Chantry Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Chantry Community Academy continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations are high at Chantry Community Academy.

Pupils work hard and are keen to learn. They make good progress across the curriculum and are well prepared for secondary school. Pupils exude pride in their school.

They are keen to do their bit to make it a great place to learn.

The school's positive values are at the heart of everything. Pupils are surrounded by reminders of the RECIPE: respect, excellence, cooperation, independence, perseverance, enjoyment.

These values drive the school. For example, each lesson is linked to one of them. Pupils grasp every... opportunity to model these behaviours.

This helps the school to be harmonious and well disciplined. Any incidents of bullying are rare and always quickly resolved.

The school is a happy place for pupils.

Relationships are warm and people are friendly. Pupils enjoy their social times at lunchtime or playtime. There is always plenty to do.

They feel safe at school in the well-maintained, new school building. Pupils have a named person to go to if they have any concerns or problems. They have confidence in staff to help them, listen to any worries they may have and help resolve these.

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

Leaders, at all levels, are ambitious for the school and its pupils. They lead the school effectively and are well supported by the governors and the multi-academy trust. Leaders have improved behaviour and strengthened the culture of the school so that pupils can learn well.

Leaders have ensured that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified and catered for well so that they experience success across the curriculum. Supports for pupils are plentiful and well matched to their needs.

The curriculum is ambitious.

It is carefully laid out in steps that make clear to teachers what pupils need to learn and when. Teachers across the school deliver the English and mathematics curriculum in careful steps so that pupils build knowledge effectively. Pupils attain well in these subjects.

Implementation of the curriculum in the foundation subjects is not yet fully developed. Occasionally, teachers have not followed the planned curriculum carefully or in the right sequence. This makes it harder for pupils to build on their knowledge in subjects other than English and mathematics.

Leaders have made sure that reading and learning to read are of central importance. The well-equipped library sits at the heart of the school and is in constant use. A teacher has been appointed to recommend books to pupils and to help ensure that pupils enjoy a wide range of books and authors that will inspire and delight them.

Pupils value this support and read often.

Children begin to lay the foundations for reading from the moment they start school. They enjoy songs, rhymes and stories in Nursery.

From the Reception Year, children begin to learn their phonics. This regular practice of reading words and sentences continues and builds through key stage 1. Teachers assess pupils' progress carefully and regularly so that any children who find this more difficult are quickly identified.

When needed, well-trained staff provide additional support to pupils with SEND and pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Pupils' mathematical skills are carefully built across the school. Initially, this focuses appropriately on building mathematical language and understanding through talk and play.

For example, children in Reception were building a big bus together, counting out seats and playing at filling the bus with 10 passengers. In key stage 2, pupils demonstrate a secure grasp of mathematical facts, including their tables. They confidently use a range of methods and can select the best one to solve problems.

Pupils have lots of opportunities to apply their mathematical skills. This includes costing out, measuring and purchasing planters for the school gardens. This helps them to value mathematics as an important life skill.

Pupils are very proud of their Skills for Life passports. These set out the types of attributes they can demonstrate and activities they can take part in to develop positive character traits such as respect and perseverance. Examples such as 'I can vote in an election' and 'I have visited and found out about a charity' help prepare pupils to be active and engaged citizens.

Pupils accept and value difference. They have knowledge of a range of faiths and family structures. As one pupil said, 'Everyone is welcome here.'



Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure safeguarding is a priority. Regular training for staff helps them to identify issues.

Clear guidance is provided for reporting concerns. Record-keeping, including employment checks, is meticulous. Leaders respond swiftly when pupils are identified as needing help.

They work closely with other agencies to provide support to help keep pupils safe from harm.

The curriculum has been carefully constructed to teach pupils how to keep themselves safe, including when online. It is regularly reviewed and adapted to respond to any emerging issues locally or nationally.

Pupils feel safe at school. They feel confident to share any worries or concerns.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is not yet fully embedded in the foundation subjects as it is not always implemented in the way that it has been designed.

When this happens, pupils do not build their knowledge sequentially over time. Leaders should ensure that the well-designed curriculum is consistently implemented by teachers across the school.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2016.