Coupe Green Primary School

Coupe Green Primary School Inspection report

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119319 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 313255 Inspection number 16 July 2008 Inspection date John Heap 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 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 119 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Bryn Thomas Chair Mrs Judith Woronowicz Headteacher 1 January 2005 Date of previous school inspection Coupe Green School address Hoghton Preston Lancashire PR5 0JR 01254 853518 Telephone number 01254 854369 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 16 July 2008 Inspection date 313255 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 Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: whether standards are high enough in writing, particularly for the more able; what effect the new assessment system is having on pupils’ achievement; the quality of the links between self-evaluation and school development planning. The inspector gathered evidence from school documentation and data; national test data; interviews with children, staff, governors and parents; observing lessons and other activities and analysing parents’ questionnaires and comments. Other aspects of the school’s work were not investigated in detail but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school’s own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This small primary school serves a mainly White British population and a below average proportion of pupils from a small range of minority ethnic backgrounds. The number of pupils learning English as an additional language is below average. The area has few signs of social and economic disadvantage, and the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is well below average. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well below average. The school is currently being led by the deputy headteacher and a new headteacher will come to the school in September. There have been a large number of changes in staffing in recent years. The school has successfully achieved the following awards: Healthy Schools; Activemark.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Coupe Green Primary School, 16 July 2008

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Grade: 2

Inspection findings confirm the school’s judgement that this is a good school which provides good value for money. Many parents, pupils and governors express their high levels of satisfaction with the school and typical parent comments include: ‘…I continue to be totally satisfied with the standard of education’, ‘lovely, friendly school…’, ‘It’s a great little school.’ Pupils’ personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. This is because of the high quality pastoral care provided for pupils and the excellent way the curriculum promotes personal development. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and are well behaved. This is evident in their very regular attendance and the excellent attitudes they have towards the school and learning. Pupils feel extremely safe and secure in the school and know who to turn to if they have a problem. They know that staff will listen and act where

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Grade: 2

appropriate and for the more reticent there are facilities for pupils to make contact confidentially. Pupils also make an outstanding contribution in this respect through the work of ‘buddies’. The school council makes an excellent contribution to decision-making, particularly about improvements to the school grounds. It also uses its budget really well to provide extra play resources. The curriculum provides very strong instruction on health and safety matters and this is reinforced by highly effective partnerships with the school nurse and other local services. As a result, pupils are exceptionally knowledgeable about the need to lead healthy and safe lifestyles. The curriculum also makes a strong contribution to pupils’ burgeoning knowledge and understanding of the cultural diversity in British society. Pupils’ achievement is good and standards are well above average. These strengths of the school are promoted by good teaching, the effective encouragement of learning and strong

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Grade: 2

tracking of pupils’ academic achievements. Pupils get a good start in the Foundation Stage and enter Year 1 with skills and abilities that are better than expected for their age. Pupils make satisfactory progress and by the end of Year 2, standards are above average. Standards could be higher in writing, particularly for the more able pupils. This judgement is confirmed in teachers’ assessments where the proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels of attainment in writing is much lower than in reading and mathematics. The marking of writing in Year 2 does not make it clear enough what the pupils’ achievements are and what they need to do next to improve further. Consequently, for a few pupils, errors in skills, such as punctuation, are not resolved as quickly as they ought to be. By the end of Year 6, standards are well above average in English, science and mathematics. The results of national tests show a rising trend since 2005, particularly in mathematics. On

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Grade: 2

the evidence of national data, the progress pupils make in Key Stage 2 has often been in the top quarter of schools nationally. Pupils are well prepared for their future education and life beyond school. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language also make good progress. Teaching and learning are good. Good relationships are forged between staff and pupils and this means that pupils confidently ask questions and make points in lessons. Classroom management is highly effective. Pupils have very few disruptions to their learning and there are plenty of opportunities for them to work independently, in groups and as a class. Pupils with additional learning needs benefit from good support in lessons and learn well. Staff have high expectations of pupils in both academic and behavioural terms, particularly in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 2. This is shown most clearly in the target-setting and marking

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Coupe Green Primary School, 16 July 2008 in Year 6, where teachers’ comments give very clear indications about the quality of work and what the pupil needs to do next. The good curriculum promotes academic development well and pupils benefit from a wide variety of enrichment activities, such as visits, visitors and activities outside lessons. The curriculum is also modified well to cater for pupils’ individual needs. For example, occasionally allowing pupils to benefit from a longer than usual time in the Foundation Stage, or other year groups. Leadership and management are good. The acting headteacher, key staff and governors have a clear vision for the school that plainly satisfies the vast majority of parents. A small number of parents expressed some concern about the unavoidable staff changes over the past years and, while this is significant in a small school, it has been managed well. As a result, standards

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Grade: 2

have risen and there have been significant improvements to the way data is collected and used. Statutory requirements are met. There is particular attention paid to ensuring that procedures and practices are robust in safeguarding pupils, child protection and in the monitoring of attendance and behaviour. School improvement planning identifies the right priorities because self-evaluation is accurate. However, the indicators of success in the school’s improvement plan are not sharp enough to ensure that all staff understand their responsibilities in raising standards further. Nevertheless, the school is clear about what needs attention and along with a good track record of improvement, this shows good capacity to improve.

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Grade: 2

Strong leadership and management foster good academic progress and effective provision. Productive early links with the children and their parents mean that children settle quickly into school routines and enjoy their work. Children’s skills are broadly typical for their age on entry and they exceed what is expected of them by the time they enter Year 1. This is because they are taught well, with a good balance of adult-led and child initiated learning. Where appropriate, the teacher provides direct teaching that increases children’s knowledge and understanding and provide skills that they can use independently and in everyday life. For example, in a numeracy session, counting two-by-two was applied to money and buying in a shop. Independence is further developed by good quality labelling of resources in the various areas, which guides the children in the use of each area and increases their independence, knowledge

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Grade: 2

and understanding. All the areas of learning are supported by good resources both indoors and outdoors. Assessment procedures are strong and make most effective use of observations made while the children are working and learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve writing standards in Key Stage 1, particularly for the more able pupils.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of marking in Key Stage 1 so that pupils have a clear view of how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve further. ■ Make it clearer in the school’s improvement plan how success is to be measured and check that all staff understand the role they have to play in further raising standards. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Coupe Green Primary School, 16 July 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Coupe Green Primary School, 16 July 2008

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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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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the 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 effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 1 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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and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Coupe Green Primary School, 16 July 2008

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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 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Coupe Green Primary School, 16 July 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

17 July 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Coupe Green Primary School, Lancashire, PR5 0JR I had a thoroughly enjoyable and busy time in your school recently. Your warm welcome, courtesy and help were very much appreciated. In a short letter it is difficult to describe all the strengths in your good school, but the following are some of the things I particularly liked:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the well above average results of national tests at the end of Year 6

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the good teaching and learning that promotes your good academic progress

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the good start that you get in the Reception class

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you behave well, attend very regularly and have excellent attitudes to school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ your excellent knowledge and understanding of the importance of leading healthy and safe lifestyles ■ the hard and willing work you do to help and care for each other and make an excellent contribution to the life of your school ■ the good range of activities that promote learning

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the good leadership and management that is much appreciated by your parents.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

To make your school even better, staff will make even better use of assessment and marking to improve the quality and progress of the more able in writing, particularly at the end of Key Stage 1. Staff will make sure the marking of your work gives you an even clearer view of how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve further. I know that you will want to play a full part by following your teachers’ advice and guidance very closely. Finally, the school will make certain that the school improvement plan gives clear guidance on ensuring that all pupils in each year group are doing well. Very best wishes and good luck for the future. Yours sincerely John Heap Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Coupe Green Primary School, 16 July 2008

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