Woodfield

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Nico De Groot Interim Headteacher Woodfield Stoneleigh Road Coventry West Midlands CV4 7AB

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Woodfield

Following my visit to your school on 12 July 2022, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the school’s previous monitoring inspection.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Woodfield

The inspection was the third monitoring inspection since the school was judged to have serious weaknesses following the section 5 inspection that took place in March 2020. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The monitoring inspection report is attached.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Woodfield

This was the third routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. I discussed the ongoing impact of the pandemic with you and have taken that into account in my evaluation.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Woodfield

Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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governance are taking effective action towards the removal of the serious

I am copying this letter to the chair of the interim executive board, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Coventry. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website. Yours sincerely

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Context

The school is split across three sites: Hawthorn Lane, Stoneleigh Road and the Woodlands site. Primary-aged pupils attend the Stoneleigh Road site. Pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 attend the Woodlands site. Years 9 to 11 are based at the Hawthorne Road site.

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Context

Since the last inspection, the leadership of the school has been re-organised. Each of the three school sites is now overseen by an assistant headteacher. A curriculum leader for science has been appointed.

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Context

This monitoring visit focused on aspects of the quality of education and the teaching of reading.

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designation

The interim headteacher has continued to drive improvements at the school. He and his leadership team have remained committed to ensuring that all pupils benefit from a high- quality education. Since the previous monitoring visit, leaders have appropriately adapted their plans. They have placed greater emphasis on improving aspects of the quality of education, including the teaching of reading. Nonetheless, leaders have maintained previous improvements in behaviour and safeguarding. As a result, the interim headteacher’s ambition for pupils is beginning to be realised.

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designation

Safeguarding remains at the heart of the school’s work. Leaders have maintained and embedded previous improvements. Leaders continue to take the necessary action to support pupils who need help. This includes working with families and external agencies when required. Leaders recently re-organised the safeguarding team so that cases can be managed even more efficiently. This is working well.

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designation

Leaders are improving many aspects of the reading curriculum. There is now a much sharper focus on ensuring that younger pupils gain the phonics knowledge they need to read. As part of this work, staff have started to deliver a new reading programme. This programme sets out a clear structure and sequence for teaching phonics. Leaders have also established a system for checking regularly on how well pupils can read. These checks identify precise gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Leaders and staff are beginning to use this information well to give pupils the support they need. As part of this support, pupils now read books which match closely with the sounds they are learning. This gives pupils more opportunities to practise and is helping them to read with growing confidence and fluency.

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designation

Since the previous inspection, leaders have acted to develop the staff’s expertise in teaching the school’s reading programme. All staff completed initial training in how to do this. However, the teaching of reading remains inconsistent. Some staff lack the knowledge to teach reading well and to overcome the barriers that impede some pupils’ learning. Leaders know this and have coherent plans to improve staff’s expertise further. This includes working with reading experts from the multi-academy trust that supports the school. Consequently, leaders are well placed to drive further improvements in this area.

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designation

In the secondary phase, the teaching of reading continues to improve. At the last inspection, leaders had identified pupils who needed support to learn to read. These pupils are now getting the right help. Well-trained adults are providing high-quality support. As a result, secondary-aged pupils who were previously unable to read are making significant gains in their reading.

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designation

Leaders have taken further action to ensure that the curriculum better meets the needs of all pupils. For instance, the school has broadened the range of therapeutic interventions that are available to pupils. These now include a range of play-based therapies, music and art therapy.

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designation

The curriculum continues to develop. Some subjects are further forward than they were at the last monitoring visit. For example, the personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) curriculum has improved. The curriculum leader has now identified the precise knowledge they want pupils to know and remember in each year group from Year 1 to Year 11. They have also designed assessments that check whether pupils are learning this knowledge. Leaders in other curriculum areas have made similar improvements to their subjects.

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designation

In most subjects, leaders have carefully considered and planned the order in which topics are taught. For example, in PSHE, pupils learn about relationships in a sensible and age- appropriate order. Pupils in the primary phase learn about the importance of permission- seeking with friends. Then, in the secondary phase, they learn about how some types of behaviour within relationships are inappropriate and potentially criminal. As a result of this clear order, teachers are now much more confident about what they should be teaching and when. Furthermore, curriculum leaders have ensured that teachers now have the materials they need to deliver the curriculum effectively. All of this means that pupils are experiencing fewer sequences of lessons that are jumbled and disconnected.

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designation

Curriculum leaders in all subjects are developing a broader range of opportunities to support pupils’ personal development. For example, some pupils in Year 4 and Year 6, recently performed ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ at a local theatre. Other pupils had their artwork displayed at the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry. Pupils value these opportunities. They spoke with pride and enthusiasm about what they had achieved.

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designation

Members of the interim executive board (IEB) are now well established in their roles. They understand these roles well, and their actions are having a positive impact on improving the school. They are increasingly focusing on the right things and holding leaders to account more effectively. For example, the IEB recently questioned leaders about how they were ensuring that all teachers were able to teach reading effectively.

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Additional support

School leaders continue to benefit from the extensive range of support they receive from a local multi-academy trust (MAT) that is currently working with them. This work has included providing leadership support in the development and teaching of early reading. The MAT has also provided additional staff to support the delivery of the curriculum. This has included a specialist languages teacher.

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Evidence

The inspector met with the interim headteacher, other senior leaders, staff, the chief executive officer of the MAT currently supporting the school, a group of pupils, members of the interim executive board and an LA officer.

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Evidence

The inspector made visits to lessons and spoke informally and formally with pupils and staff. In addition, the inspector looked at safeguarding, behaviour and attendance records and curriculum planning.

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