Woodfield

Inspection of Woodfield Stoneleigh Road, Coventry, West Midlands CV4 7AB

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Previous inspection grade Good 10–11 March 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ experiences at this school are mixed. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 are well cared for and do well academically and socially. Staff have high expectations for what pupils can achieve. The key stage 3 and 4 provision is weak. Too many pupils are often absent. This negatively affects their progress and personal and social development. Many pupils attend alternative provision for some of their education. Leaders do not check their progress, behaviour and well-being. Staff do not know how pupils are doing or whether they are safe. This places pupils at risk of harm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are confident and cooperative. Staff help pupils to manage their emotions. Consequently, many pupils manage their behaviour well. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive, particularly in the primary phase. Pupils usually treat each other and adults with respect. If bullying happens, staff deal with it well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the different clubs and activities on offer. Many take part. This includes horse riding, residential trips, kick boxing and choir. The school provides opportunities to help pupils to become active citizens, such as by raising money for charities. Parents and carers value these opportunities. However, pupils who are regularly absent miss out on these experiences.

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better?

Many pupils do not experience a good quality of education. This is particularly so in key stages 3 and 4. Pupils are ill prepared for the next stage of their education, employment or training and for life in modern Britain. This is because too many pupils in key stages 3 and 4 are often absent from school. Individual case studies show that some make marked improvements in their attendance from low starting points. However, attendance overall is low. Leaders’ actions to address this are not making enough of a difference.

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better?

Many pupils are meant to attend alternative provision. Most pupils do not regularly attend this provision. Leaders do not check what they are learning or how they are doing. Leaders do not act to remedy this. Not checking puts pupils at risk of harm. It also hinders their progress and social development.

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better?

Leaders give reading a high priority across the school. All pupils read every day. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 read fluently and with understanding. The secondary school has a welcoming library. However, the quality of reading sessions for secondary pupils varies. Staff have inconsistent expectations of what pupils can achieve. Consequently, some pupils do not develop their comprehension skills as well as they might.

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better?

Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils learn when in school. They consider the skills and knowledge pupils will need to be successful at the end of key stage 4. Leaders use this information to plan pupils’ learning across the key stages 10–11 March 2020

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in a logical order. Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils who attend regularly develop their knowledge and understanding well. Many pupils go on to appropriate post-16 destinations. However, the pupils with poor attendance have gaps in their learning.

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Leaders adapt the curriculum well to match pupils’ needs. For example, in primary topic work, pupils are given work to match their ability. Staff provide effective support for pupils when needed. Teachers set pupils tasks with a bronze, silver or gold level of challenge. Consequently, pupils progressively build on what they already know and can do. A few pupils in key stages 3 and 4 develop their literacy and numeracy skills well through practical subjects. For example, pupils apply their numeracy and problem-solving skills and knowledge well to design and make a coldframe for growing seeds.

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Many pupils join the school having had poor experiences of education in the past. Most have found it difficult to manage their emotions and behaviour. Staff work hard to help pupils to understand why they might react as they do in certain situations. This includes, for example, pupils being able to go to the ‘rainbow room’ in the primary school when they need time out from lessons. As a result, many pupils are better at regulating their own behaviour. Consequently, fixed-term exclusions and the use of internal exclusions are reducing over time.

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Leaders and governors consider staff’s well-being. For example, they make sure that staff are supported on their return to work. Staff value this support. Staff morale is high.

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Governors provide effective support to the school. For example, they challenge the local authority over the need for additional funding to improve the condition of the building on the secondary site, as pupils have to go off site for some of their physical education lessons. However, governors and leaders have not made sure that all pupils attend school regularly, are doing well academically and socially, and are safe.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Several secondary pupils with high levels of need are at risk of harm. They have not attended alternative provision or school for a considerable time. Leaders do not take effective action to address this. Routine checks on pupils’ safety and welfare are not completed well.

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Safeguarding

Staff training is up to date. Staff identify the risks that pupils face and log concerns. Designated safeguarding leads escalate cases to the local authority when needed. Pupils learn about potential risks in assemblies and in lessons. However, those with poor attendance will miss this important information. This puts them at risk of harm. 10–11 March 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Too many pupils in key stages 3 and 4 are persistently absent and this is not being addressed effectively by leaders. As a result, not all pupils receive a good quality of education or are well prepared for life in modern Britain. This hinders their progress and they miss out on enrichment activities that are an important part of the school’s wider offer. Leaders need to find ways to improve the attendance of those pupils who are regularly absent.  Leaders send many pupils, including those with high levels of need, to alternative provision for some of their education. Leaders do not check what pupils are learning there. Many fail to attend and leaders do not address this effectively. As a result, not all pupils at the end of Year 11 find suitable post-16 destinations or achieve their full potential. Leaders need to monitor the use of, and the quality of, alternative provision so that pupils have the skills, knowledge and ambition to go

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

on to appropriate education, employment and training.  Leaders have prioritised the development of pupils’ literacy. Pupils read daily and literacy is woven into all aspects of the curriculum. However, the delivery of reading lessons in key stages 3 and 4 is inconsistent. Some staff have low expectations of what pupils can achieve and this hinders the development of their comprehension skills. Leaders need to routinely monitor the quality of the delivery of reading lessons to make sure that all pupils can read confidently and fluently, and are able to understand what they are reading.  Many pupils in the secondary phase have been absent for a sustained period of time. This is particularly so for pupils with high levels of need. Leaders’ arrangements for the checking of pupils who are absent are not robust enough. This is putting pupils at risk of harm. Leaders need to routinely monitor pupils’ absence and undertake regular safe and well checks in order to keep pupils safe.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 10–11 March 2020

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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. 10–11 March 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122605 Type of school Special

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19–20 April 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the number of primary-aged pupils on roll has significantly increased.  The school caters for pupils with a range of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These include social, emotional and mental health needs, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sensory processing difficulties.  All pupils who attend the school have an education, health and care plan.  The school currently uses alternative provision for 25 pupils on a part-time basis. The providers used are Right Trax, Positive Youth Foundation, Nulogic Training, Central Building and Welding Academy, Exhall, Brakes Training Limited and City College.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform. 10–11 March 2020

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 We met with the principal, the directors of the primary and secondary phases, other senior leaders, members of the local governing body, including the chair and vice-chair, and staff. An inspector spoke to a representative of the local authority on the telephone.  The inspection focused on mathematics, English, reading, topic (this includes history and geography) and art. We met with subject leaders and teachers. We visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work. We talked to pupils about their learning. An inspector listened to pupils read.  An inspector checked the single central record and the procedures for the recruitment of staff. An inspector met with the designated safeguarding leads.  An inspector visited an alternative provider.  We considered the 42 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey, including the three free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Lesley Yates, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Russell Hinton Ofsted Inspector 10–11 March 2020

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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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