Landmark International School

Landmark International School 9 Church Lane, Fulbourn, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB21 5EP

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 All of the independent school standards are met.  Despite the school only opening in September 2016, leaders’ expectations are already creating a culture of ambition and high standards.  Governors have overseen all aspects associated with the opening of a new school and the work completed so far is very impressive.  The vast majority of pupils make good progress from their various starting points.  Leaders lead by example. They have quickly established a safe, caring and nurturing environment.  This is a happy and inclusive school. Staff and pupils enjoy coming to school. Parents who responded to the online questionnaire are overwhelmingly positive about all aspects of school life.  Pupils’ conduct around the site is exemplary.  The rigorous approach to safeguarding pupils by leaders and governors ensures that pupils feel safe and learn how to stay safe.  Teachers’ impressive subject knowledge and the strong relationships that exist between staff

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and pupils are strengths of the provision.  Pupils are taught well, highly motivated and work hard. They listen intently, concentrate fully and are determined to be successful.  Performance management for staff is embryonic.  Leaders and governors do not measure how their work improves pupils’ outcomes.  A minority of current pupils, mainly in the primary phase, do not make the same rapid progress over time as other pupils.  Assessment systems are underdeveloped. While effective currently, leaders agree that as the number of pupils increases the systems need to be more rigorous.  Staff in the primary phase do not assess what pupils can do precisely when they join the school.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership by ensuring that: – leaders and governors measure and demonstrate the impact of their work on pupils’ achievement closely, and act swiftly on what they find – assessment information is used to track the progress of groups of pupils systematically, especially for pupils in the primary phase.  Improve teaching and learning, particularly in the primary phase, by ensuring that: – teachers clearly establish what pupils, especially the most able pupils, know and can do on arrival, and use this information to accelerate progress – staff record the starting points of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities precisely and target support effectively so that pupils’ progress accelerates.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders’ actions ensure that the school meets all of the independent school standards.  Leaders have an ambitious vision and have overseen the establishment of a brand new school highly effectively. They were granted planning permission in July 2016. Since then, they have secured well-resourced premises, appointed a full complement of staff and admitted over 40 pupils. Leaders’ thoughtful planning has led to a well-organised and highly productive learning environment.  The headteacher, well supported by all staff, has quickly created a safe, caring, happy and nurturing environment. Pupils speak effusively about the care and support that staff provide and the opportunities the school affords them. Pupils treat each other with tolerance and respect, and support each other well. Staff model high-level interpersonal skills, helping a culturally diverse group of pupils to mix extremely well.  Leaders ensure a culture of safeguarding by stressing that everyone is responsible for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

making sure pupils are safe and stay safe. Induction training encourages staff to ‘believe the unbelievable and expect the unexpected’, in order to highlight any potential concerns. The clear procedures in place for dealing with referrals ensure that leaders respond quickly and appropriately if concerns are raised. Pupils say they feel safe and activities in tutor time, assemblies and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education teach them how to stay safe.  Leaders promote a culture of high expectation throughout the school. They lead by example; the headteacher and deputy headteacher teach and are form tutors. Staff all strive to provide an environment where children of a broad range of abilities are able to become more self-confident, while developing their knowledge, skills and interests. Staff are happy, conscientious and motivated to do their best. The results from the staff questionnaire were unequivocally positive. Staff are a cohesive group.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders’ actions help promote pupils’ aspirations well. Careers advice is introduced in primary classes, including trips to local universities. Pupils in secondary education access a more formal programme that includes options evenings, one-to-one interviews, visits from post-16 providers, practise interviews, and advice on universities and higher education courses.  Leaders tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of individual pupils, some of whom had already begun examination courses prior to starting at this school. The curriculum is planned extremely well. Pupils have extensive opportunities to follow a wide range of subjects, for example pupils can study Mandarin, Latin, Spanish and French.  Leaders implement clear, effective plans to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They follow the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ model, and the graduated levels of support help meet each pupil’s needs well. Pupils benefit from

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

specialist teachers, external support, intervention sessions and one-to-one support. The support that pupils receive is most effective in the secondary phase where the vast majority are helped to make similar levels of progress to their peers. Leaders have used the additional funding they receive to support learning for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities well.  Leaders’ monitoring of teaching and learning includes a peer-observation system that helps identify each teacher’s training requirements. While this works well at present, it is very much in its infancy. Leaders’ plans include a more rigorous system to monitor the quality of teaching more closely to allow them to pinpoint opportunities so that staff are able to develop their practice further.  Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further development. The current system of tracking pupils’ progress on an individual basis works

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

well. However, leaders have plans to introduce more sophisticated monitoring systems as numbers on roll increase.  Leaders successfully promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare them well for life in modern Britain. Pupils are very positive about their visits to Wicken Fen and the Staffordshire War Museum. Pupils develop leadership skills by serving on the student council, while the money raised for Children in Need helps them develop their sense of altruism. The poetry workshops with a local artist, International Poetry Day, World Book Day, the peripatetic music provision, yoga, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award help to develop pupils’ cultural experience effectively.  Assessment in the primary phase is not as strong as in the secondary phase. While staff are newer in the primary phase, leaders acknowledge that the focus has been on securing secondary assessments in preparation for examinations. Leaders have identified the need

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

to assess younger pupils’ starting points more precisely to ensure that they all make the best progress they can.  Parents and carers receive helpful termly written reports to let them know how their children are doing. They also receive useful informal updates.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work. Ofsted’s questionnaire for parents shows that 97% of parents would recommend the school to others. Every one of the free-text comments was positive. Parents feel their children are safe, well looked after, well taught and make good progress.

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Governance

 Governors have been highly effective in helping the school to become operational. The work completed, against challenging timescales, has been very impressive.  Governors provide excellent support to school leaders.  Governors’ oversight to date, as appropriate with the establishment of a new school, is mainly on day-to-day issues. However, the governing body is developing a more strategic overview to help them monitor pupils’ academic performance and the effectiveness of school leaders.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The safeguarding policy reflects the latest statutory guidance. Leaders uploaded the latest version to the website during the inspection.  Leaders rigorously follow the statutory guidance when completing the necessary pre- employment checks. The register for recording safeguarding checks is accurate and maintained in a meticulous fashion. Leaders carry out additional checks when reviewing the prohibited from teaching lists, which ensure that leaders have a comprehensive picture to ensure that only appropriate staff are appointed.  Staff receive safeguarding training on induction, which includes all statutory elements. Staff sign to confirm that they have read Part 1 of ‘Keeping children safe in education’, and understand their roles and responsibilities in how to keep children safe.  All staff have received ‘Prevent’ duty training and are familiar with their responsibilities to

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Safeguarding

protect pupils from the dangers of radicalisation and extremism.  Leaders carry out health and safety checks regularly and act upon any concerns raised. The school carries out detailed risk assessments on all aspects of school life.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers use their knowledge of what pupils can do to plan learning that successfully helps pupils to make good progress. This is particularly the case in key stages 3 and 4, where teachers’ clear understanding of the assessment criteria prepares pupils well for their future examinations.  Teachers’ skilful use of questioning allows them to check pupils’ understanding systematically. Most teachers use targeted questioning well to help pupils further develop their knowledge and skills, such as in a Latin lesson where the questioning about the use of archaic language helped pupils develop their understanding of different tenses and the use of hyperbole.  The positive relationships that exist between pupils, and between pupils and staff, help to enhance learning. Pupils work hard, listen intently, and their attitudes to learning are universally positive.  Pupils work well together and are keen to help each other ‘out of the learning pit’ by

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

using the strategies that teachers have taught them to use when they find something difficult. These strategies help pupils to develop greater resilience in their approach to their work.  Teachers’ high expectations and good subject knowledge ensure that pupils receive work that is matched to their particular needs. In secondary classes, there is good extension work for most-able pupils, who thrive on the additional challenge.  Teachers’ good use of practical demonstrations and clarity of explanation help pupils to develop a good understanding of complex topics, for example as seen in a mathematics lesson where pupils confidently solved inequalities involving fractional and negative variables.  Pupils become capable readers. In the primary classes, phonics is taught well and this provides pupils with a firm foundation on which to build their reading skills. The pupils’ reading books are appropriate to their abilities and pupils use their good phonic

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

knowledge to decode unusual or unfamiliar words well.  Inspectors listened to pupils in Year 2 read; they read fluently and use inference correctly. Pupils say they enjoy reading at home and at school. Teachers interweave reading and phonics into most learning opportunities so that pupils have many opportunities to practise and use their skills successfully.  Pupils’ books show that the teaching of mathematics is clearly structured so that pupils learn sequentially and therefore develop their understanding of mathematical concepts gradually and successfully. The younger pupils are able to solve mathematical problems and apply their number skills competently. Pupils are encouraged to record their mathematical reasoning and explain their thought processes, which works well to develop their skills.  Teachers’ overview of the progress pupils make in the primary phase is not as secure as in the secondary classes. Some of the teaching does not challenge the most able pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

sufficiently well. Consequently, although the work is age-appropriate, some of the pupils find elements of the work do not challenge them sufficiently and they could achieve more.  Pupils in the primary phase who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make sufficient progress. However, teachers do not establish pupils’ starting points precisely to target the support they receive to meet their particular needs more effectively. Leaders are aware of this weakness and have recently introduced the ‘watchful eye’ programme to help them monitor the progress of pupils more closely.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are confident, articulate, motivated and have the self-direction to be able to work on their own initiative.  Leaders proactively tackle the causes and effects of bullying. Their recent anti-bullying campaign highlighted the importance of ‘speaking up and putting an end to bullying’. Teachers highlight issues like body image and being unpleasant online in pupils’ PSHE lessons. Pupils say that the teaching has a positive impact and that they are not aware of any bullying. There are no reported incidents of bullying to date.  Teachers’ care for pupils, including the care for their emotional well-being, is strong. Pupils are taught about how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Pupils enjoy their education and feel safe at school.  The good relationships that exist between staff and pupils, alongside the frequent

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Personal development and welfare

mentoring programme, promote a feeling of openness. Pupils feel comfortable voicing concerns and feel secure enough to approach staff if they have a problem.  Breaktimes have a real community feel, for example pupils from Year 2 play games with Year 8 pupils. Pupils across the school socialise among themselves and with teaching assistants. Staff and pupils enjoy the healthy food provided in what is a very civilised and enjoyable occasion.  There is a clear plan in place for careers advice and guidance. Pupils learn from an early age about job opportunities, salaries and income tax. There are good links with universities that help raise pupils’ aspirations. Leaders adopt a paternalistic/maternalistic approach to helping pupils choose their option subjects. Pupils in key stage 4 benefit from work experience, one-to-one careers interviews, visits from post-16 providers and guidance on choosing subjects that will facilitate their chosen future options. Pupils are

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Personal development and welfare

confident that they have clear plans in place for the next stage of their education.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ conduct around the school is impeccable. Pupils display a maturity in advance of their age. They are polite and courteous, engage with visitors well, move carefully on the stairs and walk purposefully between lessons.  Inspectors did not see any poor behaviour throughout the inspection. Pupils arrive at school on time, settle quickly and display positive attitudes to learning. The atmosphere around the school is calm and professional, and promotes a sense of purpose where all pupils are encouraged to achieve their best.  The overall rate of attendance is very close to national average and improving. The attendance of the vast majority of pupils is extremely high. Leaders monitor attendance and provide support in cases where it dips.  There have been no fixed-term or permanent exclusions since the school opened in September 2016.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 The vast majority of pupils’ work over time demonstrates good progress. In most cases, the work in books shows a consistent picture of pupils completing work at levels higher than would be expected for their age. This, alongside good impartial careers advice, helps prepare pupils well for the next stage of their education.  In most cases, the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities from their starting points matches that of their peers, and constitutes good progress. Where progress is slower, pupils are receiving additional support to help them accelerate their progress.  At key stages 3 and 4, leaders assess progress against target grades based on what pupils can do when they arrive at the school. The school’s own information demonstrates that the vast majority of pupils make good progress against these challenging targets in English, mathematics and the sciences. Where pupils are below target, intervention and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

additional support are provided to help them catch up.  English books from the primary phase show good progress in most cases. Particular strengths were the unaided writing tasks, where pupils’ handwriting was becoming more cursive, their sentence structure was being developed and they were widening their vocabulary. This resulted in pupils’ extended writing tasks being coherent and increasingly well structured.  Leaders work hard to promote pupils’ literacy and reading skills, which works well. Activities such as World Book Day, the ‘teachers’ shelfies’ competition and the ‘reading nook’ all encourage pupils to sit and read. At the same time, these activities serve to successfully raise the profile of reading across the school and promote pupils’ enjoyment of reading for pleasure.  Most-able pupils in the secondary phase are set appropriate and challenging targets. Able pupils in a Spanish class were studying the near future tense. Some Year 11 pupils who

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Outcomes for pupils Good

have already completed GCSE courses in mathematics work on additional qualifications in mathematics. Some pupils are entered early for examinations in some subjects if teachers believe they are capable of achieving the highest grades.  The primary phase pupils apply themselves, and attain well, in the activities they undertake. The vast majority make good progress. Leaders accept that tracking pupils’ progress is not as robust or informative as it could be about those making accelerated progress, especially for most-able pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, because pupils’ starting points are not pinpointed with sufficient accuracy.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £10,785–£12,585

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School details

Website www.landmarkinternationalschool.co.uk

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School details

Email address paula.elliott@lischool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Landmark International School is an independent day school. It opened in September 2016 and currently has 43 pupils on roll.  The school is registered with the Department for Education (DfE) for 100 pupils between the ages of six and 16 years.  About a third of pupils are identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities.  A small proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  There are no pupils identified as disadvantaged.  The trustees of the new charity that run the school are responsible for all aspects of governance.  The school is located in the village of Fulbourn in Cambridgeshire, on a site that was previously used as an education centre for older learners.  The school received a pre-registration inspection for an independent day school in June 2016, where an inspector judged the school as likely to meet all of the independent school standards if the DfE registered the school.

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This standard inspection was conducted at the request of the DfE following concerns about the arrangements to safeguard pupils, raised in a complaint received by the DfE.  The DfE requested that the school’s first standard inspection was brought forward and that the inspection was unannounced.  The DfE asked inspectors to look at any wider safeguarding concerns surrounding the complaint. Inspectors did not investigate the complaint.  Inspectors examined a wide range of documents, including: the school’s improvement plans; policies; information about the curriculum; documents relating to safeguarding pupils; governors’ minutes; and information about the progress, behaviour and attendance of pupils in the school.  The school’s compliance with the independent school standards was checked.  Inspectors observed teaching over a range of subjects and key stages over the two days.  Inspectors heard pupils read and looked at a wide range of pupils’ books, including a

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Information about this inspection

work scrutiny of primary pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke to pupils throughout the inspection to gain their views.  The lead inspector made tours of the school and looked at the school’s single central record of employment checks.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, a trustee, the registrar, and those responsible for behaviour, attendance, special educational needs provision, safeguarding and child protection, and the curriculum.  Nineteen responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire were considered.  Inspectors considered the 37 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and the 31 responses on the free-text option.

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Inspection team

John Randall, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kathryn Herlock Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

Parent View 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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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