Longshaw Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive at the school each day full of smiles and excited about the day ahead. They love spending time with their friends and teachers. Pupils feel safe and secure at school.

They know that their teachers will sort out any of their worries.

Pupils find learning fun. They enjoy spending time exploring the well-kept woodland area.

Pupils take part in lots of different clubs, such as science, art and music. In assemblies, all pupils sing together enthusiastically.

Leaders are determined that each and every pupil will achieve their very best.

Pupils are given a wide range of carefully planned support by staff. This helps them with their le...arning. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They learn how to be kind friends to others.

Pupils know that if any bullying should occur, their teachers would deal with it quickly.

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

Leaders, staff and governors share a vision that all pupils will succeed in their learning. Staff ensure that this vision is realised.

The curriculum that leaders provide is broad and interesting. The curriculum sets out exactly what pupils should know by the end of each term and year.

Subject leaders have thought carefully about how pupils should build their learning in a well-ordered way.

In most subjects, the curriculum plans contain precise details of exactly what pupils should learn and remember before moving on to new learning. For example, in mathematics, teachers make sure that pupils learn important number facts in carefully planned steps. This ensures that pupils build knowledge successfully.

In a small number of subjects, curriculum plans contain less detail about precisely what pupils need to know to prepare them for future learning.

Teachers make regular checks on how well pupils are learning. They use these checks to identify which pupils need additional support.

Leaders make sure that this support takes place regularly and helps pupils to catch up.

When children start in the Reception Year, leaders make detailed checks on children's communication and language knowledge. Well-trained teaching assistants give children the help that they need to learn new words and to speak clearly and correctly.

This support makes sure that children are able to learn the school's curriculum.

Leaders have made close links with the nearby nursery school. This enables leaders to make sure that children with SEND are identified quickly, often before they start in the Reception Year.

Any help for these children is planned and put in place from the moment they start school.

Leaders have placed reading at the heart of the school's curriculum. Attractive and cosy reading areas are situated around the school.

The playground has colourful book sculptures, which celebrate a range of authors and stories. Pupils read regularly with adults in school. Children in the Reception classes love reading and talking about stories with adults.

Teachers carefully match reading books to pupils' phonics knowledge. Where pupils are struggling to keep up with the reading curriculum, they benefit from a wide range of extra help from staff. This ensures that pupils develop as confident and fluent readers.

This includes pupils with SEND.

Subject leaders benefit from working with other professionals and colleagues to develop their expertise. However, teachers have had less than their usual amount of curriculum training in the last academic year.

Some subject leaders are new to their roles and have not had curriculum training in their subjects.

Pupils listen carefully to their teachers and follow their instructions. This means that everyone can get on with their learning.

Children in the Reception Year work with quiet concentration on the interesting activities that their teachers plan. They play well with their friends.

Leaders provide pupils with a wide range of support for their emotional needs and well-being.

Staff are experts in identifying which pupils need extra help.

Skilled governors know the school well. They use their expertise to provide a range of helpful support for leaders.

Governors make careful checks on the curriculum, for example ensuring that it is well matched to the needs of pupils with SEND.

Pupils learn how to be active and kind citizens, for example by visiting a local care home. In school, pupils enjoy their different leadership roles, such as mini chefs helping staff at lunchtime.

Pupils learn about the world in which they live, including different faiths and cultures.

Staff appreciate the efforts that leaders make to support their well-being. They know that leaders take account of their workload when making decisions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders provide important, regular training for all staff. This helps staff to recognise the signs of possible abuse or neglect.

Staff know the right action to take if they have a concern about a pupil.

Leaders and staff work closely with a range of agencies to support pupils and their families. Pupils benefit from a wide range of support when needed.

The curriculum supports pupils to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn how to stay safe when using the internet. Pupils know that they should speak to a trusted adult if the actions of others make them feel unsafe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum plans lack precise detail about the important component knowledge that leaders intend pupils to learn and remember. This means that in these subjects, pupils sometimes move on to new learning without secure knowledge to build on. Leaders should ensure that curriculum plans in these subjects state explicitly the content that is most useful, to prepare pupils for their next steps in learning.

• Teachers have had limited recent professional development across different subjects in the curriculum. This means that some staff, including subject leaders new to their roles, lack some curriculum expertise. Leaders should ensure that curriculum training is used to develop teachers' content knowledge further, including those teachers new to their subject leader roles.

Also at this postcode