Lickey End First School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school has high expectations for pupils' achievement, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Since the last inspection, leaders have taken effective action to improve the curriculum. Overall, pupils now do well. In addition, the school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour, including those who need support to manage their behaviour.

Pupils are polite to each other and courteous to visitors.

Pupils are happy at school and attend very regularly. They love reading to Doug, the school dog.

Staff and pupils form trusting and positive relationships. The culture of safeguarding follows the credo of 'it could ha...ppen here'. Staff are vigilant, believing that 'nothing is too small'.

This means pupils feel safe.

Pupils embrace the school values of resilience, teamwork, respect and independence and participate fully in school life. They volunteer as junior leaders, play leaders, librarians in the outside 'book hotel' or well-being ambassadors.

Pupils participate in a wide range of activities to help broaden their horizons. These include dancing, ballet and designing mosaic patterns. Pupils recently took part in a remembrance coffee morning in school with the British Legion and made an Anderson shelter as part of a World War Two day.

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum that ensures each subject is logically sequenced and links to other subjects. The school has thought carefully about what it wants pupils to learn, including key vocabulary. For example, in history, pupils understand the meaning of the terms 'camber' when learning about Roman roads and 'the homefront' when learning about World War Two.

The school has carefully chosen the resources and work that pupils will complete. This builds pupils' knowledge and skills in each subject. Children in the Reception Year, for instance, have successfully learned about their recent family history through photographs provided by their parents.

The leadership role in some subjects is at an early stage of development. The school has ensured that all staff know what pupils should be learning and when they should be learning. However, the checks that the school makes on how well pupils are learning the curriculum are not sufficiently robust.

This means that, in some subjects, leaders are not always clear about how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum.Children start learning to read when they join the school in Reception. Pupils learn phonics from a suitable, structured scheme that teachers and other adults closely follow.

Until 2023, too few pupils reached the expected standard in phonics by the end of Year 1. At present, however, all pupils, including those who find reading difficult, have fallen behind, or are at an early stage, are able to sound out words using their phonics skills. Pupils are rapidly acquiring the knowledge and skills they need to be confident and fluent readers.

Pupils benefit from well-chosen books that are well matched to the sounds and letters they know and need to practise.The mathematics curriculum is structured logically from Reception up to Year 4. Pupils spoken to were able to speak clearly about what they have learned.

When pupils struggle with their learning in mathematics, as well as in other subjects, the school makes suitable adaptions. The school plans the curriculum well for pupils with SEND.Teachers and adults use questioning to check how pupils are doing in lessons.

In some subjects, the checks teachers make on pupils' learning help them to identify any gaps in their learning, but this information is not always used well enough to identify what pupils need to revisit.Almost all older pupils take on an area of responsibility. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND are well represented.

Pupils have a good understanding of both British values and the school values. They have experienced voting and making choices. As part of the work, pupils have had the opportunity to engage with local builders and a local catering company to express their views.

Pupils also have a good appreciation of other faiths, including Hinduism. The curriculum is enhanced by trips and events, such as the choir 'Young Voices'.

The headteacher leads with clarity and vision.

Leaders, alongside school staff and the governors, are taking the right actions at the right time to improve the school. Almost all parents said they would recommend the school to another parent. Staff particularly appreciate the consideration given for their workload.

Governors have an accurate view of where the school is now. They are well informed and hold school leaders to account for their actions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leadership is still at an early stage of development. As a result, the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of pupils' learning in these subjects are less well developed. The school should ensure that leadership in each subject is equally well established.

• Formal assessment systems in some foundation subjects are underdeveloped. Consequently, in some subjects, leaders are not always clear about how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. The school should ensure there are systems for checking how pupils are doing in each subject.

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