Longfleet Church of England Primary School

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

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Mr Nigel Helm Headteacher Longfleet Church of England Primary School Jolliffe Avenue Poole BH15 2HF

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 28 March 2019 with Gina Cooke, Ofsted Inspector, 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 your predecessor school was judged to be good in April 2013.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. There has been a change of leadership and the school has grown and become an academy. Governors and senior leaders have tackled the priorities from the previous inspection and ensure that pupils enjoy school, learn well and make progress.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

Since your arrival as headteacher three years ago you have strengthened the school’s work. Your strong beliefs that Longfleet should be a community school where parents and staff are valued and all pupils enjoy ‘Life in all its Fullness’ underpin your work. You have carefully implemented changes so that leadership, accountability, teaching and learning have all been strengthened. Morale, commitment and parental satisfaction have remained high. Your leadership team is honest and reflective and is committed to improving outcomes for all pupils and has a shared understanding of the priorities for the school.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

Pupils work well together. From their earliest years in school they learn to attend and concentrate in class because of the school’s high expectations of behaviour and respect for each other. Attendance is above the national average. Pupils enjoy a wide range of different activities in the school. You are rightly proud of the opportunities in sports and music. Pupils take part in many competitive sport opportunities. They represent Longfleet in, for example, football, netball, rugby, cross-country, multi-skills, tri-golf and athletics. In addition, fitness and participation are encouraged through PE lessons and additional initiatives such as ‘Fit Fridays’ and ‘Dance Magic’. Pupils learn to read music notation, compose, perform and evaluate music. Many pupils play woodwind, string, percussion or brass instruments. Pupils have regular opportunities to perform in school services, assemblies, concerts and music festivals. A recent highlight was pupils working with

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and performing at the Royal Albert Hall.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

Parental satisfaction in the school is very high. Nearly all parents who completed Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, said that they would recommend the school to another parent. Comments, typical of those expressed by the parents, included, ‘We couldn’t be happier with Longfleet School, the headteacher and all the staff care so much and achieve great things,’ ‘This is a fantastic school’ and ‘The school promotes kindness, equality and resilience through a brilliant balance of lessons, giving enough time for sport and music in the mix, promoting a fit, healthy and creative environment’.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

Children make a strong start in Reception. In 2018 the proportion of children who reached a good level of development was above the national average. Each year, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics in Year 1 is similar or better than the national averages. Pupils make progress throughout key stage 1 and 2 so that progress and attainment are in line with, or better than, national averages.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

A strong caring culture where every child and their family are valued underpins safeguarding practice in the school. Clear systems are in place. Leaders and staff are well trained. A team approach by leaders means that there are opportunities to share concerns and agree appropriate responses.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

Pupils say that they feel safe. Their parents agree. Almost all the parents who responded to Parent View said that they felt that their children are well looked after and were safe. The school is rightly proud of the work of the ‘Keep Safe Council’. Pupils help those who might be feeling lonely or sad. Issues are sorted out quickly. Pupils value the ’Keep Safe Den’ as a safe place in the playground and the class boxes where they can post a note if they are concerned about anything. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in the community and online.

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Short inspection of Longfleet Church of England Primary School

The arrangements for staff recruitment, vetting and training are suitable and up to date. The member of the governing body with responsibility for safeguarding has good knowledge and is in close contact with the school.

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Inspection findings

 Governors support and challenge well. They are committed, confident and very well informed about the school. They have a keen understanding of priorities and are reflective. They are aspirational for the school and all its community. They work effectively with other schools across the multi-academy trust to share practice and consider common areas of concern.  One of the key lines of enquiry to determine whether the school remains good was to examine how effectively leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well and meet expected standards. The proportion of pupils at Longfleet who are eligible for pupil premium funding is lower than the national average but is increasing. Historic data suggests that their performance in the school has been variable. You have rightly recognised this as a key issue for the school. Leaders and governors are aspirational that all pupils do well in the school and have the

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Inspection findings

best opportunities possible. You have a clear strategy in place, underpinned by core principles with clear success criteria. You ensure that all pupils and their families are welcome in school and teaching is strong for all. Effective assessment processes and use of data ensures that no child is falling behind. You recognise that every pupil will have different strengths and barriers to learning and your targeted approach is focused and creative. The use of interventions has been refined so that you target these where they are likely to be most effective. You intervene early so that, for example, deficits in younger pupils’ speech and language can be addressed effectively. You do focused work with individuals and ensure ongoing contact with parents. You support disadvantaged pupils with access to enrichment events, family breakfast, trips and music lessons, as well as helping with school uniform. You have enhanced the availability of reading

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Inspection findings

material in the home through magazine subscriptions and support some pupils through mentoring. You support attendance and offer pastoral or emotional support when it is needed.  Your tracking shows that, over time, disadvantaged pupils are making similar progress to others and in some cases better. Your interventions have been successful in pupils developing their reading skills, vocabulary and knowledge of phonics. More disadvantaged pupils than before are participating in instrument lessons and school trips, and are therefore accessing a wider curriculum. When we visited classrooms, it was clear that disadvantaged pupils are engaged and interested in their work. You recognise that, at times, the work given to groups of pupils in some classes is not always well matched and therefore learning slows.  Another line of enquiry was to examine the consistency of teaching and learning across the school. Since the previous inspection, you have increased the number

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Inspection findings

of classes in each year group. Overall, data shows that pupils make at least average progress and attain close to national averages. There is some variability, however, within groups and between years. In the last three years, progress in reading or writing or mathematics has been above average, but this has not been maintained for more than one year. In 2018, boys made less progress in reading than girls and those who left key stage 1 as middle-attainers did not make as much progress as other pupils in reading and mathematics. You are acutely aware of the need to iron out such inconsistencies. You have worked hard to strengthen systems across the school so that approaches are similar in each class and pupils receive the same curriculum offer. You have strengthened middle leadership and clarified roles so that leaders now monitor standards and quickly give teachers support to improve the quality of teaching and learning. You are

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Inspection findings

supporting these leaders with good professional development, including coaching. You have strengthened accountability in the school. Leaders monitor progress of pupils closely and intervene if they are at risk of falling behind. If teachers need support to improve their teaching, there is a very clear process that is supportive but does not avoid difficult conversations.  Observations of lessons and work in books show that pupils are engaged, complete work, comply with instructions, have similar curricular experiences and make progress. However, inconsistencies in the quality of teaching remain and pupils are making stronger progress in some year groups and in some classes. In a few classes, teaching is not tailored enough to ensure that the planned activities, adults’ questioning or support are getting the best out of pupils. Pupils, at times, are passive and are not consistently challenging themselves to improve.

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Inspection findings

 The third line of enquiry examined the progress the school has made in improving pupils’ writing in the school. At the previous inspection, writing was an area for improvement. Data shows that the school’s work has been effective. In 2018, pupils at Longfleet made progress in writing that was above the national average. In key stage 1 a higher proportion of pupils than the national average attained the expected standard. This improvement is a result of the school’s consistent focus on this area. Governors recognised the issue and have kept it as one of their priorities. Leaders strengthened the approach to writing throughout the school. They provided ongoing professional development which means that teachers are very knowledgeable about the development and structures of writing. Stimulating texts are provided so that pupils are interested and want to write. Leaders take an ongoing detailed and targeted approach to improvement,

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Inspection findings

for example analysing and implementing more effective approaches to spelling.  Writing has improved. Pupils’ work in books is of good quality. It is engaging, with appropriate choices of punctuation, language and vocabulary. Pupils have good opportunities to write for different purposes. In some classes, there is evidence that pupils are using their skills in writing across different subjects, but this is not yet embedded across the school.

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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 high quality of teaching and learning evident in most classrooms is consistent throughout the school  activities and approaches provided for individuals and groups always challenge them to do their very best.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the Harbourside Learning Partnership, the director of education for the Diocese of Salisbury, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection inspectors met with you, your senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and the CEO of the Harbourside Partnership. We observed learning in most classrooms and looked at pupils’ work. We spoke with a representative group of pupils and with many other pupils informally. We scrutinised documentation from the school on a range of matters, including safeguarding. Inspectors took account of 132 responses from parents to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, and eight letters from parents. We also considered responses of staff and pupils to the Ofsted online survey.

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