Chipping Sodbury School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 November 2022

Chipping Sodbury is a nurturing and inclusive school. There are strong relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. Parents agree that staff will go the 'extra mile' for pupils. Leaders have high expectations for every child. The school's core values, such as responsibility and aspiration, run through all aspects of school life, for example in the school's 'Life' lessons or through the texts chosen for the 'Literacy Legends' reading sessions. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education or employment. Most pupils show positive attitudes towards their learning. However, a minority of pupils display disruptive behaviour in lessons. Pupils say that bullying is rare. If incidents do occur, they have confidence in staff to resolve them. There are, however, some incidents of derogatory language between pupils. Pupils benefit from a wide extra-curricular offer. This includes trips, such as a recent one to New York for students in the sixth form. Some pupils make contributions to school life through being a member of the senate council or as a learning mentor in the sixth form. Other pupils choose to be a mental health ambassador, for which they receive appropriate training.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the knowledge that pupils need to learn over time is not planned in sufficient detail. As a result, pupils cannot always build effectively on what they already know. This can lead to gaps in their knowledge. Leaders should ensure that the core knowledge pupils need to learn is explicit in all subjects of the curriculum.
• A minority of pupils do not show a positive attitude to learning. This causes disruption to their learning and that of others. Leaders should ensure that they review the impact of behaviour systems and ensure that all staff implement them consistently.

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