Long Row Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Ms Cheryl Lodge Headteacher Long Row Primary School 6 Long Row Belper Derbyshire DE56 1DR

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Short inspection of Long Row Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 5 June 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in October 2013.

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Short inspection of Long Row Primary School

The leadership has maintained the good quality of education since the last inspection. You have successfully created a culture where members of staff are mutually supportive and are committed to doing the best that they can to enable pupils to succeed. There is a strong team spirit among your colleagues. They feel fully involved in all aspects of school life and understand their role in bringing about further improvements. During the previous inspection, you were asked to provide more opportunities to share excellent classroom practice. You enable teachers to observe each other and plan and teach lessons together. In addition to this, through your engagement with the Belper Cluster Collaboration, teachers and school leaders have been able to learn from some of the practice seen in other primary schools in your area. Teachers are now more skilled at improving the progress of all pupils, including the most able, in all subjects.

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Short inspection of Long Row Primary School

Most of the parents I spoke with commented on how happy their children were at the school and how well they get on with each other. One parent was particularly positive about how his child is both supported and challenged, commenting: ‘They know my daughter. There are some fantastic teachers here.’ Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and your own parent surveys show that the majority of parents say that their children are well taught and are making good progress. However, some of the parents I spoke with or who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, say that school leaders sometimes do not respond as well as they might when parents raise concerns, and that they would appreciate better information about the progress that their children are making.

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Short inspection of Long Row Primary School

Pupils enjoy coming to school. Teachers and school leaders work hard to give pupils a strong interest in learning, to ensure that they are able to work independently and to rise to any academic challenges that they face. The pupils I spoke with told me how kind they find their teachers and how their teachers help them to overcome the difficulties posed by some of the work that they are given. One boy said: ‘If you struggle, the teachers help you.’ Pupils also told me how much they enjoy taking part in school trips.

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Short inspection of Long Row Primary School

A strength of teaching at Long Row is how school leaders and teachers use the local environment to add to the pupils’ experiences of learning, whether it be a visit to Cromford Canal to better understand the industrial heritage of the area or a trip to the local park to learn about forces in science. School clubs and opportunities to take part in sport and initiatives such as Eco Week and an arts themed week are helping to ensure that Long Row pupils are well-rounded individuals who are equipped to move on to the next stage of their education.

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Short inspection of Long Row Primary School

The governing body knows the school well. It provides you and other school leaders with an appropriate balance of support and challenge. The governing body has a broad range of professional expertise that allows it to carry out its roles effectively. Leaders’ assessment of the performance of the school is accurate. Consequently, school improvement priorities are appropriate and have clear success criteria. While the leadership of English and mathematics at Long Row is effective, you recognise that subject leadership is not consistently strong. Nonetheless, my discussions with staff and governors show that they are clear about current school priorities.

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Short inspection of Long Row Primary School

There is a strong culture of safeguarding at the school. You have ensured that arrangements to safeguard pupils’ welfare are fit for purpose. The school business officer is thorough in ensuring that all of the required vetting of staff and volunteers takes place. The school conducts an annual safeguarding audit and uses this to ensure that procedures continue to be effective. Children learn about the importance of staying safe through such initiatives as the safe internet day and talks from the NSPCC. The ‘bikeability’ scheme and visits from the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service further develop pupils’ understanding of how to stay safe. Incidents of bullying are rare. Children say that they feel safe and that they know who they would need to speak to if they had any concerns.

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Inspection findings

 In 2016, after a decline in progress in reading at the end of key stage 2, you correctly identified reading as a key area for improvement. You provided training in the teaching of reading skills for all members of staff and increased the use of more demanding texts across the school. You also increased expectations of the amount and quality of reading that pupils do at home. As a result of your work, in 2017 the proportion of pupils at the end of key stage 2 achieving the expected standard in reading was in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard was well above the national average. The progress pupils made in key stage 2 was close to that seen nationally.  In 2017, pupils made good progress in writing by the end of key stage 2. The proportions of pupils achieving the expected standard and the higher standards were well above the national averages. In 2017, at the end of key stage 1, the

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Inspection findings

proportions of pupils who met the expected standard and the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics were above the national averages. The proportion of pupils achieving the required standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been consistently above the national average. Historically, children have achieved well in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development has been consistently above the national average.  Leaders have also identified mathematics as an area for improvement at key stage 2. While in 2017 there was an improvement in standards, historically pupils have made less progress in mathematics than they have made in reading and writing. The subject leader for mathematics is passionate about mathematics and has a high degree of subject expertise. Teachers and teaching assistants say that they are now much more confident in their ability to teach mathematics well as a

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Inspection findings

result of the training that they have received and the ongoing support and guidance from the subject leader.  Our observation of the teaching of mathematics and our review of pupils’ work showed that pupils are making good progress. In particular, teachers are placing a greater emphasis on developing pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills and their understanding of how mathematical skills can be applied to everyday life and in different subjects. This is having a positive impact on pupils’ progress.  The school is making effective use of pupil premium funding to improve the progress and raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. In 2017, the proportions of disadvantaged pupils who achieved the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics were above those for other pupils at the school. Disadvantaged pupils made good progress in reading and mathematics and very good progress in writing. Verbal feedback on their work and on how to

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Inspection findings

improve, catch-up sessions to support any learning difficulties they may have, and effective pastoral support from a learning mentor are helping disadvantaged pupils to make good progress.  Information and evidence available in school indicated that improved standards at key stage 1 and 2 look likely to be maintained, with pupils in most year groups making progress that is at least as good as the previous year. This was borne out when we looked at a sample of pupils’ work. At the time of the last inspection, inspectors identified that the most able pupils were not as challenged in topic work as they are in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils’ work shows that they are now equally challenged in all subjects.  The subject leadership of English and mathematics at Long Row is effective. However, you recognise this is not the case for all subjects. You have begun to address this by developing the role of subject leaders and by providing them with

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Inspection findings

resources to carry out their roles effectively. At present, however, they do not know sufficiently well the strengths and areas for development in the subjects for which they are responsible or have a sufficient grasp of pupils’ attainment and progress to help drive more rapid improvements.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 all subject leaders are skilled in evaluating the quality of teaching, learning, assessment and pupil outcomes in the areas for which they are responsible in order to plan more effectively how they will bring about improvements  the quality of communication between the school and parents is strengthened so that parents feel that any concerns that they have are addressed effectively.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Derbyshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, the deputy headteacher, the school’s business officer and with members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body. I had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. I met with a number of middle leaders and four other members of staff. I also spoke with a group of children and read with two children. I undertook a learning walk with you, observed the teaching of mathematics and undertook a scrutiny of pupils’ work. I scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, the improvement plan and documents relating to safeguarding. I spoke with parents at the beginning of the school day and took account of the 56 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.

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