Long Sutton Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Long Sutton Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school and enjoy learning across different subjects. Staff develop warm relationships with pupils and are a key part of this school.

Pupils said that they feel safe and know that staff care about them. Parents appreciate this. One parent summed up the thoughts of many when saying: 'The staff are amazing and always go the extra mile to make your children feel safe and happy.'



Pupils behave well in classrooms and around the school. If bullying happens, adults prevent it from continuing. In lessons, pupils focus on their learning an...d are free from distractions.

Staff expectations are high for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In lessons, pupils are attentive and eager to learn. Leaders place a sharp focus on learning, which helps pupils to achieve well.

Leaders help pupils to become responsible young people. Pupils can be a member of the school council and older pupils are 'buddies' for the youngest pupils. Parents value the work of the school to develop their children's personal skills.

One parent reflected the views of others by saying: 'They nurture the child to be a well-rounded and respectful individual.'

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum, including for pupils with SEND, from the early years through to the end of key stage 2. Leaders have made clear what pupils need to know and be able to do in each year group.

Most of the time, knowledge is taught clearly and in a logical sequence, building on what pupils have learned previously. The needs of pupils with SEND are well understood by teachers, who provide pupils with effective support in different subjects. However, in a small minority of subjects, pupils' learning is not ordered clearly enough.

Consequently, pupils do not gain knowledge in a logical sequence.Adults explain and demonstrate new ideas carefully, including in the early years. They revisit previous work to help pupils to remember important learning.

Staff use a range of strategies to ensure that pupils make secure connections between new and previously learned concepts. They use a variety of ways, including helpful questioning, to check pupils' learning. Assessment information is used well to establish what pupils know and to plan future learning.

However, there are times when staff do not have sufficient subject knowledge to help pupils learn as quickly as they could.

The school has made reading a high priority. Children learn to read from the start in Reception.

Staff are well trained to teach the phonics scheme that the school has chosen. Reading is threaded through all curriculum areas. In the early years, children are introduced to stories to help them extend their vocabulary.

Children are taught how to listen, so that they can hear the phonic sounds in a wide range of words. Leaders have improved the systems to identify any pupil who is not keeping up with the phonics programme. These pupils are provided with effective support to help them to catch up.

The books that pupils read are matched to the sound that they are learning. This reinforces pupils' knowledge of the sounds that letters make.

The school makes precise checks on how well pupils are learning.

Pupils with SEND are supported well to learn the same curriculum as their classmates and to achieve well. The school successfully adapts how the curriculum is taught, to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. This includes providing pupils with additional resources that illustrate new learning.

Leaders prioritise pupils' wider personal development. Staff provide opportunities for pupils to learn about themselves and others. This includes through the personal, social and health education programme, which has been planned effectively.

Pupils learn about relationships and how to stay healthy and safe.

Pupils are caring and considerate of each other. They get along well together in lessons and at breaktimes.

Pupils are polite, courteous and listen carefully to staff and the guidance and encouragement that they provide in lessons.

Leaders invest in staff and support them with their workload, particularly at busy times in the academic year. Staff say that they are helped by senior leaders to be effective and complete important tasks.

Leaders have created a culture of collaboration.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are variations in the quality of staff's subject knowledge in some areas of the curriculum.

This impacts on how well pupils learn in some subjects. The school should ensure that staff have sufficiently secure subject knowledge in the curriculum areas where it is not strong enough, so that pupils can learn equally well across their full range of subjects. ? In a small minority of subjects, there are times when the knowledge that pupils need to learn is not sequenced in sufficient detail.

As a result, pupils do not gain the knowledge that they should across the whole curriculum in a logical order. The school should ensure that the knowledge pupils need to learn in all of their subjects is sequenced precisely, so that pupils can build their long-term knowledge successfully.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2018.