Chellaston Fields Spencer Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school has an inclusive ethos. Pupils are accepting and kind. They show respect and good manners.

Pupils celebrate differences and enjoy learning about cultures that are different to their own. The curriculum gives pupils experiences to broaden their horizons and encourages them to 'dream big'. This school develops its pupils to become global citizens.

Staff support pupils to be great communicators and to show resilience. Teachers plan opportunities that foster pupils' curiosity and allow pupils to work together. The latter are all better known as the schools 'GROW' values.

These values underpin all the work that the school does. When pupils demonstrate ...these values, they are recognised and celebrated in the Friday assembly.

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

The curriculum is ambitious. There are also high standards of behaviour. Pupils know they can share a worry with a teacher or place it in the worry monster.

All this allows pupils to flourish. They feel safe and happy in this school.

Pupils have opportunities to take part in different clubs and trips.

Many pupils enjoy developing their skills with a bow and arrow at archery club. The school's active pupil parliament is eagerly anticipating their visit to Derbyshire County Council offices in Matlock.

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

The school has a well-planned curriculum known as the 'GROW' curriculum.

It encompasses all the subjects in the national curriculum, as well as opportunities that support pupils' broader development. The structure of the curriculum allows pupils to develop links between different subjects. A typical example of this was seen in an art lesson.

Pupils used their knowledge of the stone age which they had studied in history and applied it accurately to build a further understanding of prehistoric art.

All pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from learning the school's full curriculum. The school's curriculum identifies the exact knowledge that pupils must know.

It sets out how this knowledge will support future learning. There is a clear framework that sets out how teachers should check that pupils are learning the intended knowledge. This helps teachers to focus on what is most important and helps pupils achieve.

Teachers present information clearly. They check that pupils know and remember more as a lesson progresses. Teachers promote effective discussion that allows pupils to strengthen their understanding.

On occasions, in foundation subjects, some teachers use activities that distract pupils from what the most important learning points are. Pupils do not always learn as well as they should when this occurs.

There is a clear ambition for pupils with SEND to achieve as well as they can.

The school has effective procedures to identify emerging needs and to identify what will support pupils with SEND. However, on occasions, staff do not use the information they receive to support pupils with SEND precisely enough.

Children start to read as soon as they start the Reception Year.

Staff are experts in teaching early reading. Books that pupils read are well matched to the sounds they know. Teachers check that pupils are keeping up with the reading program.

Pupils become fluent readers quickly. Pupils enjoy an engaging story time at the end of each day. Pupils develop a love for reading.

They talk enthusiastically about books that they have read in class such as 'Stig of the Dump' and 'Song of the Dolphin Boy'.

Children in the early years benefit from a well-planned and well-delivered curriculum. Children settle in quickly.

They understand and follow the routines of the school day. Staff know the children well. They model and enhance play by supporting pupils' development of language and communication.

The school is calm and orderly. Pupils know poor behaviour, including bullying, is not tolerated. Pupils know to be ready, respectful and safe.

Staff follow a consistent approach to support pupils to self-regulate.

The school plans experiences which develop pupils in the widest sense. These experiences also make the academic curriculum more memorable.

Pupils have benefited from listening to engineers from Rolls Royce. They have worked with a local shelter to donate food to those who need it. The school is developing pupils to be active citizens.

Although most parents would recommend the school, the school has not been able to reach out well enough to some parents. These parents do not know the good work that is taking place.

Those responsible for governance understand and carry out their statutory duties well.

They allocate resources effectively to support the growth of this new school. Staff are extremely proud to work at this school. They feel well supported.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasions, in some foundation subjects, teachers' choice of activities to impart knowledge distracts pupils from learning the most important points. Pupils do not learn as well as they should as a result.

The school must ensure that teachers know how to use activities which are precisely intended to support pupils in learning the curriculum. ? Some staff do not use the information provided by the school to support pupils with SEND to access the curriculum precisely enough. As a result, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could.

The school must ensure that the information provided to staff to support pupils with SEND is more consistently and precisely adhered to. ? Some parents do not yet know about the good work that this school is doing and hold negative views. The school must continue its work to engage and communicate more effectively with parents.

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