Westvale Primary School

Westvale Primary School

Address: Melverley Road, L32 0RQ Unique reference number (URN): 104431

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Early years Expected standard

Staff ensure that children in Nursery and Reception benefit from a stimulating, well-designed environment that nurtures curiosity across all curriculum areas. High-quality interactions between staff and children are central to early years provision, enabling pupils to develop a rich vocabulary. This is particularly important as many children join with limited communication skills. The school’s approach is highly effective. By the end of Reception Year, children use language confidently and with greater precision, which prepares them well for Year 1.

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Early years Expected standard

From the outset, children follow a carefully sequenced curriculum that supports all aspects of their development. Leaders have considered carefully children's starting points. They use this information well to ensure that the curriculum, environment and interactions with children focus on the correct priorities. A key priority is early reading, as many children start with low phonics knowledge. The school has improved phonics teaching delivery, enabling children to read more fluently than before. Staff are effective in providing the foundations for reading and writing. For example, the current focus on fine and gross motor skills is helping pupils form letters accurately.

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Early years Expected standard

Strong partnerships with parents and carers further enhance learning, ensuring that families are well equipped to support their child’s progress.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have carefully designed the school’s personal development programme to give all pupils the knowledge and skills they need to become active citizens in society. This begins in the early years where pupils quickly learn positive cooperation skills. For example, they learn to take turns and share. Children begin to recognise different emotions and regulate their own feelings.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school delivers a well-structured personal, social, health and economic programme that helps pupils to understand healthy relationships. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including online. They take on leadership roles, such as school council members, house captains and reading ambassadors. These roles build pupils’ confidence in public speaking and debating. They teach them how to manage conflict and find resolutions in a safe environment. Pupils access a wide range of opportunities beyond the classroom. Leaders select these activities carefully to ensure that pupils experience things they might not ordinarily or to nurture emerging talents and interests. For example, leaders offer sports, such as cross-country and cricket, to all pupils. Pupils also visit places that deepen their understanding of wider issues, such as a local beach to study human impact on the environment or a local high school to support science learning on evolution.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school promotes pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values effectively. Pupils show respect for others in the community and the wider world and understand why it is important to learn about difference. For example, pupils reflect on how they can support people who are less fortunate than themselves.

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Needs attention

Leaders ensure that all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), access competitions that develop resilience and teamwork. For example, pupils with SEND recently took part in a local competition. Leaders track participation in wider curriculum activities to remove barriers. As a result, many pupils regularly take up the opportunities on offer.

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Achievement Needs attention

Overall, pupils’ achievement has shown some improvement. They now achieve better in reading, writing and mathematics. Although this is not reflected in national tests historically, in more recent tests pupils achieve closer to national standards in some areas. For example, the proportion of pupils meeting the phonics screening check standard increased last year, helping to reverse a legacy of weaker achievement. However, this is less evident in some subjects. For example, the school's recent work to strengthen pupils’ mathematical fluency and times table recall has not yet raised pupils' outcomes over time. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well from their starting points. These pupils do not make the progress they should because staff do not consider their support and curriculum carefully enough. This limits their overall achievement.

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Achievement Needs attention

Across the wider curriculum, most pupils have the knowledge and skills they need. As a result, most pupils are more prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

The school has recently begun work to improve pupils’ overall attendance, but attendance remains stubbornly low. Leaders have not used available information carefully enough to identify and analyse patterns and trends in pupil absence. This has limited their ability to spot where improvements were needed and restricted their capacity to direct support effectively. Leaders have only very recently started to examine this more closely. This is beginning to show very small improvements. However, it is too early to see the full impact of this on pupils’ attendance. Too many pupils still miss too much school, including some who are absent for long periods.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders set high expectations for pupils’ behaviour, and pupils strive to meet these. Typically, staff support pupils well with their behaviour. As a result, most pupils behave well in school. They show respect and courtesy to each other, staff and visitors. However, at times, staff do not make appropriate adaptations to ensure that some pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/disabilities, get the support they need to manage their behaviour.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Pupils are keen to learn. In lessons, they concentrate hard and produce high-quality work. The school addresses any bullying, discrimination or harassment promptly. Pupils trust the school to resolve any issues effectively. Staff adopt a culture of care for pupils’ wellbeing. Pupils feel secure, valued and able to participate fully in school life.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The curriculum is not sequenced carefully enough for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged pupils or those with other vulnerabilities. For example, teachers sometimes ask these pupils to complete work that they are not ready for. At times, staff do not choose the most effective support strategies that these pupils need. As a result, these pupils do not build their understanding as successfully as they could.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Pupils throughout the school receive a broad and balanced curriculum. For most pupils, this is carefully sequenced and well-thought-out. It identifies the key knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to learn. This helps them to build up their knowledge and skills successfully overtime.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Typically, staff have the subject knowledge they need to deliver the curriculum well. They check most pupils' understanding effectively to identify gaps or misconceptions. As a result, pupils generally acquire foundational knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. When teachers identify gaps in pupils’ understanding, they provide effective interventions to help them catch up.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Overall, leaders have an accurate view of the quality of the curriculum and teaching. This is helping them to make the right decisions to bring about the required improvement. However, it is too early to see the impact of some of these decisions on pupils' achievement.

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Inclusion Needs attention

For some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with more complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), staff do not identify their learning needs thoroughly enough. Although the school seeks a range of external support, this is sometimes not acted upon effectively in school. Consequently, staff lack clarity about these pupils' specific needs and do not routinely set appropriate targets. This is because the training staff receive is not specific enough to support them with building their expertise in this area. As a result, support for these pupils lacks precision. This means pupils' progress from their starting points is slower than it should be. This limits how effectively the school uses the additional money to support disadvantaged pupils.

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Inclusion Needs attention

However, for some pupils with SEND, leaders and staff diligently identify and meet their needs. They use various methods to build a complete picture of their learning, emotional and social needs. When this occurs, staff set pertinent targets, which means that pupils receive more targeted support. When this occurs, pupils make more progress from their individual starting points.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders, including governors, have a general understanding of the school’s strengths and areas requiring further improvement. They have identified appropriate priorities, such as improving pupils’ achievement in phonics and raising attendance. While there has been some success in raising achievement, progress in other areas, such as attendance, has been slower than required. This is partly because leaders and governors do not rigorously analyse available information to evaluate the impact of their actions. As a result, governors’ challenge to school leaders lacks precision. They do not always ask questions that address the root cause of the issues. Consequently, they cannot hold leaders fully to account, which limits improvement in some aspects of the school’s work.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders and governors make decisions in pupils’ best interests, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, they have invested in additional support and expanded the nursery provision. However, these actions have not always achieved the intended impact. The curriculum and support for pupils with SEND remain inconsistent in quality. Professional learning for staff is effective when targeted. However, where it lacks precision, staff do not gain the expertise needed to support pupils fully.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders and governors prioritise staff's wellbeing and workload effectively. Staff consistently praise leaders’ attention to these areas and feel valued for their work. They remain committed to pupils and the school community.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children in the early years get off to a positive start to their education. They typically develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their future education. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. In part, this is because staff do not ensure that they identify pupils' additional needs well enough or provide the correct support pupils need to effectively access the curriculum. As a result, these pupils do not always make as much progress from their starting points as they could.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Staff greet pupils warmly each morning, creating a positive start to the day. Pupils and staff build relationships based on mutual respect. This helps pupils, including children in the early years, feel part of a close-knit school community. Pupils form close friendships with their peers and look out for one another because they care about their friends’ feelings. They play well together on the playground and enjoy opportunities such as football. A range of visits to local places of interest, such as the art gallery, broaden pupils’ experiences. Pupils take pride in seeing their artwork displayed in the school dining room.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Secure relationships with staff help pupils to feel safe in school. Pupils clearly understand who to turn to if they feel worried. They trust adults to support them and have confidence in their care. Pupils typically show positive attitudes in lessons and around school. Staff maintain a calm and orderly environment. Pupils generally follow school rules and routines diligently, with staff providing support for them when needed.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy learning. They feel excited about topics such as the Second World War. They particularly enjoy reading books about different people and families in Britain.

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Next steps

• Leaders should ensure that they identify the needs for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) more quickly and accurately so that those pupils receive more appropriate adaptations and support. Leaders should then ensure that these pupils make suitable progress from their starting points, with gaps in their knowledge and skills closing quickly. • Governors should use the relevant information they need to provide more rigorous challenge to school leaders. They should use this to gain a fuller picture of the impact of school leaders' work, in order to robustly hold leaders to account for pupil achievement and attendance. • Leaders should ensure that staff receive targeted professional learning to help them meet the needs of pupils with SEND more effectively. • Leaders should check that their attendance strategy is having the intended impact on pupils' attendance rates, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, taking

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Team inspectors:

David Robinson, His Majesty's Inspector Joanna Atherton, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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About this inspection

The chair of the Board of Governors in this school is Hooshang Rahmani.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspectors are now led by his Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the members of the governing body including the chair of governors. They met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors also spoke with a representative of the local authority and the school's improvement partner.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school: The school does not use alternative provision.

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About this inspection

Headteacher: Colin Richardson The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk . Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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