Chaucer Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a caring and welcoming school where relationships are positive. Pupils are happy and safe.

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well.

In the core subjects of reading and mathematics, pupils are typically successful. However, this is not the case in many other subjects, or in the early years. In these areas, pupils often struggle to remember what they have been taught.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve as well as they should.

Many pupils play together happily. They enjoy social times and understand that respect is important for good friendships.

However, some... pupils' conduct falls short of the school's expectations. These pupils do not always respond promptly to reminders about how to behave well.

The school promotes pupils' personal development effectively through its 'BEAR' values (belong, enjoy, aim high and respect).

Pupils understand how these values make the school a special place to learn. They enjoy eating a healthy breakfast together each morning. This helps them to get ready to learn.

Pupils like celebrating each other's success in a range of different activities and interests through the 'Embark' awards.

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

The school's curriculum has been reorganised. In each subject, it is clear what pupils need to learn and in what order.

For example, pupils learn about familiar local places in geography before they compare these to other places in the wider world. However, these changes to the curriculum are only recent. In some subjects, pupils still have gaps in their knowledge and understanding that teachers have not identified or plugged.

Teachers have a secure understanding of the subjects they teach. In some subjects, including early reading and mathematics, they present information well and select appropriate activities to engage pupils. However, teachers do not always make good-enough use of their checks of what pupils understand to inform future learning.

Similarly, in the early years, it is not always clear what children need to learn next. Teachers sometimes move on too quickly before pupils' knowledge is secure and their misconceptions are resolved.

The school has prioritised reading.

Books are linked closely to curriculum subjects. Pupils enjoy reading. They are eager to join in routines that teachers use to teach phonics.

Staff ensure that reading books are matched accurately to the sounds that pupils are learning. Additional catch-up time is usually used well to help pupils who need more support with their reading. However, staff do not check what pupils understand closely enough.

Pupils, including children in the early years, do not always have a secure knowledge of the letters or sounds they are practising before staff introduce new ones.

The school wants pupils with SEND to achieve well. Strategies to identify and meet the needs of these pupils have improved.

However, targets to help these pupils are not always clear enough. The way the curriculum is taught does not always help pupils with SEND secure new knowledge. They are not as successful as they should be.

Staff often remind pupils about the school's values and how they are expected to behave. Some staff are skilled at helping pupils to concentrate on their learning. However, strategies used to help pupils behave well are not always consistent or effective.

Pupils' learning is often interrupted by low-level disruption.

Attendance is a key priority. The school works well with families to help pupils come to school more frequently.

Assemblies teach pupils about life in modern Britain. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of British values. They know that these rules make Britain a good place to live.

Pupils understand that their school welcomes everybody. They know how to keep themselves safe online. Pupils learn that healthy food choices are important.

They enjoy having a job with responsibilities, such as being a fruit monitor. Pupils' learning experiences are enriched by purposeful visits, including to a toy museum and to places of worship.

The school knows what needs to improve.

However, many staff are new to the school or to their leadership roles. Their actions to make the changes necessary are quite recent. Trustees and local governors understand their legal responsibilities.

Staff value the high-quality training and support provided by the trust, including staff at the early stages of their career. Staff appreciate the school's consideration of their workload. Many parents and carers are positive about how the school is improving.

They welcome being invited into school for coffee mornings and other events.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers do not use assessment strategies well enough to check what pupils understand or can remember.

This means that gaps in pupils' knowledge and misconceptions are not always resolved. Teachers do not always plan suitable next learning steps as a result. The school should ensure that teachers respond appropriately and swiftly to their checks of learning so that all pupils secure their knowledge.

• The curriculum for pupils with SEND is not always appropriate. Targets for these pupils sometimes lack precision. Planned learning does not always meet these pupils' needs.

Pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that the curriculum for pupils with SEND is suitably ambitious and effectively implemented, so that these pupils achieve well. ? Strategies used to manage pupils' behaviour are inconsistent.

This means that some pupils' behaviour falls short of the school's expectations and learning is often disrupted. The school should ensure that staff manage pupils' behaviour consistently so that pupils can learn without interruption. ? Some leaders are new to post.

They are still developing the knowledge and skills they need to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. As a result, while the school's key improvement priorities have been identified, some of them have not been acted on. The school must ensure that leaders have the knowledge, skills and support they need to carry out their roles effectively.