Leadenham Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Leadenham Church of England Primary School Main Road, Leadenham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN5 0QB

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Outcome

Leadenham Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and feel safe at this small village school. They like the fact that they know everyone. Staff model the respect and kindness they expect pupils to show. Pupils get on well together and look after each other. They appreciate that staff want them to do well. One parent echoed others’ views by saying, ‘This is a fantastic little school which has the children’s well-being at its heart and supports them to achieve their true potential.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm and orderly. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning. Pupils behave well and work hard. They apologise quickly when they do something wrong. Bullying is rare. Staff sort things out swiftly and fairly if pupils fall out with each other. New pupils make friends quickly. Everyone is welcomed and valued. Attendance is high.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love learning outdoors. They like practising their bushcraft skills and say this is good for their mental health. Staff encourage pupils to develop a sense of ‘awe and wonder’ through the many trips and visits they enjoy. As one pupil explained, ‘The school has lots of opportunities and there is always something fun to do around the corner.’

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

Children in the Nursery and Reception Years experience a curriculum that is carefully thought out. Well-established routines support children’s personal, social and emotional development. They enjoy listening to stories, learning rhymes and singing songs. These activities help children to develop their language and communication skills. Relationships between children and staff are positive. Children are well prepared for key stage 1.

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

Leaders have introduced a new way of teaching phonics. Staff make effective use of their training to get children in the Reception Year off to a prompt start. They ensure that pupils have a secure knowledge of the sounds they are learning and can use them accurately. Staff provide swift intervention when pupils need extra help. Most pupils who 5 May 2022

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receive this support catch up quickly. Pupils read suitable books that match the sounds they know and are at the appropriate level of challenge for them.

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Teachers encourage pupils’ love of reading by choosing books from different genres and eras to read to the class. Pupils are keen to join in. In the Wise Owls class, pupils enthusiastically repeated ‘Who’s that trip-trapping over my bridge?’ in the story, ‘The Troll’. Pupils like predicting what might happen next. The well-stocked library contains a good range of books for pupils to choose from. All pupils read regularly and most enjoy doing so.

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The mathematics curriculum follows a logical order. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They present lessons to mixed-aged classes well. Pupils at different stages of learning deepen their understanding. Pupils find daily ‘flashbacks’ at the start of each lesson useful to see if they can remember the important knowledge that they have previously been taught. Teachers ensure pupils get the right level of support and challenge. They check pupils’ work closely to make sure that it is accurate and to correct any errors. However, some pupils do not use guidance from teachers consistently well to improve their work.

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Leaders have revised the school curriculum in other subjects. They have identified what they want pupils to learn and remember at each stage. However, the planned curriculum in each subject does not always build on what pupils have learned previously. In history, for example, it is not clear how the curriculum develops an understanding of the idea of monarchy.

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Leaders use effective systems to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide these pupils with close support so that they can access the full curriculum.

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There is a strong focus on pupils’ wider development. Leaders enhance the curriculum with relevant visits and experiences. Pupils enjoy outings to London and trips to local places of worship. Year 6 pupils can take part in a residential visit to Norfolk. Many pupils learn to play the clarinet. Pupils are involved with a local community gardening project. They learn how to look after their physical and mental health, and about the importance of being tolerant of others. The curriculum provides pupils with age-appropriate information regarding relationships, sex and health education.

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Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel leaders treat them with respect and are mindful of their workload. Governors are well informed about leaders’ work to improve the school. They provide leaders with close support and take decisive action to ensure that the school continues to be successful.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 5 May 2022

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Pupils know there is a trusted adult they can talk to if they have any worries. They understand the potential risks they might face online. They know how to stay safe around water, fire and on the road.

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Staff understand the issues that may put pupils at risk of potential harm. They report any concerns promptly to leaders.

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Leaders are well trained. They work closely with the families of pupils who need extra help. They make sure that pupils get the support they need. Records of leaders’ actions to keep pupils safe are updated frequently.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects such as history, music, and design and technology. In these subjects, knowledge is well ordered within each topic studied. However, important knowledge included in a topic is not always related to what pupils have learned previously in a different topic. Leaders have not checked carefully enough that links are made between the different topics covered by a subject, so that pupils can use what they already know as the foundation for new knowledge. It is clear that leaders have begun to review and plan the curriculum in these subjects and are making any necessary amendments in response to the pandemic. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.  Teachers check pupils’ written work to identify misunderstandings or mistakes. They provide guidance as to how pupils can improve their work. However, teachers do not

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

make sure that pupils respond consistently well to this advice. This means that some pupils do not achieve as well as they should, because their knowledge is not as accurate or as deep as it could be. Leaders should make sure that pupils make the most of feedback as to how they can get better at a subject, so that they know and remember more over time.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2012. 5 May 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 5 May 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227814 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.leadenhamprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In February 2020, the school took over the responsibility for running a pre-school provision that was already operating on the school’s site. At this time, the school changed its registration with the Department for Education to include the provision for two- and three-year-olds.  The coordinator for the provision of SEND took up the position in February 2022.  The number of pupils on the school’s roll has increased since the previous inspection.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  There is a before- and after-school club which is managed by the governing body.  A section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place on 1 December 2017.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 5 May 2022

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and spoke with a representative of the local authority on the telephone.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in three subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with curriculum leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, met with the teachers of the lessons visited, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also examined the curriculum in design and technology, and music. Inspectors listened to some pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 read with a familiar adult.  Inspectors met with a group of pupils from Years 5 and 6. They spoke with pupils informally and observed the behaviour of pupils during social times. They visited an assembly.  Inspectors evaluated the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements by reviewing the

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school’s record of pre-employment checks, holding discussions with the designated safeguarding leader, staff and pupils and reviewing documentation relating to safeguarding.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. They took note of the results of the Ofsted staff survey and the Ofsted pupil survey.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and school development plan. They considered information about pupils’ behaviour and the wider curriculum.

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Elizabeth Mace Ofsted Inspector 5 May 2022

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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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