Dudley Wood Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The 'STARS' values of Sharing, Trust, Achievement, Respect and Safety are lived daily at Dudley Wood Primary School. Pupils achieve well. Their well-being is prioritised.

Trusted adults in school listen to and respond to any worries pupils may have. There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Pupils are happy and safe.

Parents and carers agree.

The school sets high expectations for pupils' behaviour, using the 'ready, safe, respectful' approach. In lessons, pupils use the four good rules of listening.

They try hard and want to do their best. At social times, pupils enjoy spending time with friends. Any pupil who struggles to behave well receives effec...tive support.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs on offer, which broaden their interests. These include computing, cooking, cosmic yoga, drama and sports clubs. Focus days on the Egyptians, animals and a planetarium are popular with pupils, as well as museum visits and fieldwork trips.

Pupils are proud of their school choirs. They relish opportunities to perform at local and regional events. Auditions for the annual 'legends of rock' performance create great excitement.

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

Children in the early years get off to a fantastic start. They follow routines, share and take turns. Staff encourage exploration and problem-solving.

Language development is prioritised. Children engage in high-quality conversations with skilled adults and learn important new words. Children learn to read and write simple sentences.

They count and use numbers every day. Children grow in confidence and develop a love of learning.

Any pupil with additional needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), is quickly identified and gets the support they need.

This includes bespoke resources, adult support in the classroom or specialist professionals, such as a speech and language therapist. Recent staff training on adapting learning to meet the needs of pupils with additional needs is starting to have a positive impact on their learning. However, on occasion, some staff do not use this information or training to consistently adapt lessons for all pupils.

This makes learning harder for some pupils and limits their achievements.

Early reading is prioritised. Reading awards, classroom libraries, nursery rhyme week and Christmas bedtime story evening all promote a love of reading.

Phonics is taught daily by well-trained staff. Pupils practise their new phonic knowledge when reading books that match these sounds. Parents value phonics workshops, which help them to support reading at home.

Any pupil who falls behind in their reading is swiftly identified. They get the help and support they need to catch up quickly, which they do. Pupils learn to read at an age-appropriate level and are well prepared for the next stage.

However, misconceptions are not identified and addressed quickly enough as pupils apply their phonic knowledge when writing. This slows the progress some pupils make.

The school has adopted a highly ambitious curriculum for all its pupils.

It is carefully planned and sequenced so that knowledge builds up over time. Teachers are knowledgeable. They recall and build on prior learning effectively.

Pupils work is well presented. They know what they have done wrong and know how to improve it. As a result, pupils now know and remember more of the curriculum.

Pupils learn to be active citizens in the school community by undertaking roles such as mental well-being champions, school councillors and sustainability champions. They fundraise for the local foodbank. Pupils learn about faiths including Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism and Islam.

They explore places of worship and know their significance to different cultures. This helps pupils to develop tolerance and respect.

Recent work on improving school attendance is having a positive impact.

However, some pupils still do not attend school regularly. This means that they miss out on valuable learning and important aspects of daily school life. There is more work to do with parents to instil the importance of regular school attendance.

There have been rapid improvements to this school in recent years. The trust has brought significant rigour and challenge while also providing highly effective support to the school. There is now an aspirational school vision and a clear understanding of what needs to improve and how to improve it.

Leaders are effectively held to account by the trust for the school's performance.

Teachers appreciate the support from leaders to manage their workload and well-being. The revised curriculum, resources and changes to the school's approach to marking have significantly reduced workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• At times, there is inconsistency in staff checks on pupils' application of phonic knowledge when writing. As a result, misconceptions are not always identified and addressed quickly enough.

At times, this slows the progress some pupils make. The school should ensure all staff are confident in the school's approach to teaching phonics so that misconceptions are swiftly identified and addressed when applying phonic knowledge in writing. ? There is inconsistency in how teachers adapt learning to meet the needs of some pupils with additional needs, including some pupils with SEND.

This makes learning harder for some pupils. At times, this impacts on how well these pupils achieve. The school should ensure that teachers consistently adapt learning to meet the needs of pupils who need it, so that all pupils make the progress they should and achieve highly in school.

• Some pupils do not attend school regularly. This means they miss out on important learning and aspects of daily school life. The school should continue to work with parents and external agencies to overcome any barriers to learning and instil the importance of regular school attendance.