Yardley Wood Community Primary School

Overview: Yardley Wood Community Primary School continues to be a good school, where everyone is valued and relationships between pupils and staff are warm and positive. Pupils feel happy and safe, and the school has established clear routines and staff teach pupils how to behave well.

Strengths:

• The school has designed an ambitious, broad and engaging curriculum that enables pupils to build up their knowledge and understanding of important ideas over time.
• The school prioritises the teaching of phonics, which is taught well and with consistency, and provides pupils with regular opportunities to practise and apply the sounds they learn.
• The school quickly identifies pupils with SEND and provides bespoke support from well-trained staff, both in the classroom and in the 'Rainbow Room'.
• The school places a strong emphasis on providing pupils with a range of opportunities to develop their talents and interests, and pupils take part in many educational visits and are participating in a 'Proud to be a Brummie' project with local musicians.

Areas to improve:

• Some pupils have gaps in their learning, which affects their progress as they move through the school. The school should ensure that staff check pupils' understanding systematically and provide pupils with the support needed to attain well across the curriculum.
• Some pupils find it hard to meet the school's expectations around behaviour, which results in pupils being suspended repeatedly, and the school should continue to work with all pupils to support them to meet the expectations of the behaviour policy, amending its strategies as needed if they are not proving to be effective.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.