Exhall Junior School

St Giles Junior School Hayes Lane, Exhall, Coventry, CV7 9NS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Teaching, especially in Years 3 and 4, is not good enough to ensure that pupils achieve well. More-able pupils are sometimes not sufficiently challenged by the work they are given.  In mathematics, weaknesses in pupils’ basic calculation skills hold back their progress. Teachers do not create enough opportunities in other subjects for pupils to improve their numeracy skills.  Teachers’ expectations are not consistently high across the school. This means pupils’ targets are not challenging enough to ensure they make at least good progress.  Leaders have a detailed and accurate grasp of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, but some of the actions needed to drive improvement quickly are not taken rapidly enough or followed through robustly.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ attainment in writing has improved since the last inspection.  Rates of progress for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are improving quickly in English.  Pupils behave well, and are happy and safe in school. They get on well with each other and the staff. They have positive attitudes to learning.  Attendance is steadily improving and is now average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in 14 lessons taught by nine teachers. One of these lessons was jointly observed with the headteacher.  Samples of pupils’ work in mathematics were analysed. An inspector, with the headteacher, listened to some pupils in Year 6 reading.  Meetings were held with school staff, a group of pupils, members of the governing body and an improvement advisor from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 13 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), parents’ responses to the school’s own recent survey and the six questionnaires completed by staff. An inspector also spoke informally to some parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors looked at a range of evidence including: the work in pupils’ books; monitoring records; the school’s own data on pupils’ progress; minutes of the governing body meetings; and policies, procedures and records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Derek Aitken, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Derek Barnes Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Giles is a little smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils come from White British backgrounds. Almost one-third of pupils are from a range of different minority ethnic groups. Indian pupils form the largest of these groups.  A broadly average proportion of pupils is supported by the ‘pupil premium’ which provides extra funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children in local authority care and the children of members of the Armed Forces serving overseas.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through ‘school action’ is average. The proportion of these pupils supported through ‘school action plus’ or with a statement of special educational needs is also average.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ learning and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching, especially in Years 3 and 4, and improve its impact on pupils’ achievement by: – making consistently good use of assessment information to plan lessons which consistently challenge all groups of pupils, especially the more able – making more use of pupils’ targets and better use of oral feedback and marking so that pupils can assess their own work and understand how to improve it.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement in mathematics by:  ensuring that all pupils know their multiplication and division facts properly so that they can apply them securely when solving problems and carrying out investigations  providing pupils with better opportunities to develop their numeracy skills in other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, including governance, by:  ensuring that, in all cases when weaknesses have been identified, rapid and robust actions are taken to remedy them  setting more challenging targets for pupils to achieve by the end of Year 6  ensuring that interventions to support disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are checked thoroughly to ensure they are making a difference  creating a wider range of opportunities for members of the governing body to gain first-hand knowledge of the school and to develop their expertise through further training.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ attainment when they join Year 3 is average in reading, writing and mathematics. By the end of Year 6 their attainment has risen to above average in writing but remains average in reading and mathematics. While most pupils now reach the nationally expected Level 4, a below- average proportion of pupils attain the higher Level 5 in mathematics. Overall, most pupils make the progress expected of them in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achieve well in writing because they have regular opportunities to practise writing at length for different purposes. Weaknesses in pupils’ calculation skills hold back their achievement in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils sometimes do not recall their multiplication or division facts accurately enough to apply their knowledge securely to solving problems or carrying out investigations. They do not have enough good opportunities in other subjects to practise and extend their numeracy skills. More- able pupils achieve less well in mathematics, because the work is sometimes too easy for them.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is improving. They are now making good progress from their starting-points in reading and writing. Their attainment in these skills is higher than that of similar pupils across the country. The gap in attainment between them and their other classmates is closing steadily.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 There is no significant difference in the achievement of other groups of pupils. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make adequate progress. This can vary from year to year. For example, most of the pupils in Year 6 in this group made good progress this year in English because they received intensive support to improve their work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils in Year 3 are benefiting from a recently introduced letters and sounds (phonics) programme. They apply new knowledge in whole sentences, read well in pairs and this helps them develop their comprehension skills securely. Less-able pupils in Year 6 read accurately, but sometimes with little fluency or expression.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Good teaching is not a consistent feature of the school’s work, particularly in Year 3 and 4. Teachers sometimes do not make sharp use of assessment information to plan lessons to challenge all groups of pupils. More-able pupils often spend too long doing the same work as their classmates or practising ideas that they have already mastered.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 While pupils are aware of the learning intention, some activities are not organised, or resourced carefully enough for pupils to develop their skills fully, especially in mathematics. Teachers’ questioning and oral feedback are sometimes not systematic enough to deepen pupils’ understanding and to provide clear direction for their learning.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are taught adequately. They make better progress when teachers plan good opportunities for them to work cooperatively with other lower-attaining pupils, as was seen in a mathematics lesson in Year 5 when these pupils converted mixed numbers correctly to improper fractions.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of marking, particularly in mathematics, varies too much. Some pupils receive constructive feedback to help them clear up misunderstandings and practise new methods. They respond thoughtfully and this helps them to improve their work. However, this good practice is not consistent within and across year groups. Little use is made of personal targets to direct pupils’ work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is usually at least good in Years 5 and 6. On a few occasions it is outstanding. This is marked by careful use of ongoing assessment to check pupils’ understanding. Teachers also support those pupils who need extra help to think clearly, answer questions correctly and solve problems. Pupils are skilfully directed to share ideas. This makes sure that no-one falls behind and encourages all pupils to take an active role in their learning. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 have to think hard and solve tricky challenges, but they persevere and work at a fast pace.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well and show consideration for others. Pupils in Year 6 say that behaviour has improved over time and that this has helped them enjoy school more. On a few occasions behaviour is exceptional when pupils apply themselves especially well and persevere in lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Most pupils enjoy their learning. This is very noticeable when pupils talk through their ideas in pairs or have ‘hands-on’ opportunities to work with new resources for mathematics. In a few lessons pupils are passive when the teaching does not engage them fully.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Nearly all pupils behave sensibly in public areas. Pupils of different backgrounds get on very well with each other. School logs show that racial incidents have been very rare in recent years. Behaviour strategies are well managed and effective. No pupil has received a repeat exclusion.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents’ responses indicate very few concerns about pupils’ behaviour and safety in school. Pupils feel happy and safe in school because the site is secure and they are taught what they need to know to stay safe in different situations.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils fully understand different types of bullying and can explain how bullying differs from the occasional ‘fall-outs’ which they have with each other. They know staff take any bad behaviour seriously and understand the consequences of their actions. They say that they have complete confidence in the staff to deal with the few instances of bullying and unsuitable behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The nurture group supports very well those pupils whose circumstances mean they may be vulnerable, especially in their personal and social development. Pupils explore their feelings and show a willingness to reflect on their actions to improve their behaviour. Short-term individual targets, which are consistently applied by staff, help these pupils to continue to behave well when they re-join mainstream classes. This excellent practice has reduced the small number of exclusions and, in some cases, led to a marked improvement in pupils’ academic progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Tighter checks on attendance and punctuality conducted by office staff have raised the school’s rate of attendance. It is now average and improving steadily.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Senior leaders have a realistic understanding of the school’s present overall effectiveness. Leaders are keen to learn from best practice and they act willingly upon advice from external partners. This has led to some improvements in teaching and pupils’ attainment.  Salary increases are linked to the quality of teaching and the additional responsibilities of individual staff. Swift action has been taken to improve inadequate teaching and this support is followed up robustly until agreed objectives are met.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Opportunities are missed in the regular cycle of lesson observations to follow up areas for improvement in other weaker aspects of teaching or to build upon existing good practice. Leaders sometimes do not fix sharp timelines to check up on the impact of subject plans, for example for mathematics, or for reviewing interventions to support disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Staff targets are linked closely to the priorities outlined in the well-focused school development plan and staff’s individual responsibilities for ensuring pupils’ progress. Targets for pupils’ progress are only moderately challenging which reduces the school’s expectations for the performance of teaching staff. Training has had most impact on developing expertise in teaching literacy skills.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Activities are designed to provide pupils with a range of cultural and religious experiences, and opportunities to participate in numerous enrichment activities. The school successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral and social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school promotes equal opportunities adequately. Funding through the pupil premium is generally spent wisely and used specifically to employ additional staff to work with small groups of pupils and provide one-to-one support. This has helped these pupils to improve their attendance and bring their attainment closer to that of their peers, though not enough for them to go on to gain the highest standards.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has supported the school in tackling the key issues identified in the previous inspection and progress has been made in a number of areas. It has successfully helped the school find external partners to work with and is now stepping up its efforts to support the school through more in-depth monitoring.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 All statutory requirements for safeguarding are met. Careful checks are regularly and accurately made to ensure the school fulfils any new responsibilities. At-risk pupils are quickly identified and any concerns are swiftly followed up, for example with the help of outside agencies.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governance is adequate and improving. The governing body now includes members who understand data on pupils’ achievement very well. It has set up new committees to help governors use that information purposefully to direct school improvement. They have supported the senior leaders well in tackling inadequate teaching. The governing body ensures the school links salary increases and promotion for teachers to their performance. Governors challenge leaders to justify the ways they spend pupil premium funding. They have evaluated the impact of this expenditure accurately. They have a broad understanding of how well the school is doing when compared to similar schools. They realise that they require further training and first-hand involvement with the school to increase their effectiveness. The governing body has started working closely with the local authority to maintain the school’s

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 125585 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 402338

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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 Junior School category Community School Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Stubbs Headteacher Anne Perry Date of previous school inspection 30 June 2010 Telephone number 024 7631 3375 Fax number 024 7673 1041 Email address admin2571@we-learn.com 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, please

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School details

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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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