Ofsted Report 2022

• Ofsted Report 2022

The inspection was a section 8 inspection, because we were previously graded as a ‘good’ school. This means that Ofsted came in to check that we are still providing a good education for the children. This involved a general look at the school as well as focusing more deeply on key subject areas. In this inspection, Ofsted decided to take a closer look at Early Reading, Maths, History and Art, along with a lighter touch look at Geography and Computing. The inspectors spoke to a number of children, staff and governors during the inspection.

The inspection report for this type of inspection is limited in detail, as the inspection team have a very tight word count available to them for each section. What is very useful alongside the report is the more in-depth verbal feedback given to the school at the end of the inspection. Senior leaders of the school, school governors and a local authority representative attended this feedback session.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and the inspection team recognised the great progress made since the last school inspection. They made particular reference to the strong design of our curriculum and how effective it is being delivered as a result of good subject leadership. They said that the children make good progress because they clearly enjoy their learning and that there is consistency across the school.

During the inspection, the team talked to lots of children who all spoke incredibly positively about Coopers Lane School and about how happy they are at school. They said that they feel listened to and they are very proud of their school. The top three things that the children said in response to why they love Coopers Lane were ‘lovely staff, friendships and learning’, which is really lovely. The inspection team said that the children were a credit to us and I couldn’t agree more!

The inspection team also talked to lots of staff members and sent out a survey to staff. Again, this was overwhelmingly positive, with 100% saying that they enjoy working at Coopers Lane and that they are proud to work here.

I am also pleased that the inspection team recognised the importance put on teaching the children about values, which they noted are lived and breathed by everyone at Coopers Lane. They complimented us on the honesty and transparency of the leadership team and how, despite the pandemic, we have maintained a community feel which is special and unique to our school.     

The voice of parents and carers is an important part of the inspection and I would like to thank everyone who took part in the survey. You were effusive in your praise of school, with 100% saying your children are happy here. The lead inspector commented that she had rarely seen so many positive written comments made by parents and carers in a survey, which is wonderful and really highlights how special our school community is.

There are, of course, always areas to improve on and we will be using the feedback from our inspection to help guide our priorities for next year and beyond.

Coopers Lane is an excellent school and I am pleased that Ofsted recognise this too. I am incredibly proud to be the head teacher at Coopers Lane and I look forward to continuing this exciting journey with you all.

Paul Hooper 

Head Teacher