Congerstone Primary School

Inspection of Congerstone Primary School Shackerstone Road, Congerstone, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV13 6NH

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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 21 and 22 March 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships are positive at this school. Pupils get on well with each other and the adults that they work with. Smiles are consistently commonplace.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. Older pupils set a positive example for younger ones. The younger ones follow their lead. Pupils thrive on the rewards that they can earn, including merits, certificates and earning points for their house teams. They know what happens if anyone behaves poorly. The ‘warnings and strikes’ system is commonly understood and applied. Anyone who needs extra help to live up to the school’s high expectations get the help they need through the ‘rule reminders’ process. However, poor behaviour is rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take on roles and responsibilities with pride. They take their duties seriously. Roles such as positivity ambassadors, eco warriors and sports leaders are held in high esteem. Pupils recognise the developments that the school council bring about, including improving playtimes and introducing movie nights. Older pupils help to keep the school running smoothly through their ‘Year Six responsibilities’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard in lessons. They say that the recently introduced ‘learning means the world’ curriculum has ‘brought learning to life’. The curriculum prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

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better?

Pupils are taught to read from the moment they arrive at the school. The phonics programme is comprehensively planned. It is taught well. Pupils quickly learn and remember the sounds that they should for their age and stage of development. They use these to decode new and unfamiliar words. The books that pupils read are closely matched to the sounds that they know. This helps them to read fluently at an early stage of their education. Beyond phonics, pupils develop a love of reading. The school’s ‘reading challenge’ helps pupils to read widely and often. Pupils value the book recommendations that adults and their peers make.

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better?

Much of the school’s curriculum is new. It is at an early stage of implementation. However, it is working well. It is well planned and sequenced. It makes clear, across all subjects, what pupils are expected to know at each stage of their education Pupils enjoy learning about a range of topics, including ‘I have a dream’ and ‘That’s all Folks!’ Although taught through topics, leaders have ensured that pupils know which subjects they are learning. The topics help pupils to make links across different subjects. Pupils develop curiosity about events across the world. Pupils recall what they have learned with ease. However, while it is taught well, in a small number of cases, content is not taught as it should be. Some content is not taught at all. In other places, lessons do not align closely enough to what the curriculum says. As a result, there are some minor inconsistencies in how well pupils learn the

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better?

full breadth of the curriculum. 21 and 22 March 2023

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. They get the help that they need to learn the curriculum alongside their peers. These pupils have targets that set out what they should achieve each term. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) makes regular checks to see how pupils are getting on with these. However, some of the targets are not explicit enough. They lack precision about what pupils are expected to achieve.

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Children in the early years are happy, engaged and get on well with each other. They make good use of the activities that are on offer both in the classroom and outdoors. The early years curriculum sets out what children are expected to achieve at each point in the Reception Year. However, in some parts, it does not make clear enough what children are expected to know and be able to do. This means that teachers and leaders are unable to make accurate checks on how well children are learning the intended curriculum.

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Pupils’ personal development is well catered for. The ‘learning means the world’ curriculum, alongside the personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme, ensures that pupils learn about a wide range of cultures, religions and beliefs from around the world. Pupils develop tolerance, understanding and mutual respect. They understand what discrimination is. They say that it is not tolerated at their school.

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Senior leaders and governors work systematically to address any emerging weaknesses. They prioritise the right things. Senior leaders ensure that all staff know their role within school improvement initiatives. Subject leaders get the training and support they need to lead their subjects.

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The vast majority of parents, pupils and staff are positive about the school. One parent summed up many views when they said, ‘The school has a lovely community feel. The staff genuinely care about the children and want them to fulfil their potential.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made keeping pupils safe their highest priority.

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Safeguarding

Staff consistently apply the school’s policy and procedures. Regular ‘watchful eye’ conversations ensure that staff know which pupils need help and support.

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Safeguarding

Pupils say that they feel safe and cared for in school. They learn how to stay safe in a range of situations. They know that they can use the school’s ‘worry monsters’ to get help if they need it. They know that if the worry monster’s mouth is zipped shut, someone wants help. 21 and 22 March 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Much of the school’s curriculum is at an early stage of implementation. In a small number of cases, content is not taught as it should be, or at all. In other places, lessons do not align closely enough to what the curriculum plan sets out. As a result, there are some minor inconsistencies in how well pupils learn the full breadth of the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that the full content of their curriculum is being taught as intended.  Pupils with SEND get the help they need to learn the curriculum. However, in some cases, targets are not precise enough. They do not make clear what pupils are expected to improve and when. This means that staff do not have a consistent understanding of how they should best support pupils. Leaders should ensure that the targets for pupils with SEND are precise, measurable and consistently applied.  The early years curriculum is planned and sequenced. However, in some places, it

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

lacks clarity about what children are expected to know or be able to do at each stage of their education. This means that teachers and leaders are unable to check precisely on how well children are acquiring the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that the early years curriculum consistently makes clear the precise things that children are expected to master at each stage of the early years.

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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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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. 21 and 22 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10254819 Type of school Primary

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School details

School category Community Age range of pupils 4 to 11

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been no significant changes since the last inspection.  The school does not use any alternative education providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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 held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the curriculum leaders, the early years’ teacher, the SENCo and the leader for PSHE.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in four subjects: reading, mathematics, physical education and geography. To do this, they met with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and met with teachers and pupils. Inspectors also 21 and 22 March 2023

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spoke to leaders, looked at curriculum documentation and spoke with pupils about science, modern foreign languages, and history.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair. He also held a telephone discussion with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and written comments from parents. Inspectors spoke informally to parents outside the school. They considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.  Inspectors met with safeguarding leaders. They reviewed school documents, including those relating to safeguarding, governance, behaviour, the use of pupil premium and attendance.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils at breaktimes, in the dining hall and on the playground. An inspector visited the school’s breakfast club and observed pupils in assembly.

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Inspection team

Vic Wilkinson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Tague Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 March 2023

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