Crown Meadow First School & Nursery

Inspection of a good school: Crown Meadow First School & Nursery Birmingham Road, Alvechurch, Birmingham, West Midlands B48 7TA

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 November 2021

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Outcome

Crown Meadow First School & Nursery continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a caring school. Adults teach pupils the school values of empathy, diversity, curiosity, independence, and resilience from when children start in Nursery. As a result, the relationships between adults and pupils are respectful. Pupils say they are happy at school and enjoy their learning. They have positive relationships with their friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Positive attitudes to learning start in Nursery and continue throughout the school. Pupils say that if children are unkind to each other, adults sort it out. Bullying is rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high aspirations for what they want pupils to achieve. They are continually looking at how they can make the school even better. For example, leaders have secured extra funding to improve the outdoor learning space for early years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a range of experiences for pupils beyond the classroom. This includes forest school, trips to Cadbury World, sports clubs, and an origami club. Pupils value these opportunities. Pupils speak with pride about the roles they can take on, for example, being a junior sports leader, a house captain, or a learning buddy in the classroom.

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

The curriculum is broad and balanced. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study all subjects. Pupils with SEND achieve well. Lessons are well-planned and sequenced. Leaders from different phases plan together. This means that pupils build on what they know year on year.

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

Subject leaders are given time by leaders to check on learning in their subjects. They provide effective support and training for both teachers and support staff. As a result, adults have strong subject knowledge. However, until recently, there has been instability in the leadership of design and technology. There is now a well-sequenced plan in place 24 and 25 November 2021

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for the delivery of design and technology, but it is too early to see the difference it is making to pupils’ learning.

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Children in Nursery get off to a good start. Adults are attentive to their needs. Activities focus on developing independence and a curiosity for learning. When they arrive at Nursery, children learn to tick off their names on the register. They learn to take off their coats independently. Staff plan opportunities well to develop children’s vocabulary. For example, skilful questioning encourages children to describe the colours of a traffic light and explain what the colour means when they play crossing the road. Adults check on pupils’ development. They use this information purposefully to talk to parents about how their child can practise their learning at home. In Nursery, children begin to learn to use resources well. This helps them to develop their understanding of number, shapes and colours. This prepares them well for the next stage of their education.

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Reading is a priority for the school. Leaders promote a love of reading through activities such as ‘author of the term’ and ‘bookworm bear’ in Reception. Pupils read every day. Parents get good support from staff to help them when their child reads at home. There is an effective reading programme in place. Leaders regularly check how well pupils are learning to read. When pupils are falling behind, leaders act quickly to give pupils extra help. As a result, pupils are becoming confident, fluent readers.

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Adults plan learning activities that match pupils’ abilities and needs well. As a result, pupils engage well in lessons. No low-level disruption interferes with learning.

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Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Every term, pupils have a day that is focused on fundamental British values. Work in books shows that pupils know what democracy means and they can apply this to their learning.

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Leaders consider staff’s workload carefully. Meetings after school are well planned. Staff say that they are purposeful. Activities such as yoga and cake baking support staff’s well- being. Staff value the support leaders give them.

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Governors are committed to ensuring the school continues to improve and that pupils achieve well. For example, governors asked for extra training from the school’s improvement adviser to further develop their skills and knowledge. As a result, they are asking the right questions of leaders about pupils’ progress to hold them to account more effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Leaders have extensive experience and knowledge about how to support pupils’ welfare. Staff have regular training. They report concerns; confident in the knowledge that leaders will deal with them effectively. 24 and 25 November 2021

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On entry to the school, visitors are given information about how to report a concern. Appropriate checks are completed on all adults who work at, or visit, the school. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe through assemblies and the curriculum. For example, in Nursery, children learn about road safety. Pupils say they feel safe. Parents and staff agree.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Until the start of this year, there has been instability in the leadership of design and technology. The improvements made by the new leader in the planning and delivery of the design and technology curriculum is beginning to make a difference to pupils’ learning. However, this is still at an early stage. Leaders need to embed these improvements to ensure that all pupils achieve well in this subject.

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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 as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 13 June 2012.

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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 10200281 Type of school First

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the senior leadership team, including the headteacher, have been appointed.  The school provides wraparound care.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken this into account in their evaluation.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, staff, members of the governing body including the chair, and spoke on the telephone to a representative of the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, and design and technology. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils 24 and 25 November 2021

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about their learning and looked at samples of work. The inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  The inspector talked to pupils at unstructured times during the day.  The inspector talked to parents at the school gate.  The inspector evaluated a range of school documents and looked at information on the school’s website.  The inspector checked the single central register and the procedures for the recruitment of staff. She also met with the school’s designated safeguarding leaders.  The inspector reviewed responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil survey. She also considered the responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Lesley Yates, lead inspector Ofsted 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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