Wyndcliffe Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Wyndcliffe Primary School Little Green Lane, Bordesley Green, Birmingham, West Midlands B9 5BG

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Outcome

Wyndcliffe Primary School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school serves a diverse community with a wide range of cultures and languages. Many pupils join the school with little or no English. Some are new to the country. However, all pupils settle quickly, feel safe and enjoy school. This is because staff are caring and attentive to their needs. Leaders have created a welcoming, secure, happy and healthy environment that is central to their vision.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have high expectations. They ensure that the curriculum fully prepares pupils for secondary education. They provide pupils with memorable learning experiences and opportunities to develop as well-rounded individuals. These experiences and opportunities contribute greatly to pupils’ strong progress.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils embody the trust’s values of ‘creativity, aspiration, respect, excellence and supportive’. Pupils respect staff. Their behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes is excellent. Pupils have a clear understanding of why bullying cannot be tolerated. Staff deal with bullying very effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that there are strong links between the school and the community. They encourage parents and carers to be involved in their children’s education. Every week, parents can take part in some learning activities, such as reading sessions, with their children. These sessions are very well attended.

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

Leaders have developed a curriculum that reflects their high expectations. The structure of learning supports pupils’ progression from early years to Year 6 in a very effective way. 19 and 20 April 2023

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Teaching in Nursery and Reception Years provides children with a very strong start to their education. Children enjoy a caring and stimulating environment. Staff support children’s literacy, numeracy, and personal and social development very well. Children also gain the knowledge of the world around them that they need to be ready for key stage 1. Leaders have made sure that the curriculum in key stages 1 and 2 provides pupils with the breadth and depth of knowledge they will need in readiness for secondary-phase education.

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Teachers focus on ensuring that pupils remember and use what they learn well. In mathematics, for example, lessons regularly start with a review or practice of previous learning. In history, pupils have regular reviews of prior learning and quizzes on key information. In music, pupils revisit in more depth key elements of knowledge as they develop their skills over the years. This work helps pupils to make strong progress.

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Pupils have very positive attitudes towards learning. They are keen to learn and take pride in their work. However, pupils who join the school with little or no English, sometimes midway through the school year, do not always meet all the required attainment standards in national tests. Leaders are taking effective action to ensure that these pupils can attain age-related standards by the end of key stage 2.

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Teachers check how well pupils learn in lessons. They correct mistakes and address misconceptions. However, as part of their ongoing review of the curriculum, leaders are refining the assessment system in a few subjects. As a result, teachers’ use of assessment is not embedded and is less consistent in those subjects.

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Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Leaders identify pupils’ needs with precision and give staff detailed information about those needs. As a result, staff adapt learning effectively for pupils with SEND to access the full curriculum. The school also runs a well-established specially resourced provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder. Support for pupils in the resourced provision is very effective. This allows many of them to access most or parts of the main school curriculum successfully.

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Reading is central to the curriculum. Children become familiar with books and stories in Nursery Year. From the start of Reception Year, children follow a very effective phonics programme. Staff use their high level of expertise to ensure that children who find reading difficult can catch up quickly. Most pupils become fluent readers by the end of Year 2. Support for pupils who still experience difficulties with reading in key stage 2 is also very effective. Staff make sure that pupils read every day across the curriculum.

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The provision for pupils’ personal development is exceptional. Through the curriculum, as well as assemblies and theme days, pupils have very effective opportunities to develop their awareness of British values. Pupils are keen to access the wide range of sporting, cultural and artistic activities on offer at lunchtimes and at after-school clubs. Staff encourage pupils to take on leadership roles as ambassadors for particular subjects, anti- bullying or eco-school. Pupils relish taking on these roles. 19 and 20 April 2023

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Leaders and staff work closely together as a team. Leaders are mindful of staff workload and provide strong support for their professional development. Governors and the leaders of the multi-academy trust know the school well. They provide very effective support and challenge to leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive regular training and updates. They are confident to identify and report concerns about pupils. Leaders follow up issues thoroughly. They act promptly when required. They work well with families and external agencies to protect pupils and resolve issues. Leaders, supported by the trust, have effective systems in place to manage safe recruitment and deal with any concerns about staff.

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Safeguarding

In lessons and assemblies, staff raise pupils’ awareness of how to manage risks. Pupils learn how to adopt safe attitudes in their everyday lives and how to use the internet safely.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, approaches to assessing pupils’ progress are not yet fully embedded. As a result, teachers do not always use assessment with enough precision to inform teaching in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that the very effective use of assessment, which is a feature in most subject areas, is consistent across all subjects.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2018.

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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 19 and 20 April 2023

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when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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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. 19 and 20 April 2023

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Date of previous inspection

23 and 24 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder that can accommodate up to 30 pupils across the two school sites.  The chair of the board of directors has been in post since November 2021.

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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 inspectors met with the headteacher, who is also the designated safeguarding lead (DSL), and the deputy headteachers, assistant headteachers and the special educational needs coordinator.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and one other governor. He also met with the multi-academy trust’s chief executive officer, deputy chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chair of the board of directors.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a 19 and 20 April 2023

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sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning, looked at samples of pupils’ work and heard pupils read to an adult.  The inspectors checked safeguarding arrangements and school records. The inspectors discussed safeguarding policies and case studies with the DSL. They talked to teachers and other staff about the safeguarding training they had received and how they put this training into practice.  The lead inspector observed behaviour at break- and lunchtime and talked to parents at the end of the school day.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. They also considered responses from staff to Ofsted’s online inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Patrick Amieli, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Kate Wilcock Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 April 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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