Palmers Cross Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Palmers Cross Primary School Windermere Road, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV6 9DF

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Outcome

Palmers Cross Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Daniel Nicholls. This school is part of Elston Hall Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Kevin Grayson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Gavin Hawkins.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The positive ethos at Palmers Cross Primary School is evident in the welcoming smiles that greet everyone. The staff deeply care for the pupils, who thrive in this harmonious and diverse community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has consistently high expectations and is ambitious for all pupils. Pupils rise to challenges and achieve well. The curriculum includes a wide variety of additional opportunities to build pupils’ understanding of the world, for example through the school’s culture days. The school works hard to meet pupils’ varied needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND are provided with highly effective support and as a result achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ exemplary behaviour reflects how they are treated by staff. They are kind, polite and respectful to one another. In lessons, pupils do their best. Across the school, pupils help one another as ‘Peer Supporters’. Pupils know there is always an adult they can talk with if they have any worries or concerns. The school fosters a sense of belonging, with pupils, parents and carers describing it as a family where pupils feel safe.

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

The school’s curriculum supports pupils’ understanding across a wide range of subjects. In English and mathematics, the curriculum is particularly successful in enabling pupils to learn well. In these subjects, teachers have carefully considered the smaller steps of learning that help pupils to make progress. The knowledge that pupils acquire is well planned and sequenced. This helps pupils achieve well. However, in some foundation subjects, the curriculum is not sufficiently precise or well sequenced. As a result, pupils 2 and 3 July 2024

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struggle to build on their previous knowledge, impacting their understanding and readiness for future learning.

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The school is highly effective in identifying and meeting the differing needs of pupils, including those with SEND. For example, in mathematics, skilled adults support pupils to secure their understanding of mathematical concepts. This helps pupils to be confident when approaching new challenges. Similarly, interventions to support pupils’ reading enables pupils to progress well. Pupils with SEND receive effective support and guidance. Adults adeptly tailor lessons to accommodate different learning needs. Leaders make checks on this to ensure that learning is effective. As a result, pupils with SEND across the school, and in the resourced provision, progress well.

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The school focuses on enabling pupils to communicate and to read confidently. Starting in nursery, children enjoy well-told and carefully chosen stories. Staff work with children to use language well in the early years. As a result, children develop a rich vocabulary. For example, children can confidently describe the work of the artist Michelangelo. When pupils are learning to read, adults generally intervene effectively, to address gaps in understanding. However, occasionally there is some variation in how effectively pupils at the early stage of learning to read are supported. Pupils’ errors, for instance, are sometimes not picked up by adults quickly enough.

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Pupils value their school, the staff and their peers. They present their work with care and pride. They have positive interactions with one another. The school ensures that parents and carers understand the impact that absence has on their child’s education, and as a result, pupils attend regularly.

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Provision for pupils’ personal development is strong. All pupils benefit from a range of extra-curricular clubs. Pupils in the early years and key stage 1 enjoy challenging themselves in forest school sessions, which enrich the planned curriculum. The curriculum helps pupils to learn about risks in the online and offline world. Pupils take lead roles in helping others. They work as school councillors and provide strong role models to other pupils by working as ‘ambassadors’. Pupils celebrate the diversity of the school population. They look forward to the school’s culture days, which provide an opportunity for pupils to share their heritage and backgrounds. They are knowledgeable and respectful about each other’s faiths and beliefs.

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Leaders throughout the school and those responsible for governance know the school well. They work effectively together to move the school forward. Their work has been instrumental in supporting the school to continue to flourish.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 In some foundation subjects, the essential knowledge pupils need to learn is not clearly identified. In addition, the the order in which content is taught does not always build on prior knowledge. As a result, pupils struggle to build on their previous knowledge. The school should ensure that the essential knowledge, and the order in which it should be learned, is clearly defined to enable pupils to build their learning effectively.  There are some minor inconsistencies in how well pupils are supported to learn to read. As a result, a small number of pupils do not read as fluently as they could. The school should continue to support staff to ensure that they consistently support all pupils to improve their confidence and fluency when reading.

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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 February 2019.

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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 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). 2 and 3 July 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Elston Hall Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust, which it joined in 2016.  The leadership of the school has changed since the last inspection. The current headteacher was appointed shortly after the last inspection.  The school has a speech and language resource base with capacity for 15 pupils with complex needs.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school runs before- and after-school childcare.

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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. 2 and 3 July 2024

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 The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the chief executive officer and other school leaders.  The inspector spoke to the chair of the board of trustees and members of the local governing board.  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.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, he held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector listened to pupils read to a member of school staff.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around the school and at

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lunchtime. He spoke formally with groups of pupils, as well as talking to pupils in lessons and around school.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text responses. The inspector also took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.  The inspector reviewed information published on the school’s website and other documentation provided by the school, including minutes of governors’ meetings.

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Inspection team

John Rowe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 July 2024

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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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