Dorridge Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Dorridge Primary School continues to be a good school.

There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) inspection now. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Dorridge Primary School is a welcoming, happy and friendly school.

The school's motto, 'Together we play, learn and succeed', threads through school life. Everyone gets on well with each other and there is a real family feeling between pupils and staff. Pupils know what kindness and politeness look like because their teachers model these to them.

Pupils... are polite, confident and mature.

Leaders have very high expectations that pupils will gain the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to be well prepared for the next stages of their education. As a result, pupils are highly focused on their learning.

This includes in the early years, where children listen attentively and follow familiar routines. Pupils enjoy taking part in educational activities and events, such as the 'Great Dorridge Bake Off'.

Pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from the school's nurturing approach.

Everyone involved with the school is a valued member of its community.

Pupils behave exceptionally well, even when no adults are watching. They know, appreciate and adhere to the rules.

They take responsibility for their own behaviour. Pupils feel safe. They can explain what bullying is and they confirm that it is not tolerated at school.

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

The school is led and managed extremely well. Leaders have developed a highly ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum. All pupils benefit from this curriculum.

Leaders have precisely mapped out the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn from Nursery through to Year 6. Teachers enrich pupils' learning by making helpful links between subjects and productive use of resources. Staff promote pupils' use and understanding of subject-specific vocabulary, for example by focusing on retrieval and inference skills in reading lessons.

Teachers break down learning into manageable chunks so that pupils build towards learning more complex ideas in a logical order. Teachers frequently check how well pupils understand new content and knowledge. Leaders regularly review the curriculum and consider how to make it the best it can be for all pupils.

Consequently, all pupils achieve well.

Leaders ensure that staff benefit from high-quality professional development. Subject-specific training focuses on ways to deepen pupils' understanding of topics and concepts.

Consequently, staff develop strong subject knowledge, which enables them to teach the curriculum with confidence.

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Leaders have established a consistent approach to the teaching of reading in the school.

Children in the early years learn phonics as soon as they start school. They develop the skills required to read with fluency and accuracy. The words in their reading books contain the phonics that they know.

This helps them to read successfully. The small number of pupils who need additional help receive effective support from adults to catch up. Pupils read with increasing confidence and expression as they progress through the school.

Carefully selected texts used in lessons, and books read to pupils by class teachers, help to foster a love of reading. Pupils have a wide knowledge of books and authors.

Pupils settle and focus in lessons because they have the motivation to learn.

Leaders are ever-present and supportive. They have very high expectations of pupils' behaviour. In lessons, teachers' consistent use of routines protects and maximises pupils' opportunities to listen, discuss and work quietly.

This helps all pupils to focus and stay on task. Everyone knows what to do and what is going to happen next. Low-level disruption is very rare.

Leaders are very ambitious for pupils with SEND. They identify pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. Leaders provide teachers with helpful information.

They support teachers in adapting the delivery of the curriculum for pupils with SEND. They secure early support and expert help for pupils when needed. This ensures that pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers and achieve well.

The school offers a very impressive range of opportunities that support pupils' broader development. Visits to school from artists and poets and taking part in sports competitions provide pupils with a wealth of experiences that help to develop their confidence. Pupils gain skills in leadership through roles such as school councillors and eco-councillors.

Staff are proud to work at the school. Leaders consider the well-being and workload of all staff members. Morale is high.

Governors know the school well and have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and next steps. Leaders work well with governors to further develop and strengthen the quality of education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

A strong culture of safeguarding underpins leaders' intentions to ensure pupils are safe. Leaders complete all the required checks when recruiting staff to the school. Staff are adept at recognising pupils who may need help or who are at risk of abuse.

Staff know the potential risks that pupils may face and report all concerns, which are followed up quickly. Leaders act to keep pupils safe. They work with a range of external agencies, when necessary, to protect pupils at risk of harm.

Pupils learn how to recognise unsafe situations. They learn how to protect themselves online and offline.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2018.

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