Chase Terrace Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Chase Terrace Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Chase Terrace Primary is a school where staff put the needs of pupils at the heart of all they do. Warm and purposeful relationships lie at the heart of the school's work. Pupils value their teachers because they know they care about them and listen to their concerns.

This helps pupils feel safe and happy in school.

Staff model the respect they expect pupils to show to each other. This has led to pupils being kind to each other and behaving well.

Older pupils relish the opportunity to have a 'buddy' in Rece...ption. They enjoy the responsibility of looking after the younger children at social times. They help them and look out for their needs.

This gives them a sense of purpose and supports the younger pupils to settle quickly. This is one of many ways the pupils live out the school's values of respect, determination, honesty, friendship and enthusiasm.

The school has high ambitions that all pupils reach their potential.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils respond to these ambitions by working hard and achieving well. They take great pride in their work and are keen to continue improving where they can.

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

Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. The school has made many positive changes to the wider curriculum. This means pupils also learn very well across all other subjects.

Teachers have very good subject knowledge. They make meaningful links across subjects and across topics. These links deepen pupils' understanding, enabling them to build on what they have learned previously.

Pupils write to a high standard, demonstrating what they know and understand in a clear and coherent way. If pupils have misconceptions, staff address these very well in a clear and concise way.

The teaching of phonics is a high priority.

Staff are well trained and deliver the chosen programme to a high standard. This results in pupils who learn to read accurately and fluently by the end of Year 1. A small number of pupils need extra support to keep up.

Staff provide this in a sophisticated way that develops fluency and builds confidence. The school ensures that the books pupils read are well matched to their phonics ability. Pupils read regularly at home and school to further develop the progress they make.

Children get off to a great start in the early years. Their passion for learning is ignited because skilled teachers know each child's precise next steps in learning. Caring staff support the children's emotional needs equally well.

This makes children well placed to be ready for the demands of key stage 1 and beyond.

The school supports pupils with SEND very well. Staff understand how to support them in lessons, while enabling them to become independent learners.

Staff set clear targets for success. They review these regularly and make further adaptations where necessary to ensure continued success.

Pupils behave well in and around school.

This is because the school has recently introduced clearer expectations around behaviour. Pupils understand these expectations. They have led to many improvements.

Incidents of poor behaviour have reduced. Pupils are keen and interested learners because lessons are interesting and engaging.

Pupils show respect to each other.

They know it is never acceptable to be unkind to others because of different characteristics that they might have. On the rare occasion when pupils' attitudes fall short of this, the school is quick to respond. The school arranges for inspirational visitors to speak to the pupils to teach them about different careers and raise their aspirations.

Pupils take on many leadership roles in school. These develop their sense of responsibility and teamwork. A variety of trips widen the experiences pupils have in school and help them learn about the wider world they live in.

The school has a steely determination to improve pupils' attendance. This has been successful for some pupils, but there are still too many pupils who are absent too regularly. The school recognises that there is further work to do to engage with all families so that attendance for all pupils improves.

The new leadership team has brought about many improvements. Every member of staff works together to achieve the school's aims. They are a highly effective and cooperative team.

They have identified the need to work in closer partnership with parents. This is evident in the positive way that parents speak about the education and care their children receive. Staff are also complimentary about the support and guidance they receive.

They are proud to call themselves members of the 'Chase Terrace' family.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The school places a very high priority on keeping pupils safe.

It seeks to engage with external agencies when needed. However, occasionally the school does not record when it does this. This affects how well the school can share with all staff the concerns they have raised and whether they led to the extra support that the school sought.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils are regularly absent for long periods. This means they are not learning as much as they should. The school should continue to work with families to ensure the attendance rates of the most vulnerable pupils improve.

• Contact with external safeguarding agencies is not recorded as robustly as it could be. This means that on occasion not all staff are fully aware of when this has happened or if concerns have been resolved to the school's satisfaction. The school should further strengthen its record-keeping of concerns raised with external agencies so it can closely monitor how quickly it receives a response and whether this is appropriate.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2015.

Also at this postcode