Coundon Primary School

Coundon Primary School Forfield Road, Coundon, Coventry, CV6 1FQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher’s decisive and clear-sighted leadership has galvanised the school to improve its performance in many ways. Together with a strong team of deputy headteachers, middle leaders, governors and staff, she has improved teaching and raised achievement, attainment and expectation throughout the school.  The governing body has improved its contributions to the management of the school. Governors better understand the performance of the school and where it can improve, and are more willing to challenge school leaders.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. They have excellent attitudes to learning, and are courteous and caring throughout the school. They enjoy learning and are well prepared for their future lives.  The provision for pupils’ safety is excellent. They have great faith in the adults in school, who show notable care and respect for them.  Teaching across the whole school, including in the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

early years, is good. Teachers have high expectations and have a good understanding of the needs of their pupils. They provide many exciting and challenging learning activities for pupils.  All groups of pupils achieve well and make good progress. Disadvantaged pupils reach the same standards as other pupils in the school. Achievement in mathematics has risen rapidly in the last year.  Children have a good start to their school lives in the Nursery and Reception classes because of effective teaching and care. They learn quickly and soon become confident and independent.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ skills in handwriting and spelling are inconsistent across the school. Consequently, the presentation of pupils’ written work is not always as neat as it could be.  Although attainment and achievement throughout the school have improved strongly this year, especially in mathematics, this has yet to be maintained over a longer period of time.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in 31 lessons or part-lessons; 17 of these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher or the deputy headteachers.  Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, other staff with leadership responsibilities and six governors. An inspector spoke to the school’s improvement adviser from the local authority.  Inspectors discussed teaching and pupils’ progress with class teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils’ books and records of their progress were examined.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with them about their reading experiences.  Inspectors took account of 64 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents. They also took account of 99 responses to the school’s own parents’ questionnaire in March 2015. Inspectors spoke to parents informally including some whose children start school soon.  The inspectors considered 60 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire for staff.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors examined a range of documentation, including, the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, an analysis of pupils’ achievement and progress, safeguarding arrangements, school policies, and records of checks made by leaders on the quality of teaching and learning.

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Inspection team

Rodney Braithwaite, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  A large majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils who are looked after or known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school has a Nursery which children attend part-time. There are three Reception classes which children attend full time, and two single-aged classes in every year group from Years 1 to 6.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.  The school has extensive links to the local group of Coventry schools in Network 10.  There have been extensive building renovations and extensions during the last year. These include the

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Information about this school

provision of new classrooms and a canteen.  The headteacher took up post in April 2014. There have also been several changes of staff since the last inspection.  There is a ‘Sure Start’ building on the school site, run by the school, which is used by the local community. This was not included in the inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop handwriting and spelling skills so that there is greater consistency across the school, and pupils’ presentation of their work results in high quality handwriting in all years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the improvements in pupils’ achievement evident throughout the school are maintained.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher leads the school with great skill, compassion and aspiration. Under her leadership, aided by two equally ambitious deputy headteachers, the school has developed a good capacity for improvement. There is a strong ethos where good teaching and pupils’ outstanding behaviour are well founded. This is because the school has delivered a number of rapid and visible improvements in performance in the last years, in spite of the disruption of major building works.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior management team has succeeded in building an effective team of middle managers throughout the school. All have a clear understanding of their responsibilities. They also know that in addition to their new skills, the expectations are high and demanding for the improvements planned in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The record of improvement is good since last year. Pupils’ attainment and achievement have risen throughout the school, especially in mathematics. Teaching is more consistent and effective, and teachers have been set challenging but realistic performance targets for their pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 School systems and resultant data for monitoring pupils’ progress are much improved, and used effectively in planning for the needs of all pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 School staff are enthused by the changes in the school including the splendid new environment. Morale has soared and all staff are determined to maintain and strengthen the progress made so far in order that the school can become outstanding.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has maintained the good achievement of disadvantaged pupils so that they are doing as well as other pupils in the school. The most-able pupils are rapidly reaching standards above and well-above average as a result of leaders’ successful drive to improve teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has a realistic and achievable improvement plan. This is based on consistently detailed and accurate self-evaluation of the school’s performance. As a result, there is little that the school has not already planned in order to remedy weaknesses or sustain existing strengths.

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The leadership and management are good

 The revised curriculum is having a positive impact upon the successful promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. This is strongly supported by the role-modelling of staff for the pupils, in particular pupils greatly admire the standards of courtesy and ambition set by the headteacher, with one commenting, ‘She is absolutely amazing!’ School leaders place great importance also on the promotion of British values and the school preparing its pupils well for their future lives in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are good

 The additional primary school physical education (PE) and sports funding is being effectively used. An experienced sports and PE teacher is ensuring that pupils have a wide range of sports opportunities both in and out of school. This has been widened to include pupils of all ages. Benefits to the school include an increased interest by pupils in competitive sport, a better understanding of teamwork and healthy exercise, and improved teaching skills for less-confident members of staff.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school promotes equality of opportunity effectively. The school tolerates no discrimination. This assures excellent relationships throughout the school, and gives pupils equal access to all after-school activities and clubs.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff work well with other staff in regular contacts with their network schools. This is especially important when staff moderate and agree the standards of work being reached by their pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works well with the local authority, which has given valuable assistance in helping the school during a period of many changes. The authority has high regard for the school leadership.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders, including governors, ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet government requirements. Their supervision of safety during the building alterations deserves particular credit in view of the magnitude of the changes.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have introduced strategies to deal with any extremism or radicalisation should they arise. This includes training in the government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy. All school policies, especially those for child protection, are regularly monitored and fully applied.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders and governors pay great attention to the spending of funding for disadvantaged pupils. They compare their progress with that of other pupils, and have been successful in ensuring the closing of any gaps in progress and attainment between each group of pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 A very large majority of parents believe that leadership and management are effective and would recommend the school to others.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have improved their contributions to the leadership of the school. They work closely with all school leaders, and are careful in allocating responsibilities to individual governors who have the necessary skills and interests. Governors have been especially attentive in ensuring that they have had sufficient training in order to make judgements on the school’s progress.  Governors, as a result, feel much more confident in challenging school leaders as their knowledge has increased. Governors also have a good understanding of data relating to pupils’ attainment and progress following effective training. They pay increasing attention to providing information to parents about who they are, and what they do.  Governors’ knowledge of teaching in the school and the performance of pupils in different subjects is used effectively to guide decisions on pay increases for teachers. These are based on the performance

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The leadership and management are good

and appraisal targets set for teachers to reach, as shown by pupils’ progress and attainment.  Governors’ specific skills are used well to monitor the budget, and the allocation of additional funding. Equally the governors also evaluate how effectively the funds are used and their impact on pupils’ learning.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning, and express great enthusiasm for all aspects of their activities. Typically they describe school as ‘amazing’, ‘awesome’ and ‘phenomenal’. They name a large number of subjects where they enjoy their learning and talk enthusiastically about residential trips, rock-climbing, and experiments in science.

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Behaviour

 Pupils work harmoniously together in small and large groups, and more than fulfil the widely published school motto of, ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’ (TEAM). They are very clear in understanding what is expected of them in their behaviour, including the need to be punctual, and are learning to be independent ‘so that we are ready for our next school.’

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Behaviour

 Their behaviour in lessons and all parts of the school is excellent. They move quietly around the large buildings and site. This includes a smaller playground following the new building, and a lengthy walk to the new canteen for lunch. When all together in the hall their behaviour is exceptional. An example was seen during an assembly when over 400 pupils sat with rapt attention, and offered thoughtful comments to the headteacher about ‘What makes a good citizen?’

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Behaviour

 Pupils have excellent relationships with adults in the school. A feature of their behaviour is their courtesy to others, including visitors, and their willingness to offer help to others when they think it may be needed. The ‘Playground Pals’ are particularly good at this.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have no concerns about behaviour in the school. They report very isolated incidents over time, but are very happy and proud of their school community overall.

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Behaviour

 Attendance remains high as it has been for several years.  Almost all parental and staff responses to the Ofsted questionnaires confirm the inspection findings that behaviour is well-managed by the school. Exclusions of pupils have been very rare in the last few years.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils are especially confident in how well adults in school take care of them. They appreciate the ‘worry boxes’ provided for them because they know that their concerns will be dealt with; as one reported, ‘There are four specially trained teachers who will help us, and school councillors do as well.’

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Safety

 The school has been particularly vigilant about pupils’ safety during the major disruptive building alterations over the last year. Pupils report no problems and say that they have never at any time felt unsafe.

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Safety

 Pupils have an excellent understanding of bullying, because ‘We did a bullying questionnaire and analysed it with the deputy head.’ They could not recall any incidents of bullying in the last year.

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Safety

 Pupils have a good understanding of the dangers of cyber-bullying, and know clearly what they must do if they feel threatened in any way through the internet. The school is working closely with parents in this aspect of safety in school.

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Safety

 Robust checks are made on staff during recruitment and all risk assessments are checked rigorously by the senior leaders and governors. The school is fully inclusive, and there are no records of racist or homophobic comments by pupils in recent times.

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Safety

 Responses from parents, carers and staff are unanimous in declaring that pupils are safe in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Learning is consistently good across the school, including the early years, because teaching has markedly improved since the last inspection. This has led to a strong improvement in pupils’ achievement particularly in the last year.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The improvement in teaching has been driven by highly effective monitoring of learning by senior staff and the headteacher, in order to develop teaching skills to a higher level.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Excellent relationships between staff and pupils, combined with pupils’ thirst for knowledge, have combined to encourage teachers to have higher expectations and challenge pupils according to their abilities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A powerful example of the effect of leadership on teaching has been the transformation in the teaching of mathematics. Prior to this school year, achievement and progress in mathematics had been weak. Leaders’ intensive promotion of high-quality training, improved planning and tracking of progress, and more focused teaching, have led to dramatic improvement in all years.

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The quality of teaching is good

 An example of this was seen in a Year 5 class where some pupils were challenged to learn the place value of decimals such as 0.004 and convert them into equivalent fractions. Others worked on problem solving involving complicated time conversions requiring advanced logical thinking.

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The quality of teaching is good

 More effective teaching means that significant numbers of pupils in all years are working at above-average levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. Similarly, the improved teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) is helping to raise pupils’ skills in grammar and reading, although progress has not been as marked in spelling.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils enjoy regular reading sessions in school, and many like to read to family at home. As they get older they choose more challenging books, and with the guidance of teachers enjoy Shakespeare’s works. Pupils particularly enjoy seeing or participating in plays which they have read such as ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Examination of pupils’ books shows a wide range of handwriting which varies from year to year. School leaders accept that this is an area for improvement and have recently introduced new handwriting methods, aiming for consistency throughout the school in writing and presentation.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The promotion by teachers of the new curriculum has moved ahead quickly. Pupils are provided with many opportunities for gains in their learning across a wide range of opportunities including extra- curricular activities. These include a science week, studies of festivals and faiths, safety days and a Shakespeare festival.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A feature of the curriculum is the consistent promotion of British values and citizenship, through discussions on democracy, respect and courtesy, and elections of, for example, a head boy and girl. This is helping pupils to prepare well for their future lives.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ learning is enhanced by teachers’ good marking of their work. Pupils receive praise and support, and many respond with their own views and evaluations. The marking in Year 6 is especially helpful in encouraging pupils to think and respond maturely. Teachers also promote the good development of pupils’ listening and speaking skills in all years.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers work effectively with their teaching assistants, who make good contributions to the learning of pupils, often those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Literacy and numeracy skills are stressed throughout the curriculum. Consequently, pupils’ learning is enhanced in many subjects, where many are achieving well, such as science, history, art and information and communication technology.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Parents are almost unanimous in endorsing the effectiveness of teaching in the school which results in their children making good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Until this school year, attainment has been variable in writing, reading and mathematics. In 2014, for example, by the end of Year 6 pupils reached average levels in reading, writing and mathematics, but the number reaching above-average levels was generally below average, particularly in mathematics. Progress was mostly as expected, but fewer pupils made good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The picture of attainment and progress in the school is now much more positive. Throughout the school, achievement is now good. Many more pupils are making good progress and reaching higher standards. This is particularly marked in mathematics where many pupils are now working at higher levels.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the early years provision with skills typical for their age and make good progress. Pupils in Key Stage 1, after some very inconsistent past progress, are now achieving much better than in the past. In Year 2 many are working at above-average levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Most pupils, for example, now have a good understanding of phonics because of better teaching. This is an improvement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 School leaders realise that this improvement in achievement must be sustained over time in order for all pupils consistently to reach the levels of which they are capable. The inspection provides compelling evidence from observations and scrutiny of pupils’ books that rising standards and achievement are present in all years. The high expectations of leaders are now being reflected in both the teaching and pupils’ learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement is consistently good for all groups of pupils across a wide range of subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress, because their learning is well planned to fit the particular needs of these pupils. They are well supported, particularly by teaching assistants.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils now achieve well. In the past some have not reached higher National Curriculum levels, but this has now changed as leaders have driven up the higher expectations of the teaching staff. These pupils now receive many more opportunities to stretch their learning and thinking skills. They relish the chance to select increasingly difficult activities provided by teachers as they progress in their learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The progress of disadvantaged pupils in 2014, at the end of Year 6, at least matched that of other pupils in the school and pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Their attainment was also similar to, or in mathematics above, that of other pupils in the school. Compared to other pupils nationally, their attainment was between half a term and a term behind in writing, nearly a term and a half behind in mathematics, and slightly above in reading. These pupils’ achievement is good and compares favourably with that of other pupils in the school.

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The early years provision is good

 Leadership and management, the responsibility of one deputy headteacher and an early years leader, are good. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement in learning and teaching in the early years. This is enabling children to make good progress in the Nursery and the Reception classes.

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The early years provision is good

 Children start in the Nursery with skills and experience typically seen for their age. They make good progress, particularly in their literacy and mathematical skills, because teaching is consistently good and staff monitor and assess children’s progress very effectively. Children are well prepared to start Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 Good progress continues in the Reception class because of continued effective teaching and children make especially good progress in the expressive arts. The accuracy of staff’s analysis of progress enables them to take action to improve children’s knowledge of people and communities, and their moving and handling skills, which are less well-developed initially.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s phonics skills are good because staff have planned an effective programme of progressive learning linked to literacy skills. This is helping many children to reach good levels of development by the time they transfer to Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 Leaders make sure that children have a varied range of exciting and challenging learning experiences. In Reception, for example, children were observed learning enthusiastically about two- and three-dimensional shapes. They were actively engaged in their learning and many answered questions accurately and in whole sentences about the properties of shapes.

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The early years provision is good

 The classrooms are colourful and stimulating learning environments, which help children’s learning attitudes and development of their basic skills. The school continues to improve the outdoor learning environment following the effect of the building work.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s behaviour is excellent in the early years because they are so keen to learn. They listen and concentrate on their learning for long periods, and follow the instructions of adults carefully.

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The early years provision is good

 Their safety and well-being are a major priority for staff. Safeguarding procedures are implemented consistently, well maintained, and regularly evaluated for their effectiveness.

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The early years provision is good

 Staff work well with parents, who are very pleased with their children’s progress. They much enjoy sharing their children’s learning journals, showing their activities and progress.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 103680 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 462585

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 515 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Roger Buckle Headteacher Jayne Ellis Date of previous school inspection 22 May 2013 Telephone number 02476 592559 Fax number 02476 590996 Email address coundon.primary@coundon.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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 and 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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