Cotgrave CofE 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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Cotgrave CofE Primary School The Cross, Cotgrave, Nottingham, NG12 3HS

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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 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 do not make enough good progress in Key Stage 1 to raise standards quickly.  By the end of Year 6, standards in writing and mathematics are not as high as in reading. Pupils’ skills in spelling and their recall of number facts are not consistently well developed.  Teachers do not always match work well to the range of ability in the class or expect high-quality work.  Sometimes, teaching assistants are not fully involved throughout lessons.  Teachers’ marking does not consistently help pupils know how to improve. Not all pupils are clear about their targets or how well they are moving towards them.  Although the headteacher is improving teaching and raising achievement, governors and staff are not sufficiently involved to ensure rapid improvement.  Information on how pupils are learning is not used sufficiently well to improve the quality of teaching.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children do well in the Reception year and pupils make good progress in Key Stage 2.  Pupils’ good attitudes and behaviour contribute to a harmonious community. Pupils feel safe and communication between staff is good.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well.  Leaders, including governors, make sure staff receive the right training to help them to improve.  Strong links with the local community, church and other schools benefit staff and pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed five lessons and some teaching of groups of pupils. All these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher. In all, four members of staff were seen teaching. The inspector also observed one collective worship session.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, members of the governing body, the headteacher and other staff. The inspector spoke to a representative of the local authority.  The inspector spoke to pupils during lessons about their work, looked at their books and listened to them read.  The inspector took account of written responses from parents and 27 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View.  The inspector analysed responses from the 12 questionnaires completed by school staff.  The inspector observed the school’s work, looked at progress and attendance information, improvement plans, evidence of the monitoring of teaching, and documents relating to

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Inspection team

Vivienne McTiffen, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British and other White backgrounds.  An above-average proportion of the pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of educational needs is average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  All pupils are taught in mixed-age classes.  Since the previous inspection, the school has become part of a collaborative partnership with local church schools.  The school shares its site and some of its facilities, including the school hall, with a Sure Start

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Information about this school

children’s centre. This provision is inspected and reported upon separately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be consistently good or better by ensuring:  teachers give pupils work that is well matched to their ability so all make the best possible progress  teaching assistants are used effectively in helping pupils to learn  teachers’ marking helps pupils to understand how to improve  pupils know how well they are progressing towards their targets.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in writing and mathematics by:  making sure pupils present their work consistently well and use what they learn about phonics (how the sounds in words are represented by different letters) and spelling to improve their writing  adopting a more consistent approach to the teaching of number facts so that pupils use them readily in their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  making better use of the information gathered on pupils’ progress to ensure a more rigorous approach to checking the quality of teaching  establishing a more even spread of leadership responsibilities so that governors and staff are fully involved in moving the school forward.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress in Year 1 and Year 2 is not rapid enough to make sure pupils reach the levels expected for their age by the end of Year 2. As a result, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are below average at the end of Key Stage 1. Not enough of the more-able pupils in Key Stage 1 reach their full potential, partly because they are not always given tasks that are suitably challenging.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 By the end of Year 6, standards in writing and mathematics are not as high as they are in reading. Spelling and phonic skills are not sufficiently well used to improve writing. In mathematics, the speed at which pupils work slows down because they do not have quick enough recall of number facts.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 When children start in Reception, their abilities are below what is typical for their age. They achieve well so that, by the end of the Reception year, their skills are broadly average. They develop confidence and make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Children are interested in the wide range of exciting tasks on offer and are enthralled by topics. For example, during the inspection, a story prompted children to create their own dinosaur land and devise their own stories.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In Key Stage 2, pupils’ progress speeds up. By the end of Year 6, over the last three years, overall standards in reading have been above average. The most recent test results for 2013 show that an above-average proportion of pupils reached the higher levels in English grammar, punctuation and spelling. In writing and mathematics standards have been average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 More-able pupils in Key Stage 2 do well because they receive work that is well matched to their ability and teachers expect them to reach their full potential. The school’s information shows that good progress in Key Stage 2 is set to continue. A greater proportion of pupils in Year 2 are on track to do better than previously.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make progress in line with their peers. Some make particularly good progress towards their personal goals because they receive extra help that is well matched to their abilities. Leaders establish strong links with outside agencies and with parents which contributes to these pupils’ achievements.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The pupil premium funding is used to support individual pupils. It is not possible to comment on these pupils’ relative attainment in 2013 because the number of eligible pupils in each year group is so small that there would be a risk of identifying individual pupils. Whilst some of these pupils make good progress, the school’s information shows that the amount of progress eligible pupils make varies from class to class, and raising their achievement is a current focus.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching lacks consistency. Teachers do not always make sure that work is well enough matched to the range of ability in the class. For some pupils, the work is too hard and for others, it is too easy. This means, even though their attitudes to learning are good and they want to do well, pupils do not always make good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants are not always as effective as they could be because they are not sufficiently involved right from the start of lessons. Sometimes, they do not get long enough to help pupils to understand their work and make good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 There is some variation in the quality of teachers’ marking in pupils’ books. Advice given on how to improve is not consistent. Although teachers set targets for pupils, they do not always make sure that pupils are clear about their targets and know how well they are doing towards achieving them.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of phonics has improved. Good use is made of all staff to promote this. Pupils work in groups that are well matched to their abilities and make good progress. The school’s information shows a greater proportion of pupils are on track to do well in the Year 1 phonics screening test than in 2013, when results were average.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Good teaching in Reception gives children plenty of opportunity to explore and find out for themselves. The progress children make is carefully checked and evidence of how well they are doing is collected in ‘Learning Journeys’ which help staff to identify any gaps in children’s knowledge and understanding.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Staff know pupils well and expect good behaviour. They quickly correct any misunderstandings and check that pupils are clear about their learning and what they are expected to achieve by the end of a lesson. They give pupils the opportunity to share their ideas and explain how they reach their answers.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The most effective teaching gives pupils plenty of time to use their skills. For example, during the inspection, good teaching quickly set pupils off at different starting points to work on fractions and percentages. More-able pupils got on with a higher level task whilst the teacher worked with others. As a result, no time was wasted and all pupils made good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers make the most of pupils’ positive attitudes to develop their interest and knowledge of other eras, people and places. For example, during the inspection, pupils in the Year 2 and Year 3 class talked keenly about their study of the Tudors and produced attractive art work using a range of media.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants help pupils of all abilities, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. They play an important role in helping pupils to do better in reading and mathematics and offer strong pastoral care and encouragement.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils talk proudly of their small school community. They value their friendships and the fact that they know everyone. Pupils get on well together and say they enjoy learning about others from backgrounds different to their own. They are keen to achieve the school’s rewards for their efforts.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. It contributes strongly to the progress they make in their lessons. They are good at working together and independently, and show the same good level of behaviour towards all adults. They understand that some pupils find good behaviour difficult but are confident that the school does all it can to make sure good behaviour is maintained.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say they feel safe and well cared for, a view strongly supported by parents. Pupils talk sensibly about different forms of bullying and know what to do if they have any concerns. The school’s records show that incidents are rare but any that do occur are thoroughly recorded and followed up. Teaching during collective worship and personal and social education lessons helps pupils to understand how to deal with any worries that may arise.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ keenness to learn is reflected in the way in which they pay attention in lessons. They are often inspired by varied and exciting experiences. They work hard to write in joined script but levels of presentation are variable because staff do not consistently insist that they produce their very best.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils take on responsibility conscientiously and enjoy their work on the school council. Older pupils regularly help younger children because the headteacher strongly promotes the development of pupils’ social skills and interaction between pupils of different ages.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is above average. Pupils say they are happy to come to school, a view supported by parents and illustrated by this comment, ‘Our son loves to attend school. His progress has amazed us, especially his reading, where he has developed a real eagerness and enthusiasm.’ Very few pupils stay away from school for extended periods or are frequently late.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher ably leads a united staff team but carries too much of the responsibility for checking on the school’s work. The role of other staff in checking on pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching is not sufficiently developed to enable them to identify clearly what needs to improve.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Lesson observations to check on the quality of teaching do not focus sharply enough on how well individual pupils and groups of pupils are doing. Not enough use is made of the good information the school has on pupils’ progress to identify what teachers need to do to help pupils to achieve even better.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher and governors make sure that training given to staff helps them to improve and meets the needs of the school. For example, staff are skilled at teaching phonics and working with disabled pupils and those with special educational needs because of the training they have received.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The performance of staff is checked regularly. Good links with the partnership schools allows staff to share expertise and develop their skills with others. A very positive response from the questionnaires completed by staff indicates that they feel well supported.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school receives effective light-touch support from the local authority. It has used the findings from local authority visits to introduce greater rigour to its development planning and management of teaching. Methods to gather information on pupils’ progress have improved and are used effectively to identify those needing extra help.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, use of the school hall has been developed well to extend the facilities for pupils and increase involvement with the local community, parents and the Sure Start centre. Good leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage establishes good links with parents and pre-school settings in preparation for children starting school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders make sure the school offers interesting activities and maintains strong links with the local church. Trips and visits inspire pupils to understand other people and places. For example, during the inspection, pupils related how their visit to the Houses of Parliament was ‘amazing’. They talked with interest about visits to various places of worship used by faiths other than their own.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school uses additional sports funding well to increase existing opportunities for pupils and develop staff expertise in the delivery of sports and physical education lessons. There has been a positive effect on staff confidence, and on pupils’ enjoyment and physical well-being.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The pupil premium funding is spent on extra staffing and resources, taking care to meet the needs of individual eligible pupils. This is having a positive effect on raising pupils’ self-esteem and confidence, so they become successful learners.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors recognise that some improvements are not being made quickly enough. As a result, they are re-structuring their committees but plans to be more involved in realising the school’s priorities are not yet fully effective. Governors visit the school regularly and carry out observations of teaching with the headteacher. They know about the link between good achievement and good teaching and how this relates to teachers’ pay. Governors check the performance of the headteacher and ask challenging questions. For example, they analyse data on how well pupils supported by the pupil premium are doing and ask questions if they are not doing well enough. Governors undertake the necessary training and are keen to make the most of and increase expertise in their ranks. The governing body carries out its responsibilities effectively and ensures safeguarding procedures meet requirements through

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The leadership and management requires improvement

regular reviews of policies and security arrangements.

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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 122797 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 431232

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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 79 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Barclay Headteacher Craig Moxham Date of previous school inspection 9 March 2009 Telephone number 0115 9892204 Fax number 0115 9892204 Email address office@cotgrave-pri.notts.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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