Cooper and Jordan Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Cooper and Jordan Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

There is a real sense of belonging at Cooper and Jordan School.

The school's values of friendship, forgiveness, compassion, endurance, fellowship and respect are exemplified by staff and pupils alike. This enables pupils to feel happy and safe. Pupils describe the school as a special place where 'everyone knows and cares about you'.

Pupils enjoy learning and apply themselves well. Because of this, they achieve well. They talk enthusiastically about their lessons and the new skills they are developing.

For example, in art, pupils paid careful att...ention to shading and toning to create a 3D effect.

The school has high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Pupils' good attendance and punctuality are promoted and supported by the school.

In lessons and in the playground, pupils are cooperative, respectful and keen to do their best. These high expectations are understood by pupils of all ages. Even the youngest children manage themselves well.

They take care of the resources they use and play with.

Wider responsibilities and opportunities help pupils to develop their talents and leadership skills. These include a junior leadership team, worship council, eco-council and sports leaders.

Pupils' learning is also extended through a wide variety of trips and visits, some of which are residential. They also enjoy opportunities to learn musical instruments, including violins and trumpets. Pupils value these experiences.

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

The school has a broad curriculum that is ambitious and inclusive for all pupils. It has identified the important skills and knowledge in each subject that pupils are expected to learn. This helps to ensure that small steps in learning are clearly identified and that learning builds effectively from the early years to the end of Year 6.

The school ensures that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are appropriately supported. Pupils' needs are identified effectively. Teachers are knowledgeable about how to adapt learning in a range of ways to meet these needs.

As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well.

Teachers design activities to help pupils know more and remember more. They use their subject knowledge well to engage pupils.

Staff usually check pupils' learning systematically to ensure that pupils progress well. However, there are occasions when this is not done as effectively as it could be. This can lead to pupils being less secure in their learning.

Consequently, while most pupils achieve high outcomes by the end of each key stage, this is not always the case, especially for more disadvantaged pupils.

The school has made reading a priority, including reading for pleasure. Pupils enjoy the range of books on offer in their school and class libraries.

They relish regular opportunities to visit the community library and say this is 'one of the reasons they love to come to school'. This love of reading starts in the early years where children enjoy regular small-group story times, linked to a range of activities and themes. Children eagerly shared their favourite storybooks.

There is a common approach to teaching phonics. Pupils apply their knowledge of sounds well when reading. The school ensures that any pupil who is not keeping up receives daily support.

As a result, most pupils learn to read well. However, not all staff have the same level of expertise or confidence when helping pupils learn to read. This means that some pupils who fall behind do not catch up with their peers as quickly as they could.

The school is refining its reading strategy to ensure that all staff consistently support pupils to become confident and fluent readers. Parents and carers are encouraged to support their children with reading at home.

The school has made sure that all pupils benefit from a rich set of experiences.

These deepen their academic learning and prepare them for transition. The positive culture around respect and behaviour means that staff rarely have to use more serious behaviour consequences. Through the curriculum and many other wider opportunities, pupils learn about themselves and how to stay safe.

They are encouraged to serve their community and to take care of the world's natural resources.

Local governors offer appropriate challenge to leaders. The school's analysis of pupils' behaviour and progress has further improved since the arrival of the new headteacher.

However, on occasion, the school's analysis of the information it collects about behaviour and progress lacks precision, which has an impact on how it responds to emerging trends.

Staff are confident that leaders are working to promote their well-being and reduce workload. They work with determination to ensure that the school continues to improve.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Although much of the curriculum is taught to a high standard, there are some inconsistencies in teachers' use of assessment in some subjects. In addition, a few staff are less confident teaching reading to those pupils who have fallen behind.

As a result, some pupils do not learn as well as others. The school should ensure that the good practice is shared and built on so that the quality of education is of the same consistently high standard across the school. ? The school's strategy for securing the best possible outcomes for disadvantaged pupils is not as well thought out and effective as it should be.

As a result, some disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as their peers. The school should ensure that there is a cohesive, comprehensive strategy that all staff understand so all disadvantaged pupils achieve well. ? Sometimes, the school does not analyse information sufficiently well to evaluate the effectiveness of its actions and form future plans.

This means that leaders do not identify some of the emerging issues about the school's performance and put in place appropriate actions. The school should take a more systematic and strategic approach to its use of information to help spot and resolve any potential weaknesses in the school's provision.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2015.

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