Dovecotes Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 26–27 March 2012 Inspection number 377070 Dovecotes Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 104350 Local authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 377070 Inspection dates 26–27 March 2012 Lead inspector David Driscoll

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 258 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sarah Underhill Headteacher Gill Beddow Date of previous school inspection 10 March 2009 School address Ryefield Dovecotes Estate Wolverhampton WV8 1TX Telephone number 01902 558284 Fax number 01902 558288 Email address dovecotesprimaryschool@wolverhampton.gov.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspe cts the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents a nd carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed the teaching in 25 lessons. A total of nine teachers were observed teaching. Inspectors held meetings with parents and carers, pupils, members of the governing body and staff. They took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at the school’s records of children’s progress, safeguarding documentation, behaviour records and results of the school’s checks on the quality of teaching. Inspectors analysed the responses of 63 parents and carers to the inspection questionnaire.

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Information about the school

Dovecotes Primary School is larger than most primary schools. The number on roll has risen significantly since the school was last inspected. A neighbouring school, which was in special measures, was closed in 2009 and pupils transferred to Dovecotes. The increase in the number of pupils on roll led to the school appointing a significant number of new staff.

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Information about the school

Around half of the pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average and represents a range of different learning needs. Around 55% of the pupils are of White British heritage. The rest of the school population is made up mainly of pupils from a mixed race background and small numbers from a wide range of different minority ethnic groups. The school has received a Gold Award from the British Council for the quality of its international links. The school meets the current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

The school shares its site with a children’s centre and a provider of day care. These are subject to separate inspections. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. Pupils make steady progress in their learning and their cultural development is good. The school is not yet better than satisfactory because there is not enough good teaching that raises pupils’ achievement.

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Key findings

 Children join the school with skills, knowledge and understanding that are below the levels expected for their age. Progress is satisfactory at each key stage and attainment on leaving the school is below average.

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Key findings

 Pupils concentrate well when they find the work engaging, but lose interest when they are not suitably challenged by the tasks they are given. They relate well to adults and have a satisfactory knowledge of how to keep themselves safe. Lateness is too prevalent and is not challenged consistently.

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Key findings

 There are examples of good and better teaching where lessons are planned meticulously to build upon what pupils already know, understand and can do. However, there is not enough of such quality to ensure that pupils make consistently good progress. Pupils are made well aware of their targets. Marking does not always identify pupils’ errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar, and their spoken English is not always corrected. Pupils have many opportunities to practise their writing in other subjects, but not enough opportunities to apply their mathematical skills.

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Key findings

 The headteacher provides a clear vision of where the school needs to improve. Staff morale is high. The leadership of teaching and management of performance are satisfactory. Monitoring of teaching is thorough, but there are too few opportunities to share examples of best practice. Data on pupils’ progress is used well to set priorities for improvement, but punctuality does not feature in the school improvement plan. Parents are not reminded of their responsibilities in this respect with sufficient frequency.

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Key findings

 Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of lessons taught to a good or better standard by providing teachers with more examples of how good planning makes best use of data from assessments to match activities to pupils’ needs and abilities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure pupils’ errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar and spoken English are corrected consistently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide pupils with more opportunities to apply their mathematical skills in other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve punctuality to school by:  making it a priority in the school improvement plan  challenging late arrivals consistently  reminding parents of their responsibilities more frequently.

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Achievement of pupils

Parents and carers are pleased with the progress made by their children. Inspectors found that pupils make satisfactory progress. It varies between year groups, with some classes making better progress than others. The same variation was clear in the lessons observed. Learning in most lessons was satisfactory, but there was a clear difference between those lessons which had been planned well and those where planning had not taken full account of pupils’ needs. Where learning was best, pupils got straight down to work reinforcing their basic skills, such as practising their times tables or the sounds that letters make. They were keen to learn new skills and make use of them in solving problems. In other lessons, learning slowed as pupils lost interest when they spent too long listening to the teacher or going over work they already understood.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment is below average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 and when pupils leave Year 6. Attainment in reading is improving well because the curriculum has been amended to provide time for pupils to learn to read and then practise their skills. The introduction of placing pupils in classes according to their ability has successfully closed the gap in performance between different ability groups. so that all, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make satisfactory progress. Nevertheless, there are still differences between the progress made by groups in each class. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, for example, make faster progress than their peers in one year group, but then slower in the next. The difference is a result of how well teachers plan for the learning of each group and the extent to which teaching Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Achievement of pupils

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

assistants are informed of what they need to do in the lesson to provide effective support. A similar difference between classes is observed in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Progress is satisfactory for all groups, but better in the Reception class than the Nursery, where the assessments used to establish children’s attainment on joining are not always based on a wide enough range of evidence. Social development is good in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where children develop good levels of independence.

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Quality of teaching

Parents are very pleased with the quality of teaching. Inspectors found it to be satisfactory. Teachers always explain clearly what pupils are to learn about. Their explanations of concepts and ideas are well illustrated through the judicious use of examples and by making pupils apply what they already know. For example, the teacher helped pupils to understand why bulbs in a circuit became dimmer as longer wires were used by getting them to think about conductors and insulators, making clear the difference between voltage and current. Pupils enjoy solving problems and practical activities, of which there are plenty in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Quality of teaching

Some teachers use data from assessments to accurately place pupils in groups according to their ability, but this is not consistent across the school and results in variations in progress between classes. Where such information is not used, pupils often spend too long on whole-class activities, or are given work that is too easy or difficult for them. Marking is frequent, but does not always identify errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar and ensure that corrections are carried out.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers provide satisfactory opportunities to pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Pupils are encouraged to discuss topics well and to work together. The planned curriculum provides plenty of opportunities to learn about a wide range of different cultures. Each topic is carefully planned to ensure that pupils have plenty of opportunities to read, write in a range of contexts and to develop their skills in using computers. However, the planning does not ensure that pupils have the same opportunities to develop their mathematical skills.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is typically satisfactory. The proportion of fixed term exclusions is average and no pupils have been permanently excluded for many years. Pupils are polite, friendly and respectful. Those from different backgrounds integrate well. Parents, carers and pupils all say that behaviour is satisfactory. They rightly point to some isolated disruption to learning and that bullying is taken seriously. The school’s four- stage system for ensuring good behaviour in lessons works well, but it is not always applied consistently. Physical bullying is very rare. Most incidents of bullying are related to persistent name-calling, and there is increasing use of the internet by pupils in this respect. The school has done a great deal of educating about the dangers and consequences of cyber bullying. Parents are always interviewed when cases arise and incidents are not allowed to escalate. Pupils have confidence in the

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance is below average, but improving strongly. Persistent absenteeism has reduced dramatically this year as a result of effective actions taken by the school to target parents and carers of non-attenders. The same firm approach has not been taken to challenging parents and carers who bring their children to school late. Some actions to improve punctuality, such as ‘late gate’ where senior staff challenge parents and carers on arrival, have proved successful, but these have been too infrequent to make a big impact.

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Leadership and management

The sudden changes to the school’s context, including increased numbers of pupils and staff, have been managed satisfactorily. Attainment dipped in 2011 as a result of the impact of pupils joining the school who had previously underachieved. The school has ensured that all pupils are now making satisfactory progress. The school’s leaders, including members of the governing body, have demonstrated their satisfactory capacity to improve the school further by the way they have successfully tackled the main weaknesses from the previous inspection. Actions to improve the priorities in the school improvement plan have proved successful, but these do not include punctuality. Checks on teaching are frequent and accurate. Pupils’ progress is tracked well and the resulting data are used effectively to target monitoring to find out exactly why some groups do not do as well as others in particular classes. The

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Leadership and management

checks clearly identify how teaching can be improved. There is an appropriate range of professional development arranged for the staff. Coaching for teachers has been implemented, but the school has not made enough use of the examples of good and better teaching that exist in school to raise all teachers’ performance to a consistently good level.

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Leadership and management

Many changes have been made to the satisfactory curriculum in order to meet the changing needs of the pupils joining the school. More time has been given to improving basic skills; pupils are now grouped by ability to close the gaps in their progress and extra support is provided more effectively for those pupils who are falling behind. The curriculum satisfactorily promotes pupils’ spiritual and moral development, while excellent links with other schools around the world, such as in India and Hong Kong, support pupils’ good social and cultural development.

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Leadership and management

The school’s leaders are successfully closing the gaps in performance between groups in order to promote equality. Discrimination is not tolerated. Racist incidents are extremely rare because of the strong line taken by the school. Parents and carers are always interviewed when an incident occurs and this ensures that the pupil never reoffends. The governing body ensures that the school meets all safeguarding requirements.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Dovecotes Primary School, Wolverhampton, WV8 1TX

Thank you for the help you gave us when we visited your school. We found you to be polite, friendly and keen to tell us your views. We found that your school is providing a satisfactory education. You learn as well as in most other schools we see, but this is better in some classes than others. We saw how keen you were to learn when you were interested in the work, but that you lose interest when the work is too easy or difficult for you. We have asked your headteacher and others who help to lead the school to provide your teachers with more examples of how they can always match tasks to your abilities so that you always make the best possible progress.

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Inspection of Dovecotes Primary School, Wolverhampton, WV8 1TX

You told us that you all know what you need to do to improve your work, and we saw that this was true in your target books. We have asked your teachers to also tell you when you are making mistakes in your writing and speaking. You can help by always doing your corrections when these are pointed out. You have lots of opportunities to read and write in other subjects, but we have asked your teachers to give you more opportunities to make use of your mathematical skills.

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Inspection of Dovecotes Primary School, Wolverhampton, WV8 1TX

Your headteacher and others who help to lead the school are making sure that it is improving. They are good at tackling the areas for improvement that they identify. For example, you are coming to school more frequently now because they have helped your parents and carers to understand how important this is. But, some of you are still arriving late in the mornings. We have asked your headteacher to work on improving this. You can help by telling your parents and carers how important it is for you to be on time so you don’t miss any lessons.

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Inspection of Dovecotes Primary School, Wolverhampton, WV8 1TX

David Driscoll Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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