Rookery School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary
PUPILS
463
AGES
3 - 11
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Academy converter
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0121 303 1888

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(21/06/2023)
Full Report - All Reports
55%
NATIONAL AVG. 60%
% pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics



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Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 8% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 11% of schools in England) Average (About 59% of schools in England) Above Average (About 11% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England)
Rookery Road
Handsworth
Birmingham
B21 9PY
01214644221

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have ensured that within the diverse pupil population there is an ethos of tolerance and respect for others. All parents and carers spoken to or who responded to questionnaires were overwhelmingly positive about the school, its leaders, teachers and support staff. Almost all of the staff who responded to the survey said they were proud to be a member of the school staff. Following your appointments as partner headteachers in January 2016, your joint leadership immediately had an impact on improving outcomes in the aspects you identified as key priorities. However, you and your leaders have been rightly concerned about outcomes for most-able pupils in key stage 2 especially in reading and writing. You and your team recognise that outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, who are not taught within the resource base, are inconsistent and that better checks need to be made on the progress of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Pupils enjoy a rich and diverse curriculum, which includes specialist teaching in art, music and physical education (PE) and a wide range of trips, which contribute effectively to developing pupils’ writing. Governors are very well informed and highly committed. They provide both support and rigorous challenge to the school’s leaders in collaboration with the school’s external support. At the time of the school’s previous inspection, it was recommended that the school should raise the amount of outstanding teaching and raise the achievement of pupils further. You have maintained the good quality of teaching and learning and have ensured that outcomes, especially in mathematics and for disadvantaged pupils, have improved. Safeguarding is effective. A dedicated team of senior leaders ensure that a strong culture of safeguarding exists throughout the school. Leaders and governors are well trained for their roles and ensure that they keep up to date with the latest guidance. Records are kept securely and in a timely way. Members of staff receive regular training to ensure that they know how to identify any potential safeguarding issues. They are vigilant and know what to do if they have concerns. According to the pupils spoken to, behaviour is a strength of the school and bullying is rare. If it happens they said it is dealt with straight away by leaders. Pupils said that they feel very safe in school and are well prepared to keep themselves safe out of school. They knew that they should speak to a responsible adult at home if they saw anything inappropriate on the computer. At school, they know they should report any concerns to the school’s lead teacher for information technology. They said that if they got lost, when out shopping with their family, for example, they would only speak to someone in authority with an identity badge. Inspection findings Disadvantaged pupils were a key priority for the school when you were first appointed. This led to an external review of the school’s pupil premium spending, conducted by the school’s improvement partner. As a result of well-targeted expenditure, disadvantaged pupils are now doing well in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Governors hold leaders to account to ensure that improvements are maintained. They challenge if any area of underperformance is identified. They engage well with external support as a means of monitoring and evaluating the performance of the school. Parents spoken to were full of praise for the leadership of the school, the quality of teaching and the support their children receive. They all said that the range of additional activities, pupil behaviour and relationships were significant strengths of the school. All of their text comments were positive. The very large majority of staff who responded to the survey said that the school had improved since the last inspection. Pupils have continued to take greater responsibility for their learning. Older pupils support younger ones through buddy schemes and reading to them. Peer mentors in the playground ensure that pupils have someone to talk to if they are worried or concerned about anything. There have been no fixed-term exclusions this academic year. Attendance is rising and persistent absence falling. Leaders have placed a high emphasis on improving the proportion of pupils working in greater depth in writing by the end of key stage 2 following the most recent assessments in 2017. Leaders recognise that although pupils made above expected progress, none were working in greater depth by the end of Year 6. The rich curriculum ensures that pupils are gaining opportunities to write across a range of subjects. For example, pupils in key stage 1 have conducted a science project based on polar explorers. Pupils in key stage 2, working on the Tudors, were able to compose ‘cinquain’ poems. They could explain the meaning of the term and say how they are constructed. The experiences they gain from trips provide a purpose to their writing. They have explored the local area to learn about the engineer Matthew Boulton and visited Birmingham art gallery. A higher proportion of pupils currently in key stage 2 are now working at greater depth in writing and making strong progress. There was a dip in progress in reading at the end of key stage 2 in 2017 where most-able pupils did not do as well as teacher assessments had indicated. Leaders have made reading, especially for most-able pupils, a key priority in the school. Pupils are now being prepared more for the rigours of the reading test in Year 6. Teachers are focused on developing pupils’ skills in reading especially for pupils who speak English as an additional language. Pupils are also being exposed to a wider range of authors. The library and book club both have high take-up. As a result, a higher proportion of older pupils currently in the school are now working at a higher standard compared to previous years. Outcomes in reading and writing have improved strongly by the end of Reception, and, in key stage 1, including in phonics. Phonics is taught consistently well in the school. Pupils in the school’s resource base for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders and other pupils who have an education, health and care plan or statement of special educational needs have made strong progress. This is a consequence of carefully well-planned provision and support. Outcomes for other pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities who have been identified for support has varied in the last two years. They were very high in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 in 2016. However, outcomes were more mixed for these pupils in these assessments and tests at the end of Year 6 in 2017. The extent to which pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, as well as those who speak English as an additional language, are challenged to do as well as they can in their writing varies. In these pupils’ books, teachers do not adhere to the school’s marking and feedback policy as closely in other subjects as they do in English. In the most recent tests and assessments at the end of key stage 2, pupils who speak English as an additional language did not make as much progress as other pupils nationally. Their outcomes are not tracked as rigorously as they are for other groups of pupils. Pupils in key stage 2 have not had the opportunity to study a modern foreign language in lessons since the school’s specialist language teachers left almost two years ago. However, the after-school Panjabi club is popular with those pupils who attend.

Rookery School Parent Reviews



unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>75, "agree"=>17, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>67, "agree"=>33, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>58, "agree"=>33, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>67, "agree"=>25, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>8} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>58, "agree"=>33, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>58, "agree"=>33, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>42, "agree"=>42, "disagree"=>17, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>50, "agree"=>25, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>25} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>58, "agree"=>25, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>8, "dont_know"=>8} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>58, "agree"=>25, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>17, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>58, "agree"=>25, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>8, "dont_know"=>8} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018
Yes No {"yes"=>92, "no"=>8} UNLOCK Figures based on 12 responses up to 02-02-2018

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

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