Rounds Green Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about their school. They are proud of their newly refurbished library, which they help to run. This supports their love of reading.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and behave well around school.

The school encourages pupils to aim high, drawing on its strong links to a local university. It ensures pupils are well equipped to overcome challenges they may face through the school's ambitious provision.

This is particularly evident for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who have a bespoke curriculum in the 'additional learning space'. As a result, pupils achieve well.

Pupils help each othe...r.

There is an effective buddy system to help new arrivals to integrate successfully. The school has received a national recognition for its effective support for pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Provision for sport is strong.

Pupils in Year 4 get the opportunity to become sports leaders through the 'Albion ambassadors' course with West Bromwich Albion. This builds confidence and independence. Curriculum trips, such as to Tamworth castle, inspire and enrich pupils' learning.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They say there is always a trusted adult to talk to, and are confident their concerns will be followed up.

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

The school's ambitious curriculum has high expectations that pupils will succeed, whatever their starting points.

It is sequenced well from the early years onwards. This enables pupils to progressively learn the knowledge and vocabulary that they need in each subject. The curriculum reflects the school's Black Country location and deepens pupils' understanding of where they live.

Children begin to learn phonics promptly in Reception. Many have started learning about sounds in Nursery. There is early identification of pupils with SEND and those new to learning the English language.

Consequently, pupils access the phonics programme at their appropriate level. Pupils read books that are matched closely to the letters and sounds they know. There is a sharp focus on making sure that pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read, and those who have fallen behind, quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers.

The school's adaptions to the curriculum for pupils with SEND, or those who have English as an additional language, including in early years, are effective. These ensure that pupils access the intended learning. The bespoke programmes help pupils to integrate quickly into lessons.

The school carefully tracks pupils' progress to check the impact of the provision they receive.

In English and mathematics, teachers check carefully what pupils have learned in a lesson or at the end of a unit. In lessons, pupils were able to recall previously learned vocabulary such as 'irrigation'.

Questioning by teachers at the start of lessons helps them to identify any gaps or misconceptions. However, the extent to which this happens in the wider curriculum is not as consistent. This means that teachers do not consistently address some gaps in pupils' learning.

On some occasions, the teachers' focus on pupils achieving the minimum lesson objective means they miss the opportunity to challenge some pupils further.

The high numbers of pupils with SEND, those new to English, or who are late mid-year admissions, impact negatively on the school's published outcomes. However, results have continued to improve since 2022.

The school tenaciously works with families to help them understand the importance of high attendance. Working with other agencies as appropriate, the school supports parents and carers effectively to get their children into school regularly.

The school actively promotes understanding and respect for the differences and similarities between individuals.

The school's seven virtues, as voted on by the pupils, are 'respect, citizenship, determination, teamwork, kindness, curiosity and honesty'. Pupils demonstrate these in their attitudes to each other and politeness to visitors. They help with the community shop, which provides fresh food to families.

A wide range of curriculum trips, for example to RAF Cosford, and clubs such as dance and multisport, widen pupils' experiences of the world around them.

The school ensures that staff have time for training, including in SEND, English as an additional language and in sport. This ensures that staff have the skills they need to be effective practitioners in these areas.

The school also takes account of staff workload. For example, those staff with leadership responsibilities have additional time for their roles. Teachers receive detailed resources to support their planning.

Those with responsibility with governance carry out their roles effectively to provide support for the well-being of staff, and to ask challenging questions about the information they receive. They forensically analyse all aspects of the school's performance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are times when pupils are not challenged to take their learning further. This means that opportunities to achieve a higher standard, or work at a greater depth, are lost. Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently provide opportunities for pupils to further deepen their knowledge and understanding.

• Arrangements to check what pupils have learned are not as well developed in some subjects as they are in others. As a result, teachers do not always know how well pupils are doing and where there are gaps. Leaders should ensure that, in each subject, they provide teachers with the necessary knowledge and expertise to check pupils' learning consistently.