Church Langley Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Church Langley Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a friendly and welcoming community.

Pupils speak proudly about their learning. They like talking to visitors and explaining their work. In all year groups, pupils enjoy the stories they share with their teachers.

Behaviour is good. Pupils understand and apply the 'golden rules' they are taught. As a result, classrooms are calm and interesting places to learn.

The positive relationships between teachers and pupils are a strong feature of daily life in the school. Therefore, pupils are safe and happy.

Pupils achieve well overall, inclu...ding those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

However, they do not make as much progress with their writing as they do in reading and mathematics.

Pupils look out for each other. Older pupils support younger children sensitively in roles such as play leaders and reading ambassadors.

Some ambassadors promote healthy lifestyles and exercise at break and lunchtimes. Trips, for example, to the National Gallery, bring pupils' learning to life. Visitors from the Royal Opera House recently introduced pupils to new ideas in dance and music.

The wide range of after-school clubs is popular and well attended. The 'This girl can' club is especially proud of the group's rugby and football skills.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The ambitious curriculum is typically well-planned and sequenced.

It is carefully designed to give pupils a wide range of interesting experiences. Curriculum content is reviewed regularly. Leaders check that the provision meets pupils' needs from the early years to the end of Year 6.

Pupils have regular opportunities to practise, using their knowledge as they apply previous learning to new ideas.

The revised curriculum is effective overall. However, it is less established in a few subjects.

New subject leaders are checking the impact of curriculum changes to ensure that all pupils continue to achieve well. In some cases, where curriculum quality is still under review, activities are not always matched to the intended learning precisely. This means that, occasionally, pupils do not learn as much as they could.

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. In the Reception class, children enjoy matching letters to sounds. This helps them to read unfamiliar words confidently.

Older pupils who have fallen behind in reading catch up quickly. The school promotes a love of reading widely, including through the impressive pupil ambassadors.

Pupils make strong progress in reading and mathematics.

However, they do not achieve as consistently well in their writing. Leaders have acted to raise expectations of the way that writing is taught across the curriculum. Strategies include a more consistent focus on spelling and vocabulary across subjects.

Signs of improvement suggest that some of these strategies are working, but they are still at an early stage.

In most subjects, pupils explain confidently how new learning helps them to build on what they already know. Teachers check regularly to identify any gaps in pupils' understanding.

They act quickly to address misconceptions, so that new learning builds on secure foundations of knowledge and skills. In mathematics, pupils enjoy improving their mathematical speed and fluency. They respond enthusiastically to problems linked to previous learning.

Physical education (PE) and art are popular subjects. Pupils are keen to showcase their emerging skills. Overall, pupils with SEND achieve well in this inclusive school environment.

Class teachers work closely with other adults to ensure pupils are supported effectively.

Pupils respond well to teachers' high expectations of good behaviour. In the early years, children settle into routines quickly.

They learn to share and take turns together. Pupils enjoy the school's close-knit community They learn how to stay safe and to make safe choices, including when playing games online. From the early years, children are encouraged to say 'no' and to speak out if something does not feel right.

Close working with families ensures that pupils' attendance continues to improve.

Pupils' wider development is promoted well. They understand the principles of democracy and respect for others.

The extensive range of pupil responsibilities are sought after and valued. The school council plays an active role in representing the views of their peers. Ideas from this group resulted in recent events, such as the multi-cultural week and new after-school clubs.

Staff feel that they are listened to. They value the leadership's 'open door' policy and the attention given to the whole school's wellbeing. Leaders are considerate of staff workload.

They act quickly to resolve any concerns. Governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities. They understand their duty to keep pupils safe.

Together with school leaders, they are committed to supporting the school's ongoing success, including continuing to improve communication with parents.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum changes to improve pupils' writing are still at an early stage.

These changes, for example, to improve the consistency of expectations in the presentation of work, pupils' spelling and the focus on vocabulary across subjects are still embedding. As a result, pupils do not always make as much progress in their writing as they do in reading and mathematics. The school should expedite the implementation of changes to how writing is taught across the curriculum, so that all pupils achieve consistently well.

• In a few subjects, curriculum leaders are new. They are still honing their skills to evaluate what is working well and what needs to change in their areas of responsibility. That is why, in some cases, there is a mismatch between the activities set and the intended learning content.

This occasionally slows pupils' progress. The school should ensure that new leaders have any additional training they need to help them to pinpoint any necessary improvements, so that the quality of provision continues to improve.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour, or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2018.

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