Blakeley Heath Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Blakeley Heath Primary School Sytch Lane, Wombourne, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV5 0JR

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Outcome

Blakeley Heath 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, parents, carers and staff speak with warmth and pride about being part of the ‘Blakeley family’. Parents describe Blakeley Heath as a school where everyone feels welcome and supported. Pupils are proud to belong to a community where kindness, inclusivity and opportunity are championed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for both behaviour and academic achievement, and pupils typically achieve well. Strong, supportive relationships underpin the school’s success. Staff know pupils as individuals and take the time to understand their unique needs, interests and strengths. This creates a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe, listened to and valued.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well and show respect towards one another and to adults. They enjoy coming to school and speak positively about their learning experiences. The school’s vision encourages pupils to ‘aim high’. Staff support them to take pride in their achievements.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Inclusivity sits at the heart of everything the school does. All pupils have access to a wide range of enriching experiences, from residential visits to exciting trips such as visiting the seaside or seeing a show in the West End. These memorable opportunities help to build confidence, independence and a lifelong love of learning beyond the classroom.

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

Leaders have taken effective action to sustain and improve the school for pupils since the previous inspection. The school has continued to develop its ambitious curriculum. Professional development has supported subject leaders to be more confident in their 3 and 4 June 2025

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roles. The curriculum is well sequenced. It sets out the important knowledge for pupils to learn. The school has developed particularly rich and engaging curriculum content about the local area. Pupils speak with enthusiasm about the history and geography of their community. However, in some areas of the wider curriculum, activities do not help pupils to learn and understand the intended knowledge well. Where this is the case, tasks do not help pupils to fully grasp or retain important knowledge. This can slow the pace of pupils’ learning and prevent them from knowing more and remembering more over time.

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Reading is a clear strength. Phonics is taught in a structured and consistent way. For younger readers, books are closely matched to the sounds that they know. This helps pupils to build fluency and confidence. Teachers check regularly to identify any pupils who might be falling behind. These pupils are quickly given the help they need to catch up. Older pupils develop a real love of reading and many are avid readers.

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Children in the early years get off to a flying start. They develop early language skills through purposeful, engaging activities. They make an equally strong start in mathematics, which is built on to good effect as pupils move through the school.

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The school is a highly inclusive community. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from early identification of their needs. The school ensures that pupils who need extra support get the help they need so that they can access the full curriculum. Parents are extremely positive about the care and support their children receive and speak highly of how well staff cater for pupils’ individual needs.

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Behaviour across the school is consistently good. Pupils are respectful, polite and engaged in their learning. Around the school and during less-structured social times, relationships between pupils and staff are warm and supportive. The school’s approach to behaviour is clear and is consistently well applied by staff. The school has high expectations for attendance. It has a rigorous and proactive approach. The school reviews pupils’ attendance and works closely with families to provide support. As a result, pupils’ attendance is rising.

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Provision for pupils’ personal development is a further strength. The school offers a rich programme of enrichment activities based on the interests and needs of all groups of pupils. Pupils speak with enthusiasm about clubs that they attend, such as gardening, sports and musical theatre. Cultural experiences and pupil leadership roles contribute to developing pupils’ character and understanding of diversity in modern Britain. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and to take care of their mental health. A wide range of outdoor equipment in the school’s extensive grounds encourages pupils to take part in physical activity, which they do with gusto.

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Governance is strong and strategic. Governors are well informed and provide a good balance of challenge and support. Staff feel valued and well supported by school leaders. Leaders have taken clear and effective steps to manage workload and promote staff well- being, which is appreciated across all roles. 3 and 4 June 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, in the wider curriculum, the activities pupils are asked to complete do not consistently help them learn the key knowledge and skills set out in the school’s ambitious curriculum. As a result, pupils do not gain or remember the intended learning. The school should ensure that learning activities are well matched to curriculum goals so that pupils can secure and build on essential knowledge over time.

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

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2016.

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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. 3 and 4 June 2025

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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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 and 12 March 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides a before- and after-school club for pupils.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  During the inspection, pupils from Year 6 were engaged in a residential visit and so were not on site.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector listened to some pupils read from key stage 1. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 The inspector spoke with the headteacher, other school leaders and members of staff.  The inspector met with representatives of the governing body. He also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  In order 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 prioritises pupils’ needs.  The inspector reviewed a range of documents, including records of governing body meetings, the school’s evaluation of its strengths and areas for improvement, and documents related to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school and observed their behaviour at breaktime and lunch.  The inspector spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. He considered the

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views of staff shared through Ofsted’s online survey.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments.

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Inspection team

Neil Dixon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 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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