Moat House Primary School

P R O T E C T – I N S P E C T I O N School report

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Moat House Primary School Deedmore Road, Coventry, CV2 1EQ

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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.  This is a good and improving school. The headteacher has high expectations of staff and pupils. He has created a dedicated team who are all committed to improving the quality of teaching, increasing the rates of progress which pupils make and driving up standards of attainment across the school.  Pupils achieve well. From very low starting points, pupils make good progress so that, by the end of Year 6, they reach standards which are average in English and above average in mathematics.  Teaching is nearly always good and consistently good when pupils are taught in small groups. If a pupil falls behind with their work, they receive support to catch up.  Pupils at risk of not doing well and those who are learning English all make good progress. This is because they receive additional support which is tailored to meet their needs.  Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They show good attitudes to learning

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and they get on well with each other.  Parents hold the school in high regard because of the levels of care and support given to their children.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding and some requires improvement. Pupils are not always given opportunities to work things out for themselves and decide how they show what they have learnt.  Pupils do not often write longer pieces of work across different subjects.  Pupils are not always given enough time to respond to marking so they can show how they have improved their work.  Some staff who lead subjects have not had enough opportunity to check the quality of teaching in their areas of responsibility. Not all governors are well informed about the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 21 lessons including five joint observations with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, three groups of pupils, governors and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors interviewed a significant number of parents during the inspection as there were insufficient responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) to generate an analysis. Inspectors took into account the school’s own surveys of parents’ views.  Inspectors considered 26 questionnaires completed by staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents including: plans for improvement; attendance and behaviour logs; the school’s current data relating to pupils’ progress and attainment; information about the safety of pupils; and evidence from the school’s own checks of their work.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ current work in their writing, mathematics and topic books.

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Information about this inspection

 During this inspection, inspectors asked additional questions designed to ascertain the school’s view of the impact and effectiveness of local authority services to support school improvement. This information will contribute to work being carried out by Ofsted to assess the use, quality and impact of those services.

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Inspection team

David Carter, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Verna Plummer Additional Inspector John Mallone Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Moat House Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. Numbers on roll are rising. There are three classes in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1. Pupils in Year 3 to 6 are taught in mixed-age classes. There are three classes for both Year 3 and Year 4 pupils and for those in Year 5 and Year 6. From September 2013, the school will increase in size as it becomes a two-form-entry school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language, including those at an early stage of speaking English, is above average.  The proportions of pupils who have special educational needs supported at school action, school action plus or with a statement of educational needs are above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above average. This

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Information about this school

is additional government funding for pupils know to be eligible for free school meals, in the care of the local authority, or from service families.  A higher-than-average proportion of pupils join and leave the school other than at the usual times.  There is a breakfast club and an after-school homework club, both of which are managed by the governing body.  All pupils are educated on site. The school does not use alternative provision to support any of its pupils. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that leaders who have responsibility for different subjects have more opportunities to check on the quality of teaching and learning so they can contribute more to improving the school.  Make sure that all governors are well informed about the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good and outstanding teaching and further accelerate pupil’s progress in all classes by:  giving pupils more time to work independently and make choices about how they practise and record their new learning  providing pupils with more opportunities to produce longer pieces of writing to show what they have learnt in different subjects  making sure the gap in reading between pupils supported by extra funding and those who are not closes again quickly  making sure that all pupils have time to respond to the teachers’ comments so they can show how they have improved their work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children start Nursery with weaker skills and knowledge than is typically the case. Across the Early Years Foundation Stage, children quickly learn the daily routines and they are constantly involved in purposeful and interesting learning activities. Adults have high expectations of the children and they help them effectively to develop their skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Children learn how to work on their own and with each other. They make good progress in all areas of learning. From Year 1 onwards, pupils often work in small groups to develop their skills, particularly in literacy. This means that pupils of all abilities make good progress because the activities are matched closely to what they need to learn next. By the end of Year 2, attainment is below average but is improving year-on-year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make even better progress across Key Stage 2 in English and mathematics. Pupils who are falling behind receive extra help to make sure that they catch up with their peers. By the time they leave the school, pupils attain broadly average standards in English, but in mathematics their attainment is higher than average. Attainment in writing is not as good as it is in reading at the moment across the school but it is improving.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, and pupils whose first language is not English, make similar rates of progress to their peers. This is because they receive additional help and are supported well during lessons.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who benefit from the additional government funding receive small group and individual support when required. They make good progress. Their attainment is similar to that of the other pupils in the school in mathematics and English although, in 2012, the gap widened in reading from the previous year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils from different backgrounds make good progress. This shows that the school successfully promotes equality of opportunity and makes sure no group of pupils loses out.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 From an early age, pupils are given opportunities to develop their skills in reading. The daily phonics sessions (learning about the sounds that letters make), which take place from Reception to Years 3 and 4, help pupils to tackle unfamiliar words. This is built upon through the group reading sessions, where pupils are encouraged to use their skills to tackle challenging texts as well as to respond to questions about the meaning of what they have read. Pupils apply their skills in reading in order to help them learn in different subjects; for example, in a Year 3 and Year 4 lesson, pupils were using the internet to research about the Romans.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The headteacher and senior leaders are committed to ensuring that teaching is consistently good across the school. They have improved systems for assessing pupils in order to help teachers plan lessons that are based upon a clear understanding of what different pupils need to learn next. In particular, attention has been given to making sure that pupils are working at the right level in mixed-age classes, especially in English and mathematics. This has proved successful in helping pupils to make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and support staff often organise lessons so that pupils work in smaller groups. This ensures that pupils are appropriately challenged because adults are continually checking on their understanding. When pupils find the work difficult, extra support is provided; when it is too easy, additional tasks are presented to pupils. This was seen working effectively in a Year 1 and Year 2 lesson where pupils were interrogating the graphs they had produced in order to find information.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make it clear to pupils at the start of lessons what they want them to learn and pupils are given opportunities to check for themselves how well they are doing. They also have opportunities to talk about their work with their ‘learning partner’. Pupils know their targets for reading, writing and mathematics and this is helping them to understand what they have to do to improve over time.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking of pupils work is usually detailed, celebrates success and provides clear guidance to pupils on how they can improve their work. In some classes, pupils are not always provided with enough opportunities to show how they have responded to marking as part of improving their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ensure that classrooms are bright and interesting places in which to learn. Pupils’ learning is celebrated and a range of displays, which pupils refer to during lessons, help them in their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The best teaching is where teachers display high levels of subject knowledge and engage pupils in exciting activities. For example, in a Year 3 and Year 4 mathematics lesson, all pupils were eager to learn about multiplying numbers above 10. They worked effectively, in pairs and individually, to develop their skills in calculation.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In some lessons, pupils are not always given enough opportunities to make choices about how they want to show what they have learned, as this is already planned for them. As a result, they are not challenged as much as they could be to develop their own learning skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Although pupils write on a daily basis, teachers do not always plan enough opportunities for pupils to write at length in different subjects in order to improve their writing skills in a range of contexts and build their stamina to become good writers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show good attitudes to learning during lessons because teachers make learning interesting. Pupils are rewarded for good behaviour and learning, but they also know the consequences if they choose not to follow the behaviour code. Pupils and parents interviewed during the inspection had positive views about behaviour in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour around the school, in breakfast club and outside at break is also good. Due to the engaging range of activities provided for pupils, including those which pupils have responsibility for leading themselves, few accidents or incidents occur during lunchtimes. Pupils are courteous, polite and well-mannered.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils from different backgrounds get on well with each other and racist incidents are far and few between. Any such incidents are immediately tackled by senior leaders.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils told inspectors that bullying of any form was rare; however, there are clear procedures if this happens. As a result, pupils feel safe in school and know that any problems will be sorted out by adults.  Pupils are taught how to keep and feel safe. They are aware of how to stay safe on the internet, and have been taught about the dangers of being with strangers and the misuse of substances.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Adults in the school have worked effectively with pupils and families in order to support the needs of pupils who have social or emotional difficulties. This includes working with other agencies to provide help. As a result, no pupils have been taken off roll or excluded in recent times.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance improved during the last academic year to above average. Since September this has dipped due to the spread of various viruses in the local area. Pupils are rewarded for good attendance and the school works well with parents to stress the importance of their child attending school every day.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and senior leaders communicate high expectations for staff and pupils. There is a relentless focus on improving teaching to accelerate pupils’ progress and raise attainment. The headteacher is passionate that pupils, irrespective of background or circumstance, should achieve well and attain above average standards by the time they leave the school. This has been realised in mathematics. Staff morale is high; there is a sense of shared dedication to improving the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior and middle leaders have clear roles and responsibilities for improving as well as checking on the quality of teaching, especially in English and mathematics. The headteacher uses information about the quality of teaching when advising the governing body about teachers’ promotion and movement up the salary scale.

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The leadership and management are good

 Each term, when information about pupils’ progress is collected, senior leaders hold other leaders to account for each pupil’s progress. Leaders have a good understanding of what the school does well and the areas for improvement. Now the school has secured consistently good teaching in English and mathematics, which has been a priority, the focus is now, rightly, on ensuring that pupils achieve just as well in other subjects. Teachers who have responsibility for these subjects have not yet undertaken the same breadth of checks on the quality of teaching as the English and mathematics leaders.

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The leadership and management are good

 The new curriculum is going well and is popular with the pupils. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy learning through their new topics, especially when this involves visiting places or having people come into school. These opportunities are valuable in encouraging pupils’ social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has secured partnerships within the local business community, which is benefiting both pupils’ academic and personal development. For example, sponsorship has enabled the school to set up a thriving breakfast club, as well as provide extra adults to support pupils’ reading.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents speak positively about the school. They appreciate the way the school provides a caring and supportive environment for their children, and are pleased that it is at the hub of the community. For example, the school provides adult-learning opportunities to put parents in a stronger position to secure employment in the local area.  Since the previous inspection, school leaders have welcomed the good levels of support and challenge provided by the local authority. Regular visits by school improvement officers have helped leaders to review the school’s performance, through considering data as well as evaluating the quality of teaching. The findings have led to additional support being provided for the school. For example, consultants have helped to develop provision in Early Years Foundation Stage as well as the quality of teaching in English and mathematics. Additional guidance has helped the school to meet the needs of pupils from minority ethnic groups more successfully.

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The leadership and management are good

This support has made a positive difference to these areas of the school’s work. Leaders have attended training courses provided by the local authority, which have helped them to check the quality of teaching more effectively. The governing body has access to a range of support services, including training and briefings, which they attend whenever possible. Governors speak highly of the support and guidance provided by the clerk to the governing body.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body provides good support and challenge for senior leaders in improving the school. Governors have a good understanding of financial management, and challenge leaders on how money is spent. For example, they have made sure that the additional money provided by the pupil premium has been allocated appropriately to meet the needs of these pupils. Some governors have checked on the work of the school in their areas of responsibility in order to hold leaders to account. However, this is not the case for all governors, especially those who have joined the governing body more recently. Governors ensure that the school is a safe place for the pupils and that it meet government requirements in relation to safeguarding.

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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 133474 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 403653

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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 Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 308 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sandra Horton Headteacher Peter James Date of previous school inspection 3 October 2007 Telephone number 024 766 12073 Fax number 024 766 10575 Email address office@moathouse.coventry.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, please

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School details

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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