Lyndon Green Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Lyndon Green Infant School Wychwood Crescent, Sheldon, Birmingham, West Midlands B26 1LZ

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are polite, well mannered and greet staff and visitors with a smile. They have a positive attitude to their learning. The pupils and staff demonstrate the school’s values of being kind, curious, respectful, helpful, resilient and adventurous. Pupils feel safe. They trust staff to help them with any friendship issues that they might have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school wants the best for all pupils. New leaders have reinvigorated the school. They have provided ambition, direction and stability after a significant period of turbulence. They are working on the right things, in the right order, as quickly as they can. Staff have made improvements to the curriculum. However, there is more work to be done to improve the quality of education that pupils receive across the school, including in the early years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide range of off-site trips and after-school clubs. They develop a strong sense of responsibility. They take on different leadership roles around the school. This might include being a member of the school council, eco-team or part of the pupil research team, whose members are focusing on improving traffic and parking around the school site. They carry out these responsibilities with pride.

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

Since the last inspection, the school has experienced considerable turbulence in leadership and staffing. This has had an adverse effect on pupils’ learning. However, the school is working with determination to strengthen the quality of education. This has already resulted in improved provision, particularly in English and mathematics. However, 23 and 24 April 2024

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there are still weaknesses and inconsistencies in the school’s wider curriculum and how well it is taught.

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Staff are in the process of overhauling what pupils learn and how different subjects are taught. The new curriculum plans are ambitious and set out precisely what pupils will learn in a logical order. However, it is too early to see the impact of the new curriculum in many subjects. Staff do not yet routinely make checks on what pupils know and remember over time, and, as a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and skills.

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Reading is a high priority in the school. Pupils enjoy reading. The school has put in place many initiatives to foster a love of reading through the English curriculum. Storytimes, a well-stocked library and special events, such as mystery reader visits, further help to promote reading. The teaching of phonics builds pupils’ phonics knowledge over time. In most instances, staff teach phonics well because they have secure subject knowledge. Staff carry out checks on pupils’ reading skills and provide extra support to help them to catch up if needed. However, this has not yet resulted in improved outcomes. Some pupils who have fallen behind with their reading, do not get enough support to help them catch up.

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When children join the Reception classes, they settle quickly and show positive attitudes to their learning. Nurturing relationships are characteristic of the early years classes. Staff plan enjoyable activities, but these do not routinely build on what children already know or fit into a well-ordered sequence of learning. The school is in the process of redesigning the early years curriculum.

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The school has appropriate procedures in place to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified in a timely manner. Suitable adaptations are made to enable pupils to follow the same curriculum as their peers. However, the curriculum for the pupils who access the specially resourced provision is not ambitious enough and it does not meet the needs of all pupils’ academic needs sufficiently well. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. The school has improved attendance through various strategies, including enhanced support for parents and pupils. Fewer pupils are frequently absent from school.

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Pupils’ wider development is carefully considered. Pupils talk confidently about how to keep themselves safe. The school provides many opportunities to enhance the curriculum. Pupils enjoy educational visits that enrich their knowledge. For example, they visited a local park to develop their observational and mapping skills. Opportunities for pupils to learn about different faiths and cultures are wide and varied.

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Parents and carers have mixed views about the school. Some are unhappy with the communication between school and home, particularly for pupils with SEND.

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Staff are happy at the school. They speak positively about the school’s actions to help them manage their workload. 23 and 24 April 2024

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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 not ensured that some pupils who have fallen behind with their learning in phonics are catching up quickly enough. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their learning and are not well prepared for their next steps. The school should ensure that pupils who have fallen behind with their reading receive the support they need to catch up quickly.  Some pupils with SEND, notably those in the resourced provision, do not benefit from an ambitious or appropriately designed curriculum. As a result, they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that these pupils have appropriate access to a well-designed curriculum offer.  The curriculum in most foundation subjects has recently been revised and is in the early stages of being implemented. Staff do not yet teach the new curriculum consistently well and they do not routinely check what pupils know and remember over time. As a result, pupils do not gain the knowledge they need to achieve as well as

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

they should. The school should embed the curriculum changes that have been made, ensuring that staff have the subject knowledge and skills they need to implement the curriculum 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 October 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. 23 and 24 April 2024

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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). 23 and 24 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been significant leadership changes in the last two years. The new headteacher took up post in April 2024.  The school has a resource base for pupils with SEND.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.

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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 this evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and senior leaders.  The inspector met with representatives from the governing body and a representative from the local authority. 23 and 24 April 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. The inspector also examined a sample of pupils’ writing books.  The inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  The inspector considered a range of documents, including the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plans. Minutes of governing body meetings were also scrutinised.  The inspector 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 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 inspector talked to parents at the start of the school day and considered the Ofsted Parent View survey and free-text comments. The inspector also reviewed the responses to the staff survey and gathered the views of staff and pupils through discussion.

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Inspection team

Cathy Young, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 23 and 24 April 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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