‘Inadequate’ infant school in Chigwell gets new Ofsted visit

Chigwell Row Infant School was rated ‘inadequate’ – Ofsted’s lowest rating – following an inspection in November 2022.

Ofsted carried out a monitoring visit in July and its findings have now been published in a letter to the school.

The regulator says some improvements have been made by the school since the 2022 inspection and wrote that leadership and staffing changes have since been made.

Ofsted noted improvement to teaching staff and support for early years and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) pupils, the way reading is taught and supported, and communication with parents.

Ofsted’s monitoring visit did highlight some areas where it felt students are still not being adequately supported.

Despite improvements in reading, it told the school’s executive headteacher Alison Farquharson: “Most pupils are now learning to read well. However, a minority of pupils are not.

“This is because teachers do not adjust activities well enough to keep all pupils interested and engaged in their learning.”

The curriculum on offer to pupils was also flagged as an area the school still needs to improve. 

The report said: “In some subjects, the most important knowledge is still not set out clearly enough. This makes it difficult for teachers to select and then teach the most important concepts that pupils need to learn.

“As a result, sequences of lessons do not always help pupils to make links with what they already know. This makes it difficult for pupils to understand what is being taught.

“Sometimes, pupils’ lack of understanding goes unnoticed.”

The monitoring report said the new measures put in place are at an “early stage” but that “good start[s]” have been made. 

The report closed by saying: “Maintaining a clear focus on the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection, in all aspects of monitoring, remains your priority.”

Following its ‘inadequate’ rating, the school was issued a termination warning in February by the Department of Education in regards to its inclusion in the Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust. 

In the notice from Johnathan Duff, regional director at the Department of Education, the warning said: “As regional director, I need to be satisfied that the trust has capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement at the academy.

Read more: Children ‘not protected from dangers’ at ‘inadequate’ preschool, Ofsted finds

“If I am not satisfied that this can be achieved, I will consider whether to terminate the funding agreement in order to transfer the academy to an alternative academy trust.”

The Department of Education was approached for comment and an update on the decision if the schools funding will be terminated, but did not respond. 

The school has not responded to requests for comment.

However, it has since updated the school’s homepage to include feedback from an “external educational advisor” on the progress it has made since the 2022 report.