Long Toft Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Long Toft Primary School Church Road, Stainforth, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN7 5AB

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Outcome

Long Toft Primary School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that standards may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff care about the pupils. They ensure that pupils are well looked after. Staff work together to plan support for vulnerable pupils. The school’s ‘life skills curriculum’ helps pupils to develop skills that they will need in the future. Relationships between children and adults are positive. Pupils enjoy attending school. They listen carefully in lessons. Pupils stick at tasks, even when they find them difficult.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel that behaviour is good. Pupils say that bullying is not a problem. They are confident that adults would support them if they needed help. Pupils know how to stay safe when they use the internet. Pupils are sensible when they move around the school. There is a calm atmosphere. Pupils are polite when speaking to adults. They like to talk about what they have learned.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers provide a broad curriculum. Pupils have opportunities to experience a variety of visits and visitors. They enjoy a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Clubs such as gardening club and art club are well attended. However, curriculum planning is not sequenced as well as it should be. This means that pupils are not able to build on their knowledge in some subjects. As a result, outcomes have declined steadily since the last inspection.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Children get off to a good start in early years. Teachers now make sure that children begin to learn sounds as soon as they are ready. However, over the past few years, not enough pupils have reached the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check. It is now clear which sounds children should know as they move through the school. Teachers give extra support to pupils who are falling behind. Leaders have bought books to match the sounds that pupils learn. All staff in early years and key stage 1 receive good-quality 12–13 December 2019

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Leaders have purchased higher quality books for pupils to read. Teachers make good links to other areas of the curriculum. However, the reading curriculum is not planned well enough. Pupils are not able to build on their comprehension skills. This is because teachers are unclear about what they need to teach. Pupils do not get enough opportunity to use inference skills. Pupils do not use the evidence from texts to justify their answers often enough.

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Geography books show that pupils have started to improve their map skills this term. However, plans do not allow pupils to re-visit and develop what they already know. Teachers are unsure of what pupils must know by the time they have finished a geography topic. Subject leaders have begun to check the quality of teaching and learning. However, their checks have not been sharply focused on the quality of learning. This means that the advice they give has not made the improvements they would like to see.

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The subject leader for mathematics supports staff to improve the teaching of mathematics. Topics taught in mathematics are well sequenced. Staff have received effective training. However, opportunities for pupils to solve problems and explain their answers are not planned well enough. Pupils do not have strategies for working out problems. This means that they cannot tackle similar tasks. There is a strong focus on number skills in mathematics lessons. As a result, pupils have little time to develop other areas of mathematics.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support. The leader for SEND has put in place clear systems to identify and support pupils who may need help. She works with the school’s inclusion team and outside agencies to ensure that pupils receive the help they need. The leader for SEND provides teachers with support. This helps them to plan appropriate activities.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel well supported by leaders and each other. One member of staff described the school as a ‘family’. There is a culture of respect and trust between colleagues. Staff appreciate the steps leaders have taken to reduce their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. They carry out thorough checks. New staff receive relevant safeguarding information. There is annual safeguarding training and regular updates. Leaders check that staff supplied by external providers also receive the relevant checks.

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Safeguarding

Adults know how to identify signs that indicate pupils may be at risk. There are clear systems for reporting these concerns. Staff know whom they should report to. Records are detailed and well organised. 12–13 December 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 When teachers are extending pupils’ reading skills, they do not provide pupils with enough opportunities to build on what they know. There are not enough opportunities for pupils to develop their inference skills. Pupils are not encouraged to explain their answers using evidence from texts. Leaders should review the reading curriculum to ensure that there are more opportunities for pupils to develop these skills.  Leaders should ensure that plans for geography allow pupils to build on what they know. Pupils do not get enough opportunity to re-visit topics so they can remember what they have learned. Leaders should ensure that all curriculum leaders think carefully about what is taught in their subjects.  Subject leaders are not precise enough when checking the quality of teaching and learning. This means they do not accurately identify what needs to be done to make improvements. Subject leaders should carry out thorough checks to identify what

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

needs to be done to improve the quality of learning.  The mathematics curriculum is not balanced well enough. There is not enough opportunity for pupils to study all areas of mathematics. Pupils do not yet develop strategies for solving problems. Leaders should ensure that teachers receive further training and support to teach problem-solving strategies.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 12–13 December 2019

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 12–13 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110850 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11–12 May 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils who receive support for their special educational needs is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is similar to the national average.  The vast majority of pupils are from a White British background.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the headteacher, senior leaders, the SEND coordinator, the leader for early years and leaders for English, mathematics and geography. I also held meetings with the local governing body, a representative from the local authority, the school’s inclusion team and the designated safeguarding leader.  I spent time focusing on reading, mathematics and geography in this inspection. I met with senior leaders and subject leaders to discuss curriculum planning and look at books. I visited lessons with the subject leaders. I talked to some of the pupils and teachers from these lessons. 12–13 December 2019

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 I checked key safeguarding documents, including policies and procedures. I talked to staff across the school about how they keep pupils safe.  I observed pupils in classrooms and around the school.  I met staff to discuss the training they receive and the support they receive from leaders.  I took account of eight responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including free-text comments. I considered 19 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for staff.

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Inspection team

Jaimie Holbrook, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 12–13 December 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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, 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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