Langdon Primary School

Inspection of a school judged Good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Langdon Primary School East Langdon, The Street, Dover, Kent CT15 5JQ

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Outcome

Langdon Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This small, welcoming village school places the pupils at the heart of everything it does. Pupils are happy and thriving. They feel safe and well cared for. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Staff prioritise getting to know every family individually and are ambitious for every pupil to reach their full potential. Inclusion is firmly embedded within the school’s ethos.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for every pupil to succeed. Pupils are highly engaged in lessons. As a result, they achieve well. In a few subjects the most important knowledge is not as clear. As a result, pupils do not learn knowledge in these subjects as securely as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils want to exceed the high expectations that are set for them. Kindness and respect permeate all aspects of school life. The school’s values of confidence, motivation, independence and resilience are fundamental to the school’s work in setting these expectations. Pupils talk positively about some of the wider opportunities they experience. These include residentials for pupils that start from Year 2 to develop independence and an extensive music offer where pupils can learn instruments and perform with other local schools.

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

The school has high aspirations for pupils and particularly for those with pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It has developed a curriculum which is well sequenced and designed to meet the needs of all pupils. Staff understand pupils’ barriers to learning and help them to overcome these through effective adaptations and support. Activities for each subject are well matched to the intended learning. This starts 29 April 2025

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in the early years where both the indoor and outdoor learning environments stimulate curiosity for future learning opportunities.

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The curriculum for all subjects is planned from the early years onwards and focuses on children becoming independent learners. The majority of pupils are able to remember what they are taught over time. However, the school is still refining the most important knowledge pupils should learn in some subjects. In subjects such as history and science, pupils do not make clear links between current and previous learning.

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Teachers have good subject knowledge. They benefit from high-quality training from a range of sources. Teachers routinely check pupils’ understanding during lessons. They use this information to support pupils, particularly those with SEND, to access future learning. This includes a quick and effective approach to addressing misconceptions and any gaps in learning.

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There is a sharp focus on learning to read. All staff are well trained and pupils practise reading regularly to develop their skills. Children in the early years get off to a rapid start to reading. Targeted additional support ensures that every pupil keeps up. Children who are new to the school make rapid progress to catch up to their peers. As a result, pupils read with fluency and accuracy. They successfully apply their phonics skills to the books they read that are matched to their level.

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Pupils, including the most disadvantaged, attend school regularly. The school actively promotes good attendance. The school has identified those pupils who are not attending regularly enough. There is a robust strategy in place to further improve attendance for these pupils.

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There is a calm, consistent approach to behaviour management across all classes. Pupils behave impeccably both inside and outside of the classroom. Pupils confidently identify trusted staff and talk positively about the support they receive. This starts right from the early years where staff are skilled at building positive relationships with pupils and parents and carers.

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Pupils are given a range of opportunities to experience learning beyond the curriculum. This includes trips which are linked to their learning. Residential visits are planned for pupils from Year 2 to Year 6. These promote and encourage independence. Pupils have opportunities to compete in events with other local schools, such as a recent music event. Sports leaders and librarians take pride in their leadership roles. Pupils’ broader development has not yet been mapped out. This means that some of the experiences are not connected together in a clearly sequenced way. Leaders are already identifying ways to further enhance the school’s offer.

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Staff feel extremely well supported, including those new to teaching. Staff workload and well-being are regularly reviewed and take into account the additional challenges of working in a smaller-than-average school. Those responsible for governance know the school well. They maintain an effective balance of support and challenge. 29 April 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the specific knowledge that pupils should learn. As a result, pupils do not effectively build on prior learning to ensure knowledge is fully secure. The school should continue to refine the curriculum to identify the specific knowledge to be taught to enable pupils to build a rich schema of learning.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good/outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in July 2016.

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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. 29 April 2025

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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). 29 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  This school runs its own breakfast- and after-school clubs.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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. 29 April 2025

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 Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also spoke to curriculum leaders and heard pupils read to a member of staff.  The inspectors met with leaders, staff, pupils and those with responsibility for governance, including the chair of the governing body. The inspectors also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed break and lunchtimes and the start and end of the school day.  The inspectors met leaders to discuss the provision for pupils with SEND. They visited lessons to look at the support these pupils were receiving.  The inspectors considered the responses to the confidential staff and pupil surveys. They took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Emma Law, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Hacker Ofsted Inspector 29 April 2025

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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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