The Cooper School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 February 2025

Pupils celebrate each other's differences and opinions. They know that the school has high aspirations for all pupils, whatever their background. Aligned with the school values, pupils tend to 'dream big', 'work hard' and 'be kind'. They benefit from opportunities to learn about different religions, beliefs and cultures. This prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Clubs provide pupils with opportunities to discover new interests and connect with others, such as at the feminist book club, chess or sports activities. The school has rightly raised expectations of pupils' achievement, attitudes to learning and attendance. The school curriculum has been vastly improved. Pupils who attend school often, therefore, now achieve well. However, some groups of pupils are too frequently absent from school, meaning they miss out on their important education. Pupils behave well in lessons. They focus on their learning. In the sixth form, students have positive attitudes to hard work. They demonstrate curiosity as they explore new ideas with their teachers. However, there continues to be a minority of pupils in key stage 3 and 4 who do not attend their timetabled lessons when they are in school. These pupils miss too much learning and do not achieve well.

What the school should improve

• The activity choices that teachers make do not consistently support pupils to learn and practise using new knowledge as well as they could. When this happens, pupils do not learn new knowledge as securely as they should. The school should ensure that activity choices in lessons consistently support pupils to learn new knowledge so that they can achieve more highly.
• The rates of absence remain persistently high for some pupils, particularly those most vulnerable. As a result, they are missing out on vital learning. The school and trust should maintain a sharp focus on reducing rates of absence. They must strengthen the impact of their actions and persist with effective strategies that secure sustained improvement in pupils' attendance.
• A minority of pupils, many of whom are disadvantaged or are pupils with SEND, do not attend their timetabled lessons when they are in school. Rates of suspension among these pupils are also too high. This means that these pupils are not learning the intended curriculum with their peers. The school and trust must continue to ensure that effective strategies are consistently applied and secure improved behaviour and attitudes to learning for these vulnerable pupils.
• The school's work to engage with its stakeholders, including parents, pupils and staff, is not always successful. This has led to staff and parents sometimes not understanding new expectations and systems. The school must continue to strengthen its methods of communicating with the whole-school community so that this is fully effective and partnerships are strengthened.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)