Setting

Mrs Fiona Dear Headteacher Longlands Primary School Woodside Road Sidcup Kent DA15 7JG

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School

Following my visit to your school on 10 June 2013, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the findings of my visit. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in January 2013. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Evidence

During the visit, I toured the school and held meetings with you, senior and middle leaders, a small group of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and two other governors, a representative from the local authority and a National Leader in Education (NLE). The school action and development plans, pupil progress data, records of lesson observations and minutes of the partnership board meetings were evaluated.

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Context

You have announced to parents and carers and governors that you intend to retire at the end of the autumn term 2013. The process of appointing a new headteacher has commenced. To strengthen leadership, a senior member of staff is in the process of being appointed as assistant headteacher. The school has moved into its new main building, although six classes remain in temporary accommodation. An additional governor has been appointed. Tribal 1–4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 311 5323 Direct email :suzy.smith@triblagroup.com

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Main findings

Senior leaders, the governing body and staff have acted quickly and with determination to address the outcomes of the previous inspection, as shown by the rapid introduction of a new behaviour policy and systems. Good behaviour in lessons and around school was observed during the visit and substantiated by the latest school data. Effective training has been provided for staff and pupils comment that ‘everyone is now more careful’.

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Main findings

Detailed plans for improvement focus sharply on the areas identified at the previous inspection. While the plans provide a clear outline of the expected overall improvement there are too many documents and these are not cross-referenced. This makes it difficult to recognise how success will be achieved. Plans do not extend far enough into the future to provide a clear marker of the school’s readiness to be judged ‘good’ at the next inspection.

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Main findings

Governors have recognised the need to provide greater challenge and support improvement. They have established a partnership board to track the improvement actions and deployed a new governor to support the school in improving the quality of teaching. A wider range of monitoring and information gathering activities are being undertaken, although, these are not fully detailed in the school’s action plans.

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Main findings

Teachers are making much better use of information about pupils to inform their planning and target support, including more effective use of pupil progress meetings. Close attention is being paid to the impact of interventions, in particular for those who need additional help in their learning. Latest data shows that progress is improving for most pupils.

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Main findings

Monitoring of the quality of teaching is sharper and includes scrutiny of pupils’ work and teachers’ planning, short visits known as ‘drop ins’, and learning walks as well as lesson observations. However the results of these activities do not always make clear how to identify the best practice and to ensure a higher proportion of outstanding teaching. Partnerships with other schools are not yet sufficiently developed to enable teachers and subject leaders experience good and outstanding practice elsewhere.

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Main findings

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. The school should take further action to:

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Main findings

 consolidate and extend school action and development plans to cover at least the next academic year into a single document that makes clear how success will be achieved and includes more precisely governors’ roles in monitoring and evaluation  develop partnerships with other schools to enable teachers to experience good and outstanding classroom and subject leadership practice. Ofsted may carry out further visits and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

The local authority works well in support of the school, including help with the appointment of the new headteacher and in advising the school’s newly formed partnership board. They have appointed an NLE, who is also a local headteacher. He is helping the school with strategic direction and refinement of its action planning. The school’s progress adviser has provided training to teachers in the use of assessment and questioning, which has led to improvements in the quality of teaching.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Bexley.

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