Coomb Briggs Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Helen Redmond Headteacher Coomb Briggs Primary School Roval Drive Immingham Lincolnshire DN40 2DY

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Short inspection of Coomb Briggs Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 6 June 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2014.

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Short inspection of Coomb Briggs Primary School

Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I have identified some priorities for improvement which I advise the school to address. In light of these priorities, the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection. There is

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

At the last inspection, your predecessor was asked to improve the quality of teaching by raising expectations of what pupils can do and offering greater challenge for the most able. In some classes, pupils are still not receiving work that is matched well to their ability, so some pupils, particularly the most able, are not making the progress of which they are capable. Overall, the quality of teaching across the school is variable.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Pupils arrive at your school with skills and abilities broadly in line with and, in some cases, above those typically seen in children of a similar age. However, in 2016 and 2017, pupils’ attainment was below national averages at the end of key stage 2. Too few pupils reached the higher standard. According to your school assessment information, pupils are on track to make better progress this year.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Previous leaders were also asked to ensure the systematic teaching of early writing, handwriting and mathematics. Leaders in early years are providing effective, focused teaching that is supporting children’s development in these skills. Staff keep detailed records showing children’s achievements across the areas of learning. Teachers’ planning shows that they are using this assessment to provide additional teaching for children who are in danger of falling behind. Many children, particularly girls, are choosing to write or draw independently, and children’s workbooks show that many are writing well, using their phonics to help them with unknown words. However, in teacher-directed activities, the pace of learning is still being slowed while children wait for their turn to complete a task, and not enough care has been taken to fully exploit the learning potential of independent or outdoor activities.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You were new to the school in January 2018 and have achieved a great deal in a short time. You have engendered the trust of staff and pupils and the respect of governors. Staff feel well supported to carry out their jobs and all understand the direction of travel. You are uncompromising in your determination to improve pupils’ progress. You have correctly prioritised the issues that need to be dealt with and have planned staff training to address inconsistencies in teaching. You are in the process of reassigning leadership responsibilities for reading, writing and mathematics but, so far, middle leaders have had limited impact on the quality of teaching, particularly reading.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

The leader for special educational needs (SEN) has introduced rigorous systems to capture teaching for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Consequently, these pupils are making good progress from their starting points.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Pupils’ attitudes to their learning are very positive. Pupils want to succeed. Relationships between staff and pupils are mutually respectful, and pupils behave well in class and around school. However, in some classes, teachers’ expectations of what pupils will learn are not high enough, and pupils are not being sufficiently challenged in reading.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Parents and carers’ views of the school are very positive. Of those responding to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, all would recommend the school to other parents and almost all parents feel their child is well looked after at the school.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You swiftly reorganised the recording of safeguarding records to ensure better retrieval of this information. You have anticipated and assessed the risks to pupils posed by your school site. You have ensured that all staff have received up-to-date training on keeping pupils safe. You use external agencies well to ensure that pupils receive the support they need to manage social and emotional issues. However, not all staff in the early years are fully aware of how to manage risks to children, and procedures for the intimate care of children have not been formally shared with all staff.

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Inspection findings

 During this one-day inspection, I wanted to find out how effectively you have supported teachers to improve pupils’ progress in reading and how well phonics is taught. I also wanted to explore how effective assessment is in the school and how well teachers meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils.  Together with staff, you have set up new reading areas, introduced the daily reading of a whole-class text and run reading challenge days to encourage pupils’ good reading habits. Pupils reported reading a wide range of books both in school and at home. However, teachers have not taken enough care to ensure that younger pupils are learning to read with books that are matched to their abilities.  In key stage 1, teachers are planning phonics lessons that are successfully involving pupils of all abilities. Pupils enjoy taking part in exciting activities and are acquiring new sounds at an appropriate pace. Staff are ensuring that pupils

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Inspection findings

use and apply their new-found skills. Pupils who read to me were able to sound out unknown words with confidence and demonstrated understanding of the books they were reading.  Pupils’ workbooks show that the quality of their written work is quite varied because, across the school, teachers’ expectations of pupils are inconsistent. Teachers in key stage 2 regularly issue spellings for pupils to learn, but opportunities are being missed to develop spelling and phonics linked to handwriting.  The quality of feedback to pupils is mixed. Some teachers’ questioning is not encouraging pupils to think deeply or helping them to improve their work.  You have introduced a new system to capture assessment information and to try to measure pupils’ progress. This system is still very new, and you are currently unable to judge pupils’ progress from their starting points. This in turn has meant that teachers have been unable to use assessment well enough, or to adjust

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Inspection findings

teaching swiftly to ensure that pupils are receiving the right depth of challenge.  Teachers have had few opportunities to moderate pupils’ work with other staff from the school and from other schools to enable them to fully understand the standards pupils are working at. You are aware that considerable work still needs to be done to ensure that teachers’ assessment is accurate.  You have made staff aware of those pupils who are disadvantaged and have begun to hold staff to account for pupils’ attainment, but staff are less clear about the progress of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the quality of teaching and learning improves, so that pupils make consistently strong progress, particularly in reading, by: − developing teachers’ knowledge to improve the teaching of reading − ensuring a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics, spelling and handwriting to enable pupils to quickly acquire and use these skills − developing the quality of teachers’ questioning to promote pupils’ deeper understanding, particularly for the most able − further developing teachers’ skills in assessing pupils’ work to enable them to accurately measure pupils’ attainment and progress − using newly established systems to ensure that teaching is well matched to the needs of all pupils, including the most able and those who are disadvantaged  middle leaders develop their skills to accurately monitor teaching, so they can provide timely support to help teachers improve  in the early years, teachers plan activities that enable children to acquire and

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Next steps for the school

practise new skills through all activities, including those taking place outdoors and those that children access independently.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for North East Lincolnshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

We met throughout the day to discuss different aspects of the school’s work and visited lessons together. I met with two representatives of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. I scrutinised documents relating to safeguarding procedures and looked at assessment information. I considered the views of 24 staff who responded to the school’s own staff questionnaire and considered 28 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire to parents. I talked to pupils about their learning in lessons and at lunchtime.

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