Latton Green Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Latton Green Primary Academy Riddings Lane, Harlow, Essex CM18 7HT

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Outcome

Latton Green Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Latton Green Primary Academy are highly enthusiastic about their school and enjoy learning. They appreciate how much staff care for them, and value that their teachers are determined for them to succeed. Pupils like how staff listen to their views and speak to them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils treat each other and adults with politeness and respect. Pupils know how to manage their own behaviour and are increasingly able to reflect on what they are doing well and, when necessary, how they could do better. They usually behave very well in and out of lessons. Bullying is very rare. Pupils know that if it happens, teachers will make it stop. They know how to keep themselves safe in and out of school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ passion for learning is often ignited by interesting and thought-provoking activities in lessons. For example, in a geography lesson, pupils enthusiastically made use of information and communication technology to investigate where our food comes from and discussed its impact on the environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Outside of lessons, there are clubs, visits, and trips, such as to the Roald Dahl museum. These provide pupils with new opportunities and further deepen pupils’ learning of the curriculum.

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

Leaders are determined for pupils to flourish. From Reception onwards, the curriculum is carefully planned to develop pupils’ English and mathematics. There is a particular focus on developing pupils’ spoken language. Leaders consider these are the foundations of pupils’ success. Pupils speak knowledgeably and confidently about their learning.

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

In most subjects, leaders have identified the small steps that pupils need to know and understand to do well. Many teachers use this information skilfully to plan and adapt their teaching. They check learning regularly to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Teachers 25 and 26 April 2023

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then provide appropriate support, where needed. This helps deepen pupils’ understanding as they can build confidently on what they have learned. Where some teachers’ subject knowledge is less secure, they do not routinely identify pupils’ misconceptions, or the key knowledge needed to progress. As a result, pupils do not always know as much as they should. In a few subjects, blocks of learning are not always connected, and this makes it harder for pupils to remember the knowledge they need over time.

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Reading is celebrated. Pupils at Latton Green Academy love to read. The teaching of phonics is effective. Teachers swiftly identify those pupils who need extra support. Staff are well trained and provide pupils with the assistance that they need. As a result, weaker readers catch up rapidly with their peers. Pupils enjoy a diverse range of texts and become increasingly accurate and fluent readers.

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Children in Reception enjoy stories, books and rhymes. These engage children in starting to learn about number and the world around them. Teachers plan carefully how to develop children’s social skills and children become increasingly independent and resilient.

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Staff ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can successfully access the curriculum. They have high expectations of what all pupils can achieve. Tasks are precisely matched to what pupils need to learn. Consequently, the majority of pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well.

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Pupils and staff both speak about following values, not rules. Staff have high expectations of behaviour, and routines are consistently followed. As a result, there is very little disruption to learning.

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Leaders are committed to developing pupils’ personal development. They provide a range of activities to do before they join secondary school called ‘fifty Things at Latton Green.’ These range from visiting places of worship to camping. Leaders make sure that all pupils take advantage of these opportunities, so that they become confident and curious about the world around them. Pupils learn about topics such as democracy, friendship and tolerance and they display those values in their daily behaviour.

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Trustees and governors are ambitious for the school. They check how well pupils are learning, they ensure that the leaders follow their legal duties around equality, and also ensure pupils are kept safe.

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Staff are complimentary about the opportunities and guidance they receive. This includes training and development opportunities within the trust. They feel that leaders support them with their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have put in place robust systems to check on staff appointed to work at this school. Staff are well trained to identify risks to pupils. They know how to raise and manage concerns. Leaders work closely with the local authority and the trust to ensure 25 and 26 April 2023

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that pupils are provided with the support that they need. Staff regularly check on pupils’ well-being, and they work closely with parents and families to help pupils attend and learn well.

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Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe. They know about consent and personal space, and how to use the internet safely.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some teachers lack the subject knowledge needed to consistently identify where pupils may struggle or have misconceptions. As a result, some pupils are less secure in their understanding of important topics. Leaders need to ensure that teachers are all sufficiently well trained in all of the subjects that they teach.  In some subjects, the curriculum is not sufficiently well sequenced to ensure that knowledge builds upon prior learning. Younger pupils do not always make links between these topics and, as a result, there are some gaps in their knowledge. Leaders should review the delivery and structure of the curriculum to check and ensure that pupils have opportunities to use what they know to learn and remember more.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in 2017.

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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. 25 and 26 April 2023

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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. 25 and 26 April 2023

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School details

Website www.netacademies.net/lattongreen

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 and 22 November 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Latton Green Academy has been a member of the NET Academies Trust since 2015. The trust runs six schools in Essex and several staff hold leadership roles across the trust.  The principal of the school started in post in April 2023.  The school currently does not use any alternative provision.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club on site.

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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 school leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with senior leaders, subject leaders and the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator.  Deep dives were carried out in three subjects: early reading, mathematics, and geography. For each deep dive, the lead inspector met with subject leaders, visited a 25 and 26 April 2023

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sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Members of the local governing body and trustees met with the inspector.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at other times around school. He met with groups of pupils.  The inspector met with leaders to discuss the school’s safeguarding arrangements. He scrutinised a range of records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance and spoke to pupils.  The inspector considered 33 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 24 free-text comments. He also considered 27 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Steve Woodley, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 25 and 26 April 2023

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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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