Cape Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, including in the early years, in order to increase the progress and raise attainment of lower-attaining pupils by ensuring that:
  • the recently introduced assessment system tracks progress with precision and is used to inform teachers’ planning to meet pupils’ needs
  • teaching builds securely and progressively on previous learning
  • class teaching builds upon the effective additional support that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive in extra sessions outside the classroom.
  • Improve pupils’ progress and thereby attainment in reading by:
    • further developing pupils’ comprehension skills
    • continuing to build upon the effective teaching in phonics.
  • Improve the impact of leadership and management by making sure that:
    • leaders and governors check on the progress of different groups of pupils, including in the early years, with greater care and attention
    • leaders and governors have an accurate understanding of how well the school is doing and use this information to drive sustainable school improvement
    • leaders continue to work with families to improve the attendance of a small number of pupils who miss too much school or arrive late too often without good cause.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have introduced new systems to track pupils’ achievement. Currently, these systems are underdeveloped and lack precision and clarity. Not all staff have the same understanding of the assessment information. Consequently, leaders have an overgenerous view of the school’s performance and do not have a sharp enough focus on the most important improvement areas for the school.
• As a result of the developing assessment systems, underachievement by some pupils, especially the lower-attaining pupils, is not identified quickly enough. These pupils continue to make less than expected progress and do not achieve the standards of which they are capable.
• Middle leaders understand the strengths and weaknesses within their subject areas. They present as capable and are keen to drive forward the necessary improvements. However, at this time, they are not well informed enough about current pupils’ progress, which restricts their ability to target support with maximum effect.
• The curriculum is rich and diverse and pupils are taught a variety of different subjects. Pupils’ different learning experiences are recorded in the ‘Cape Chronicle’. Every pupil contributes to the ‘Cape Exhibition’, which celebrates the wide variety of work the pupils do. Extra-curricular and enrichment activities, such as the ‘pirates day’, enliven pupils’ learning. However, attention to the development of pupils’ reading skills, especially comprehension, is underdeveloped. Consequently, while pupils develop positive attitudes to learning and benefit from varied and enriching school experiences, they do not have the literacy skills needed to prepare them for secondary school.
• Leaders have a clear passion and commitment to the school. They have built a strong team who are very supportive of each other and have put procedures in place to support the development of teaching. Staff are set challenging targets but also receive a range of support and guidance from school leaders. Teachers who aspire to leadership are encouraged and staff are given opportunities to coach and mentor one another. Underperformance is effectively challenged.
• The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. The school is a happy, vibrant and cohesive community. Pupils show respect for and an understanding of one another’s faiths. Pupils have a strong understanding of British values. They elect a school council and speak clearly about why it is important to follow rules. As a result, pupils develop responsible attitudes and an understanding of life in modern Britain.
• Funding received to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used effectively to provide additional support for pupils outside the classroom. However, these pupils are not making as much progress as they should in class as a result of teachers not planning work which is closely matched to their needs.
• The school uses additional funding received for disadvantaged pupils in a variety of ways. A wide range of agencies are involved with the school, particularly to support pupils’ social and emotional well-being. The school works extremely hard with families to improve their engagement in school, for example in the ‘learning together’ days. Funding is used to support the ‘two for £10’ promise, where pupils can attend two trips for £10. However, disadvantaged pupils’ progress is significantly below national rates in reading.
• The additional sports funding is used to good effect. Sports coaches develop the expertise and skills of teachers to improve the teaching of dance and gymnastics. The sports coaches provide additional lunchtime clubs for pupils who cannot attend after-school clubs, and pupils have the opportunity to take part in sports competitions. The physical education (PE) leader works with PE leaders from local schools. As a result, pupils’ interest and engagement in sport have risen, participation rates are greater and pupils receive a higher quality of teaching in PE than previously.
• The school has received three visits from the local authority over the last year. However, the school’s information about its own performance has not been challenged robustly enough. As a result, the school has not been effectively supported in focusing on and improving the right aspects of its work.

Governance of the school

• Since the last inspection, governance has improved considerably. The governing body is now a cohesive group which works closely with the school’s leaders. Governors have a range of relevant skills and understand their statutory roles and responsibilities. Governors are committed to further developing their effectiveness and have recently commissioned a review of governance to identify further training needs.

• Currently, leaders inform governors about the key areas of school performance. However, governors do not receive enough reliable or objective information to enable them to form an accurate view of the quality of the school’s work. Consequently, governors are unable to provide fully informed challenge to school leaders.
• Governors are aware of how the additional funding the school receives is used. They ask questions to check that the funding is improving outcomes for pupils. However, the information provided about how well disadvantaged pupils are achieving lacks precision and, as a result, governors do not have a sufficiently detailed understanding of the progress of these pupils.
• The school’s safeguarding arrangements are checked by the governors and are effective. Governors receive up-to-date training on safeguarding and are effective in this aspect of their work.
• Governors understand how systems to check how teachers are performing are used in school and receive appropriate reports about the quality of teaching and learning.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

• There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school.
• Staff receive regular training and show a clear understanding of the safeguarding policies and procedures. They know what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil’s safety and well-being, and concerns are acted upon swiftly. When referrals are made, they are followed up to check that the right support is in place to protect pupils. Detailed and accurate records are kept and stored securely.
• Staff are recruited safely. Appropriate checks are in place for all adults working within the school to ensure the safety of the pupils.
• The school works effectively with a wide range of outside agencies to support its child protection and safeguarding arrangements. Pupils are supported extremely well. If leaders believe the right support is not in place, they challenge professionals robustly to ensure that the pupils’ needs are met. Staff work very closely with families to provide further help and guidance where needed.
• Pupils are taught well about how to keep themselves safe, including how to keep safe online. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and know there is always someone who will help them if they have a problem. Staff have received training on how to combat radicalism and extremism, understand their responsibilities and have pupil safety as the highest priority.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not consistently good across all year groups and subjects. As a result, some groups of pupils are not making the progress they should. This is especially so for the lower-attaining pupils.
• Recently introduced assessment systems do not give a clear picture of pupils’ progress. Therefore, teachers are not using what they know about pupils’ learning to plan work which builds progressively on what pupils can already do. This results in work being too hard or too easy.
• Expectations of what lower-attaining pupils can achieve in English and mathematics are not high enough. Work set for these pupils in some classes does not support or challenge them appropriately. Therefore, some pupils are not reaching their full potential.
• Pupils’ comprehension skills are underdeveloped. Teachers do not focus on developing pupils’ abilities to understand what they are reading well enough to enable them to make the progress they should.
• Basic errors in spelling are not consistently corrected. Consequently, pupils repeat the same mistakes and do not learn the correct spellings, particularly the lower-attaining pupils.
• There is a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics across early years and key stage 1. Teachers and teaching assistants build upon pupils’ prior learning and pupils make good progress. As a result, the proportions of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check have risen.
• Pupils have the opportunity to apply their mathematical skills in problem-solving and reasoning across the school. This develops pupils’ understanding and improves the progress they make, especially the most able and most able disadvantaged pupils.
• Where teaching is more effective, work is set that matches the needs and interests of the pupils. Teachers use questions effectively to challenge pupils’ thinking. They ensure that pupils understand what they have to do and have high expectations of what they can achieve. As a result, some pupils are making good progress, especially higher-attaining pupils. For example, in a guided reading session, pupils explored how the author had used personification in the story of Beowulf to interest the reader. This challenged their thinking and deepened their understanding of the story.
• Pupils say that they enjoy the creative curriculum. They are taught a range of subjects and explore learning in a variety of ways. For example, in a science lesson, pupils were given the opportunity to go outside and explore the habitats of animals. Theme days are used to further enrich pupils’ learning.
• Teaching assistants and other adults contribute to pupils’ learning. They work alongside class teachers and with pupils in small groups. They know the pupils well and have good relationships with them. Teaching assistants are particularly effective when they are providing specific support programmes to individual pupils or small groups. The pupils are making good progress in these programmes.
• Homework is set regularly and parents say that it is helpful in supporting pupils’ learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

• Pupils are very well cared for. Leaders and staff work tirelessly to support the social and emotional needs of all pupils. The school liaises with a range of outside agencies to ensure that pupils receive specialist help when needed.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves healthy. They learn about healthy eating and say that there is a range of food available at lunchtimes to keep them healthy. Sports coaches work with pupils at lunchtimes to encourage active and positive play. Extra-curricular clubs are provided at lunchtimes to ensure that all pupils can attend in school time if they wish. The redeveloped playground provides pupils with varied and interesting activities to take part in. This is supporting pupils’ physical and emotional well-being.
• Pupils have a range of opportunities to take on additional responsibilities. The school council meets with leaders to discuss how the school can be improved. Pupils say that leaders listen to, and act upon, their suggestions.
• Pupils have a clear understanding of what bullying is and say that it happens rarely. As part of their anti-bullying learning, pupils developed the ‘No, stop it. I don’t like it!’ initiative, which alerts everyone to their right to be safe and the importance of challenging thoughtless or unkind behaviour.
• The school works hard to engage the community and families in school life, and parents have very positive views of the school. The school provides effective support and guidance to families. Parents like the ‘learning together’ days as they help them to understand what pupils are learning. Communication with parents is strong.
• Pupils have a deep understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They know how to stay safe online and learn about road safety. Pupils enjoy working with ‘PC John’ who helps them to understand safety matters. Risk assessments are detailed and used well to support the safety of pupils. Good supervision is in place at breaktimes.
• The breakfast and after-school clubs are well run with well-established routines. They provide a wide range of activities for the pupils, and the pupils mix and play together harmoniously. The older pupils take good care of the younger ones.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.

• Pupils are proud of their school. They take their responsibilities seriously and are positive ambassadors for the school. For example, the ‘meeters, greeters’ welcome visitors to their classrooms and explain what they are learning about.
• Pupils are polite, courteous and respectful of one another and adults. They move around school in an orderly way and hold doors open for each other and adults.
• Pupils understand the behaviour system and respond well to it. They remind others about the school rules when needed. The system is consistently applied across the school by all adults. Any inappropriate behaviour is managed calmly and effectively by adults.
• The school’s records show that conduct continues to improve. Detailed methods are in place to track the behaviour of pupils. Exclusion rates have reduced, with no exclusions this year. The school works with a range of agencies to support pupils who need extra help to manage their behaviour.
• Attendance and lateness are tackled robustly. The school works with a range of agencies to support pupils and families where there are attendance concerns. Attendance rates overall have improved. However, there remain a small number of pupils who regularly miss school or who arrive late in the morning without good reason. Therefore, these pupils miss lessons and are not achieving as well as they should.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress in reading has been below national figures for several years. In 2016, pupils again reached the end of Year 6 having made less progress in reading than in writing and mathematics. While the school is still fine-tuning a new assessment system to track the progress of current pupils, inspection evidence shows that progress in reading remains a concern. In addition, some lower-attaining pupils are not making as much progress as they could. This means that they fall further behind their peers as they move up through the school. Pupils’ comprehension skills, in particular, are underdeveloped.
• A significant majority of pupils start school with low levels of skill and knowledge. In addition, a significant number of pupils join or leave the school at different times of the year. Many who join at short notice speak little English or have complex needs. These factors have a marked effect on standards and many pupils do not manage to reach age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stages 1 and 2. However, even allowing for these factors, progress in reading could be better.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities made significantly less progress than their peers at the end of key stage 2 in reading and mathematics. While these pupils receive some effective support outside the classroom, teachers do not consistently plan to meet the needs of these pupils in class to enable them to make the progress of which they are capable.
• However, while overall academic standards may be below national figures, some groups of pupils make good progress. In 2016, the most able pupils made strong progress, especially in mathematics. In the current school year, the middle-ability pupils are making increasingly better progress and are keeping up with the demands of the school curriculum in subjects such as mathematics and science.
• The proportion of Year 1 pupils who achieved the required standard in the phonics check has risen over the last three years and is now close to national figures. A greater percentage of disadvantaged pupils achieved the required standard than other pupils in the school in 2016 and this percentage was broadly in line with national figures.
• Disadvantaged pupils, especially the most able disadvantaged, are beginning to make better progress across the school in writing and mathematics as a result of increasingly effective use of the additional funding. However, the standards they achieve in English and mathematics are still below national figures at the end of key stage 2.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The early years leader understands the strengths and weaknesses of the early years provision. Some of the actions taken to improve children’s progress have been successful. However, assessment systems are not used effectively enough and this leads to a lack of ambition about what children can achieve, especially the lower-attaining pupils.
• Children generally enter Nursery and the Reception Year with skills well below those typically expected for three- and four-year-olds. Outcomes by the end of the Reception Year have shown some improvement over the last three years, especially for disadvantaged pupils. However, the proportion of children reaching the expected standards remains well below national averages. Leaders have set higher targets for this year, but these targets remain below recently seen national figures.
• Teachers do not use assessment systems well enough to plan activities to meet children’s needs. Therefore, at times, learning activities are not purposeful or challenging enough for some children, especially the lower-attaining children. The provision and learning activities are not yet enabling children to make the rapid progress they need to in order to be ready for the transition to Year 1.
• Rightly, there is a key focus on developing the language skills of children. Key words are modelled well. Phonics teaching is effective and helps the children make good progress.
• Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified before starting school or very soon after. As a result, their needs are well supported from early on to enable them to settle quickly into school.
• Children are confident, behave well and play together positively. They are developing the ability to self-manage their behaviour and emotions. Children settle quickly and feel secure at school because of the well-established routines.
• The early years team builds positive relationships with parents. Arrangements to support children when they start school are effective. Parents appreciate the ‘stay and play’ sessions which help the children get to know the school before they start. Teachers work hard to involve parents in all aspects of their children’s learning.
• Additional funding to support disadvantaged children is used effectively to support their needs. They are provided with the right support to help them achieve and make progress similar to other pupils.
• Safeguarding is effective. Policies and procedures, including for the use of mobile phones and first aid, are understood by all staff and consistently applied.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 103937 Sandwell 10025352 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 698 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mr R Bhogal Miss S Baker Telephone number 0121 558 1667 Website Email address www.capeprimary.com headteacher@cape.sandwell.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 6–7 February 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• Cape Primary is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• A very large majority of pupils are from minority ethnic groups.
• Over half the pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• There are three classes for each year group from Reception to Year 6, and a Nursery with 78 places.
• The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics for pupils by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes. Some of the observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors met with pupils, heard a selection of pupils read and observed pupils at breaktimes and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy and assistant headteachers, senior leaders with subject responsibilities, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• A range of pupils’ books from all year groups and a range of subjects were looked at.
• A number of documents were considered, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plans. Inspectors also considered information about pupils’ progress, behaviour, attendance and safety.
• Inspectors took account of 16 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View. There were no responses to the online pupil questionnaire.
• Inspectors reviewed 33 responses to an inspection questionnaire returned by staff.

Inspection team

Ann Pritchard, lead inspector Martin Pye Collette Higgins Deborah Allen Khalid Din

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector