Chawson First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 November 2024

Pupils are happy and safe at Chawson First School. Each day they try hard to be 'independent, aspirational and articulate'. The school does all it can to ensure that pupils attend regularly and on time. Most pupils do. There are clear expectations for pupils' behaviour. Pupils know and meet these expectations. They are polite, courteous and respectful. Pupils are well behaved in lessons and at social times. Any pupil in need of help to manage their behaviour gets effective support. The school provides a range of opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests. These include taekwondo, dance, knitting and choir clubs. Pupils learn about road, water, railway and online safety. Pupils value opportunities to deepen their scientific, technological and mathematical knowledge at a local middle school. Visits and visitors to school help pupils to understand the curriculum better. Pupils enjoy taking on 'ministerial' responsibilities in school, such as becoming eco-ministers and behaviour ministers. This helps them to develop important leadership skills. Pupils enjoy learning mathematics and achieve well in this subject. However, expectations of pupils' reading and writing are not high enough. As a result, many pupils do not learn to read or write as well as they should.

What the school should improve

• The teaching of writing, including transcription, grammar, punctuation and spelling, is not consistently effective. This means that some pupils do not write legibly and accurately. The school should ensure that staff know how to teach writing well so that they can support pupils to write with fluency and accuracy and to improve their written work.
• There is inconsistency in the delivery of the school's approach to early reading and phonics. This means that some pupils, particularly pupils with SEND or those who are disadvantaged, do not learn the early reading and phonics skills needed for future success well enough. The school should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills they need to teach early reading effectively so that pupils learn to read as well as they should.
• Some pupils with SEND do not get the support they need quickly enough. This is because staff are not always clear how to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of these pupils. In addition, some specialist support is not sourced quickly enough to help children to catch up in the early years. The school should ensure that pupils with SEND receive the timely support they need to be successful in school.
• Governors do not have the expertise to hold leaders to account for the performance of the school. They have been too accepting of the information they receive and have not ensured that the right priorities have been set for the school. As a result, too many pupils do not learn to read or write with fluency and accuracy, including some pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. The school should ensure that governors can undertake their role effectively.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)