Langley Park School for Boys

School report Langley Park School for Boys

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Hawksbrook Lane, South Eden Park Road, Beckenham, BR3 3BP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Sixth form provision Outstanding 1

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This is an outstanding school

 The headteacher and leadership team have high expectations for achievement and lead by example. ‘Going the extra mile’ is the norm.  The governing body is highly effective in both challenging and supporting the school so that it maintains its high standards and continues to improve.  Achievement is outstanding. High-quality teaching results in excellent progress, and results at GCSE and A level which are well above average.  Different groups of students, such as those with special educational needs or entitled to support from the additional funding, make progress at a similar rate to their peer group.  The sixth form is outstanding. Students achieve the results they need to go on to the next stage of their education or training and a high proportion go on to university.  The outstanding support provided at the resource centre for students with autistic spectrum conditions enables them to be fully involved in the

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This is an outstanding school

life of the school and to achieve highly.  Teaching is checked very carefully by leaders. Excellent training and support help staff to improve their skills.  Students are keen to take part in the range of different activities which make learning interesting and enjoyable. Their attendance is above average.  Students show respect for each other and adults. They behave extremely well in lessons and around the school.  A rich and varied range of subjects and other opportunities give students a very wide range of experiences and encourages them to aim high.  Students say that they feel safe and know how to stay safe. Students and their parents do not regard bullying as an issue and are confident that should it occur it would be dealt with swiftly.  The school strongly promotes students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school has great strengths in the arts and sport as well as academic subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors collected evidence on teaching and learning by observing aspects of 38 lessons in all year groups. Two lessons were jointly visited with members of the leadership team. Inspectors looked at work from all year groups and talked to students to assess their understanding and attitudes to learning. Inspectors also attended an assembly.  The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and members of the leadership team, middle leaders, members of the governing body, staff and several groups of students.  Inspectors took account of the 161 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the data from the school’s own surveys of parental opinion. They also considered 81 responses to a staff questionnaire.  The inspectors looked at the school’s development plan, its self-evaluation, data on attainment and progress, records of the monitoring and evaluation of teaching, records of behaviour, a wide range of

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Information about this inspection

policies and procedures, and the arrangements for safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Grace Marriott, Lead inspector Additonal inspector

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Information about this school

 Langley Park School for Boys converted to become an academy in 2011. When its predecessor school, Langley Park School for Boys, was inspected, it was judged to be outstanding. It is larger than most secondary schools. It admits boys at the age of 11 and girls into the sixth form.  The proportion of students supported by the pupil premium (additional funding for children who are looked after and students known to be eligible for free school meals) is much lower than the national average.  The school has a specialist resource base for 40 students with autistic spectrum conditions. Currently, about half of these students have a statement of special educational needs. Students fall into the same age range as the rest of the school. The proportion of students who have special educational needs is below the national average overall.  The school does not use alternative provision.  Most students are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of students from minority ethnic groups

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Information about this school

is average but very few are at an early stage of learning English.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The current headteacher was appointed to the post in September 2013.  The school holds a range of awards including the highest levels of the Artsmark and Sportsmark.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that students respond as positively to the written feedback on their work as they do to the oral feedback in class.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher and leadership team promote an ethos of excellence. They recognise the strength of the school traditions and build on these so that the school continues to develop and fulfil its aim of providing an excellent all-round education.  The impact of high-quality leadership and management is seen across the school. The middle leaders in both the academic and pastoral areas all have a very clear focus on creating the best possible conditions for learning so that students can achieve to the best of their ability and develop into mature, well- educated young people.  Leaders analyse students’ progress and results very carefully to help them set targets for achievement. The additional funding received for disadvantaged students is well managed and, as a result, the gaps in achievement between these students and their peer group are closing. The specialist provision for students with autistic spectrum conditions is also very well managed so that students can achieve very

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The leadership and management are outstanding

well.  Senior and middle leaders regularly observe lessons and do book checks to assess the quality of teaching. The information gained from this is used to identify training needs. They have focused recently on improving the quality of marking and the impact is being seen in more-precise guidance for students to match the quality of the oral feedback they receive in class. They are, though, aware that there is still some inconsistency in the way in which students use the written feedback to improve their work.  Teachers know that they are accountable for the progress of their students and that high-quality training and individual support will help them to maintain a consistently high level of teaching.  All statutory requirements and arrangements for safeguarding are met. Staff receive regular training to make sure that everyone understands their responsibilities.  The parents completing the online questionnaire, Parent View, were overwhelmingly positive about the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

school. Almost all of them said they would recommend it to other parents. They also believe their children like school and are well taught. A few thought that they could be better informed about progress and that home learning could be more suitable. The school’s own surveys show a similar level of support.  The breadth and balance of opportunities offered to the students is outstanding and equality of opportunity is promoted very effectively. In addition to a strong academic curriculum, activities in sports, art and the performing arts, as well as visits, give students an exceptionally wide range of experiences. Careful planning and detailed risk assessment ensure that students are able to take part in activities irrespective of their personal or family circumstances.  The school prepares students well for the next stage of their education, whether this is moving from primary school to Year 7, Year 11 into the sixth form, or moving on from there. Careers education helps

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The leadership and management are outstanding

them to make informed and sensible choices, and students have high aspirations.  The provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well developed. Students are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They learn about British values, for example the importance of democracy, the rule of law and show that they respect other people’s values and beliefs.  The governance of the school: – The governing body is knowledgeable and experienced. Its members use their expertise very effectively to hold senior leaders accountable for how well the school is performing compared to previous years and to other schools. – Governors know about the strengths and relative weaknesses in teaching and how leaders have worked successfully with departments to improve it. They make sure that decisions about pay and promotion take teachers’ performance into account. They analyse information about students’ achievement very

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The leadership and management are outstanding

carefully, and make sure that additional funding for disadvantaged students is used effectively. Governors carry out all their legal responsibilities, including ensuring the safety of the staff and students.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is outstanding. They share the ethos of respect and, as a result, the school is a pleasant place for everyone to work.  Behaviour in lessons is excellent. Students are punctual and highly motivated to learn. Students respond enthusiastically to expert teaching and a high level of challenge. Their mature and positive approach contributes strongly to their excellent achievement.  Students from all backgrounds get on well together and relate well to staff. Their courteous approach to visitors reflects the school’s expectations for behaviour and attitudes.  Students clearly appreciate and enjoy the excellent facilities of the new buildings and take great care of them. There is no litter and graffiti, for example.  Students have many opportunities to take on responsibilities, including acting as prefects, in sports and performing arts, as peer mentors, and as members of the elected school and year councils. They perform

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Behaviour

their duties well.  The strong links with the local and wider communities are evident in many aspects of the school’s work. For example, dance students have been invited to work with a professional group who teach dance to people with learning disabilities. Performances in music, dance and drama are often open to the local community and a display of advanced-level work in art is currently being held in a local church. The school supports a range of different charities.  Robust systems for tracking and monitoring attendance and behaviour mean that quick action can be taken to deal with any issues. As a result, students’ attendance is higher than nationally, including for all groups of students, and exclusions are rare.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding.  Students who need it receive high levels of care and support from a skilled and experienced team in the specialist centre, working closely as required with external agencies. As a result, they are able to develop their personal and social skills as well as achieving well academically.  Staff commitment to ‘educating the whole child’ shows in the quality of support they give to all students. This has a very positive effect on their personal development and well-being as well as their academic development.  Students report very positive relationships and feel very safe in school. They understand clearly that there are different types of bullying and comment that any type of bullying is extremely rare. They said that if it does occur, it is dealt with promptly. They are very aware of the importance of e-safety and of how to stay safe on line.

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Safety

 Child protection training for staff is thorough and updated regularly. All safeguarding requirements are met.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and routinely challenge their students to work at a high level for their age and stage of education. As a result, enthusiasm for learning was as evident in Year 7, where students were practising French, as it was in Year 12, where a group of students were engaged on a demanding engineering project.  Teaching in all years ensures work is planned to build on what students have already achieved. During lessons, probing questioning is used to check students’ understanding and enable teachers to move students on quickly to more challenging work, as for example in a Year 10 chemistry lesson on heat transference. In many sessions, such as a Year 9 English lesson, the questions posed, in this case on the morality of animal experiments, prompted a sophisticated level of discussion amongst students.  Teachers and teaching assistants work well together to ensure that students’ needs are met. Teaching

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

assistants are trained successfully. They are deployed effectively to use their specialist skills to support students’ different needs and enable them to take part fully in lessons. This is particularly effective in relation to the work with students with autistic spectrum conditions. They also provide teachers with useful feedback on how well their students are progressing.  Teachers check students’ progress thoroughly and mark their work regularly, generally providing students with clear and specific guidance on how to improve their work. Though many respond as positively as they do to the excellent oral feedback in lessons, this is not universal and occasionally slows down progress.  All teachers place an emphasis on development of students’ literacy skills and work in different subjects gives them practice in using these skills. This was evident in subjects as different as history, science and

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

technology. As a result, students are confident and articulate in expressing their ideas.  Mathematics teaching and regular practice in using and applying mathematics make sure that students understand different aspects of the subject and can apply their knowledge and skills. Excellent examples of this were seen in other subjects such as design and technology and art.  Where students are at risk of falling behind, well-planned individual support helps them to catch up. As a result, disabled students and those with special educational needs take part fully in lessons and make good progress, as do students eligible for support from additional funding. The very few students who are an early stage of learning English are well supported so that they can achieve well.

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is outstanding

 The school caters for students of all levels of ability, though on entry to Year 7 most are working at least at the level expected for their age and many exceed this level. Results of examinations are consistently high compared to the national results and irrespective of their backgrounds, students gain the qualifications they need to secure a place at university, or go on to training or employment. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Students consistently make at least expected progress, and by Year 11, the proportion making better than expected progress is high.  In Year 11, the proportion of students achieving five good GCSE passes including English and mathematics is high when compared with the national average.  In 2014, GCSE students achieved their best results in mathematics, the sciences, history, modern foreign languages, religious studies, performing arts subjects and sports studies. The school does not normally

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is outstanding

use early entry to GCSE.  Results at advanced level are similarly impressive and are also well above the national in terms of the overall pass rate and in individual subjects. Results in mathematics and sciences are consistently amongst the best.  The most-able students respond very well to high-quality teaching and this enables them to achieve highly at both GCSE and A level. Students regularly gain admission to the universities with the most demanding entry requirements.  Checks on students’ current progress show that students are on track to improve on previous results in GCSE and A-level examinations. The systematic focus on high-quality teaching is improving progress. This is evident in the data for all groups of students including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language.  Students who have autistic spectrum conditions make good, and often excellent, progress and many

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is outstanding

achieve more highly than their peer group.  The progress made by disadvantaged students from their different starting points is close to that made by other students nationally. Inspection evidence for current students from this group shows that the gap between them and their classmates is closing rapidly.  In 2014, the small group of disadvantaged students in Year 11 achieved around a grade less than others in their year group in English and mathematics. Compared with other students nationally, this group attained the equivalent of two-thirds of a grade less in English and one-third of a grade less in mathematics. Moreover, a relatively high proportion of this group had low prior attainment or had special educational needs.  Daily checks on behaviour and attendance, and the regular students’ progress meetings at a senior level, ensure that students at risk of underperforming are identified and supported quickly.

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is outstanding

 Students’ excellent literacy and numeracy skills provide them with a secure foundation for work across different subjects.

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The sixth form provision is outstanding

 As in other areas of the school, the leadership of the sixth form is highly effective. The provision in the sixth form is kept under review so that it remains relevant to the needs of the students.  Students have access to a wide range of academic subjects and an extensive and exciting enrichment programme. Opportunities to participate in sport and the arts enable them to learn new skills and develop their own interests further.  The ‘University of Langley’ project in the second half of the summer term of Year 12 gives them experience of working independently at a high level and is excellent preparation, not just for Year 13, but also for university and employment.  Teaching in the sixth form is outstanding. Teachers command the respect of their students both for their subject knowledge and for their concern for individual progress.  Students’ progress is carefully tracked and individual support provided for anyone that needs it. As a

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The sixth form provision is outstanding

result, students feel very well supported and are able to make outstanding progress. Their attainment is well above the national average. As a result, they are very well qualified for their next steps and over three quarters go on to university.  Sixth form students are excellent role models for younger students in the school because of their excellent behaviour and attitudes.  Students feel that they are respected as young adults. They show a great sense of responsibility and can make a real contribution to the way in which the school is run. They feel very safe in school.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing

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Grade Judgement Description

to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 136586 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 453333

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Boys Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,685 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 635 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Siân Henderson Headteacher Steve Parsons Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 020 8639 4700 Fax number 020 8639 4633 Email address office@lpsb.org.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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