Lantern Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this welcoming and happy school. Lantern Academy wants the very best for everyone, and pupils are at the heart of all it does. Staff have high expectations of all pupils.

Pupils from Nursery to Year 6 enjoy an exciting and engaging curriculum, and they achieve well.

The environment is calm and purposeful. Pupils are proud to belong to this school.

They understand the importance of positive behaviour. Pupils benefit from the strong, nurturing relationships they build with staff. They are rightly confident that staff will support them with any worries.

Pupils behave well in class and at social times. They are happy, respectful an...d very well cared for.

Pupils embrace all the school has to offer.

The 'safeguarding squad' is proud of its role, which has led to improvements across the school. The school works closely with a Michelin star chef who promotes healthy eating and well-being with pupils.

Pupils have a deep understanding of the school's values of 'we respect, we care and we persevere'.

These values are central to all that the school does. Pupils explain how these values impact on their actions in and out of school. They understand how they help to make them good citizens.

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

Trustees and leaders of the Learning Community Trust have a clear vision for the school. They want pupils to achieve the best they can. Every pupil matters.

Leaders and staff across the school share this vision. This joint working means the school has improved at pace.

Governors are committed to ensuring that every pupil achieves their potential.

They make regular checks on how pupils are doing. They provide leaders with an appropriate balance of support and challenge. Governors see parents and carers on the yard and attend school assemblies.

These kinds of actions help parents to feel confident that their children are safe at school.

All pupils study a wide range of subjects. The school has developed curriculums that are well planned and sequenced.

The school makes sure that the staff have high-quality training and support, particularly in English and mathematics. As a result, pupils achieve well.

Reading is at the core of the curriculum.

In Nursery, children learn successfully to distinguish different sounds. This ensures they are ready for the phonics programme at the beginning of their Reception Year. Staff who teach early reading have expert knowledge.

The phonics books that pupils read are matched well to the sounds that they have learned. Those pupils at risk of falling behind are given daily support to help them to keep up. The school has ensured that high-quality texts are the backbone of the curriculum.

Pupils particularly enjoy Reading At The Lantern (RATL), where they get to enjoy a carefully chosen book read to them by a teacher. This develops their love of reading.

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff have high aspirations for pupils with SEND. These pupils are supported well. They study the same curriculum as their peers.

Teachers organise the content of lessons carefully so that pupils with SEND revisit, rehearse and build on what they need to know.

Typically, teachers explain new ideas clearly and make sure pupils have a clear understanding of what they need to do. As a result of some previous weaknesses in some subjects, the curriculum has been recently changed.

In these subjects, pupils are not supported as well as they should be to develop their knowledge.

Children make the best possible start in the early years. There is a focus on children learning important language and vocabulary.

Staff make sure that children are taught specific knowledge and skills, which they then practise in their play. Learning is well planned for and clearly ordered. As a result, the early years curriculum provides a firm foundation for children to build on in later years.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour, which pupils meet readily. Pupils enjoy their learning and experiences outside of the classroom. This includes a range of trips.

The school's personal development programme is impressive. Its aim is for pupils to 'develop into extraordinary young people'. Pupils have a deep appreciation of rights, responsibilities, equality and diversity.

Pupils develop mature and sensitive attitudes to issues in wider society. Any pupils who need extra help to manage their emotions are expertly supported so that, over time, they thrive. Pupils' talents and interests are nurtured.

The school works effectively to identify barriers to high attendance. It works well with families to start to overcome these issues, and there has been some improvement in the rates of attendance as a result. However, this is not yet consistently strong, and for a small number of pupils, they miss too much of their education.

Staff feel well supported and agree that leaders acknowledge their hard work. They know that their well-being matters and they are listened to.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, pupils are not supported as well as they should be to develop a rich body of knowledge that they need. In these subjects, pupils' knowledge is not as secure as it is in other subjects. The school should ensure that all staff receive the training and support that they need so these subjects are delivered consistently well and pupils can learn and remember more.

• Some pupils are missing school too often. This hinders how well they achieve. The school should continue to review and develop its strategies, including its work with families and external organisations, in order to improve attendance so that all pupils can benefit fully from their education.