Landgate School, Bryn

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The executive headteacher and head of school have transformed Landgate into a successful school of which parents, staff and pupils are proud to be part. Leaders are not prepared to accept second best. They have worked tirelessly to eradicate the legacy of underperformance.

They have the full support of their staff. Pupils look forward to coming to school. They feel safe and enjoy their learning.

The smiles on their faces and warm welcome they give to staff in the morning confirm this. Children get off to a flying start in early years. Excellent relationships help children settle in quickly when they join.

Parents are delighted wi...th the wealth of information they receive about their child's learning. Pupils' personal development, behaviour and welfare are strengths of the school. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other, as well as to adults.

Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Attendance has improved and is now above average. The overwhelming majority of pupils make good progress across the curriculum.

The different groups including the disadvantaged, most able and girls achieve equally well. Teachers plan lessons that engage and enthuse pupils. Teachers and teaching assistants work seamlessly together, making good use of lesson time.

Leaders make sure that they have accurate, up-to-date information about pupils' performance. They ensure that pupils are on track to meet their ambitious targets. Effective middle leaders make a strong contribution to improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

The school is a hive of activity. Good use of the local amenities, speech and music therapy sessions, as well as trips and visits further afield broaden pupils' learning experiences. These activities make a positive difference to pupils' social and communication skills.

The provision for 16 to 19 study has rapidly improved. Students are developing key employability and study skills which enable them to successfully move on to a higher level of education, employment or training. Governors acknowledge that they did not know the school well enough.

They discharge their duties more diligently now, so that previous shortcomings are resolved.

Information about this school

The school caters for pupils with autism spectrum disorder. Many of the pupils have associated communication and behaviour difficulties.

All pupils have an educational, health and care plan or statement of special educational needs. Pupils join the school at different ages. The school formally federated with Oakfield High School in September 2015.

The two schools are partners in The Aspire Federation. The federation is led by an executive headteacher. Each school is separately managed by a head of school.

The governing body was reconstituted following the merger of the two schools' governing bodies as part of the federation. Three former governors from the Landgate School governing body now sit on the governing body for The Aspire Federation. The head of school took up post in January 2016.

The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic groups is much lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much lower than the national average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is above the national average.

There are many more boys than girls on the roll. The school did not meet requirements on the publication of information about governance, special educational needs, curriculum, admissions and performance data on its website. However, the school took swift action to rectify the shortcomings by the end of the inspection.