Birdwell Primary School

Overview

Birdwell Primary School is described as a place ‘where everybody can be somebody’, where pupils thrive academically and socially. The report states that leaders are committed to improving outcomes, resulting in pupils achieving well from their starting points and consistently performing above national averages in reading, writing, and mathematics.

Strengths

• Pupils develop into ‘proficient readers’ and ‘competent writers’, with a curriculum that is ‘ambitious’ and ‘carefully sequenced’.
• Attendance is above the national average, supported by a ‘caring approach’ to identifying barriers and strong partnerships with families.
• Behaviour is ‘highly conducive to learning’, with bullying being ‘rare’ and staff modelling expected standards consistently.
• Staff receive ‘high-quality professional development’ and report feeling supported, while parents ‘overwhelmingly endorse’ the school’s ‘caring ethos’.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support, with previous gaps in outcomes ‘closing quickly’.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure teachers have ‘consistently high expectations’ so that all pupils produce work of a high quality, addressing current variability.
• Leaders should refine systems for monitoring attendance for ‘particular groups of pupils’ through more ‘forensic analysis’.
• Teachers should improve the precision of checks on pupils’ understanding to prevent some errors in written work from persisting.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an ‘open culture’ where concerns are ‘actively identified, acted upon and managed’, ensuring pupils are made safer and feel safe.