Rood End Primary School

Inspection of Rood End Primary School Rood End Road, Oldbury, West Midlands B68 8SQ

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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 Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 19 and 20 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Rood End Primary School welcomes everyone. Pupils enjoy their learning and attend regularly. Adults forge warm working relationships with pupils. They provide good pastoral care. Pupils know that there is always an adult to turn to if there is an issue. This helps them to feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a calm and purposeful place. Pupils meet the school’s high expectations for their behaviour. They understand the rules well. Pupils are courteous and helpful. Children settle well into the early years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects pupils to achieve well too. However, pupils do not make as much progress through the curriculum that they should. Sometimes opportunities for pupils to think deeply are not effective. Pupils do not remember some knowledge securely. The quality of some of the curriculum in the early years is variable. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective, however.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that everyone is different. They learn to respect cultures and traditions other than their own. The school provides opportunities for pupils to stay away from home, but trips and visitors seldom enrich the curriculum. Some pupils enjoy the school’s after- school clubs., which are limited to sports.

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

The school prioritises reading. Pupils follow a structured phonics programme from the very start of the Reception Year. They learn sounds and letters in a logical order. The school carefully matches books for younger pupils to their phonics knowledge. Staff use the school’s chosen programme’s resources, but the effectiveness of their practice varies. Many pupils who find reading more difficult are supported to keep up with the pace of the phonics programme, but some remain behind.

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

In lower key stage 2, the school has taken effective steps to help pupils read fluently. Across the school, pupils increasingly enjoy reading. However, the curriculum does not give older pupils the opportunity to read and discuss a sufficiently wide range of texts. This hinders pupils’ broader cultural understanding and their appreciation of poetry and plays.

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

The curriculum is broad and sequenced effectively so that, in general, work builds on what pupils already know. Teachers are knowledgeable and lessons follow the pattern that the school intends. Teachers pay due attention to the different aspects of each subject. For example, pupils in art develop their practical skills whilst learning about the work of different artists.

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

However, there is considerable inconsistency in how well the curriculum is put into practice. Pupils sometimes do not learn subject knowledge in sufficient depth. The school provides support for pupils to remember what they have learnt in the longer term, but they often struggle to do so. The effectiveness with which staff check on pupils’ learning 19 and 20 November 2024

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varies too. Sometimes pupils’ misconceptions are not identified promptly, and so persist. As a result, pupils’ outcomes are too low.

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In the early years, staff generally introduce children to new language well. However, they sometimes do not follow up on children’s responses and extend their language as effectively as they should. The design of individual activities sometimes does not allow children to add incrementally to their knowledge.

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Starting in the early years, the school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND promptly and effectively. Staff draw on guidance to ensure that they meet pupils’ needs well. As a result, pupils with SEND make secure progress through the full curriculum. The establishment of ‘The Hub’ provision for pupils with particularly complex needs has been effective. The school has drawn on expert advice on best practice.

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Everyone understands the school’s new approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. Staff apply the rewards and sanctions consistently from Nursery onwards. Pupils’ conduct in class is good and disruption is rare. The school helps pupils who display challenging behaviour to respond in a more appropriate way. The school has worked well with parents and carers to improve attendance, but there is more to do to involve them in their children’s learning.

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Pupils follow a well-designed programme of social and personal education. They learn about healthy relationships and how to keep themselves safe, including online. Through religious education, for example, pupils come to understand and value a range of faiths and cultures. Currently, however, opportunities for pupils to develop their interests, talents and leaderships skills outside the classroom are few.

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Leaders, including governors, have an accurate view of the school, and know how they want to improve it. They have provided extensive, relevant training for staff. However, leaders have not yet secured a consistent approach to putting the curriculum into practice. Staff, including teachers new to the profession, believe that leaders are considerate of their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are inconsistencies in how effectively staff put the curriculum into practice. Staff do not routinely pick up on pupils’ misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge. As a result, pupils sometimes do not learn securely, and their outcomes remain low. The 19 and 20 November 2024

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school should ensure that teachers know how to implement the curriculum in line with the school’s expectations to ensure that pupils learn in sufficient depth.  In the early years, the intentions for children’s learning are sometimes not clear. Teaching does not build sufficiently on what children already know and can do. As a result, the impact of teaching on their learning can be limited. The school should ensure there is a suitably ambitious, well-sequenced early years curriculum and that staff are able to implement it effectively.  The school has not yet ensured that adults in the early years are sufficiently adept in fostering children’s speaking and listening. As a result, children do not develop their language as fully as they might. The school should ensure that adults are skilled in listening to children and extending their spoken language so that they make strong gains in their communication skills.

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 The reading curriculum is not sufficiently broad and challenging. Consequently, pupils do not read, discuss and learn to appreciate a suitable range of fiction, non-fiction, plays and poetry. The school should make sure that older pupils read and appreciate a rich variety of texts of different kinds.

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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(s) of previous inspection 28 and 29 June 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up their post in September 2022.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school runs a breakfast club.  A significant number of pupils join the school other than at normal points of transfer. Many of these pupils speak English as an additional language.

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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. 19 and 20 November 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and with curriculum leaders. They also spoke with staff about their experience of the school.  The lead inspector met with chair of governors. He also met with the local authority’s school improvement adviser.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science, art and design and religious education. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to staff, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  The inspectors spoke with pupils at social times and with groups of pupils more

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formally to gather their views about 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 reviewed a range of documents. These included the school’s self- evaluation and school improvement plan, information about pupils’ behaviour and attendance, and the school’s curriculum.  The inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted Parent View and the free-text comments. Two inspectors met with parents at the start of the second day of the inspection. The inspectors also considered responses to a survey for staff  The lead inspector listened to a number of pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to a familiar adult.

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Inspection team

Martin Spoor, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Anna Smith 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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