Chandlers Field Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that senior leaders, including governors, analyse pupils’ performance carefully so that:
  • the progress of different groups of pupils is readily identified the impact of extra support provided to pupils can be easily measured.
• Accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics by ensuring that teachers:
  • provide high-quality opportunities for pupils to solve problems and to reason mathematically
  • set appropriately challenging work for the most able pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• In just over a year, and with determined action to tackle weaknesses, the headteacher, with strong support from other senior leaders, has brought about a sharp improvement in all areas of the school’s performance. Staff and governors share the ambition and vision for the school. The local authority has provided welcome and effective support, such as training for staff and mentoring for school leaders.
• Senior leaders know the strengths of the school and where most change is needed. Staff, parents, pupils and governors have had the opportunity to contribute to the plans for the school’s development. Actions in the school’s success plan address the right priorities to secure rapid improvement.
• Teaching has improved. There is a rigorous system to check on the quality of teaching. Support to address any underperformance is timely and closely matched to teachers’ needs. Teachers new to the profession are well supported through mentoring by experienced colleagues. Teachers follow the school’s policies closely. There is consistency in the way they plan, teach and manage pupils’ behaviour.
• Teachers are set challenging targets, including those aimed to increase pupils’ progress. They undertake bespoke training to develop their skills and meet their personal aspirations. Effective training for aspiring senior leaders and subject leaders has enhanced the school’s capacity for leading improvements.
• The way teaching assistants are deployed has improved. Assistants are well trained and develop their skills well, for example in questioning. Consequently, they are now more effective in helping identified pupils make better progress.
• The curriculum has suitably widened and each subject allocated an appropriate amount of teaching time. Leaders have ensured that the requirements of the national curriculum are fully met. Pupils’ learning is further enhanced through engaging activities such as workshops for art, visiting authors and artists, trips to places like Hampton Court and the Houses of Parliament, and themed days.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through assemblies and lessons, adding to the friendly atmosphere in the school. Pupils know the school’s six values, such as respect, and can give examples to show what each means. Fundamental British values are emphasised and pupils develop a good understanding of how to be a responsible citizen.
• Senior leaders put the pupil and the family firmly at the centre of all they do. The support they provide is far reaching, and goes above and beyond what might be expected. Examples include arranging vouchers for food banks, and organising travel to school for families who have moved out of the area. Senior leaders ensure that all pupils are treated fairly. For example, they make sure that disadvantaged pupils benefit from similar experiences to their classmates by enabling them to take part in visits and join school clubs.
• Sport and physical activity have a high profile in school. Pupils are encouraged to run, jog or walk the ‘daily mile’, marked on the playground. Leaders use the primary physical education and sports funding effectively to promote pupils’ participation in sport and physical exercise. Specialist coaches are used to enhance pupils’ skills and the quality of teachers’ coaching. Pupils have access to a wide range of sports clubs and competitive games.
• Parents, spoken to at the start and end of the day, are very positive about most aspects of the school. They say that they are kept well informed and that teachers are approachable and helpful, although a few thought communication could be improved. Several parents mentioned how useful workshops are in helping them support their children at home. They appreciate the ‘stay and learn’ sessions, where they can see how their children are taught, and how well they are progressing.
• Teachers and school leaders frequently check and record pupils’ progress and make good use of the information in planning. However, the analysis of information about pupils’ performance is not sharp enough to readily show how well all groups of pupils are doing and, in particular, the impact of extra support on the progress made by pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has strengthened through training and the recruitment of new members to fill gaps in expertise. Governors are passionate about their roles and ambitious for the school. They gather a wide range of information through reports from the headteacher and other leaders, as well as through their own focused visits.
• Governors challenge leaders and hold them to account. They are generally well informed about pupils’ progress but do not have a clear enough picture of how well different groups of pupils are doing.
• Governors ensure the prudent use of the school’s finances; for example, that pay awards for staff are warranted, and that extra funding for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or for improving provision for sport is used effectively.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

• Senior leaders maintain a strong safeguarding culture and safeguarding is kept high on the agenda. The school’s designated safeguarding leaders are knowledgeable and experienced. They are passionate about ensuring that pupils are kept safe and are tenacious in following up concerns about pupils who may be at risk.
• Staff are well trained and receive regular updates. Safeguarding records are fully and securely maintained. Staff are well aware of their responsibilities and remain vigilant for possible signs of pupils being at risk.
• Governors check safeguarding at the school closely. For example, staff are interviewed by governors to check their understanding of safeguarding procedures.
• The home–school link worker engages effectively with families and contributes strongly to the welfare of vulnerable pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection. Senior leaders have raised teachers’ expectations of pupils’ capabilities and productivity. As a result, pupils are making rapid progress.
• Teachers are very positive and enthusiastic. They work well as a team. Morale is high and teaching staff feel well supported. Teachers have good subject knowledge and plan effectively so that activities generally build on pupils’ earlier learning and engage them well. Policies for such things as assessment, planning lessons and managing behaviour are effective because all teachers follow the school’s agreed procedures closely.
• The warm relationships between staff and pupils contribute well to a positive climate for learning in classrooms. Teachers remain calm and do not raise their voices, adding to the friendly but business-like atmosphere. They use praise effectively to promote good behaviour. Teachers and teaching assistants manage infrequent occasions of poor behaviour by individual pupils effectively and unobtrusively.
• Teachers use assessment well and in accordance with the school’s policy to provide pupils with feedback on their work and how improvements can be made. Most pupils respond to the guidance given and consequently improve their work.
• Teachers and teaching assistants often skilfully question pupils to prompt deeper thinking and gauge their understanding. For example, in a Year 6 group pupils’ imagination was stretched when a teaching assistant questioned them about space technology. Year 4 pupils were challenged well by their teacher to think carefully about gravity and to test their ideas.
• Liaison between teachers and teaching assistants is strong. Assistants are well prepared for their role in lessons. Examples of very effective one-to-one support were observed, including during a reading session. Through clever questioning and with accurate pronunciation and high expectations, the assistant, living up to the school’s ‘Yes we can’ motto, helped a Year 2 pupil to improve his comprehension skills. As a result, the pupil increased his confidence in his own reading ability. Teaching assistants are a valuable, effective asset in promoting pupils’ learning, particularly to those pupils who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Phonics and reading skills are taught well. Reading has a high profile in school. Pupils have many opportunities to read and develop their comprehension skills effectively. All teachers closely follow the same strategy for creative writing, encouraging pupils to refine their written text as they produce pieces of writing. As a result, pupils’ writing across the school has improved since the previous inspection.
• Homework always includes activities in reading, writing and mathematics. It is used well to consolidate and extend pupils’ learning. Pupils like the way homework is organised with a clear timetable and some choice of activities.
• Mathematics teaching is well organised. Teachers plan engaging activities usually matched to pupils’ different abilities. Activities consolidate pupils’ skills effectively, particularly their methods of calculation. Overall, teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to apply these skills to problem-solving or develop their mathematical reasoning. Pupils can usually choose activities of increasing difficulty to complete, although the challenge for the most able pupils is more variable and can lack the necessary stretch.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Within the school’s warm and caring ethos, pupils develop confidence and self-esteem. They say they are listened to and well cared for.
• Pupils are proud of their work. They show good resilience, persevering with their work, presenting it tidily and completing exercises. They collaborate well, listening respectfully to each other.
• Pupils said that they feel safe and valued at school. They are aware of inherent dangers, such as when crossing the road or using the internet, and know what to do to mitigate them. Pupils are learning how to stay healthy and explained the benefit of completing the recently introduced ‘daily mile’ challenge.
• Pupils understand what bullying is and the different forms it can take. They know what to do if they see or experience bullying, and have confidence in their teachers to resolve any issues. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 said there were few bullying incidents and that teachers sorted them out fairly.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school and most do so regularly. Attendance is stable and around the national average. Senior leaders work hard to reduce absence, including issuing penalty notices when appropriate. They employ a home–school link worker who effectively engages with families needing extra help. Knowing the barriers some families face enables the link worker to provide them with good support and guidance.
• Pupils conduct themselves well as they move around the school, and when in the dining hall. They are polite to visitors, holding doors open and offering greetings. In class, pupils understand the behaviour expected of them. Generally, pupils respond promptly to their teachers’ instructions, settle to work quickly and stick at the given task. Occasionally, when activities are not very interesting or engaging, a few pupils fidget and become talkative.
• Although most parents and pupils recognised a great improvement in behaviour over the past year, a very few parents, through Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, expressed concerns. Inspectors found that through the consistent implementation of the school’s behaviour policy, incidents of misbehaviour had reduced considerably. The school’s records showed that appropriate action had been taken to sanction and guide pupils who had misbehaved.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Overall, pupils are making more rapid progress than in previous years. The school’s information about how well pupils are doing in reading, writing and mathematics, confirmed by the quality of work seen in their books, shows that pupils in all year groups are making good progress from their starting points. In particular, there has been a sharp rise in the progress pupils are making in their writing, due to teachers’ consistent and effective practice.
• At the end of key stage 1 in 2017, there was an increase in the proportion of Year 2 pupils reaching the expected standard for their age in writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils reaching this standard in reading was just above average. There was also a significant increase in the proportion of pupils achieving greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics, to well above average.
• In Year 6 in 2017, pupils’ progress in writing improved so that their progress in all three subjects was in line with the national average. The progress disadvantaged pupils made in writing also showed significant improvement. Overall, disadvantaged pupils across the school, who did not also have special educational needs and/or disabilities, made better progress than their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics. This demonstrates that pupil premium funding is used effectively.
• Additional support for pupils who speak English as an additional language and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective. Overall, these pupils make similar progress to their classmates, although there is some variability in their progress across year groups.
• Pupils enjoy reading and do so regularly. Regular visits to the school library, theme days, when teachers talk about the books they enjoy, and representations of characters from storybooks around the school give reading a high profile. Pupils acquire secure phonics skills in key stage 1. The proportion of Year 1 pupils reaching the expected standard in the phonics screening check has been maintained around the national average for the last three years.
• Pupils’ writing is improving across the school. Since the introduction of a new writing scheme, pupils have more opportunities to edit and redraft their work. They are writing more extensively and fluently, and their English books show their developing creativity over time.
• In mathematics, pupils generally develop fluency well, consolidating their understanding of methods of calculation through regular exercises. They have fewer opportunities to apply their skills to solve problems or to develop their ability to reason. This slows pupils’ progress. Although pupils are often offered a choice of challenging work to do, the activities for the most able pupils are sometimes too easy.

Early years provision Good

• Children make good progress in all areas of learning and get off to a good start in the safe and welcoming early years area. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development rose significantly in 2017, and was above the national average.
• Staff are calm and caring, and children feel valued and secure. Parents have the opportunity to ‘stay and play,’ which helps children to settle quickly into the Nursery and Reception classes. Parents spoke highly of the department, including how happy their children are, the rapid progress they are making and the approachability of staff.
• The early years is well led and managed. The successful approach to teaching and learning is consistent across the Nursery and Reception Year. Staff assess children’s skills and understanding accurately and activities are carefully planned to meet children’s learning needs. For example, a wide range of activities inside and outside, linked to a central story, strongly motivate Nursery children to read, write, sing and talk. Both the inside and outside spaces are well organised, with inviting areas to write, read, investigate numbers and explore.
• Staff recognise that children’s communication and language skills are often below what is typical for their age when they join. Adults take every opportunity to engage children in conversation and encourage them to talk to one another. They question children skilfully and challenge them to think and to investigate further. For example, children in the Reception Year, when finding out about rangoli patterns, learned how to recognise and name shapes and colours. The teacher’s challenging questions allowed them to predict and to justify their answers. Discussion between pairs of children reinforces their learning well.
• Phonics is taught well. Adults’ pronunciation is clear and accurate. They reinforce children’s phonic skills at every opportunity. Inviting book and reading corners encourage children to choose and settle down into reading activities. Activities always include ones that develop children’s writing skills, such as creating Diwali cards for parents.
• Children behave well. They are taught how to listen and to get along with each other. They learn how to do things for themselves, such as collecting resources and donning boots and coats for outside activities. Children show self-confidence and are happy to explain what they are doing to visitors. They tend to persevere with chosen activities because they are interesting and engaging.
• The strong teaching prepares children well to move into Year 1. Well thought-out transition arrangements, such as visiting Year 1 classes and talking to Year 1 pupils about their experiences, alleviate any fears children may have.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125125 Surrey 10036949 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Foundation 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 368 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Sarfraz Ali Lynn Williams 020 822 44731

www.chandlers-field.surrey.sch.uk head@chandlers-field.surrey.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 13–14 October 2015

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. There are two classes in each year from Year 1 to Year 6, two full-time Reception classes and two part-time Nursery classes.
• Most pupils come from a White British background. The remainder are from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, or have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is broadly average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above average.
• In 2016, the school met the government’s floor targets that set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors met with staff, including the headteacher, other senior leaders and teachers. Inspectors spoke with parents at the start and end of the school day. Inspectors met with the chair of the governing body and two other governors. An inspector spoke to two representatives of the local authority. Inspectors spoke to governors and staff about their understanding of safeguarding procedures.
• Inspectors carried out observations of learning in all year groups, often accompanied by senior leaders. They looked at samples of pupils’ work in books, across all year groups and most subjects.
• Inspectors spoke with two groups of pupils during formal meetings, and informally with pupils during lessons and breaktimes.
• A range of documentation was considered, including: the school success plan; the self-evaluation report; records of monitoring of teaching and learning; and information about pupils’ attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour. Inspectors scrutinised records concerning safeguarding, and toured the school site.
• Inspectors analysed 66 responses and 26 free-text comments submitted to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, during the inspection. An inspector looked at the report of a parent’s telephone call to Ofsted and spoke by telephone to that parent. The 28 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire were also considered.
• The majority of Year 6 pupils were absent on a residential trip in the week of the inspection.

Inspection team

James McVeigh, lead inspector Krista Dawkins Nigel Cook

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector