Galton Valley Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Galton Valley Primary School Brasshouse Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands B66 1BA

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Outcome

Galton Valley 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?

The pupils of Galton Valley are friendly and polite. They enjoy coming to school. They feel happy and safe when they are there. The well-being of pupils and their families is a high priority for this caring school. As soon as they start school, children benefit from warm relationships with staff. Parents and carers speak positively of the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to succeed. Children get off to a positive start in Nursery. Most pupils achieve well as they leave the school, especially in mathematics. The school is eager that all pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve highly. This commitment enables them to flourish.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that the school rules are there to keep them safe and to allow them to learn. They are respectful of one another. A calm and purposeful environment enables pupils to make the most of their learning time. The outdoor area provides an oasis of activities to enhance pupils’ chances to learn, play and exercise with their peers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Well-thought-out activities, such as trips, residential stays and visitors to school, enrich pupils’ experiences at school. A broad range of clubs, such as jewellery making, rounders, dance and cycling are popular with pupils.

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

There is an ambitious curriculum across all subjects. The school has made careful choices to enrich the curriculum. For example, in geography, pupils get the chance to consider the reasons their families may have chosen to migrate. They also use atlases and maps to plot routes across countries. This engages pupils and helps them to embed their learning, so that they know more and remember more over time. 17 and 18 June 2025

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Staff benefit from training that the school provides. This makes a positive difference to their teaching of the curriculum. Pupils benefit, such as when teachers help them to recall previous learning in lessons and use questions to deepen pupils’ understanding. Most staff make careful checks on pupils’ learning in lessons. This enables them to identify and address any misconceptions or deepen pupils’ learning.

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Children in the early years benefit from positive relationships with staff and one another. The curriculum is suitably broad and balanced. However, there is some variability in how well staff check on what children have learned. This means that some children develop misconceptions, which leads to gaps in their learning. Some children are not consistently supported to move their knowledge, skills and understanding on.

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The school identifies pupils with SEND well. Effective support and guidance enable most pupils to successfully achieve their small steps. The pupils in the SEND resource base have their needs particularly well met. Within this provision, the precise nature of pupils’ needs is understood and the right provision is put in place. Strong relationships underpin this. Learning is closely matched to what pupils already know and can remember.

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The school is determined that every pupil learns to read. Pupils benefit from a wide range of books to foster a love of reading. They enjoy listening to stories and using the school library. A systematic phonics programme helps pupils who are at the early stages of reading. However, there is some variability in how this is delivered. Extra support is provided for pupils who fall behind. However, some pupils continue to struggle to decode words. This slows their progress in becoming confident, fluent readers.

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The school has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning. Pupils rise to these expectations and are keen to learn. Lessons are free from disruption. Lunchtimes provide opportunities for pupils to use the mud kitchen, dance, sing, dress up and play games. This leads to high levels of engagement and activity. Leaders are tenacious in their approach to improving pupils’ attendance. This is effective in reducing absence from school so that pupils attend well.

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The school values, ‘Resilience, Independence and Respect’, support pupils’ character development. Pupils understand what the fundamental British values are and how these relate to them. They enjoy taking part in the elections for leadership roles, such as head boys and girls, prefects, language ambassadors and peer mediators. Pupils learn about future careers and visitors help to challenge stereotypes around the jobs people do. This builds pupils’ aspirations and prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

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Leadership is highly effective. Decisions by leaders are made in pupils’ best interests. Governors show commitment and use their expertise to carry out their roles very well. Staff enjoy working at the school and appreciate the steps the school takes to support their professional development, workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 17 and 18 June 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is variability in how well the agreed phonics programme is delivered and how well pupils’ reading books are matched to their ability. As a result, some pupils do not make the progress they should in learning to decode words accurately and books are too difficult. The school should continue to provide training to enable all staff to become experts in the teaching of phonics.  On occasion, there is some variability in the checks staff make about what the youngest children have learned. When this happens, opportunities are lost to reshape the learning and address misconceptions. As a result, some activities do not sufficiently challenge or support individual children. The school should continue to train staff so teaching is more precisely tailored to prepare children for their next steps.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in February 2020.

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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. 17 and 18 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). 17 and 18 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 February 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides before-school childcare.  The school has specially resourced SEND provision for up to 10 pupils with education, health and care plans for moderate to complex needs.

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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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the two assistant headteachers, other school leaders, one of the family support workers and the office manager.  The inspector also met with members of the governing body. She also met the local authority school adviser. 17 and 18 June 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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.  The inspector examined a range of school documentation.  The inspector took account of responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text responses. She also considered responses to Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys. The inspector spoke to a range of staff and pupils to gather their views of the school.

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Inspection team

Donna O’Toole, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 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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