Coberley Church of England Primary School

Coberley Church of England Primary School Coberley, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 9QZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils’ achievement is good. They make excellent progress in speaking and listening, and are confident learners.  Standards are above average in reading, writing and mathematics. In Year 6, 40% of pupils attained Level 6 in mathematics.  The support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs enables these pupils to achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children in the Reception class develop excellent learning habits, which continue throughout the school. Achievement in personal, social and emotional development is outstanding.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and behaviour is exemplary. Well-planned learning experiences support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development extremely well.  Good teaching contributes to consistently good achievement by all groups of pupils. Teachers have high expectations and continuously push for that extra effort in learning, especially in the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

mixed infant and junior class.  Good leadership by the headteacher and members of the governing body has created a highly committed and professional team of teachers and teaching assistants who strive continually to improve on previous best performance.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The lack of precision in setting targets prevents pupils of average and above- average ability from making even faster progress towards attaining the highest levels in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teachers’ marking of pupils’ written work, while regular, does not always identify precisely the next steps for improvement.  Pupils’ writing in some subjects is not of the same quality as that seen in English lessons.  In the Reception class, there are some missed opportunities for children to correct their spellings.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons taught by two teachers and two learning support assistants. No teaching was observed in Years 4, 5 and 6 as these pupils were on a residential visit. The inspector looked at these pupils’ exercise books, their assessments and talked with their class teacher about the range of work covered.  Documentation was analysed, including that relating to teachers’ planning, safeguarding, behaviour logs, attendance figures, the school’s systems for improving teaching and learning, and how the money allocated for pupil premium is spent.  The inspectors took account of 27 responses to the online Parent View survey. Responses to an inspection questionnaire from seven members of staff were analysed .  The inspector heard pupils read and discussed their views of the school.  Discussions were held with the headteacher and her staff, a representative from the local authority, the Chair of the Governing Body, pupils, and parents and carers.

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Inspection team

Bogusia Matusiak-Varley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Coberley Church of England Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  A lower proportion of pupils than average are known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children looked after by the local authority and children of service families). There are currently no children eligible for free school meals.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above the national average.  The proportion of children supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the good quality of teaching and learning to outstanding so that more pupils can make accelerated and sustained progress by:  ensuring that pupils of different abilities are provided with clear and precise targets that identify skills and knowledge that have to be acquired in a set time frame  ensuring that marking is consistently focused on identifying next steps in learning.  Raise achievement further by:  providing more opportunities for pupils to write at length in other subjects  ensuring pupils have sufficient opportunities to talk about how they arrived at an answer in mathematics  regular checking of pupils’ understanding to ensure that any misconceptions are quickly identified  ensuring that children in Reception have more opportunities to correct their spellings.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Reception class with skills that are typical for their age. They make good progress and attain the expected goals in all the areas of learning, with approximately a third exceeding them. They build up a good knowledge of letters and sounds, and many of them can write sentences, with several higher attainers writing simple paragraphs. Nevertheless, some of their spellings are not checked in lessons and this slows down their progress in writing.  The Year 1 reading check shows that pupils can confidently sound out letters. As they move through the school, pupils read with increasing confidence, reaching high levels of fluency and comprehension.  By the end of Year 6, pupils are well prepared for secondary school. Attainment is above average in English and mathematics, and this year, 40% of pupils attained very high levels in mathematics because of specialist teaching and teachers’ high expectations.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The very small number of pupils who receive support through the pupil premium make good progress. They are on course to leave school with average attainment in reading and writing, and above-average attainment in mathematics. The gap between them and their peers in reading and writing is closing rapidly.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. They become confident learners because their barriers to learning are quickly worked on through well-targeted interventions.  Throughout the school, pupils make excellent progress in speaking and listening. The recent participation of pupils in a ‘mock trial’ demonstrated their skills of perseverance, awareness of audience and ability to see a particular point through opposing opinions.  Parents and carers say that the good use of homework, linked to talking around a variety of subjects, has helped their children to develop their writing skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement in mathematics is rapidly improving through the good provision made for higher-attaining pupils. In lessons, pupils demonstrate good mathematical understanding, selecting appropriate strategies to tackle a range of problems.  Achievement, while improving for all groups of pupils, is not yet outstanding because the progress of a few pupils in each class is not rapid and sustained, especially in writing. Some spelling errors of younger pupils go unchecked and there are too few opportunities to write at length in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Some aspects of teaching are exceptional. These include the very warm relationships between teachers and their classes, and the teachers’ use of praise, which give pupils the belief that they can succeed in all that they attempt. All teachers have expert knowledge of the pupils’ barriers to learning and help them to overcome them. They have wide subject knowledge and weave in links with other subjects to make learning interesting.  Teachers challenge pupils by making them think. They do this by using well-thought-out questioning. Occasionally, though, they do not check pupils’ understanding sufficiently, nor do they provide enough opportunities for some of the higher-attaining pupils to explain their mathematical reasoning when they have intuitively solved a problem.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs learn well because of the outstanding partnership with parents and carers, precision teaching and the high expectations of all staff.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ lesson planning is detailed and individual provision is made for pupils’ learning needs. At times, the use of targets is not precise enough and occasionally, teachers’ marking does not identify the next steps in order to reach ambitious targets.  The well-structured curriculum provides good opportunities for subjects to be taught in depth and teachers are passionate about the topics that they teach. This enthusiasm rubs off on the pupils, who have excellent attitudes to learning.  Teachers focus on teaching the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, and as a result, all groups of pupils make good progress. A few parents and carers come regularly to school to hear children read and talk about the books that they have read. This contributes to pupils’ outstanding achievement in speaking and listening.  Learning support assistants make a valuable contribution to learning. Pupils listen attentively to

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The quality of teaching is good

their explanations and value the extra help that they are given.  Parents and carers are supportive of teachers. They are delighted that every child is known as an individual and that pupils feel safe in learning. The encouragement given by teachers enables all pupils to want to improve on previous best performance. Pupils concentrate well; they persevere with challenges and work well in groups.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils display positive attitudes to learning and say that all lessons are interesting because they use computers and good-quality books for research. Independence in learning is encouraged and all pupils know what they need to do if they get stuck. They are eager to engage with adults, and show great kindness and consideration to each other. They listen attentively while others are speaking and give one another time to think.  The excellent promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development contributes to pupils’ exemplary behaviour and attitudes to learning. Acts of collective worship are eagerly awaited by pupils, who celebrate a wide range of festivals from different faiths and are very respectful of world religions.  Exemplary behaviour in and around the school is demonstrated by pupils sharing resources with one another, being polite, working well in groups and older pupils looking after younger ones.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

There is no evidence of bullying or any kind of discrimination. Pupils are aware of different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. Both pupils and teachers are aware of the procedures should any bullying occur.  Attendance is high and all pupils arrive on time to school. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and record keeping relating to the very rare incidents of rough play are meticulously documented, with parents and carers kept abreast of any actions taken.  Pupils write their own class rules and stick by them. They know right from wrong and have a very strong sense of moral purpose, such as raising funds for Water Aid.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, together with the governors, has set a clear educational direction for the school. This has led to recent improvements in the number of pupils getting higher levels in mathematics and demonstrates the school’s good capacity to improve even further.  The school development plan is a clearly focused document, which accurately identifies the areas of priority, with timescales by when actions need to be completed. However, some of the success criteria identified are not precise enough in relation to the impact that the school’s provision will have on pupils’ academic outcomes. Governors are regular visitors to the school and are fully aware of the school’s strengths and areas for development.  The well-thought-out, continuous professional development of staff arising out of the headteacher’s monitoring of teaching and learning supports pupils’ improved outcomes, such as the extended writing in English.

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The leadership and management are good

 Performance management systems for teachers and learning support assistants arise out of the headteacher’s rigorous monitoring of teaching and learning. Pupils’ performance is tracked and interventions are quickly put in place if any child falls behind. This ensures that all groups of pupils make good progress. However, the setting of targets for pupils are not ambitious enough to ensure that they make even more rapid progress in reading and writing.  All safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements. Staff have been trained in child protection and secure systems are in place to secure pupils’ welfare and safety. The school effectively promotes equality of opportunity as each child is treated as an individual and has full access to the curriculum.  The curriculum offers a wide breadth of good learning opportunities in performing arts, music and sport. A wide range of clubs, visits and visitors are on offer and pupils say that ‘Enrichment

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The leadership and management are good

Fridays’ are very enjoyable. A carousel of activities is provided to engage pupils in learning.  The local authority provides ‘light-touch’ support and has advised the school on ways to improve its target setting.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body challenge and support the school well. They know where teaching is strong and which areas of pupils’ academic progress need improving. They know that performance management is helping to improve the quality of teaching and they ensure that good teachers are rewarded. They receive good-quality information in the headteacher’s reports and they have the right skills between them to hold staff to account for pupils’ outcomes. They use financial resources well, and have ensured that the buildings are kept in good order and that pupils have good-quality resources to help them learn. Well-thought-out financial decisions are made as to how best to use the monies allocated to ensure that pupils

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The leadership and management are good

achieve as well as they can. This is seen in the good achievements of the very small group of pupils eligible for pupil premium, where the performance gap with their peers has been reduced.

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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 115617 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 413215

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 63 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rev C Pooley Headteacher Jill Steeden Date of previous school inspection 20–21 May 2009 Telephone number 01242 870366 Fax number 01242 870347 Email address admin@coberley.gloucs.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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