Edward the Elder Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Edward the Elder Primary School Moathouse Lane East, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV11 3DB

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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Outcome

Edward the Elder Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Bridget Highman. This school is part of Elston Hall Learning 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), Kevin Grayson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Gill Bladon.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Edward the Elder is a school where everyone subscribes to the values of ‘partnership for achievement’. There is high ambition for all pupils. The school is highly visible in the local community, regularly involving parents and carers in pupils’ learning. Staff, pupils and parents are right to be proud of their school. Pupils achieve high standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff hold consistently high expectations for how pupils should behave. Pupils are very polite and friendly. They concentrate and listen well in lessons. Pupil playground leaders help to make lunchtimes active by organising games. Pupils are happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school places importance on building pupils’ character. Pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 attend annual residential visits to learn in the outdoors. Pupils take part in a range of inclusive extra-curricular activities. These include choir, football and chess. Visits enrich the curriculum. For example, pupils have visited a working museum linked to a history topic and a zoo to learn about animals.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of opportunities to extend their cultural awareness. Year 6 pupils have attended a theatre to watch a musical. Pupils are taught to play the clarinet and perform in concerts for the community. 11 and 12 February 2025

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

The curriculum is well thought through with carefully considered concepts, knowledge and vocabulary identified. Meaningful links to potential careers are shared with pupils. Staff possess the appropriate knowledge to teach most subjects effectively. In a few subjects, staff’s subject knowledge is not as strong as in other areas of the curriculum. This makes it more difficult for them to show pupils what they expect high-quality work to look like. As a result, some pupils do not always produce work that is of a high standard in these subjects.

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

The school prioritises reading. Pupils are taught phonics each day as soon as they join the school. The phonics curriculum is taught precisely as intended. Staff are experts in early reading. There is an expectation that pupils will keep up with their peers in reading. Pupils who need it receive additional support to help them to read well. There are lots of opportunities for pupils to read a wide range of books. Staff explain how parents can support reading at home. Pupils achieve high standards in reading.

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

The mathematics curriculum and approach to teaching this subject has recently changed. This is impacting positively on pupils’ fluency in number work and their confidence in reasoning and problem-solving.

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

The school has also recently implemented a new writing curriculum. Staff possess appropriate knowledge to teach writing. However, the writing curriculum is not delivered consistently well. As a result, some pupils are not being supported effectively to form letters and spell at an age-appropriate standard.

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

In the early years, staff are kind and nurturing. They have identified that physical development is an area that children need more support with. Staff have appropriate knowledge of how to develop children’s gross and fine motor skills effectively. Children have opportunities to develop their fine motor skills through, for example, picking up pom-poms with tweezers and drawing big lines and circles. However, their early writing misconceptions are not addressed swiftly. Children learn about people who help in the community, such as firefighters and road-crossing wardens. As a result, they successfully develop knowledge about their local community and how to stay safe.

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

This is a very inclusive school with ambition for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and support is introduced to help them to succeed. Staff are knowledgeable about SEND. They appropriately support these pupils. Staff involve external agencies for specialist advice as necessary. This helps pupils with SEND to achieve well.

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

Leaders have introduced new methods for improving pupils’ attendance. The school is doing all that it can to encourage and support regular attendance. Pupils’ attendance has improved so that most pupils attend school regularly. 11 and 12 February 2025

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Pupils learn about fundamental British values, such as the rule of law. This learning was enhanced by a visit from the local Member of Parliament, who talked to pupils about how laws are passed. Pupils are tolerant and accepting of the beliefs of others.

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Governors and trustees know their roles and responsibilities well. They have an in-depth understanding of the work of the school. They hold leaders to account. Governors and trustees know how pupil premium funding is spent and have detailed knowledge about the positive impact of this spending. Staff report that their well-being is effectively supported, and their workload is managed well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s new writing curriculum is its early stages of implementation and is not delivered consistently well. This means that some pupils are not being effectively supported to form letters and spell at an age-appropriate standard. The school should ensure that the writing curriculum is delivered consistently.  In a few subjects, staff’s subject knowledge is not as strong as in other areas of the curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not always produce work that is of a high standard in these subjects. The school should make sure that staff have the right subject knowledge across the whole curriculum so that all subjects are taught equally well.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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, 11 and 12 February 2025

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Edward the Elder Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2012.

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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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 and 19 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school is part of the Elston Hall Multi Academy trust.

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Information about this inspection

n Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. n 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 their evaluation of the school. n The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher and other leaders. The inspector held a meeting with members of the trust board and representatives of the local governing board. The inspector met with the CEO and 11 and 12 February 2025

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other leaders from the trust. Meetings were held with curriculum leaders, teachers and support staff. n The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. n The inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult. n The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour and interactions during lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes and spoke to many pupils during the inspection. n 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. n The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. This included the free-text comments. The inspector spoke to parents. The inspector also reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Emma Titchener, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 February 2025

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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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