Longshaw Infant School

Inspection of Longshaw Infant School Crosby Road, Blackburn, Lancashire BB2 3NF

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 September 2021

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 28–29 September 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive at the school each day full of smiles and excited about the day ahead. They love spending time with their friends and teachers. Pupils feel safe and secure at school. They know that their teachers will sort out any of their worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils find learning fun. They enjoy spending time exploring the well-kept woodland area. Pupils take part in lots of different clubs, such as science, art and music. In assemblies, all pupils sing together enthusiastically.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are determined that each and every pupil will achieve their very best. Pupils are given a wide range of carefully planned support by staff. This helps them with their learning. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They learn how to be kind friends to others. Pupils know that if any bullying should occur, their teachers would deal with it quickly.

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better?

Leaders, staff and governors share a vision that all pupils will succeed in their learning. Staff ensure that this vision is realised. The curriculum that leaders provide is broad and interesting. The curriculum sets out exactly what pupils should know by the end of each term and year.

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better?

Subject leaders have thought carefully about how pupils should build their learning in a well-ordered way. In most subjects, the curriculum plans contain precise details of exactly what pupils should learn and remember before moving on to new learning. For example, in mathematics, teachers make sure that pupils learn important number facts in carefully planned steps. This ensures that pupils build knowledge successfully. In a small number of subjects, curriculum plans contain less detail about precisely what pupils need to know to prepare them for future learning.

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better?

Teachers make regular checks on how well pupils are learning. They use these checks to identify which pupils need additional support. Leaders make sure that this support takes place regularly and helps pupils to catch up.

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better?

When children start in the Reception Year, leaders make detailed checks on children’s communication and language knowledge. Well-trained teaching assistants give children the help that they need to learn new words and to speak clearly and correctly. This support makes sure that children are able to learn the school’s curriculum.

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better?

Leaders have made close links with the nearby nursery school. This enables leaders to make sure that children with SEND are identified quickly, often before they start 28–29 September 2021

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in the Reception Year. Any help for these children is planned and put in place from the moment they start school.

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Leaders have placed reading at the heart of the school’s curriculum. Attractive and cosy reading areas are situated around the school. The playground has colourful book sculptures, which celebrate a range of authors and stories. Pupils read regularly with adults in school. Children in the Reception classes love reading and talking about stories with adults. Teachers carefully match reading books to pupils’ phonics knowledge. Where pupils are struggling to keep up with the reading curriculum, they benefit from a wide range of extra help from staff. This ensures that pupils develop as confident and fluent readers. This includes pupils with SEND.

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Subject leaders benefit from working with other professionals and colleagues to develop their expertise. However, teachers have had less than their usual amount of curriculum training in the last academic year. Some subject leaders are new to their roles and have not had curriculum training in their subjects.

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Pupils listen carefully to their teachers and follow their instructions. This means that everyone can get on with their learning. Children in the Reception Year work with quiet concentration on the interesting activities that their teachers plan. They play well with their friends.

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Leaders provide pupils with a wide range of support for their emotional needs and well-being. Staff are experts in identifying which pupils need extra help.

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Skilled governors know the school well. They use their expertise to provide a range of helpful support for leaders. Governors make careful checks on the curriculum, for example ensuring that it is well matched to the needs of pupils with SEND.

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Pupils learn how to be active and kind citizens, for example by visiting a local care home. In school, pupils enjoy their different leadership roles, such as mini chefs helping staff at lunchtime. Pupils learn about the world in which they live, including different faiths and cultures.

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Staff appreciate the efforts that leaders make to support their well-being. They know that leaders take account of their workload when making decisions.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide important, regular training for all staff. This helps staff to recognise the signs of possible abuse or neglect. Staff know the right action to take if they have a concern about a pupil.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff work closely with a range of agencies to support pupils and their families. Pupils benefit from a wide range of support when needed. 28–29 September 2021

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The curriculum supports pupils to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn how to stay safe when using the internet. Pupils know that they should speak to a trusted adult if the actions of others make them feel unsafe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the curriculum plans lack precise detail about the important component knowledge that leaders intend pupils to learn and remember. This means that in these subjects, pupils sometimes move on to new learning without secure knowledge to build on. Leaders should ensure that curriculum plans in these subjects state explicitly the content that is most useful, to prepare pupils for their next steps in learning.  Teachers have had limited recent professional development across different subjects in the curriculum. This means that some staff, including subject leaders new to their roles, lack some curriculum expertise. Leaders should ensure that curriculum training is used to develop teachers’ content knowledge further, including those teachers new to their subject leader roles.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 28–29 September 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200828 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 September 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school uses one alternative registered provider.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID- 19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading and phonics, mathematics, art and design, and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects. 28–29 September 2021

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 Inspectors spoke with pupils about school life. They held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher and governors. They spoke with a representative of the local authority and the school’s adviser.  Inspectors reviewed documentation, which included the leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement.  Inspectors considered the views expressed by parents and carers in the 12 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and the 9 free text comments. They also considered the 20 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation about safeguarding. They spoke with staff to explore their understanding of how to keep pupils safe. They reviewed the school’s record of checks undertaken on newly appointed staff.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, staff and pupils to discuss provision for pupils’ personal development and pupils’ behaviour. They looked at

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documentation associated with these areas.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher of the virtual school for children looked after. They also spoke with the headteacher for the alternative provision.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss leaders’ support for them.

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Inspection team

Elizabeth Stevens, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Mavis Smith Her Majesty's Inspector 28–29 September 2021

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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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