Lodge Primary School

Lodge Primary School Oak Lane, West Bromwich, West Midlands B70 8PN

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 Lodge is an improving school. The whole school staff team work together to ensure that pupils make good progress.  The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, has created a culture in which all staff and pupils are valued.  Senior and subject leaders have implemented a curriculum which motivates pupils to learn well. The curriculum is effective in developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.  Leaders have ensured that teaching has improved since the last inspection and is now good. Teachers and teaching assistants ask pupils questions which make them think hard.  Senior leaders work effectively with teachers to ensure that all year groups receive good-quality teaching.  Pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics is good in every year group. This includes the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Children in the early years receive good support

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This is a good school

from staff. They make good progress from low starting points.  Governors are effective and hold the school to account well. They ensure that pupil premium funding is spent wisely.  Pupils talk clearly about how their school ensures that they are kept safe. They understand the importance of adhering to British values and do so.  Pupils are polite and well mannered. Their conduct around school, and behaviour in lessons, is good. Attendance is improving.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ progress in reading is not as good as in writing or mathematics. Pupils are not secure in applying harder skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve reading outcomes, by: teachers checking that pupils thoroughly understand the texts they are reading and then answer questions which require them to infer, summarise and predict, accurately leaders ensuring that the teaching of reading is effective.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher, working effectively with other leaders and governors, is ambitious for pupils’ outcomes at Lodge. The school has improved well since the last inspection. All staff understand what the headteacher is striving to achieve and how their work with pupils contributes to better progress. For example, in order to support pupils who need to develop language skills quickly, staff insist that pupils answer questions in complete sentences.  All leaders and staff are motivated and committed to their work at Lodge. There is good capacity for further improvement as all teachers are developing leadership skills. Some teachers work with subject leaders to learn about how their work influences teachers’ performance. Then, as a consequence, why pupils make better progress.  The curriculum is a strength at Lodge. The new national curriculum was introduced two years ago. At this time, leaders spent time talking with pupils and staff about how they could develop their curriculum which

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

ensured that national requirements were met as well as motivating pupils to achieve well. During this inspection, pupils were observed engaging well in all activities and clearly enjoying their learning. Pupils express their views about the curriculum at termly conferences with school leaders. This work helps leaders evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum.  Pupils benefit from work which promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Opportunities are taken by staff to enable pupils to offer and consider opinions about current topics. For example, Year 3 pupils collaborated well in exploring issues relating to the Olympics and alleged drug use to enhance performance. Pupils respected all views presented by their classmates and debated these with maturity and sensitivity.  Senior leaders have developed systems which manage the performance of teachers effectively. As a result,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

teaching has improved well since the last inspection and is now consistently good in all year groups. All groups of staff are well supported, including teachers who are newly qualified. Robust mentoring of staff ensures that performance continues to improve.  Senior and subject leaders ensure that their monitoring of their areas of responsibility leads to actions to drive further improvement. Leaders have embedded methods for assessing pupils’ progress. All teaching staff understand these methods and use a common vocabulary when discussing pupils’ performance. The subject leader for mathematics is particularly effective. He has ensured that teachers provide pupils with a balance of consolidation and problem-solving work.  Leadership of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective. The leaders’ documents show that pupils’ barriers to learning are clearly identified, with specific actions stated to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

show how teaching will address them. Teachers and teaching assistants use this knowledge to plan and deliver lessons designed to help individual pupils overcome their weaknesses. This results in these pupils making good progress.  Throughout the school, staff do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Pupils talk about what British values mean for them. Such values include democracy and the rule of law. Their good understanding of these values prepares them well for life in modern Britain.  Leaders have ensured that their aim of improving teachers’ competence and confidence in delivering physical education (PE) lessons has been met. They have used their primary school sport funding to employ sports coaches. These coaches work with teachers to plan, deliver and evaluate lessons which has enabled the teachers at Lodge to develop their skills. As a result, the teaching of PE is now effective. Pupils’ surveys

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

show that they enjoy the challenge of improving their own performance skills, including in gymnastics and dance.  School leaders are well supported from visits by local authority advisers. A new adviser is now working with the school, with the previous adviser linked to Lodge for three years. Both advisers know the school well, describing the leadership of the headteacher as tenacious. They are able to articulate what the school does well and where improvements are required. Governors value the guidance they have received from the local authority, for example in managing the performance of the headteacher.  As a result of subject leaders’ effective monitoring and evaluation of pupils’ performance, pupils are making consistently good progress in their writing and mathematics work. Progress in reading is not as good because leaders do not ensure that teachers check that pupils answer harder questions accurately.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school Members of the governing body have a range of skills which they use to challenge and support the work of school leaders effectively. The chair, who is a retired headteacher of a local school, understands the nature of the community which Lodge serves. He uses this knowledge to check that pupils from different cultural backgrounds perform equally well. Governors have a good understanding of the how well teachers are performing, as they receive termly reports from the headteacher. These reports, coupled with information about progress of pupils in different year groups, stimulate discussion in meetings. Governors challenge leaders when it is evident that groups of pupils are making insufficient progress. Governors only reward good teaching with pay increases. Senior leaders and governors discuss reasons for priorities in school improvement plans. As a result, governors are aware that reading remains the weaker subject in relation to writing and mathematics.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

They also recognise that gaps between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally have not closed in recent years. They have used pupil premium funding to appoint staff to work with disadvantaged pupils. This has led to this group of pupils making similar rates of progress to their classmates this year.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Governors and school leaders ensure that all staff receive regular training. Governors check that staff follow agreed processes to identify and support pupils who may be at risk of harm. All relevant policies are up to date.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching has improved at Lodge and is now good in all year groups. Teachers use their accurate understanding of how well pupils are performing to set pupils tasks which make them think about their learning in greater depth. This is particularly strong in mathematics, with pupils’ books showing that they are able to reason their choices of mathematical strategies to solve problems well.  Teachers and teaching assistants have secure subject knowledge. They ask pupils questions which challenge their thinking and insist that they answer in full sentences. If pupils respond with inaccurate sentences, then staff will either model an appropriate sentence which the pupil listens to and then repeats, or challenge the pupil to think again before answering. Pupils whose first language is not English are supported well as a result.  A high proportion of pupils enter or leave Lodge at various times of the school year. For example, this year

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

one quarter of the Reception cohort has changed. The school manages this high mobility well. Teachers ensure that pupils’ needs are addressed as soon as they enter the school.  Teachers are accurate in assessing how well pupils progress in different subjects. They have developed this accuracy by attending sessions, facilitated by either a teaching school or the local authority, with colleagues from local schools. Here, they discuss examples of pupils’ work and agree the standard they are working at.  Teachers in all year groups apply the school’s marking and feedback policy consistently. Pupils understand what they need to do to improve their work, particularly in writing and mathematics. As a result, workbooks show that pupils have made good progress through this academic year.  Mathematics is well taught. Teachers plan lessons to ensure that pupils consolidate calculation skills and have regular opportunities to practise these skills in problem-solving situations. Pupils make good progress

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

as they are continually challenged to show that they understand why and how they tackle problems the way they choose to.  Pupils’ handwriting is well developed through the school. Pupils hone their handwriting skills which leads to their writing being well presented. Grammar, punctuation and spelling skills are taught well. Pupils use these skills to write accurately for different purposes and audiences. For example, Year 3 pupils wrote effective recounts about their visit to Birmingham Museum.  Teaching assistants are deployed around the school effectively. They support pupils who need to make more rapid progress in order to reach end-of-year expectations well, both in classrooms and in sessions which involve small groups of pupils. The teaching of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is also effective. Teaching assistants use their skills to phrase questions for pupils which help them address

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

their misconceptions well.  Teachers set English and mathematics homework every week. The purpose is to help pupils consolidate their learning of factual knowledge, such as times tables and spellings. It has helped pupils attain higher results, for example, in their arithmetic assessments. Homework is also presented on a learning platform, which pupils access via the school’s website. Pupils enjoy learning through this medium. A lunchtime homework club enables pupils who have not completed the work, or who are unable to access the learning platform, to do so. Pupils value this club.  When reading aloud, pupils occasionally gloss over words which they find difficult. They do not consistently check that they know what the words mean and that the sentences they are reading make sense. This means that they are less likely to gain a thorough understanding of the texts they are reading.  Teachers use their assessments of how well pupils are reading to give them books which are well matched

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

to their ability. Teachers then set questions which expect pupils to find evidence in the text as well as show a deeper understanding of what they are reading. Pupils often answer these questions at a superficial level, not explaining their understanding clearly. For example, pupils in Year 4 were challenged with probing questions about this summer’s European football tournament. Pupils answered factual questions well but did not write convincing answers to questions which required them to infer meaning. This means that they are not developing higher order skills as effectively as they could.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils enjoy attending school and are proud of their school.  Pupils have a good awareness of British values and practise these during the school day. They understand democracy and tolerance. During the inspection, pupils talked about the topics they learn about and how time is taken by staff to explore reasons for human behaviour. For example, in how historical conflicts occurred.  Pupils feel safe and are safe. The school site is secure. Staff are always on the look out to see if any pupil is upset during the day and then intervene if appropriate. Leaders work well with outside agencies to find ways to best support any pupils who are vulnerable and then implement agreed strategies. Nurture sessions are effective in enabling pupils to develop their self-esteem. Pupils’ emotional well-being is well supported.  The school recognises the importance of providing pupils with a clear awareness of the dangers of using the

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Personal development and welfare

internet. They create opportunities to share information with pupils and their parents. Pupils understand the importance of this work and, as a result, are clear about how they can avoid and report any suspect behaviour.  School records, coupled with discussion with pupils and parents, show that bullying is rare. Staff are vigilant in their day-to-day work and ensure that when bullying does occur they deal with it quickly and effectively. They also check to make sure that any suggestion of discrimination is spotted and dealt with immediately.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils understand why staff have high expectations of behaviour as their learning and play will suffer if they do not behave as well as they should. As a result, pupils behave well around school and in lessons, showing positive attitudes to their learning.  All groups interact and play together well. Pupils are supervised well at all times of the school day. Staff have created a safe and happy lunchtime period for the pupils. Pupils value their relationships with the lunchtime staff as they facilitate games which the pupils want to play, such as basketball. As a result, pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is developed effectively.  Pupils’ attendance has improved this year and is now in line with the national average. Staff engage with parents well. This work has led to individual pupils attending school more regularly which has contributed to the overall rise. Punctuality has also improved this year when compared with the same period last year. The

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Behaviour

attendance of different groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, is similar to national rates.  Trusting relationships between staff and pupils are evident around school. For example, pupils attending the breakfast club know that they will receive a warm welcome at the start of the day. Such relationships contribute to the school’s caring ethos.  The school’s work in promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is effective. Discussions, involving inspectors and different groups of pupils, showed that pupils valued learning about faiths. They are keen to understand the reasons why people from different cultures value certain traditions. No racist incidents or exclusions have been reported to governors this academic year.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils make good progress in all subjects. Progress in writing and mathematics is better than in reading. Although standards at the end of Year 6 improved last year, pupils’ reading and writing attainment was low. This was because most pupils entering the school through key stage 2 had little or no English. Despite these pupils making good progress, they did not have time to reach the standards expected by the end of Year 6. This meant they left the school less well prepared for secondary education.  Pupils from ‘Any other White background’ and Bangladeshi pupils, make similar rates of progress to other groups. Last year, boys did not attain as well as girls. This year, boys are making better progress, benefiting from changes made to the curriculum. For example, boys read more often in the early years owing to books presented which interest them. While boys’ attainment remains lower than girls in most year groups, gaps

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Outcomes for pupils are good

are narrowing.  The most able pupils make similar rates of progress to other ability groups. They show more secure understanding of harder skills in writing and mathematics than in reading, owing to more effective teaching in these subjects. Pupils who need to make faster rates of progress in order to attain expected standards by the end of the year are now doing so. This is partly owing to effective interventions by teaching assistants. For example, a Year 5 group of pupils consolidated their understanding of times tables by rehearsing number sequences via reciting rhymes.  Disadvantaged pupils have varied reading, writing and mathematical ability. They make good progress from their different starting points. Senior and subject leaders have ensured that the performance of this group of pupils is discussed in meetings with teachers. Governors have rightly kept a close check on the progress of these pupils as the school strives to close the gap with other pupils nationally.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. The school leader for the provision of this group has ensured that documents capture the needs of individual pupils. They also state what the school needs to do to support the pupils in order for them to make good progress. These documents are shared with teachers and teaching assistants who use the information to help them deliver effective lessons.  Pupils’ attainment in mathematics is improving. It is clear from pupils’ workbooks that teachers question pupils effectively and then set tasks which challenge them at an appropriate level. Pupils have regular opportunities to discuss their reasoning, showing clear rationale for arguing why, for example, a sequence of numbers cannot contain certain numbers.  Progress in writing is good across the school, with all groups of pupils making similar progress. Pupils have

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Outcomes for pupils are good

developed confidence as writers as they are expected to think about how they can make improvements themselves. Pupils use specific grammar and punctuation skills appropriately in their writing.  In the early years and in key stage 1, pupils make good progress in their understanding of phonics (letters and the sounds they make). Last year, a greater proportion of pupils, when compared with national levels, achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. This year, more pupils are expected to attain the standard.  Reading has been the weaker subject over time, when compared with writing and mathematics. Despite pupils making better progress in reading this year, school leaders know that further improvement is required. Pupils do not attain the standards they are capable of in reading as they have not secured their understanding of harder skills, such as inference and prediction.

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Early years provision is good

 The early years’ leader is enthusiastic. She has ensured that her teaching team have received relevant training to support them in their work. For example, all staff use their phonics and writing training to help them deliver sessions which enable pupils to make good progress.  Children arrive in the early years with skills lower than expected in most areas of learning. They make good progress from their own starting points. Although attainment at the end of Reception is rising, it remains below the national average. This is because children entering the early years part way through the year do not have time to reach the levels expected.  Staff ensure that they gain a good understanding of children’s abilities before they enter the early years. Staff listen to the views of parents. They use this knowledge, as well as guidance from external agencies whose roles are to support children with early language needs, to plan activities in the indoor and outdoor

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Early years provision is good

environments. Children engage well with these activities as they are motivated by the topics they explore. Children are safe learning and playing both indoors and outdoors.  As children move from the early years into Year 1, they maintain their rates of progress. This is because staff in the different year groups share information about the children’s learning. This is used to support pupils as they begin the new key stage. Their good progress in the early stages of Year 1 is best seen in their phonics development.  All adults are skilled in asking questions of the children which make them think about their own understanding. As a result, children, including those who are disadvantaged, develop a secure understanding of different concepts and are able to apply their knowledge to different situations. For example, children in the Nursery were encouraged to select tools for digging and then explored what soil contained, guided by

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School details

Unique reference number 103969 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 10002499

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 430 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nigel Edge Headteacher Lisa Gillam Telephone number 0121 553 2389 Website www.lodgeprimaryschool.co.uk Email address mailbox@lodge.sandwell.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23 October 2013

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Information about this school

 Lodge is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Children in the early years are taught in two part-time Nursery classes and two full-time Reception classes.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is rising and is well above average.  Approximately 30% of the pupils are Bangladeshi and 20% are from ‘Any other White background’.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is rising and is well above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is rising and is above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is similar to the national average.  A breakfast club runs every day and is managed by the governing body.

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Information about this school

 An above-average proportion of pupils join or leave the school at times other than the usual starting or leaving points. Most new arrivals have little or no English.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  The school meets requirements on the publication of information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes and visited small group intervention sessions. They visited 28 lessons, six of which were observed jointly with either the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the chair of the governing body and other governors, staff and local authority advisers. A survey of staff views was taken into account.  Inspectors talked to pupils about their reading and listened to them read.  Inspectors examined work in pupils’ books.  The school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised.  Inspectors observed the work of the school and looked at a range of documentation written to support school improvement, including minutes from meetings of the governing body.  Inspectors took account of the 11 replies to Ofsted’s online Parent View questionnaire. Inspectors considered a parental survey conducted by the school and also spoke with parents.

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Inspection team

Jeremy Bird, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Pamela Matty Ofsted Inspector Michael Appleby Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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