Lander Road Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Lander Road Primary School Pennington Road, Litherland, Liverpool, Merseyside L21 8HY

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Outcome

Lander Road Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders at Lander Road Primary School have created a warm and inclusive environment for all pupils. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are encouraged to be the best that they can be. Pupils, and children in the early years, are supported to become independent and resilient learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of what every pupil can achieve, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). To this end, they have established an ambitious curriculum for all pupils, from Nursery to the end of Year 6.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. They have established clear routines, which pupils follow. Pupils engage actively with their learning. They are polite and kind to each other and to adults in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are confident that staff will respond sensitively to any concerns or anxieties they may have. Pupils have faith in leaders and their teachers to act quickly to resolve any bullying that may happen. They comment that they feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers recognise and appreciate the many opportunities that leaders provide to extend learning beyond the school gates. Those who shared their views with the inspector were overwhelmingly positive about the care and support that staff provide for pupils.

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

Leaders have designed an aspirational curriculum for all pupils, including those in the early years. Pupils in the Nursery and Reception classes are prepared well for key stage 1. The youngest children in the provision for two-year olds settle well and confidently adopt the Nursery routines. Leaders have designed activities that excite children’s interest in the 22 and 23 June 2023

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world around them. These activities are matched to carefully chosen texts, which fosters a love of reading and for books.

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Leaders are clear about the essential knowledge they want pupils to remember from the early years to the end of Year 6. Leaders have ensured that high-quality training equips teachers to deliver the curriculum with proficiency. Teachers have a strong knowledge of the subjects they teach. They present new learning clearly. Teachers use assessment strategies successfully to check what pupils know and remember. For the most part, teachers implement the curriculum as leaders intend. However, in a few subjects, this is less consistent, and therefore not all pupils live up to leaders’ high expectations of academic performance.

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Leaders want all pupils to learn to read and to love reading. Children in the Nursery provision start learning the rudiments of the phonics programme as soon as they start in the Reception class and before formal lessons begin. The sounds that pupils learn are carefully matched to the books they take home. For pupils who find reading more challenging, leaders have organised extra support that helps them to catch up quickly. However, there are still some pupils in key stage 1 and lower key stage 2 who lack the fluency they need to read for meaning. This makes it more difficult for them to access the full curriculum. A clear emphasis on language development and spelling helps pupils to understand the meaning of complex words. This is often supported by actions to help pupils recall the meaning of key vocabulary.

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Leaders have created a calm and orderly school environment. Older pupils support teachers to communicate expectations for behaviour to younger pupils on the corridors and during playtimes. Pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning. Learning is not interrupted by poor behaviour.

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Leaders plan carefully for transition from the early years to key stage 1, with clear systems to identify the needs of all pupils. Staff make appropriate adaptations to the curriculum to ensure that pupils with SEND can access learning according to their needs. Most pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well.

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Leaders have prioritised the wider development of pupils. They provide a wide variety of enrichment activities, such as educational trips and visits. Pupils have visited places of interest in the local area, including to the theatre and to places of worship, which has been carefully linked to curriculum learning. Pupils in Year 6 have the opportunity to visit Spain to increase their knowledge of the Spanish culture and language.

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Governors visit school regularly to assess the quality of education that leaders provide. They challenge and support leaders as they continue to refine the curriculum. Staff appreciate leaders’ and governors’ efforts to consider their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 22 and 23 June 2023

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All staff are aware of their responsibility to keep pupils safe. Leaders ensure that staff receive regular and appropriate training. Staff know and make use of the clear systems to record their concerns. Leaders respond quickly, using external agencies, when required, to secure the support that pupils and their families may need.

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Through the curriculum, pupils learn about how to stay safe. They have learned how to be safe near open water and how to stay safe online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The additional support for some pupils at the early stages of reading is not having the intended, positive impact. As a result, some pupils do not read with the fluency they need to be able to attach meaning to their reading. Leaders should review the support these pupils receive so that they develop the necessary level of fluency to access the full curriculum, as appropriate, to their stage of development.  In a few subjects, leaders have not checked sufficiently well how the curriculum is being delivered. On occasion, some staff do not choose appropriate activities to support pupils’ learning. As a result, some pupils do not secure a deep body of knowledge. Leaders should ensure that staff are supported to deliver the intended curriculum with confidence.

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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 March 2018.

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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. 22 and 23 June 2023

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

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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. 22 and 23 June 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10283635 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 March 2018, under Section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders do not use any alternative education providers for pupils.  This school has provision for two-year olds.

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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.  As part of this inspection, the inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons and looked at pupils’ work, spoke to teachers and spoke to some pupils about their learning. She also observed some pupils reading to members of staff. In addition, the inspector spoke to subject leaders and teachers about the curriculum in other subjects.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. 22 and 23 June 2023

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 The inspector reviewed a range of documentation about safeguarding. She spoke to leaders and staff about their understanding of how to keep pupils safe.  The inspector scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation and school improvement documents and minutes of the governing body meetings.  The inspector considered survey responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. She also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.  The inspector met with members of the governing board and spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector spoke to pupils about their perceptions of behaviour and bullying.

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Inspection team

Niamh Howlett, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 22 and 23 June 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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