William Murdoch Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 June 2022

William Murdoch Primary School is a vibrant, welcoming school. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils and encourage them to 'be their best'. Classrooms are industrious places where pupils engage well in their learning. Pupils are happy and safe. They enjoy coming to school. Pupils are respectful and kind to each other. Bullying incidents are rare. Pupils are confident that staff will resolve any bullying issues or other concerns that they have. Leaders ensure that pupils achieve well academically and personally. They are proud of their United Nations Convention on children's rights (UNICEF) bronze award. Pupils enjoy reading the wide range of literature available to them. A wealth of clubs, activities and experiences allow pupils to develop their talents and interests. Pupils enjoy attending cultural evenings in school, and musical events at Birmingham Symphony Hall. All older pupils learn to play a musical instrument. They enjoy attending the cricket, and the brass music club. Leaders expect all pupils to behave well. Pupils know that it is 'good to be green'. At social times, pupils play well together, and incidents of poor behaviour are rare. The vast majority of parents are positive about the school and the education their children receive.

What the school should improve

• The curriculum in science and music is not yet clearly sequenced to build pupils' knowledge. Staff do not have the expertise they need to teach these subjects effectively. As a result, pupils do not know and remember as much as they should. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is sequenced to help pupils know and remember more. They should ensure that staff have the knowledge they need to teach these subjects effectively.
• Middle leaders do not fully understand their roles in making effective checks on the impact of the curriculum in the subjects that they lead. This means that leaders do not know how effective the curriculum is in making sure that pupils know and remember the intended curriculum. Leaders should support middle leaders to fully understand their roles and what is expected of them.
• Governance has been significantly hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some important areas of the school's work have not been checked and some routines have slipped. Governors need to swiftly reinstate their regular checks on the work of the school, particularly health and safety.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)