Edgar Stammers Primary Academy

Inspection of Edgar Stammers Primary Academy Harden Road, Coalpool, Walsall, West Midlands WS3 1RQ

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 January 2023

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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 January 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this friendly school and enjoy working together. Pupils feel safe and say that adults in school will help them with any worries they have. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils understand what bullying means. They are confident that, if it happens, adults will sort things out appropriately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders set high expectations so that many pupils do well. They make sure that pupils experience an interesting curriculum. Pupils enjoy lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils particularly enjoy reading and are keen to spend time in the school library.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are polite and welcome visitors warmly. Pupils are kind and take care of each other and understand the importance of including everyone. Older pupils act as good role models for younger pupils and to those who need support to follow the school rules.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders plan a range of extra-curricular activities to broaden pupils’ experiences. These include trips, visitors to school and clubs such as multi-sports, choir and football. Parents and carers say that staff are friendly and approachable. Some parents were keen to tell inspectors how much the school has improved since the last inspection.

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better?

Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. They have set out the important knowledge and skills that pupils should gain in each subject. The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build on what they already know and can do. In some subjects, including mathematics, teachers use assessment information well to plan the next steps in pupils’ learning. Pupils enjoy mathematics and are keen to talk about their work in this subject. In the early years, children regularly practise their counting skills during play and when singing rhymes. Pupils make strong progress in this subject. In other subjects, the use of assessment is less well developed. This means that teachers do not always know what pupils have remembered from what they have been taught.

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better?

Reading has a high profile in the school. Children begin to learn to read as soon as they start school in the early years. Leaders have ensured that staff deliver the phonics programme well. Extra support is provided for pupils who need to catch up. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. This means they become fluent, accurate readers. Older pupils enjoy reading and readily accept the challenge to read 100 books while they are at the school.

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better?

Leaders have introduced a new approach to teaching writing. Pupils now have more opportunities to write in subjects across the curriculum. Most teachers have high 17 and 18 January 2023

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expectations about the quality of work that pupils produce. However, in some classes, these expectations are not high enough. Some pupils make repeated errors with basic spelling and punctuation.

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Staff know pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Leaders have ensured that there are effective systems in place to identify pupils with additional needs. Teachers provide the right support to ensure that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum alongside their classmates.

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Children in the early years settle quickly into routines and build warm relationships with adults. Children enjoy learning and make good use of the resources indoors and outside. Adults keep a tight focus on developing children’s communication and language skills during all activities. Parents value the communication about how their children are getting on.

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Leaders promote pupils’ personal development effectively. Pupils learn about the importance of keeping physically and mentally well. They say they are encouraged to talk about how they are feeling. Pupils have opportunities to take part in activities to build their resilience, aspiration and courage as part of the school’s ‘curriculum promise’. This helps to grow pupils’ self-esteem and to prepare them for their next steps and future lives.

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Pupils are proud of their school and behave respectfully. Leaders have high expectations about attendance and are working hard to ensure that pupils come to school every day. They work closely with families to ensure that pupils are in school, ready to learn and achieving the best they can.

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Trustees know what the school does well and what it needs to do to improve. They provide the right level of challenge and support, particularly for senior leaders. They visit the school regularly to look at learning with teachers and pupils. Staff enjoy working at the school and appreciate leaders’ support for their workload and well- being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that safeguarding is a high priority. Staff benefit from regular training so that they know how to recognise and respond to any signs of abuse. They know pupils well and are encouraged to share any concerns, no matter how small they may seem. Leaders are diligent in their approach to record-keeping and monitoring of concerns. They work closely with parents and partnership agencies to make sure that pupils get the help they need. The curriculum teaches pupils about keeping themselves safe. Pupils have a secure knowledge of how to stay safe online. 17 and 18 January 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some classes, teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve in their writing in subjects across the curriculum. Some pupils make repeated mistakes with basic punctuation and spelling. This slows the progress that pupils make. Leaders should continue with their work to implement their new approach to teaching writing so that it is taught consistently well across the school.  In some foundation subjects, assessment is not used precisely enough to identify what pupils have learned and remembered. This means that teachers do not have an accurate understanding of what pupils know and where gaps in learning may exist. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment consistently well across all subjects.

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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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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 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10256926 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.edgarstammers.walsall.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 and 13 March 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in January 2021.  The school is part of The Greenheart Learning Partnership Multi Academy Trust.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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.  Inspectors met with the executive headteacher. Inspectors also met with the chief executive officer of Greenheart Learning Partnership and spoke with the chair of trustees and chair of the trust local advisory committee (TLAC). 17 and 18 January 2023

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 Meetings were also held with other senior leaders, including the deputy headteacher, assistant headteachers, curriculum leaders and SEND coordinator. Inspectors met with a range of other staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, English, history and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including leaders’ plans to improve the school and the school website. Minutes from the trustee and TLAC meetings were also reviewed.  When inspecting safeguarding, inspectors considered the school’s safeguarding policy and spoke to staff and pupils about safeguarding. The lead inspector spoke with leaders about how safeguarding concerns and incidents are reported.

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 Inspectors took account of the parent comments and responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey. They also spoke with parents on the school playground. Comments in the staff survey were also considered.

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Inspection team

Debra Newman, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Michelle Bishton His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 January 2023

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