Miles Coverdale Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. Leaders at all levels are highly ambitious for the school and all its pupils.

They work closely together to provide an educational experience that results in pupils being exceptionally well prepared for moving on to secondary school. High expectations and an intolerance of mediocrity drive staff to do their very best to ensure that all pupils make outstanding progress from starting points that are generally low. Consequently, standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2 have been significantly above average for the last three years.

Members of the governing body support the school well by, for example, ...looking closely at information about pupils' performance to ensure that pupils from different groups achieve equally well. Progress in all subjects is checked carefully every term. However, it is only in English and mathematics that pupils' progress is followed year on year to build up a cumulative picture.

Subject leaders are keen to develop systems which would allow them to do this for other subjects as well. Senior leaders have successfully improved the quality of teaching year on year so that it is now outstanding because they provide highly effective training to help staff develop their skills. This has resulted in a corresponding rise in pupils' achievement which is now also outstanding.

Pupils' attitudes to learning are exemplary. This is a school where everybody talks about learning and discussions among pupils, and between pupils and teachers, are highly productive in ensuring rapid progress is made. The school has worked effectively to embed the understanding that regular attendance is vital in achieving well.

As a result, attendance has surpassed the level recommended at the previous inspection The school has an outstanding programme for promoting pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As a result, pupils are highly respectful towards each other and members of the wider community. The provision for pupils in the specialist unit is very well matched to their needs and enables them to make outstanding progress both in the unit and when integrated into mainstream classes

Information about this school

This is an average-sized primary school.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is less than half the national average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is almost three times the national average. The school has a specialist unit for pupils with speech and language needs that offers 20 places to pupils aged 3-7.

The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for looked after children, those eligible for free school meals and the children of service families, is much higher than the national average. There are no children in the school who are from service families or who are looked after by the local authority. Most pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, with 13 different groups represented in varying proportions.

Over two thirds of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is considerably higher than the national average. A few of these pupils are at the early stages of learning English. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.