Castle School

Inspection of Castle School Odell Road, Leamore, Walsall, West Midlands WS3 2ED

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding 3 and 4 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Castle School has created a warm and welcoming learning environment, where pupils thrive. The school is highly ambitious for all its pupils. As a result, pupils believe they can do anything they set their mind to. They consequently work hard in their lessons and make good progress from their individual starting points.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents appreciate that staff know how best to support their child, both academically and pastorally. Pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well understood and supported.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff actively model how they want pupils to behave. Tolerance and respect underpin all these interactions. Pupils respond well to this approach and, as a result, their behaviour is exemplary. On the rare occasions that pupils get upset, they quickly bounce back with the help of the schools’ highly effective pastoral team.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The schools’ personal development programme is outstanding. Pupils really enjoy learning in their community. Through this work, they develop a greater understanding of the opportunities and risks posed by life in modern Britain.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The ‘Castlefest’ music festival is a highlight of the school year for pupils and parents. This helps pupils build their resilience to being in large social settings. Sixth-form students are particularly well prepared for their next steps into education and/or training. They greatly benefit from weekly college visits.

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

The school works effectively with partner agencies to keep staff special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) knowledge and expertise up to date. As a result, each pupil’s SEND is quickly identified and understood. This means that pupils get the right provision immediately put in place for them. As part of the transition programme into school, pupils of all ages are given the right tools to be able to communicate their wants and needs effectively.

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

Some pupils have medical needs that impact on their attendance at school. The school ensures that when these pupils return, they get high-quality therapeutic support so that they can quickly settle back into their learning. This reduces the anxiety of both parents and pupils.

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

The curriculum excites and motivates pupils to learn well. The school has made sure that its content is relevant to pupils in this school. Learning is brought to life through the practical application of ideas wherever possible. With the exception of aspects of the writing curriculum, subject knowledge is clearly defined and sequenced so that pupils encounter this in a logical order. This means that pupils can build and deepen their understanding of subjects securely over time. By the time pupils leave school, they have secured useful awards, certificates and qualifications needed for their next steps into education and/or training. 3 and 4 June 2025

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Reading is a school priority. Those pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read receive appropriate support. This means that they make rapid progress in their ability to read with accuracy and fluency. Good-quality texts form the backbone of the English curriculum. For example, older pupils enjoy learning about ‘Of Mice and Men’. Through this, they develop a love of reading in genres which are initially unfamiliar to them.

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The school has a keen interest in growing staff into subject leadership roles. Subject leaders have the appropriate subject knowledge to lead their chosen subjects. However, as yet, they do not all sufficiently check to find out if, or how well, teachers are implementing all aspects of the academic curriculum as the school intends. This means that they cannot identify and support teachers who may benefit from their expertise. As a result, not all pupils are securely learning the important knowledge in every subject in a way that helps them best.

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The school’s personal development provision is exemplary. There is a plethora of opportunities for pupils to build their confidence, independence and their social and life skills. Pupils develop their talents and interests. Some are proud to represent the school at community singing events. Sixth-form students enjoy helping younger pupils at breaktimes.

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The school ensures that pupils’ preparation for adulthood runs as a golden thread through the curriculum. This focus means that pupils get to helpfully practise life skills, such as money management and travel safety. Pupils learn to understand about healthy and unhealthy relationships and about speaking up and giving consent.

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Provision for careers education is strong in all phases. Partnerships with employers, and post-16 education and training providers, are well established. Older students undertake work experience opportunities that are well matched to their intended destinations. Transition plans to next steps for sixth-form students are excellent.

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Governors are highly supportive of the school and fulfil their statutory duties effectively. Staff are positive about leaders’ support of their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In key stage 2 and key stage 3, the component knowledge of the writing curriculum does not build on pupils’ previous learning in a clear, sequential way. This limits pupils’ ability to build their knowledge and skills over time and to develop their writing stamina and fluency. Leaders should ensure that their writing curriculum is well sequenced 3 and 4 June 2025

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across the whole school and that teachers have the expertise to implement this well, so that all pupils achieve well.  Some subject leadership does not have sufficient oversight of curriculum implementation to provide the right support for staff and strengthen pedagogy, where needed. As a result, in a few subjects some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that subject leadership has effective oversight of curriculum implementation and uses this knowledge to secure continued improvements.

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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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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form

Date of previous inspection 30 th January 2018

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Information about this school

 The school caters for pupils with moderate learning difficulties and a growing number of pupils with more complex needs, such as autistic spectrum disorder.  All pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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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 3 and 4 June 2025

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(quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in the evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, three assistant headteachers. Inspectors also met with other members of staff.  The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. She also had a telephone conversation with the chair of governors and met with a group of governors, including the vice chair of governors.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school sites.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central

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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 gathered parents’ views by considering responses to Ofsted Parent View. Inspector also evaluated responses to Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Jane Edgerton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Dawn White 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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