Landmark International School

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils embody the school’s values. Pupils are ‘creative, kind, respectful, helpful and responsible’. Pupils are consistently well behaved, and they get on well. This is evidenced at breaktimes and in lessons. Pupils are proud of their school. They embrace the diversity that the international school provides. They can discuss the different religions that make up British society. They respect individuality. They enjoy school, including the many trips and after-school clubs that the school offers, and say that it ‘feels like a family’. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly happy with what the school provides.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that bullying does not happen and that they are confident that staff will deal with any worries that they may have. Parents and staff agree. Pupils build very positive relationships with staff, yet some do not make as much progress as they should.

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better?

The new headteacher has an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and the areas where it needs to improve further. Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could through the curriculum. Curriculum plans do not focus well enough on what pupils need to learn and by when. Staff do not adapt the plans to meet all pupils’ needs.

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better?

Pupils read well and widely. In the younger years, pupils’ reading experiences transfer well to their early writing. Pupils do not experience this consistently throughout key stage 2. This limits their progress. However, pupils develop their mathematical skills well because the subject is well planned and taught so that pupils build on their knowledge and skills.

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better?

In key stage 2, pupils talk excitedly about their history work. They can recount the expedition of Captain Scott, for example. However, this knowledge does not transfer into pupils’ writing well enough. This is because neither the history nor the English plans set out clearly enough the essentials that pupils need to learn. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to apply punctuation and grammar skills in their writing. Pupils’ work confirms that pupils are not developing these skills year on year.

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better?

Languages are a real strength of the school. Those who come to the school with little or no English master the English language quickly. Pupils learn a range of languages well. Skilled specialist language teachers develop and plan activities to help pupils reach a high standard.

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better?

Pupils achieve well in the secondary phase. English is well structured so that teaching builds pupils’ knowledge progressively. Pupils in key stage 3 study William Shakespeare and know in detail a variety of plays. Their learning is enhanced through visits to Shakespeare’s Globe and the local theatre. Pupils are able to talk about the plays with enthusiasm and show a good understanding of the context and 28–30 January 2020

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audience. Staff tailor careers advice to pupils’ interests. Leaders do all they can to offer courses that match pupils’ creative abilities and interests.

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Ensuring that pupils settle well and are able to access the curriculum confidently are given the highest priority. Pupils arrive with a wide range of needs. Many join the school at different times of the year and from different countries. Staff liaise well with parents and pupils’ previous schools. This helps them put support in place quickly. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive valuable support.

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The headteacher, staff and trustees are committed to ensuring that pupils develop into resilient, independent and well-rounded young people. The headteacher has consulted with parents, staff and trustees to help develop clear curriculum plans so that knowledge and skills are coherently sequenced across all year groups. However, plans are still embryonic.

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The proprietor and others responsible for governance are not sufficiently clear about their role. They have not ensured that the independent school standards are being consistently met.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that the most vulnerable pupils get the right support when they need it. Checks on adults’ suitability to work with children have been completed. However, there were administrative errors that needed to be addressed prior to the end of the inspection.

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Safeguarding

Leaders complete training in safeguarding duties and all adults have the necessary safeguarding training to help them identify risks to pupils’ safety. Leaders make sure that internet safety is given a high priority and pupils and adults are aware of the potential dangers.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Leaders do not yet have curriculum plans for all subjects. They have not made it clear what they want pupils to learn and by when. This is particularly the case in writing. Leaders need to be specific about what skills they want pupils to learn and what they want pupils to know. This needs to be planned logically so that pupils can build on prior knowledge and skills year on year.  Pupils do not get enough opportunities to apply their writing skills, such as grammar, handwriting and punctuation, in independent writing tasks. In addition, some pupils do not write as well as they are able. They are not being provided 28–30 January 2020

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with opportunities to write often enough in subjects such as history and geography. This is particularly the case in key stage 2.  Absence of curriculum plans are making it difficult for leaders to check the quality of education across the school. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, are not ensuring that all the independent school standards are being met. The proprietor needs to make sure that those responsible for governance fulfil their roles and responsibilities well.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 28–30 January 2020

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School details

Unique reference number 142776 DfE registration number 873/6054

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School details

Inspection number 10125224 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Proprietor Landmark International School Cambridge

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School details

Chair Jonathan Barker (chair of trustees)

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £11,820 to £14,190

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School details

Website www.landmarkinternationalschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21–23 March 2017

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Information about this school

 Landmark International School is an independent day school. It opened in September 2016. The school has recently been registered to provide education for pupils from Reception age. The school is now registered with the Department for Education (DfE) for 100 pupils between the ages of four and 16 years.  Leaders have only recently started to admit pupils in the early years foundation stage.  About a third of pupils are identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities. 28–30 January 2020

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 Almost half of the pupils that attend the school are bilingual. Almost a quarter of the pupils speak English as an additional language.  There are no pupils identified as disadvantaged.  The school does not use supply staff.  The proprietorial body is Landmark International School Cambridge, a registered charity. This is a change since the previous inspection. The name of the proprietor is currently missing from the DfE’s published register of schools, GIAS (Get Information About Schools). The chair of the proprietorial body is currently waiting for confirmation of the change of the registered proprietor. The trustees of the charity that run the school are responsible for all aspects of governance.  The new headteacher started at the school in September 2019.  Inspection history: – On 27 June 2018, Ofsted conducted an emergency inspection, at no notice. – In March 2017, Ofsted conducted the school’s first standard inspection. The

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school was judged good and all independent school standards were met.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection 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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Information about this inspection

The school has failed to meet the independent school standards. These are the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher and members of the senior leadership team. We also held discussions with two trustees and the proprietor.  We met with the designated leaders for safeguarding, looked at records, and scrutinised the school’s safeguarding practice.  We observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day and spoke to staff about pupils’ personal development. We also held discussions with several groups of pupils from all key stages about their learning.  We considered reading, writing, mathematics and languages in depth as part of this inspection. We held meetings with senior leaders, teachers and pupils. We also carried out lesson visits across all sections of the school and we scrutinised pupils’ work to gain a view about the quality of education.  We considered the 29 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey, the 31 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and the 55 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire,

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Information about this inspection

Parent View, along with the 52 responses to Ofsted’s free-text survey. We spoke with staff and pupils to gain their views of the school. We also spoke with parents on the playground. 28–30 January 2020

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 We made no judgement on the quality of the early years foundation stage on this occasion. There is insufficient evidence to make the judgement because it is only very recently that leaders have started to admit pupils from the age of four years.

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Inspection team

Cindy Impey, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tessa Holledge Her Majesty’s Inspector 28–30 January 2020

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 2(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if: – 2(1)(a) the proprietor ensures that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work, which provides for the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2) is drawn up and implemented effectively; and – 2(1)(b) the written policy, plans and schemes of work: – 2(1)(b)(i) take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an EHC plan.  3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school: – 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught; – 3(c) involves well planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time; – 3(d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school: – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently. 28–30 January 2020

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