Chandag Infant School in Keynsham is celebrating after again being rated a Good school by the education watchdog Ofsted.
Ofsted Inspector Marie Thomas visited the 178-pupil school in Chandag Road for two days at the end of September and her report praises children, staff, governors and trustees. ‘Pupils at this school love learning,’ the report declares. ‘Leaders and staff are ambitious for all pupils. The school’s curriculum inspires and challenges them. Staff and pupils live the school values. They treat each other with respect and kindness.’
The Ofsted report finds that the school’s safeguarding is strong, with staff well trained to spot concerns and quick to support families in need of extra help. It states that children feel safe in school and parents believe this is because staff ‘genuinely care about the children’.
It notes that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities make good progress, and observes that the reception class children, who had joined the school only four weeks before the inspection, had been shown how to get along with others.
‘They quickly gain the skills needed to work together and make friends. This leads to productive learning time in class and enjoyable playtimes,’ the report adds.
The inspector praises the way the school encourages children’s personal development, using activities beyond the curriculum. ‘Pupils take on roles of responsibility with great pride. Pupils know right from wrong and behave well,’ the report says.
After looking in detail at reading, maths and history, Ms Thomas concludes:
• teachers are well trained to deliver the phonics programme and as a result children develop a secure knowledge of phonics;
• in mathematics, teachers carefully check pupils’ understanding and appropriate support or challenge is swiftly put in place;
• there are gaps in pupils’ historical knowledge. Subject leaders need to identify the key concepts pupils must know and remember across the curriculum.
“There are many strengths to celebrate in the report and we are proud to continue to be recognised as a ‘good’ school,” said Headteacher Annie Smart. “I would like to congratulate the whole team in always striving to be the ‘best that they can be’ for the pupils. I would also like to thank our parents for their ongoing support of our school and our pupils who make Chandag Infants a delightful place to teach and learn.
“Our one identified area for improvement is for staff and pupils to better articulate the knowledge and skills that we want children to learn and remember in history. We have already taken steps to strengthen this area of our curriculum.”
Andrea Arlidge, chief executive of the Future Learning Partnership, of which Chandag is a member, added, “Congratulations to Chandag Infant School on earning a judgement of good from Ofsted. We are delighted that the inspector has recognised this excellent provision for some of our youngest learners. At Futura, we build for the future by ensuring a high quality educational experience for children and young people of all ages.”