Longlands Primary School and Nursery

Inspection Report Longlands Primary School and Nursery

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117326 Unique Reference Number HERTFORDSHIRE LEA LEA 280045 Inspection number 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2005 Inspection dates Mrs. Joyce Cox LI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Nunsbury Drive School address Primary Type of school EN10 6AG Community School category 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01992 460072 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01992 445537 Fax number 157 Number on roll Mr.Mark Mills-Bishop Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Anne Read Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280045 30 November 2005 - 3 to 11 1 December 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This smaller than average sized primary and nursery school serves families in and around the borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. The children come from a wide range of backgrounds. Most are of White British heritage but a small proportion come from minority ethnic backgrounds. A very small number of the pupils are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion identified as having learning difficulties is below the national average. A larger than average number of pupils have free school meals. A higher than normal percentage of them join the school other than at the usual starting time. The school is part of a national project designed to support schools situated in areas of need and has a counsellor attached to the school who works with the junior pupils. Attainment on entry to the nursery is below average, particularly in terms of children's personal and social development and communication, language

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Longlands Primary School and Nursery, 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2005

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Grade: 2

Longlands is a good school and has some outstanding features. The inspection findings support the school's positive assessment of its overall effectiveness. The leadership of the school is good and it provides good value for money. Good care is taken of pupils and parents are very satisfied with the school. Their children are made to feel very welcome and staff work very hard to help them all achieve their potential. Staff make sure that pupils who join the school later than normal settle quickly. As a result, pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Standards at the end of Year 2 are broadly average and by the end of Year 6 they are above average, reflecting pupils' good progress. There is a rising trend in national test results over the last few years. The school is currently correctly focusing on improving pupils' communication skills to raise standards in writing. Teaching is good and has a positive impact on pupils'

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Grade: 2

progress and their excellent behaviour. The curriculum is good with a wide range of exciting and interesting additional activities. The wide range of work and activities provided for children in the Foundation Stage gets children off to a flying start. Improvement since the last inspection is good. Standards are higher in all subjects including information and communication technology (ICT). The school's capacity to improve is good, especially as monitoring by senior staff, co-ordinators and governors has been sharpened, although they have yet to evaluate fully the success of developments.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Further develop the way staff and governors evaluate the success of school developments. - Continue to improve pupils' communication skills to raise standards further in writing.

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Grade: 2

The school is correct in saying that all pupils make good progress. Children's attainment on entry to the nursery varies from year to year but is predominately below average, particularly in the children's personal, social and communication skills. Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage and, by the end of Year 2, pupils reach average standards. By the end of Year 6, standards are average in English and above average in mathematics and science. As a result, pupils have made good, and in the case of many less able pupils, very good progress between Year 3 and Year 6. This impressive achievement is due to good teaching, accurate assessment and skilful planning to meet pupils' different needs. 2 Inspection Report: Longlands Primary School and Nursery, 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2005

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Grade: 1

The personal development of pupils is outstanding. Pupils' behaviour and attitudes are excellent. Attendance is in line with the national average and exclusion is rare. Pupils say they enjoy learning and this is supported very well in the lessons seen. Pupils' self-esteem is enhanced, especially by the high quality displays of their work around the school. Working relationships between pupils and teachers are of a high quality, which makes a good contribution to the pupils' future economic well-being. In addition, the school pays very good attention to helping pupils to develop healthy lifestyles. For the past two years the school has received a Healthy Schools Award. Good attention is made to the safety of pupils. Pupils enjoy taking responsibility and speak proudly of being in the 'playground squad' or on the school council. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils are sensitive to the

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Grade: 1

feelings of others, and have a very good understanding of right and wrong. Their appreciation of their own cultural traditions is well supported in lessons, especially in art. However, opportunities to understand the diversity and richness of cultures other than Western European are limited. The school council is actively consulted by the school, and has made a significant input into the school's approach to healthy eating, and the development of the school environment. Furthermore, the school council promotes citizenship and social responsibility very well.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Pupils talk enthusiastically about how teachers make learning fun and interesting and 'they always help us when we get stuck.' The very good relationships, classroom management skills, very detailed planning together with the fact that staff know pupils so well help all pupils to succeed. The significant number of new pupils who join the school at various times settle very quickly because staff and pupils make them very welcome. Staff have very high expectations for pupils' work and behaviour and challenge pupils to persevere with difficult tasks. For instance, in an outstanding art lesson the teacher placed considerable demands on the pupils in terms of creating three- dimensional designs denoting the correct perspective. The pupils were highly motivated and worked very hard to produce high quality sketches. Teaching assistants are capable, competent and highly valued members

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Grade: 2

of the team. They happily and confidently provide good support in lessons to all pupils and in particular to those with learning difficulties. Good and robust procedures are in place for assessing and following pupils' progress. The information is used effectively to identify pupils who are not doing as well as expected. The school is increasingly making sure that pupils are aware of what they need to do to improve their work so that they are fully involved in their own learning. 3 Inspection Report: Longlands Primary School and Nursery, 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2005

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Grade: 2

The quality of the curriculum is good. It provides a well balanced mixture of opportunities which meets National Curriculum requirements. It is well adjusted to cater for the individual needs of all groups of pupils, including those with learning difficulties or disabilities. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is lively, fun and exciting and prepares children well for Year 1. The curriculum gives a good range of opportunities for the pupils to develop their own ideas, and pursue their interests through a range of practical and academic activities. There is good emphasis in art and science enabling pupils to develop creative, imaginative and enquiring minds. Teachers make good links across subjects, in particular, literacy, numeracy and ICT skills are used well in all subjects. The curriculum develops pupils' understanding of healthy living and keeping safe. Very good attention to the pupils' personal, social

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Grade: 2

and health education helps to prepare them very well for later life. The curriculum is enriched by a good variety of interesting clubs and visits.

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Grade: 2

The quality of the care, support and guidance is good. The school has a thorough understanding of its pupils. The strong links established with the local authority and other agencies effectively support the educational and personal needs of the pupils. High expectations for good behaviour creates a safe school where learning is valued and encouraged. Pupils thrive because expectations are understood, and they feel very supported. Pupils say there is always someone the pupils can go to for help and advice. Child protection arrangements are thorough. Assessment systems are well established and understood. Pupils speak positively about the support and guidance they are given by their teachers to help them know how well they are achieving, and how best they can improve. Parents praise the approachability of the school and the information provided for them through newsletters, and the school's excellent website.

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Grade: 2

Good links are established with local secondary schools that enable the smooth transfer of pupils at the end of Year 6.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides good leadership that focuses strongly on raising standards and improving the achievement of all pupils. She knows the staff and pupils well. The school has an outstanding commitment to accepting all pupils and is highly successfully in settling new pupils quickly. The headteacher has built a cohesive team who are enthusiastic, hard working and show a good capacity to raise standards and pupils' achievement even further. The school is good at evaluating what it does and has good systems for checking how it is doing and identifying where it could do even better. This gives leadership and management the capacity to make necessary improvements. Together with the deputy headteacher 4 Inspection Report: Longlands Primary School and Nursery, 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2005 and co-ordinators, the headteacher gathers useful information through rigorous

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Grade: 2

monitoring, which is used effectively to plan its future developments. The school realises that it needs to go a step further and evaluate the success of the developments it has undertaken. The clear direction provided by the headteacher is complemented by a committed and supportive governing body. Governors are effective in increasingly challenging the school and in meeting their statutory responsibilities. 5 Inspection Report: Longlands Primary School and Nursery, 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Longlands Primary School and Nursery, 30 November 2005 to 1 December 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming us to your school when we visited. It was a real pleasure to talk to some of you and to watch you working and playing. This letter is to tell you about some of the important things we saw. You are lucky at your school because the headteacher, teachers and all the other adults look after you all so well. They encourage you to be happy at school, to be healthy and to stay safe and they ensure you have good opportunities to learn exciting new things. Many of you told us how much you liked your teachers and how well you thought they helped you to learn. You behaviour is excellent and this makes it easier for the teachers to teach and for you to learn. You don't like it when people do not behave well, but you know what to do if they don't. You enjoy looking after each other, such as when you are playground squad members and being on the school council. You are also very interested in doing different

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

things and love taking part in clubs, trips, plays, assemblies and other exciting things the school provides for you. Your teachers are keen to make the school even better for you. We think that to do that they need to help you to get better at speaking and listening and writing. It will also be good if the headteacher, teachers and governors write down the ways they have made the school even better for you. It was so good to find out that all of you are happy at school and that your parents say you enjoy coming to school. Keep working hard and being good at Longlands.

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