Gilbertstone Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Gilbertstone Primary School Clay Lane, Birmingham, West Midlands B26 1EH

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 February 2024

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Outcome

Gilbertstone Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to attend Gilbertstone Primary School. They know that they are looked after by kind adults, who know them well. The school provides high levels of support for pupils with physical, learning or emotional health needs. This has created a caring and nurturing environment that runs throughout the school. Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes. They are polite and respectful. Pupils stated that bullying is rare in school, many said they could not think of a time when it occurred. All staff and pupils understand the school rules well. Pupils feel safe in school and know how to keep themselves safe and healthy. They take part in a range of interesting clubs and activities, and learn about the wider world and their role in society.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils’ achievement. Leaders ensure that pupils experience a broad curriculum offer. Pupils talk confidently about their learning and understand why education is important for their future lives. Pupils get off to a good start with their reading and continue to develop their reading well during their time at the school.

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

The school prioritises the teaching of reading. Adults encourage a love of reading from the moment children start school. Pupils are taught letter sounds and words in a structured way. Staff who teach the daily phonics sessions have the knowledge and skills they need to teach it effectively. The books pupils read match the sounds they have learned. Struggling readers who need additional support are given the right resources to help them catch up quickly. As a result, pupils become fluent and confident readers.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has reviewed and developed the curriculum. The new curriculum focuses on the important knowledge that pupils need to learn over time. In some instances, these changes are still being embedded. As a result, pupils’ understanding in some subjects does not yet reflect the school’s ambition. For example, in 28 and29 February 2024

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art, pupils can recall artists they are learning about now, but struggle to remember what they have been previously taught.

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Staff are trained well to help pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps staff to reflect on and improve the types of help they give in the classroom. Leaders listen to parents and work closely with a wide range of external experts to make sure that pupils with SEND receive the right kind of support. Pupils revisit learning regularly and link this knowledge to new ideas and concepts. However, sometimes learning is not adapted quickly enough to enable some pupils receiving SEND support to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

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In the early years, the school has designed the curriculum well. Staff know the children’s needs and interests and use this information to provide activities that help engage children in their learning. Communication and language are a high priority. Adults model language consistently well. This helps children improve their language skills.

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Pupils have a clear and accurate understanding of important concepts, such as democracy and the rule of law. The clubs provided by the school are popular and oversubscribed. They experience democracy first hand when they elect their school council representatives. Well-considered assemblies broaden pupils’ understanding of world faiths, differences of opinion and cultures. The school provides some opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests. Pupils stated they would value more opportunities to take on responsibilities, to work and play in teams, including external competitions.

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The governing board are passionate advocates of the school. They have a strong working knowledge of the strengths and areas for improvement. Governors offer effective challenge and support to the school. Staff say that leaders value their hard work. They appreciate how much consideration leaders, including governors, give to their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has made secure progress in implementing their new curriculum. In some subjects, recent changes to the curriculum are still being embedded. As a result, there are times where curriculum outcomes do not yet reflect the school’s ambitions. The school should take further action to ensure that the new curriculum is being consistently well implemented in order to enable all pupils to remember important knowledge and skills across the curriculum.  Not all lessons are adapted well enough to meet the needs of pupils who have barriers to their learning. This means that some pupils do not quickly secure new ideas and 28 and29 February 2024

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knowledge. The school should help and support staff to know how they can adapt learning appropriately to support all pupils effectively.

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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 March 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.

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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). 28 and29 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education 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 the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the headteacher, school staff, parents, pupils, the school’s improvement advisor and also had held a phone conversation with a representative from the local authority.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, and the special educational needs coordinator for the school. He also met other school leaders and with a range of teaching and support staff. 28 and29 February 2024

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 The inspector met with representatives of the governing board.

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 The inspector scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to pupils’ behaviour and SEND.

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 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 safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 The inspector considered the view of pupils, parents and staff through discussions during the inspection and the Ofsted surveys.

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Inspection team

Max Vlahakis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 28 and29 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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