Ipsley CofE Middle School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ipsley C of E Middle School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

The principal of this school is Angela Saul. This school is part of Central Region Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Guy Shears, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Orla MacSherry.

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff at Ipsley C of E Middle School quickly forge warm working relationships with pupils and provide a high quality of pastoral care. Pupils know that there is always an adult to turn to, and so they feel safe.<...br/>
They are happy at school and their attendance is good.

There are high expectations for what all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve. Across their different subjects, they meet these expectations and learn well.

Pupils enjoy the wide-ranging, ambitious curriculum. Educational visits and guest speakers add significantly to pupils' experience of learning.

The school expects pupils to meet a high standard of behaviour.

Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times. They are well mannered and treat each other with respect. The school is a calm and purposeful place.

Pupils learn important skills and develop key attributes. For example, they learn to be more confident, more independent and to understand how others see things. They are proud of raising money for Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Pupils have the opportunity to take positions of responsibility and leadership. They enjoy a wide range of after-school clubs, including crochet and Japanese. Pupils are very well prepared for high school.

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

Pupils study a broad and ambitious curriculum. In each subject, leaders have planned the curriculum carefully, breaking learning down into manageable steps. These steps help pupils to build new knowledge based on what they already know.

The school identifies key vocabulary for pupils to learn, so that in art, for example, pupils know and understand the terms 'monochromatic' and 'complementary'. Staff help pupils to recall their learning, for example by reviewing it at the end of a unit of work.

Teachers ensure that they put the curriculum into practice as intended on a day-to-day basis.

Learning is linked together well, and pupils use the key skills of oracy, literacy and numeracy in all their subjects. Staff use effective questioning in class to help identify and address any misconceptions. Pupils learn well across the school.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND promptly. Staff draw on guidance to ensure that they meet individual pupils' needs effectively. As a result, pupils with SEND make strong progress through the full curriculum.

The school supports weaker readers well, providing teaching in phonics when necessary. This helps pupils to catch up and become accurate and fluent readers.

The school's behaviour policy is widely understood and effective.

Any serious incidents are addressed quickly and effectively. Staff help pupils who display challenging behaviour to respond in a more appropriate way. Pupils have positive attitudes to their studies.

They learn how to discuss and debate differing points of view. Pupils enjoy reading, and they value the school library. In class, most concentrate well.

However, a few pupils need too many reminders to give the teacher their full attention and present their work neatly.

Pupils follow a well-designed programme of social and personal education. They learn about healthy relationships and how to keep themselves safe, including online.

The school's values also inform the texts that pupils read in English and their studies in, for instance, religious education. The school provides age-appropriate guidance on pupils' next steps and careers.

Leaders have continued to review and enhance the school's provision since the last inspection.

They understand how the various aspects of their work join up. The school looks for the best practice wherever it can be found. It uses the additional funding it receives for disadvantaged pupils well.

As a result, outcomes for these pupils have improved. The school ensures that all pupils are challenged to achieve their best.

The trust is effective, for example, in helping to plan the curriculum and support subject leaders in the school.

Staff, including teachers new to the profession, believe that leaders are considerate of their workload and ready to listen to their views.

The school works well with parents and carers, who appreciate in particular how well staff help pupils to settle in to Year 5.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is inconsistency about how fully the school's expectations are embedded in some classrooms. As a result, some pupils are not fully focused on all aspects of their work, and they do not learn as effectively as they should. The school should ensure the approaches used to engage those pupils to improve their attitudes to learning help them to understand and follow the school's expectations consistently so that they can make the very best of their learning opportunities.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in September 2014.