Dingle Community Primary School

Inspection of Dingle Community Primary School Madeley Road, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 8PF

p.1

Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

p.1

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 28 and 29 January 2025

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Dingle Community Primary School. Staff help them to keep safe and healthy. Pupils know who to speak to if they are worried about anything. They are polite and well-mannered, and relationships between staff and pupils are respectful.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve academically and beyond. However, pupils are not supported to achieve as well as they could across some parts of the curriculum. As a result, pupils are not prepared as well as they should be for the next phase of their education.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils move calmly and safely around school and follow the behaviour rules of ‘Be ready, be respectful and be safe’. They play well together on the playground and work well together in lessons. They talk excitedly of the opportunities they have to take responsibility, including being sports leaders, librarians and school councillors. They value the different clubs and activities on offer to them, with many of the school community attending at least one extra-curricular club, such as dance, choir or football.

p.2

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

The school has very recently had a change in leadership. New leaders have already begun to take decisive actions to improve the school. This includes starting to improve early reading. The school has an ambitious vision for improvement. Staff are positive about working at the school, and parents and carers say that the new leadership team is already making the school a better place. However, the school has not yet embedded the new systems that have been introduced.

p.2

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

Reading has become a renewed priority in the school. The teaching of phonics and checks on pupils’ phonics knowledge are now in place. Books are better matched to the sounds that pupils are learning. For those who struggle to keep up, support is now happening. However, some staff do not have the expertise to deliver the phonics programme effectively. While systems to teach reading effectively are now in place, much of this is new and has not had sufficient time to impact positively on how well pupils read.

p.2

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

The school’s curriculum, including in the early years, is not designed well enough. The school has not identified the key knowledge and skills it wants pupils to develop in all subjects. This means that, in lessons, teachers do not know which knowledge to prioritise. Nor are they clear about intended outcomes for pupils at the end of a unit of work. In subjects where the knowledge has been identified more precisely, lessons are more successful in supporting pupils to know and remember more. For example, in physical education, pupils can accurately demonstrate a range of gymnastics and dance skills. They can explain how teachers have helped them to improve.

p.2

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

Teachers’ delivery of the curriculum is not consistent. The checks that teachers make on pupils’ understanding are not always precise enough. Consequently, some misconceptions are not identified or addressed. This is the same for children in the early 28 and 29 January 2025

p.2

3

years and for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff have some understanding of the barriers to learning and use different resources well to overcome these. However, some pupils’ misconceptions persist and learning gaps emerge.

p.3

3

Pupils with SEND have their needs identified quickly, and the school provides a sensory hub and nurture provision where a calm approach is used to help them learn. However, the reading curriculum for these pupils is not delivered as successfully as it should be. As a result, pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they might.

p.3

3

The school has clear systems to track pupils’ attendance. It responds quickly to remove any barriers to good attendance. As a result, pupils attend frequently and punctually. Pupils behave well. Children in the early years have settled well into routines and are confident to speak to other adults. Staff analyse behaviour incidents and adopt a restorative approach where pupils are encouraged to find ways to make things right. Some pupils benefit from spending time in the nurture room. It helps them to form positive relationships with their peers.

p.3

3

The school has prioritised pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn important skills of leadership through the various roles they hold. This includes being a ‘planet captain’. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online. They have respectful attitudes to difference and diversity. The school enriches pupils’ experiences through a rich offer of educational visits and wider opportunities.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The phonics programme is not delivered consistently well. This means that pupils do not develop good fluency in their reading as quickly as they should. The school should ensure that teachers introduce new sounds to pupils in an effective way with all staff trained appropriately.  The school has not designed the curriculum in some subjects with sufficient specificity and progression, including in the early years. Key knowledge to be taught has not been identified. As a result, pupils and children in the early years, including those with SEND, do not build their knowledge and skills in some subjects effectively over time. The school should ensure that the key knowledge and intended curriculum progression is identified in all subjects and used to inform teaching so pupils achieve well.  The school does not ensure that teachers’ assessments of pupils’ learning are as effective as they could be in informing next steps. As a result, misconceptions can

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

arise and not be dealt with, preventing pupils from progressing well in their learning. 28 and 29 January 2025

p.3

4

The school should ensure that teachers are more specific in the checks they make on pupils’ learning so that any misconceptions that arise can be dealt with swiftly.

p.4

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.

p.4

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

p.4

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

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). 28 and 29 January 2025

p.4

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.5

School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 September 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

p.5

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.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and other school leaders, including members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. 28 and 29 January 2025

p.5

6

 Inspectors conducted deep dives in these subjects: early reading, maths, physical education and history. They met with subject leaders and teachers. They visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work and talked with groups of pupils about their learning. The lead inspector observed pupils read to a familiar adult. The inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents, including those related to pupils’ wider development, behaviour and attendance. They also observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around school and during breaktime.  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.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils and staff and spoke to some parents to gather

p.6

6

their views. They considered responses to the online parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, along with free-text comments. They also took account of the responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.

p.6

Inspection team

Sam Cosgrove, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Patrick Amieli Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 January 2025

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7