Langley School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and governors are committed to making Langley an inclusive, welcoming school. Many pupils spoke of the value of the diverse school community in helping them appreciate other religions and cultures.

Pupils are encouraged to 'be the best we can be'. Pupils participate well in the school's broad offer of clubs, visits and residential trips. They feel valued and enjoy coming to school.

Pupils behave well in lessons. They are respectful towards staff and each other. Some corridors and stairwells are narrow, but the great majority of pupils move around sensibly.

Pupils feel safe. When bullying happens, the school has appropriate systems to deal with it. Howev...er, a few pupils are not confident that staff will deal effectively with the concerns that they raise.

All staff have high expectations for pupils' achievement, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The curriculum has been carefully developed to meet pupils' needs. Teachers have good subject knowledge and explain new information clearly.

As a result, most pupils make good progress with their learning. However, there is still work to do to make sure that all teachers check how well pupils have understood their work.

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

There is an ambitious, well-planned curriculum in place.

Subject leaders have broken the curriculum into small steps so that teachers and pupils are clear about what they are learning at any point.

Teachers choose good resources to make lessons interesting and help pupils learn. They successfully adapt their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

Teachers create valuable opportunities for pupils to discuss their work.

In many subjects, teachers use a range of strategies to check that pupils understand their work. In these subjects, teachers ask perceptive questions and use written assessments to check what pupils know.

They then adapt their teaching to make sure any misunderstandings are corrected. However, this is not consistent across the school. In some subjects, teachers do not give pupils useful feedback on their work.

As a result, pupils are not clear about what they have done well and what they need to do to improve.

Pupils are encouraged to read. Younger pupils enjoy their regular library lessons and keep a reading journal.

Weaker readers have additional help. Pupils have regular opportunities to build their confidence and fluency by reading aloud in lessons. This helps them to read well.

Leaders and teachers have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. The systems used to manage behaviour are clear. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere around the school.

Pupils behave sensibly in lessons and have a positive attitude towards their learning.

Pupils understand that bullying is wrong and the school does not tolerate it. School leaders keep careful records of all bullying incidents and how they have been resolved.

However, a few pupils are unaware of the actions the school takes to sanction bullies and support victims. As a consequence, they do not feel confident that the school deals effectively with bullying.

The school provides a range of opportunities that support pupils' personal development.

There is a well-planned programme of personal, social and health education that is delivered discretely in lessons in key stage 3 and through form time across the school. However, there is variation between classes in how effectively the form-time programme is delivered. Some pupils do not receive the full programme that leaders have planned.

Pupils have opportunities to be student leaders and participate in elections for the school council. They understand the importance of tolerance, respect and democracy. Leaders take particular care to make sure disadvantaged pupils participate in enrichment activities.

Pupils value the well-structured careers programme that effectively supports their transition to school, college or apprenticeships at the end of Year 11.

Leaders carefully review and analyse the work of the school. They can clearly articulate the strengths and weaknesses.

However, they do not always act quickly enough to improve identified weakness, for example addressing the weaknesses in assessment or ensuring that the personal development curriculum is delivered to all pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff and pupils understand that safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone.

Staff receive weekly safeguarding updates in their staff bulletin. Pupils receive regular information and training about safeguarding risks. For example, the pastoral programme in form time has covered issues such as grooming and knife crime.

Pupils know who to speak to if they have any worries or concerns.

The pastoral team keep careful records about pupils who are at risk of harm. They make timely referrals that support pupils and their families to access the services they need.

Leaders ensure that safer recruitment processes are followed when appointing staff and have the steps in place to deal with any safeguarding concerns.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are inconsistencies in the way that teachers check how well pupils are learning. This limits teachers' ability to adapt learning to meet the needs of pupils.

It also means that pupils do not always know what they need to do to improve. Consequently, pupils do not consistently learn as well as they should. Senior leaders should develop their use of assessment so that all teachers systematically check for pupils' understanding.

• Leaders do not address identified weaknesses with enough urgency, for example the weaknesses in assessment practice or the delivery of the personal development programme. As a result, they do not put in place the timely changes that would ensure that the planned strategies have the intended impact on pupils. Leaders need to review their strategic approach to ensure that identified weaknesses are addressed in a timely way.

• Although inspectors were confident the school acts appropriately to deal with incidents of bullying, this is not the perception of all pupils. As a result, a few pupils lack confidence in the school's ability to deal with their concerns. Leaders need to improve their communication with pupils, so they clearly understand how bullying incidents are dealt with.

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