Chestnut Park Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 October 2024

Pupils enjoy coming to this school, where they are well cared for and achieve well. The school includes pupils' families in the school community, for example through events such as a summer carnival to celebrate pupils' backgrounds through shared music, dance and food. Leaders provide coffee mornings where many parents share their views and hear about important issues, including pupils' safety in the local area and online. The school is ambitious for pupils' achievement. Leaders provide a high-quality curriculum and effective support, including to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, pupils typically learn the curriculum well. Staff teach pupils about the school's high expectations for their behaviour and attitudes. In the early years, children settle quickly and learn to take turns and share well. Older pupils treat one another with kindness and respect. They are focused, attentive and try hard in the classroom. The school develops pupils' talents and interests through a wide range of enrichment activities including yoga, dance, Spanish club and board games club. Pupils enjoy and are motivated by opportunities including performing at the Royal Albert Hall with the choir, and producing, then recording, their own music as part of the school's rap club. Pupils take on positions of responsibility, for example by volunteering to pick up litter in the school environment.

What the school should improve

• When teaching new curriculum content, the school does not routinely support pupils to revisit the prior knowledge they need to understand new content securely. As a result, pupils sometimes struggle to recall prior learning, including important vocabulary, and use it to help them to understand new ideas deeply. The school should ensure that teachers help pupils to recall prior learning from earlier in the curriculum and make connections with new concepts.
• In some instances in the early years, staff do not assess children's knowledge systematically. Where this is the case, misconceptions that children have are not swiftly identified and corrected. As a result, children sometimes make mistakes when they complete tasks where they need to draw on what they have been taught earlier. The school should ensure that teachers check children's learning systematically in the early years and correct any misunderstandings swiftly so that gaps do not open up in their knowledge.

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