Livingstone Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of Livingstone Primary and Nursery School Baring Road, New Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire EN4 9BU

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 December 2023

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 13 and 14 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone thrives in this school. Right from the start of early years, there is an ethos of placing no limits on pupils’ achievement and personal development. Staff make a huge effort to include all pupils in every aspect of school life. This also extends to pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Highly trained expert staff ensure that all pupils achieve extremely well across the subjects. Pupils leave the school particularly well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a very happy school with a strong family feel. Staff foster an atmosphere where everyone feels welcomed and celebrated for who they are. They also support pupils and their families to secure regular attendance. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Routines and high expectations are set right from the start of the early years and maintained throughout the school. Pupils said that they enjoy being part of an inclusive, kind and caring community. They enjoy helping each other as well as the wider community, such as in arranging charitable fundraising events. Pupils also said that they have lovely teachers and support staff who always look out for them. This makes them feel safe and thoroughly well cared for.

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better?

The school has a well-established rich and ambitious curriculum. Across the subjects, leaders have thought very carefully about the precise knowledge that they want pupils to know. Subject leaders work with a range of external colleagues and subject associations. They keep up to date with the latest educational thinking, and learn from and contribute to best practice. They also ensure that teachers and support staff have quality professional development opportunities. Teachers are thus very well supported to gain subject-specific knowledge and teaching expertise. This is also the case with the early years curriculum. Subject and early years leaders work in unison. They ensure that children receive the secure foundational knowledge they need to succeed in Year 1.

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better?

Inclusion is at the forefront of the school’s vision. Leaders ensure that planning, resourcing and teaching take account of the range of pupils’ needs. Almost all support staff working across the school have previous experience of working with pupils in the specially resourced provision. All staff also have regular training in how to support pupils with a range of SEND needs. As a result, staff have the proficiency to seamlessly integrate pupils from the specially resourced provision into mainstream lessons.

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better?

Teachers use their expert knowledge to set well-chosen learning activities. These enable all pupils to build their knowledge and skills securely over time. Teachers ensure that pupils have opportunities to revisit their prior learning often. This embeds key knowledge in their long-term memories. The school uses assessments skilfully for setting and reviewing targets for pupils with SEND. They also check on the progress of all pupils. They use the information purposefully by addressing any 13 and 14 December 2023

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emerging knowledge gaps and misconceptions. As a result of this high-quality work on the curriculum, all pupils, including those with SEND, achieve extremely well.

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The teaching of reading has primacy. All staff have the expertise to teach the school’s phonics programme effectively. Sharply targeted support ensures that any children struggling with reading get the help that they need to catch up quickly. On year group rotations, parents and carers, or grandparents, come into school and read to children in the library one morning a week. These well-attended ‘read with me’ sessions create a buzz about books and help to develop pupils’ love for reading. Pupils value books, enjoy reading and become confident and fluent readers.

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Right from early years, staff encourage children to ‘have a go’. They reassure children that it is okay to make mistakes. Adults even model making ‘mistakes’ themselves to drive home the message. This initial work sets the scene for pupils’ learning later across the school, promoting their resilience and determination to succeed.

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The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development is top rate. Pupils enjoy a comprehensive programme of planned educational visits. For example, every year group visits a different place of worship, covering the six major faiths practised in the United Kingdom. Year 4 pupils have a camp night, Year 5 pupils spend a day in France and Year 6 pupils spend a week on the Isle of Wight to develop their social and teamwork skills. Pastoral care is extensive and helps to address a range of pupils’ needs. Examples include support for mental health and building social skills, such as how to read people’s body language. Pupils are taught about how to form healthy relationships and the concept of consent. Year 6 physical education (PE) pupil counsellors get involved in promoting healthy lifestyles. For example, they have organised an afternoon of healthy activities for Year 2 pupils from another school.

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Extra-curricular PE provision is very inclusive. For example, the school hosts an annual event for the borough. This provides the opportunity for every pupil who has not represented their own school to take part in competitive sporting activities.

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Staff love working at this school. They feel highly valued and are invested in all that the school stands for. Leaders are approachable and support staff’s well-being and career development. As a result, staff retention is exceptionally high.

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Work with the wider community and parents is extensive. For example, every class has a parent representative plus a parent ‘champion’. They support other parents both on social and educational matters. The early years nursery specialist assessment provision, commissioned by the local authority, ensures that the most vulnerable children get the earliest possible support to help them on their life’s journey.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 13 and 14 December 2023

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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’ 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). 13 and 14 December 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 April 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a specially resourced provision catering for up to 14 pupils with autism spectrum disorder.  The school has an early years nursery specialist assessment provision for up to 12 children. The provision, commissioned by the local authority, is designed to assess the needs of children with complex SEND needs and prepare applications for education, health and care plans. The school works with the local authority to place each child in the most suitable provision for when they start Reception.  The school makes use of one registered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 13 and 14 December 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, design and technology and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered other subjects as part of the inspection.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other senior leaders. They spoke with the chair and three other governors. They also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including looking at records of pupils’ behaviour. Inspectors also had formal meetings with staff and with pupils.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey. They also spoke with parents in the playground. They considered the responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jeremy Loukes Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 December 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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