Springfield Primary School

Inspection of Springfield Primary School Dudley Road, Rowley Regis, West Midlands B65 8JY

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 February 2024

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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 Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 27 and 28 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Springfield Primary are happy and polite. The warm relationships between pupils and staff mean that pupils are well cared for and enjoy coming to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school wants pupils at Springfield to achieve their best. It has high expectations, and pupils rise to this challenge. Most pupils in key stages 1 and 2 achieve well in English and mathematics. However, the curriculum in the reception classes does not prepare children well for Year 1.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and are keen to learn. They play well with one another on the playground and make the most of the equipment available. Activities, led by West Bromwich Albion football club, help keep them fit and healthy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They say that staff are there to help them if they fall out with their friends. Despite the school’s best efforts, some pupils do not attend school frequently enough and this slows down their progress.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a range of extra-curricular opportunities such as residential trips, theatre visits and sporting clubs and learn a musical instrument. Pupils learn to be active citizens. They regularly take part in community fundraising activities.

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better?

The school has made changes to the curriculum. In most subjects, there is an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum. This includes in English and mathematics. The well-planned curriculum and effective training enable teachers to develop their subject expertise. In a small number of subjects, however, the curriculum and assessment procedures are less well established. This means that pupils do not consistently develop the knowledge and skills they need, and teachers are less secure in identifying gaps in learning.

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better?

Teachers identify subject vocabulary and key questions to help pupils learn the important information they need for future learning and employment. For example, in science, pupils get the chance to carry out experiments and understand what they need to do to work like a scientist. In history, pupils learn historical facts and about important historical figures. However, the curriculum gives them less opportunity to understand and practise how a historian thinks.

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better?

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND have their needs identified early. The school works closely with parents. External agencies provide specialist support for some pupils and training for staff. Prompts and structured support are provided when in lessons when needed, alongside extra adult help. This support helps pupils with SEND to achieve well. 27 and 28 February 2024

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The school wastes no time in helping the youngest children learn to read. A new curriculum has been introduced to improve pupils’ reading skills. It is highly structured and teaches pupils the sounds they need to know so they can read their books. These books are well matched to their current stages of reading. Some less confident readers are still developing their fluency. They receive targeted help to catch up. This is leading to improved outcomes for all. Pupils enjoy hearing their teachers read. They talk fondly about their class story and how teachers bring the story to life with use of ‘funny voices’.

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Children in the early years develop their communication and language through singing songs and rhymes and listening to stories. This helps children to contribute to discussions within class. For example, children in Nursery can talk about the newly hatched chicks, explaining that they are ‘tired because they have worked hard’. However, the early years curriculum is not clearly sequenced. This means children are unable to build on, and develop, their knowledge, skills and understanding across all the seven areas of learning. Consequently, some children, particularly those in Reception, are not well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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Promoting regular attendance is a high priority in school. Despite this, some disadvantaged pupils do not attend school often enough. This means that they miss important learning opportunities and fall behind their peers. Leaders are keenly aware of the need to continue to work with parents to ensure that all pupils attend well.

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The school has introduced a new behaviour policy. Staff say that this has created a uniform approach to the school’s expectations. Pupils enjoy the rewards they achieve. Pupils are aware of the expectations in lessons. They show positive attitudes to learning and work well with one another and independently.

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The Unicef ‘Rights of Children’ underpins all aspects of school life. Pupils understand the importance of valuing and respecting others, regardless of their ethnicity or ability. They know the effects and benefits of exercise on mental and physical health.

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Governors are ambitious for the school. They have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Teachers appreciate the support they receive and enjoy working at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The early years curriculum is not clearly planned and well sequenced. This means 27 and 28 February 2024

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that children are not sufficiently prepared for Year 1. The school should prioritise the development of a curriculum that builds on what children know and can do and enables them to develop sufficient knowledge and skills for their future learning.  In a few subjects, the curriculum is still being refined and is not yet fully embedded. Where this is the case, pupils do not build their knowledge as effectively as they do in other subjects. The school should ensure that it focuses on embedding its agreed curriculum in these subjects so that pupils learn equally well across all subjects.  The use of assessment is not yet implemented securely in a small number of subjects. This means that teachers are unsure of what gaps there are in pupils’ learning. The school should implement its agreed assessment procedures in all subjects so that teachers can identify what pupils already know and what they need to learn next.

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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). 27 and 28 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Rachel Rodgers and Karen Shaw (Co- Chairs) Headteacher Alison Bhardwaj

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 3 and 4 November 2021, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a wraparound club.  The school makes use of one 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 met with the headteacher, as well as the leaders responsible for the early years, SEND, behaviour, early career teachers, attendance and personal development.  The lead inspector met with the co-chairs of governors. She also spoke to a 27 and 28 February 2024

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representative from the local authority and the school improvement adviser.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, science, history and computing. They also visited a number of English and mathematics lessons across the school. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the lead inspector reviewed the single central record, risk assessments and a sample of case files for pupils receiving support from external agencies. She also spoke to a representative from the alternative provision. Inspectors took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils and considered the extent to which the school has created an open

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and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors examined a range of school documentation, including leaders’ self- evaluation, improvement plans, records of governance and documentation relating to attendance and pupils’ behaviour.  Inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and free-text service and spoke with parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors also considered responses to the staff survey.  During the inspection, inspectors met with groups of pupils both formally and during less-structured parts of the day.

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Inspection team

Donna O’Toole, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Dukes Ofsted Inspector 27 and 28 February 2024

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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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