Caslon Primary Community School

Inspection of Caslon Primary Community School Beeches View Avenue, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 2ES

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 November 2024

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 19 and 20 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Caslon Primary Community School is a very welcoming school. It has an important role at the centre of the local community. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They feel valued due to the care and support they receive from staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is designed to build pupils’ knowledge as they move through the school. However, it is not yet implemented consistently across all subjects and year groups. Expectations for all pupil’s achievement are not high enough. This means that the curriculum does not yet support all pupils to build their knowledge well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning. They are polite and well-mannered. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and behave well. They are proud to attend the school. They show high levels of tolerance and respect. Pupils report that, ‘everyone accepts everyone at this school’. They celebrate difference and oppose any form of discrimination. Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the wider community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take on meaningful leadership roles in the school. One example is the group known as the ‘Little Jacket Potatoes’. These pupil representatives regularly meet with school leaders and the catering team. They have a role in designing the menu for school lunches. Pupils consider healthy options and what makes a balanced diet.

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

The school has created a very nurturing environment where every pupil is welcome. The development of the resource bases for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) typifies the school’s ethos. Pupils are supported very well and included in the life of the school. The school identifies pupils’ needs well. Learning is adapted to enable pupils with SEND to learn the same curriculum as their peers.

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

The curriculum identifies the knowledge that pupils need to know and remember. However, the implementation of the curriculum is not effective in all subjects. The school has not supported all subject leaders to develop the skills they need to carry out their roles effectively. As a result, information about how well pupils learn the curriculum in some subjects is not clear. In some subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge does not support pupils well enough. Explanations are not always clear. This makes it difficult for some pupils to develop a secure knowledge and understanding of the curriculum.

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

Pupils’ knowledge is more developed in some subjects than in others. For example, older pupils can describe the importance of a fair test when conducting scientific investigations. However, in some subjects pupils find it difficult to recall their learning. The school does not always check what pupils know and remember from previous key learning. This prevents pupils from building their knowledge based on what they already know. Misconceptions are not always addressed. As a result, some pupils develop gaps in their learning. For example, some pupils repeat mathematical errors and these are not corrected. Some children in the early years do not develop good writing habits, such as pencil grip and letter formation. 19 and 20 November 2024

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Pupils’ love of reading is visible across the school. The reading curriculum is well organised and sets out what pupils should know and by when. The school’s approach to teaching phonics is effective. Children in the early years start learning phonics straight away. In Nursery they explore rhyme and rhythm. Children in Reception quickly learn how to blend sounds together to read simple words. Staff identify pupils who need more practice, including pupils with SEND. These pupils are given timely support to help them to keep up. Pupils read books that match their stage of reading. This helps them to practise using their phonic knowledge and become confident, fluent readers. Pupils’ enthusiasm for reading continues as they grow older. Pupils learn about diversity and different cultures through the reading curriculum.

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At social times, pupils of all ages play well together. They show care and consideration towards each other. As a result, playtimes and lunchtimes are enjoyable for all. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. However, when explanations are not clear, some pupils become less engaged in their learning.

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Pupils learn a well-devised personal development programme. This is designed to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Pupils understand about healthy relationships and know what it means to be a good friend. They know how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. Pupils describe the school as ‘a family school’. There is a strong pastoral offer to support pupils’ individual needs. Pupils enjoy the many extra-curricular clubs, trips and enrichment opportunities on offer.

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Governors are passionate about the school. They offer a good balance of support and challenge. Most parents and carers are positive about the school. They appreciate the inclusive ethos and value the nurturing support the school provides. The school is mindful of staff workload and well-being. As a result, the majority of staff feel well supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not being implemented consistently well, including in the early years. As a result, in some subjects pupils do not build their knowledge well. The school should support subject leaders to ensure that the curriculum is implemented effectively in all subjects so that pupils learn well over time and progress as well as possible through the curriculum.  In some subjects, teachers do not always deliver the content of the curriculum with sufficient clarity. This is because their subject knowledge is not secure. As a result, some pupils do not always embed the knowledge and skills needed. The school should 19 and 20 November 2024

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strengthen teachers’ subject knowledge to ensure that pupils achieve well in all subjects.  Assessment is still being developed in some subjects. It is not used well enough to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they have been taught. As a result, pupils do not deepen their knowledge as well as they could. The school should ensure that assessment is used effectively across all subjects and use this information to inform future learning.

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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). 19 and 20 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 July 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school operates its own pre-school provision for two-, three-and four-year-olds.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club 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. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 19 and 20 November 2024

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 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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, special educational needs co-ordinator and early years leader. The inspectors also met with a range of teaching and support staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the governing body.  The lead inspector held a conversation with an external educational consultant who works closely with the school.  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.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics,

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computing and music. For each deep dive, the 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.  The inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Year 1, 2 and 3 read to a familiar adult.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspectors gathered parents’ views by considering the responses to Ofsted Parent View, and by talking to some parents before and after school. The inspectors also evaluated responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Matt Fletcher, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Janice Wood Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 November 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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