Coleshill Heath School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils get along well. They are proud to follow the 'Coleshill Heath Code'. This encourages kindness, confidence, honesty and courage.

Pupils show respect for others. They understand that everyone is different, and everyone matters. Pupils follow the school rules of 'ready, respectful and safe'.

They walk sensibly around the building and settle to their work quickly. If misbehaviour does happen, staff deal with it swiftly and carefully. This means it does not interfere with others' learning.

Staff have high expectations of pupils from when they first start school. Leaders have planned a curriculum that provides pupils with the knowledge they need to achieve w...ell. Staff broaden pupils' experiences through a range of trips and visitors.

For example, pupils have recently enjoyed remote visits from a marine biologist and construction engineer as part of careers week.

Pupils feel safe and happy at school. Parents agree.

Pupils do not worry about bullying. This is because bullying rarely happens. Adults manage it effectively when it does.

Leaders plan activities to improve pupils' physical and mental health. For example, all pupils take part in the daily mile. They benefit from sessions to calm their emotions and build confidence and self-esteem.

This helps pupils grow into confident and resilient individuals.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders know pupils and the community well. They use this information to plan a curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils.

Leaders make careful choices about what pupils will learn and what experiences they will have. Curriculum plans set this knowledge out in small steps. These steps build in a logical sequence from Nursery through to Year 6.

Starting in the early years, staff give priority to developing pupils' speaking and listening skills. This equips pupils with the vocabulary they need to express themselves clearly. As a result, children in Nursery and Reception chat confidently to one another.

Pupils in Year 4 debate important topics, such as 'Is it right to take treasures from another country?'

The teaching of early reading is strong. Pupils' enjoyment of reading begins in Nursery and continues into key stage 2. Staff are well trained.

They make regular checks on the sounds that pupils know and group pupils accordingly. The books pupils read match the sounds they are learning. Pupils in the early years and key stage 1 are receiving extra phonics lessons.

This is to make up for missed teaching because of the pandemic. Pupils are making good progress. The weakest readers are catching up.

Teachers plan activities to help pupils remember important facts and concepts. Each day, pupils practise and apply knowledge they have learned before. Over time, pupils revisit important themes, such as place value in mathematics and the concept of invasion in history.

This helps pupils to develop a secure understanding. Pupils can link what they know in one subject to another. For example, Year 5 pupils can relate their knowledge of Tudor law enforcement to what they are learning about the rule of law.

Teachers set out the knowledge they want pupils to learn in topic overviews. They use these to check what pupils know and remember. As a result, they know how pupils are doing.

Teachers use this information to adapt future lessons and provide pupils with support. Occasionally, topic overviews do not identify all the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn. Sometimes, end points are not broken down into small enough steps, for example in some areas of learning in the early years.

As a result, pupils can miss learning something important without teachers knowing.

Staff explain new concepts clearly to pupils. They make effective use of resources to support pupils' understanding.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff quickly identify pupils with additional needs. Pupils who need extra help receive it.

Pupils who find it difficult to manage their feelings and behaviour receive high-quality support. This is making a difference. Teachers set individual targets for pupils with SEND.

Sometimes these targets are too broad.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities, trips and visitors. Although the pandemic has hampered this work, leaders have tried to find a way to keep things going.

Pupils enjoy taking responsibility, such as being members of the school parliament. They show compassion for others. For example, during lockdown, pupils wrote to elderly people who were shielding.

Leaders and governors know what could be even better. They prioritise developing staff's knowledge and skills. Leaders take the right actions to improve provision for pupils.

Even so, leaders and governors are sometimes not clear about which actions are making the most difference.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders understand the challenges in the local community.

They have planned a curriculum that reflects these challenges and teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils learn about substance misuse and knife crime. Leaders ensure that important themes are revisited.

As a result, pupils' knowledge of topics such as healthy relationships builds year on year.

Staff complete regular training. This means they have an up-to-date understanding of safeguarding matters.

Staff are quick to recognise the signs of potential abuse. Leaders act on concerns that arise and work closely with external agencies to keep vulnerable pupils safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum plans set out what leaders want pupils to know by the end of each topic.

However, sometimes this knowledge is not broken down into small enough steps, for example in some areas of learning in the early years and for some pupils with SEND. Sometimes teachers do not include all the essential knowledge that leaders intend pupils to learn when they create overviews of topics. As a result, pupils can miss learning something important without teachers and leaders knowing.

Leaders should assure themselves that pupils are learning all the essential knowledge set out in curriculum plans. ? Leaders and governors are committed to continually improving the school. They take appropriate action to improve provision for pupils, for example targeting after-school activities for specific groups and individuals.

However, leaders and governors do not check closely enough to see if their actions are making the intended difference. This means that leaders and governors are not always clear about what is working well, what still needs to improve and why. Leaders and governors should ensure that they check the difference their actions are making more closely.