Coppice Primary School

Coppice Primary School Shawhurst Lane, Hollywood, Birmingham, B47 5JN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good or better progress in all age groups, and leave with standards in English and mathematics that are above national averages. However, progress in Key Stage 1 is not as rapid as in Key Stage 2.  Good leadership has ensured that the school is improving.  Teaching has improved significantly. It is now typically good and sometimes outstanding, particularly for older pupils.  The school is a caring and very happy place.  There are no marked differences in achievement between pupils of different ability or background – all achieve equally well.  Pupils enjoy school, and as a result their attendance is above average.  Behaviour across the school is good.  The pupils have a very positive attitude to learning and feel safe.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 leaders and managers have not always used sufficiently accurate information about how well pupils are progressing to drive improvements in teaching and learning  in a few lessons, work is not set at the right level to ensure that all pupil groups make the progress they should.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 21 lessons, eight of which were observed jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

 The team met with the Chair of the Governing Body, pupils, a parent, members of the senior leadership team and a representative of the local authority.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors took account of 37 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and a number of letters received from parents during the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed the school’s work and reviewed a number of documents including: the school’s self-evaluation form and school development plan; records of monitoring of teaching and learning; documents related to attendance and behaviour; and data on pupils’ progress, especially for Key Stage 1.

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Inspection team

Ronald Hall, Lead inspector Additional inspector Damian Booth Additional inspector Jill Arnold Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Coppice Primary School became an academy in December 2011, and is larger than the average primary school.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British origin.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for extra funding through the pupil premium is well below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is well below average. The proportion who are supported at school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs is also well below average.  As an academy converter, the school does not yet have confirmed results relating to government floor targets, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  There is childcare provision on the school site, but it is not run by the governing body and was not included in the inspection.  The school also shares its campus with a local high school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress in Key Stage 1 to the level seen in Key Stage 2, by ensuring that pupils are consistently challenged at the right level in all classes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the robustness and impact of self-evaluation, by ensuring that leaders and managers focus relentlessly on the accurate use of data to improve teaching and learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils leave Coppice Primary School with attainment that is above average, and all groups of pupils make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enter the school with skills and understanding broadly in line with national expectations for their age, and make good progress across the areas of learning. Good progress then continues throughout Key Stage 1, and it accelerates rapidly in Key Stage 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The Early Years Foundation Stage provides a strong foundation for the children’s start to their school lives. They are helped to become confident, articulate and imaginative. ‘We are building a dinosaur for a client,’ stated one child. ‘It’s made of boxes, from our plan, that’s its sharp teeth and that’s its long tail.’

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ reading skills at the end of Key Stage 1 are generally in line with or a little above age expected levels and they rapidly improve to above average levels in Key Stage 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ writing skills have improved markedly this year. In an outstanding lesson on connectives, pupils were writing descriptions with fluency and with great imagination. This was further strengthened when pupils provided excellent feedback on each other’s work in a constructive and caring manner.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment in English has reached the same levels as in mathematics due to a concerted effort by the senior leadership team to ensure both subjects are taught equally well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Leaders and managers at all levels ensure all pupils make equally good progress, and more so than their peers nationally. This reflects good equality of opportunity for all pupils, especially those who are supported on school action plus, have a statement of special educational needs or benefit from additional funding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Parents and carers and pupils rightly feel that teaching is good. As one pupil stated, ‘Our teachers make learning fun and interesting.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers typically use the information they collect about pupils’ progress effectively to ensure they achieve well and the work set in lessons is demanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a good mathematics lesson observed, less-able pupils explored the idea of subtraction and addition using a wide range of resources, such as the interactive whiteboard and computer games. At the start of the lesson pupils lacked confidence in this area. Due to good teaching, a thoughtful and caring approach and a good knowledge of the pupils, the teacher was able to ensure all pupils had a good understanding by the end.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In Key Stage 1, the previous problems with inaccurate assessment information mean that some teachers have not always provided sufficient challenge to all groups of pupils. This occasionally slows progress rates. For example, in one lesson observed, pupils were exploring the idea of numbers that were ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ other numbers. During the lesson the more-able pupils were not fully stretched as the task set was not challenging enough.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good marking and feedback from teachers ensures that pupils are aware of their individual targets and how to improve their work.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is outstanding and this is helping to accelerate the progress made by the children. One reason for this is the excellent questioning by all staff, who take every opportunity to extend and enhance the children’s understanding. Tasks are well prepared and very well matched to the needs and abilities of all the children.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the best lessons further up the school, teachers also make very good use of questioning techniques to enhance and develop learning. Good planning typically ensures that lessons are interesting, imaginative and enjoyable.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They feel that behaviour is good and bullying is very rare. Even so, they have a good awareness of the various forms bullying can take, and the potential dangers posed by the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In the best lessons pupils are fully engaged and have a positive attitude to learning. In the occasionally less challenging lessons, pupils are still well behaved but are not so engaged.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A few parents and carers expressed some concerns regarding bullying, but these related to issues in the past, which were effectively dealt with.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 All adults care for and take pride in the work of the pupils, and the school as a whole. This is mirrored in the strongly positive views of parents and pupils. One parent noted, ‘My child has made excellent progress and the staff are very caring and considerate,’ and a pupil stated, ‘This is a very caring place and teachers look after us well.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is above average and rising steadily due to the consistently positive promotion of good attendance by leaders and managers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay healthy and safe. Physical education is a key element in developing this. For example, the school’s gymnastics team have been English champions. This is testament to the pupils’ abilities.

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The leadership and management are good

 All levels of leadership and management are robust. Senior leaders judge teaching and learning accurately and have a clear understanding of what makes good or better teaching. Middle managers are particularly aware of how to further improve the school. These strengths underpin a good capacity for further improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good monitoring of teaching and learning has resulted in a marked improvement in teaching, especially in Key Stage 1. As part of the drive for improvement new staff have been appointed over the past few months, which has led to new ideas and enthusiasm and greater levels of achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 In the past, an error in the way progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage was converted to inform teaching and learning in Key Stage 1 created inaccurate data and this slowed progress in Key Stage 1. The school has now revised its systems, but too recently for the changes to have had a full impact.

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The leadership and management are good

 Effective performance management is at the centre of the school’s development. As a converter academy, it makes good use of its own arrangements for external support to enable it to carry this out. The results are used to foster staff professional development and so improve the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good use is made of the extra funding received to support pupils who are known to ne entitled to a free school meal. For example, this has provided a new reading and writing scheme, which has raised achievement. Furthermore, leaders and managers do their utmost to ensure that all pupils reach their full potential. As a result the school is fully inclusive, and free from discrimination.

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The leadership and management are good

 The revised curriculum has helped transform the learning of the pupils. As one stated, ‘Learning is fun now because we learn about things we like.’ In one lesson, pupils were eagerly exploring how camouflage helped animals to survive, hunt and hide.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  challenges the school effectively at all levels  ensures that the school is a safe and caring environment and that all policies and procedures relating to safeguarding are fully implemented  makes certain that targets are robust and challenging for both the school as a whole and for the senior managers.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 137697 Local authority N/a Inspection number 403711

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Academy converter School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 470 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Bullivant Headteacher William Heptinstall Date of previous school inspection 21 May 2008 Telephone number 01564 826709 Fax number 01564 829597 Email address office@coppice.worcs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and 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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School details

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 inspects 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 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,

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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