Chester Park Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Chester Park Infant School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Community and a sense of belonging are at the heart of this school. Pupils value and celebrate the wide range of faiths and cultures in the school. Pupils understand the importance of treating each other with fairness.

They are kind and show respect to each other and to adults. As a result of this, pupils are happy at school. They settle in well and are keen to learn.

The school is ambitious for all pupils, and it has high expectations of what they can achieve. It makes sure pupils get the help they need to learn and ...build their knowledge. Most pupils are motivated and are eager to share their ideas.

Most pupils achieve well and are ready for their next stage of learning.

Pupils behave well. They are polite, and they move around the school in a calm and orderly manner.

From the start, children in Reception learn to follow classroom rules and routines. Pupils feel safe because adults look after them well.

Pupils are proud to make a difference to their school.

For example, the school council has been involved in developing outside play spaces. Pupils exercise their democratic rights by voting for charities to support. They build a sense of responsibility through fundraising activities such as selling lollies.

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

The school's work on developing oracy is supporting all pupils to progress well through the curriculum. The school has identified the important vocabulary that pupils need to learn across each subject. Adults model sentence structures to pupils using this vocabulary.

Pupils practise saying sentences before using them in their own writing. This supports them to build language and communicate their ideas.

The school has implemented an effective phonics curriculum.

Published outcomes do not reflect the good quality of education the school provides. Pupils who are new to the school and new to English quickly learn sounds and how to blend them into words. Adults check understanding, and they help pupils to secure their knowledge of sounds.

Pupils use their phonics knowledge to write known letters and words with accuracy. This begins in the Reception Year where children practise letter formation using the sounds they know. Adults check pupils understand the texts they read.

This support helps all pupils to build their fluency and become confident readers.

The school has an accurate understanding of the pupils. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

It makes classroom adaptations that support pupils to learn the curriculum. The 'woodlands' and 'ducklings' teams provide expert support. Staff tailor learning well to meet the individual needs of the pupils.

The school has planned a carefully sequenced curriculum. The school has identified the knowledge and skills that pupils learn as they move through each subject area. For example, in science, children in Reception visit forest school throughout the year to learn about the changes to the seasons.

In Year 1, pupils identify and name wild and common plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees around the school. In Year 2, they use this knowledge to observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants. This well-considered sequence of learning allows pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

The school has revised the curriculum for pupils in mixed-age classes. These adaptations are new. In some wider curriculum subjects, the school has not identified precisely what pupils need to learn.

Teachers do not check that pupils have secured this knowledge. As a result, some pupils are not always able to retrieve and recall what they have learned.

The school plans a wide range of meaningful experiences for pupils.

For example, children in the Reception Year act out the stories they read by going on bear hunts in the playground. They collect natural materials and make them into recipes. They use these experiences to learn stories and explore textures.

This motivates them to learn.

Pupils talk about world issues and the impact they have on their own community. They show empathy for people living in war zones, and they build a sense of responsibility by organising events to raise money to support them.

In assemblies led by leaders from the local church and mosque, pupils learn to reflect on different beliefs.

The school keeps a sharp focus on attendance. There are clear systems in place to monitor absence rates.

When attendance starts to fall, the school works with families to improve this.

Staff feel listened to. Policy changes are made in consultation with staff.

The school makes changes that reduce staff workload and provide them with additional time to complete tasks.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some curriculum subjects, the school has not identified precisely what they want pupils to know and remember.

Teachers do not check that pupils have secured this knowledge. As a result, some pupils are not always able to retrieve and recall what they have learned. The school must ensure the essential knowledge that pupils need to remember is clearly identified and frequently checked.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2019.