Coppice Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Coppice Primary School Trinity Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B75 6TJ

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 October 2024

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Outcome

Coppice Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their lessons and are happy. Pupils know they are well looked after by staff and feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has lofty expectations for all pupils’ achievement. Pupils know they must aim high. In lessons, pupils work hard and successfully reach the high expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. They are polite and well mannered. Pupils have respect for each other and the adults in school. Pupils speak eloquently about knowing they can turn to a teacher if they need help or support. Bullying is rare. When it happens, the school acts diligently and resolves any issues quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the many extra activities provided. These include an annual skiing trip to Italy, visits to theatres in London and sleepovers in a local aquarium. The school works with several musical centres of excellence. Performers from the Welsh National Opera provide pupils with opportunities to learn from the best. Pupils play a wide range of musical instruments in school. There are plans for them to perform confidently at venues such as the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and work with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. These activities help build independence and life skills in pupils.

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

Children get off to a positive start to their learning in the early years. Parents and carers appreciate the support provided by school before children start in September. Children settle quickly because they know the routines and what the school expects of them. 22 and 23 October 2024

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Children start to learn the basics of reading as soon as they join the school. Phonics is well taught and helps children to flourish and become confident, fluent readers. The teaching of early writing and mathematics is effective. It provides children with firm foundations for their future learning. When leaving Reception, children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.

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Reading is a high priority in school. The school carefully tracks the progress pupils make in learning to read. Staff skilfully identify those who fall behind and provides swift help so pupils catch up rapidly.

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The revised school curriculum introduced last academic year is broad and ambitious. It is carefully sequenced and enables pupils to build on their prior learning. This is helping pupils to know and remember more. Pupils speak with confidence about what they have learned before and how it helps their current learning. At the end of Year 6, pupils achieve high outcomes. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Teachers have good subject knowledge. ‘Knowledge organisers’ provide key learning reminders for pupils across the curriculum. Many teachers use assessment well to check on learning. Occasionally, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding systematically enough so do not clearly understand what pupils have learned or what they should do next. This hinders opportunities for pupils to fully deepen their knowledge and understanding. Subject-specific vocabulary is not always modelled precisely enough in a few lessons. Sometimes, staff do not explain fully what they expect pupils to do in their learning tasks. This leads to some confusion among pupils around completing learning tasks.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are swiftly identified by the school. The school puts carefully designed programmes of support into place for these pupils. These interventions impact positively on pupils’ learning. The school works well with many external partners to successfully support pupils with SEND.

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The school forensically tracks pupil attendance to help check that all pupils attend school regularly. It follows up any absence trends it identifies diligently. The school provides highly tailored extra support for pupils and families when needed. This has helped the school to increase the attendance of specific groups of pupils.

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The school provides many wider development opportunities for pupils, including taking on extra responsibilities. These include house captains and vice-captains, who check on behaviour at the end of breaktimes. There is a head boy and a head girl, who build leadership skills in their roles. The route to these sought-after positions is through application and interview. Pupils enjoy conducting research in the local community. This helps them to confidently strike up conversations with adults.

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Leaders have sustained the school’s performance during a period of change. The introduction of the new curriculum and other changes the school has made have reduced workload for staff. Parents are enthusiastic about the school. This parental comment is 22 and 23 October 2024

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typical: ‘Awesome school! I love dropping my child off knowing they are safe, that they love their teachers and have a smile on their face at the end of every day.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers do not consistently model subject-specific vocabulary with enough precision when explaining learning tasks to pupils. This means a few pupils cannot clearly understand what teachers expect of them. The school should ensure greater precision in the use of subject-specific vocabulary.  Occasionally, teachers do not routinely assess what pupils know with enough accuracy. As a result, some pupils have too few opportunities to fully deepen their knowledge and understanding. The school should ensure ongoing checking is accurate so all pupils can deepen their knowledge and understanding.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in April 2019. 22 and 23 October 2024

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How can I feedback 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 feedback 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). 22 and 23 October 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 3 and 4 April 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a club before and after school that is managed by the governing body.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.  The inspector was aware during this inspection that serious allegations of a safeguarding nature since the previous inspection were investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the school in response to the allegations were considered alongside the other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgements.  A new headteacher took up post in September 2022 and was joined later in the academic year by a new deputy headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 22 and 23 October 2024

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 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 the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher. He also met with curriculum leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, the head of school improvement from the local authority and groups of staff and pupils.  The inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector reviewed school documents, including those relating to governance, attendance and behaviour. He also scrutinised leaders’ plans for improvement and their assessment of the school’s effectiveness.  The inspector visited the school’s breakfast club and spoke informally with pupils.  The inspector considered the views of parents who responded to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. He also considered responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Declan McCauley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 October 2024

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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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