Chellaston Infant School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 February 2025

Chellaston Infant School is a united school. The school makes sure that there is a culture of ambition. Pupils and staff are restless to become even better. The school works hard to make sure that all pupils do well, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are keen to talk of their achievements. The school is rightly proud of its progress since the last inspection. The school has high expectations of pupils to behave well. The school rules of 'be kind, be ready, be safe' guide pupils successfully in their actions. Pupils openly support one another. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm. Pupils know that all staff will look out for them. One parent's comment, typical of many, captured the 'homely feel' that permeates the school. Playtimes are exciting times. Pupils learn how to take risks and look after their own and others' safety. Pupils are happy at this school. The school celebrates its values of 'PRIDE - partnership, risk taking, integrity, determination, effort'. Pupils strive to achieve pride stickers. Pupils receive rewards such as the golden broom, the golden table and afternoon tea with the deputy headteacher for demonstrating good citizenship.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not yet established a consistent approach to identifying gaps in pupils' learning. As a result, teachers are sometimes not able to identify what pupils need to do to improve and design appropriate next steps. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils' learning in each subject closely and have the expertise to use this information to inform what comes next.
• In the early years, opportunities are sometimes missed to deepen pupils' understanding or help them to develop their independence. Staff can be overly supportive and do not always challenge children's thinking. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise to maximise opportunities to develop children's thinking further and build their resilience.
• The school is still developing some aspects of leadership skills, particularly checking how well the curriculum is implemented. As a result, leaders are not always providing clear guidance on how to improve the teaching of the curriculum in some subjects. The school should ensure that all subject leaders have the skills and expertise they need to evaluate the success of their subjects so that they support teachers more effectively to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

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