Bushbury Hill Primary School

Inspection of Bushbury Hill Primary School Old Fallings Lane, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV10 8BY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 16 and 17 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bushbury Hill is a happy, nurturing place where the needs of pupils are put first. Staff are caring and work hard to get to know pupils and their families well. The school’s core values of respect, honesty, determination, resilience and positivity are understood by all. These values shine through in all aspects of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for behaviour, and in response pupils behave well. Pupils feel safe in school and trust that adults will look after them well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff aspire for all pupils to achieve their best and to live up to the school motto of ‘To be the best we can be’. However, some pupils are struggling to learn to read and are not receiving the right help to catch up as quickly as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a wide range of enrichment opportunities for pupils. Pupils benefit from residential trips and visits that enhance their learning. They enjoy taking part in the extra-curricular clubs and activities that are on offer, such as art club, magazine club and choir. Pupils also take on leadership roles, such as digital ambassadors and school councillors. This helps them to make a positive contribution to the school.

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better?

The school has designed a broad curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils. Staff have ensured that the curriculum is relevant and engaging for their pupils. For example, pupils enjoy learning about ‘Wonderful Wolverhampton!’ and finding out if they would like to live in the Caribbean. The school has set out the important knowledge that pupils need to learn and when they should learn it. There are frequent opportunities for pupils to recall their learning, which helps pupils to remember more over time. For example, in mathematics, pupils use ‘flashbacks’ to help them remember their previous learning. Training has ensured that staff are experts in the teaching of mathematics. Pupils are catching up rapidly after the lower outcomes seen in the school’s published data in 2023.

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better?

In a small number of subjects, the delivery of the curriculum is less secure. Sometimes, staff do not have the necessary knowledge to deliver the content well enough. In these cases, they do not always identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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better?

There is a clear ambition to support children with reading from the start of their school journey. Children in the Nursery and Reception enjoy lots of rhymes, songs and stories. This fosters a love of reading as soon as children join the school. Pupils can talk about their favourite books and authors. The school engages pupils and parents in reading through various workshops. Pupils are excited to select a book from the vending machine and to visit the school library. However, although the school has put in place a well-sequenced programme for the teaching of early reading, not all staff have the skills they need to deliver it consistently well. As a 16 and 17 April 2024

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result, too many children do not receive the precise support they need to make suitable progress in learning to read.

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The school ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly. Pupils with SEND are included in all aspects of school life. Staff skilfully adapt the curriculum and provide pupils with SEND with the support they need to access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

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The school is rightly proud of its early years provision. Children settle quickly into school life and the high expectations for behaviour and learning are established in the early years. The curriculum is well designed and the school has decided on the most important knowledge it wants children to learn. This provides a strong foundation on which to support children’s future learning. Staff provide clear explanations for children, for example reminding them to ‘pinch your pencil’ to grip a pencil properly. Children feel happy, safe and secure in the early years.

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Pupils’ attendance is improving. The school works closely with families to support pupils to increase their attendance.

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Pupils learn how to stay safe and they know how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. They understand how to keep themselves safe online and value the help of the pupils who are digital ambassadors. Pupils are tolerant and enjoy learning about different faiths and religions. They have a good understanding of healthy relationships.

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Governors understand the school well. They provide effective support and challenge for the school. Staff are appreciative of the support they receive from leaders and feel proud to work at a school where they are valued.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The early reading curriculum is not implemented consistently well. Some teaching is not precise enough. Leaders need to make sure that staff have the knowledge and skills they need to deliver the early reading curriculum effectively.  Pupils who have fallen behind with their reading are not catching up quickly enough. As a result, some pupils cannot read with suitable fluency and comprehension. The school should ensure that pupils who have fallen behind get the help they need to become confident, fluent readers.  In a small number of subjects, staff’s subject knowledge is not as strong as it is in others. This means that some subject content is not delivered as well as it could be, which results in pupils having gaps in their knowledge. The school should 16 and 17 April 2024

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ensure that staff are equipped with the expertise they need to effectively implement all aspects of the curriculum so that pupils know and remember more over time.

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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 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). 16 and 17 April 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make any use of alternative provisions for pupils.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and computing. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to 16 and 17 April 2024

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some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. Inspectors also talked to leaders about pupils’ learning in history and English and examined a sample of work.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors considered a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans. Minutes of governing body meetings were also scrutinised.  Inspectors looked at records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school and talked to them about behaviour, bullying and welfare.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors 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.  Inspectors talked to parents at the start of the school day and considered the

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Ofsted Parent View survey and free-text comments. They also reviewed the responses to the staff survey and gathered the views of staff and pupils through discussion.

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Inspection team

Janice Wood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Philip Hamilton Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 April 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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