Pelsall Village School

Inspection of Pelsall Village School Old Town Lane, Pelsall, Walsall, West Midlands WS3 4NJ

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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 17 and 18 May 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders care passionately about the well-being of their pupils. They know their pupils and families well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe in school. Each morning they come to school with a smile. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils behave well in lessons and at breaktimes. They are polite and well mannered. Pupils value the opportunities to be physically active at playtimes. They enjoy using the wide range of playground equipment. Older pupils enjoy reward time in the playground too.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand how to behave. They know that their actions have consequences which they think are fair. Although pupils say bullying happens occasionally, they know who to speak to and that adults will deal with it. Leaders want all pupils to have positive attitudes to learning. Systems such as the ‘Fab 5’ targets and awards motivate the pupils to aim high and learn well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers value the support and advice they receive. They say it helps them know how to support their child with reading at home, behaviour or medical conditions. Parents value the way leaders help pupils catch up on missed learning following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for all their pupils. They have designed a curriculum that helps widen pupils’ experiences and knowledge of the world. They have focused on reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are now doing well in these subjects and are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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better?

The school is nurturing and caring. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) join in all aspects of school life. Leaders quickly and accurately identify the needs of pupils with SEND as soon as they join the school. Pupils receive the support they need from well-trained staff and dedicated leaders. They achieve well and thrive.

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better?

Children joining the early years enjoy a variety of positive learning experiences. Leaders plan number and language development into all opportunities. Conversations abound. Leaders quickly establish routines. Children settle well and are eager to learn.

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better?

Leaders prioritise reading across the school. Early phonics starts in Nursery with children enjoying stories and rhymes. Children in Reception learn about letters and the sounds they make. The teaching of reading is well planned. Leaders regularly track how well pupils are doing. Focused interventions help those who find learning to read more difficult. This ensures that most pupils learn to read fluently and confidently. Pupils enjoy reading and listening to stories. 17 and 18 May 2022

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Learning in mathematics starts in the early years. Leaders have clear and ambitious plans. They want all pupils to enjoy mathematics and become confident mathematicians. Pupils revisit past learning and staff deal with any misconceptions well. Pupils enjoy problem-solving and reasoning tasks. Pupils work on a range of challenges based on what they know and can do at a suitable level. This ensures that all pupils, including the more able, develop and use skills in a progressive way. Pupils enjoy mathematics and achieve well.

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The learning in subjects, including physical education and science, are carefully sequenced. Learning builds progressively in a logical way. Leaders build in assessments to identify how well pupils are doing. However, this is not yet fully the case in all subjects. Leaders design topics that engage pupils and develop their knowledge, skills and vocabulary over time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have not fully implemented or evaluated the curriculum in some subjects. They do not fully know how successful the curriculum is in these areas. Some subject leaders are not confident in how to monitor or evaluate their subjects.

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Leaders ensure that pupils have many opportunities to attend sporting activities, competitions and clubs at lunchtimes or after school. A wide range of visits and visitors, including residential visits for Year 5 and 6 pupils, help pupils develop their abilities and knowledge. For example, they learn about other faiths and have opportunities to take part in horse riding or fishing. Pupils take on extra responsibilities in school, such as sports captains. They are respectful of each other and help one another. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong and caring.

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Leaders, including governors, make decisions based on their determination to meet the needs of each pupil. These decisions have a positive impact on building pupils’ confidence, resilience and deepening learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is a strength of the school. Leaders support pupils quickly, their families and the wider community. Families receive the support they need. The school works hard to engage all parents and carers.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are very knowledgeable about the community, local area and issues that may arise. There is a strong culture of ‘It could happen here; it does happen here’. Regular safeguarding training and updates help staff know the signs to look out for. As a result, pupils are safe. Pupils know they can go to a trusted adult if they are worried or need to talk and they will be listened to. 17 and 18 May 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, the curriculum is not yet planned in a fully coherent way. As a result, pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding of what they have learned is not always as secure as it could be. Leaders should ensure that they build on recent curriculum developments to ensure that all subjects are coherently planned and sequenced. For this reason, the transition arrangements have been applied.  Currently, not all subject leaders have a comprehensive understanding of the quality of education in their subject. Consequently, they are not confident that all pupils are learning as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that all subject leaders have opportunities to further develop their skills in order to lead their subjects effectively.  Assessment information gathered in foundation subjects is not always useful to leaders. It does not inform them of what pupils know and remember over time.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders should review the assessment practice in the school to ensure that it gives them the information they need to identify next steps in pupils learning.

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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. 17 and 18 May 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227363 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 19 January 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision  The school provides a before- and-after school club which is managed by the school.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, other leaders, teaching and support staff. The lead inspector also met with three members of the governing body including the chair of the governing body. 17 and 18 May 2022

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 An inspector met with key staff responsible for safeguarding and checked the single central record and procedures for the recruitment of staff. She discussed procedures and policies relating to safeguarding and the welfare of pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and modern foreign languages (French). For each deep dive, inspectors 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.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders and staff about the curriculum and looked at pupils’ books in other subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in class and at other times during the day and spoke with parents, staff and pupils about behaviour.  An inspector spoke by telephone with a representative of the local authority.  An inspector spoke with parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors also

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considered responses, including free-text comments, to the Ofsted Parent View online questionnaire.  Inspectors studied the school’s website and public information.  An inspector visited the after-school club and spoke with staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Tina Willmott, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

John Bates Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 May 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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