Barr View Primary & Nursery Academy

Inspection of a good school: Barr View Primary & Nursery Academy Aldridge Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands B44 8NT

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Outcome

Barr View Primary & Nursery Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this school. They consider the school to be a caring place. Leaders have carefully nurtured this supportive ethos. Pupils are adamant that bullying is not a problem. They say it rarely happens and when it does, leaders deal with it promptly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respond well to the ambitions their teachers have for them. This is reflected in the quality of work they produce. Classrooms are calm places, where pupils focus on their learning. Pupils have well-established routines and know what is expected of them. Their good attendance shows that they value their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between pupils and adults are very positive. Pupils are polite and show good manners. They behave very well. Children are taught to be kind and to support each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff provide a range of experiences to support pupils’ wider personal development. Pupils enjoy attending an activity club, where they get the opportunity to try out lots of different sports. Pupils have discussed during school council sessions the need to restart educational visits and to increase the variety of clubs available for them to enjoy. Leaders have responded by ensuring that more educational visits and a range of clubs are planned for the remainder of the academic year.

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

Leaders and staff have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. Lessons are planned and sequenced so that pupils increase their knowledge and skills over time. This includes identifying the key vocabulary that pupils need to know and use. In history, for example, pupils spoke confidently about the knowledge they had gained linked to their class book 2 and 3 March 2023

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and work on women's roles during World War One. As a result, pupils were able to discuss in some detail the differences in society, past and present.

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Leaders have prioritised improving pupils’ reading. This includes pupils still in the early stages of reading. Phonics is taught well. Leaders have made sure that there is a consistent approach across the school. Staff ensure that they match the books that children and pupils read appropriately to their phonics knowledge. When pupils fall behind, adults spot this quickly and support them to keep up with reading. This helps pupils to develop into confident and fluent readers. Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Books are carefully chosen to link with different subjects.

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Leaders use assessment strategies well to adapt what pupils need to learn across the curriculum. Retrieval sessions within lessons help pupils to remember the important knowledge they have been taught. For example, in mathematics, pupils recap known facts to help them answer questions and problems in lessons.

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Leaders have carefully adapted the curriculum so that it builds up pupils’ knowledge from the Nursery Year through to Year 6. As a result, pupils can connect what they learn, and they develop a broad understanding of the subjects they study. Staff in Nursery and Reception ensure that children behave well and quickly settle into routines. As a result, children’s learning is rarely interrupted.

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In lessons, teachers successfully adapt their teaching and tasks to support identified pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This ensures that all pupils can access the same curriculum. However, until recently, leaders’ work to identify pupils with SEND who require support has not been precise. As a result, access to additional support is variable for pupils with SEND. Consequently, some pupils with SEND do not follow the curriculum as well as they should. Leaders are aware of this. They have identified what needs to improve and have made plans to address this.

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The curriculum for pupils’ wider development is very effective. Pupils learn about democracy first hand. They enjoy taking on additional responsibilities in the school, such as representing their class as school council members. The school council discussed how leaders encourage them to give their opinions and make decisions. For example, recently, they have selected new playground equipment with leaders. As a result, new equipment has been purchased.

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Governors work with school staff to ensure that their workload is manageable. Staff appreciate this. They recognise leaders’ efforts to consider their workload when new initiatives are being introduced.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide regular training to ensure that all staff can identify pupils who are at risk of harm. Staff share responsibility for keeping children safe. They know what to do when safeguarding concerns arise. Leaders work closely with external agencies so that pupils and their families get the help they need, where necessary. 2 and 3 March 2023

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Leaders have designed a curriculum which supports pupils well in knowing how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations, such as when they are online. Pupils feel safe in school because they know they can talk to a trusted adult if they are worried about anything.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Systems for the early identification of pupils with SEND requiring support, until recently, have not been rigorous enough. Consequently, some pupils with SEND do not receive the support they need quickly enough. This has held pupils back. Leaders should ensure that pupils’ needs are quickly identified and information is efficiently communicated so that teachers can swiftly respond to pupils’ needs.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually, this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2014.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 2 and 3 March 2023

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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. 2 and 3 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10257020 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 January 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has moved from being led by co-headteachers to a headteacher since the last inspection.  The school does not make use of 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, curriculum leaders, the leader with responsibility for the provision for pupils with SEND, and a sample of teaching and support staff.  A telephone conversation was held with the chair of trustees.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed during social times and while in lessons.  The inspector spoke with parents and carers to gather their views about the school. Inspectors also spoke with staff. 2 and 3 March 2023

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 Deep dives were carried out in early reading, mathematics and history. The inspector spoke with staff who lead these subject areas. He visited lessons and spoke with teachers, including those in the early years. Conversations were held with pupils about their learning, and the inspector viewed samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also considered how leaders organise other subjects across the wider curriculum.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s parent questionnaire, Parent View, including the free-text responses. The inspector also considered the responses to the Ofsted surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Max Vlahakis, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 2 and 3 March 2023

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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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