Springfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Springfield Primary are happy and polite. The warm relationships between pupils and staff mean that pupils are well cared for and enjoy coming to school.

The school wants pupils at Springfield to achieve their best. It has high expectations, and pupils rise to this challenge. Most pupils in key stages 1 and 2 achieve well in English and mathematics.

However, the curriculum in the reception classes does not prepare children well for Year 1.

Pupils behave well in lessons and are keen to learn. They play well with one another on the playground and make the most of the equipment available.

Activities, led by West Bromwich Albion football club, ...help keep them fit and healthy.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They say that staff are there to help them if they fall out with their friends.

Despite the school's best efforts, some pupils do not attend school frequently enough and this slows down their progress.

Pupils benefit from a range of extra-curricular opportunities such as residential trips, theatre visits and sporting clubs and learn a musical instrument. Pupils learn to be active citizens.

They regularly take part in community fundraising activities.

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

The school has made changes to the curriculum. In most subjects, there is an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum.

This includes in English and mathematics. The well-planned curriculum and effective training enable teachers to develop their subject expertise. In a small number of subjects, however, the curriculum and assessment procedures are less well established.

This means that pupils do not consistently develop the knowledge and skills they need, and teachers are less secure in identifying gaps in learning.

Teachers identify subject vocabulary and key questions to help pupils learn the important information they need for future learning and employment. For example, in science, pupils get the chance to carry out experiments and understand what they need to do to work like a scientist.

In history, pupils learn historical facts and about important historical figures. However, the curriculum gives them less opportunity to understand and practise how a historian thinks.

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils with SEND have their needs identified early. The school works closely with parents. External agencies provide specialist support for some pupils and training for staff.

Prompts and structured support are provided when in lessons when needed, alongside extra adult help. This support helps pupils with SEND to achieve well.

The school wastes no time in helping the youngest children learn to read.

A new curriculum has been introduced to improve pupils' reading skills. It is highly structured and teaches pupils the sounds they need to know so they can read their books. These books are well matched to their current stages of reading.

Some less confident readers are still developing their fluency. They receive targeted help to catch up. This is leading to improved outcomes for all.

Pupils enjoy hearing their teachers read. They talk fondly about their class story and how teachers bring the story to life with use of 'funny voices'.

Children in the early years develop their communication and language through singing songs and rhymes and listening to stories.

This helps children to contribute to discussions within class. For example, children in Nursery can talk about the newly hatched chicks, explaining that they are 'tired because they have worked hard'. However, the early years curriculum is not clearly sequenced.

This means children are unable to build on, and develop, their knowledge, skills and understanding across all the seven areas of learning. Consequently, some children, particularly those in Reception, are not well prepared for the next stage in their education.

Promoting regular attendance is a high priority in school.

Despite this, some disadvantaged pupils do not attend school often enough. This means that they miss important learning opportunities and fall behind their peers. Leaders are keenly aware of the need to continue to work with parents to ensure that all pupils attend well.

The school has introduced a new behaviour policy. Staff say that this has created a uniform approach to the school's expectations. Pupils enjoy the rewards they achieve.

Pupils are aware of the expectations in lessons. They show positive attitudes to learning and work well with one another and independently.

The Unicef 'Rights of Children' underpins all aspects of school life.

Pupils understand the importance of valuing and respecting others, regardless of their ethnicity or ability. They know the effects and benefits of exercise on mental and physical health.

Governors are ambitious for the school.

They have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. Teachers appreciate the support they receive and enjoy working at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The early years curriculum is not clearly planned and well sequenced. This means that children are not sufficiently prepared for Year 1. The school should prioritise the development of a curriculum that builds on what children know and can do and enables them to develop sufficient knowledge and skills for their future learning.

• In a few subjects, the curriculum is still being refined and is not yet fully embedded. Where this is the case, pupils do not build their knowledge as effectively as they do in other subjects. The school should ensure that it focuses on embedding its agreed curriculum in these subjects so that pupils learn equally well across all subjects.

• The use of assessment is not yet implemented securely in a small number of subjects. This means that teachers are unsure of what gaps there are in pupils' learning. The school should implement its agreed assessment procedures in all subjects so that teachers can identify what pupils already know and what they need to learn next.