Little London Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Little London Community Primary School are happy and confident.

They enjoy coming to school. They are supported to make friends. They have respect for one another, for their teachers and for the wider school community.

Older pupils who will soon be moving on from the school are leaving with fond memories.

Pupils are taught how to read from an early age. Teachers are tenacious in their approach to ensuring pupils read fluently as soon as possible.

Pupils enjoy reading. They enjoy listening to their teachers read books to the class. Aside from reading, pupils benefit from a diverse and interesting curriculum.

Pupils behave well. They... have positive attitudes to learning. Low-level disruption and passivity in lessons are rare.

However, disruption to learning happens more frequently in the early years setting. Bullying happens occasionally. When it does, pupils are confident that it is addressed quickly.

Pupils feel safe in school. They have people to talk to if they have problems. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school.

However, as result of changes at the school and turbulence in governance, the oversight of the setting is not as strong as it could be. This is slowing down the pace of change to improve the school.

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

There have been several significant changes at the school over the last year.

New leaders, including a new headteacher, have been appointed. The number of classes in each year group has changed from three to two, due to changes in the local population. The school's formal connection with a provider of alternative education is coming to an end.

Some of these changes, however, have not been implemented as seamlessly as they could be. Governors have not provided effective support for leaders during this period of transition. This is partly because they do not have effective oversight of the school.

They do not know enough about the school, its priorities for improvement, or the responsibilities they must fulfil. An interim chair of governors, recently appointed, has begun to address these matters.

Despite a lack of support from governors, school leaders have constructed a challenging and ambitious curriculum.

Since the previous inspection in 2018, they have introduced a new phonics scheme to support pupils to be taught how to read. Staff have been well trained on how to use the scheme. Pupils access phonics sessions throughout the day, with additional intervention sessions in place for those who need them.

Many pupils read well from an early age. Older pupils also continue to access purposeful and relevant reading sessions. Although pupils' writing is improving, this remains one of leaders' priorities for further improvement.

Leaders are acting to improve curriculum planning. In science, for example, leaders have identified precisely what needs to be taught, and in what order. It is clear how lessons in older year groups build on topics covered previously.

Although assessment systems are developing, plans are in place to allow teachers to pinpoint precisely what pupils can and cannot remember from their lessons. In other subjects, such as history, the development of subject plans is ongoing.

Many subject leaders are new to post.

Although they provide support for teachers well, some are less confident with how to further develop their subject areas. Teachers are confident in the delivery of the curriculum. Pupils' experiences in lessons are positive.

They recall much of what they have been taught. The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well known by teachers and support staff. These pupils receive appropriate help in and out of lessons.

However, leaders' oversight of SEND is developing as new leaders get to grips with their responsibilities. Pupils who speak English as an additional language also receive effective support at school. Although leaders' use of pupil premium funding is well-intended, governors have not evaluated this expenditure rigorously as a matter of course.

Across all subjects, work is ongoing to further solidify the links in the curriculum with the plans in place in the early years. While the experiences of children in the early years are improving, there remains more to do to in this part of school. New staff in the early years are receiving external support and training, to ensure planned activities are purposeful and effective.

Leaders are also developing the indoor and outdoor areas. Leaders are aware that some children in the Reception classes are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they could be.

Across all year groups, pupils are taught important lessons about growing up in modern Britain.

Some of this learning comes through the well-planned personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) curriculum. This is taught with fidelity in all classes, and helps enhance pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. School trips happen regularly.

Leaders have plans in place to provide additional extra-curricular opportunities from September 2022, following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders, including governors, at the school currently have responsibility for the oversight of a provider of alternative provision, the Trust Primary Support Centre. This is a long-standing arrangement managed by the local authority.

However, the awareness that leaders and governors have of this alternative provider is limited. The responsibilities that leaders have are transferring to another school in September 2022. Notwithstanding the current limitations, the provision at the Trust Primary Support Centre for pupils from the school is of a high quality.

Pupils attend this provision for a variety of both short and long-term placements. Those pupils benefit from a personalised curriculum and pastoral care that allows them to succeed in education. They are safe and well supported.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils are taught how to stay safe in and out of school. They know who to go to when they are worried or need extra help.

Staff are well trained on local safeguarding arrangements. Leaders are rightly improving the way they engage with local support services to ensure pupils in need get appropriate support when it is needed. Leaders keep records of important safeguarding matters.

However, they are aware of the need to improve the quality of the records they keep, to make it clear what actions have been taken to keep pupils safe.

A small number of minor administrative weaknesses in safeguarding arrangements were identified during the inspection. These were addressed by leaders during the inspection.

These weaknesses have not put children at any risk of harm.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Over time, governors have not had enough involvement with the school. Their oversight has been found wanting.

Governors do not pay due regard to the views and experiences of pupils and staff. They have not fulfilled some of their important responsibilities. All of this is hindering and slowing school improvement.

Governors must review existing arrangements, ensuring that they have the necessary skills and expertise to provide effective support to the school. ? There are many leaders who have new responsibilities, including safeguarding leaders, SEND leaders and subject leaders. The impact they have varies.

Some of these leaders are not doing all they can within their own areas of responsibility. Governors and senior leaders must ensure additional support is put in place so that all leaders are aware of their responsibilities and know where external support can be accessed to support them in their roles. ? The early years provision does not allow children to benefit from meaningful learning as a matter of course.

Some children in the Reception classes do not have the knowledge and skills they need in preparation for their next stages in education. Leaders should raise the expectations of adults and children in the early years provision. ? In some subjects, such as history, leaders have not identified the key concepts that they expect pupils to learn.

Teachers are not as well supported to deliver these topics as they are in other subjects, such as science. In some subjects, the way teachers assess pupils is not identifying precisely what they do and do not know. Leaders should continue their ongoing development of the curriculum, ensuring their strategies for improvement are implemented as planned.

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