Yew Tree Primary School

Inspection of Yew Tree Primary School Birchfield Way, Yew Tree Estate, Walsall, West Midlands WS5 4DX

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 October 2021

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 19 and 20 October 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very proud of their school. They say that ‘Our school is the best because we have a great building, we learn lots and the teachers are caring.’ Pupils appreciate the warm greeting they get from staff at the start of every day. Pupils are kind towards each other. There is a friendly atmosphere around the school and visitors feel welcome.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for every pupil in the school. The school’s vision is ‘learning without limits’, and pupils work hard to rise to this challenge.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have created a curriculum that supports pupils’ learning and their wider development. This is done well. Learning takes place in the classroom, the hall, the small farm, the allotment, or further afield.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils pay attention in lessons and focus on their work. They walk around the school sensibly. Pupils enjoy chatting with their friends in the dining room. They play well together on the playground. Pupils understand the different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. Bullying is rare, but staff deal with any incidents straight away.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They appreciate the positive changes that have taken place over the last two years.

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better?

Leaders have thought carefully about the curriculum. Curriculum plans map out the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn in each year group and in each subject. Teachers find the curriculum plans helpful. The plans help teachers to order and design lessons, so that what pupils learn today builds on what they have learned before.

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better?

In a small number of subjects, including computing, curriculum plans are relatively new. Consequently, teachers are in the early stages of delivering them. Subject leaders are clear about what improvements are needed in these curriculum areas, including support for some staff. Leaders’ actions are already leading to improvements.

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better?

Teachers have good subject knowledge in a wide range of subjects. This helps them to deliver the curriculum in a purposeful and interesting way. Teachers model subject-specific vocabulary well, especially in English and mathematics. Pupils are now starting to use this vocabulary when they answer questions and explain their understanding of a concept. Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning well to check and deepen pupils’ understanding and to encourage discussion between pupils. 19 and 20 October 2021

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Leaders introduced a new phonics scheme at the start of this term. The scheme maps out the order of phonics teaching across the early years, key stage 1 and beyond. Currently, not all staff have completed the training to deliver the phonics programme. As a result, not all staff teach phonics consistently well. However, leaders are addressing this effectively. Leaders have bought lots of new reading books and made sure that the books closely match pupils’ phonics knowledge. This helps pupils in the early stages of reading to practise their phonics skills.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn well alongside their peers. Teachers make sure that they include pupils with SEND in lessons and all aspects of school life. If required, staff provide practical resources, extra equipment and technology to help pupils with their learning. Leaders and staff identify pupils’ specific needs effectively, so that they can be met.

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Pupils talk about and understand the meaning of the school’s values of ‘responsibility’, ‘respect’, ‘pride’, ‘courage’ and ‘ambition’. These values are part of everyday conversations between staff and pupils, and among pupils. Pupils have a growing understanding of mental health and talk about this in the context of the school’s values. Pupils know about the different types of relationships and families that exist in their local community. They understand how to stay safe when working online. However, their knowledge of different faiths, beliefs and cultures is more limited.

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Leaders, supported by staff, are working well to continue to improve the school. They are not complacent and are always thinking about how they can make the school even better for the pupils. Governors know the school well, including the areas for improvement that leaders are currently working on. Governors support and challenge leaders effectively.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They value the training they have received and say that it helps them to do their job better. They care about the pupils. Staff work well as a team. They value the support they get from each other and from leaders. Most staff say that their workload is manageable. They value new initiatives that help to promote their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff do everything they can to keep pupils safe. Those responsible for the leadership of safeguarding are well trained and knowledgeable. They organise regular, effective training for all staff. Leaders carry out checks to make sure that staff are clear about safeguarding procedures. Staff know what to do if they are concerned about a pupil’s welfare. Support is put into place quickly. The curriculum teaches pupils how to stay safe in school and beyond the school gate. Leaders and staff are knowledgeable about local risks, such as child criminal exploitation and domestic violence. 19 and 20 October 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Not all staff have been trained to deliver the new phonics scheme. This means there is some variation in the quality of phonics teaching for children and pupils in the early stages of reading. Leaders need to provide these staff with the support and training required, so they can deliver the phonics curriculum effectively.  In a small number of subjects, including computing, teachers are in the early stages of delivering new curriculum plans. In these subjects, gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills are not being filled consistently well across the school. The implementation of these new curriculum plans has been affected by COVID-19- related restrictions. Leaders need to provide staff with the support they require, so they can implement the new curriculum plans effectively in these subjects.  Some pupils’ understanding of different faiths, beliefs and cultures is limited. Leaders and staff need to make sure that the curriculum develops pupils’

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

understanding and appreciation of people who may have different values and principles to them.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are 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. 19 and 20 October 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10209883 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 15 and 16 October 2019

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Information about this school

 The school moved into a new building in November 2019. In September 2020, pupils and staff had full access to the newly developed grounds because the old building had been demolished.  The school has a nursery that admits three-year-olds.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. They deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation.  The lead inspector held ongoing meetings with the headteacher. He met with six members of the governing body, including the chair. The lead inspector also met with a representative of the local authority. 19 and 20 October 2021

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 Inspectors held meetings with members of the safeguarding team, the early years leader, the inclusion leader and other leaders.  As part of the inspection, the inspectors focused mainly on early reading, English, mathematics, science, computing and history. They met with subject leaders and teachers to talk about the quality of education in these subjects.  Inspectors made visits to classrooms. Most of these visits were with subject leaders or senior leaders.  The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors spoke to pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school. They looked at pupils’ work to see how well staff implement the curriculum.  Safeguarding documents were checked, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children. The inspectors checked that staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures effectively across the school.

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 Inspectors talked to parents at the end of the day. The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, and the free-text responses received during the inspection.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plan, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, behaviour records, published information about pupils’ performance and minutes of governing body meetings.  Inspectors looked at information published on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Wayne Simner, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Griffiths Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 October 2021

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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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