Coppice Performing Arts School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Coppice Performing Arts School is a welcoming and thriving school.

The warm, friendly and respectful school culture greets you as soon as you arrive. Pupils are happy at this school. They get on very well with each other and respect those with different backgrounds and lifestyles.

Pupils and staff enjoy extremely positive relationships. Pupils say that staff care about them and help them to do their best. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

Leaders have the highest expectations for all their pupils. As a result, pupils work hard in lessons and enjoy their learning. They have very positive attitudes to learning, as they fully parti...cipate in lessons and are keen to succeed.

Pupils behave exceptionally well in lessons and around the school site. They are polite and courteous to visitors and are keen to talk about their learning. Pupils know that staff will not tolerate inappropriate behaviour.

If they are worried or experience any of the rare instances of bullying, they know they can speak to someone. Consequently, pupils say they feel safe in school.

A very large number of pupils get involved in the school's extensive range of sporting, arts and other cultural opportunities.

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

Senior leaders provide exceptional leadership. They have taken the right steps to move the school forward and have tackled the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection. They have now strengthened the curriculum and the sixth form.

Through their principled leadership, they have brought the staff together. This has resulted in a vibrant and forward-looking school community. Their vision and values for pupils' academic and personal development permeate throughout the school.

Leaders and governors have created an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum. This ensures all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve. The curriculum covers all the requirements of the national curriculum in depth in Years 7 and 8.

Pupils choose options from a wide variety of subjects for Year 9. Pupils continue to study a broad curriculum interwoven with enrichment opportunities. A growing number are now choosing modern foreign languages.

Leaders have planned and sequenced the curriculum across all key stages. Teachers ensure that all pupils, including those with SEND, experience the same challenging curriculum. They adapt learning effectively to make sure pupils with SEND have the support they need.

In lessons, pupils are attentive and eager to learn. Teachers provide recall activities to help pupils remember knowledge long term. Teachers explain new concepts very well and ask questions that promote valuable discussions between pupils.

They also provide other meaningful activities that engage pupils.Teachers' excellent subject knowledge enables them to address misconceptions. They also respond to pupils' questions effectively, for example in Year 10 history lessons where pupils were learning about the consequences of World War One on Germany.

Yet, in science there is still further work to do to bring the quality of learning in line with other subjects. Teachers provide high-quality resources to support all pupils. As a result, pupils are able to develop deep knowledge and understanding.

Teachers use assessment well. They know whether pupils have understood important concepts, and adapt their teaching accordingly where they have not. Pupils say that teachers' feedback helps them to improve their work.

While the school provides pupils with opportunities to read frequently, developments in the use of phonics to teach reading are at an early stage. Pupils read texts in many subjects, as well as reading for pleasure.The personal, social and health education programme is comprehensive, coherent and responsive to pupils' needs.

It is well organised and sequenced to create opportunities to build cultural capital. The 'Excellence Academy' offers many opportunities for pupils to extend their education. Pupils take the lead in writing articles for the school's e-magazine, and many participate in dance performances, for example.

This is helping to raise pupils' aspirations. Pupils are also building confidence and taking learning beyond the classroom. In addition, they benefit from learning about different careers and future opportunities from Year 7 onwards.

The academic curriculum subjects offered in the sixth form reflect students' preferences. Most students move on to university. The school celebrated its first Oxbridge success last year.

Many enrichment activities are provided, including volunteering, leadership or further study. Students have access to impartial careers advice.Governors share the leaders' vision.

They bring a wealth of expertise to their roles. Governors know their school very well and hold leaders to account for safeguarding and SEND.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Leaders understand the risks to their pupils. There is regular training for all staff, who know what to do if there is a concern or a disclosure.

Where pupils need help or external support, leaders respond appropriately. Leaders make referrals in a timely manner. They take care to provide the support that pupils and their families need.

Leaders conduct thorough checks when appointing new staff.

Pupils feel safe and know who to go to if have a concern. They know how to keep themselves safe online and learn about maintaining positive relationships.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The delivery of the planned curriculum in science is not always consistently as effective as other curriculum areas. As a result, pupils' assessment of prior knowledge is not as rigorous as it is in other subjects. Therefore, leaders should embed the high-quality teaching and learning practices seen in other subjects to ensure that all pupils can enjoy their learning and achieve success.

• Leaders have only recently implemented the teaching of phonics to support pupils in the early stages of reading. As a result, not all pupils at the early stages of reading are being supported as well as they could be to accelerate their progress. Leaders need to ensure that the teaching of phonics is embedded further so that these pupils can make more rapid progress in their reading and achieve fluency as soon as possible.