Frederick Bird Primary School

Inspection of Frederick Bird Primary School Swan Lane, Coventry, West Midlands CV2 4QQ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 10 and 11 May 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Frederick Bird Primary is a welcoming and caring school. Pupils are happy and safe. They celebrate belonging to the school’s wide, diverse community. Those who arrive speaking another language are quickly helped to settle in.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between pupils and adults are warm and friendly. Pupils understand what bullying is and why it is wrong. Bullying happens sometimes, and teachers ensure that it is stopped quickly. If pupils have any worries, they know there is always an adult who can help them. Most pupils behave well in lessons. However, around the school, pupils do not always follow the school’s rules.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), will achieve highly. However, some aspects of the curriculum are not fully developed, so pupils are not learning as well as they could in all subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop their wider interests through after-school clubs, such as gardening. They take on a variety of roles to help with the running of the school, for example by becoming a member of the school council.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are supportive of the school. They say that communication with the school is good and that problems are resolved quickly.

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better?

New leaders have provided a sharp focus on raising standards in school. Leaders, including governors, have accurately identified the areas that need to improve. Their vision for the school is known by all staff. Although leaders’ plans include informed actions, many are still at an early stage of implementation, and so the full impact of their work is yet to be realised.

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better?

Leaders have prioritised the development of early reading. The school’s phonics programme is delivered effectively. Pupils practise reading with books that are closely matched to the sounds they have learned. This means that pupils are becoming more accurate and fluent readers. Teachers identify weaker readers. They put in extra help for pupils, but some pupils are not catching up quickly enough. Older pupils enjoy talking about their favourite books and authors. Pupils like using the school’s library.

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better?

A new curriculum for the early years sets out the key learning that leaders want children to know in Nursery and Reception. The environment in the early years is purposeful. Adults plan activities that encourage children to explore the world around them. 10 and 11 May 2023

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Pupils follow a broad and balanced curriculum. Plans in some subjects identify important ideas that pupils need to learn and remember. However, leaders have completed this work very recently. It has not had time to make enough impact on how well pupils learn.

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Teaching does not always support leaders’ intentions for the curriculum. For example, there are occasions when pupils’ misconceptions are not fully addressed. Teachers do not always use assessment well. This means that they are not sure what pupils know and remember. Sometimes, the work given to pupils does not accurately meet their needs, so pupils do not learn as well as they should.

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Many leaders are new to their roles. They are still developing their knowledge about their areas of responsibility. They do not always know how teachers are delivering the curriculum or how well pupils are achieving.

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Pupils with SEND are not always accurately identified. Targets for all pupils are not shared with teachers or reviewed often enough. Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers. However, teachers do not always know how to adapt lessons to ensure that pupils achieve the best possible outcomes in their learning.

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Some pupils miss too much school, and leaders have recently implemented strategies to improve pupils’ attendance. Overall, pupils have positive attitudes to learning. However, staff do not always apply the school’s behaviour management system consistently. Consequently, pupils do not always follow expected routines.

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The curriculum for pupils’ personal, social, health and economic education is planned and sequenced carefully. A wide range of extra-curricular opportunities, including educational visits, build on pupils’ learning of the curriculum. For example, visits to a local university promote aspirations and broaden horizons. Throughout the school, pupils learn about respectful, positive relationships. They learn about diversity and tolerance for others. They know why this is important. Leaders provide strong, caring pastoral support for pupils and their families.

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Staff know that leaders take their well-being seriously. Staff appreciate that leaders pay attention to their workload. They say that leaders support them well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, staff and governors have created a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff members are well trained to support pupils who may be at risk of harm. Procedures to identify and report concerns are understood clearly by staff.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that appropriate checks are made on staff before they start work at the school. Leaders and governors are trained in safer recruitment. 10 and 11 May 2023

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Leaders have designed a well-considered curriculum to help pupils learn about the different ways they can stay safe. This includes the importance of healthy relationships and risks they may face when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly or accurately enough. This means that teachers do not have an accurate understanding of how to meet the needs of all pupils with SEND. Leaders should make sure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified and that teachers know how to adapt their teaching so that all pupils with SEND are supported to achieve well.  Some subject curriculums do not identify the important knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember. Consequently, pupils do not build on what they already know effectively. Leaders should ensure that all subject curriculums are well sequenced so that teaching helps pupils to know and remember more and that pupils are well prepared for what comes next.  Teachers do not always use assessment effectively. In lessons, pupils’ misconceptions are not always addressed, and learning is not adapted to the needs of pupils. Leaders should make sure that all teachers receive appropriate

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

training in the school’s assessment strategies so they can support all pupils to make better progress.  Some leaders who oversee important areas of the school’s work are new in post. They would benefit from more support and guidance to ensure that they understand their roles. Senior leaders should continue to invest in high-quality support and training for middle leaders in the school.  Some members of staff are not following the school’s behaviour policy. This means that not all pupils follow the expected routines in social times in the school. Leaders should ensure that the behaviour policy is understood by all members of the school community and applied consistently.  Some pupils do not attend school often enough. They are missing opportunities to learn and are not making as much progress as they should. Leaders should continue to work with families to ensure that all pupils attend school regularly.

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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. 10 and 11 May 2023

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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 May 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10256941 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Robert Darling (Interim Executive Headteacher) Website www.frederickbird.coventry.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 and 6 June 2019

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Information about this school

 The school has undergone a significant change since the last inspection. New interim leaders, from Inspire Education Trust, have been in post since the beginning of November 2022. Members of staff from the trust provide support across the school.  The school uses no alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.  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.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, English, art and design, design technology and science. For each deep dive, they met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to 10 and 11 May 2023

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teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspectors spoke with pupils about school life, learning and behaviour.  The inspectors held meetings with a range of staff, including the interim executive headteacher, interim headteacher, deputy headteacher and the school’s special educational needs coordinator.  The inspectors spoke with members of the governing body. They also spoke with representatives of the local authority.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s parent questionnaire, Parent View. They spoke with parents and carers at the start of the school day. They considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires for staff and pupils.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documentation about safeguarding. They spoke with staff about how they keep pupils safe. They reviewed the school’s

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record of checks undertaken on adults in school.  The inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how leaders support them.

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Inspection team

Karen O’Keefe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Anna Vrahimi His Majesty’s Inspector 10 and 11 May 2023

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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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