North Walsall Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school North Walsall Primary Academy has a strong leadership team that has an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement.

Leaders are determined to build on recent improvements in pupils' progress to ensure that standards continue to improve at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2. Governors understand their roles and responsibilities. They have high expectations of school leaders and provide challenge and support.

Governors took swift action to strengthen leadership by appointing an executive headteacher who has brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the senior team. Leaders ensure that pupil premium f...unding is spent effectively. As a result, disadvantaged pupils made better progress last year than previously.

However, in some year groups the proportion of disadvantaged pupils working at the standard typical for their age is low, particularly in reading and writing. Teachers have good subject knowledge and they now use this to plan lessons that meet most pupils' needs. However, in several subjects across the curriculum the most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged.

As a result, this group of pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. The teaching of phonics is secure. Pupils use their knowledge to read unfamiliar words successfully.

Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities make good progress in subjects across the curriculum. While improving, pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 has been below national averages for the last two years. In most year groups, pupils make less progress in writing than other subjects because teachers do not address basic mistakes in grammar, punctuation and spelling well enough.

Children settle well in the early years. They learn and behave well because adults plan learning that is well matched to children's needs. The quality of teaching is consistently good.

Pupils behave well. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They are polite, well mannered and make visitors welcome.

A new curriculum has recently been introduced. Leaders have ensured that it is broad and balanced. However, in some topics, pupils do not have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of what they are learning.

Information about this school

North Walsall Primary converted to academy status in April 2016, and this is its first inspection since conversion. It is one of the 22 academies that are part of the Academy Transformation Trust. The executive principal also manages another school within the trust.

North Walsall Primary has a head of academy and an assistant principal. In September, a new chair of the local academy committee was appointed. He is a chair of another school within the trust.

Each school has its own local academy committee. The committee reports directly to the trust board. The board of trustees, through the scheme of delegation and funding agreement with the Department for Education, has oversight of all the academies within the trust.

The board has responsibility for all the management and devolvement of governance, finance and human resources for each academy. Senior leaders and governors work in close partnership across the academy trust. There are opportunities for training and development of staff, for sharing best practice and for moderating assessments of pupils' work and progress.

This is a smaller-than-average primary school. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average. The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average.