Chartham Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Chartham Primary School Shalmsford Street, Chartham, Canterbury, Kent CT4 7QN

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Outcome

Chartham Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Jamie Noble. This school is part of Inspira 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, Dean Jones, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Richard Hover.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils show great care and consideration in this inclusive school. They enjoy breaktimes and engage cooperatively in the wide range of games and activities that the school offers. Pupils work hard to meet the school’s expectations of being respectful, safe and ready for learning. They discuss opinions that differ to their own sensitively and celebrate the diversity of their school. Pupils are happy and know that staff will deal with any worries they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning. They listen attentively to instructions and concentrate carefully during lessons. Pupils are enthusiastic learners. They share their ideas excitedly with each other and their teachers. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. They learn the important knowledge and skills in reading and mathematics that prepare them well for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ learning extends far beyond the classroom. They develop essential road safety skills through cycle awareness lessons and enjoy a broad range of trips and visits that enhance their learning. Pupils enjoy a range of adventurous activities in their forest school sessions. Staff use these activities to teach pupils the skills of resilience and self- regulation. These skills help pupils to behave well.

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

The school is ambitious for pupils to become active citizens with a strong understanding of their place in the wider world. Leaders have recently reviewed and changed the curriculum, so that pupils are now successful across a range of subjects. The curriculum is carefully designed to improve pupils’ understanding over time. In Reception Year, children 6 and 7 February 2024

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quickly learn crucial skills and knowledge. For example, they learn number facts that allow them access to the ambitious mathematics curriculum. They also develop a rich and varied vocabulary.

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Teachers are well trained and have sound subject knowledge. They use this to explain learning clearly and design activities that enthuse pupils. Teachers question pupils skilfully to find out how well they have understood what is taught. Teachers use these assessment strategies well to work out what pupils need to do and know next. In Reception Year, staff understand clearly the individual needs of children and adapt activities to meet their needs. However, in some subjects activities that support pupils in remembering what they have learned are not fully embedded. This means that, in some subjects, pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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The school has prioritised reading. Well-trained staff teach phonics well. Pupils read regularly to staff and pupils’ books are matched carefully to their phonic knowledge. Staff support pupils well in improving their fluency and enjoyment of reading. Teachers check pupils’ phonic knowledge and use this to plan a wide range of activities that help pupils develop their fluency and comprehension. However, for a small proportion of pupils with SEND, teachers’ strategies are not always effective enough in helping them to catch up in their reading. Pupils are keen to read and older pupils read a wide range of stories and genres as they move through the year groups. The school’s reward programme is tied to pupils’ accomplishments in reading, and this motivates them to read even more.

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Pupils behave well. They happily follow the school’s rules and routines. The school supports pupils who need to improve their behaviour effectively. Children in Reception Year cooperate thoughtfully when learning and playing. The school has shown determination in their work to improve attendance. They carefully analyse why pupils are absent and plan timely support for those pupils who do not attend frequently enough. As a result, attendance has improved steadily.

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The school has prioritised pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online and have a clear understanding of concepts, such as relationships and consent. The school enriches the curriculum with an offer of activities for pupils to develop their skills and talents. Pupils perform to their parents in assemblies and others sing in the school choir at a range of venues. They represent the school in a number of sports and sit as members of the active ‘Pupil Parliament’ with great pride.

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Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel well supported by leaders and benefit from the range of training offered by leaders and the trust. Governors know the school well and hold leaders to account effectively. The trust has carefully considered staff workload and has developed a ‘Peoples Charter’ to outline the varied support on offer to all staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 6 and 7 February 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers do not always support pupils well enough in recalling prior learning. This means that some pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as they could. Leaders should ensure that strategies to ensure that pupils remember their learning are embedded consistently well across all subjects.  Teachers’ strategies are not always effective in supporting some pupils with SEND to catch up in the early stages of reading. Consequently, a small proportion of pupils do not develop the knowledge of phonics that they need. Leaders must ensure that teachers’ support strategies are matched carefully to the needs of these pupils, so that they catch up in their reading consistently well.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Chartham Primary School to be good in January 2016.

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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, 6 and 7 February 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 6 and 7 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The board of trustees

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Inspira Academy Trust. The school joined the trust in April 2021.  Some pupils from St Nicholas School, Canterbury are educated on the school site. Teachers from St Nicholas are responsible for the education of these pupils.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school provides breakfast and after-school clubs for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of the school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The lead inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 6 and 7 February 2024

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 The lead inspector met with the headteacher as well as with other leaders and staff. The lead inspector also met with the chief executive officer of Inspira Academy Trust, members of the board of trustees and members of the local governing board.  The lead inspector carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Gavin Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 6 and 7 February 2024

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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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