Charter Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Charter Primary School is an inclusive school where all pupils are accepted and valued.

Pupils like coming to school and are enthusiastic members of the school community. They enjoy the many activities the school provides at playtime and lunchtime. Pupils know they can share any worries with staff and that staff will listen to them.

The quality of education that pupils receive is too variable. Misconceptions are not always corrected when pupils misunderstand an aspect of their learning. As a result, in some subjects, some pupils do not learn the curriculum well.

The school has high expectations of behaviour and many pupils are enthusiastic to learn. However, ...low-level disruption is not always rectified appropriately. Some pupils are not helped to refocus during lessons.

As a result, these pupils are too often distracted from learning.

Pupils' personal development is a strength. They are given a wide range of opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

The school provides many experiences that develop and enrich pupils' character, mental health, well-being and physical health, such as climbing, yoga and visits from medical professionals. Pupils talk confidently and articulately about how to keep themselves safe.

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

The school has created an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum for pupils.

The school has carefully considered the important knowledge it wants pupils to learn. It is broken down into small steps that build as pupils move through the year groups. However, in recent years staffing turbulence has affected the school's improvement.

For example, the curriculum is not precisely constructed for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in the specially resourced provision. This means these pupils do not learn the curriculum's important content effectively.

Staff benefit from high-quality training to expertly teach phonics.

Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. They practise and embed what they are learning. Leaders keep an accurate and careful track of the sounds pupils do not know.

They use this information to plan support for those who need extra practice. However, pupils do not always receive the extra help they need to catch up. This means these pupils sometimes struggle to blend sounds together well.

In the early years, there is a strong focus on storytelling. Children enjoy adapting and retelling stories.

Lessons are designed to support pupils to learn the important curriculum knowledge and skills.

Staff share relevant examples with pupils to explain specific aspects of learning. Nevertheless, the school does not systematically check pupils' understanding. Pupils' misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge are not always rectified.

This is particularly notable in mathematics.

There are processes in place for pupils to revisit previous learning. This is intended to help them to remember the curriculum over time.

This is successful in areas such as online safety and personal, social and health education. However, in several curriculum areas, pupils do not remember the curriculum's essential knowledge in the long term, as the processes in place to go over previous learning are not always used well.

Children in the early years are excited to learn.

They enjoy the range of learning activities available both indoors and outdoors. However, children do not develop their language and communication skills successfully. The school does not ensure that some learning activities in the early years help children to develop important knowledge and vocabulary.

The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND accurately. Nevertheless, the provision for the individual needs of these pupils is variable. The adaptations that pupils with SEND need to learn successfully are not always utilised.

This limits their progress. The school provides extra support, such as Ping's Den that helps pupils with SEND and supports mental health needs. The support helps pupils to effectively manage their emotions and attend school more frequently.

Some parents and pupils have concerns about pupils' behaviour. Staff successfully manage the most challenging behaviour. They help those pupils to reflect and take responsibility for their actions.

However, some lower-level disruption to learning persists.

Pupils follow a comprehensive personal development curriculum. They learn about healthy relationships and different types of families.

They have a secure understanding of aspects such as consent and privacy. Pupils appreciate and respect differences and value each other as equals.

There is a strong team culture and camaraderie among the staff at Charter Primary School.

They are supportive of one another and leaders. The governing body knows the school well and provides challenge and support to leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Checks on pupils' knowledge and understanding are not always effective. As a result, misconceptions or gaps in pupils' knowledge are not identified or rectified. The school should ensure that all checks identify if pupils have acquired the curriculum's important knowledge and ensure misconceptions do not persist.

In some subjects, pupils do not revisit what they have previously been taught sufficiently. This does not help pupils to remember the most important curriculum knowledge long term. The school should ensure that pupils revisit learning, so they know and remember the curriculum's important content over time.

• The curriculum for pupils with SEND is not always implemented well enough. Pupils do not develop their knowledge and skills with increasing fluency and independence. The school should make sure that the needs of pupils with SEND are met effectively.

• The school does not ensure that pupils learn without distraction. Learning time is sometimes lost because low-level disruptive behaviour is not rectified swiftly. The school must ensure that the school's behaviour policy is applied effectively so that all pupils learn without interruption.

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