Coalway Community Infant School

Inspection of Coalway Community Infant School Coalway Road, Coleford, Gloucestershire GL16 7HL

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 November 2021

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

This school was last inspected 14 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 10 and 11 November 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils follow the school values known as the ‘Coalway Bees’. They know how these values help them to make the right choices. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other and staff. They are kind and help one another. Parents say their children feel safe in school. Pupils are safe. They know the difference between bullying and falling out. Pupils are happy and well behaved.

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What is it like to attend this school?

After-school clubs and enrichment activities help pupils learn how to look after their mental and physical health. Pupils enjoy taking part in the daily mile. Staff help them develop an awareness of how to care of others. For example, pupils collect food for a local food bank to help people in need.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love reading. They read a wide range of books that match the letters and sounds they know. Pupils who read often are rewarded with school reading badges. They wear these with pride. Pupils enjoy listening to adults read to them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Nonetheless, pupils have some significant gaps in their subject knowledge. Leaders have plans to help pupils close these gaps. However, they have not started this work.

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better?

Leaders prioritise pupils’ well-being and personal development. They plan opportunities carefully to help pupils develop skills for life. For example, the weekly sports activities help build pupils’ understanding of fair play and sharing. Leaders and staff expect pupils to attend school regularly. They work with families who need help to improve their child’s attendance. Staff follow the school’s ‘pick me up, don’t put me down’ motto. They care for pupils well.

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better?

Staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. This begins in Reception Year. There are clear routines that children follow. This helps to create a calm and purposeful learning environment.

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better?

Staff know how to help pupils learn to read well. Teachers check that pupils know and use their phonic knowledge correctly. Some pupils rightly receive catch-up support. Leaders monitor the catch-up sessions carefully. They help staff to match the right phonics support to each child that needs it. They skilfully break down the essential knowledge pupils must know and remember into small manageable chunks. This helps pupils to build their phonic knowledge over time well.

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better?

Subject leaders identified the curriculum content not covered during the national lockdowns in reading, writing and mathematics. They rightly changed the order in which the curriculum is taught in these subjects to ensure pupils do not miss important knowledge. However, the essential knowledge pupils must know and remember from subjects across the wider curriculum is not clearly identified. 10 and 11 November 2021

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Therefore, teachers cannot check if there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge. They cannot plan to fill these gaps quickly. Pupils are not able to make connections or secure new knowledge. For example, pupils cannot order important events in history as they have gaps in their knowledge.

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Pupils with a high level of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Leaders work well with parents and staff to ensure pupils’ needs are supported appropriately. However, some pupils’ additional needs are not accurately identified. They are given work that is too easy. This leads to low expectations for some pupils of lower ability or with SEND. Pupils repeat learning activities where they have secure knowledge instead of building new knowledge. For example, some pupils are asked to add and subtract to six despite previously calculating to 10 with confidence. The gaps in their knowledge continue to grow as learning is sometimes not sequenced well.

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Leaders, including governors, benefit from working with suitable external agencies. For example, pupils’ reading has improved because staff work with the local English network to secure their subject knowledge. Leaders have plans in place for staff to attend subject-specific training across the wider curriculum. They recognise that swift action is needed to rectify the gaps in pupils’ knowledge. The governing body recently reviewed the school’s vision and improvement plan to better understand school leaders’ priorities for development.

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Staff appreciate the support of school leaders and governors to manage their workload. They know that leaders care for their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding records are up to date. Appropriate checks are made before a member of staff or volunteer begins working in the school.

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Safeguarding

Regular training and updates support staff to carry out their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Staff are confident that leaders follow up their concerns for pupils’ welfare. Leaders escalate their concerns if they are not satisfied with the support offered to families by external agencies. Care is personalised for each child and their family.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s science and foundation subject curriculums do not clearly identify the essential knowledge pupils must know and remember. This means teachers cannot ensure pupils are taught the essential subject knowledge needed to 10 and 11 November 2021

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progress through the curriculum well. Subject leaders need to identify the essential knowledge pupils must know and remember.  Subject leaders do not know where there are gaps in pupils’ essential subject knowledge. Pupils are missing key knowledge needed to build on prior learning and progress through the curriculum. Subject leaders need to identify where there are gaps in pupils’ curriculum knowledge and support teachers to quickly close these gaps.  Teaching lacks ambition for some lower-ability pupils and some pupils with SEND. This leads to pupils not reaching their potential. Leaders need to support staff to enable them to make suitable adaptations to the curriculum to raise expectations and outcomes for all pupils.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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.

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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. 10 and 11 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10199338 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 January 2007

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was in post at the time of the last inspection in January 2007.  New members of the governing body have been appointed since the previous inspection, including a new chair of governors.  Since the last inspection, there has been a change of deputy headteacher. Four new teachers have been appointed.  The school does not use alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and took this into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and teaching assistants, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 10 and 11 November 2021

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, staff, pupils, governors, including the chair of the governing board, and a performance adviser from Gloucestershire County Council.  The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1 and 2 read.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors reviewed the school’s safeguarding documentation, including records of safeguarding checks carried out on staff working at the school. They considered how well leaders act on concerns about pupils’ safety and welfare. Inspectors spoke to pupils, staff and governors about safeguarding practices.

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 Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. They also took into consideration the responses to the survey for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Marie Thomas, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Jane Dhillon Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 November 2021

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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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