Coleman Primary School

Inspection of Coleman Primary School Gwendolen Road, Leicester, Leicestershire LE5 5FS

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 5 and 6 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Coleman Primary School. They have positive relationships with teachers and other staff. Pupils understand the school’s four simple rules and adhere to them. Pupils feel safe and happy here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school develops pupils to be accepting of others. Pupils enjoy celebrating and learning about different cultures and faiths. One pupil summed up the view of many when he said, ‘Although there are many nationalities in this school, we all know we are a part of one school community.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils show positive attitudes to learning. Pupils behave well. They are keen to talk about the activities they have undertaken and what they have learned. The school has high expectations of pupils’ learning. However, the quality of teaching is still too variable for pupils and children to achieve as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language (EAL) get the help they need to access the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A larger proportion of parents and carers would recommend this school than previously. Parents recognise that the school is improving.

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

The curriculum is broad and ambitious. The school has ensured that the curriculum identifies the essential knowledge that pupils should learn in each subject. Teachers are now teaching the curriculum in a logical sequence. This allows pupils to learn curriculum content better than they did before. Pupils take pride in the presentation of their work and many produce work that is of high quality across all subjects.

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

The school has done much work to improve the curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics. It has prioritised subject-specific training to drive improvement forward. The school identifies the additional needs of pupils accurately. Teachers have a much stronger understanding of how to adapt teaching to help pupils with SEND access the curriculum. Teaching in these subjects is still too variable for pupils including pupils with SEND to achieve as well as they should.

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

Teachers' subject knowledge is improving. This helps some teachers to teach subject curriculums more effectively. For example, in science, teachers present information well. They account for missed learning from previous years. This helps pupils develop detailed scientific knowledge. This is not yet evident in all subjects. In several subjects, the school is at the early phases of evaluating the impact of the curriculum.

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

Children in the Nursery benefit from the priority that staff place on developing children’s language and communication. This prepares them well for the Reception Year. New children in the Reception Year start to learn phonics as soon as they arrive. Books are 5 and 6 November 2024

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well-matched to the sounds that pupils know. Teachers check pupils' reading ability in all year groups carefully. They use this purposefully to help pupils become better readers. Pupils develop a love for reading.

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Children in the early years are well looked after. They start to develop routines that will help them be well-prepared for more formal education in Year 1. Children get a good grasp of numbers through the early mathematics curriculum. While there is an ambitious curriculum for all children in the early years, this is inconsistently implemented in Reception Year. Staff do not use activities well enough to engage children in meaningful and appropriate learning.

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The school is calm and orderly. Pupils are polite and respectful. Pupils know what bullying is, they feel it happens rarely and they are confident in reporting it. Pupils have confidence that staff will deal with this. The new approach to managing pupils' behaviour ensures that this is a school in which pupils can learn free from disruption. The pastoral care that pupils receive ensures that all pupils, and in particular pupils with social and emotional needs, become better at regulating their behaviour. The school has a robust approach to challenging poor attendance. This ensures that over time pupils become better attenders.

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Pupils are eager to help their teachers and make the school a better place. Pupils who hold the role of ‘green hats’ support teachers on duty during lunchtimes and breaktimes. There is an active school council, which enables all pupils to have their voices heard and contribute to positive change. Pupils are proud to represent one of the four houses named after famous sports teams in Leicester. Pupils representing the ‘Riders’ were keen to share their success in winning the house trophy last term. Pupils benefit from learning about how to stay healthy and safe. The personal development provision supports pupils to grow into responsible well-developed citizens.

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Governors understand their statutory responsibilities. Recently-appointed governors are using their expertise to support and better challenge school leaders. Staff agree that leaders have considered and continue to consider staff workload and well-being in a period of necessary change.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is not as effective as it could be. Some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in reading, writing and mathematics. The school must further embed a consistent and effective pedagogical approach across 5 and 6 November 2024

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these areas of the curriculum, maintaining a focus on pupils’ achievement at all stages of education.  Some teachers do not use the curriculum information provided to teach foundation subjects well. These teachers do not consider well enough exactly what they want pupils to know and/or the learning pupils have missed in previous years. As a result, some pupils do not develop detailed knowledge and have gaps in their knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers use available curriculum information and the training they have received to design activities that will support pupils to develop the knowledge which is identified in the school’s curriculum.  There are too many occasions when activities do not help children to learn the curriculum. Children in the Reception Year do not consistently benefit from meaningful learning opportunities. The school should ensure that activities in the Reception Year

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are matched to the early years curriculum and used effectively by all adults so that children can partake in meaningful learning and develop across all areas of learning.  The school should continue to develop the capacity of some subject leaders through professional development, so they are better equipped to accurately monitor and evaluate the impact of the curriculum.

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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). 5 and 6 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Acting chair of governing body Ivan Waddington

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 28 and 29 June 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection a new headteacher and assistant headteacher have taken up their substantive roles at the school.  At the time of this inspection the school was in the process of ratifying a new chair for the governing body.  The school does not use any 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. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 5 and 6 November 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school's education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science and geography. For the deep dives, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also considered pupils’ learning in several other subjects.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, subject leaders, teachers and support staff. Inspectors also met with leaders with responsibility for pupils with SEND, behaviour, attendance and personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors examined a range of school documents relating to behaviour, attendance and governance, as well as the school improvement plan and leaders’ self-evaluation of the school.  The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils from Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 read. Inspectors met with groups of pupils from different year groups.  The lead inspector met with governors, including the acting chair of the governing body. He also spoke with the school improvement partner commissioned to support the school on behalf of the local authority.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View and the results of Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Rakesh Patel, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Chrissie Barrington Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 November 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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