Villiers Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Villiers Primary School Prouds Lane, Bilston, West Midlands WV14 6PR

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Outcome

Villiers Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a close-knit community where everyone is valued. Pupils feel safe. If pupils have any problems, then the staff will help to put things right.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and well-mannered. They willingly hold doors open for staff and visitors. In lessons, pupils listen well and focus on their work. There is a fun atmosphere on the playground. Pupils enjoy playing and chatting with their friends. Pupils say the school’s ethos of ‘Work hard. Be kind’ is part of everyday life in school. Pupils know about the different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. Bullying doesn’t happen very often. Pupils say that when it does, staff deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have overhauled and improved the curriculum and pupils achieve well. However, leaders are not complacent. They are keen to develop the quality of education further.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most parents are positive about the school. In particular, they appreciate the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. In their comments, they praised the way the school attends to pupils’ education and their wider development. They value the attention to pupils’ different needs and used words like ‘fun’, ‘wonderful’ and ‘flourishing’ to describe their children’s experiences.

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

Leaders have thought carefully about the structure and content of the curriculum. The early years curriculum gives children a solid start for future learning in Year 1 and beyond. In all subjects, there is a deliberate focus on widening and developing pupils’ vocabulary. Curriculum guidance maps out the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn across the school. Teachers use this guidance to tell them what pupils have learned in the past, what they now need to teach, and what pupils will be learning in the future. Pupils achieve well as they progress through the curriculum. 13 and 14 July 2022

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Teachers use open questions well to explore pupils’ prior knowledge and deepen pupils’ understanding. They explain new ideas and concepts in a clear, step-by-step manner. Teachers make checks on what pupils know and adapt their teaching when needed. Work in pupils’ books reflects the progress that they are making across the curriculum. However, there are some instances where work in pupils’ books is careless and presentation is untidy. Teachers do not give pupils enough consistent guidance about good handwriting. Leaders are aware of this and are working to improve this aspect.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully included in lessons and all aspects of school life. Teachers know the pupils well. They consider the needs of pupils with SEND when they plan lessons and activities. They provide extra resources to support pupils’ learning when required. When necessary, one-to-one or small-group work provides specific, snappy support for pupils with SEND. In addition, staff step in quickly if they notice any pupils who need extra help with something.

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Reading is a whole-school priority. From the start, children and pupils develop their reading skills well. This is because all staff have been trained in how to teach phonics well. Books are matched to pupils’ phonic knowledge. Leaders and staff are raising the profile of reading across the school. A selection of high-quality texts in the English curriculum and regular story times support this. Leaders organise a range of special events throughout the year to promote the love of reading. Pupils speak enthusiastically about the school’s reading sheds and the book vending machine.

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Leaders and teachers enrich the curriculum through a varied range of activities. This includes trips to the theatre and local outdoor areas. A range of after-school clubs, including handicrafts and mini-movers, are also on offer. Pupils know how to maintain healthy lifestyles. They understand the importance of diet, exercise and sleep. There are a range of opportunities for pupil leadership in the school, such as ‘language ambassadors’. Pupils know about the different types of relationships and families that exist in their local community. However, pupils’ understanding of other faiths and cultures is limited and, at times, confused.

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Leaders, supported by the multi-academy trust, governors and the local authority continue to improve the quality of education in the school. Leaders organise whole-school training and bespoke support for individual staff. Staff say the training helps them to do their jobs better.

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Teachers say that workload is manageable, and that tasks set by leaders are necessary and reasonable. The staff work together as a team and support one another. Staff say that leaders have an open-door policy, listen carefully and are considerate of their well- being. Staff at all levels feel valued and staff morale appears high.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone’s business. Staff are well trained and know exactly what to do if they have a concern about a pupil’s welfare. The family liaison team works closely with 13 and 14 July 2022

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pupils and their families. Much of its work centres on early help to prevent issues from getting worse. Leaders work with external agencies to put the right support in place for pupils and their families. The curriculum helps pupils to learn how to stay safe in school and beyond the school gate. This includes learning how to stay safe online. Leaders carry out the correct employment checks on staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not have a whole-school agreed approach to the teaching of handwriting. As a result, there is too much variation in the quality of pupils’ handwriting and presentation across the school. Leaders should ensure that there is a whole-school agreed approach to the teaching of handwriting.  The curriculum does not develop pupils’ understanding of other faiths and cultures well enough. As a result, pupils’ knowledge of different faiths and cultures is limited and, at times, confused. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum develops pupils’ understanding of the range of other faiths and cultures that exist in British society.

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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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Villiers Primary School, to be good in February 2017.

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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 . 13 and 14 July 2022

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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. 13 and 14 July 2022

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the SHINE Academies Trust.  The school has a breakfast club and an after-school club operating on the site. This provision is operated by the school.  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

 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.  The lead inspector met with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. The lead inspector met with those responsible for governance, including the chair of trustees, the chair of the local governing board, four governors, the executive headteacher of the trust and the chief executive officers. The lead inspector also met with a representative of the local authority. 13 and 14 July 2022

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 Inspectors held meetings with the designated safeguarding lead, the school’s family liaison officer and the special educational needs coordinator.  As part of the inspection, inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, English, mathematics and design and technology. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  An inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors spoke to pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school. A group of pupils accompanied an inspector on a learning walk around the school.  Safeguarding documents were checked, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children. The inspectors checked how staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures across the school.

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 Inspectors talked to parents at the end of the day. 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 documents provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation, school development plan, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, published information about pupils’ performance and minutes of local governing board meetings.  The 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

Jonathan Leonard Her Majesty’s Inspector 13 and 14 July 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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