Longwell Green Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Longwell Green are positive about their school.

They look after each other and enjoy their learning.

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. The leadership team has worked well with staff to make sure that pupils learn well in a range of subjects.

This helps to get pupils ready for the next stage in their education. When pupils fall behind, teachers make sure that they get the help they need to catch up quickly.

Staff make sure that pupils are safe in the school.

Pupils say that they feel safe and that bullying is rare. Pupils are confident that staff will quickly deal with any bullying that happens.

Adults expect pupils to ...behave well in lessons and around the school.

Teachers make sure that the school is a calm and purposeful place. Pupils are polite and respectful. They are proud of their school's values.

Pupils say that behaviour has improved since these values were introduced.

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

Leaders make sure that pupils learn a wide range of subjects. Teachers plan activities that build pupils' knowledge well.

Pupils are interested in their learning.

Leaders prioritise reading. All adults want pupils to develop a love of reading.

Teachers read to pupils regularly. This helps pupils learn to love lots of different books.

Leaders have introduced effective phonics teaching.

Every day, pupils practise putting sounds together to read words. This begins when children start in Reception. Pupils learn to read well because of this structured approach.

Teachers make sure that children who fall behind in reading receive extra support. This helps children to catch up. However, there are some adults who are not experts in teaching reading.

This holds some pupils back.

Leaders have recently made changes in mathematics. They are focusing on making sure that pupils understand basic concepts.

Teachers check pupils' understanding well. Teachers then make sure that they set work that meets pupils' needs. Pupils practise skills and build on their prior knowledge well.

This helps pupils to become ready for secondary school.

In all subjects, leaders have made sure that there is a sequence of work designed to build on what pupils already know. However, although pupils enjoy religious education (RE), at times they struggle to remember what they have learned from previous lessons.

Leaders make sure that adults understand the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers plan work that is carefully planned to help pupils succeed. Pupils with SEND have positive attitudes towards their work and are supported effectively.

The new headteacher has created a school that all children want to attend. All adults expect the best behaviour. Pupils conduct themselves well.

They have good attitudes towards their learning. Sometimes, when the purpose of lessons is less clear, pupils can become unsettled. This leads to some misbehaviour, but it is rare.

Leaders make sure that pupils learn about values. Teachers promote pupils' personal development well. Pupils study similarities and differences between cultures.

This helps them to develop a sense of their place in the world.

Staff and parents are positive about the school. They have confidence in leaders, and they believe that the school is improving.

Governors' work is also effective. They understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They hold leaders to account and have a strong focus on the well-being of both staff and pupils.

Children in the early years are well cared for. Adults know the children well, so the children settle quickly. Teachers use their knowledge of the children to adapt their teaching.

This helps to meet the needs of all children. Children listen to adults and are enthusiastic about all the activities on offer in the classroom.

Leaders make sure that the early years curriculum develops children's language well.

Teachers are ambitious with their choice of vocabulary. The curriculum, however, is less well developed when children are outside. Children's learning is less purposeful when they are taking part in activities outdoors.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have developed a strong safeguarding culture. All staff understand their roles in keeping children safe.

Staff know what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Leaders make sure that staff have regular training.

Leaders have put systems in place to check that all adults are safe to work with children.

Staff check that the school environment is safe and is kept safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Although the RE curriculum is well developed, its impact on what pupils know and can remember is limited by the way it has been delivered. Some pupils struggle to recall things they have learned because they have not been taught RE well enough in the past.

Leaders should make sure that the planned curriculum is taught in a way that enables pupils to build on prior learning. . Some adults who support pupils with their reading do not have sufficient expertise to provide the support that pupils need.

Leaders need to make sure that all adults who work with pupils are strong in the teaching of reading. . The early years curriculum supports pupils' emotional and language development well.

There are times, however, when pupils' learning is less focused. The curriculum is not as carefully planned when pupils are learning outdoors, for example. Leaders should make sure that all activities in the early years environment are sequenced and purposeful.