Coppice Farm Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good by:
  • establishing a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics across the early years and key stage 1, so that the proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 improves to be at least in line with the national average
  • ensuring that teachers consistently set work that is matched to the needs and abilities of all pupils.
• Improve outcomes in key stage 1 by increasing the proportion of pupils who attain at the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics to be at least in line with the national average.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The school went through a period of decline after the last inspection, resulting in a drop in standards. The headteacher responded quickly by working with governors to restructure the senior and middle leadership teams by means of some astute appointments. Consequently, leadership at all levels is now strong. Working effectively together, leaders have successfully revitalised many aspects of the school.
• The positive impact of leaders’ actions to improve teaching can be seen in the improved rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 and standards of attainment at greater depth in key stage 1.
• The middle leaders with responsibility for English and mathematics have adapted quickly and enthusiastically to their new roles. They have produced well-developed action plans, deliver training to colleagues and undertake a range of monitoring activities to check on the standards in their subjects across the school. The positive impact of their work over the past six months can already be seen in pupils’ books and in the school’s latest assessment information.
• The middle leaders responsible for coordinating provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are experienced and effective in their roles. As a result, pupils with SEND are well supported and make good progress from their starting points.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils in the school who are supported through the pupil premium funding is small. Leaders have ensured that the additional funding is used effectively to support pupils’ personal development and learning.
• The headteacher has ensured that the school has developed positive links with other local schools. These connections have brought benefits in terms of joint staff training, mutual support and the sharing of good practice.
• Staff morale is high. Staff who spoke with inspectors and who completed Ofsted’s online survey stated that they appreciate the training provided and feel proud to work at the school. Typical comments were ‘we feel listened to and valued’ and ‘we are a supportive and motivated team.’
• Parents are strongly supportive of the school and of the improvements that have taken place. Those who spoke with inspectors or who responded to Ofsted’s online survey expressed comments such as ‘I think this is a great school. My children are happy and enjoy what they are learning’ and ‘I would not hesitate to recommend Coppice Farm Primary School.’
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted. Pupils who spoke with inspectors showed a mature understanding of the fundamental British values and their importance for society. Pupils appreciate and respect each other’s differences and have a growing understanding of a range of faiths and cultures. In an assembly, pupils were observed participating respectfully and attentively while the headteacher shared a theme of ‘making decisions’, linked to British values. Pupils’ cultural development is promoted through a range of activities relating to the arts, such as art, poetry and literature. The school library has been extensively refurbished to encourage a love of literature.
• Leaders and staff have ensured that the curriculum is broad and balanced. It is clear, from pupils’ workbooks and from the vibrant and stimulating classrooms that pupils are supported to develop knowledge and skills in a wide range of subjects. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about their favourite lessons, the most popular being mathematics, art and science. The curriculum is enriched by other activities such as ‘Forest Schools’, gardening and extra-curricular clubs.
• The additional funding for physical education (PE) and sport is used effectively. Pupils receive a good range of opportunities to improve their health, well-being and physical fitness through the activities on offer.

Governance of the school

• Members of the governing body have a clear and accurate overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They have made sure that a suitable range of skills and experience are evident within their membership. In their meetings, they regularly ask challenging questions and hold leaders to account for the school’s performance.
• Governors have a strong focus on pupils’ learning and progress. Individual governors make regular visits to school, joining leaders in monitoring activities. This helps them to develop a first-hand understanding of the work of leaders and teachers.
• Governors are knowledgeable about how the additional pupil premium funding and the physical education and sport premium is spent. They receive regular and accurate reports from the leaders responsible for these aspects of the school’s work.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Parents, pupils and staff agree that the school is safe. In discussion, pupils confirmed that they feel safe in school and could give sensible examples of how staff help and support them.
• All of the school’s employment checks are in place and in line with statutory requirements.
• Governors are rightly mindful of their duties in regard to safeguarding. They carry out regular checks on the school’s procedures and have ensured that their training is up to date.
• The headteacher keeps careful records of welfare concerns and incidents. He makes sure that all staff receive frequent updates about all aspects of safeguarding and liaises effectively with outside agencies when necessary.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations for pupils. They encourage pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning and to make the most of their time in lessons. The impact of this can be seen in pupils’ responses to routines and in their positive interactions with each other and with adults. This means that lessons flow smoothly and pupils make good gains in learning.
• Pupils’ workbooks across a range of subjects are very well presented and provide strong evidence of pupils’ pride in their work and teachers’ high expectations. In response to the outcomes of their monitoring checks, leaders have revised the school’s marking and feedback policy. As a result, pupils receive effective feedback on how well they are doing and understand how to improve their work. This is having an increasingly positive impact on their progress.
• Teachers use questioning and resources effectively to develop and deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding. For example, in history, when learning about Ancient Egypt, resources were used skilfully to harness pupils’ interest and curiosity. In a range of subjects, teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and use ambitious vocabulary to challenge pupils’ thinking.
• The teaching of mathematics is effective. In discussion, pupils expressed their enjoyment of the subject, and this was clear to see from observing learning in lessons and by checking the work in their books. Pupils across the school have responded positively to the increased opportunities to apply their reasoning skills in problem-solving and to explain their work to others. Pupils make sensible choices when selecting from the graded ‘challenge’ tasks available in lessons.
• The teaching of reading is a current area of focus across the school. As a result of the actions already taken, the school’s latest assessment information shows evidence of improvement. Pupils who read with inspectors demonstrated a love of reading and an increasing degree of fluency and accuracy.
• The teaching of phonics is not consistently good across the early years and key stage 1. When the adults leading the groups are less confident in the strategies they are using, some pupils struggle to stay on task and to make good progress in their learning.
• Occasionally, teachers set work that is not well matched to the needs and abilities of all pupils. This means that the most able pupils are occasionally set work that is too easy, or that the least able do not receive the support they need to complete an activity.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• In discussion, pupils spoke warmly about the school. They expressed pride in the school and described the teaching as ‘good’ and the teachers as ‘kind’.
• Pupils in all year groups display consistently positive attitudes to learning. This is having an increasingly positive impact on their progress, which is improving. Pupils are also receptive to support, saying that they value the extra time provided by teachers and teaching assistants if they feel they are struggling with their work.
• Relationships across the school are positive. Pupils are naturally courteous and respectful towards each other and to adults. They have a mature understanding of what constitutes bullying, although they say that it rarely happens. In particular, pupils are knowledgeable about how to stay safe online as a result of the effective teaching they have received. They say they have confidence in staff to help them in the case of any concerns.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Their conduct throughout the inspection, both in lessons and around school, was calm and orderly. Pupils typically follow instructions and routines quickly and without fuss.
• Outside of lessons, pupils’ behaviour remains good. For example, at lunchtime, the dining hall is well supervised and calm. Pupils use the extensive outside spaces to the full, whether they are playing on the trim trail, tyre park or playground, or chatting quietly with their friends. The outdoor areas are carefully planned to promote pupils’ health and well-being, through both energetic physical exercise and quieter activities.
• Attendance is typically close to the national average. The headteacher monitors attendance regularly and thoroughly and is aware of the small number of pupils who have higher rates of persistent absence. Records show that appropriate measures are taken to address concerns, involving liaison with parents and other agencies when needed.
• Punctuality is good. Pupils arrive at school on time, ready and eager to learn.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 have been improving for the past three years. In 2018, these outcomes were in line with the national averages. The progress of disadvantaged pupils also improved in 2018.
• The school’s latest assessment information, considered alongside pupils’ work in books and observations of learning in lessons in all year groups, suggests that the improvements are being sustained.
• Standards of attainment at greater depth in key stage 1 improved significantly in 2018, in reading, writing and mathematics, to above the national averages. Attainment at the expected standard remained below average.
• As a result of the effective provision in place to support their needs, the majority of pupils with SEND are currently making good progress from their starting points.
• The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 has been consistently below the national average over time.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership and teaching in the early years are good. The experienced staff team know the children, and their needs, very well. This is because staff carry out well-documented, regular and systematic checks on children’s learning and development. They use the outcomes of their checks to provide a range of well-planned activities to promote success across all areas of learning.
• The indoor and outdoor learning areas are set out to provide children with a range of well-thought-out opportunities to develop their early writing and mathematical skills. Staff have recently introduced a daily ‘rainbow challenge’ activity for the children to complete. This ensures that all children select a balance of activities to challenge and stretch their learning and development.
• Children enter the early years from a wide range of pre-school providers and experiences. On entry, their skills are broadly in line with those typical for their age, but in some aspects, such as communication, language and physical development, children’s skills tend to be lower. As a result of good teaching, children make good progress, and the majority are well prepared for Year 1. In 2018, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year improved to be in line with that found nationally.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective, in line with the rest of the school. Staff training is up to date and staff are familiar with the procedures for raising concerns. The area is safe and secure.
• Liaison with parents is strong. Parents speak warmly about the care and teaching their children receive in the early years.

School details

Unique reference number 122516 Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council Inspection number 10057683 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 204 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Jim Brough Jason Brewster 0115 956 0990 www.coppicefarm.notts.sch.uk/ office@coppicefarm.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 June 2015

Information about this school

• Coppice Farm Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• There are seven classes in the school. Pupils are taught in single-age classes.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below the national average.
• The school has an informal partnership with a ‘family’ of local schools.
• The school receives informal support from the Candleby Lane Teaching School Alliance.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 15 lessons or part lessons, some jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at work across an extensive range of pupils’ books and considered the school’s assessment information on the progress and standards achieved by current pupils.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with them about their reading.
• Inspectors met with a group of pupils from key stage 2 and spoke with pupils informally in lessons and around school.
• Inspectors observed a whole-school assembly.
• Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and leaders with responsibility for mathematics, English, the early years and pupils with SEND. Inspectors met with those responsible for safeguarding, attendance, behaviour, bullying and exclusions, disadvantaged pupils and the sport premium. Inspectors also spoke with a range of other teachers and support staff.
• The lead inspector met with a group of governors, including the chair and vice-chair.
• The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors met with parents at the start of the school day. The inspectors considered the 30 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and the responses to the online staff survey.
• The inspectors considered a wide range of documentation, including the school’s improvement plan and self-evaluation summary, minutes of meetings of the governing body, the school’s current information on pupils’ attainment and progress, attendance records, behaviour and bullying logs, external reports on the work of the school, monitoring and evaluation records and a range of documents relating to safeguarding.

Inspection team

Christine Watkins, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ann Glynne-Jones Ofsted Inspector