All Saints National Academy

Inspection of All Saints National Academy High Street, Bloxwich, Walsall, West Midlands WS3 3LP

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Inspection dates: 30 April and 1 May 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 Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Good

The executive principal of this school is James Dean. The head of school is Ruth Adamson. This school is part of St Chad’s 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 (CEO), Sarah Cockshott, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Anthony Orlik. 30 April and 1 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

These are exciting times at All Saints National Academy. The last few years have seen many improvements. At the heart of these improvements are experienced leaders and caring staff. Everyone wants the very best outcomes for the pupils. The pupils are responding well to the school’s higher expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school values its relationships with families and the local community. The school has worked hard to ensure that the curriculum is relevant to the community it serves. Pupils are interested in learning and developing their independence. From the early years, pupils are happy and eager to learn. The school is calm and pupils are well behaved.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ safety in and out of school is a top priority. The school ensures that pupils learn how to build positive relationships. Pupils know how to raise concerns about things that worry them, and how to keep themselves safe online.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides many wider opportunities for pupils. For example, pupils visited a zoo and the Tower of London. This supplements their geography and history learning. Pupils learn important skills for life. For example, the ‘stop the bleed’ programme has given older pupils important knowledge of emergency first aid.

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better?

Since the last inspection, the school has undertaken a further review of the curriculum. It has determined the important content that pupils should learn. New schemes of work are in place in some subjects, which are now better suited to the needs of pupils. In many subjects the curriculum is well embedded. In these subjects, teachers’ effective checks on pupils’ learning help them to fill any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This means that pupils can recall previous learning and talk confidently about the things they are learning now. However, this successful approach is not yet consistent across the curriculum. In a few subjects, teachers do not identify all the gaps in pupils’ knowledge. The school’s monitoring has not picked this up and addressed it. As a result, pupils find it hard to build successfully on their learning.

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better?

Many pupils join the school with very low starting points. Staff skilfully help pupils who have fallen behind in their learning to catch up. They adapt their teaching and resources to meet the needs of all pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. As a result, all pupils make good progress with their learning.

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better?

The reading curriculum has been completely transformed. Reading is now a priority. Pupils are taught to read through regular lessons using the school’s new phonics scheme. All staff are effective in the teaching of reading. As a result, pupils at the earliest stages of reading quickly become confident, fluent readers. Pupils say that 30 April and 1 May 2024

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reading is important. They enjoy reading books from the school library or from their classroom reading corners.

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Children get off to a flying start in the early years because the curriculum is well developed. Children are well prepared for Year 1. They benefit from a wide range of exciting activities, inside and outside the classroom. Over time, children in the early years become increasingly independent and develop effective learning habits. This strong start continues throughout the school. Pupils continue to develop their resilience to learning and to new experiences. They get on well together and they behave well both in and out of the classroom.

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The school is committed to giving pupils a wide programme of enrichment activities. Pupils enjoy opportunities to go on trips and develop their talents and interests. Some pupils take on responsibilities, such as becoming worship leaders or reading ambassadors. One pupil summed up the responses of many others by saying, ‘The school works hard for us, to give us nice things like a library, good dinners, help with learning and music lessons.’

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In past years, too many pupils took too many days out of school. The school has prioritised working with families to improve pupil attendance. This has helped pupils with the lowest attendance to increase their attendance quickly.

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Trustees and executive leaders know the school well. The recruitment of an experienced executive principal and a new head of school has been the key to recent improvements. As a result, the school now provides pupils with a better quality of education.

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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 checked the implementation and impact of the curriculum in a small number of subjects well enough. As a result, areas that need further development have not been identified and addressed. The school should ensure that all subject leaders develop the expertise to enable them to check the quality and delivery of their subject across the school.  Assessment in some foundation subjects is not yet well developed. In those subjects, the school does not have a clear understanding of what pupils know and the gaps they have. As a result, pupils’ knowledge does not build sequentially. The school needs to ensure that assessment is effective and that teachers can identify, and then address, the gaps pupils have in their subject knowledge. 30 April and 1 May 2024

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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). 30 April and 1 May 2024

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School details

Principal James Dean (Executive principal) Ruth Adamson (Head of school) Website www.asna.walsall.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 January 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of St Chad’s Academies Trust.  The leadership team is comprised of the executive principal, the head of school and an assistant principal.  The school replaced its local academy committee last year. The new interim academy board is chaired by the CEO.  The school does not make use of any 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. 30 April and 1 May 2024

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors held meetings with the executive principal, the head of school, the assistant principal, the CEO of the trust, the chair of the trust and another trustee. The lead inspector also spoke on the telephone to a representative from the diocese.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading mathematics, computing, and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects and looked at a sample of work from other subjects.  To gather evidence on pupils’ wider development, an inspector met with the head

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of school and groups of pupils.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: checked the school’s single central record; spoke to senior leaders about safeguarding procedures; took account of the views of 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.  The lead inspector reviewed a range of other school documents and policies, including the school development plan and minutes of governor meetings.  Inspectors spoke to leaders, staff and pupils about the wider work of the school.  Inspectors reviewed the school’s records of behaviour, including bullying, and records of suspensions. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school.  The lead inspector considered responses, including free-text comments, to Ofsted Parent View and the online questionnaire. They also reviewed the responses to

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the staff survey and gathered the views of staff and pupils on site through discussion.

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Inspection team

Jane Edgerton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Helen Lowe Ofsted Inspector 30 April and 1 May 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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