Landkey Community Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Landkey Community Primary Academy Bakery Way, Landkey, Barnstaple, Devon EX32 0LJ

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Outcome

Landkey Community Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Landkey Community Primary Academy are happy and love to learn. Leaders are ambitious for all learners. They have a clear understanding of how to strengthen the quality of education further. Staff ensure that all pupils receive the help they need. Consequently, pupils are well supported to be successful learners. Pupils’ voice is at the heart of this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have high expectations of their own behaviour. The majority of pupils behave very well. Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. There is no disruption to lessons. Pupils are kind and considerate towards each other. They play and learn well together. Pupils say that bullying can happen, but it is uncommon. Staff sort out any problems quickly and effectively. Pupils feel safe. They value how staff nurture and care for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have reinstated extra-curricular clubs and visits that were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils enjoy the range of opportunities on offer, including art, animation and poetry clubs. They have opportunities to participate in ‘Tarka’ local sporting events and visit the Isle of Wight and London for residential experiences. Parents and carers who responded to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, would like these opportunities to widen further. Leaders have appropriate plans to engage with parents and the local community.

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

Leaders have placed spoken language at the centre of the curriculum. Children in the Reception Year are well supported to develop their communication skills. Staff have established clear routines which help pupils to become independent learners. Throughout the school, pupils are articulate speakers. They share their thoughts and opinions with confidence. As a result, pupils remember their learning and make links to their prior knowledge.

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

Leaders have prioritised early reading. Children learn to read as soon as they start school. 8 and 9 June 2022

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Staff receive regular training. Consequently, the teaching of reading is consistent. Leaders regularly check what pupils know and this means that pupils get the help they need to become fluent readers. Pupils say that they love to read and read regularly in school. Once pupils have understood the phonics code, they continue to read books carefully matched to their ability. Leaders are taking steps to strengthen the wider reading curriculum further. This includes using carefully selected high-quality texts for whole class reading.

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The newly developed curriculum is ambitious for pupils in all subjects. For example, in art and design, leaders have planned a range of artists for pupils to study. Pupils can talk about these artists using appropriate vocabulary. Recently, a local artist visited the school to support pupils with their learning. However, in some subjects, leaders have not yet considered well enough how important knowledge is broken down into smaller steps of learning. Furthermore, assessment is not used precisely enough to identify gaps in pupils’ understanding. As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could.

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Leaders identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) accurately. Pupils benefit from support and resources that help them to learn well. The special educational needs coordinator provides regular training for staff so that ‘everyone is a teacher of pupils with SEND’. Consequently, pupils successfully follow an ambitious curriculum.

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Leaders implement a curriculum to support pupils’ broader development, which is highly effective. Teaching of the personal, social and health education curriculum is consistent. Leaders enhance this with a well-considered assembly programme. Pupils learn about ‘the global goals’ and use regular ‘oracy’ assemblies as a forum for pupil discussion and action. This means that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They understand the importance of keeping themselves healthy and know how to form healthy relationships. Pupils use what they know about different cultures to make links with how other people live.

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Pupils have opportunities to develop their interests. For example, some pupils, including vulnerable pupils, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, such as the French horn and ukulele.

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Staff say that leaders place huge importance on their well-being. They value this. Leaders ensure that staff are part of key decisions. This has a positive impact on their workload. Staff have access to carefully planned professional development. They collaborate with other staff across the trust. Consequently, they have strong subject knowledge.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know that safeguarding is of the ‘utmost priority’ for pupils. There are robust systems in place to report and monitor any safeguarding concerns. Staff receive regular training. They use this to ensure that they follow school procedures diligently. Leaders engage with external agencies regularly to get the extra support some pupils and families 8 and 9 June 2022

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may need. They make the right checks when new staff join the school.

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Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when using technology online. Older pupils talk confidently about how to keep themselves safe from peer-on-peer abuse, peer pressure and possible exploitation. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, leaders have not considered how important knowledge is broken down into smaller steps of learning. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is sequenced carefully in all subjects, so pupils know more and remember more.  In some subjects within the wider curriculum, leaders are trialling new methods of assessment. These are not yet consistently applied. As a result, gaps in pupils’ learning are not always identified precisely enough. Leaders need to ensure that there are consistent approaches to assessment in place to accurately gauge pupils’ levels of understanding.

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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 predecessor school, Landkey Primary School, to be good in September 2014.

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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 8 and 9 June 2022

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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. 8 and 9 June 2022

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School details

Website www.landkey-primary.devon.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined Landkey Community Primary Academy in January 2022.  The school is an academy in Tarka Learning Partnership.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.  The school has a breakfast club and after-school club provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art and design. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, curriculum leaders and teaching and support staff. 8 and 9 June 2022

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 The inspector met with representatives from the local governing body, the chief executive officer, the chair of trustees and the director of inclusion and safeguarding.  The inspector spoke with the designated safeguarding leads to discuss the school’s procedures for keeping pupils safe. She considered the school’s recruitment procedures, staff’s induction and training, records of concern and their engagement with external agencies. The inspector also spoke with staff and pupils throughout the inspection.  The inspector considered 58 responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. The inspector also took into consideration responses to the staff and pupil questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Donna Briggs, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 June 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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