Coit Primary School

107060 Unique Reference Number Sheffield Local Authority 309299 Inspection number 11–12 February 2009 Inspection dates Bernard Jones Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 5–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 217 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Steve Clayton Chair Mrs J Eagleton Headteacher 20 June 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Park Avenue School address Chapeltown Sheffield South Yorkshire S35 1WH 114 2468710 Telephone number 114 2468710 Fax number

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5–11 Age group 11–12 February 2009 Inspection dates 309299 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is an average-sized primary school. Nearly all pupils come from White British backgrounds. A small number of pupils come from other ethnic heritages, but none are at an early stage in learning English. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is well below average. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. Reception-age children are provided for in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The headteacher and senior team were all appointed in 2008. The school has gained the Activemark, the Healthy Schools Award and is currently recognised as an accredited school for the National Year of Reading.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school. Senior managers ensure that sound use of its resources provide satisfactory value for money. The vast majority of parents appreciate the emphasis the school places on developing pupils' sense of responsibility towards themselves and others, and the time and care taken to ensure their good personal development. 'The staff seem to genuinely care about the welfare and progress of every child', is a comment that typifies the opinions of many parents. They see this reflected in pupils' eagerness to go to school, their positive attitudes and their good behaviour. This results in pupils making informed choices, for example about living healthily, and by Year 6 they are mature and ready to move on to secondary education. Achievement is satisfactory across the age range. Standards are broadly average and they are rising. This reflects improving progress among some pupils who have been underachieving until

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Grade: 3

recently. This is particularly the case among higher attaining pupils, as more are now responding to the setting of challenging targets that are ensuring they achieve the standards of which they are capable. These changes have become apparent over the past year, and the recent interventions are having an impact on pupils' progress generally. There are still some weaknesses both in writing and in mathematics. The school acknowledges these and is working to counter them. Standards are too low in aspects of writing concerned with sentence construction and the accuracy of pupils' spelling and punctuation. In mathematics, pupils' skills in calculation and problem solving are underdeveloped. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make sound progress and in areas where the school has focused its efforts their progress is good, for example in their writing. The school provides good quality pastoral care and guidance. The additional help provided for

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Grade: 3

vulnerable pupils ensures their satisfactory progress. Good academic support and guidance is in place, based on careful tracking of pupils' progress. Where pupils' progress slows, positive interventions are made that help to bring them back on track to meet their challenging targets. Increasingly, assessment is being used to inform pupils of their standards and what steps they need to take to progress further. As a result, they enjoy their achievement and are keen to do better. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and a significant proportion is good. The school's leaders are having a good impact in raising the standard of some of the weaker teaching, but there is still too much that is ordinary, where learning is satisfactory rather than good. Teachers manage their classes efficiently so that there is a good learning environment. The curriculum is satisfactory. Recent changes have broadened what is on offer and a great deal of planning

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Grade: 3

is going into making clear links between subjects. This is proving valuable in consolidating basic skills in literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology (ICT). Standards are rising as a result. Good links with local schools and the community further enrich the curriculum. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher makes a good contribution in ensuring a clear direction for the school's development, based firmly on raising achievement. Senior staff, too, are reinforcing the drive to improve standards. Many subject leaders are new in their posts and have not yet developed the skills to push up standards. The recent improvement in pupils' progress resulting from initiatives taken reflect the school's good capacity to improve further. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009

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Grade: 3

Recent interventions and initiatives, aimed at raising children's skills and improving their achievement, have led to staff becoming increasingly adept at assessing and recording individuals' progress. Consequently, children of all abilities are now on track and achieve satisfactorily. They settle well into the routines of the Reception class because the school makes effective links with parents and provides good opportunities for children to get to know the school and teachers before they start full time. Parents value this process. Children start with skills and abilities that are broadly typical for their age. They make satisfactory progress in most areas of learning and good progress in their personal development. Most enter Year 1 with broadly average skills. Satisfactory leadership and management ensure sound planning and a satisfactory balance of activities across all areas of learning. Children benefit from adult-led

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Grade: 3

and child-chosen activities but sometimes activities are too adult-directed with overly large groups. Activities with a good play element make a sound contribution to children's mathematical understanding and their physical development. Teachers' effective use of letters and sounds has a significant impact on children's language and literacy skills, and they also use ICT to good effect. Children enjoy their learning because adults take good care of them, effectively promoting their health and safety. The classroom and outside areas are suitably organised to promote learning but they are not sufficiently well ordered or tidy, and adults miss opportunities to give children some responsibility for tidying up after themselves.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve pupils' calculation and problem solving skills in mathematics across the age range.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve pupils' skills in writing throughout the school, particularly relating to sentence construction and accurate spelling and punctuation. ■ Increase the amount of good quality teaching.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop the skills of subject leaders.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

In Years 1 and 2, pupils make satisfactory progress overall and attain standards that are broadly average. There are still some weaknesses in aspects of writing and mathematics; for example in mathematics, pupils' skills in calculation are underdeveloped and this holds back their ability in problem solving. Pupils in Key Stage 2 achieve satisfactorily. Year 6 pupils started the year with standards below those expected for their age in English, mathematics and science. Since then, they have made significant gains and now their standards are broadly average. Careful assessment systems are now in place and these ensure that past underachievement is being successfully tackled and pupils are, generally, attaining standards of which they are capable. However, pupils throughout Years 3 to 6 have not yet fully caught up in some aspects of writing and mathematics. Challenging targets are set and Year 6 pupils are on course to meet them.

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Grade: 3

The school ensures that all pupils are given equal opportunities to succeed. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve satisfactorily and some are making good progress in their 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009 reading due to the focus on this work and the good contributions made by skilled teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy school and express a high regard for their teachers. They know how to keep healthy, and they behave sensibly and play safely. They say they feel safe and that the very rare instances of bullying 'get sorted out quickly'. Pupils of all ages work and play well together, such as when older pupils act as reading buddies to their younger friends. In a thoughtful assembly, the oldest pupils shared their enjoyment of their recent residential experience to a very attentive audience, showing a very mature approach and setting a good example to younger pupils. Pupils' enjoyment of school is reflected in their good attendance. The school's family atmosphere engenders good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils enjoy good links with the local community and enjoy taking responsibility in the school community by undertaking roles such as school councillors, house captains, young leaders, energy monitors and playground

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Grade: 2

buddies. Pupils' good personal skills and their improving basic skills ensure satisfactory preparation for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 3

The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. There is some good teaching but too much is pedestrian and does not challenge pupils enough to stimulate them to make good progress and raise their standards further. Teachers have good relationships with pupils and foster good relationships between pupils. This means that pupils cooperate well and, where teaching is good, there is often a buzz of working noise as talking partners discuss their ideas and help each other. However, during whole-class teaching, opportunities are too often missed to promote pupils' speaking and listening skills. Classrooms are generally well organised and consistent routines help lessons proceed smoothly. This results in good behaviour and, where teaching is more stimulating, pupils show a keenness to learn and improve. Teachers are increasingly using assessment well to keep pupils on target. Their assessments are accurate

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Grade: 3

and a recent feature of successful teaching sees pupils evaluating their own work and that of their classmates to reinforce their learning. Teachers prepare their work in great detail. However, in some of their written plans they do not show clearly what they expect different groups in their classes to achieve. Homework is used effectively, and teachers' marking is helpful and encouraging.

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Grade: 3

Teachers plan their work carefully to ensure equality of opportunity for all pupils including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The curriculum has satisfactory breadth and balance and promotes pupils' achievement in basic skills in numeracy, literacy, science and ICT. However, there are times when the more able pupils in particular receive insufficient challenge, notably in writing and mathematics. In order to raise standards the school continues to raise the profile of ICT and gives increasing opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills across the various subjects. This recent move to make more obvious links between subjects is 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009 starting to have an influence, making learning more meaningful and enjoyable, but its full impact has not yet been fully realised. A strong input into the personal and social elements of

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Grade: 3

the curriculum is effective in teaching pupils how to stay safe and healthy. The school successfully enriches its curriculum through music and through many after-school clubs, such as in sport and drama. A growing range of visitors and educational visits enhance pupils' knowledge and understanding of the world beyond school. All these activities have a positive impact on pupils' personal development and their enjoyment of school.

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Grade: 2

Pastoral care is good, reflecting a very caring school that does all it can to ensure the health, welfare, safety and protection of its pupils. All the required safeguarding and child protection arrangements are in place. All pupils are supported well, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Any vulnerable or anxious pupils receive any help necessary, for example through the operation of a Friendship Room. This facility is supervised effectively by teaching assistants who have responsibilities as learning mentors. The school enjoys very good links with outside support agencies to give additional support to vulnerable pupils. The improving assessment and tracking systems enable staff to identify pupils who are not reaching their potential as well as keeping other pupils on track to meet their challenging targets. Good guidance and teachers' helpful marking of pupils' work ensure that pupils progress satisfactorily

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Grade: 2

and know what they have to do to improve further.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher gives a good lead and has established a clear direction for the school's development. Appropriate priorities have been established and challenging targets are in place to guide further improvement. Self-evaluation is mainly accurate and is based on a realistic appraisal of the school's strengths and areas for further development. The changes made in teaching and learning and the effective use of assessment are recent and their impact is only starting to be realised. All staff have the necessary positive attitudes and teaching skills to take the school forward and they give good support to the headteacher. Governors make a satisfactory contribution. Staff with management responsibilities know what they need to do to improve the school further and are keen to do so. However, subject leaders are mainly new to post and have not developed a consistent approach to measuring the impact of the changes they make.

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Grade: 3

The monitoring of the work of the school is regular and mainly rigorous but, when evaluating the quality of teaching, it does not take enough account of the progress made by pupils. Provision for the promotion of community cohesion is satisfactory. Pupils are taught about the school's place in the wider community. However, the school recognises that pupils' understanding of living in a multicultural society is not fully developed. Pupils know about the importance of contributing in the school and wider communities and the importance of understanding global issues. There is a clear impact here, seen in the harmonious relationships between pupils and their understanding of the importance of tolerance between different ethnic groups, cultures and religions. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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needs of learners?

Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 3 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of Coit Primary School, Sheffield, S35 1WH I would like to thank you for being so welcoming and friendly when my colleague and I inspected your school recently. We found your school to be satisfactory and some aspects are good. We enjoyed watching and listening to you in your lessons, reading your work and talking to you. Your singing was a joy to hear. Please thank your parents and carers for all their letters and for taking the time to talk to us. You enjoy coming to school and this shows in your good behaviour in classrooms and around the school. You told me that you like your teachers and the way they take good care of you and teach you to think of other people throughout the world. Your school's link with the Malawi school helps you to understand the plight of children in poorly developed parts of the world. You all make satisfactory progress as a result of the sound, and often good, teaching you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

receive. The overall standard of your work is broadly average for your ages. I like the way you take responsibility, for example the way older pupils help younger children during playtime and lunchtime. You take a good pride in your school and contribute well to classroom and corridor displays. These displays also show that you study a wide range of subjects. I appreciate how well your school helps you in learning to live healthily and safely so that you develop into mature young people, ready to progress to your next stage at secondary school. To make things even better, I have asked your headteacher and teachers to help all of you to develop your calculation and problem solving skills to improve your standards in mathematics. Similarly, I have asked them to help you to improve your spelling, punctuation and some of your writing skills. Many of your teachers have been asked to develop particular subjects and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

they need some advice to help them in this work. I have also asked the school to make sure that all teaching is of equally good quality so that you can all learn at a good pace. You can help by continuing to work hard. I wish you all well in the future. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Coit Primary School, 11–12 February 2009

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