Chieveley Primary School

Inspection of Chieveley Primary School School Road, Chieveley, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 8TY

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 1 and 2 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Chieveley Primary School is a welcoming and friendly community. Most pupils enjoy coming to school each day and attend regularly. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and reward those who demonstrate the school’s values of resilience, reflection, resourcefulness, risk-taking and relationships. Pupils respond well to this and are proud when their good behaviour and achievements are recognised.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are generally kind to each other. They play and learn together well. Although pupils say that bullying is not common, they are rightly confident that they can talk to an adult if needed and any issues will be resolved. Pupils feel safe in school. They form strong and trusting relationships with their class teachers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are taught the importance of playing their part in the Chieveley School community. Many pupils benefit from taking on roles and responsibilities such as helping to run the school library, showing visitors around or raising money for charity. Pupils also enjoy participating in a range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, music, creative and social clubs. Most parents and carers would recommend the school and many commented that their children feel happy and well supported.

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

The school is ambitious for its pupils and seeks to equip them with the knowledge and skills to become ‘futureproof’. For the majority of pupils this vision is realised. The school has established a broad curriculum which progresses seamlessly from the early years through to Year 6. Teachers draw on strong subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum with skill and enthusiasm. As a result, most pupils enjoy their education here and learn well over time. Although the curriculum is generally strong, the school is aware that pupils do not make as much progress as they could in mathematics. This is because there is not always enough focus on developing mathematical fluency, for example by ensuring that pupils can recall multiplication tables quickly and accurately.

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

The school’s reading curriculum is a particular strength and is delivered by well-trained staff. There is a highly systematic approach to ensuring pupils become confident and competent readers. Staff who deliver this programme are rigorous in checking that pupils are learning. This provides them with a precise understanding of what pupils know and where there are gaps. They use this information to tailor the curriculum to each pupil. This work begins right from Reception, with pupils learning to recognise sounds and read simple words from the moment they start at the school. The school’s reading curriculum has undergone improvements in recent years and the strength of the programme is not yet reflected in published outcomes.

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

Although pupils generally achieve well at the school, this is not always the case for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Sometimes pupils’ needs are not identified as quickly as they could be. When needs are identified, there is not always enough advice provided for teachers on how to adapt the delivery of the curriuclum in the classroom. At times, there is too much reliance on interventions delivered outside of the 1 and 2 October 2024

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classroom, meaning that pupils with SEND do not benefit fully from the training and expertise of their class teachers.

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The school has developed an effective approach to supporting pupils’ wider personal development. The curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education is broad and comprehensive. This work starts in the early years, where pupils learn about healthy eating and staying physically active. It progresses to older year groups, where pupils learn about the risks posed by social media and how to stay safe online. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and remember what they have learned about topics such as healthy relationships and diversity.

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Leaders, including governors, know the school well. They have identified those areas that need to develop and have ensured that these are included in their development plans. Governors generally understand their duties well, but lack the detailed understanding required to challenge and support leaders on the quality of education for pupils with SEND. Staff acknowledge positive changes at the school and that this has had some impact on their workload. However, they are happy to be a part of the school and feel well supported by the leadership team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not always identify the needs of pupils with SEND as quickly and precisely as it could, and then provide helpful information to teachers. This means that some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they could, because the curriculum is not adapted sufficiently well. The school should ensure that there is a more systematic approach to identifying SEND and that this results in more timely and effective adaptations to teaching. Governors should check that this work is having its intended impact.  The school’s work to develop pupils’ mathematical fluency is not as effective as it could be. This has a negative impact on pupils’ learning in mathematics and how much they know and remember in this subject. Leaders should continue to prioritise efforts to improve pupils’ mathematical fluency and ensure that they monitor the impact of this work closely.

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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. 1 and 2 October 2024

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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). 1 and 2 October 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 July 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a change in the headteacher since the school was last inspected. The current headteacher was appointed in April 2024.  The school is currently using one registered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 1 and 2 October 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with a range of leaders at the school about their areas of responsibility, including the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors 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, inspectors 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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 Inspectors held meetings with leaders and reviewed evidence relating to other areas of the school. These included behaviour and attendance, pupils’ personal development, and the school’s work to identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils, parents and staff, including non-teaching staff. They considered responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s confidential parental questionnaire as well as a survey for school staff.

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Inspection team

Chris Ellison, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Fiona Henderson Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 October 2024

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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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