Chivenor Primary School

Inspection of Chivenor Primary School Farnborough Road, Castle Vale, Birmingham, West Midlands B35 7JA

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 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 executive headteacher of this school is Mrs Lisa Guest. This school is part of The Griffin Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Anne Powell, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Michael McCreedy. 11 and 12 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this school and feel happy and secure. Staff go to great lengths to care for pupils. They model kindness and respect. Pupils trust adults in the school and know that they want the best for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in the school is calm and purposeful. Pupils rise to the high expectations that adults have for them. Pupils move around the school respectfully and play well together. They enjoy the rewards they receive for following the school rules and working hard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects its pupils to succeed and leaders say that there are ‘no barriers’ here. Pupils achieve well across a range of subjects. Effective support is provided for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to achieve alongside their peers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

An extensive range of curriculum enrichment activities broaden pupils’ experiences and their outlook on the world. These include trust-wide sports, science and arts festivals. Many pupils take up the rich variety of after-school activities provided by the school. Pupils take their leadership roles seriously. Whether as house captains, a ‘Generation Griffin’ or a member of the pupil parliament, pupils are proud to contribute to their school community.

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

The school has put in place an ambitious curriculum that sets out the knowledge that pupils should know in all subjects. In lessons, staff know their subjects well and explain new learning clearly. In most subjects, staff regularly check pupils’ learning and use the information that they gather to adapt future teaching. In these subjects, pupils achieve well. They consistently produce high-quality work. Pupils are proud of what they accomplish and are eager to make their work even better. However, in a few subjects, the school is in the process of developing its approach to assessing what pupils know and remember. In these subjects, teachers do not have an accurate picture of pupils’ achievement over time. Consequently, in these subjects, pupils do not learn as well as they could.

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

The school ensures that all pupils access the curriculum. No time is wasted in identifying pupils with SEND. Staff members know pupils’ needs well. Each pupil with SEND has carefully considered targets and strategies in place to support their learning. This helps pupils with SEND to overcome barriers to learning and achieve well.

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

Reading has a high profile in the school. Phonics is taught consistently well. This ensures that children get off to a strong start in learning to read. Staff carefully check the letters and sounds that pupils know and ensure that, if any pupils fall behind, staff give effective support. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know and have learned. This helps them to read with increasing fluency and confidence. As pupils move through the school, their love of reading grows. They enjoy the range of books that the school provides. 11 and 12 February 2025

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Pupils learn the importance of good behaviour from the moment they start school. In the Reception classes, pupils settle quickly. They learn to follow routines, develop their independence and become a good friend. This continues throughout the school. Pupils are polite and considerate of others. When new pupils arrive, they are warmly welcomed and treated with kindness. This means they settle well into school life. Pupils love to learn. During lessons, they have exceptional attitudes to learning. They are motivated to achieve and respond well to feedback from their teachers. Provision for pupils’ personal development is a strength of the school. It is rooted in the school’s pillars of ‘Proud Traditions, Wide Horizons and High Achievement’. Pupils’ individuality and interests are of great importance. The school gives pupils opportunities to develop their talents, both inside and outside of school. Pupils learn how to keep

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themselves safe. They learn about different relationships, faiths and cultures. This helps them to understand the importance of respecting and valuing difference and diversity. They value making a difference within and beyond their school community. They like looking after and improving the school environment and enjoy working with pupil parliaments across the trust. Staff support each other and work well as a team. They are proud to work at the school. They are deeply committed to the school and the community it serves. They know leaders consider their well-being and workload. Leaders and governors share common values and a clear vision. Governors know the school well. They offer effective support and challenge in key aspects of the school’s work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers do not check what pupils remember precisely enough. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge. The school should identify and address gaps in pupils’ understanding to help them to learn knowledge securely over time.

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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. 11 and 12 February 2025

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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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 30 April and 1 May 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

◼ The school is part of the Griffin Schools Trust.  The executive headteacher took up her appointment in 2020.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school provides breakfast club and after-school clubs.

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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. 11 and 12 February 2025

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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 met with the executive headteacher, other leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, representatives of the governing body, the chief executive of the trust and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, English, modern foreign languages and history. They met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in other subjects.  Inspectors met with members of the academy governance committee.

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 Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation provided by the school. This included improvement plans, leaders’ self-evaluation, minutes of the academy governance committee and documents relating to behaviour and attendance.  The lead inspector listened to a range of pupils read. The inspector observed catch-up interventions to learn how staff provide extra support to pupils.  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.  The inspectors considered the responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school. They took into consideration responses to the pupil survey.  The inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the

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free-text responses. They also spoke to parents and carers at the school gate.

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Inspection team

Karen O’Keefe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Justine Lomas Ofsted Inspector Chris Wright Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 February 2025

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