Dunstall Hill Primary School

Dunstall Hill Primary School Dunstall Avenue, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV6 0NH

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The trust, governors and leaders have created a very positive school environment where, because of high expectations and clear accountability, all pupils are able to thrive.  Keeping pupils safe is the school’s number one priority. There are effective systems in place to support pupils and their families. Pupils know that they can trust adults to keep them safe.  Most individuals and groups of pupils make increasingly strong progress from their starting points and outcomes are improving. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).  In 2018 at the end of key stage 2, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics was significantly above the national average. The proportion of pupils achieving the standards expected for their age were above those seen nationally.  Rigorous assessment and monitoring systems ensure that pupils at risk of falling behind their peers access effective and timely support.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Lessons are generally well planned and teachers have increasingly high expectations of what pupils can achieve. However, approaches to teaching are not consistent across all classes and, sometimes, work is not well matched to pupils’ needs. This can slow the progress that pupils make.  Almost without exception, pupils are polite and respectful to adults and each other. Pupils are proud of their school and show excellent attitudes to learning.  The curriculum has, rightly, focused on developing pupils’ English and mathematics skills. Other areas of the curriculum are not as well developed.  Pupils’ books are generally well presented but handwriting is inconsistent and not well modelled by adults.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language and disadvantaged pupils achieve as well as other pupils nationally by the end of key stage 2.  Pupils benefit from a wide range of trips and extra-curricular opportunities; participation in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

sporting activities is particularly high.  Children in the early years enjoy a safe and welcoming environment but they do not make as much progress as they could. This is because sometimes activities do not meet their needs and adults do not act quickly enough to remedy this.  There are too few opportunities for children in the early years to practise their basic literacy skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, by: – further developing the curriculum to ensure that it is broad and balanced and meets the needs of the school community.  Further improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – teaching is of a consistently high standard so that all pupils are challenged effectively and tasks are well matched to their needs, enabling more pupils to make strong progress from their different starting points – pupils apply their handwriting skills consistently across the school and that teachers model these expectations for pupils.  Further improve outcomes in the early years by ensuring that: – reading and writing have a higher profile and children have frequent opportunities to practise their reading and writing skills – activities are well matched to children’s needs and have a clear purpose – staff ask questions to deepen children’s understanding and develop their

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

communication skills by requiring them to give full answers – staff have a greater awareness of when to intervene to move children on in their learning – staff address children’s misconceptions quickly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Since joining Perry Hall Multi-Academy Trust, the quality of education provided by the school has improved considerably. Governors and leaders are highly ambitious about what can be achieved. They provide strong direction and there are clear systems in place to secure developments. As a result, the school has gained the trust of the local community and is ensuring that pupils now make more rapid and sustained progress.  Leaders have high expectations of everyone. They have introduced a wide range of policies and procedures to ensure that improvements are made and targets are achieved. Staff morale has improved and almost all staff are highly supportive of the changes that have been made. Raised expectations have brought about improvements in the quality of teaching and learning and the work of current pupils.  Staff at all levels, including those who are new or less experienced, understand their

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

roles and responsibilities and there are clear lines of accountability in place. They are well supported through access to regular training opportunities, including coaching and mentoring. This helps to ensure that there is sufficient capacity in school to maintain and secure future developments.  Leaders have, rightly, focused their attention on ensuring that the quality of English and mathematics teaching is high. This has had a positive impact on pupils’ progress across the school. Leaders have also ensured that pupils have access to a broad curriculum based on the requirements of the national curriculum. However, not all subjects are equally well developed. For example, modern foreign language teaching does not enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language.  The curriculum is based around a series of topics. These are supported by long-term plans that help teachers to link new learning to facts and skills pupils have previously

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

learned. For example, during the inspection Year 6 pupils revised their knowledge about how to build a simple circuit at the start of a new topic on electricity. However, work in pupils’ books shows that on some occasions activities do not build on prior learning but repeat it with little progression, and contain little challenge for the most able pupils. Teachers sometimes adapt the content of topics to meet the interests of their pupils. This helps to engage the pupils in their learning, but it is more difficult for leaders to track what has been taught and learned. As a result, the curriculum does not yet fully meet the needs of all pupils.  Staff take every opportunity to widen pupils’ range of experiences and enhance their learning, for example trips and visitors help bring topics to life. Year 6 pupils thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to go on a residential trip with pupils from other schools in the trust. Pupils also benefit from an extensive range of extra-curricular

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

opportunities, including sports, music and craft-based activities.  Leaders and staff make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For instance, the school actively celebrates the diverse make up of the school community alongside celebrating a wide range of festivals from different faiths. Pupils are tolerant of each other and they are clear that everyone should be treated with respect, regardless of their background. The school encourages pupils to support the wider community, for example through fundraising for charity. Pupils also work with pupils from across the trust, broadening their experiences. As a consequence of these many opportunities, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The school has effective systems in place to support the many pupils and their families who speak little English when they first arrive in school. These include early

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

assessments and rapid access to appropriate language teaching, including phonics. The school uses an ‘EAL buddy’ system, where the newly arrived pupil who speaks English as an additional language is supported by a pupil in school who speaks the same home language. Pupils who have been part of this programme are proud of their involvement. These systems have been shown to help pupils make rapid progress and catch up with their peers.  Identification and support for pupils with SEND has become increasingly accurate and effective. The school now has a knowledgeable team in place to ensure that pupils receive timely and focused interventions. Funding to support pupils with additional needs is used well and its impact is carefully tracked. The school has developed close links with parents. Those spoken to commented positively on how well the school meets the needs of their children.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils through

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

appropriate interventions. Staff review and share good practice from within school, the trust and nationally. Leaders regularly check the progress that disadvantaged pupils are making and work with staff to ensure that teaching approaches are adapted to meet pupils’ specific needs. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make increasingly good progress in all subjects.  The primary physical education (PE) and sport funding is used successfully to improve pupils’ participation in sport. After-school sports clubs are extremely well attended, with a large majority of key stage 2 pupils regularly taking part. The range of clubs on offer reflects pupils’ interests and include taekwondo, gymnastics, football and netball. Training for staff is helping to ensure that the quality of PE teaching across the school is strong and that there is a long-term, sustainable impact of the funding.

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Governance of the school

 Many governors on the local governing body are also members of the board of trustees. This was a deliberate decision made when the school opened to secure robust and effective governance. Their leadership, along with that of the chief executive officer, has had a positive impact on all aspects of the school, providing clear, strategic direction and enabling the school to make rapid progress. More recently, new governors have joined the local governing body with the intention that, in time, the trustees will step back.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and priorities for further development. They are well informed of the school’s current position through termly updates from the headteacher. Governors take steps to check the accuracy of the information that leaders provide and they hold leaders to account for improvements. Governors fulfil their statutory roles effectively. They access appropriate

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Governance of the school

training to support them in their roles, including safeguarding.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Ensuring that children are safe is the number one priority for governors, leaders and staff, and the school has a strong culture where all staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. As a result, the school is a safe environment for pupils and they are always well cared for.  The school is a School of Sanctuary for pupils and families and, as such, is recognised as a safe and welcoming place for everyone in the school community. Leaders are justifiably proud of the school’s role in providing a place of safety and inclusion for all. Pupils and their parents report feeling safe in school.  All staff have regular and appropriate training to understand their responsibilities in keeping pupils safe and they are vigilant in looking out for indicators of risk or harm.  The safeguarding team are diligent in maintaining appropriate, confidential records

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Safeguarding

relating to any safeguarding concerns. When appropriate, the team shares information with external agencies and they are persistent in following up concerns as necessary.  Leaders ensure that appropriate checks are carried out on all adults appointed to work at the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is increasingly successful across key stages 1 and 2. This is because of clear direction from leaders, a strong focus on professional development and revised approaches to the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. Many staff now teach with greater confidence and understanding. Their subject knowledge has developed and they have a better understanding of the standards pupils should be reaching. These changes have resulted in higher expectations of pupils and they are making a positive difference to the quality of pupils’ work. However, these high standards are not yet consistent across the school and there remains some variability in the quality of teaching and learning.  Pupils clearly enjoy their learning and there are very strong relationships evident in all classrooms. Additional adults are generally used well to support pupils with their work.  Effective questioning helps to consolidate and deepen pupils’ understanding. Adults use

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

subject-specific vocabulary correctly and model answers for pupils, who are encouraged to respond in full sentences. This supports the development of pupils’ spoken English.  Teachers working in the same year group plan together to ensure that pupils experience similar activities. Lessons are planned to cater for pupils’ different needs, particularly in English and mathematics. However, there is sometimes a mismatch between the planning and what is taught in the lesson. For example, most-able pupils may spend time on a task that is too easy for them or they may not be moved on to the next task quickly enough. Conversely, lower-ability pupils may be given too much information, leading to confusion. This mismatch can affect the amount of progress that pupils make.  Reading has a high priority across the school. Most phonics teaching is now strong and this enables pupils, including those new to learning English, to make good progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

Phonics sessions are engaging and pupils apply their phonics skills to read new and unfamiliar words well. The development of pupils’ vocabulary and reading skills are threaded across the curriculum. These factors, along with an expanding school library, are helping to raise the profile of reading across the school.  Opportunities to develop pupils’ writing skills are often linked to books or topic work to provide a context and purpose for writing. Leaders have introduced a structured approach to support pupils’ writing that focuses on developing pupils’ academic language. For example, during the inspection, pupils were using stem sentences such as ‘I think this because...’ to support their understanding of why Christians celebrate Easter. Pupils’ books show that writing skills are developing more rapidly than before. An approach to support pupils’ spelling and punctuation has been introduced recently,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

but it is too soon to see the impact of this in pupils’ work.  Pupils’ books are generally neat and well kept. Handwriting is taught throughout the school but pupils are not using it consistently in their everyday work. This slows the speed at which they can write. Teachers do not routinely model the expected style of writing in their own work and expectations are unclear.  In most year groups, pupils are now making strong progress in mathematics. For example, in Years 5 and 6 pupils have regular opportunities to solve mathematical problems and use their reasoning skills to deepen their understanding. All pupils work on the same topic and tasks are adapted to ensure that they are appropriately challenging. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. On the other hand, the progress of pupils in Year 1 is being slowed because teachers have not ensured that the pupils can use specific resources independently and with confidence.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Subject leaders provide increasingly effective support for class teachers. They are clear on areas of strength and those requiring further improvement.  Rigorous assessment and monitoring systems are used carefully to track pupils’ progress in English and mathematics. Actions are taken to support any pupils who are at risk of falling behind. Assessments are regularly checked for accuracy by school leaders and teachers from across the trust. When pupils move year group, teachers agree the standards at which each pupil is working to maintain high expectations.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. The school values of determination, respect, positivity and success are central to the work of the school and they are regularly referred to by both staff and pupils. All pupils benefit from belonging to the strong school community.  Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They are enthusiastic, listen attentively and respond well to adults’ questioning. They speak very positively about the school, and older pupils recognise how it has changed for the better in recent years. The great majority of pupils cooperate and socialise well together.  Pupils are encouraged to eat healthily and most make healthy choices at lunchtime. There is a strong focus on physical health and being active. This is promoted through the wide range of after-school clubs as well as activities available at breaktimes.  Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, for example when online or in relation

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Personal development and welfare

to stranger danger. The school nurse and police community support officer regularly speak to pupils about aspects of keeping safe and healthy. Pupils are confident that there is a trusted adult that they can speak to if they are upset or they use their class ‘worry box’. Pupils are confident that any issues will be dealt with quickly.  Pupils have many opportunities to contribute to school life through a range of school- wide responsibilities, such as head boy and girl, eco-warriors, play buddies, digital ambassadors and school council representatives. Pupils take these roles seriously and are proud to undertake them. Pupils also value the opportunity to take part in ‘coaching circles’, where pupils from Reception to Year 6 come together to share experiences and build links. Pupils feel that this approach is helping them to get to know pupils who they might not have spoken to otherwise. These opportunities are

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Personal development and welfare

helping to prepare the pupils well for the next stage in their education.  The pastoral support available to families is a strength of the school, for example through adult literacy classes, practical day-to-day help or securing access to other services.  A breakfast club provides a calm and welcoming start to the day. This has had a positive impact on attendance for some pupils with a history of previously poor attendance or punctuality.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils are extremely polite and well mannered. Their behaviour around school is of a very high standard. For example, in the lunch hall pupils are self-regulating and need no reminders about expectations. Similarly, at breaktime pupils follow well-known routines.  There is a clear behaviour system in place which is understood by pupils. This is focused on rewarding pupils who behave well. Pupils feel that it is applied fairly and consistently. Leaders carefully record all incidents of unwanted behaviour, including those which are very minor, to track patterns and minimise the risk of repetition.  Pupils understand what bullying is and the various forms that it may take. They are clear that incidents of bullying and poor behaviour in school are rare. When they do occur, they are dealt with appropriately and parents are informed.  Attendance has a very high priority across the school and pupils understand the

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Behaviour

importance of coming to school regularly and on time. There are regular rewards and assemblies to celebrate good attendance for individuals and classes. Leaders track attendance carefully and promptly follow up any absence. They are alert to the possibility of children going missing from education and work with external agencies to minimise any risk.  Overall, school attendance remains a little below the national average and the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent is above the national average. Attendance is, however, subject to a range of factors including high pupil mobility, term-time holidays and religious observance. Leaders take all steps within their power to discourage families from taking holidays during term time, including issuing penalty notices. Leaders work closely with the local authority and strictly follow their guidelines, for example before removing a pupil from the school roll. Leaders are also highly

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Behaviour

proactive in securing pupils’ attendance at school whenever possible. Their actions include providing a breakfast club, pastoral support for families and collecting pupils from home if parents cannot bring them to school.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Outcomes have improved since the school opened. Pupils’ progress across key stage 2 has been strong for the last two years and was significantly above that seen nationally in reading, writing and mathematics in 2018. This includes disadvantaged pupils and those who had low prior attainment. Pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 was above the national average in 2018. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment was higher than that of other pupils nationally.  Attainment and rates of progress for pupils who speak English as an additional language are strong, and above the national average for all pupils. This is particularly the case for pupils attaining the higher standards. Pupils who attend the school for at least two years make stronger progress and attain more highly than those who are more recently arrived.  For the last two years, attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been low and well

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Outcomes for pupils Good

below the national average, especially for boys and those who speak English as their first language. However, these pupils had made strong progress from the end of the early years and narrowed the attainment gap with other pupils nationally.  Most current pupils, including boys and those who are disadvantaged, are making good progress and any gaps in attainment are narrowing. The school’s own information is supported by work seen in pupils’ books and during lessons. In some year groups, however, progress is more variable and while pupils are making progress it is not as strong as in other year groups. This is closely linked to where teaching is less consistently effective.  The progress of individuals and groups of pupils is carefully tracked, and interventions are put in place as necessary. These are regularly reviewed and amended. Pupils with SEND are now making stronger progress from their starting points than was previously

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Outcomes for pupils Good

the case.  Due to increasingly high-quality phonics teaching, more pupils met the expected standard in the national phonics screening check at the end of Year 1. However, this proportion remained below the national average in 2018. Pupils who are new to learning English make rapid progress in learning to read.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Many children come into the early years with knowledge and skills well below those which are typical for their age. Over the last three years, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development has increased year on year but it remains significantly below the national average. Teachers in the early years and key stage 1 work together to ensure that all children can make a positive start when they move into Year 1.  Safeguarding procedures are effective and welfare requirements are met fully. Additional funding is targeted appropriately to support the needs of children with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, for example to provide one-to-one support when required.  The early years team have benefited from access to a range of training programmes, and the early years leader has introduced several changes to the provision. For example, all adults are now clear on the next steps each child needs to take in their

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Early years provision Requires improvement

development. However, not all adults are using this information effectively to help the children make progress. Consequently, adults are missing opportunities to develop children’s knowledge and understanding.  Relationships in the early years are positive and behaviour is generally very good, with children working and playing together well, including when working independently. This reflects leaders’ strong focus on developing children’s personal and social skills.  Most adults model language well, asking questions to deepen children’s understanding and encouraging them to respond in full sentences. Adult-led reading activities are engaging and generally match pupils’ needs. However, this is not consistent across the early years and can slow the development of children’s language skills. Similarly, phonics is taught systematically but not all adults teach it to the same high standard.  Standards of written work are too low. There is evidence of progress, but children do

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Early years provision Requires improvement

not write regularly enough and so the majority make less progress than they are capable of. Some adults do not address misconceptions quickly or help children when they reverse letters or numbers.  In mathematics, children make positive progress when working with an adult. They sometimes struggle to complete tasks independently if they are not well matched to their needs.  The learning environment, both indoor and outdoor, is welcoming and well resourced. However, book areas are ‘low key’ and do not obviously promote a love of reading. Similarly, while there are writing activities available, these are not stimulating the children’s interest and most children do not choose to complete these.  Children have access to a wide range of activities but it is sometimes not clear what the purposes of these are. As a result, children may be busy but may not be learning anything new. Adults often work with one or two pupils at a time on a focused activity,

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Early years provision Requires improvement

but they do not have a wider awareness of what other children are doing. This means that children can go for a considerable time and move from one activity to another without any adult intervention.  The early years staff are welcoming and encourage regular communication with parents. There are good systems in place to help children settle quickly into school life, for example, through home visits and ‘stay and play’ sessions.

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School details

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

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School details

Email address dunstallhillprimaryschool@wolverhampton.g ov.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Dunstall Hill Primary School opened as an academy in May 2016 when it joined Perry Hall Multi-Academy Trust. The school is governed by the board of trustees supported by a local governing body.  The school is led and managed by a senior team including the headteacher, head of school and an assistant headteacher.  The school is growing in size. There are two classes in each year group except for Years 5 and 6, where there is currently one class per year group.  Nursery children attend on a part-time basis from the age of three years. Children in Reception attend full-time.  Pupils are from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds.  Most pupils speak English as an additional language. Some pupils are at an early stage in learning English.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is a little above the national average, as is the proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is higher than that

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Information about this school

found nationally.  Pupil mobility is higher than the national average and several pupils join or leave the school during the academic year.  The school offers a breakfast club. The local governing body manages this provision.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 29 lessons or small-group sessions. A number of these observations were undertaken jointly with a member of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors looked at many examples of pupils’ work and spoke to pupils formally and informally. One inspector listened to some pupils read. The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, lunchtime and around the school, as well as in lessons.  Meetings were held with the trust’s chief executive officer, headteacher, head of school, other leaders and members of staff. The lead inspector met with representatives of the board of trustees and local governing body, including the chair and vice-chair of the board of trustees.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including: the headteacher’s termly leadership report to governors; school improvement plans; records relating to safeguarding and attendance; curriculum plans; minutes of governing body meetings;

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Information about this inspection

school performance data; and the school’s website.  Inspectors considered parents’ opinions through speaking to some parents on the first day of the inspection; information from the school’s own survey of parents and four free-text responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. There were insufficient responses to Parent View to include a full analysis.  Inspectors also considered 37 responses to the pupil survey and 39 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Catherine Crooks, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Bailie 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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