Chiltern Primary School

Inspection of Chiltern Primary School Chiltern Way, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG22 5BB

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Chiltern Primary is an inclusive school where pupils feel valued and accepted. Positive relationships, evident throughout the school, are built on the adults’ deep understanding of each pupil’s needs. Staff go to great lengths to support pupils and their families. As a result, pupils feel safe and know who to speak to if they have any concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. The school’s rules of ‘be respectful, be ready to learn and be safe’ are a lived experience for pupils. Classrooms are busy with industrious learning. Typically, pupils behave well in lessons. However, not all pupils attend school regularly and this has a negative impact on their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Curriculum enrichments activities, such as visits to the Mary Rose or to a local bee farm, bring learning to life. Pupils also have access to a range of clubs to build on their interests including computing and construction.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Recent work to improve the curriculum is having a positive impact. However, the quality of education in essential areas such as reading and mathematics needs to improve, as reflected in previously published outcomes. Pupils, including children in the early years, do not always learn or remember some key information as well as they should.

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

The school, including governors, with the help of the local authority has established a sharp focus on actions for improvement. Leaders have created a new ambitious curriculum. Subject leaders are passionate advocates for their subjects. The important knowledge that pupils need to learn has been identified. It has been broken down into small steps that build learning over time as pupils move through the school.

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

The school has prioritised improving the delivery of the curriculum and is providing the necessary training to ensure subjects are taught confidently. However, as much of this work is still in its early stages, there is variation in how the curriculum is delivered. This means that pupils do not receive the same quality of education across all subjects.

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

The school prioritises pupils who need additional help with learning. There are robust systems for identifying pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils in the specialist provision, Meadow class, receive effective, high-quality support.

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

Lessons are designed to support pupils in learning the necessary curriculum knowledge and skills. Typically, the school ensures that staff have secure subject knowledge. Teachers are well supported by curriculum planning. However, the school does not systematically check pupils’ understanding sufficiently well. Staff sometimes provide activities for pupils, including those with SEND, that do not help them to learn the curriculum effectively. As a result, some pupils struggle to remember what they have learned, leading to repeated errors. This creates gaps in the important knowledge they need to build upon to deepen their understanding. 1 and 2 October 2024

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The school has rightly prioritised early reading and provides high-quality support to support staff to deliver phonics. Pupils read books that contain the sounds they have learned. This helps pupils to practise their learning and to develop confidence. However, inconsistencies in the delivery of the phonics programme, including in the early years, have emerged. As a result, some pupils in each year group require interventions to help them catch up. These pupils do not become fluent readers as quickly as they could.

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Children in the early years are eager to learn. The school effectively supports children who initially struggle with some of the routines and expectations of school. During play, children work well with their peers and share their equipment. However, the school does not ensure that children access all learning areas effectively. As a result, some children do not develop important early reading, writing and number skills successfully.

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The school has taken determined action to improve pupils’ attendance. Staff work increasingly effectively with families to understand and resolve attendance issues. As a result, attendance is improving. However, a significant minority of pupils continue to have repeated absences from school. This means that they miss essential learning opportunities.

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Pupils’ personal development is a notable strength. They benefit from carefully considered provision that supports their personal and social development. The school promotes pupils’ physical and emotional health well. Pupils learn about different faiths and can identify similarities and differences with their own. Pupils are proud of the many leadership opportunities they have, such as play leaders and lunchtime monitors. The elected school councillors apply for their roles and are keen to help improve their school.

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Governors have an accurate view of the school. They work well with school leaders, providing considered challenge. Close regard is given to the impact of the school’s actions and staff workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Improvements in the implementation of the curriculum, including in the early years, are at an early stage of development. This means that across the curriculum, too many pupils are not reaching the standards they should, including in reading and mathematics. The school should ensure that inconsistencies in teaching are swiftly addressed in the early years and key stage 1 so that pupils are suitably prepared for the requirements of key stage 2.  Staff checks of pupils' learning do not accurately identify the gaps in knowledge. This means that some pupils develop misconceptions, and this slows their learning. The 1 and 2 October 2024

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school should support staff to precisely check pupils’ understanding and use this information to inform their teaching so that pupils better secure their knowledge over time.  Attendance is too low for groups of pupils, including those with SEND and other disadvantaged pupils. This impacts pupils' access to the full curriculum, leading to gaps in learning. The school recognises this issue and has developed strategies to address it, though these plans are still in their early stages. The school must redouble its efforts to ensure that the strategies are having a positive impact on attendance and learning outcomes for these vulnerable groups of pupils.

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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). 1 and 2 October 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 and 5 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school manages its own before school provision.  The school does not make use of 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. 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 judgement 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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. They also met with members of the governing body and representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and art. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  During the inspection, inspectors met with a range of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to them informally during social times.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors spoke to the safeguarding leader and scrutinised a

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wide range of information, including a selection of the school’s records. They also spoke to staff and pupils about safeguarding and looked at how pupils learn to keep safe.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. They also took account of staff responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Laura James, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Judith O'Hare 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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