Belbroughton CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Belbroughton CofE Primary School Bradford Lane, Belbroughton, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY9 9TF

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Outcome

Belbroughton CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Belbroughton CofE Primary School is a welcoming school. Pupils at this school are happy, as are staff and parents. Teachers want all pupils to do well and to become successful, confident and caring. Pupils like coming to school and are motivated to learn. They want to do well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide a good range of opportunities to help pupils appreciate the wider world. Pupils undertake musical, art, sporting and other enrichment activities. Younger pupils benefit from such things as forest school activities. Older pupils enjoy the educational visits organised for them including the residential trips. During the inspection, pupils were eagerly awaiting a trip to the Icon Gallery to link their poetry work with art.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. Strong relationships are a feature throughout the school community. Pupils listen well to each other in lessons. They behave well and show respect throughout the school day. Older pupils enjoy being buddies for younger children.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They say that bullying happens rarely and if it does happen, adults deal with it quickly.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school provides a good quality of education. Leaders’ ambition is to support all pupils to do well in a wide range of subjects. The headteacher is well supported by other senior leaders. Pupils achieve well, especially in reading and mathematics, by the time they leave the school.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Governors have a range of expertise and are fully committed to the school. They visit the school to find out about the school’s work and are well informed. They are very clear about what they have to do.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have thought carefully about the knowledge they want pupils to learn and the 12–13 November 2019

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sequence in which it is taught. In many subjects this is well planned. This helps pupils to retain knowledge. They make connections between current and past learning. In other subjects, such as computing, it is still developing. Leaders have a clear plan to achieve this in all areas. Leaders provide support for less experienced leaders.

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Teaching pupils to read is given a high priority. Staff make sure that the youngest children learn to read quickly. Well-planned phonics teaching begins when they first start school. Pupils read from books that match the sounds they are learning. They practise and apply what they have learned to become confident, fluent readers. Adults use a lot of ways to promote a love of reading. Pupils speak with great enthusiasm about their favourite books. They enjoy listening to the stories that teachers read to them. The school’s approach to reading enables pupils to achieve high standards in the Year 1 phonics screening check and at the end of key stage 2.

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Mathematics is taught well. Teachers help pupils to build the basic mathematical knowledge and skills they need. Teachers explain things clearly. Teachers ask questions to check that pupils have understood. They expect pupils to explain their answers. As a result, pupils’ understanding builds securely over time. Pupils use their new skills in a range of situations. If pupils begin to struggle, staff are effective in helping them to catch up quickly. Pupils achieve consistently high standards in mathematics by the time they leave at the end of key stage 2.

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Leaders have recently introduced a new system to assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding across the curriculum. This approach is in the early stages and is yet to be embedded.

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Adults form caring relationships with children in the early years. Children follow routines and behave extremely well. They listen to adults and mix happily with others. Regular rhymes and stories help to develop children’s language skills effectively. Carefully planned activities build children’s mathematical understanding.

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The school is highly inclusive for pupils of all abilities. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well across the school. Teachers work closely with other adults to meet pupils’ individual needs. As a result, pupils with SEND are helped to develop confidence and independence. They build their subject knowledge across the curriculum. Parents appreciate the help that their children receive.

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Staff enjoy working at this school because leaders offer support when needed. It helps them to carry out their work well. Staff say that leaders consider their well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have developed a culture where pupils’ safety is paramount. Clear processes ensure that any concern is acted upon quickly. Staff are well trained and know how to report concerns about a child’s welfare. Regular staff briefings are used to share appropriate information. Governors carry out their legal safeguarding duties well. The school carries out the 12–13 November 2019

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required recruitment checks to ensure that staff at the school are safe to work with children.

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Pupils play safely together at playtime. Parents are very positive about the welfare of their children and the care and support that they receive.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ plans for curriculum development show the development of skills within a subject and a review of the sequence of learning. Staff have undertaken training to develop subject knowledge further. In some subjects, such as mathematics and reading, this is working well. However, leaders recognise that it is in the early stages of implementation in some subjects, such as computing. Leaders need to ensure that teaching in all subjects enables pupils to develop the depth of knowledge and skills required.  Although leadership is strong overall, some subject leaders are new to their roles. Senior leaders should support less-experienced subject leaders to develop their leadership skills in reviewing the curriculum.  Leaders have recently introduced a new system to assess pupils’ retention of knowledge and skills at key points in all subjects. Leaders should work with staff to embed this new system across the curriculum.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Belbroughton CofE Primary School to be good on 19–20 November 2015.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 12–13 November 2019

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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. 12–13 November 2019

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19–20 November 2015

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Information about this school

 Belbroughton is smaller than the average-sized primary school  Children in the early years are taught in one full-time Reception class. All pupils are taught in classes with single year groups.  The school was judged to be outstanding at its last section 48 inspection in March 2017. A section 48 inspection reports on the religious character of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 All year groups were visited by the inspector, often accompanied by senior leaders. During visits to lessons the inspector talked to pupils about their work.  The inspector met with senior leaders and the governing body, including the chair. She also had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector looked at reading, mathematics and computing in detail. This involved meeting leaders responsible for these subjects and visiting lessons to observe learning. Meetings were held with pupils to talk about their learning and with teachers to discuss pupils’ understanding.  The inspector checked the school’s records for safeguarding and systems for safe 12–13 November 2019

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recruitment. She spoke to pupils in class, in the library and at playtime.  One hundred and ten responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including written responses, were considered. The inspector also took account of the views of 12 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Sarah Somers, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 12–13 November 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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