Coates Primary School

Inspection of Coates Primary School The Fold, Coates, Whittlesey, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE7 2BP

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 24 and 25 May 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have fun at school and value learning. In lessons and during playtimes, pupils care for each other and enjoy their time together. Lessons are calm, and pupils concentrate well on their studies.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel, and are, safe within this caring community. Pupils are confident that on the rare occasions when bullying happens, staff ensure it stops and does not re- occur. Pupils benefit from leaders’ approach to supporting emotional well-being.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are ambitious. They live up to leaders’ high expectations and ‘reach for the stars’. Pupils are articulate and discuss with sophistication what they are learning. Pupils take pride in their learning and achievements. They appreciate the many awards leaders put in place. Pupils are being well prepared for their next steps in education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils readily take positions of responsibility. For example, older pupils serve as ‘reading buddies’ for younger pupils. Many pupils enjoy the opportunities at the school to develop their talents in clubs.

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better?

Leaders have created an ambitious and well-organised curriculum. Teachers teach the curriculum well. Staff give pupils lots of opportunities to revisit knowledge previously learned. This helps pupils remember what they have been taught. Staff check what pupils remember and provide timely support when pupils forget or do not understand what has been taught.

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better?

Starting in the early years provision, pupils develop a love of reading. Pupils discuss books with great enthusiasm. They personally relate to and maturely discuss features of the texts they read. When discussing characters, for example, pupils show empathy. Leaders have provided high-quality staff training to support the introduction of a new approach to reading. Teachers teach reading well. In the last year, they have also improved the quality of support for pupils who find reading hard. These pupils are now catching up.

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better?

Staff provide well for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have made sure that teachers know the best approaches to support pupils with SEND. When necessary, they work closely with specialist agencies to design appropriate provision for these pupils. Leaders check to ensure that pupils with SEND learn the curriculum as well as possible. As a result, pupils overcome their challenges and become successful learners.

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better?

From the start of early years, pupils learn to behave well. Staff make the school’s expectations and routines clear to pupils. Adults spot and reward pupils’ frequent good behaviour. Pupils’ behaviour rarely falls below leaders’ high expectations. When 24 and 25 May 2022

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it does, staff follow the school’s behaviour policy and learning swiftly returns to normal.

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Staff teach pupils about different lifestyles and beliefs in contemporary society. Adults make the celebration of diversity an important part of pupils’ daily experiences. For example, pupils learn sign language in assembly and practise together the ‘sign of the week’. Pupils understand the importance of values such as democracy. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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In the early years, children quickly learn and demonstrate the school’s values and learn the curriculum well. The youngest children settle quickly and benefit from the learning opportunities in Nursery. Staff work positively with parents to ensure that children in the early years make a good start in their education and are ready for Year 1.

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Parents are positive about how leaders run the school. Staff also have confidence in leaders. All staff who took part in the online staff survey reported that the school is well led and managed and that they are proud to work at the school. Leaders ensure that staff have a reasonable workload.

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Governors have the training and skills needed to ensure that leaders meet governors’ high expectations. COVID-19 and the introduction of new governors to the school have interrupted the routine work of governors. This means that governors have not always been able to check the effectiveness of the curriculum as precisely as they did prior to the pandemic.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have trained staff effectively. They know the risks that pupils face and are alert to the signs of potential harm. Staff act swiftly and appropriately when concerns arise.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work well with external agencies and ensure that vulnerable pupils receive the help they need. Leaders carefully maintain records about vulnerable pupils.

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Safeguarding

Leaders check the suitability of all adults who work with pupils at the school.

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Safeguarding

Governors hold leaders to account for safeguarding practices at school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 COVID-19 and the need to recruit some new governors interrupted the regular work of the governing body. Governors need to re-establish their routines for 24 and 25 May 2022

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checking how effectively leaders are providing the high quality of education that governors expect.  Leaders’ new reading programme was introduced to improve the teaching of reading. The new programme is having the desired effect, but there are still some pupils needing to catch up. Leaders need to continue embedding their approach to reading to reduce the need for pupils who have fallen behind to catch up. Leaders also need to make sure those who need to catch up do so quickly.

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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. 24 and 25 May 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.coatesprimaryschool.info Date of previous inspection 6 December 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a nursery with provision for two-year-olds.  The school runs before- and after-school care.  The school has an interim special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) provided by the local authority.

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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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors had discussions with the headteacher, members of the senior leadership team, the interim SENCo, governors, representatives from the local authority, subject leaders, teachers, members of support staff and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, history, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum 24 and 25 May 2022

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with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also look at samples of pupils’ work in some other subjects.  Inspectors scrutinised safeguarding policies, the school’s record of background checks of adults at the school and a sample of child protection files. Inspectors also spoke with governors, leaders and staff about safeguarding practices at the school.

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Inspection team

Al Mistrano, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Harrison Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 May 2022

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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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