Blowers Green Primary School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Blowers Green Primary School Blowers Green Road, Dudley, West Midlands DY2 8UZ

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Outcome

Blowers Green Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders demand and deliver the very best opportunities for pupils at Blowers Green. They ‘dream big’ for, and on behalf of, all their pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘From here you can go anywhere’ is instilled in pupils, from the very youngest in nursery to those soon to move to secondary school. This sense of self-belief is visible in the pride of a three-year-old stating, ‘I’ve done my zip up all by myself.’ Older pupils echo this, saying they know they ‘have the right potential to take on roles and responsibilities in secondary school.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, mature and enjoy their learning. Behaviour is excellent. This is seen in every classroom. Pupils relish learning and playing together and do this with a keen and kind manner. Playtimes are a joy to see. Pupils play a range of games together and value being able to choose to be active or calm as the mood takes them. If bullying happens, pupils know that telling a trusted adult gets it sorted.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take part in, and benefit from, an extensive range of clubs and activities. They value that leaders listen and take account of their views. ‘You said, we did’ is a common mantra across the school.

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

Leaders think deeply about every decision they make and every action they take. Nothing is left to chance. As a result, all pupils achieve exceptionally well across the curriculum.

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

Children in the early years get a flying start to school life. Staff give the youngest children the very best learning and care. Children settle well into school life. They follow routines and join in with a range of carefully planned activities that make the most of every second that they are in school. Staffs’ focus on helping children in the early years to listen carefully, speak clearly with a growing knowledge of words, stories and nursery rhymes, helps them to learn well across the curriculum. Children talk confidently about learning 26 and 27 April 2022

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from earlier in the year. For example, they know a lot about birds migrating and hedgehogs hibernating and the seasons.

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This attention to vocabulary and language forms the heartbeat of the reading curriculum. Leaders make no apologies for reading and texts being front and centre of all they do; and it works. No child is left behind. Swift, on the spot, support helps pupils when they struggle. Pupils learn to read fluently, enjoy reading and use this to good effect across the curriculum.

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Leaders and staff have developed a bespoke range of ideas to help pupils know more and remember more. These are used across all subjects and year groups. They start with ‘show a page, talk about and rainbow challenges’ in the early years and move on to the ‘3Rs: rewind, recap, remember’ tasks for the older pupils. In the words of one child, speaking for many, ‘they make our minds more secure on the topic.’ The inspector agrees.

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Across all subjects, all pupils achieve well. Pupils discuss historical events knowledgeably and can explain the legacy these give us today. They make links between historical and geographical events and converse clearly and confidently in French. This is because leaders have organised all subjects in depth and detail. This starts in Nursery and, with support from Dudley Academies Trust , looks beyond Year 6 to ensure pupils are ready for secondary school. Teachers know exactly what pupils must learn and the order they must learn it in. They follow this structure and sequence with precision. Teachers appreciate this clarity and state that it helps their workload and well-being.

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Skilful staff put things in place to help all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, to achieve success as learners. For example, in art, finger exercises and videoing the teacher help pupils with a range of needs to be successful artists.

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Positive and impressive relationships exist between staff and pupils. Pupils know right from wrong. They rarely stray from doing what is expected of them. Work in books is beautifully presented, shows strong learning across all subjects and pupils, rightly, are proud of all they do and achieve in and out of lessons. The vast array of clubs, visits and responsibilities, including the ‘11 by 11 pledge’, is impressive, enjoyed by many and helps prepare pupils for life. Pupils show understanding of the knowledge and qualities needed to live side by side in harmony through their actions and words. From here, pupils really can ‘dream big and go anywhere.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know about keeping safe in different situations, what the word ‘consent’ means and why it is important.

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Safeguarding

Pupils like the way everyone looks after them. They can talk to an adult if worried. The termly happiness survey shows that pupils are happy. On the rare occasion a sad face shows up on the survey, leaders are quick to find out why and put help in place. 26 and 27 April 2022

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Leaders check that staff are safe to work with children. They train staff well. Staff know what to look for to keep children safe and take prompt action if needed.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. 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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Blowers Green Primary School, to be outstanding in November 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 .

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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. 26 and 27 April 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10229064 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Dudley Academies Trust on 1 February 2020.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  A new headteacher was appointed in October 2021.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and special educational needs coordinator.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, history, art and design. For each deep dive, she discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also considered early mathematics and spoke to leaders, visited some lessons, looked at samples of pupils’ work in French and 26 and 27 April 2022

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listened to pupils conversing in French. Geography work in some books was also looked at.  The inspector met with the chief executive officer, the executive director of primary, the chair of the trust board and the chair of the local advisory committee.  The inspector listened to a sample of pupils read and visited the art curators in the art gallery.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at breaktimes. She spoke formally with groups of pupils as well as talking to pupils in lessons and around school.  The inspector reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online parent, pupil and staff surveys.  The inspector met with leaders about the school’s safeguarding procedures. She reviewed policies and records relating to safeguarding, behaviour, and attendance. Inspectors spoke to pupils, parents and carers, and staff about pupils’ safety.  The inspector reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s improvement

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plans, minutes of governing body meetings and information on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Foulkes, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 26 and 27 April 2022

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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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