Holbrook Primary School

Holbrook Primary School Gate side Road, Coventry, CV6 6FR

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Overall effectiveness

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

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

 Although there has been some improvement in attainment since the previous inspection, standards in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2 remain below average.  Teaching is not consistently good and this leads to variations in pupils’ rates of progress.  Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not always high enough, particularly for the most able. While most pupils make expected progress, too few do better than this.  Teachers’ marking does not always tell pupils what they need to do to improve the quality of their work.  In a small proportion of lessons pupils become restless and inattentive. This sometimes occurs when teaching does not hold pupils’ interest or the work set for them is too hard or too easy.  Leaders’ plans for improvement and the actions taken have not yet resulted in consistently good teaching or good progress in all year groups and subjects.  Not all governors are clear about how pupils’

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

progress compares to that made by pupils nationally. Although they know how pupil premium funding is being spent, governors are unsure about its impact on eligible pupils’ progress and attainment.

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The school has the following strengths

 The large majority of children in Nursery and Reception classes settle quickly and make good progress.  The school community welcomes and celebrates the diverse ethnic heritages of pupils and their families. The large proportions of pupils who speak English as an additional language are well supported in developing their language and communication skills.  Standards reached by pupils at the end of Key Stage 1 have risen each year since the previous inspection.  The curriculum and additional activities, including clubs, trips and visits, give pupils a wide range of positive experiences which enrich their learning and personal development.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 24 lessons or part lessons. Four of these observations were carried out jointly by inspectors and senior leaders. Inspectors listened to pupils read, visited an assembly and observed playtime and lunchtime activities.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, senior and middle leaders, two governors including the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors considered the 32 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). They also spoke to approximately 60 parents at the start and end of the school day and during a healthy eating workshop. Inspectors also considered three emails which were received from parents.  The inspection team looked at a number of documents, including information about safeguarding, pupils’ progress and attainment, leaders’ evaluations of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and their plans for improvements. Inspectors looked at records of leaders’ checks

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Information about this inspection

on teaching and the management of teachers’ performance. The team also considered the school’s record-keeping for incidents of poor behaviour and bullying as well as information about attendance and risk assessments for playtime and lunchtimes.  Inspectors looked at a range of pupils’ books from different year groups.

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Inspection team

Morag Kophamel, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Dennis Brittain Additional Inspector Janet Watts Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average sized primary school.  Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Almost half of pupils are of Pakistani heritage. Indian pupils comprise the next largest group. Thirty nine different first languages are spoken by pupils. Some pupils are at an early stage of learning to speak English.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and who are supported by the pupil premium is above average. The pupil premium funding is additional government funding provided for pupils in local authority care, those from armed forces families and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is below the national average and the proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. This includes pupils with moderate learning difficulties, those with

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Information about this school

speech and language difficulties and some with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  Currently five teachers are on maternity leave and there are five newly qualified teachers.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in English and mathematics by:  making sure that more able children, particularly in Reception and Key Stage 1, are suitably challenged so that they make rapid progress  teaching pupils in Key Stage 2 how to improve their handwriting, spelling and use of grammar and punctuation, especially for those pupils who have not benefited from the improvements made in the teaching of phonics and early literacy skills in Key Stage 1  Providing more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematics skills in problem solving and investigative work.  Improve the quality of teaching so that all is good or better by making sure that:  teachers whose skills require improvement learn from the school’s most effective teachers  all teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve  teachers match activities carefully to pupils’ different needs and abilities and provide the right

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

level of challenge for all, so that pupils concentrate well in lessons and make good progress  Teachers’ marking makes clear to pupils how they should improve their work.  Improve the impact of leadership and management by:  ensuring that plans to improve achievement are ambitious and are tightly focused on increasing the proportion of pupils who make rapid progress, so that all pupils meet national expectations and a greater proportion exceed them  working with pupils and parents to ensure that they all have confidence in the ways that behaviour is managed and the ways that incidents of poor behaviour are followed up  Working with parents to ensure that pupils’ attendance continues to improve and no pupils are persistently absent. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how well this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the use and impact of pupil

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

premium funding should also be carried out.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils do not always make good progress as they move through the school. As a result, standards at the end of Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics are below average.  The majority of children join the Nursery classes with skills that are well below those typical for their age. Children, including the large proportion that speak English as an additional language, are given good support, especially with their language and communications skills. They settle quickly into the secure and caring environment and make good progress.  Around half of the children in the Reception classes did not attend the Nursery. Although most children make good progress in the Reception classes, the proportion reaching a good level of development by the start of Year 1 is considerably lower than that seen nationally. More-able children do not always make good progress.  The number of pupils in Year 1 who met the expected standard in the national phonics check

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

was a little lower than average. Girls did much better than boys. However, standards in reading are improving in Key Stage 1 and most pupils make confident use their knowledge of the sounds that letters make (phonics) to read unfamiliar words. Pupils read regularly in school and say that they enjoy reading.  At the end of Year 2, the majority of pupils reach the standard expected for their age in reading and in mathematics. However, more-able pupils in Key Stage 1 do not all make good progress. The proportions of pupils reaching higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 are significantly lower than average.  Attainment in writing at the end of Year 2 is lower than in reading and mathematics. Boys do not do as well as girls in their writing. However, as a result of better teaching, pupils in Key Stage 1 are beginning to apply their knowledge of letters and sounds in their writing and are developing

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

their skills in writing for different purposes.  Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 have risen slowly since 2011 but remain below average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Overall, pupils make the progress that is expected of them across Key Stage 2, but too few do better than this. Pupils’ progress varies in different year groups and subjects. For example, the school’s assessments show that pupils in Year 3 are reaching a good standard in their reading while a considerable number of older pupils have not reached the level expected for their age.  Pupils’ handwriting and the way they set out their work are sometimes untidy. The books of some older pupils show that they are repeating errors in the spelling of common words. Teachers do not always challenge more-able pupils to include more complex sentences and advanced punctuation in their writing.  In 2013, Year 6 pupils supported through the pupil premium attained lower levels than other

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

pupils in national tests in reading, writing and mathematics. Currently, in Key Stage 1 and in Year 3, pupils eligible for this additional support are making similar progress to their classmates. However, the progress of eligible pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 is not consistently good. For example, in reading these pupils make less progress than their classmates.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils in Key Stage 1. In Key Stage 2, progress is not consistently good and the progress of some pupils with special educational needs is slow.  More-able pupils make the progress that is expected of them in Key Stage 2 but few do better than this.  The progress of boys and girls and pupils from different ethnic groups varies in different year groups and subjects but there is no overall pattern across the school.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not always good enough across the school to ensure that all pupils make good progress in English and mathematics.  Where teaching is good, teachers have high expectations of all pupils and set work which is carefully planned to provide the right level of challenge for pupils of different abilities. Teachers build on what pupils have already learned and use accurate vocabulary in their explanations and instructions so that pupils know what they are learning and what they are expected to do. Teachers check that pupils have understood and identify and correct misunderstandings and errors so that pupils can move on quickly in their learning.  In the great majority of lessons, teachers and teaching assistants are skilled in asking questions that require pupils to think carefully and provide explanations for their ideas.  Where teaching requires improvement, teachers do not always match work to pupils’ abilities

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

carefully enough. This means that sometimes work is too difficult and sometimes it does not provide sufficient challenge. Explanations sometimes lack clarity and teachers make occasional errors in the vocabulary used and in the examples provided. Not all teachers insist that pupils produce enough work in lessons.  Teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to use and apply their skills in problem solving and investigative work in mathematics and in other subjects.  The teaching of phonics is well structured. Teachers and teaching assistants use correct vocabulary and effective strategies and routines which enable pupils to learn more quickly. This is having a positive impact on their progress.  Teachers do not always help older pupils to choose suitable reading books. This means that some pupils are reading books that are too easy and so are not extending their reading skills.  The quality of teachers’ marking varies between classes. In some classes teachers provide clear

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

guidance about what pupils have done well and what they need to do to improve their work. In others, teachers’ marking just describes the task that pupils have completed.  In Nursery and Reception classes children usually learn well when they are working with adult support. However, when children choose their own activities, these sometimes lack purpose and challenge and this slows progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ behaviour requires improvement. Behaviour in lessons is too variable. Where lessons are interesting and teachers set work that is carefully matched to pupils’ abilities, behaviour is good. In these lessons, pupils work with positive attitudes and good concentration. When teaching is not interesting or the work set by teachers is too hard or too easy, pupils sometimes stop working and start to chat or become restless, occasionally distracting other pupils. A small number of pupils say that they are sometimes annoyed by those who are not behaving well in lessons.  School leaders have rightly identified behaviour, including behaviour in lessons and attitudes to learning, as a priority in the school improvement plan.  During the inspection, pupils were well behaved when moving around the school building or playing in the playground. They were calm and sensible, showing respect and good manners

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

towards adults and each other.  The majority of parents who spoke to inspectors said that they believe that behaviour is good. However, a small number of parents expressed concerns that behaviour was not always well managed. Inspectors spoke to children from different year groups at playtimes and lunchtimes and found that the great majority reported that behaviour was good and that any poor behaviour was sorted out by teachers. At playtime and lunchtime, supervision was good and pupils used playground equipment safely and sensibly.  A small number of pupils have particular difficulties in managing their behaviour. The school works well with other professionals and with parents in order to help these pupils to control and improve their behaviour. School leaders have employed learning mentors to help pupils to manage their emotions and develop their social skills.  Safety is good overall. A small number of parents said that they are concerned about bullying in

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

the school. However, pupils say that they feel safe in school. They told inspectors that when bullying occurs, teachers deal with it quickly and effectively. Pupils said that racist or homophobic comments are rare and are treated very seriously by staff. School records show that any incidents of this nature are recorded and followed up.  Lessons in e-safety have helped pupils to have a good understanding of how to stay safe when using the internet. They also say that they have been taught about road safety and fire safety.  Attendance has improved and persistent absence has decreased since the previous inspection but there is still work to be done. Leaders supplied examples which showed how members of staff have successfully worked with families and other agencies to increase attendance for individual children. Absences are followed up promptly by the school. Pupils explained to inspectors that a member of staff will telephone or text parents and sometimes visit them at

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

home if they have not explained why a pupil is absent.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 School leaders have not been successful in ensuring that the quality of teaching is consistently good or that all pupils make good progress. Their judgement on the quality of teaching has not taken enough account of the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress over time. As a result, leaders have judged teaching to be good when some pupils are making slow progress in their learning.  School leaders’ plans for improving achievement are not ambitious enough, particularly for more able pupils. However some plans have been effective in driving improvement, such as in the teaching of early reading and phonics and in teachers’ use of questioning to promote learning.  Leaders and subject leaders for English and mathematics have a good knowledge of common strengths in pupils’ progress and in the quality of teaching. They also have an accurate understanding of areas which require improvement. Leaders use this information to identify the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

additional support that is needed by different year groups and by individual pupils.  The use of the pupil premium funding to fund additional teaching support is reducing differences in attainment between pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium and their peers in some, but not all, year groups.  Targets set for teachers’ performance are now closely linked to the progress of pupils. Leaders are providing training and support to help teachers improve their skills. The headteacher and governors have ensured that there is a clear link between teachers’ pay and their performance in the classroom. Newly qualified teachers say that they are well supported by school leaders and are given opportunities to learn from the most effective teachers.  Arrangements for safeguarding meet requirements. The school responds quickly to any concerns about children’s safety and well-being and works well with other agencies to support pupils and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

families whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.  The curriculum covers a good range of subjects and celebrates the rich cultural and ethnic diversity within the school. It contributes to pupils’ well-being and personal development. For example, during the inspection pupils were enjoying ‘Health Week’ and were learning about the importance of an active lifestyle and healthy eating. The curriculum is enriched by a good range of visits including residential trips. Pupils benefit from the opportunities provided by visiting specialists such as sports coaches and music teachers and enjoy the wide range of before- and after-school clubs.  Primary school sport funding is being used effectively to promote active lifestyles and increase pupils’ participation in exercise and sport.  The local authority has an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and has worked successfully in partnership with the school to make some improvements. For

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The leadership and management requires improvement

example, advisors have worked with school staff to improve the quality of teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage and to develop the leadership and management of the provision made for pupils with disabilities and special educational needs.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors are supportive of the school and are determined that all pupils should do well, although not all governors are clear about how pupils’ progress and attainment compare to those of pupils nationally. They have attended training on a variety of issues and minutes from governors’ meetings show that they are becoming increasingly able to ask challenging questions and hold school leaders to account for their work. Governors are aware that some teaching requires improvement. They check that the work of teachers is regularly reviewed and that improvement targets are focused on improving the quality of teaching and raising pupils’ achievement. They ensure that these reviews of performance inform teachers’ pay progression. Governors know how the pupil premium fund is being used but have not evaluated the impact that each initiative is having on pupils’ progress. Governors ensure that

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The leadership and management requires improvement

safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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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 103676 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 440443

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 560 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Neil Hewitt Headteacher Sara Bennett and Tamara McCarthy(Co- Headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 1 December 2010 Telephone number 024 76688947 Fax number 024 7668 8335 Email address admin@holbrook.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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