Leigh Church of England Primary School

Leigh Church of England Primary School Plants Hill Crescent, Tile Hill, Coventry, CV4 9RQ

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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

 Pupils’ achievement, although accelerating rapidly, is not yet consistently good across the school. Too many variations remain in the rate of progress between subjects and classes.  Although teaching has improved recently, it is still not good. Teachers do not always provide suitably challenging work for more-able pupils and, at times, the pace of learning is too slow.  Not enough pupils are working above the expectations for their age, particularly in writing. Standards of writing are lower than in reading and mathematics.  There are not enough opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills across different subjects.  There are not enough planned opportunities or resources for children in the Reception class to develop their independent learning skills in the outdoor environment.  Leadership, including the governing body, requires improvement because it has not yet ensured that teaching is consistently good and

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

all groups of pupils make good progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 Since the previous inspection, there has been an increasingly effective focus on improving teaching and accelerating progress.  The recently improved system of assessing and tracking pupils’ progress is rigorous and, in most cases, is used well to plan lessons and topics and to organise appropriate support.  Pupils’ attitudes, and behaviour are good and they say they feel safe.  Pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is good.  Provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 16 lessons, three of which were observed jointly with the headteacher. The inspectors also made a number of shorter visits to classrooms.  Meetings and discussions were held with governors, members of staff, representatives of the local authority and groups of pupils. The inspectors also heard a number of pupils read.  The inspection took into account the 22 responses to the online questionnaire for parents and carers (Parent View) and the outcomes from the school’s recent consultations with parents.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupil mobility, pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Clive Lewis, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Elizabeth Needham Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Pupils are organised in single year group classes.  Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average and only a very small proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average, and is particularly high in some year groups.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils eligible for free school meals and other specific groups) is above the national average.  An above-average proportion of pupils join the school partway through their primary education.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the overall quality and consistency of teaching in the school to good by ensuring that:  all lessons proceed at an appropriately brisk pace  there is an appropriate level of challenge for all ability groups within each class, and especially more-able pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement in writing further by:  devising ways to improve pupils’ understanding and application of grammar and punctuation rules  providing more opportunities for pupils to use their extended writing skills in other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the planning and use of resources for the outdoor curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage class in order to better develop children’s independent learning skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management further by ensuring that governors have a clear understanding of how well the school is performing and are better able to hold it to account.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils do not make enough progress. Although improvements have been made, particularly in reading, standards of writing are not yet good enough and the proportion of pupils achieving the higher levels in writing remains below average. Pupils’ grammar and punctuation skills are weak and are not used well to plan their writing. Despite some improvements, pupils are not provided with enough opportunities to use their writing skills in other subject areas.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The overall progress of pupils who join the school at the start of their education and remain in school until they transfer to secondary school is in line with the national average. Those joining later are supported well and, in most instances, settle into the school quickly.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most children start in the Reception class with skills that are below those typically found for their age. They make satisfactory progress in all areas of learning, although opportunities for ‘free- choice’ activities in the outdoor classroom are currently restricted and this limits the development of their independent learning skills.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In 2012, pupils left school the equivalent of almost a year behind the national average. However, there are clear indications that attainment and progress are beginning to improve rapidly; school data and lesson observations show that standards are higher for pupils in younger year groups. Recent improvements in provision have yet to work their way through to the end of Key Stage 2. For example, school expectations for the current Year 5 cohort, less than 30% of whom joined the school in Reception, are that they are on track to achieve above-average results in Year 6. This was confirmed by observations of pupils’ work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Regular phonics activities (the links between letters and sounds), and guided reading activities help pupils to make good progress in their reading in relation to their below-average starting points when they join the school. As a result, attainment in reading is average at the end of Year 2 and in the current Year 5 cohort.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Those who are eligible for support from the pupil premium and those for whom English is an additional language make similar progress to their peers. In 2012, the attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals was around a term behind their classmates in mathematics but was around half a term ahead in English.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because of the good support provided by class teachers, teaching assistants and outside agencies. Their individual education plans are written in language that the children can understand and are appropriate. This helps these pupils to learn successfully.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching across the school requires improvement. Recent improvements have yet to have their full impact in ensuring that pupils make faster progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching in writing still requires some improvement. The school is, rightly, concentrating on providing more opportunities for pupils to use their writing skills across other subjects but these opportunities, particularly for extended writing, remain limited. In addition, pupils’ grammar and punctuation skills require further improvement.  In a small minority of lessons, often after a brisk start, the pace of learning slows considerably. In other lessons, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are not high enough. Teachers do not always set work that challenges pupils, particularly the more able, to think hard and achieve their best.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where there is good teaching, this is because staff have received good training and support and there has been a whole-school focus on improving pupils’ progress in these areas.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the best lessons, teaching is fast-paced and teachers display good subject knowledge. They use a wide range of teaching methods and resources to engage and maintain pupils’ interest well. In one good Year 1 lesson, where pupils were finding and using interesting words in stories, the teacher set and maintained a brisk pace throughout the lesson and changed activities frequently to maintain pupils’ interest. Good links were made to previous learning and the teacher ensured that pupils had a good understanding of what they needed to do to improve. As a result, pupils of all abilities made good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers and teaching assistants provide timely extra help and personalised support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. These pupils, consequently, take a full part in lessons, enjoy their learning and make good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupil premium funding is used to employ additional staff to allow small-group and one-to-one support for eligible pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are keen to do their best and they answer questions readily. In most instances, they display high levels of concentration and, when working in pairs or groups, organise themselves swiftly and with the minimum of fuss.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils mix well with each other in the playgrounds and at lunchtimes. They are polite and courteous to visitors, work well together in class and treat each other with courtesy and respect.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils like the system of sanctions and rewards, which ensures that any inappropriate behaviour is dealt with effectively and promptly. Pupils say they find learning fun and are enthusiastic about their education. They particularly appreciate the educational visits, residential trips and after- school clubs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel ‘really safe’ at school and are confident that any issue they raise will be quickly dealt with by staff. They understand that there are different types of bullying, including that which might be encountered through internet sites, and say that bullying does not happen in their school, explaining that ‘little arguments in the playground aren’t really bullying at all’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils all say they enjoy coming to school and this is demonstrated in their much-improved and above-average rates of attendance.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils respond well to the school’s promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They embrace new experiences enthusiastically and have a clear sense of what is right and wrong.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because governors have not had a clear enough picture of how well the school is doing. Leaders have not yet ensured that the quality of teaching across the school is consistently good, or that standards in writing match those in reading and mathematics.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The range of subjects is broad and balanced. Some improvements have been made in planning for pupils to use their key skills across different subjects, but not enough has yet been done in writing. Not enough opportunities are provided for extended writing in subjects such as geography, history and science.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 With the support of the local authority, the headteacher has successfully identified key strengths and areas for improvement. Teachers’ performance targets are directly linked to these key areas for improvement in the school development plan and teaching is improving steadily as a result.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Under the guidance of the headteacher, staff are a well-motivated team, demonstrating a shared sense of responsibility and commitment to improving the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school’s leaders have used pupil premium funding effectively. They have improved staffing and support for eligible pupils to help them to achieve better results.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school’s safeguarding systems meet the current regulatory requirements.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has provided appropriate support for the school. It has helped the school to improve provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage and to raise the quality of teaching across the school by providing support for developing literacy and writing

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school provides good pastoral care for all its pupils. The size of the school ensures that all pupils and families are known very well by staff. The school has good links with a wide range of partners, who contribute significantly to improvements in pupils’ achievement and wellbeing.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is supportive of the school but does not have a precise enough understanding of the school’s work to be able to offer well-informed challenge, particularly in relation to pupils’ achievement and how the school’s performance compares with other, similar schools. Governors have had effective training and support and now have a better understanding of the quality of teaching and what is being done to recognise and reward good teachers. The governing body ensures that safeguarding requirements are met and has overseen the arrangements for the use of the pupil premium funding and the arrangements for relating teachers’ performance to pay.

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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 103705 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 404897

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 180 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rev Stephen Burch Headteacher Debbie Middleton Date of previous school inspection 21 June 2011 Telephone number 024 76464475 Fax number 024 76468878 Email address office@leigh.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

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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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