Lady Katherine Leveson Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Lady Katherine Leveson Church of England Primary School Fen End Road West, Temple Balsall, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0AN

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 15–16 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils enjoy coming to school. Lady Katherine Leveson is a school that prides itself on including everyone. Pupils feel safe and behaviour is good. Inspectors checked the school’s records and spoke to lots of people about behaviour. Pupils know what is expected of them and want to do their best. Older pupils say they are happy to resolve any small problems themselves in a mature way. Pupils particularly love their school pets. The chickens produce lots of eggs and the guinea pigs are truly pampered.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents particularly like the family ethos that staff have created. Many parents contacted the inspection team to explain how happy they are with the improvements that have been made over the last two years. Most parents are happy with the school and would recommend it to someone else. That said, the teaching of reading and the wider curriculum need to be better. Leaders have not prioritised reading enough over the last few years. The curriculum is moving in the right direction, but there is much more work to do.

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better?

Leaders have been making improvements to the curriculum over the last two years. They began their work by improving the teaching of English and mathematics. This work is having a positive impact. As a result of staff’s efforts, more pupils were ready for secondary school in 2019 than in previous years. However, leaders have not given enough thought to what will be taught and why in other parts of the curriculum.

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better?

The teaching of mathematics has improved because staff have had the right training and support. Lessons cover subject content in a logical order. Pupils know what is expected of them and can broadly explain what they are learning.

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better?

Staff have started to improve the teaching of history too. Teachers have thought about the subject-specific skills they want pupils to master. However, more thought needs to be given to the exact knowledge and subject content that will be learned. Pupils are not able to explain confidently what they have learned over time and how this helps them now. Pupils experience similar difficulties recalling their learning from computing lessons. Staff have not had enough training to teach these subjects effectively.

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better?

Staff need further training and support to make sure that the teaching of reading is better in key stage 1 than it is at the moment. The strongest teachers of reading have not been given enough time to share what they are good at with the rest of the staff. As a result, the teaching of reading is not consistently strong.

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better?

Some pupils are asked to do activities in phonics that are too difficult. This makes it hard for pupils to focus and get even better at the sounds they do know. In key stage 1, teachers have not made sure that the books pupils take home match the 15–16 October 2019

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sounds that they are learning in class. As a result, some pupils cannot get the practice they need at home to reinforce their learning. Leaders have introduced a new system to keep a check on pupils’ learning over time. However, some pupils are not yet picked up quickly enough if they fall behind.

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Many parents say that they have noticed real improvements in pupils’ behaviour. Inspectors saw good behaviour too. Pupils are polite and friendly – they follow their teachers’ instructions. Leaders take swift steps to improve attendance. The school can demonstrate how they have quickly improved the attendance of many pupils.

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Pupils enjoy a wide range of additional activities and clubs at school. Pupils of all ages visit the local care home to socialise with senior citizens from the community. The school’s global citizenship project ensures that pupils get to learn about important environmental issues. Inspectors found pupils to be responsible citizens who have a good understanding of what is right and wrong.

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The early years is a strength of the school. Children get off to a flying start in the provision for two-year-olds. The curriculum is carefully structured, and children are properly prepared for Year 1 by the time they leave Reception. Phonics is taught effectively throughout the early years. There is a clear structure to phonics lessons. The books that children take home are matched to the sounds that they know. This helps children to practise their sounds at home and build their confidence.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have detailed plans that identify their needs and how they will be supported. However, staff do not adapt the curriculum sufficiently to ensure that pupils with SEND are set work that they can do. This hampers pupils’ ability to learn well and develop independence.

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Leaders and governors have managed lots of change in the last two years. They are positive about their work and want the very best for staff and children. They have the capacity and skills to deal with the areas that have been identified for improvement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have introduced new systems to monitor pupils’ welfare. These systems are used appropriately by leaders to respond to any concerns about pupils.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have kept up to date with government guidance and provide staff with the right training. Staff find the training helpful and know how to keep pupils safe. Parts of the school site have also been developed to improve security.

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 Not enough thought has been given to the knowledge that pupils will acquire in some aspects of the curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not build on their previous learning or make best use of their prior knowledge. Leaders need to review the curriculum further and decide which content is taught for each subject, why, and in what order.  Leaders have not provided staff with enough subject-specific training. Teachers sometimes pick unsuitable activities to support learning. This does not support the delivery of the curriculum or ensure that pupils know more and remember more. Leaders should support staff further to develop their teaching in each subject. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the skills to choose the activities and equipment that best support the delivery of the curriculum.  The curriculum has not been adapted sufficiently for pupils with SEND. This means that some pupils find it hard to access learning and develop independence.

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Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is designed in such a way that it is ambitious and meets the needs of pupils with SEND.  The teaching of reading has not been prioritised enough in recent years. Though there is some very strong practice in the school, this hasn’t been shared as much as it could be. In key stage 1, the books that pupils take home do not always match to the sounds they know. Some pupils are not promptly picked up if they fall behind. As a result, these pupils are not learning to read as well as they could. Leaders need to establish a clear plan to address these shortcomings.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 15–16 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111698 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 January 2016

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, governors have recruited a new headteacher and deputy headteacher.  The school has provision for two-year-olds.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with a range of staff during the inspection. Meetings were held with the local authority adviser, three members of the governing body, including the chair of governors and the vice-chair of governors, the headteacher, deputy headteacher, office manager, early years leader and curriculum leaders for English, mathematics, computing, history, geography and music.  The following subjects were specifically considered as part of this inspection: reading, mathematics, computing and history. To explore the effectiveness of these curriculum areas, inspectors: spoke to senior leaders to understand their aims and rationale for overall curriculum design; met with curriculum leaders to explore long- and medium-term thinking; visited lessons to see the curriculum in 15–16 October 2019

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action and consider the activities chosen by teachers; explored how leaders and pupils record their learning; and talked to teachers and pupils about their experience and understanding of the curriculum.  The inspection of reading included a consideration of the following: how leaders prioritise the teaching of early reading; how the school fosters familiarity and interest in different books; the content and rigour of the phonics programme; the extent to which pupils’ books match the sounds that they know, how quickly phonics is taught at the start of the school year; how ongoing assessment is used to identify any pupils falling behind the programme; and how the school develops sufficient expertise in the teaching of phonics.  To determine the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; met with the designated safeguarding lead to consider how the school records information and makes decisions about the appropriate actions to

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take to safeguard pupils; talked to staff and governors about the effectiveness of safeguarding training; explored the school’s approach to the ‘Prevent’ duty; and reviewed bullying records and attendance information.

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Inspection team

Jonathan Keay, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Janet Satchwell Ofsted Inspector 15–16 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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