Chiltern Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • further developing the skills of middle leaders so that they help to secure consistently good teaching and learning increase the skills and knowledge of governors to enable them to hold leaders to account effectively
  • ensure that effective provision is in place to secure good progress for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Improve teaching and secure good outcomes for all groups of pupils, including in the early years, by:
  • ensuring that lessons are sufficiently challenging for pupils
  • developing teachers’ use of assessment to plan and deliver effective lessons.
• Improve pupils’ personal development and welfare by:
  • embedding systems to promote pupils’ attendance, particularly for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that it is in line with or above the national average
  • ensuring that staff consistently implement effective strategies to support good behaviour so that incidents of poor behaviour and bullying are rare. An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• The interim headteachers have made important changes to the school since November 2016. They wasted no time in making sure that safeguarding is effective. Changes to the way that pupils’ behaviour is managed are starting to have an impact, so that staff and parents recognise that some improvements have been made. One parent rightly noted, ‘You can see a positive change.’ Nevertheless, both leaders know that there is still more to do to make Chiltern Primary a good school.
• Both leaders have worked closely with the local authority and brought expertise from their own schools to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Their accurate assessment of the school’s effectiveness has enabled them to start to make the right changes. Staff appreciate the extra training and individual coaching that they have received and support the work of senior leaders. However, there has not been enough time to enable this to secure consistently good teaching.
• The pupil premium funding has not been used effectively enough. There has not been enough focus on raising disadvantaged pupils’ achievement. Differences between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates are not diminishing. However, some pupils have benefited from activities such as the breakfast club and social and emotional learning.
• The skills of middle leaders are developing and their impact is limited. Not all middle leaders have a strong enough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. This is because they have only recently had the opportunity to participate in checking the quality of teaching and leading improvements.
• The inclusion leader has started to make important changes to the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. She has made the best use of advice from the local authority to plan extra support for these pupils. However, it is too early to see the impact of this work. Currently, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not achieve well.
• Parents have mixed views about the school. A minority would not recommend the school and feel that behaviour is not well managed. Nevertheless, the very large majority of parents feel that their child is safe and happy at school.
• The additional sport funding has been spent well. Pupils benefit from specialist teaching that improves their physical skills and sporting prowess. Teachers also participate in these lessons to develop their subject knowledge. There have also been increased opportunities for pupils to compete against other schools in sports competitions.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and engaging for pupils. Topics such as ‘Who dunnit?’ provide pupils with opportunities to learn across the range of subjects. ‘Inspiration days’ start each topic and a celebration at the end enables pupils to share with parents what they have learned. Extra-curricular clubs enable pupils to learn new sports and develop IT skills. As a result, pupils are able to demonstrate skills and knowledge in other subjects well.
• Pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development and British values are promoted well throughout the curriculum. The school’s values, ‘shine’, which include support, harmony and individuality, help with this work. Pupils enjoy learning from the language ambassadors who help to encourage respect for a wide range of backgrounds. Visits to the law courts and elections for the school council help pupils to learn about the rule of law and democracy.
• The interim headteachers have increased the accountability of teachers. Teachers’ appraisal targets are more precise then they were in the past. ‘Logs of professional development’ enable staff to record their training and show how they have improved their practice. However, it is too early to see the impact of this work.
• The local authority has provided extensive support for the school that has already enabled some improvements. Their support has ensured that strong leadership is in place to enable the school to improve while governors recruit a substantive headteacher. Advisers have provided support and challenge to staff across the school to help secure improvements to teaching and learning.

Governance of the school

• Governors have not held senior leaders to account with sufficient rigour. They know the school well and have received essential information in the headteacher’s report. In the recent past, governors have not recognised the important impact of teaching on pupils’ outcomes and accepted too readily information that is inaccurate.
• The governing body is reflective and receptive to support. They have carried out an audit of their practice and are committed to improving the quality of their work. Governors have benefited from training that has enabled them to sharpen the focus of their visits to the school and check the progress of the school development plan.
• Governors have clear and effective oversight of their statutory duties. The safeguarding governor checks that policies and procedures are fit for purpose. Governors show due diligence in ensuring that finances are spent wisely.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have ensured that there is a culture of care for individuals and that support is readily available to families. The family link worker has forged strong relationships with pupils and their parents that enable them to receive the right help at the right time. Parents appreciate this extra help.
• Staff know what to do if they are concerned about a pupil. There are clear procedures in place and staff receive regular training to raise their awareness of risks to pupils. Records show that staff have taken the right actions to help keep pupils safe. Where necessary, leaders provide challenge to other professionals to secure the best outcomes for pupils.
• Recruitment checks on staff are fit for purpose and meet current requirements. Records show that leaders take care when recruiting staff to ensure that they are safe to work with children.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not yet consistently good throughout the school. Therefore, not enough pupils are making good progress.
• Some teachers do not make enough use of accurate assessment information to plan lessons that match pupils’ learning needs closely. Teachers are still developing their understanding of how to judge pupils’ attainment accurately. As a result, time is not used effectively in some classes to ensure that pupils progress well in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Lessons are not sufficiently challenging for pupils, particularly the most able. Teachers do not consider what pupils can do well enough and sometimes lessons are too easy. This means that the most able pupils in particular do not have enough opportunities to extend their learning. Consequently, some most-able pupils are not exceeding the standards expected for their age.
• The impact of teaching assistants is variable. In some classes, teaching assistants provide too much help or do not make valuable contributions to pupils’ learning. In other classes, teaching assistants enable pupils to succeed. For example, in a Year 5 writing lesson, a teaching assistant showed strong subject knowledge and helped a pupil to include effective descriptive language when writing a quest story.
• Pupils’ books and assessment information show that progress in writing is not yet good across the school. Nevertheless, pupils now have opportunities to build up their skills and knowledge to help them to write at length for a range of reasons. For example, pupils in a Year 2 class were writing instructions to help pupils at Potley Hill Primary School to make a bird feeder. In a previous lesson, pupils had made a bird feeder themselves and could use this experience to put their instructions in order.
• Changes to the mathematics curriculum are providing pupils with more opportunities to solve problems and develop reasoning skills. Pupils’ mathematics books show that this is strongest in key stage 2, particularly in Year 5 and Year 6. In one Year 5 lesson, pupils enjoyed using practical equipment to explore how they could find the volume of a shape. One pupil said, ‘It makes me think. I like the challenge of it.’
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge. This was particularly evident in phonics teaching. For example, in one phonics lesson, pupils were able to read and spell words such as ‘cake’ and use this knowledge to read nonsense words because the teacher had taught them about split diagraphs.
• Lessons in other subjects, such as art and science, provide pupils with important knowledge. Teachers capture pupils’ interest and imagination by sharing facts, such as why Van Gogh cut off his ear or how red blood cells work. As a result, pupils experience a broad and enriched curriculum.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Leaders rightly recognise that there is still work to do to minimise bullying. They have put systems in place to address bullying and incidents have reduced over the past term. However, a few pupils and parents report that bullying is still taking place at times.
• Pupils are proud of their new responsibilities and are keen to improve their school. Prefects are confident that younger pupils are listening and following the rules more when they challenge them to walk rather than run in corridors. The litter-picker team wear their caps and fluorescent tabards with pride as they ensure that the playground is litter free.
• Staff provide personalised support to some pupils that helps to increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Year 6 pupils have benefited from learning how to relax and stay calm when under pressure. The ‘tree house’ provides a place for pupils to go when they find it difficult to manage on the playground.
• At lunchtimes especially, staff spend time with pupils and further their personal development. For example, the caretaker acts as a football referee, helping pupils to follow the rules and play well together. In the dinner hall, staff eat with pupils, show them good table manners and start conversations. Pupils can explain their food choices as healthy and tasty. One pupil recommended broccoli and pizza with much enthusiasm!

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Pupils’ behaviour is not yet good. Staff do not consistently apply the new expectations for pupils’ behaviour. This is particularly the case on the playground. As a result, incidents of poor behaviour are still happening too often.
• In the classroom, a few teachers do not set high enough expectations for pupils’ behaviour. They sometimes allow pupils to talk or move around while they are teaching. When this happens, learning is reduced.
• For the past two years, pupils’ attendance has been below the national average. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils have had the highest rates of absence. Leaders have set high expectations for pupils’ attendance and provide challenge, as well as personalised support, to families. This has led to improvements in attendance for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities still have higher rates of absence than other pupils.
• At the breakfast club, pupils of all ages play well together. Staff ensure that there is plenty of food available and some games to enjoy. Pupils say that they like the way that it makes them feel ‘happy and full’.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Current pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is variable. Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 are achieving better than those in other year groups. Recent improvements to teaching in key stage 1 have led to an acceleration in progress, particularly in Year 1. However, for some pupils, teaching has not enabled them to achieve well enough over time.
• For the past three years, not enough pupils have met the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check. Pupils’ attainment has been consistently below the national average. Until recently, not enough emphasis was placed on ensuring that pupils acquire this essential knowledge.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ achievement is not good. In almost all year groups, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics is behind that of their classmates. The pupil premium funding has not been used effectively to help them catch up.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are not catching up with other pupils. Recent improvements to the support that they receive have not yet increased their achievement.
• The most able pupils are not making good enough progress in reading, writing and mathematics in some year groups to reach the higher levels. Last year, the proportion of pupils exceeding the expectations for their age in key stage 1 and key stage 2 was below the national average in both writing and mathematics. Teaching is not sufficiently challenging for the most able pupils.
• In 2016, the proportions of pupils reaching the standards expected for their age in key stage 1 were similar to the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.
• In most year groups, pupils who speak English as an additional language attain more highly than their classmates in English and mathematics.
• Last year, pupils at the end of key stage 2 made progress in all subjects that was broadly average. Teaching is effective in Year 5 and Year 6.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• During the Reception Year, most children make typical progress from their different starting points. For the past three years, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development has been below the national average. Not enough children leave the early years well prepared for Year 1.
• The early years leader has made some changes to teaching but is not able to demonstrate the impact that this has had on different groups of children. Disadvantaged children, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and the most able are not making good enough progress across the different areas of learning.
• A few children do not show that they understand how they are expected to behave. For example, they sometimes push each other or grab toys. Some adults are new to the setting and do not apply the expectations for children’s behaviour consistently.
• The quality of teaching is variable. Some adults do not interact with the children enough to extend their learning. However, some teaching meets children’s needs accurately. For example, a teacher taught some children to subtract, showing them how to count backwards using objects and by drawing pictures. The children followed the teacher’s method to calculate eight take away two equals six with much delight.
• Adults know what to do to help keep children safe in the early years. They provide them with helpful reminders and opportunities to learn about safety. In a recent topic, ‘people who help us’, a visit from a ‘dragon’ helped children to learn about fire from the fire service.
• The different topics provide opportunities for parents to get involved in their children’s learning. For example, when the children learned about dinosaurs, they created a dinosaur museum in their classrooms to show their parents everything that they had learned. Through home visits and workshops for parents, staff build important first relationships with families.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 134652 Hampshire 10030958 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 252 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Interim headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Becky Teagle Heather Clarke 01256 473791 www.chiltern-pri.hants.sch.uk/ adminoffice@chiltern-pri.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 May 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Chiltern is an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average. This group represents over one third of pupils in the school.
• The very large majority of pupils are White British and others come from a range of different ethnic backgrounds. A small minority of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average. Very few pupils have an education, health and care plan.
• The previous headteacher left the school in October 2016. Since then, the headteacher of Potley Hill Primary School has acted as an interim headteacher. In January 2017, this role was shared further when she reduced her support to three days each week. The headteacher of The Oakridge Schools Federation leads the school for two days each week. The substantive deputy headteacher leads the school for one day each week.
• There have been considerable changes to staffing since the last inspection. The very large majority of staff are relatively new to the school.
• Staff at both Potley Hill Primary School and Oakridge Schools Federation provide support to Chiltern Primary School.
• The school meets the current government floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The governing body manages a breakfast club that is open to pupils at the school. This was inspected at the same time.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed lessons in all classes, spoke to pupils and looked at work in their exercise books. Some observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders, teachers, a group of pupils, two members of the governing body and two representatives of the local authority.
• Inspectors spoke to 14 parents on the playground, received information from two telephone calls from parents and took into account 24 responses, including written comments, to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors also considered 18 responses to the staff questionnaire and the school’s own pupil survey.
• A range of documents were looked at, including the school’s information about pupils’ achievement and records concerning pupils’ attendance, behaviour and safety.

Inspection team

Caroline Dulon, lead inspector Jen Edwards Emma Palastanga Kevin Burrell

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector