Chesterfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

There is a warm and welcoming feel to this school which comes from the smiles and friendly greetings pupils offer visitors.

Leaders provide lots of opportunities for parents and carers to find out about the school's work. Both parents and pupils have noticed the improvements leaders have made to the quality of education over the past three years.

There is a wide and well-organised range of opportunities for pupils to develop their skills and interests.

Pupils are proud of the refreshed school library and make adventurous reading choices inspired by the books teachers read to them.

Leaders and staff succeed in encouraging pupils to behave well and wor...k hard. They have high expectations for all pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders place a strong focus on motivating pupils to want to come to school. Teachers make lessons interesting and relevant to them. Pupils know that staff value their opinions.

Pupils are safe at school and are confident about speaking up if they have concerns. When bullying occurs leaders follow up incidents thoroughly and keep a record of what they have done so they can check that things improve.

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

The high expectations of leaders and staff are reflected in the ambitious aims for what they want pupils to learn from the early years onwards.

Subject leaders are skilful and effective. They identified where the curriculum content needed to be better defined and organised. They did work to improve this.

As a result, staff are clear about what is to be taught and in which order in all subjects.

Teachers pick up when pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding. They adjust lessons or provide them with additional support.

They give pupils more time and help to learn the agreed content when necessary.

Leaders invest in developing teachers' subject knowledge. There is an extensive programme of staff training on the range of subjects they teach.

In some subjects, where curriculum thinking has more recently been revised, there is more to do to make sure teachers' subject expertise deepens further.

Staff are quick to identify any pupils who are falling behind in their reading. They use rigorous assessment to identify pupils' needs and put support in place to help them catch up.

Teachers ensure pupils have the right books to match their current skills. Pupils learn to enjoy reading because they have access to a range of high-quality books. There is an ongoing programme of training and guidance for staff.

This ensures they deliver lessons consistently and well. Older pupils build on prior learning to study books in depth. For example, Year 6 pupils wrote about what different phrases in 'Beowulf' mean to them.

In mathematics, pupils are able to talk about their work and explain their thinking. The early years staff set up effective activities to help children learn about numbers.

Pupils with SEND across the whole school benefit from effective adaptations to lessons so they learn the same content as their peers.

Staff in the additionally resourced provision succeed in teaching pupils with SEND ambitious content because they give them time to think. They support pupils so that they overcome the challenges they face when attempting to communicate or socialise with others.

Pupils broaden their cultural experiences across music, art and literature because opportunities for them to do so have been deliberately and systematically built into the wider curriculum.

Pupils' character is developed exceptionally well at this school. They are inspired to believe they can succeed in their future lives. Pupils learn about people who have overcome barriers, and are successful despite them.

For example, one of the artists they study has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Pupils also learn and remember ways to demonstrate respect for the views and opinions of others. This is illustrated by a pupil who said, 'I think that behaviour is good because we have mature and independent children, but others may not agree, and I respect that.'



Teachers have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Teachers clearly set this out at the start of each lesson. Pupils do not often disrupt lessons or get distracted.

Children in the early years quickly learn daily routines and behave well.

Leaders and governors consider the workload and well-being of staff in a systematic way. They offer support for staff well-being.

Staff notice and value this.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders maintain up-to-date and clear systems to identify and follow up concerns.

They make sure staff have good-quality training to help them identify and manage concerns they notice.

Pupils think that safety is important in their school because adults listen when they are concerned and act on their worries. They are familiar with and understand the help they are given to keep themselves safe in a range of circumstances, including online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have recently revised the curriculum in some subjects. Where this is the case, some gaps in teachers' subject knowledge mean that the curriculum is not implemented as successfully as it could be. Leaders should ensure that staff receive more training so that all subjects are implemented well across the school.