Coleshill Heath School

Coleshill Heath School Lime Grove, Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham B37 7PY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Attainment for pupils remains low across the school.  Some pupils do not make enough progress to be fully ready for the next stage of their learning.  The quality and standard of work in pupils’ books is not yet good, or in line with, the standards expected nationally of pupils by the time they leave in Year 6.  New systems to improve pupils’ reading have yet to have full impact. Not enough pupils have a desire to read, and as a result, some of their vocabulary is narrow.  The quality of teaching is variable across the school. Not all teachers use the information they know about what pupils can do to plan for the next stage of their development.  Teaching does not ensure a sufficient level of challenge, particularly for the more able.  Assessment information about what children can do in the early years is not yet used well enough by staff to plan activities that promote good progress.  The outdoor area in the early years is not well

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This is a school that requires improvement

organised. Children do not always sustain interest in their learning and there are insufficient opportunities for them to develop their reading and writing skills.  Leaders do not evaluate teaching or improvement actions precisely enough in terms of their impact on pupils’ progress.  Governors do not always use the information available to them to fully support and challenge leaders. A pupil premium review has been completed but not all of the recommendations have yet been followed up.

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The school has the following strengths

 Leaders have focused on the right areas to improve the school. They are ambitious, hardworking and have high expectations. Staff say they have a clear understanding of the goals the school aims to achieve.  Leaders have established a range of new systems and strategies to combat the legacy of under- achievement. This work is helping pupils make better progress.  Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good. Children are proud to attend Coleshill Heath School and have rapidly developed within the school’s four key character values of kindness, confidence, honesty and courage.  The bright, attractive new school environment stimulates pupils’ enthusiasm to learn. Displays promote pride in achievement by celebrating the wide range of learning that is taking place.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by making sure that: – leaders are regularly checking that systems and strategies to improve pupils’ progress are working well enough – new leaders continue to receive training in how to monitor, evaluate and review their work – governors use assessment information to further challenge and support leaders – leaders and governors revisit the recommendations set out in the pupil premium review and assess the impact of specific interventions.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by: – sharing the effective methods for assessment that are demonstrated by some of the school’s teachers and leaders across the school – using these effective assessment methods to ensure that the needs of pupils are better met, particularly those that are lower-attaining or more able – ensuring that the outdoor environment allows children to fully develop their reading and writing skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve standards in reading by: – instilling in children a love of reading across the whole school – evaluating the impact of current strategies for the teaching of reading, particularly in key stage 2 – checking how phonics skills (letters and the sounds that they make) are developed and applied across all areas of learning.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Staff turnover has resulted in some classes having changes of teacher. These changes are evident in the disjointed progress seen in pupils’ books. Attainment at the end of key stage 2 remains too low. Leadership and management are not yet having a sustained impact on standards across school and therefore require improvement.  Governors have made a range of leadership appointments since the last inspection. The new headteacher was appointed in January 2015 and has worked hard to establish a clear vision for school improvement. This vision is shared by all leaders. Some of the systems and strategies for improvement that have been introduced are too new to fully evaluate the impact on progress over time.  Leaders’ action plans and priorities for improvement are accurate. However, self-evaluation is less precise and relies too much on more recent improvement work.  Leaders have devised detailed training programmes to help teachers improve their practice. These are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

beginning to have a positive impact on the progress of pupils. This impact is particularly evident in Years 3 and 5. In these year groups, leaders have taught alongside their colleagues to share what they do best. Training has also included opportunities for teachers to be videoed and then to watch the impact they are having on learning. The school says that these initiatives are accelerating improvements in teaching. Inspectors could see that some improvements have been made, but they are not yet fully embedded or consistent across the school.  Reviews to assess the impact and standard of teaching are developing. Teachers are asked to analyse their work and the impact they believe they are having on learning, before they meet with leaders and managers. This self-evaluation and information about pupils’ progress is used to set ambitious targets for improvement. Governors use this information to make detailed and careful consideration about pay

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

progression.  Middle leaders are ambitious and are keen to improve the areas for which they are responsible. They undertake learning walks to assess what is working well and the areas they need to further develop. Middle leaders report that they are well supported by senior colleagues and have completed the National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership. The process that they use to monitor, evaluate and review their work is not fully effective, however. They are not yet able to talk with confidence about the difference that additional teaching sessions or new initiatives are having on pupils’ progress.  The curriculum has been developed to ensure that pupils are positively prepared for life in modern Britain. It includes separate lessons about British values where children learn about democracy and celebrating differences. Helpful leaflets are sent home to parents explaining the areas of learning that

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

pupils will explore. Parents are also invited to attend workshops about the curriculum. Leaders report that attendance at these meetings is good and that parents appreciate the information that is provided. In one year group, a father who is a firefighter came into school to support learning within a scheme of work entitled ‘heroes and villains’.  Disadvantaged pupils are now making better progress than they did in the past. Additional funding is being used to provide extra staff to help disadvantaged pupils attain levels that are in line with their peers. However, the full impact of some strategies is not fully known as they are new. Governors are currently reviewing the use of this additional funding and are aware that a more detailed evaluation of expenditure is now required.  Sports premium funding has been well used to develop the teaching of physical education and provide a wider range of extra-curricular activities. Pupils speak very highly of their new after-school clubs. The

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

range of opportunities is a growing strength of the school. Pupils currently attend bushcraft clubs, gymnastics, rowing, football, karate, table tennis and cheerleading, to name just a few.  Most parents are supportive of the school’s work. They recognise the improvements in communication and better behaviour. The vast majority would recommend the school.  The local authority and Unity Trust Ltd have provided a range of support to help the school improve outcomes. The advisory support has focused on early years and mathematics and has led to improvements. The local authority’s assessment of the school’s effectiveness is accurate.  The governance of the school – Governors commissioned a review of their work following the last inspection. A number of governors have left and the governing body has reassessed the skills it requires to develop greater effectiveness. – New members of the governing body have brought important skills that have enhanced capacity.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

Governors now have a better grasp of financial matters and several members hold leadership and teaching positions in local schools. – Governors have a much better understanding of the improvements being made at Coleshill Heath but they have not yet developed a strategic plan for their own development. Their work is guided by the headteacher and has included participation in learning walks and book scrutinies. This helps them hold the school to account for the progress pupils are making. – Governors have not yet addressed all of the recommendations from the pupil premium review. The impact of specific interventions to support disadvantaged children is not fully known. Though the attainment of disadvantaged children is rising, the extent to which additional teaching is contributing to this is unclear.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Children are kept safe at this school. Staff know how to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

report any concerns that they have and these are acted upon in a timely manner by designated leads. Senior leaders have completed safer recruitment training and a trained person is on every recruitment panel. Staff and governors have read the most recent child protection statutory guidance and these documents are readily available in school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is variable across the school. Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of what children can achieve.  Some teachers do not apply the school’s feedback policy consistently.  Common errors are not always routinely picked up and the standard of presentation can vary across different areas of the curriculum. This has led to uneven progress.  Some teaching does not extend the most able sufficiently. Pupils can spend too long on tasks that are easy for them. Some teachers pick up on this and make changes to tasks, but not all.  When lower-ability pupils are given tasks that are too hard, they drift and stop engaging in the lesson. Inspectors observed this in mathematics and English lessons.  The teaching of reading has undergone changes this year. Leaders have been evaluating the impact of what they do and have introduced new strategies to boost pupils’ interest across different key stages.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Some pupils report that this is starting to make a difference. They are very proud of their new reading bench, including the leaves that celebrate the writing of Roald Dahl. However, these changes are too new to have reversed the negative views held by some pupils. In discussions with representatives from across the school, some pupils reported that they find reading too hard.  Similarly in early years, children are not able to fully apply their phonics skills when they are writing. The early years team recognise the importance of developing the children’s reading and writing skills and have given this greater emphasis in recent monitoring.  Changes to the teaching of reading across the school have been too recently introduced to fully assess the impact on progress in this area of the curriculum. Systems for the teaching of reading are not yet embedded across the school.  Where teaching is more effective, pupils are clear about the skills they are learning. More effective

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

teaching is also characterised by good questioning and well-planned lessons.  The school recognises the positive impact their policy of ‘hot marking’ is having on pupils’ progress. This marking quickly identifies what children need to do to improve their work. As a result of timely intervention from the teacher and accurate prompts, pupils are able to move on quickly and progress can be rapid. However, this effective work has not been implemented across the school so is not yet widespread practice.  As a result of improved teaching, better progress is evident in some mathematics books. In Year 5, teachers are ensuring that pupils cover a good breadth of mathematical concepts. In this year, work is well presented and it is clear that there are high expectations of what children should achieve. However, in some other year groups, expectations are not always as high.  Teaching is most effective where leaders have had time to teach alongside their colleagues. This model of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

improvement has been essential to the school’s development.  In English, pupils are beginning to write more at length and their sentence structure shows improvement from starting points. Progression in writing skills is not always as clear in other areas of the curriculum. For example in Year 6, pupils’ writing in books in other subjects does not demonstrate the skills that are shown in their English books. This means that they are missing important opportunities to develop their literacy skills in other subjects.  Teaching assistants support vulnerable pupils well across the school. They understand the pupils’ needs and help them access the learning that is taking place. Inspectors observed some teaching assistants asking questions that encouraged pupils to think again or extend their learning further.  Displays of learning in classrooms and corridors are of a high standard. They celebrate the learning that is

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

taking place across the curriculum and include important messages, for example about road safety and British values. During the inspection, visitors and pupils were particularly keen to visit the newly hatched chicks in the school foyer.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school has worked very hard to establish the ‘Coleshill Heath Code’. The development of their vision in this area is impressive and a real strength of the school. Pupils say that they understand the code well and that they know why it is important to have good attitude towards learning.  Pupils say that there is always someone that they can talk to if they are worried about anything. They learn about many aspects of personal well-being, including road safety and e-safety, in assemblies.  The school environment is calm, ordered and clean. Corridors are free of litter and children take a pride in their new school building. They like being in a new school and particularly enjoy the space on the playground and the multi-use games area.  Inspectors asked pupils about bullying, racism and homophobia. They say that it is rare, and that if there is any name-calling or if someone is unkind, it is dealt with by staff.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  The improvements in pupils’ behaviour will now form the foundation of future development work at the school. Pupils’ are proud of their school, love the opportunities to extend their learning outside of the school day and are very polite.  As visitors walk through corridors, pupils greet them with friendly ‘hellos’ and are always happy to talk about what they are doing in class. They speak honestly about their experiences and say that sometimes people do make the wrong choices. They say that teachers are quick to react to this and that they feel safe.  There have been no fixed-term or permanent exclusions in this academic year.  Attendance is improving and is above average. There are small differences in attendance rates between groups. Rates of persistent absence have fallen over time and are now low.  Attendance for younger children is also encouraging. Children in Reception already attend well and this is

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Behaviour

a good starting point as they move into key stage 1. Attendance is analysed thoroughly but not yet regularly enough.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Pupils move through key stages with standards below those found nationally. Some pupils’ attainment is significantly lower than it should be. School performance declined in some areas following the last inspection, but is now showing improvement.  The progress children made between key stages 1 and 2 in 2015 was below expected levels.  The proportion of pupils reaching higher levels of attainment at key stages 1 and 2 is lower than national figures. Teachers do not always challenge the more able sufficiently with their questioning or the activities that they plan.  The school’s own information shows that this legacy of underachievement is now being reversed. For children currently on roll, progress measures are better and levels of attainment are rising.  School information indicates that levels of expected progress and more than expected progress at the end of key stage 2 may not reach national levels again this year. However, pupils in Year 6 have made good

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

progress in the last two years and it is clear that improvements have been made since the last inspection. The quality and standard of work are better, with gaps in previous learning narrowing but not yet fully closed.  In the early years children’s good level of development has risen over the last three years. Current information shows that this trend is set to continue. Examples of children’s learning now show that they are making better progress. This progress was not well evidenced in the autumn term but has improved since January. Assessment systems and methods for making observations of children’s learning continue to be developed. Staff are now making observations that include the next steps that children should tackle to speed up their progress.  In key stage 2, pupils’ progress is variable. Learning in books shows better progress overall in mathematics than English. Writing skills are not built upon in other areas of the curriculum. In some

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

cases, when assessing what pupils can do, the school places too much weight on what is achieved in an extended piece of writing in one book.  In the past, large proportions of children have passed the phonics screening test in Year 1 but the school has not sustained these skills through to Year 2. This is why reading, and the further development of assessment procedures, is cited as an area for improvement.  The progress of disadvantaged children is now better. This progress is narrowing the gap in attainment between disadvantaged children and their peers. Leaders and governors are focused on ensuring that additional funding is used to maintain these better rates of progress.  Pupils enjoy the experiences and learning that support their understanding of the wider curriculum. Topic books show the range of knowledge and skills they are developing in history and geography. However, the standard of presentation in these curriculum areas is not always as good as that seen in pupils’

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

English books.  The progress of children with special educational needs or disability has improved. These children are making the same progress as other pupils in almost every area of the curriculum. The special educational needs leader is new to the post but understands her role well. The school tracks the progress of pupils carefully and works with a range of agencies and specialists to develop their local offer. A governor has been identified to link with the special educational need leader but they have not yet met to discuss priorities for this important aspect of school provision.

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Early years provision requires improvement

 The progress made by children in the early years since September 2015 has been variable. Improvements in teaching, learning and assessment are not fully embedded.  Standards in the early years foundation stage are improving over time and are now close to national levels. School information indicates that the good level of development will rise again this year. Children are now making better progress from lower starting points than those found nationally.  The process that the school uses for observing what children can do has also developed. In the best practice, these observations are followed by next steps on observation slips and post-its on the wall. These post-its prompt other staff to focus their questioning and activities on specific skills that a child may need to secure the next stage in their development. However, this good practice is not yet precise enough or used by everyone.  Safeguarding procedures are effective. Children play and explore in a bright and appealing environment.

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Early years provision requires improvement

The early years leader is fully aware of the necessary welfare requirements and is leading the team in Nursery and Reception with energy and enthusiasm. She has an honest and sharp view of the quality of assessment. The leader quickly formulated priorities when she took over the role and knows what must be done next to help accelerate progress.  Parents speak positively about the early years and they contribute to their child’s learning through the school’s learning journals. When children start in Nursery or Reception, staff visit them in their family home and assess what that can already do. They use this information to plan for the next steps in their learning.  Children enjoy learning in the setting. The school have responded to the areas for development highlighted in the last inspection report. Activities are now better planned when children are learning through play. Staff have taken part in a range of training opportunities to develop ‘play partner’ work.

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Early years provision requires improvement

 However, the development of learning through play remains poorer when children are learning outside. The environment is too busy for some children to make a choice about what to do. Adults are not quick enough to support these choices and some groups of children become distracted.  During the inspection, teachers were observed leading highly effective small-group activities. They asked questions that helped children to quickly build on what they knew. In a mathematics activity, children were sharing objects in cups and trying to find equal amounts. The teacher skilfully allowed them to reason and discuss what they were doing before intervening with support. These teaching strategies are not always as strong among support staff.  Outcomes across areas of learning are variable and not as strong in reading and mathematics. The school has analysed assessment information and recognises that more rapid progress must be secured in literacy

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Early years provision requires improvement

and mathematics. They have, therefore, recently devised some additional learning.  Children behave well, take turns and cooperate. They are very keen to share what they are doing. Inspectors were inundated with requests to read sentences about sea creatures following a visit to Birmingham’s Sea Life Centre. The most able children are using their phonics knowledge to write simple sentences with some complex words.

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School details

Unique reference number 104070 Local authority Solihull Inspection number 1009249

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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 Maintained Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 459 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Denise Caswell Headteacher Nicole Fowles Telephone number 0121 779 8070 Website www.coleshill-heath.solihull.sch.uk Email address office@coleshill-heath.solihull.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 13–14 February 2014

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Information about this school

 Coleshill Heath School is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those who are supported by the pupil premium funding, is above average. The pupil premium provides additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after.  Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below that in most schools.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is above the national average.  The school’s governing body run a day nursery on site called ‘Chuckles’. The day nursery is inspected separately. The school provides before- and after-school clubs, which were visited as part of this inspection.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 6.

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Information about this school

 The school is a member of Unity Trust Ltd, a collaborative of 19 schools in North Solihull.  The school website meets requirements.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 20 lessons or parts of lessons. A number of lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteachers.  The inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and listened to pupils read. They met with a group of pupils to gain their views of the school. The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, lunchtime and at the end of the school day, as well as in lessons.  A book scrutiny was undertaken with the headteacher and deputy headteachers.  The inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including assessments and records of pupils’ progress, the school’s checks and records relating to safeguarding, child protection and attendance, records of how teaching is managed and the school improvement plans.  The lead inspector met with governors, including the chair of the governing body. He also met with a representative of the local authority.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors took account of the 39 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View, and talked to parents at the beginning and end of the school day. They also looked at the 37 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Jonathan Keay, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Peter Humphries Her Majesty’s Inspector Stephen Cox 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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