Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase

Inspection of a good school: Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase Derby Drive, Leybourne Chase, West Malling, Kent ME19 5FF

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 February 2024

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might be outstanding if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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Outcome

The executive headteacher of this school is Jeanette Brumby. This school is part of Valley Invicta Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Richard Hayden, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Matt Fletcher. There is also a head of school, Gemma Robinson, who is responsible for this school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive and flourish at this nurturing, inclusive school. All pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are challenged to achieve their very best academically and personally. Expectations are very high, and pupils respond exceptionally well. Their behaviour and attitudes to leaning are exemplary, and consequently they achieve highly. Pupils thoroughly enjoy learning. There is an extremely calm, purposeful atmosphere with happy pupils in every classroom.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND, are fully included in all aspects of school life. Parents and carers appreciate this, with one saying, ‘Our son has the privilege of being part of both the specially resourced provision and the mainstream classroom, and while not an easy feat, he has been seamlessly integrated to both environments.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel very safe in school and are well looked after by kind and caring adults. Pupils know that staff listen to them if they have any worries or concerns. Children in Reception settle exceptionally well and learn the routines of the school very quickly. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Many spoke of the strong community feel and, 21 and 22 February 2024

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reflecting the views of many, one commented on, ‘the sense of belonging and togetherness that is part of the school ethos’.

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

The school has created a rich, extremely well-designed and ambitious curriculum. It fires pupils’ interests and imagination, and pupils achieve highly. The essential skills and knowledge that pupils should learn and the order in which they learn them are clearly and precisely set out. The school identifies the needs of pupils accurately so that pupils are challenged and supported appropriately. Highly effective adaptations, resources and very skilled staff ensure that pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision, have access to the full curriculum and equal opportunities to learn. Children are given an excellent start to school in Reception. Activities are exceptionally well organised and encourage the rapid development of early reading, writing and number skills.

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

Staff appreciate the high-quality training and guidance they receive. This ensures that they are confident and have secure subject knowledge. Teachers use assessment very effectively. They check pupils’ understanding and use the information skilfully. They adapt teaching to ensure that nobody falls behind and to set further challenges to stretch and deepen the learning of others.

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

Reading has a high priority across the school. Phonics skills are taught very effectively through a consistent approach and a well-structured programme. Children quickly learn letters and the sounds that they represent. They read books that are very well matched to the sounds that they know. This helps children to develop confidence, fluency and expression. Staff quickly identify pupils who are struggling and give them extra help to keep up. A love of reading is promoted all around the school and is inspired by teachers’ enthusiasm. Older pupils are introduced to a wide range of increasingly challenging, high- quality texts. They talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors and use texts to develop empathy and understanding of wider issues that affect society as a whole.

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

Testament to pupils’ excellent attitudes and behaviour was their impeccable conduct over the two days of the inspection, when they had indoor play and lunchtimes due to the weather. Pupils are very polite and incredibly respectful of each other and adults. Pupils understand, respect and appreciate difference. For example, they totally accept the fact that different pupils learn in different ways. A group of pupils agreed that, ‘School is enjoyable, inclusive and fun.’

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

The school provides pupils with a rich range of activities beyond the academic, including a wide choice of after-school clubs, visits and visitors to school. Pupils are able to give their views about the school and make an excellent contribution to the school community in a variety of ways. Pupils in Year 3 were full of enthusiasm, despite the rain, to plant trees in the grounds and develop their understanding of nurturing the environment. The school works successfully and with unwavering determination to improve attendance for all pupils and provides valuable support for pupils and families to achieve this. Pupils’ excellent personal skills, as well as their academic achievements, mean that they are exceedingly well prepared for the future. 21 and 22 February 2024

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Staff, including those new to their careers, feel highly valued and proud to work at the school. They appreciate the consideration of their workload and well-being. There is a strong culture of mutual support and teamwork. Trust leaders and governors share the school’s vision to make a positive difference to pupils’ lives and raise aspirations. There is no complacency, but a steely determination to build on current successes and secure further improvement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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 September 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.

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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). 21 and 22 February 2024

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School details

Headteacher Jeanette Brumby (Executive Headteacher) Gemma Robinson (Head of School) Website www.leybournechase.viat.org.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 and 26 September 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Valley Invicta Academies Trust.  The school has a specialist resourced provision for pupils with SEND. There are 16 pupils in the provision who have autism. All of these pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The executive headteacher was appointed in September 2023. There is also a head of school and a deputy headteacher, who are both new to their posts.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 21 and 22 February 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school had 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 the evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the executive headteacher, the head of school, the deputy headteacher, subject leaders and many staff.  The inspector met with trustees, including the deputy CEO and the director of school standards and improvement. She also met with the chair of the local school board.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspector 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.  The inspector also looked at curriculum information for a range of other subjects.  The inspector reviewed a range of documents, including the school’s own evaluation of

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its effectiveness, priorities for improvement, external reviews and information relating to behaviour, attendance and SEND.  The views of staff and pupils were gathered through both formal and informal discussions.  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.

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Inspection team

Margaret Coussins, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 February 2024

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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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