Langland Community School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils proudly show the school values of being 'ambitious, considerate, courageous, curious, honest and resilient'. They have positive and trusting relationships with the adults in the school.

Pupils know that staff have their best interests at heart. As such, pupils value the school's high expectations for how they will learn and behave, and consistently strive to meet them. Pupils appreciate the leadership opportunities they have.

As 'Junior Leadership Team' members, classroom and assembly monitors and play leaders, pupils learn how to make a positive contribution to their community.

Many pupils who attend this school are disadvantaged and have complex need...s. Staff get to know pupils rapidly and put in place the effective pastoral and learning support that pupils need.

Due to this, all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

Playtimes are mostly positive and happy places. Pupils play well with each other and enjoy the range of activities that are available to them.

On occasions, pupils disagree during social times, especially on the football pitch. This sometimes leads to incidents where a small number of pupils behave unkindly towards each other. The school has recently changed the structure of playtimes as part of the approach to reduce these incidents.

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

The school has designed an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. The school has carefully mapped out the knowledge pupils will learn and when. This begins from the early years.

Where needed, the curriculum is changed to meet a broad range of pupils' needs and starting points. Subsequently, all pupils progress well through this ambitious curriculum.

Some published key stage 2 outcomes in 2024 were much lower than national averages.

These outcomes have improved since 2023. However, the school recognises that they are still too low. The school has taken decisive action to address this.

A high number of pupils join at various times of the year, often in the older year groups. The school has put in place a package of support to help these pupils close the various gaps in knowledge they have. Current pupils are making good progress through the planned curriculum and making up gaps in prior learning.

The school identifies and meet the needs of pupils with SEND very well. The 'Nest' classroom is used effectively to provide targeted activities and support to pupils with more complex needs.

Teachers are highly skilled and knowledgeable.

They provide effective activities, which help pupils to build knowledge over time. This is most evident in the teaching of phonics, where staff expertly teach pupils how to read. In all areas of the curriculum, including phonics, staff regularly check how well pupils are learning.

They put in place effective extra activities to help those who are falling behind. As a result, pupils are confident readers and have secure knowledge of the wider curriculum.

In Nursery and Reception, children are taught an ambitious curriculum.

They secure knowledge that they need to be ready for learning in Year 1. Most activities, especially those linked to mathematics and English, are well thought through. However, some planned activities do not meet the high ambition of the school's early years curriculum.

This means children do not learn as well as they could in all areas of learning.

The school's work in recent years to improve attendance has been excellent. They have built trusting and positive relationships with pupils and families.

Consequently, attendance figures, including for the most disadvantaged pupils, are very high. Pupils have positive attitudes towards school. In lessons, low-level disruption is extremely rare.

This leads to a calm and purposeful environment, where pupils learn very well.

The provision for pupils' personal development is exceptional. The school coherently maps out vital activities, trips and experiences that pupils need to be ready for their next stage.

Additionally, pupils access clubs that match their talents and interests. Pupils design this club offer, which includes computing, gardening, singing and scooter club. To meet the needs of their community, the school has put in place a highly skilled pastoral team.

This team provides excellent social, emotional and mental health support to both pupils and their families. Through the curriculum, pupils learn about various cultures and religions and how to be respectful of difference. Therefore, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

The trust has had a highly positive impact on the school. The trust and governing body work together well to ensure that they meet their statutory duties. They provide effective support to school leaders to ensure a high-quality provision for pupils.

Staff are motivated by the school's ethos and vision. They feel listened to and that they make a valuable contribution to the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

[If the school has judgements that are not outstanding] What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• A small number of activities within the early years provision do not have a clear purpose. Some activities are less well designed than others and children do not always learn as well as they could. The school must ensure that planned activities within the early years match the ambitious intended outcomes of the curriculum.

On some occasions during social times, the school's high expectations for behaviour are not met consistently well. On these occasions, pupils can be unkind to one another. The school should ensure that expectations of behaviour are consistently understood and applied by staff and pupils so that behaviour throughout the school day reflects the high ambitions of the school.