Belle Vue Primary School

Inspection of Belle Vue Primary School Lawnswood Road, Wordsley, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 5BZ

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 8 and 9 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Belle Vue Primary School. They take great pride in being part of the school community. Each day, pupils try hard to live the school values of ‘establish, nurture, grow.’ The school sets high expectations for pupil achievement and conduct. However, variability in the delivery of the curriculum means the school’s ambitious vision is not consistently met. This impacts on pupils’ achievement, particularly in reading, writing, and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are less motivated to learn when staff do not mirror the school’s high expectations. When this happens, attitudes to learning wane. This is particularly so for some pupils who need support to manage their behaviour. Pupils know the school’s ‘ready, respectful, safe’ rules. They are aware of the consequences of not following them. Pupils enjoy spending time with friends at social times. Playground pals and staff are on hand to support as needed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy opportunities to develop their talents and interests. These include football, choir and dodgeball. Older pupils develop teamwork and independence skills during an outdoor residential experience. Visits and visitors to school help pupils to understand the curriculum better, for example, a museum trip and a Viking experience in school.

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

The school has set out an ambitious curriculum offer for all pupils, including in the early years. The curriculum is well sequenced with clear end points, except in writing. However, instability in staffing and gaps in teachers’ subject knowledge means some staff do not have the expertise to deliver the curriculum effectively. This means there is variability in how teachers present learning. Pupils do not get sufficient opportunities to apply new learning when working independently. This limits their ability to secure and embed knowledge over time.

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

Teachers checks on how well pupils learn in lessons and over time are variable. This means pupils do not know what they need to correct or how to improve their work. Gaps in learning and misconceptions are not identified and addressed swiftly enough, particularly in mathematics and writing. As a result, some pupils struggle to build securely on what they already know. This slows their progress and limits how well they learn the curriculum.

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

Instability in staffing in some early years classes has hampered the quality of experiences children receive. This means the curriculum is not consistently taught well. Children get off to a good start with developing their language and communication skills. However, early writing is not given sufficient priority and children’s early reading skills do not develop quickly enough. This impacts on the progress children make, particularly in reading and writing as they move through school.

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

Pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop a love of reading in school. This is because staff do not have the expertise they need to teach reading well, particularly 8 and 9 July 2025

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phonics. Those that fall behind are not supported well enough to catch up quickly and a few pupils fall further behind. This means that pupils do not read with the confidence and accuracy required for their age.

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The school does all it can to improve pupil attendance and reduce persistent absence. As a result, persistent absence rates have decreased significantly over time. More pupils are in school, ready to learn each day.

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There are delays in identifying the additional needs of some pupils. This includes some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and some who struggle to manage their behaviour. The school does not make effective use of all the available information to inform its decision-making. This delays the speed at which these pupils get the support they need. There is also variability in staff expertise to support these pupils. This limits the progress they make and means they do not achieve as well as they could.

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Some aspects of the school’s personal development offer are not coherently planned. Particularly in relation to character development and diversity. Most pupils develop an understanding of what it means to be respectful while learning about different faiths, including Sikhism, Christianity and Judaism. They learn about different cultures and festivals such as Diwali, Eid and Easter. However, their understanding of diversity beyond religion is less well developed. The school does not build pupils’ knowledge of personal development in a clear and consistent way. Pupils enjoy voting for pupil leaders during school elections. They fundraise for local and national charities, such as the local food bank. They take on roles such as classroom monitors. Pupils learn about healthy and safe relationships and what it means to be a good friend. They know how to keep safe when working online. However, delivery of the personal development offer is variable. As a

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result, pupils’ experiences are not always sequenced or reinforced over time.

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Turbulence in staffing, including leadership, has impacted the school’s performance and progress. Governors are trying hard to secure improvements. This has been a difficult time for the school. It has affected staff morale and caused some anxiety in the parent body.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are inconsistencies in the delivery of the curriculum, particularly in writing and mathematics. This impacts on how well pupils learn and remember more of the curriculum and limits their opportunities to apply new learning when working independently. The school should ensure teachers have the expertise to deliver the curriculum effectively, to provide a high-quality education to all pupils. 8 and 9 July 2025

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 Assessment is not used effectively to check for understanding and inform teaching. This means gaps in curriculum knowledge and misconceptions are not identified accurately and addressed. The school should ensure teachers and leaders use assessment effectively to check how well the curriculum is being taught and to help pupils to understand and embed their knowledge fluently, including in the early years.  There is too much variability in the teaching of reading, particularly for those at the early stages of reading, including phonics. This means some pupils do not learn to read with confidence and accuracy. Some fall behind and do not get the help they need to catch up quickly. The school needs to ensure that the reading curriculum is taught consistently well, so that all pupils learn to read with the fluency and accuracy expected for their age.  The additional needs of some pupils with SEND are not identified and met quickly

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enough. These pupils do not get the support they need to be successful in school. The school should ensure pupils with SEND are swiftly identified and get timely help and support to be successful in school, including in the early years.  The school does not use the information about behaviour incidents well enough to identify patterns or trends. As a result, opportunities to respond to emerging issues and improve behaviour further are missed. The school should use this information more effectively to detect patterns and determine the actions needed to improve pupils’ behaviour.  Some aspects of the school’s personal development offer are not coherently planned. This results in variability in pupil opportunities and experiences, particularly character development and diversity. The school should strengthen its offer so the pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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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, 8 and 9 July 2025

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 8 and 9 July 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 21 and 22 September 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The substantive headteacher was not in school during the inspection.  The deputy headteacher is currently the acting headteacher. An assistant headteacher is currently the acting deputy headteacher. This arrangement has been in place since January 2025.  The school provides a before- and after-school provision for its pupils.  Since the last inspection, the school provides provision for two-year-olds.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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 (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form 8 and 9 July 2025

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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 second 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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other leaders. The lead inspector met with members of the school’s governing body. She also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. The inspectors also talked to pupils, staff and parents to gather information about school life.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, English, mathematics, history, geography and art. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 The inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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 inspectors observed informal times of the day as part of their evaluation of safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View and the free-text comments. The inspector also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Lorraine Lord, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Washbourne His Majesty's Inspector 8 and 9 July 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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