Wood Green Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Wood Green Junior School Hobs Road, Wednesbury, West Midlands WS10 9BW

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 November 2021

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Outcome

Wood Green Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like coming to school because they have lots of friends. They say that teachers make sure that there is a good balance between learning and having fun. Pupils enjoy being creative in their writing and feel challenged in mathematics. Pupils are proud of the work in their books.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work well together. They take turns and listen carefully. They are quick to include pupils who are new to the school. Pupils play happily at breaktimes. At lunchtime, they enjoy dancing to the music Year 6 pupils broadcast on the school radio station. Pupils value leadership opportunities, including the chance to be a librarian or a play leader, or to be elected to the school council.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour across the school is good. Pupils show good manners. They are courteous; for example, they open doors for visitors. They respond quickly to instructions. Pupils understand the different types of bullying. Pupils who spoke to the inspector said that bullying rarely happened and that adults sorted it out quickly. Leaders keep records of the action they take to help resolve these issues. Pupils feel safe at school and know that adults care about them.

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

Since the previous inspection, school leaders have managed well a year-on-year expansion of the school alongside the COVID-19 pandemic. They have continued to develop a broad and balanced curriculum that meets pupils’ needs. The curriculum is carefully planned. It includes the specific vocabulary pupils will learn in each subject. Leaders know that there is further work to do now to ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently well across and within each year group.

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

Following the third national lockdown, leaders ensured that pupils had the chance to ‘catch up and push on’. Additional time teaching reading, writing and mathematics helped pupils get back into their learning. Bespoke interventions help pupils with special 24 and 25 November 2021

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educational needs and/or disabilities to learn essential knowledge and skills. Leaders want pupils to be as independent as possible.

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Subject leaders are passionate about their curriculum area. They make improvements in their subjects so that pupils make better progress. For example, changes in mathematics mean that pupils study each topic for longer. This helps pupils deepen their knowledge of key concepts, such as fractions and coordinates. Pupils say that they often do not know how to do something at the beginning of the week, but by Thursday they feel confident. Pupils recognise the progress they make.

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Leaders want pupils to develop a lifelong love of reading. Pupils at the early stages of learning to read are supported with phonics. One-to-one teaching and support in small groups help pupils learn their sounds. Pupils who are confident readers talk enthusiastically about the books they read. The reading curriculum is well planned, but it is not taught consistently well across the school. Leaders have begun to review how reading is taught, taking into account the gaps pupils have.

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Pupils have a good understanding of why they do subjects such as physical education (PE). They know that exercise keeps them fit, and activities such as ‘travel for ten’ build their stamina. They are proud to represent the school in gymnastics, football and tag rugby competitions. Pupils explain that practice makes perfect. They like the fact that teachers build in chances to recap prior learning. Pupils show resilience and determination.

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Staff appreciate the way leaders manage their workload. Training opportunities are valued. Leaders ensure that all staff develop their skills and knowledge effectively. Senior leaders coach new subject leaders so that they know how to hold others to account for the progress pupils make.

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Since the school expanded, many parents and carers say that communication is not as good. The parent forum has helped develop a new website and is discussing how to improve communication. Senior leaders and governors know that there is more to do to help parents feel more involved.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff firmly believe in ‘see it, say it’. They are well trained and know how to check for signs that a pupil may be at risk. They report concerns quickly and leaders are swift to act. Leaders understand the risks pupils face in the local community. The school’s safeguarding team works closely with external agencies to make sure that vulnerable pupils get the help they need quickly.

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Safeguarding

Through the new personal, social and health education scheme, pupils learn about healthy relationships. They know what makes a good friend. They learn how to keep themselves safe, including when talking online. 24 and 25 November 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 As the school has expanded and grown, the leadership team has changed and developed. Some leaders are very new to their role and have not yet had time to appreciate the responsibilities that go with it. Leaders should continue to ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly understood so that all leaders can support, challenge and hold other staff to account.  While the curriculum is well planned and sequenced, its implementation in a few subject areas is not consistently strong across the school. This is partly due to the pandemic, the school’s expansion and new staff joining the staff team. It means that some pupils do not make as much progress as they might. Leaders should ensure that all staff know what they are teaching and how they are going to teach it, so that pupils secure new knowledge quickly.  Parents have mixed views about the school. Some parents say that communication is limited and they do not know what their child is learning. Leaders should set in place

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

systems and processes in order to keep parents better informed and to develop more positive relationships with them.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 . 24 and 25 November 2021

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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. 24 and 25 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10205175 Type of school Junior

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Elisha Brannigan

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School details

Website www.albertpritchard-woodgreen.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 and 9 December 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Wood Green Junior School is federated with Albert Pritchard Infant School. The two schools share one governing body and an executive headteacher.  The school has expanded to three-form entry since the previous inspection. Year-on- year, a new class has been added and new staff appointed. This is the final year of the expansion. The school is now larger than the average-sized primary school.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders, and has taken that into account in her evaluation.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the executive headteacher, senior leaders, members of staff and the school business manager. The inspector held a meeting virtually with three governors, including the chair of the governing body. 24 and 25 November 2021

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 Deep dives in reading, mathematics and PE were carried out. These included discussions with subject leaders, visits to lessons and scrutiny of pupils’ work. The inspector also met with pupils to discuss their learning in these subjects and listened to pupils read.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including leaders’ plans to improve the school, curriculum plans and the school’s website. Minutes of governing body meetings and reports from external advisers were also checked.  When inspecting safeguarding, the inspector considered the school’s procedures for recruiting staff, the quality of staff training and the school’s procedures for keeping pupils safe.  The inspector spoke to parents at the end of the first day and the start of the second day of the inspection. She considered the responses, including the free-text comments, to Ofsted Parent View, the online questionnaire. The inspector considered the

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responses to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Nicola Harwood, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 24 and 25 November 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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