Chiltern Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 February 2024

Chiltern Primary School is a welcoming and friendly school. Pupils benefit from warm, positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff are determined that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive the support they need to thrive and achieve well. Pupils are well mannered and courteous to adults and visitors. They behave well. They are enthusiastic about their subjects. Most pupils listen well and sustain their concentration in lessons. Staff model the kindness and respect they expect pupils to show. Pupils feel safe and happy here. There is an extensive range of opportunities open to pupils, including after school clubs like 'knit and natter', dodgeball and craft clubs. 'Fab Friday' enrichment activities are also popular, and include options like mindfulness yoga, friendship bracelet making, dance and sports. Pupils are proud of the character-building roles and responsibilities they take on here, such as 'helping hands' roles in classrooms, or by becoming school councillors, 'eco councillors' and librarians. The majority of parents and carers are positive about the school. A typical comment was, 'My children love it here and they've never been so happy to come to school.' Another parent commented, 'The teachers always put the children first.'

What the school should improve

• Some aspects of the curriculum need further refinement, in particular in ensuring that teachers' use of summative assessment in foundation subjects consistently identifies gaps and misconceptions in pupils' knowledge and that the purposes of activities are well considered. The school must ensure that assessment processes and the delivery of the curriculum in all subjects are of an equally high quality, so that pupils learn as well as they should.
• When children in the early years are learning independently, opportunities to develop their language, ideas and vocabulary are not always well considered and the environment does not support learning as well as it could. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to develop the environment so that opportunities for children's communication, language and vocabulary are maximised.

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