Langham Village School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a small school with big ambitions for its pupils.

Teachers have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and learning. Pupils are safe and understand how to stay safe. They know they can always share concerns with an adult.

This is because staff prioritise pupils' mental and physical well-being. As a result, pupils are happy.

Pupils are enthusiastic learners and they behave exceptionally well.

They listen to their teachers attentively. Pupils eagerly answer teachers' questions. They are proud to discuss their learning.

Learning ambassadors help other pupils in class. Pupils show tremendous respect to everyone.

Pupils enjoy a r...ange of trips.

Children in Reception visit the seaside and a local library. These experiences enrich their understanding of the world around them. Older pupils visit London and the theatre, and hone their gardening skills at a local stately home.

The school provides many opportunities for pupils to develop leadership skills and assume responsibility. School councillors represent their friends' views. Their suggestions lead to changes in school life.

Eco-councillors plant trees and pick litter. They campaign to reduce plastic and to protect the North Sea from sewage. This helps heighten pupils' environmental awareness.

Pupils have a voice, as citizens, in a democratic society.

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

The school has constructed an ambitious curriculum which nurtures confident, resilient and inquisitive learners. Leaders have carefully chosen the knowledge that pupils learn.

This knowledge builds logically on pupils' prior learning. In art, for example, older pupils discuss the application of a range of watercolour techniques. Leaders continue to refine the curriculum.

They provide staff with high-quality training. There is now much emphasis on pupils revisiting what they have learned before. As a result, pupils recall knowledge with ease.

In mathematics, pupils apply this knowledge to reason and solve more complex mathematical problems.

Teachers present knowledge in small chunks and with clarity. This helps pupils to grasp more sophisticated ideas.

Teachers rigorously identify misconceptions and mistakes in pupils' learning. They provide pupils with support so their learning improves. Pupils work well independently.

They show tremendous perseverance with more demanding work. Reception-age children begin carrying out helpful tasks for their teacher.

The school has prioritised the teaching of reading.

Most children in Reception quickly gain knowledge of sounds. Pupils in Year 1, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), blend new sounds automatically. They read familiar language with fluency.

Older pupils read with expression and can retell stories in their own words. Pupils apply their phonics knowledge to write with accuracy. The books which pupils read help them to learn about historical figures from a range of diverse backgrounds.

This allows pupils to empathise with people who face incredible challenges in the world today.Leaders meticulously check how well pupils read. Any pupils who fall behind receive swift support, and they catch up.

The school works with outside agencies to identify how best to support pupils with SEND. Leaders provide teachers with precise guidance on how to adapt the curriculum. Leaders regularly review how well these adaptations enable pupils with SEND to access the curriculum.

Attendance of pupils with SEND and those in receipt of pupil premium is exceptional. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well.

The school provides well for pupils' personal development.

For such a small school, it provides pupils with a multitude of clubs and extra-curricular activities, which they enjoy. Pupils hone their sporting prowess and compete regionally. They perform, play games and develop their artistic skills.

The forest school and residential experiences ensure pupils foster teamwork and independence.

Pupils know how to maintain healthy relationships. They understand how their actions may affect how others feel.

Pupils know how to mediate and resolve disagreements among their friends. Pupils are open minded, kind and compassionate. While they welcome those who are different from them, their knowledge of world religions is limited.

As a result of this, they are not as well prepared as they could be for life in multicultural Britain and a global society. The school is aware of this.

Leaders, governors and the local authority evaluate accurately what the school does well and how it needs to develop.

Leaders' actions have led to improvements in how teachers implement the curriculum and in other areas of school life. Governors hold leaders to account for their actions. Staff value the support and training they receive to become better teachers.

This is reflected in high levels of well-being among staff. Parents and carers overwhelmingly appreciate the quality of education the school provides for their children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum does not provide pupils with sufficient knowledge of different world religions and their commonalities. As a result of this, they are not building as rich an understanding of diversity in multicultural Britain and of the wider world as they could. The school needs to ensure that pupils build a richer knowledge of world religions so they are even better prepared for life in multicultural Britain and a global world.