Welcome to Chestnuts Primary School

Dear Parents and Carers, It gives me enormous pleasure to share with you the attached Ofsted report following our recent inspection. Thank you to those families who came to the coffee morning this morning. As a school community, we are absolutely over the moon with the outcome. The report captures so much of what makes Chestnuts Primary School such a special place to learn, grow and belong. It recognises the dedication of our staff, the support of our families and, most importantly, the wonderful children who make our school such a vibrant and welcoming community every day.  Under Ofsted's new inspection framework, schools are no longer given a single overall effectiveness judgement. Instead, inspectors grade different aspects of the school using five categories: Exceptional, Strong Standard, Expected Standard, Needs Attention and Urgent Improvement. Ofsted describes "Exceptional" as practice that is "of the highest standard nationally" and from which "other schools can learn". This is very rare and only given to 0.4% of schools nationally.  We are incredibly proud that Chestnuts achieved Strong Standard in six out of seven areas, with safeguarding fully meeting all standards.  While comparisons between the old and new frameworks are not exact, a school receiving Strong Standard across all key areas would previously have been judged firmly within the Outstanding range. The report reflects a school that is performing above national expectations across almost every aspect of its work.  What pleased us most was the section titled "What it's like to be a pupil at this school." As school leaders, we believe inspection outcomes matter because of what they say about children's experiences, and this section beautifully captures daily life at Chestnuts. Inspectors wrote: "Chestnuts is a vibrant and welcoming school where inclusion, creativity and a strong sense of community shape pupils' experience every day."  "Pupils are happy and rightly proud of their school."  "From the early years onwards, pupils learn in an environment where they are encouraged to be curious, creative and ambitious."  "They belong to a community that wants every child to participate, succeed and thrive."  Inspectors also praised pupils' behaviour, describing it as "exemplary", and highlighted the warm relationships throughout the school, noting that pupils feel safe, valued and included.  There are many other comments we are particularly proud of, including: "The curriculum is rich and ambitious and is taught consistently well across the school."  "Pupils benefit from a remarkably rich range of experiences."  "Positive relationships sit at the heart of the school's approach."  The report also recognises the strength of our teaching and curriculum provision. When benchmarked against inspection outcomes nationally, our judgement for Curriculum and Teaching places Chestnuts amongst the very strongest schools in the country and within approximately the top 15% of schools nationally. Of course, we are not standing still. We welcome the inspectors' recommendations as we continue our work to further reduce attainment gaps and ensure all pupils benefit from the full breadth of opportunities we provide. These priorities already form part of our ongoing school improvement work.  I would like to thank our dedicated staff team, our governors for their unwavering support and challenge, and our parents and carers for the partnership that helps make Chestnuts such a successful school. Most of all, I would like to thank our children. It is their enthusiasm, kindness, ambition and pride in their school that shine through every page of this report. We hope you enjoy reading the report and celebrating this achievement with us. Warm regards, Mrs Horwood

Dear parents, I am delighted to share that we now have our Ofsted report. I'm inviting parents to come to the coffee morning with SLT, this Friday at 9am for a sneak preview. It will then we shared with all parents on Friday afternoon.  As I am sure you are aware, Ofsted are now inspecting under a renewed framework. more information on how this works can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-ofsted-report-cards-and-grades I look forward to sharing our outcomes with you all. Mrs Horwood

We have had a wonderful Black History Month in school, make sure to ask your child what they have learnt. We invite everyone to dress up in clothes from their cultural heritage on Friday 6th November. Children are also encouraged to bring a dish to share with their class. No nuts or nut oils please!

Chestnuts Primary School  Awarded Primary Science Quality Mark Chestnuts Primary School is proud to announce that it has achieved the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) this month, a nationally recognised accreditation that celebrates a commitment to developing excellence in science leadership, curriculum design, teaching and learning. Well done to Mr Bloom for all his hard work!