Minworth Junior and Infant School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Minworth Junior and Infant School Water Orton Lane, Minworth, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B76 9BU

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Outcome

Minworth Junior and Infant 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 school’s values of enthusiasm, determination, pride and respect permeate throughout. The school has set high aspirations for its pupils. Most pupils achieve high standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for how pupils should behave. Pupils listen well in lessons and follow instructions carefully. They are respectful and polite. At playtimes, ‘play leaders’ organise fun activities for younger pupils, such as basketball and athletics. Pupils are happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ resilience is nurtured by taking part in outdoor activities. Younger children regularly take part in outdoor woodland learning. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 attend an annual activity day where they take part in, for example, rock climbing. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 attend an annual residential visit where they take part in outdoor learning activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is enriched through carefully considered visits. For instance, pupils visited a museum to learn about Ancient Egypt. As part of the science curriculum, they visited a botanical garden to learn about plants that grow in different climates. Pupils benefit from an extensive range of inclusive extra-curricular activities that develop their interests well. These include football, hockey, making jewellery, gardening and writing for the school newspaper.

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

The curriculum has been carefully considered and is ambitious. The school makes sure that staff have the right knowledge to teach the curriculum well. Staff make regular checks on what pupils know and can do. In some subjects, pupils’ misconceptions are 17 and 18 June 2025

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identified but are not consistently addressed across the whole curriculum. This leads to gaps in some pupils’ knowledge in some subjects.

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Reading is a top priority. The reading curriculum is well-designed and followed. Staff have the necessary expertise to teach phonics well. Staff provide clear explanations about phonics during lessons. Pupils who need to catch up with their peers have regular extra support, which helps them to catch up successfully. Pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge. They successfully develop their accuracy and fluency in reading. Pupils achieve well in phonics.

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The school has identified that letter formation and handwriting is an area that needs further improvement. In a few classes, a new curriculum for letter formation and handwriting has been implemented. However, this curriculum has not been introduced across the whole school. This work is at an early stage of implementation. As a result, some pupils do not write fluently.

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Children in the early years are very well cared for in a nurturing environment. Staff check on each child’s speech and language proficiency as soon as they join the school. This helps staff to make sure that regular speech and language support is introduced swiftly. This helps children to catch up with their peers. Children develop their independence well. They happily role play with others in the class seaside café, taking turns to take food orders and cook. Children in the early years achieve well.

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The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified swiftly and accurately. The school makes sure that staff have the right knowledge to support pupils with SEND effectively. In most subjects, staff adapt the curriculum successfully. However, in some subjects, the curriculum is adapted less well. This means that, in some subjects, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could.

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The school has already identified the need to improve attendance rates and reduce persistent absence. The school is doing everything it can to make sure that pupils attend school regularly. The school makes sure that all absence is checked swiftly and followed up with parents. This work is having a positive impact on pupils’ attendance rates. Persistent absence rates have significantly decreased. Most pupils attend school regularly.

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The school makes sure that pupils have a clear understanding of fundamental British values. Pupils visit a range of different places of worship. They are tolerant of the beliefs of others and understand that laws keep us safe.

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The school actively promotes a sense of citizenship among pupils. For example, pupils sing as part of the school choir at a local home for the elderly. They are taught about responsibility by taking on a range of leadership roles such as ‘play leaders’. Pupils in the role of ‘house captain’ lead their teams in fundraising for local charities. Pupils have a well-developed sense of responsibility. 17 and 18 June 2025

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Governors know their roles and responsibilities and carry out their duties appropriately. They know the school well and hold leaders to account. Staff report that their workload is well managed and their well-being is well supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school has not ensured that pupils’ misconceptions are addressed. This leads to gaps in pupils’ knowledge in some subjects. The school should make sure that staff address gaps in pupils’ knowledge effectively.  The school has not made sure that letter formation and handwriting are taught well. This means that some pupils do not write fluently. The school should implement its recently introduced letter formation and handwriting curriculum across the whole school, ensuring that its approach is consistent.  In some subjects, the curriculum is not adapted well for pupils with SEND. This means that, in some subjects, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school should make sure that curriculum adaptations meet the needs of pupils with SEND to enable them to achieve as well as possible.

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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 December 2019. 17 and 18 June 2025

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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). 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 3 and 4 December 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides a before- and after-school club.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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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, special educational needs coordinator and other leaders. The inspector met with a representative of the local authority. Meetings were held with the school’s 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. 17 and 18 June 2025

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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 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 Parent View. This included free-text comments. The inspector spoke to parents and carers. The inspector also reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey and responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Emma Titchener, lead inspector His Majesty’s 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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