development curriculum, so that pupils gain the knowledge they need for life in modern Britain.  Procedures to evaluate the implementation and impact of the curriculum are not yet well established in all subjects. As a result, some subject leaders have a limited understanding of how well their subject is being taught. Subject leaders must check how effectively their curriculum is being delivered, checking that

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

pupils know and remember what they should. They must ensure that staff have 19 and 20 April 2023

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the training they need to teach the planned curriculum. Governors must also hold leaders to account for the quality of education in all curriculum subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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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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. 19 and 20 April 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Karen Abel (Acting Chair)

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School details

Headteacher Sue Hope (Acting Headteacher)

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School details

Website www.henrychichele.northants.sch.uk

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Date of previous inspection

3 and 4 December 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The acting headteacher has been in post since October 2022.  There have been some significant changes in staffing since the previous inspection.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection of the school since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, science, art and design, and physical education. For the deep dives, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 19 and 20 April 2023

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 Inspectors met with the acting headteacher, acting deputy headteacher, subject leaders and a sample of teaching and support staff. Inspectors met with the leaders responsible for pupils with SEND, behaviour, early years and personal development.  The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to discuss the actions taken to keep pupils safe. The lead inspector reviewed a range of documents, including the school’s single central record.  Inspectors examined a range of school documentation, including leaders’ self- evaluation, improvement plans, and documentation relating to attendance and pupils’ behaviour.  The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 reading to a familiar adult. Inspectors met with groups of pupils from across the school.  The lead inspector met with governors, including the acting chair of the governing body. He also spoke with representatives of the local authority.

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 Inspectors considered the responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, and considered the results of the Ofsted staff survey.

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Inspection team

Shaun Carter, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lee Christopher Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 April 2023

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