Copley Junior School

Copley Junior School Cadeby Road, Sprotbrough, Doncaster DN5 7SD

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 ‘My child is thriving and coming on in leaps and bounds’ is typical of the many comments from parents.  Outstanding leadership at all levels has driven rapid improvement since the previous inspection.  The governing body are highly skilled. They provide insightful and effective challenge and support.  Leadership of teaching and learning is very effective. Weaker aspects have been resolutely addressed.  The quality of teaching is now typically good and often better.  Pupils’ behaviour is usually impeccable. Pupils are very proud of their school and take a great deal of initiative in organising school events and activities.  Pupils’ excellent attitudes to learning have been a key factor behind their improving rates of progress. Their work is mostly beautifully presented.  Attendance rates are consistently high and reflect pupils’ enjoyment of school life.  The school is extremely vigilant in overseeing pupils’ safety and well-being. Day-to-day

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This is a good school

procedures to support pupils’ welfare are very clear and well established.  Pupils say that they feel safe and well looked after by adults in school. They also agree that they are very good at caring for each other.  Standards of attainment are continually above average. The proportion of Year 6 pupils reaching the age-expected levels in mathematics, reading and writing combined was greater than that found nationally in 2014 and 2015.  Pupils enjoy an exciting curriculum and say that learning is fun.  Pupils also achieve well in the arts and in sporting activities. They have been very successful in sporting competitions. Indeed, a team from Copley Juniors are currently Yorkshire Gymnastics champions!

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Expectations of what pupils can achieve are on occasion not high enough. Some pupils could do even better and still have some catching up to do to reach their full potential.  Although teachers are good at addressing pupils’ misconceptions, they do not always ensure that pupils secure an in-depth understanding of new skills and concepts.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that teachers have high expectations of pupils in every class and help them: – make even better progress and so reach their full potential – secure in-depth knowledge and understanding of new skills and concepts.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The school motto ‘Believe, Achieve, Succeed’ amply reflects the culture of ambition within the school community.  The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. She has been utterly determined to provide the very best for pupils at Copley Junior School. Her strong drive for improvement has been fundamental to the many improvements made since the previous inspection.  This is a school that is going from strength to strength. A very strong shared sense of vision and purpose, underpinned by detailed and thorough management systems, has enabled the school to improve rapidly.  The headteacher is very well supported by a committed and hardworking team of highly skilled senior and middle leaders. Discrimination is not tolerated. All are united in the desire to try to ensure that every pupil has equal opportunity to succeed.  Pupils, governors, staff and parents are regularly consulted. ‘The headteacher always listens to people’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

was a comment made by many during the inspection. Staff responses to the inspection questionnaire about the school are overwhelmingly positive.  The leadership of all key aspects of the school’s work is very well thought out and very effective. Roles of responsibility and lines of accountability are very clear.  A large number of staffing changes initially led to some inconsistent rates of progress following the previous inspection. Now that there is a full complement of staff in place, pupils are doing much better, although there is a little way to go before all pupils reach their full potential.  Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are now making faster progress. The school building has been significantly smartened up and refurbished. An environment has been established with a professional air that is conducive to learning. Teaching is almost always good or better. Attendance rates are persistently

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

high and pupils’ behaviour is typically exemplary.  The school keeps a careful check on how much progress pupils make and is particularly good at identifying pupils who are at risk of falling behind with their work, so that additional support can be provided to help pupils catch up. Following a period when the quality of teaching was inconsistent and not as good overall as it is now, the school is strongly focused on helping to ensure that all pupils achieve as well as they can.  Leaders successfully engage and motivate staff. The leadership of teaching and learning is very effective. Leaders regularly check the quality of teaching and learning in lessons. Performance management procedures are strongly focused on the key school priorities. Staff regularly explore how they can help pupils do even better.  Pupil premium funding is used well. The school carefully diagnoses the individual needs of each pupil and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

provides a wide range of support. The impact of the funding is carefully evaluated.  The school’s rich and exciting curriculum provides many enjoyable learning experiences. Pupils say they often find their lessons fun. For example, they are fascinated by their work around themes such as, ‘I am a Warrior’, ‘Time Traveller’ and ‘The Frozen Kingdom’.  Pupils also benefit from the many, many clubs and enrichment activities on offer. For example, they enjoy choosing from a vast range of after-school clubs, such as archery, street dance, balloon modelling and aromatherapy. School displays celebrate pupils’ vibrant artwork and home learning projects. Pupils also enjoy taking part in the many activities to foster their musical talents, such as having the opportunity to work with professionals from Opera North.  The physical education (PE) and sport premium is used well. Sporting activities have a high profile and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

the school has had a marked degree of success in sporting competitions. Sports councillors take their role very seriously and help ensure that everyone keeps fit and active at breaktimes.  The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very strong. They gain a good introduction to the importance of principles such as the rule of law and democratic processes through holding their own school council elections, contributing to their own classroom rules and carrying out the numerous roles of responsibility in school.  The school has gained a lot through strong partnerships with schools in the locality. They are now increasingly taking the lead in their work with other schools. For example, they are helping other schools to: moderate pupils’ English work; develop assessment systems; improve the leadership of special educational

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

needs, as well as develop innovative ways to support pupils’ personal and social development.  The school website is very informative. The school ensures that information is kept up to date and readily accessible to parents and pupils.  The local authority has provided some effective support since the previous inspection. For example, local authority personnel have helped to develop the skills of middle leaders and have provided an external validation of the school’s work. The local authority has full confidence in the school’s capacity to maintain its fast pace of school improvement.  The governance of the school – The governing body were restructured following an external review of governance. Governors are now very knowledgeable about pupil outcomes and the quality of teaching. They help ensure that performance management arrangements lead to improved provision and outcomes for pupils. – Governors are very well informed and they have the necessary skills both to support the school and to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

hold school leaders to account. They bring expertise in areas such as education, school improvement and finance. They actively access additional training where necessary. – Governors help to develop and sustain an ambitious culture in the school by regularly checking that pupils benefit from any new developments. For example, they rigorously checked that the recent significant expenditure on replenishing the school’s selection of books helped improve pupil outcomes in reading. Governors have also played a key role in refining the school’s assessment procedures and are directly involved in the recruitment of new staff at all levels.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Safeguarding is given a high priority. Procedures are adhered to by staff and checked regularly by governors. Leaders ensure that staff receive up-to-date training.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching has improved significantly since the previous inspection.  Stringent steps have been taken to improve classroom practice and as a result teaching is now much more consistent.  The school’s own records, observations during the inspection and a scrutiny of workbooks from every class show that the quality of teaching is now typically good and sometimes it is even better.  Learning gets off to a quick start in most lessons. Pupils respond well to frequent timed challenges. For example, during the inspection they enjoyed the challenge of seeing how many mathematics calculations they could complete in three minutes.  Teachers and learning support assistants skilfully ask probing questions to get pupils thinking hard about their work. Pupils too are encouraged to ask questions and to explain how they have worked something out. This helps reinforce new learning.  Pupils clearly enjoy learning and say their ‘lessons are fun’.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge across the curriculum. They help pupils understand their work more easily and are good at addressing their misconceptions.  Learning support assistants make a significant contribution both to pupils’ learning and to their well- being.  Most work is well marked and the feedback provided usually helps pupils improve their work.  The teaching of reading has improved and is particularly helping pupils to improve their comprehension skills.  Many pupils are growing into keen writers because they are interested in many of the themes they get to write about. The teaching of grammar, punctuation and spelling is a particular strength.  Whole-school mathematics investigations weeks provide additional opportunities for pupils to practise and apply their skills in practical situations. Short video films are available on the school website to help inform pupils and parents about the basic calculation strategies used in the classroom.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 A scrutiny of pupils’ workbooks shows that while most pupils make good progress, expectations are not always high enough. Some pupils say they sometimes find their work too easy.  Teachers carefully check what pupils already know, understand and can do before they start some new work. They use this assessment information to help them pitch pupils’ work in subsequent lessons at a good level of challenge and to help address pupils’ misconceptions. Some teachers make sure pupils move on to more thought-provoking work when they are ready. However, this is not always the case. Although learning activities help pupils make good progress, they do not always help pupils secure an in- depth understanding of new skills and concepts.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupil’s personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Parents who made their views known to an inspector were overwhelmingly supportive of the school and highly appreciative of the school’s work to promote pupils’ welfare. ‘A lovely, caring school; like a family unit’ and ‘a very happy school’ are typical of the many comments from parents.  Pupils who spoke to an inspector said they know exactly who they can go to if they feel worried or anxious at all.  Pupils know how they can keep themselves safe. They can clearly explain how to stay safe when using the internet and electronic devices. Older pupils recently decided to lead an assembly to remind younger pupils about how to use computers safely. They wore masks during the assembly to emphasise to other pupils that they may not know who they are communicating with when they are online.  Pupils say that bullying is rare but they are aware of the different forms that bullying can take. The school

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Personal development and welfare

keeps a sharp check on pupils’ well-being to help to ensure that no trends develop. Pupils were fully involved in developing the school’s anti-bullying policy, which encourages pupils to ‘Be a Buddy and not a Bully’.  Older pupils are being trained as ‘mini life coaches’ to listen to other pupils and to help them cope with worries and frustrations.  There is a tangible sense of belonging in school. A group of pupils agreed: ‘Copley is about bonding. We are a community here.’

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  The school has a hugely positive culture of behaviour management. This encourages pupils to behave very well and to aspire to be the best they can be.  During the inspection there was a hard-working ‘buzz’ in every classroom. Pupils demonstrated unfailingly positive attitudes to learning. No pupils were observed off-task at all.  Attendance is consistently high among all groups of pupils and reflects their enjoyment of school life.  Pupils take a great deal of pride in their school. They use their own initiative to see what they can do to help out. For example, some pupils independently decided to check that the school bookshelves remained well organised and tidy. Pupils also regularly decide to raise money for charity. They take the responsibility to publicise fundraising events and to organise each stage of the process.  Pupils carry out numerous roles of responsibility with great aplomb. For example, school councillors

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Behaviour

helped formulate the school’s code of conduct and designed a welcome booklet for the new Year 3 pupils.  Pupils have extremely positive attitudes to learning. Indeed, there was an audible gasp of disappointment when a mathematics lesson ended during the inspection. The pupils explained: ‘We were really enjoying our work and lost track of time.’  Positive learning values are praised and celebrated. For example, pupils explain that it is important to be a resilient learner and a ‘risk taker’.  The work in pupils’ books is beautifully presented. Pupils clearly take great pride in their work. The school has recently been highly commended in a national handwriting competition.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Standards have been consistently above average since the previous inspection. In 2014 and 2015 most of the pupils attained the expected level in mathematics, in reading and in writing.  Pupils read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension. The school’s significant investment in a wide range of books and reading material is clearly paying dividends. Many pupils love reading.  Pupils’ writing is mostly well structured and grammatically correct. In 2015 one tenth of pupils attained a level in their writing assessments that was much better than that expected for their age.  Outcomes in mathematics are improving. A new calculations policy is helping ensure that pupils systematically improve their numeracy skills as they move on up through the school.  Many disadvantaged pupils are now making better progress in reading, in writing and in mathematics than at the time of the previous inspection. In most year groups the progress disadvantaged pupils make

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Outcomes for pupils are good

is in line with or above that of other pupils in school.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are starting to make faster rates of progress from their starting points, as are pupils whose standard of work is below that which is typical for their age.  The most-able pupils do well. Since the previous inspection the numbers of pupils achieving the higher levels in reading, in writing and in mathematics has generally been above that found nationally.  Pupils are achieving well in most subjects and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very strong. School displays celebrate pupils’ high-quality artwork and the school has an impressive track record in sporting competitions. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  The work in pupils’ books and the school’s own performance information shows that most pupils are now making good progress. Nevertheless, a number of staffing changes following the previous inspection led

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Outcomes for pupils are good

to a period when progress was less than good. As a result, there is still a little way to go before pupils in every class reach their full potential.

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School details

Unique reference number 106722 Local authority Doncaster Inspection number 10011970

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School details

This inspection 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 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr C Toyne Headteacher Mrs E Crayton Telephone number 01302 856445 Website www.copley.doncaster.sch.uk Email address admin@copley.doncaster.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 29–30 January 2014

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Information about this school

 Copley Junior School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is below average. (The pupil premium is additional funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, those who have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years and children in the care of the local authority.)  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is smaller than that found nationally.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  There have been a significant number of staffing changes since the previous inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of subjects and listened to a number of pupils read.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms, in the playground and around school.  Discussions were held with pupils, senior leaders, staff, governors and a representative from the local authority.  A number of documents were examined. They included the school’s review of its own performance, records of the checks made on teaching and learning, the school improvement plan, information about pupils’ progress and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents through informal discussion with parents, analysis of the school’s own questionnaire to parents and the 68 responses to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire (Parent View).  The 24 staff responses to the inspection questionnaire about the school were also scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Fiona Gowers, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Michael Smit Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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