Chigwell Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Chigwell Primary Academy Mandir Lane, Chigwell IG7 6ED

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 October 2023

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Outcome

Chigwell Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The acting headteacher of this school is Charlotte Furia. The school is part of Reach2 multi-academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Cathie Paine, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Gavin Robert. There is also an executive headteacher, Elaine Brook, who is responsible for this school and one other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They are proud to show their values of ‘respect, responsibility and resilience’. The school playground is a happy place. Pupils of different ages like to play football and basketball together. Pupils look after each other. Older pupils look forward to, and enjoy, helping the younger pupils through their roles as play leaders.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well and work hard during their lessons. They listen carefully to adults and to each other. The school and the trust have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils strive to reach these high expectations. Consequently, many pupils are progressing well through the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very respectful of differences. They understand the importance of treating others with respect. They enjoy learning about the diversity of cultures across the world. Pupils especially like learning about the different world religions. The school provides pupils with opportunities to celebrate their religious beliefs with others. They proudly share with their peers what is important to their own faith. Pupils appreciate these insights and value learning from their friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the various opportunities to attend sporting clubs. They enjoy representing the school in the many competitions and tournaments on offer to them. 11 and 12 October 2023

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has designed a curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils. Working alongside the trust, the school has identified the important knowledge and concepts pupils need to know and remember. They have ordered this knowledge carefully. This helps pupils to build on what they already know and can do.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum begins in the early years. In the Reception class, staff use specific and thoughtful language to prompt children to learn through their play. Children develop their understanding of this vocabulary. They use these new words while completing activities independently. This helps children to secure the important foundations of learning they need to be ready for Year 1.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school and the trust provide ongoing training and support for staff. This helps staff to, typically, have the subject knowledge they need to teach the curriculum. Staff use precise questions to check pupils’ understanding. Generally, the curriculum is taught consistently well and, therefore, most pupils achieve well. However, there are some inconsistencies. Sometimes, the curriculum is not always taught as well as it could be. There are occasions where teachers do not present information to pupils as precisely as they might. This means that, there are some occasions where pupils do not learn as well as the school would like them to.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school provides useful and precise information on how best to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps staff to use well-chosen resources within lessons. For example, the use of technology and visual prompts helps pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. The school has carefully chosen ‘class reads’ and ‘core texts’ to ensure pupils experience a broad and varied reading diet. Well-trained staff teach pupils how to read. The school rapidly identifies any pupil who is finding reading hard. They receive targeted support to develop both their confidence and their fluency. Pupils enjoy reading. They appreciate being able to select reading books from the school and local library.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The wider development of pupils is a priority for both the school and the trust. Enriching the curriculum is important to leaders at all levels. There are many opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests. The personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) curriculum also supports pupils’ wider development. Pupils learn about different types of relationships during PSHE lessons. They understand what a healthy relationship looks like. They are also aware of the signs of an unhealthy relationship. They understand the importance of speaking to trusted people should this happen.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Those responsible for governance know the strengths of the school and the areas to develop further. The school and the trust understand the importance of supporting staff to manage their own workload. Staff feel well supported and are proud to work at the school. Some subject leaders are new to their role. They have only begun to understand how well the curriculum works in their subjects. The school and trust have sensible plans 11 and 12 October 2023

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in place to ensure they have the knowledge they need to monitor their subjects effectively.

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The majority of parents agree that their child does well at school. However, there is work to do to ensure that parents fully understand the quality of education their child receives. There is also work to do to communicate with parents about how well the school supports their child’s wider development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are some inconsistencies in how well the planned curriculum is implemented and adapted. Sometimes, information is not presented to pupils as precisely as it might be. This means there are occasions where pupils do not secure their understanding of the important knowledge the school expects them to. The school should ensure there is greater consistency in how effectively the curriculum is taught and adapted, so pupils secure a deeper understanding of important knowledge and concepts.  Some subject leaders are new to their roles. They have only just begun to understand where the curriculum is working well and where it needs to improve. The school and trust should ensure that subject leaders have the support and training they need to evaluate how well the curriculum is working in their subjects.  Communication with some parents is not as strong as it could be. They would like to better understand the quality of education and wider offer their child receives. The

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

school should develop how they communicate with parents to ensure that the approaches they take to improve these areas of the school are well understood.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2018. 11 and 12 October 2023

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How can I feed back my views?

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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 11 and 12 October 2023

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School details

Headteacher Charlotte Furia (acting headteacher)

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School details

Website www.chigwellprimaryacademy.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 May 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been changes to staff and leadership recently. The acting headteacher took up the post in September 2023 having previously been the head of school.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, he discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also listened to pupils read to a familiar member of staff. 11 and 12 October 2023

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interest first.  The inspector held meetings with the executive headteacher, the acting headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, the deputy director of education for the trust, subject leaders, staff, trustees, local governors and pupils.  The inspector reviewed a range of documents, including behaviour logs, bullying records, pupil records, records of trustee meetings, school development plans and school policies.  There were 56 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View and 18 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for school staff which were considered.  The inspector considered 66 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for pupils. He also

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spoke with pupils throughout the inspection to gather their views.

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Michael Williams, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 October 2023

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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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