Chieveley Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Chieveley Primary School is a welcoming and friendly community.

Most pupils enjoy coming to school each day and attend regularly. Teachers have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and reward those who demonstrate the school's values of resilience, reflection, resourcefulness, risk-taking and relationships. Pupils respond well to this and are proud when their good behaviour and achievements are recognised.

Pupils are generally kind to each other. They play and learn together well. Although pupils say that bullying is not common, they are rightly confident that they can talk to an adult if needed and any issues will be resolved.

Pupils feel safe in school. T...hey form strong and trusting relationships with their class teachers.

Pupils are taught the importance of playing their part in the Chieveley School community.

Many pupils benefit from taking on roles and responsibilities such as helping to run the school library, showing visitors around or raising money for charity. Pupils also enjoy participating in a range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, music, creative and social clubs. Most parents and carers would recommend the school and many commented that their children feel happy and well supported.

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

The school is ambitious for its pupils and seeks to equip them with the knowledge and skills to become 'futureproof'. For the majority of pupils this vision is realised. The school has established a broad curriculum which progresses seamlessly from the early years through to Year 6.

Teachers draw on strong subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum with skill and enthusiasm. As a result, most pupils enjoy their education here and learn well over time. Although the curriculum is generally strong, the school is aware that pupils do not make as much progress as they could in mathematics.

This is because there is not always enough focus on developing mathematical fluency, for example by ensuring that pupils can recall multiplication tables quickly and accurately.

The school's reading curriculum is a particular strength and is delivered by well-trained staff. There is a highly systematic approach to ensuring pupils become confident and competent readers.

Staff who deliver this programme are rigorous in checking that pupils are learning. This provides them with a precise understanding of what pupils know and where there are gaps. They use this information to tailor the curriculum to each pupil.

This work begins right from Reception, with pupils learning to recognise sounds and read simple words from the moment they start at the school. The school's reading curriculum has undergone improvements in recent years and the strength of the programme is not yet reflected in published outcomes.

Although pupils generally achieve well at the school, this is not always the case for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Sometimes pupils' needs are not identified as quickly as they could be. When needs are identified, there is not always enough advice provided for teachers on how to adapt the delivery of the curriuclum in the classroom. At times, there is too much reliance on interventions delivered outside of the classroom, meaning that pupils with SEND do not benefit fully from the training and expertise of their class teachers.

The school has developed an effective approach to supporting pupils' wider personal development. The curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education is broad and comprehensive. This work starts in the early years, where pupils learn about healthy eating and staying physically active.

It progresses to older year groups, where pupils learn about the risks posed by social media and how to stay safe online. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and remember what they have learned about topics such as healthy relationships and diversity.

Leaders, including governors, know the school well.

They have identified those areas that need to develop and have ensured that these are included in their development plans. Governors generally understand their duties well, but lack the detailed understanding required to challenge and support leaders on the quality of education for pupils with SEND. Staff acknowledge positive changes at the school and that this has had some impact on their workload.

However, they are happy to be a part of the school and feel well supported by the leadership team.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not always identify the needs of pupils with SEND as quickly and precisely as it could, and then provide helpful information to teachers.

This means that some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they could, because the curriculum is not adapted sufficiently well. The school should ensure that there is a more systematic approach to identifying SEND and that this results in more timely and effective adaptations to teaching. Governors should check that this work is having its intended impact.

• The school's work to develop pupils' mathematical fluency is not as effective as it could be. This has a negative impact on pupils' learning in mathematics and how much they know and remember in this subject. Leaders should continue to prioritise efforts to improve pupils' mathematical fluency and ensure that they monitor the impact of this work closely.

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