Longford Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Longford Park Primary School are enthusiastic about their learning. They know that their teachers want them to do well and so they listen carefully in lessons and work hard.

Leaders have introduced an ambitious new curriculum for pupils. This is developing well and helping pupils to learn, though leaders know there is still more work to do. Pupils behave well and they say that staff help them on the rare occasions that bullying happens.

Leaders want the best for their pupils. They make sure that pupils experience a wide variety of trips and visits to support their learning. Children in early years have visited the zoo and held a beach party on the school gro...unds.

This has helped them to learn more about the world around them and to develop their social skills. Older pupils take part in trips that link to their learning, for example, pupils in Year 5 learning about the Tudors have visited Stratford.

Pupils take part in the many lunchtime and after-school clubs that are available.

These include sports, music and first aid. All pupils learn to play a musical instrument at school, and they are keen to take part in the weekly singing assemblies. Pupils recently enjoyed taking part in 'Coventry City of Culture 2021' and designed banners, created artwork and recorded songs for the opening ceremony.

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

The headteacher took up her role in September 2020. She identified that what pupils were learning was not ambitious enough and so leaders put in place a new curriculum. Leaders are clear about what they want pupils to know.

In English, for example, leaders have introduced a curriculum to help pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary and to write more fluently. However, in some subjects, leaders have not always considered the smaller blocks of learning that will help pupils to build their learning over time, and this means that sometimes pupils find it difficult to know what is most important to remember. Teachers have good subject knowledge, and they provide work that is interesting and challenging for pupils.

However, they do not always check that pupils have understood what they have learned, and so do not correct errors or misconceptions quickly enough. This means that, in some subjects, pupils have too many gaps in their knowledge.

Leaders have introduced an appropriate phonics scheme to help pupils learn to read fluently.

In Reception, children are becoming confident in reading the sounds they have learned. Pupils who find it difficult to read fluently receive suitable support to catch up. This means that nearly all pupils are now reading at a level that matches their age.

Reading is promoted well throughout the school. Pupils enjoy their daily reading lessons and they talk with enthusiasm about the books that their teachers share in class.

Leaders understand the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

They create useful learning plans for pupils with education health and care plans to help staff to meet their needs effectively. Teachers receive regular training about SEND. This helps pupils with SEND to achieve well.

Pupils behave well in lessons and when moving around the school. Leaders place a lot of importance on pupils' emotional development and work with pupils to help them understand their own behaviour. As a result, suspensions, that in the past were high, are now much lower.

Pupils value the school's rewards system and enjoy the weekly assemblies that celebrate their good behaviour. Leaders have not paid as much attention to pupils' attendance. Too many pupils are absent from school too often and leaders have not done enough to improve their attendance.

Pupils learn about different religions and cultures. They participate in Refugee Week and have created artwork that celebrates this, which is displayed at the front of the school. Pupils learn about relationships and keeping safe through a well-considered personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme.

Leaders focus on teaching pupils to consider other people, and this can be seen in how children in early years support their peers in their learning and in pupils' cooperative play at break and lunch time.

Leaders develop good relationships with parents and encourage them to support pupils' learning. In the early years, parents are involved in the school's 'fifty things to do before you are five' challenge.

Teachers send parents resources to make a bird box, or plants to grow, for example, and parents send back photos of children's achievements.

Governors know the school well and they are clear about its strengths and weaknesses. They provide appropriate support and challenge to leaders and think carefully about how their decisions might impact on pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding leaders are well-qualified and they are aware of the risks that pupils and families face. Leaders ensure that all staff are trained to be able to spot the signs that pupils may not be safe.

Leaders act quickly on the concerns that staff raise, and they make appropriate referrals to other agencies. Pupils learn how to keep safe and pupils who are at risk of harm are helped through pastoral support and interventions.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have adopted and developed schemes of learning across the curriculum.

In some subjects the building blocks of learning have not been identified clearly and this means that at times work is not focused well on what pupils need to know. This prevents pupils from building on their prior learning. Leaders should make sure that the important knowledge is identified clearly in all subjects and is sequenced well so that pupils can deepen their learning over time.

• Teachers do not always systemically check pupils' understanding. This means that at times they do not spot pupils' misconceptions and errors quickly enough and so pupils are not able to develop a detailed understanding of what they are learning. Leaders should make sure that teachers use assessment effectively to inform their teaching.

• Absence, including persistent absence, is too high. This impacts on some pupils' ability to learn well and to participate in the important activities that the school provides for their wider personal development. Leaders should work with families, particularly those whose children are in early years, to ensure that they understand the importance of pupils attending school regularly and take swift action to challenge and support families where necessary.