Leominster Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Leominster Primary School Hereford Road, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 8JU

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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Outcome

Leominster Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to come to school here. All pupils are welcomed with the same warmth and care, both those who have grown up locally and those who have recently moved to the country. They trust staff and know they will be supported with any concerns they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand that staff have high expectations of their learning and behaviour. They are keen to meet these expectations, and most try hard in their lessons. At social times, pupils play happily together. Following the request made by the ‘pupil parliament’, they now enjoy being able to spend time with friends in different year groups on Fridays.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are many memorable experiences enjoyed by pupils. These include visits to the school from sheep on ‘farm day’, taking part in the local arts festival and having a sleepover in the school hall. Most pupils take part in the wide range of clubs on offer, including cheerleading, fitness and chess. Many support the school community through being librarians, play leaders and stair monitors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school works well with parents and carers. Workshops help parents to know how to support their child’s learning. One parent, representing the views of many, described this as a ‘lovely school, with lovely staff’.

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

The school’s curriculum is well designed. It is organised in a way that means children’s learning in early years sets them up well for the rest of their time in the school. Occasionally, the curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These changes are appropriate, and managed in a way that means these pupils do not miss out on key learning they will need in the future. 26 and 27 September 2023

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There have been recent changes to the curriculum so that pupils develop a stronger understanding of subjects such as history and geography. This shift is going well; pupils are learning these subjects in more depth and are able to talk with enthusiasm about the questions behind their ‘learning challenges’. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge and well-chosen resources to help pupils learn in all subjects. Pupils work well together. Teachers regularly check that pupils have grasped the important knowledge and skills needed for success. Pupils achieve good outcomes in the national curriculum tests.

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The curriculum is enriched by opportunities such as visits to museums, outside speakers and time spent in forest school. Pupils enjoy the way this helps bring their learning to life. In early years, learning activities are well matched to the topic and the skills children need to learn. Staff are skilful at helping children to develop their language and motor skills because they carefully monitor the small steps of progress each child makes.

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The school has prioritised the importance of learning to read. Pupils develop an enjoyment of rhymes and stories from the moment they start nursery. The chosen phonics scheme is delivered with expertise. Any gaps in early reading that emerge are quickly and appropriately addressed. However, there is less clarity about how to support older pupils to become fully confident, fluent readers. Pupils of all ages talk about how they enjoy reading, and are supported in choosing books that match their reading ability.

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The school is highly inclusive and offers expert support for pupils with SEND. There are strong processes in place for the precise identification of needs. The ‘Person Centred Education Plans’ are effective in helping staff to understand how to adapt learning. The school has helpful partnerships with external agencies to ensure pupils with SEND receive the support they need to achieve their learning goals. As part of the commitment to inclusion, the school offers bespoke interventions to help some pupils learn how to manage their behaviour. These have helped to reduce the use of more serious consequences. Behaviour in most lessons is good, but there are occasions when responses to behaviour incidents do not always help pupils to move forward and make the right choices in future.

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Pupils are polite and friendly. They know the importance of respecting differences in other people because they have learned about many different groups and cultures. They learn the value of being an active member of society through getting involved with town events and engaging with older members of the local community.

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Those responsible for governance bring a wealth of expertise to their work. They ensure that the school meets its responsibilities. They also work well with leaders to realise their shared commitment to the school being the best it can be for everyone in the community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 26 and 27 September 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not have a clear strategy to support older pupils who are not yet confident, fluent readers. Consequently, some pupils are not reading well enough for their age. The school should ensure there is effective support in place to help these pupils make progress more quickly.  The school’s behaviour policy and expectations are not always followed consistently. This means that not all pupils are supported appropriately with their behaviour and helped to make the right choices. The school should ensure that the work on the new behaviour policy provides all staff with the confidence and skills to apply it consistently and appropriately for all pupils.

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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 January 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.

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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. 26 and 27 September 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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.leominsterprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has two headteachers, who share responsibility for the school. They have been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school provides before- and after-school care on site.  The school has a nursery, currently offering provision for 52 children.  The school makes part-time use of one unregistered alternative provider for a very small number of children.  There are two specially resourced provision units on site. This provision is designated for a small number of pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs and pupils with autism.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 26 and 27 September 2023

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 The inspector met with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and history. 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 listened to pupils read to a familiar adult and visited other lessons, including those in early years.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys. They considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including comments submitted via the

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free-text facility. The inspector also spoke to some parents in person.

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Inspection team

Nicola Beech, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 26 and 27 September 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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