Chalfont St Peter CofE Academy

Overview

This ungraded inspection found that aspects of the school’s work “may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection,” triggering a future graded inspection. While pupils are described as polite and happy, with strong outcomes in English and mathematics, the curriculum in other subjects lacks the necessary coherence and ambition. Consequently, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should due to unaddressed gaps in knowledge and ineffective assessment practices.

Strengths

• Pupils are “polite, respectful and welcoming,” describing the school as “a really happy place where learning is fun.”
• The school effectively promotes a “love of reading,” with a “well taught, carefully designed phonics programme” helping struggling pupils become accurate readers.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) “thrive” and “achieve well” thanks to prompt identification of needs and necessary teaching adaptations.
• Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to staff welfare and workload, which is appreciated by the workforce.
• Pupils are well-prepared for life in modern Britain, showing “tolerance and respect for people’s differences” and engaging actively in citizenship.

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure the curriculum in all subjects is “coherently designed with ambitious end points” to clearly set out logical progression and what pupils should remember.
• Staff must use assessment strategies efficiently to “accurately identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning,” as current checks do not always rectify misconceptions.
• Leaders and governors need to strengthen how they evaluate the curriculum to ensure they have a “secure enough understanding” of pupil learning across all subjects.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”