The Meadows Primary Academy
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary
PUPILS
363
AGES
3 - 11
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
01782 234598

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(05/07/2018)
Full Report - All Reports
51%
NATIONAL AVG. 60%
% pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics



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Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 8% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 11% of schools in England) Average (About 59% of schools in England) Above Average (About 11% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England)
Poplar Drive
Blurton
Stoke-on-Trent
ST3 3AZ
01782235025

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Blurton Primary School is a lively community fully focused on its learning. The building is safe, well-maintained and enhanced by relevant and attractive wall displays. Pupils enjoy coming to school very much, and those I spoke with appreciated how well it had prepared them for secondary school. Pupils have good opportunities to take up additional responsibilities and to represent the opinions of the pupil body to school leaders. They benefit considerably from after-school clubs for a wide range of activities, including but not confined to sport. At the time of my visit, there was considerable excitement about the forthcoming Year 6 production of ‘The Lion King’. Since your permanent appointment to the post of headteacher, you have led the school with considerable energy and clarity of purpose. You have set high standards for pupils’ behaviour and for the effectiveness of teaching. The school has the strong support of its pupils, its staff and the large majority of its parents and carers. You, your colleagues and the governors have a thorough understanding of the local community, and how the school can broaden pupils’ horizons. You have made sure that pupils learn about a good range of religions, cultures and traditions. Pupils who spoke to me understood the importance of respect for others, and disapproved of any form of prejudice. The school rightly believes in overcoming quickly the difficulties that several of its pupils face. For some, the barrier is restricted communication, and for others it is their lack of social and emotional well-being. Leaders’ effective work with other agencies to support pupils and their families has achieved local recognition. Inspection evidence confirmed that pupils who join the school demonstrating poor attitudes to learning respond well to the clarity and consistency of the school’s expectations. They make rapid strides in improving their behaviour, so that they can begin learning well. During the inspection, it was clear that pastoral concern for pupils was not at the expense of academic challenge, and that you allow no excuses for underachievement. Leaders are ambitious, and in our discussions you identified without hesitation those aspects of the school which need more work. For example, you believe that a higher proportion of pupils in the early years can attain a good level of development. Both you and the governors demonstrate a willingness to seek out good practice and innovative approaches wherever they may be found. The school’s plans are well judged, detailed and allow leaders and governors to check on progress easily. Such a rigorous approach has enabled leaders to tackle effectively those areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. The outdoor areas for children in the early years have been completely redesigned. These are now attractive, and staff design resources so that children develop their interest in all areas of learning. Leaders have ensured that pupils across the school take pride in their work. As a result, pupils’ handwriting and presentation are generally of a high standard. Leaders have also developed teachers’ skills in setting appropriately challenging work for pupils of all abilities. In the lessons that we observed, we saw that this programme has been successful. Pupils concentrated hard, in part because their tasks were suitably demanding. Teaching assistants work well with individual pupils and groups of pupils. Teachers ask pupils probing questions which encourage them to think deeply, particularly in mathematics. They encourage pupils to be independent and resourceful, for example in using dictionaries, checklists or wall displays for help. Pupils collaborate well. Standards in the school have improved and are rising further. Key stage 2 outcomes in 2017 were a marked improvement on those of 2016. Year 6 pupils had made progress in reading and in mathematics which was significantly greater than that seen nationally. Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding is a real strength of the school, and all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The school has rigorous procedures for checking on pupils, for example if they are absent from school without good cause. Leaders have made sure that staff are thoroughly trained to identify any problems that pupils may face, and are alert to any signs that they may not be safe. The school’s records show that when staff identify any risk to pupils, leaders work effectively with parents to guarantee the pupils’ well-being. The school’s enhanced relationship with social services contributes significantly to the quality of its safeguarding work. Pupils told me that they feel entirely safe in school. They said that bullying only happens rarely, and that they have every confidence that staff will resolve any difficulties promptly. Pupils were able to recall, in good detail, the advice that staff had given them about how to stay safe online, and about road safety. Inspection findings In training teachers to set work that is well matched to the abilities of all the pupils in each class, you have emphasised the need to stretch the most able. We saw in lessons and in pupils’ workbooks that their work is of an appropriately high standard, and is sometimes impressive. In mathematics, teachers have established that there are always different approaches, and that there are a range of different answers to some questions. Pupils are therefore encouraged to keep thinking, and not settle for their first response. Teachers expect most-able pupils to gain a detailed knowledge of topics in the wider curriculum, and to use the technical terms associated with each subject correctly. The school’s information shows that the proportion of pupils working at greater depth in a range of subjects is rising. In recent years, the achievement of boys has lagged behind that of girls. In 2017, when the achievement of all Year 6 pupils improved, noticeable gaps in both attainment and progress between boys and girls remained. You attribute the difference to some boys’ attitudes when they join the school, and the impact that these attitudes have on their learning. However, information supplied by the school’s leaders showed me that for current pupils the difference in progress has been largely eliminated. During the inspection, the attitudes of boys to their work were as strong as those of the girls. There remains a little catching up to do, especially if all boys with the capacity to do so are to fulfil their potential at the higher standard in key stage 2. The school’s curriculum encompasses all the required subjects, and often combines them in interesting ways. For example, pupils told me how fascinating it had been to learn about Mayan mathematics when studying the history of the Mayan people. Teachers plan some excellent opportunities for pupils to apply their literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects, for example by drawing graphs or writing in a specified style. Many pieces of work showed that pupils had made strong gains in their knowledge and understanding of particular foundation subjects. However, scrutiny of work showed me that pupils in some year groups have not made the consistent and substantial progress in foundation subjects to which the school aspires. For example, although some pupils showed a strong understanding of how to work scientifically, for others the evidence was thin. This academic year, leaders have trialled a means of recording pupils’ attainment in foundation subjects to ensure that those who teach the class in subsequent years know pupils’ starting points. We agreed that this initiative provides a secure basis for further work to track and augment pupils’ progress.

The Meadows Primary Academy Parent Reviews



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