Binley Woods Primary School

Binley Woods Primary School Inspection report

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130886 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 315646 Inspection number 24 January 2008 Inspection date Andrew McDowall 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 208 School The governing body Appropriate authority Roger Manning Chair Michael John Grange Headteacher 24 January 2008 Date of previous school inspection Coombe Drive School address Binley Woods Coventry CV3 2QU 02476 543754 Telephone number 02476 540055 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 24 January 2008 Inspection date 315646 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 Additional Inspector conducting the inspection evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues. • Achievement in English in Key Stage 2, particularly in writing. • The effectiveness of the academic guidance pupils receive. • The reasons why achievement is good in mathematics and science. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, the scrutiny of pupils’ work, the school’s assessment data, school documentation and discussions with staff and pupils. 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 is an average sized primary school. Approximately nine out of ten pupils attending the school come from White British backgrounds. Consequently, the percentages of pupils who are learning English as an additional language or who are from minority ethnic groups are well below average. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is also well below the national average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average.

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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: Binley Woods Primary School, 24 January 2008

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good quality of education. It is popular with parents and numbers are growing steadily. Children get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage. This good progress continues in Key Stages 1 and 2. Overall, standards in the school are above average. By the time the pupils leave the school, standards are very high in mathematics and science, where the number of pupils reaching the higher Level 5 is well above average. Standards in English are above average in Key Stage 1 and average in Key Stage 2. The school has correctly identified that progress in reading is stronger than in writing and action is being taken to address this. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The pupils are friendly, they enjoy school very much and have mature attitudes to their work. Everyone at the school gets along well together and this helps pupils to feel safe in school. Attendance is well above average

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Grade: 2

and behaviour is good. Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of how to live a healthy lifestyle. They bring fruit to school for snack time and thoroughly enjoy the opportunities they get to play and exercise. The school council is influential and enables all pupils to feel involved in developing their school. Pupils enjoy the responsibility they get from being involved in jobs around the school. Links with the community are good and involve the pupils in a range of activities. For example, the older pupils participated in the local Remembrance Day Service and the choir sings regularly in the community. The above average standards in the school and pupils' good personal development ensure they are well prepared for the move to the next school and later life. Although good overall, there is variation in some aspects of teaching and learning in the school. Teachers establish good relationships with pupils and deploy teaching assistants and parent

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Grade: 2

helpers to good effect. They foster a love of mathematics and science that motivates pupils and contributes to the higher standards in these subjects. In the main, pupils are less enthusiastic about writing. Lessons are well prepared, and the work set in literacy and numeracy meets the needs of all abilities and promotes good progress. This is not always the case in subjects such as history and geography, where some teachers rely too heavily on worksheets that provide few opportunities to stretch the highest attaining pupils. The curriculum is satisfactory. It provides a broad and balanced programme of work that meets the needs of most pupils. It is not good because insufficient attention is given to the needs of the gifted and talented pupils in some subjects. In addition, it does not promote good progress in writing because there are few planned opportunities for pupils to write for real purposes or to practise their writing skills

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Grade: 2

in other subjects. The school makes good use of visitors and educational visits to enrich the curriculum, and the Year 6 residential visit to Ironbridge makes a good contribution to pupils' personal and social development. The parents express confidence in the good levels of care provided by the school. Pupils are well supervised and good care is provided for those with medical needs. Pupils say they feel very safe in school and have confidence in the staff to provide help and guidance should they need it. The school actively encourages pupils to set personal goals ranging from helping with the washing up at home to wishing to climb Everest by the age of 25. These activities make a good contribution to pupils' understanding of their place in society and their personal development. The headteacher is diligent in checking the suitability of adults to work with children. Academic guidance is satisfactory. Teachers mark pupils' work regularly, but there is

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Binley Woods Primary School, 24 January 2008 some variation in the quality of marking in the school. Pupils usually know their targets, but they are not sufficiently involved in setting them or reviewing their progress towards them. In the older classes, good opportunities are provided for pupils to discuss and comment on each other's work. This helps them support each other and learn from their mistakes. Leadership and management of the school are good. The senior management team has successfully maintained and promoted good personal development and high standards in recent years. There is a good team spirit amongst the staff and a shared commitment to provide well for the pupils. Challenging targets are set and procedures to monitor the progress of each pupil are good. This information is used effectively to identify pupils who need extra help. Informal monitoring and evaluation of the work of the school enable the leaders and managers to have

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Grade: 2

a sound view of its strengths and weaknesses. However, the absence of regular formal feedback to teachers on the quality of teaching and learning in their classrooms means they are not always clear about what it is they need to do to improve further. The day-to-day management of the school is good. The governors are active in the school and have a clear understanding of its performance. Along with the headteacher, they have overcome a difficult financial situation to balance the school's budget. The improved financial circumstances in the school and the commitment of leaders and managers to improvement along with the high standards in reading, mathematics and science, provide the school with a good capacity to improve.

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Grade: 2

When they start at the school, the children have skills and abilities that are generally above average. Overall, they make good progress in the Foundation Stage. Teaching is good and children make particularly good progress in their early reading, writing and mathematics because they respond well to the teacher's high expectations in these areas. Children's personal, social and emotional development is good. They play very well together and many demonstrate the capacity to concentrate for long periods on activities. Physical development is good and the outside area is well used to support this aspect of learning. However, some of the lessons in the hall are too directed by the teacher and offer insufficient opportunities for the children to make decisions for themselves.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in writing to match those in reading, mathematics and science by providing more opportunities for pupils to set and review their own targets and practise their writing skills in other lessons. ■ Ensure the curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of the gifted and talented pupils in all subjects. ■ Provide more regular feedback to teachers to enable them to know what it is they need to do to continue to improve. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Binley Woods Primary School, 24 January 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: Binley Woods Primary School, 24 January 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?

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 How well 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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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: Binley Woods Primary School, 24 January 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 3 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: Binley Woods Primary School, 24 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

25 January 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Binley Woods Primary School, Binley CV3 2QU Thank you all for making me feel so welcome when I visited your school recently to talk to the teachers and see your work. You go to a good school. The teachers help you to make good progress in your work. So much so, that by the time you get into Year 6, many of you are doing very well in mathematics and science. Although your reading is good, your teachers are trying hard to help you to improve your writing. You can help by remembering your targets every time you do some writing. Your behaviour is good and everyone gets along well together. You enjoy school and try hard in your lessons. All the staff take good care of you and this helps you to feel safe in school. Although you go to a good school, there are things your school can do to be even better. I have asked the school to do these three things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The first is to help you all to improve your writing by making sure you all know your targets and finding more opportunities for you to write about interesting things in subjects such as history and geography. ■ The second thing is to make sure the teachers plan harder work for those of you who sometimes find the work in school very easy. ■ Finally, I have asked Mr Grange and the other senior teachers to make sure they tell the teachers what they need to do to be even better. Thank you again and good luck for the future. Yours sincerely Andy McDowall Additional Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Binley Woods Primary School, 24 January 2008

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Annex B

Inspection of Binley Woods Primary School, Binley CV3 2QU

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Annex B

Thank you all for making me feel so welcome when I visited your school recently to talk to the teachers and see your work.

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Annex B

You go to a good school. The teachers help you to make good progress in your work. So much so, that by the time you get into Year 6, many of you are doing very well in mathematics and science. Although your reading is good, your teachers are trying hard to help you to improve your writing. You can help by remembering your targets every time you do some writing. Your behaviour is good and everyone gets along well together. You enjoy school and try hard in your lessons. All the staff take good care of you and this helps you to feel safe in school.

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Annex B

Although you go to a good school, there are things your school can do to be even better. I have asked the school to do these three things.

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Annex B

• The first is to help you all to improve your writing by making sure you all know your targets and finding more opportunities for you to write about interesting things in subjects such as history and geography. • The second thing is to make sure the teachers plan harder work for those of you who sometimes find the work in school very easy. • Finally, I have asked Mr Grange and the other senior teachers to make sure they tell the teachers what they need to do to be even better.

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Annex B

Thank you again and good luck for the future.

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