Welford Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Welford Primary School Welford Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands B20 2BL

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending Welford Primary School. It is a friendly and happy place in which to learn. Relationships are warm and positive. Staff know every individual pupil well. The school motto of ‘diversity is our strength and together we succeed’ runs throughout the school. Everyone respects and gets on well with each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has devised ‘the Welford way,’ a set of rules and routines for positive behaviour and conditions for learning. Pupils know what is expected of them. They behave well and take responsibility for their own conduct.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know the staff have high ambitions for them. They appreciate the extra support they get when they need it. They enjoy their learning. As a result, outcomes are improving.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils grow in confidence as a result of the leadership opportunities they are provided. They take on roles such as house captains, members of the eco team and ‘Happiness Heroes.’ Pupils enjoy taking part in a range of clubs. For example, lacrosse, archery and computer club. Pupils thrive in this calm and purposeful environment that staff have created.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers speak highly of the school’s pastoral support. This includes the advice and help they receive through the ‘Community Room’ provision, where workshops and meetings are run for parents. 18 and 19 March 2025

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

The school is led well. Leaders at all levels have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the school’s previous inspection.

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

The curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils. Overall, the curriculum is well designed to build in the specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary pupils need to learn. In geography, for example, pupils explore the differences between features of a village and a hamlet. In science, they enjoy learning about evolution and genetics by designing an offspring using inherited traits. However, the school is very much aware that in a few subjects there is still some work to do. Currently, in some key stage 1 areas, the curriculum does not clearly define the important content pupils need to learn and when they need to learn it. This hinders younger pupils from building their knowledge as well in these subjects.

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

The children get off to a good start in Early Years. They learn important reading, mathematics and writing skills, such as how to form letters correctly. They develop positive attitudes to learning and eagerly take on responsibilities, such as, ringing the bell to indicate ‘tidy up time.’

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

The school prioritises reading. Pupils begin the phonics programme at the very start of the Reception Year. Teaching and support staff work closely to model sounds in the same way. Pupils who find reading more challenging receive the right support, which helps them to catch up quickly. This helps them develop their reading fluency. Pupils become increasingly confident in the use of phonics strategies to decode and blend words. As a result, pupils are achieving better in line with the published outcomes in early reading.

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

There is a strong culture of reading for pleasure in school. Pupils enjoy their reading sessions as well as visits to the school library and the many book displays around school. Teachers help pupils to select high-quality books that are suitable for their reading stage. The school’s assembly programme is centred on the use of high-quality books to deliver key messages around children’s rights and universal values, as well as recognising key dates and religious festivals throughout the school year. The school hosts visiting authors who work with the pupils on a range of themes which pupils present at the end of the day. As a result, pupils are very keen to read.

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

The school places a key focus on ensuring pupils write legibly, spell and punctuate their writing correctly. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to apply the foundational skills they have learned, nor to write extensively. They do not have many opportunities to choose the genre they wish to present their writing in.

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

The school supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. It identifies these pupils’ needs quickly. Staff make adaptations 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 school promotes pupils’ attendance successfully. Pupils attend well. The school has made significant improvements to pupils’ attendance. The school has high expectations of 18 and 19 March 2025

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pupils’ behaviour. Pupils demonstrate consistently good behaviour and have positive attitudes to learning. They listen attentively to adults and classmates alike, and they work hard in lessons.

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Personal, social, health and economic education is well organised. Pupils learn about relationships, cultures and faiths. They are taught how to stay healthy both mentally and physically. They are taught how to keep themselves safe, including online. The school has a wide programme of events including sustainability projects, performances, workshops and residential trips. Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

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Staff feel valued and respected. They enjoy working at the school and with each other. Governors know the school well and fulfil their statutory responsibilities effectively. They work effectively in partnership with school leaders to further develop and strengthen the quality of education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects in key stage 1, the curriculum does not clearly define the important content pupils need to learn and when they need to learn it. At times, this means that some pupils are not building their learning securely on what has gone before. The school should ensure that the key knowledge pupils need to learn and when they need to learn it is clearly sequenced across curriculum areas so that pupils build their learning securely over time.  Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to produce longer pieces of writing independently. This reduces the time they have to practise the skills they have learned on their own or to choose the type of writing they complete. The school should ensure that teachers help pupils to write independently at length and consolidate their writing skills.

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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 18 and 19 March 2025

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

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in 9 and 10 July 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 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). 18 and 19 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Deborah Bonnique

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 July 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school makes use of one registered provider of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, senior leaders, staff and pupils. The inspector also met with the school improvement partner and those responsible for governance.  The inspector focused inspection activity on the following aspects of the curriculum: early reading, early writing, mathematics, geography and science. For each focus area the inspector visited a sample of lessons, looked at pupils’ books and spoke with teachers and pupils about their learning. 18 and 19 March 2025

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 The inspector spoke to leaders and reviewed information about the curriculum in some other subjects.  The inspector spoke to leaders about pupils’ behaviour, attendance, policies and procedures. The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school and discussed the school’s analysis of attendance with leaders.  The inspector spoke with parents and staff. She considered the responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the online staff and pupil surveys.  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 children’s interests first.

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Inspection team

Lynda Townsend, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 March 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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