Langtons Junior Academy

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

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Mrs Elaine Brook Executive Headteacher Langtons Junior Academy Westland Avenue Hornchurch Essex RM11 3SD

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Short inspection of Langtons Junior Academy

Following my visit to the school on 21 November 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 January 2015.

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Short inspection of Langtons Junior Academy

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Langtons Junior Academy

Langtons Junior Academy is a happy and welcoming community. Pupils show good manners and are proud of their school. You and your team have created a school where pupils value learning and are keen to do their best in all they do. Pupils and staff tell me that they are a family who learn together. They mutually respect each other, and this creates a positive climate to support the good learning seen across the school.

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Short inspection of Langtons Junior Academy

You, together with your head of school, have created a culture where checks on teaching are part of an everyday effort to improve learning in classrooms. Your staff, together with subject leaders, work to improve the curriculum, matching it to the learning needs of your pupils. This work has helped to improve further the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the curriculum, but particularly in mathematics. This commitment to continuous improvement has helped galvanise staff in meeting their key aim of ensuring that pupils are prepared well for their next stage of learning.

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Short inspection of Langtons Junior Academy

While developing the school’s curriculum you have ensured that spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are planned effectively in the pupils’ everyday learning. Consequently, pupils develop their understanding of others, having an empathy for other people beyond their immediate community. Regular trips, visitors and assemblies complement the learning in classrooms. Pupils demonstrate a firm understanding of British values, including democracy, liberty and the rule of law. They are being prepared well to be active citizens of the United Kingdom. For example, they demonstrated a mature understanding of the sacrifice made by others during the First and Second World Wars 1.

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Short inspection of Langtons Junior Academy

Your policies, procedures and practice for safeguarding reflect the most recent statutory government guidance. Staff have a clear understanding of the welfare needs of their pupils and check actively for early warning signs of neglect or abuse. Consequently, evidence shows that your staff have helped relevant agencies support pupils and families before concerns escalate. You maintain simple systems for recording child protection concerns. Files are well kept and maintained. Pupils have a good understanding of how they can stay safe both in school and beyond. They trust that adults will help them if they are worried, and know how to seek support at school if it is required. Leaders have ensured that staff have a good understanding of all safeguarding issues. They show an awareness of those issues that are most frequent in the school community.

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Inspection findings

 During the inspection we considered whether pupils’ behaviour was good and if it supported learning in classrooms. Pupils are polite and demonstrate good manners to each other and staff. They told me that bullying is rare. Records show that when bullying does occur it is dealt with quickly and appropriately. This helps to prevent repetition of this behaviour. Pupils understand the different types of bullying and know how to seek support.  Throughout the inspection, pupils’ behaviour around the school was impeccable. At break and lunchtimes pupils’ play is calm and respectful of their peers. Individuals make use of a range of games and some read quietly in the school library.  Persistent absence has been much higher than other schools nationally. Leaders carefully track attendance and effectively promote the importance of regular attendance at school. Work is undertaken to engage actively with families when

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Inspection findings

pupils are repeatedly absent. Consequently, attendance is now above the national average and persistent absence is falling. However, leaders are rightly determined to reduce further the number of pupils persistently absent. They recognise the link between attendance and pupils attaining what they are capable of at school.  Since the previous inspection, you have made the development of middle leadership a priority. You have identified subject leaders who have the knowledge and experience to model good teaching, enabling them to lead on specific aspects of the curriculum. You have drawn experience from across the two schools you lead and within the wider academy trust. Therefore, middle leaders have been instrumental in improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment in mathematics has improved over the past two years. You have enabled your middle leaders to consider how

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Inspection findings

and what pupils need to learn. They have shaped the sequence of teaching to ensure that pupils develop their fluency in calculation and problem-solving. Pupils who are struggling to grasp concepts have better access to ‘concrete’ resources which support them in exploring their learning. Staff are becoming increasingly adept at helping pupils consider the what, how and why of calculations. However, this reasoning is less well developed in their written work. You agree that this a priority for further development.  Pupils’ books show that they are making good progress in their mathematics work. Year 3 and 4 are making strong progress as they are benefiting from the raised expectations in mathematics from an earlier age.  Teachers are making good use of support staff to make daily interventions when pupils have not rapidly grasped mathematical concepts. Their assessments and further teaching are helping to ensure that pupils do not fall behind in their

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Inspection findings

learning.  You have created a culture where pupils read for pleasure. Books are at the heart of each half-term’s learning. The pupils know a wide range of authors, genres and books. They are being helped to reflect on their personal preferences and make considered reading choices. This is shown by pupils’ extensive use of the school library and their varied reading choices. For example, the most able Year 6 pupils are reading books such as, ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott and ‘War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo.  You have ensured that pupils track the new vocabulary they encounter. This is helping them to take responsibility for growing their own vocabulary . However, teachers do not always ensure that pupils quickly learn the meaning of such words. This limits the growth in pupils’ vocabulary and their ability to apply it in their own writing. For example, one Year 4 pupil had discovered, but not learned,

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Inspection findings

the meaning of the words ‘kleptomaniac’ and ‘daredevil’.

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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

 the mathematics curriculum is developed further, so that teachers consistently promote pupils’ written mathematical reasoning  teachers and support staff systematically ensure that pupils know the meaning of new vocabulary, when it is encountered  all necessary steps are taken to continue reducing the number of pupils who are persistently absent from school.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer for the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for the London Borough of Havering. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I met with you, middle leaders, teaching assistants, members of the local governing body, and your leadership team. We discussed the school’s self- evaluation, information about pupils’ progress and improvements made since the previous inspection. Together, we visited all classes in the school and looked at a range of pupils’ work in books. I met with pupils to talk to them about their everyday school life and how safe they feel. I analysed a range of written evidence, including the school’s self-evaluation documentation, pupils’ current progress information, documents related to safeguarding and the school curriculum. I visited the school library and observed pupils during morning break and at lunchtime. I took account of the views of the 35 parents, 21 members of staff and 16 pupils who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaires, including their written comments. I also took account of the views of

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Information about the inspection

members of staff and pupils who I met during the day.

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