St Paul's Church of England Primary School, Langleybury

Inspection of a good school: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School, Langleybury Langleybury Lane, Hunton Bridge, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire WD4 8RJ

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Outcome

St Paul’s Church of England Primary School, Langleybury continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy to belong to St Paul’s Church of England Primary School. There are high expectations for their learning and behaviour. Pupils enjoy an engaging curriculum. It is brought to life through trips to places of interest, visiting speakers and theme days linked to curriculum subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite, kind and caring. They know what it means to be good friends. They are confident, independent learners. Pupils are proud of their achievements, especially when they succeed after finding something hard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between pupils and adults are positive. Pupils behave very well. They know that if they are worried or concerned they can find support from the adults at school. Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the wider world, including road safety training.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a range of experiences that contribute to their wider development. They enjoy photographing their ‘wow moments’. They value the St Paul’s challenge, which inspires them to consider future endeavours, such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Pupils enjoy and benefit from taking part in pupil leadership opportunities, such as play leaders, eco warriors and well-being champions.

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

Leaders have reviewed and improved the design of the curriculum. They have created a curriculum that is broad and ambitious. Leaders have high expectations for their pupils. In most subjects, they have identified the most important things that pupils must know.

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

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They explain things clearly for pupils. They make adaptations for pupils who need extra support. From early years, skilled teachers ask questions that encourage pupils to think carefully and deeply about their learning. 13 and 14 July 2023

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Teachers give pupils frequent opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills to new contexts. They regularly check what pupils know and can remember. They use this information well to plan pupils’ next steps. Staff ensure that pupils revisit learning regularly to practise what they have learned. Pupils value the opportunity to master aspects of the curriculum and deepen their learning.

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In a few subjects, leaders have not set out the key content they want pupils to learn. As a result, teachers do not teach what leaders intend, and pupils do not recall all the content they should.

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Leaders have introduced a well-planned reading curriculum. Children start to read as soon as they join the school. Teachers regularly check the letters and sounds that pupils know. Teachers spot misconceptions and promptly give pupils the opportunity to learn the correct sound or pronunciation. Teachers closely match the books that pupils learning phonics read to their reading ability. They give pupils who need extra practice with reading help to catch up quickly. Pupils are confident and proud of their developing reading skills.

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Older pupils, who have learned the phonics code, do not always have books that are well matched to their reading stage. This means that some pupils are not as fluent in their reading as they could be.

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Leaders identify pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) accurately and provide staff with guidance on how to support pupils with SEND. Staff follow this guidance and skilfully enable pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers and achieve their best. Staff work closely with external specialists to support pupils with more complex needs. Leaders and staff monitor the effectiveness of provision. They make changes when necessary. Pupils learn well and have work that is effectively adapted to their needs.

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Pupils’ work reflects their positive attitudes. They want to do well. Pupils work hard in class and are supportive of one another. The provision for pupils’ wider development is a strength of the school, including the opportunity to look after animals at the local farm. The groups that pupils join, such as the eco-club, well-being champions and the pupil council, help them to understand the importance of the environment and the roles of democracy in British society. This helps them learn about their roles as citizens of modern Britain. Pupils learn to offer their opinions sensitively and show respect for themselves and others.

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Governors have a clear understanding of the school’s priorities. They have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They provide the necessary challenge and support to ensure that the school continues to improve.

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Leaders provide a range of effective support and training for staff. There is a strong focus on the subject-specific professional development and well-being of staff. 13 and 14 July 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders place a high priority on keeping pupils safe. They undertake relevant recruitment checks to ensure that adults are suitable to work with children. Staff are provided with regular safeguarding updates and information. They know the local issues and are alert to changes in pupils’ behaviour as a sign of harm. Staff are confident reporting concerns about adults or children when needed. Leaders are quick to act if they have any concerns about the safety of pupils. They work in partnership with external agencies. Leaders put support in place to keep pupils and their families safe. Pupils know how to stay safe online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few curriculum subjects, leaders have not set out precisely the key skills and knowledge that they want pupils to learn and remember. This means that teachers do not teach key content so pupils do not always learn and retain what leaders expect. Leaders must ensure that they set out clearly what are the most important aspects of the curriculum that they want pupils to learn and remember.  Some older pupils do not have books that are well matched to their reading stage. This means that some pupils are not as fluent with their reading as they could be. Leaders must ensure that pupils who have completed the phonics programme have books that are better matched to their stage of reading.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2013. 13 and 14 July 2023

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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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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. 13 and 14 July 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 St Paul’s Church of England Primary School’s most recent section 48 inspection took place in December 2016. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school has a breakfast club that is run by an external provider.

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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.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, subject leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. The inspector also met with five governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector met with a representative from the local authority to gather information about school support and development. 13 and 14 July 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with the subject leader, 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 inspector also looked at other curriculum plans, including for history and science.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector scrutinised a range of documentation relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance. The inspector also met with pupils and met with the designated safeguarding lead.  The inspector took account of the 114 responses and free-text comments submitted to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View.  The inspector also took account of the 29 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and the 135 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. The inspector also spoke to pupils during

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playtimes, lunchtimes and during lessons to seek pupils’ views. She spoke with groups of staff to gather views from a range of staff members.

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Inspection team

Nerrissa Bear, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 13 and 14 July 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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