Blackwell First School

Inspection of Blackwell First School St Catherine’s Road, Blackwell, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 1BN

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 12 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection. 6 and 7 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils attend this warm, caring and nurturing school eagerly. They are keen to learn, and the excellent behaviour of all pupils means they can do so without interruption. They behave exceptionally well in lessons, when moving around the immaculately kept buildings and at playtimes. The school has developed an atmosphere where all pupils show a huge level of respect for each other. This is modelled for them by the committed, kind and dedicated staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they feel safe in school. This is because the school has ensured this important aspect is a high priority. From the very beginning, pupils settle very quickly in an environment where everyone is included and valued. Pupils talk about the importance of being kind and supporting others if they feel lonely or have nobody to play with. The ‘friendship bench’ helps them to do this well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve highly and work to the best of their ability. This high ambition is realised particularly well in reading, writing and mathematics. This begins in the early years where children get off to an excellent start in a highly stimulating setting.

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better?

The school prioritises early reading. Staff are expert teachers of phonics. The school ensures that everyone who delivers the phonics programme is well trained. This ensures that the phonics sessions are of a high quality. The consistency of approach supports pupils to apply strategies they have been taught to reading new books and to decoding unknown words. Books that match pupils’ phonics ability also support this. The vast majority of pupils are able to cope with the pace of the programme. Pupils who need extra support are identified quickly. Skilful teaching to address pupils’ individual gaps in learning is effective in helping these pupils keep up with their peers.

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better?

Pupils also achieve very well in writing and mathematics. They take great pride in their work, and books are presented to a very high standard. In mathematics, careful consideration has been given to what pupils will learn and when. Prior learning is revisited regularly. This allows pupils to remember important facts and calculations that enable them to answer more complex mathematical problems. The support for pupils with SEND in these subjects is of a very high quality. The school dog, Hetty, and the guinea pigs, Gordon and Fluff, complement the offer for these pupils and all pupils. However, the school does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to learn some subjects in sufficient depth. In these subjects, the sophisticated approach to curriculum design evidenced in other subject areas is not of the same quality. This includes how well key knowledge has been identified and how pupils revisit this to check for understanding.

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The school provides an exceptional personal development offer for pupils. They learn that it is never acceptable to treat people differently because of how they look, what they believe or difficulties they might face. The school has a very secure understanding of the pupils’ personal context. It uses this to plan opportunities for pupils to learn about the wider world beyond the school gate. Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities, including sewing, art, recorder, sports and film clubs. The school also teaches pupils how to be safe in their community and when online. Pupils apply for jobs in school, based on recognising which skills they have to carry out these jobs well. They receive ‘Blackwell pounds’ that they can use to spend how they wish. Responsibilities such as running the school tuck shop further prepare pupils for life when they are older. Pupils learn to develop independence in a variety of ways. This begins in the stunning early years

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environment where pupils can easily access the many resources in the class and learn to put them away independently. The level of concentration children demonstrate towards their learning is impressive. It prepares them very well for their next stage of education.

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The school is held in extremely high regard in the community. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the education, care and offer their children receive. Leaders place a high priority on continued staff training and staff well-being. All staff in school are highly appreciative of this. It is praiseworthy. Governors are extremely dedicated and highly passionate about the work of the school. However, while pupils are taught all national curriculum subjects, governors have not ensured that pupils study the whole curriculum in sufficient depth to enable them to have a secure and deep understanding of the key knowledge within the subjects.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to learn some subjects in the wider curriculum in enough depth. This means that pupils do not develop their knowledge and skills in some of the foundation subjects well enough. The school should ensure that pupils have opportunities to learn all areas of the curriculum in sufficient detail.  In a few subjects, the school has not identified the key knowledge and skills to be taught and when. In these subjects, pupils do not build on their learning over time. The school should ensure that the knowledge and skills pupils should learn and the sequence in which they are taught them are clearly identified to enable pupils’ progression of learning in these subjects. 6 and 7 December 2023

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 6 and 7 December 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 January 2011, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average primary school.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.  The school does not make use of any 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and senior leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design, and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the 6 and 7 December 2023

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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 looked at samples of pupils’ work in a range of subjects, including English, history, science, geography, and design and technology.  The lead inspector spoke with eight governors, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector spoke on the telephone with a representative from the local authority.  The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons at different times of the day and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They spoke formally with groups of pupils, as well as talking to pupils in lessons and around school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the lead inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector reviewed a wide range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans and information on the school’s website.  Inspectors talked informally with pupils and staff to gather general information about school life. In addition, they took account of the responses to Ofsted’s surveys of staff’s and parents’ views. Pupil surveys were not shared, so these could not be considered.

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Inspection team

Keri Baylis, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Gilbert Ofsted inspector 6 and 7 December 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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