Joseph Cash Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Joseph Cash Primary School Owenford Road, Radford, Coventry, West Midlands CV6 3FS

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Outcome

Joseph Cash Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Joseph Cash Primary School is a happy and positive place to be, living up to its motto of ‘together we laugh, together we learn’. Pupils of all ages enjoy a wide range of opportunities. For example, pupils can listen to ‘Cashanory’ at home using the internet. These are stories and rhymes read by their teachers. Pupils also love WOW weeks, when they experience activities such as cycling, camping and climbing.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides great support, not only for pupils but also for their families. This is helping more pupils to be ready to learn. Pupils of all ages are making stronger progress than they have done in the past. Pupils are learning and remembering more in subjects such as mathematics and science. Leaders are reviewing other subjects to check that pupils are learning the right information in the right order.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that behaviour is generally good, and inspectors would agree. Pupils like the new behaviour policy because it rewards good behaviour and they think it is fair. Staff help pupils to manage their emotions effectively. Incidents of poor behaviour are reducing. The school is calm, and lessons are rarely disrupted. Bullying is not tolerated. Any occurrences are dealt with quickly.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Children’s school life gets off to a strong start in Nursery. Staff build effective links with parents and carers. These help the children to settle quickly. The well-resourced environment includes lots of space for creative play, both indoors and outside. Leaders focus on developing children’s personal and social development and children play well together. Language skills are developed through the use of rhymes, picture books and stories. For example, during the inspection, the three-year-old children were choosing from a range of activities based around the book ‘I Don’t Like Peas’.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have transformed the teaching of reading. It is now taught well. Lessons are based around quality texts. For example, leaders chose the Year 6 text ‘Memory Cage’ to 26–27 November 2019

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reflect some pupils’ life experiences. It also links to the Year 6 history topic, Second World War. Pupils were clear about how much they had enjoyed this book and the knowledge they had learned as a result of reading it.

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The early years team has created a bespoke approach to teaching early reading which is based on the pupils’ needs. This has resulted in most pupils being successful in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1. However, some pupils, particularly those who speak English as an additional language or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not making as much progress as they could. This is because they do not receive enough support to help them become fluent readers.

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Leaders identified that pupils had gaps in their mathematical knowledge, so they introduced a new, whole-school approach to teaching mathematics. As a result, more pupils are now achieving well. Pupils have lots of opportunities to apply their learning. Sometimes pupils complete their work easily and could attempt more challenging tasks.

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Pupils experience a broad and varied curriculum. Leaders plan all subjects to help pupils know more and remember more. In some subjects, such as science, leaders are clear about the knowledge they want pupils to learn in each topic. Pupils build on prior knowledge and are well prepared for the next stage in learning. However, this is not yet the case for all subjects. Sometimes pupils learn facts about a topic, but these facts are not key to developing their understanding. For example, in history, despite studying the Tudor period, Year 5 pupils were unaware of why it is called the Tudor period.

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Pupils with SEND make strong progress. Leaders make it a priority to understand their needs and plan appropriate provision.

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Most pupils take part in at least one of the many clubs run during or after the school day. These include computer, science, debate and newspaper clubs as well as sports activities. Pupils also have opportunities to take on a range of responsibilities, such as involvement in the school council.

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Too many pupils do not attend school regularly. This impacts on the progress that they can make. Leaders try to establish the reasons for pupils’ absence and then take steps to address them. Attendance has improved recently, but absence remains too high.

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Staff are overwhelmingly proud to work at the school. They appreciate the actions leaders and governors take to support their well-being and reduce their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Procedures and systems are very strong. Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. Staff are well trained, and they are confident about what to do if they have worries about a pupil’s welfare. Concerns, including any pupil absence, are followed up quickly and with the right people. Leaders know the school’s community well and the issues affecting it. They help families to access support from external sources and organisations. Pupils learn about keeping safe through the curriculum and visitors to school. The school site is well maintained and secure. 26–27 November 2019

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Medicines in school are stored correctly.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have created clear plans for all subjects in the curriculum that identify the skills pupils need to develop over time. In some subjects, such as mathematics and science, they also have a clear understanding of the specific content they want pupils to know and remember. However, this is not fully the case in all subjects. As a result, pupils may not learn the right information in the right order in order to develop their understanding. Leaders need to continue the work already underway to clarify what they want pupils to know by the end of each topic.  Despite improvements to the teaching of phonics, some pupils, particularly those with SEND or who speak English as an additional language, are not able to read fluently. This is because they do not practise reading often enough and they have too few opportunities to read aloud to an adult. This impacts on the progress that they can make in a range of subjects. Leaders should ensure that pupils have additional

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

opportunities to develop their fluency in reading.  Although improving, attendance remains below the national figure and the number of pupils who miss school regularly is too high. As a result, some pupils are not making as much progress as they should because they are missing too many lessons. Leaders should continue to focus closely on working with families to improve pupils’ overall rates of attendance.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Joseph Cash Primary School to be good on 3–4 June 2015. 26–27 November 2019

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10088561 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3–4 June 2015

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher joined the school in September 2016. The leadership team was restructured two years ago.  The school provides before- and after-school care.  The school runs a Nursery class and has provision for children from two years of age.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors focused on early reading, mathematics and history. Inspectors spoke to subject leaders about their plans for these subjects. They visited lessons when these subjects were taught. They looked at samples of pupils’ work. They talked to teachers and pupils about the lessons. Inspectors also looked at other subjects, such as science and art, but in less detail.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, other leaders and members of staff. Inspectors met with two representatives of the governing body, including the chair. The lead inspector also met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors reviewed a range of safeguarding information, including the checks that leaders make on staff prior to employment. They talked to pupils, staff, leaders and 26–27 November 2019

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governors about safeguarding arrangements and keeping safe, including when using the internet.  Inspectors observed and spoke to pupils at breaktime, lunchtime and around the school, as well as in lessons. The lead inspector met formally with a group of Year 6 pupils.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation. This included published information about pupils’ outcomes and the school’s website.  Inspectors looked at 24 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. These included 10 free-text responses. The lead inspector also spoke to some parents before school on the second day of the inspection.  As part of the inspection, inspectors considered 43 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Catherine Crooks, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Pollitt Her Majesty’s Inspector 26–27 November 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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