Castle Hill Primary School

Inspection of Castle Hill Primary School Buckland Road, Chessington, Surrey KT9 1JE

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 January 2025

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Dalene Johnson. The school is a single academy trust. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Charlotte Boult. 21 and 22 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Castle Hill enjoy coming to school to see their friends and are enthusiastic about their learning. They maintain positive relationships with peers and adults in the school community. Pupils benefit from the wide range of opportunities on offer to support their well-being. In turn, this helps them in becoming confident and resilient learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and learning. Pupils rise to these expectations. They typically achieve well and make positive progress through the curriculum from their individual starting points.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave extremely well in class and around the school. They embody the school values of aspiration and respect, demonstrating a deep understanding of the school’s code of conduct. Pupils readily support each other to consistently be ‘safe, respectful, and ready’. Staff readily support any pupils who become distracted to refocus on their work and meet teachers’ expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils relish the opportunities offered to them to take on responsibilities, such as being a prefect or ‘well-being ambassador’. They understand how these roles help to prepare them for the future.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in this highly inclusive, caring and nurturing school. They are taught how to keep themselves safe online and in the community.

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

The school offers an ambitious curriculum that reflects the breadth and depth of what is expected nationally. Subjects have been sequenced in a way that enables pupils to embed knowledge over time from the early years onwards. For example, in mathematics, children in the Nursery learn to count and recognise numbers represented in different ways. This prepares them well for learning larger numbers and measurements later. Reading is made a high priority. Pupils learn to read with fluency and accuracy. This is because they are taught by highly trained staff who follow the school’s chosen reading programme consistently. The school checks how well children are learning to read. This helps staff to quickly identify and support those who fall behind to catch up with their peers.

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

Teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain new learning clearly. Assessment is typically used well to check that pupils have understood what they are learning. Teachers use this information to make effective adaptations to support pupils who may have misconceptions. Tasks and activities are well chosen and enable pupils to discuss, recap, rehearse and apply their learning. This helps pupils to know and remember more over time.

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

Support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a real strength. Staff ensure that these pupils benefit from familiar routines that help them to be ready to learn. Staff are skilled at adapting learning to meet a range of different needs. 21 and 22 January 2025

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Consequently, pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers and achieve well.

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Leaders are ambitious for outcomes at the end of key stage 2 to be stronger. For example, they have taken swift action to improve handwriting and spelling. This is starting to have a positive impact on pupils’ writing in English. However, the quality of pupils’ writing in other subjects is not as strong. This is because technical errors are not identified and addressed as swiftly. This limits the fluency and quality of work pupils produce.

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Pupils’ behaviour is exceptional. They conduct themselves with extremely high levels of maturity and integrity. They are calm and orderly in lessons and at breaktimes. Pupils treat each other, staff and visitors with respect and are very kind to one another. Staff have high expectations for how pupils behave. Pupils who struggle to remain calm are very well supported to identify and manage negative feelings. The school manages attendance well by working closely with families and other agencies.

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The school ensures pupils are thoroughly prepared for life beyond school. For example, pupils are taught to cook healthy meals and learn about why it is important to exercise. Pupils are taught to respect difference. They learn about and celebrate a range of religions, cultures, relationships and family structures through lessons, school events and assemblies. Pupils benefit from a very broad range of opportunities to develop their talents and interests through clubs such as origami, arts and crafts, choir, yoga and boxing. From as early as Year 3, pupils develop independence through overnight stays and residential visits. Pupils are encouraged to be active citizens who raise money for charities and debate current affairs and issues.

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School leaders, including trustees, make decisions in the best interests of pupils. They take effective action to make improvements to the school and support all pupils to achieve their best. Staff are appreciative of how leaders consider their well-being, professional development and workload. Parents and carers are very positive about the work of the school and are grateful for the high-quality communication and support they receive from school staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Errors and misconceptions in pupils’ writing across the curriculum are not identified and addressed in a timely way. As a result, the quality of pupils’ written work beyond English is not of a consistent fluency or quality. The school should ensure that pupils are given opportunity to develop their writing in different subjects. The school should 21 and 22 January 2025

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also ensure that assessment is used consistently to identify and correct errors and misconceptions.

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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). 21 and 22 January 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 and 19 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a specialist resource provision for children and pupils with speech, language and communication needs. Some of these pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or are in the process of being assessed for an EHC plan.  The school manages an on-site Nursery provision for children aged from three months, which was not in the scope of this inspection. Children attend Nursery both full time and part time.  The school uses a local authority approved unregistered tuition service as an alternative provision for pupils who have barriers to attending school.  There is a daily breakfast and after-school club, managed by the school.

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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 21 and 22 January 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and art. To do this, they met with subject leaders, held discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work. Other subjects were considered as part of this inspection.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school and priorities for improvement.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, a selection of subject leaders, teachers and support staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the governing body, including the

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chair of the trust board. They also spoke with representatives from the local authority and a school improvement partner.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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.  The views of pupils, parents and staff were considered through discussions and their responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Una Buckley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Daniel Terry Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 January 2025

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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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