Stoke Heath Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Stoke Heath Primary School Heath Crescent, Stoke Heath, Coventry, West Midlands CV2 4PR

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Outcome

Stoke Heath Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know what ‘We are Stoke Heath!’ means. This is about everyone being made welcome every day. Pupils thrive in the ‘family feel’ which pervades the school. Pupils happily come to school knowing they will be kept safe and well cared for. Pupils talk about trusting staff. Pupils know that when they share their feelings and any worries they might have, staff respond appropriately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their learning. They talk about being keen to ‘learn about the past’ and to discuss their findings from experiments. When learning, pupils show positive attitudes. They listen attentively to staff and their classmates. Pupils who need extra help receive it quickly. Pupils achieve well across all subjects. Pupils are clear about how the school expects them to behave. Pupils step up to expectations that staff set for them. They recognise and respect that some of their classmates need different types of support to help them behave well. This helps everyone to feel included and involved.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ horizons are broadened. The school provides pupils with many valuable experiences, captured in the ‘SH60’ promise. Pupils understand the importance of growing up in a world where diversity is celebrated. Pupils who spoke to the inspector say that any form of discrimination is not tolerated.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Since the last inspection, the school has created and implemented an ambitious curriculum. This is now bearing fruit, with pupils being able to remember more and do more. In each subject, teachers know what to teach and when to teach it. As pupils move through the school, they build knowledge and skills. For example, in science pupils remember their learning about plants. Occasionally, pupils do not fully understand what they have been taught. 4 and 5 June 2024

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Disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn well. The school quickly identifies if a pupil has barriers to learning, captured in pupil support plans. Teaching staff use this information to consider what pupils need to help them understand better. Pupils with SEND take part in activities that help them to access their learning. For example, pupils might be given written information which is less complicated than that given to their peers. This enables pupils to focus on key words, rather than being confused with too much detail.

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The school prioritises reading. The school is determined to make sure that every pupil practises their reading so that they become fluent readers. Staff check closely that pupils are keeping up with their early reading development, notably in phonics. If any pupils fall behind, or are likely to do so, then swift action is taken. Staff check that any change in teaching leads to pupils making better progress. The school’s focus on reading and communication begins in the two-year-old nursery provision. Here, children have frequent and effective opportunities to acquire vocabulary, talking and playing with each other and staff.

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Starting in the early years, children gain essential initial knowledge relating to subjects. This means that they are well prepared for their learning in Year 1 and beyond. In history, children talk about the past. They rehearse sentences using the past tense. This serves them well as they move on to develop an understanding of chronology. Children show curiosity when learning about different mathematical aspects, such as shape. Staff ensure that children secure number knowledge through various activities, including counting objects and chanting rhymes.

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The school supports teaching staff well. Training helps teachers become increasingly secure in their subject knowledge. Teachers have the information and resources they need to teach effectively. This means that teachers have time to think carefully about how they are going to teach each subject. One teacher summed this up by saying, ‘We are not required to guess.’ Governors know that this helps staff well-being.

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Pupils, families and staff value the school-led Family Centre and the work of the family team. This team supports school in various ways, including pupils’ attendance and behaviour. Pupils behave well. Pupils can get on with their learning and concentrate on what they are doing without interruption. There is tailored support for individual pupils who find managing their own behaviour difficult. This enables pupils to spend more time learning in classrooms. Some pupils use quiet spaces around school to help them reduce anxiety. Following use of these spaces, pupils rejoin their classmates and re-engage in activities.

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The school recognises the importance of pupils taking part in a wide range of experiences. It makes sure that all pupils can take part in clubs and activities during the school week. Pupils’ learning is further enriched by visiting historical and cultural places of interest. This supports pupils’ spiritual and cultural development well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 4 and 5 June 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, some teachers do not check closely enough that pupils have remembered the most important skills and knowledge from their previous learning. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and may struggle when they move to harder work. The school should make sure that teachers check carefully that pupils can recall and use skills and knowledge accurately as they progress through units of study.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2019.

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How can I feed back my views?

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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 4 and 5 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1 April 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 There is before- and after-school childcare that is managed by the school.  The school uses the services of one unregistered alternative education provider.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with a representative of the local authority, members of the governing body, the headteacher, senior leaders and other leaders. He also spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector focused on the following deep dives: early reading, science and history. He held discussions about the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Pupils were observed 4 and 5 June 2024

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reading to members of staff. Other subjects, including mathematics, were considered as part of the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school. He spoke with pupils about their experiences in school, including how safe they feel.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. He also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and pupil questionnaires.  The inspector reviewed a range of school documents. These included information about pupils’ behaviour, attendance, the school’s curriculum and improvement planning. The

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Inspection team

Jeremy Bird, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 June 2024

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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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