Cooper's Lane Primary School

Cooper's Lane Primary School Inspection report

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100676 Unique Reference Number Lewisham Local Authority 276366 Inspection number 22 °23 June 2006 Inspection dates Jacqueline Krafft HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Desmond Brown Chair Mr Steve Davies Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Pragnell Road School address Grove Park London SE12 0LF

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020 8857 7680 Telephone number 020 8857 5094 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 22 °23 June 2006 Inspection dates 276366 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Cooper's Lane is a large primary school with a nursery. The community it serves is diverse. Almost half the pupils are from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds, the largest group being of Black Caribbean heritage, and the number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is high. More pupils than average are eligible for free school meals. The percentage of pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities is slightly below average. The school has recently opened a unit for profoundly deaf pupils.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 7 Inspection Report: Cooper's Lane Primary School, 22 °23 June 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Track the progress pupils make to ensure they achieve as well as they can and standards are raised, particularly in mathematics and in Year 2. • Improve the effectiveness of teaching by ensuring that pace and work in lessons are matched to pupils' needs and capabilities. • Monitor and evaluate the impact of the school's actions on improving teaching and learning to identify how to improve further.

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Grade:

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The school's evaluation is more positive than the inspection findings. Teachers have good relationships with pupils who enjoy their learning and think teachers make lessons interesting. There are examples of good teaching, where work is well matched to the needs of pupils with differing abilities, but this is inconsistent. In most lessons, although teaching is satisfactory, the pace of learning is too slow, expectations are not sufficiently high and work is sometimes too easy. As a result, pupils' achievement, particularly of the more able, is satisfactory when it could be better. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory with some good elements, notably in pupils' personal development and well-being. The skills and expertise of staff in the Hearing Impaired Unit result in pupils making good progress because teaching is good and expectations are high.

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Grade:

Assessment is satisfactory. Pupils who need additional support are identified, but the progress all pupils make is not systematically tracked with sufficient rigour or consistency to enable teachers to plan work which fully meets their learning needs. Marking has improved and the best examples give pupils clear guidance on how they can improve their work. However, this is not yet consistent in all classes.

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Grade:

The school provides a satisfactory curriculum with good features. Shortcomings in religious education and the use of time identified in the last inspection have been rectified and these are now satisfactory. The curriculum is greatly enhanced by a wide range of well-attended clubs and activities in and beyond the normal school day. These involve the pupils in sports, arts and cultural experiences 4 of 7 Inspection Report: Cooper's Lane Primary School, 22 °23 June 2006 that contribute effectively to their personal development and add to their enjoyment of school. Provision for pupils' creative development is also a strength recognised by a national award. Appropriate emphasis is placed on developing pupils' literacy and numeracy skills but opportunities for pupils to develop these skills in other subjects are not sufficiently well planned. Work is not always matched sufficiently to individual needs. Provision for information and

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Grade:

communication technology (ICT) is satisfactory. Pupils learn to be healthy and to stay safe through the schools' effective personal, social and health education programme, science lessons and physical education lessons.

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Grade:

The school provides good care and satisfactory support and guidance for its pupils. Systems for child protection are rigorous and are followed well by staff. Procedures for monitoring pupils' health and safety and for assessing risks are robust. The good relationships between adults and pupils foster pupils' confidence and builds trust. As a result, pupils feel safe at school. Assessment data is used to identify pupils who need extra help and pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are given appropriate support and guidance in working towards the targets in their individual education plans. The school works well in partnership with outside agencies to support pupils with specific needs. Specialist support for pupils with hearing impairment is particularly effective. The guidance pupils are given to improve their work is inconsistent. The targets that teachers set pupils in literacy and numeracy are not always specific enough for pupils to know what

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Grade:

exactly they need to do to improve their work and the progress they make is not monitored systematically or with rigour.

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Grade:

5 of 7 Inspection Report: Cooper's Lane Primary School, 22 °23 June 2006 .

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Grade:

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 7 Inspection Report: Cooper's Lane Primary School, 22 °23 June 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Pupils On behalf of all the inspectors, I would like to thank you for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school. We really enjoyed talking to you, looking at your work and seeing you in lessons. You and your parents like your school. You trust and respect the adults and you told us you feel safe and know who to ask for help if you need it. Most of you behave well and you enjoy your lessons, particularly science. You also enjoy lots of interesting clubs and visits. You are rightly very proud when you receive certificates in assembly on Fridays to celebrate your achievements. We think your headteacher and teachers have made your school a caring and attractive place and you get a satisfactory education. To make it even better, we have asked them to help you do as well as you possibly can by making sure the work you do isn't too hard or too easy. We have also asked them to keep checking how well you are doing so that they know if they need

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to do anything differently, particularly to help some of you make more progress in mathematics. We would like to thank you again for making us so welcome and hope that you carry on enjoying being at school and get even better at your work. Have a lovely day out in Broadstairs at the end of term. Best wishes Jackie Krafft Her Majesty's Inspector 7 of 7 Inspection Report: Cooper's Lane Primary School, 22 °23 June 2006

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