Lodge Farm Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Lodge Farm Primary School Willenhall School Sports College Campus, Furzebank Way, Willenhall, West Midlands WV12 4BU

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 February 2024

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The interim headteacher of this school is Rebecca Craine. This school is part of SHINE Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Gemma Draycott, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Gary Gentle.

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Outcome

Lodge Farm Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Lodge Farm Primary is a community of happy pupils and adults. The school actively promotes and celebrates aspiration and diversity. The school plans its curriculum effectively to ensure all pupils enjoy learning and learn well. The school achieves its aim for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to become ‘positive, independent, confident and ambitious’ learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe in school. They know who to talk to if they are worried about anything. Staff deal well with any issues which pupils raise. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe when online and in the wider world.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is good in lessons and at other times of the school day, including breaktimes. Lessons are engaging and pupils want to learn. They present their work beautifully and take pride in their school. Pupils welcome visitors and new members of the school eagerly and helpfully. They are polite and well-mannered. As one pupil said, ‘It’s like home.’ Others told the inspector, ‘We are all friends: we care about each other.’ They certainly do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers value the support they and their children receive from the school.

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

The school has developed a curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils. It starts in the early years and builds in a logical, sequential manner. The curriculum identifies what pupils should learn, in what order and what methods work best. This helps staff, including 27 and 28 February 2024

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those at an early stage in their career, to plan their teaching with confidence and have the freedom to adapt lessons to ensure pupils learn successfully.

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Lessons begin with a recall of past learning. Learning is progressive. This helps pupils to secure their learning and learn more over time. Pupils readily make connections between past and present leaning. Their use and understanding of vocabulary develop well. Staff use questioning successfully to challenge any misconceptions pupils may have. However, staff do not consistently ask questions that extend pupils’ ability to reason and deepen their learning.

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The school’s curriculum helps pupils learn key skills, knowledge and facts. It also encourages them to think, for example, like historians, geographers or scientists. Pupils successfully develop their enquiry skills and how to use sources to inform or prove a point of view.

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Children in early years are happy and settled. Adults quickly establish routines that promote the school’s high expectations. The environment is attractive and full of exciting, purposeful learning experiences. Children progress well as a result of the well-planned curriculum that supports language development, curiosity and a love of learning.

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The development of a love of reading is a key priority for the school. The attractive, well- stocked library greets all who enter the school. Pupils visit it weekly to choose books to enjoy at home. The school has a well-established approach to the teaching of early reading. Staff are highly skilled and teach reading well. They use assessment effectively to ensure all pupils learn to read fluently and receive extra support as soon as they need it. Staff are passionate about reading to pupils daily and pupils enjoy voting for the books they will listen to next.

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Pupils with SEND receive effective support. The school quickly identifies their needs and addresses them. Adaptations to the curriculum and environment help pupils access all learning alongside their peers and become confident, successful, independent learners. Pupils who find managing their behaviour more difficult, or those who are going through difficult times, have opportunities to ‘take a break’ and spend short periods of time in special learning hubs. They quickly return to lessons ready to learn again. Pupils with SEND participate in all aspects of school life.

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Pupils value taking on roles such as librarians, school councillors, bank workers and the prestigious role of bank manager. They enjoy visits, visitors and special enrichment days. Many pupils enjoy instrumental music lessons and love to sing in the choir. Pupils have an excellent understanding of fundamental British values. They apply them to their everyday lives. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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The school encourages parents to join in with workshops covering learning and other aspects of school life. These opportunities start in the early years. They help parents share in their children’s learning and understand the value of regular school attendance. 27 and 28 February 2024

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They value the support and professional development provided by the school and trust. The trust offers the school effective support and challenge.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes teachers miss opportunities to ask pupils challenging questions that require them to explain and apply their learning thoroughly. As a result, pupils do not always develop, or apply, their previous knowledge and skills to new or complex concepts as well as they might. The school should support staff to develop their questioning skills further.

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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 October 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 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. 27 and 28 February 2024

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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 pu- pils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium fund- ing (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

Headteacher Rebecca Craine (Interim Headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 and 17 October 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast club.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The interim headteacher was appointed in September 2023.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some 27 and 28 February 2024

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pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, other senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, members of staff and pupils.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the trustees and other members of the trustees and members of the local governing body.  The inspector met with the chief executive officer of the trust.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, around the school and at breaktime. The inspector spoke to pupils about pupils’ behaviour.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector reviewed a wide range of documents, including the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plans and information on the school’s website.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including parent free-text responses. The inspector also took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  The inspector spoke with parents and families at end of the school day.

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Inspection team

Tina Willmott, lead inspector 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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