Longmoor Primary School

Longmoor Primary School Inspection report

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112585 Unique Reference Number Derbyshire Local Authority 325639 Inspection number 11–12 March 2009 Inspection dates Roy Bowers HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 307 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 38 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Joyce Marshall JP Chair Mrs Sally Buczkiewicz Headteacher 7 March 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Newstead Road School address Long Eaton Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG10 4JG 0115 9733368 Telephone number 0115 9733368 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 11–12 March 2009 Inspection dates 325639 Inspection number .

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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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is larger than average. Children's skills on entry into the Nursery are broadly typical for children of that age. The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The school has gained the awards of Healthy Schools, Eco-Schools Bronze and Basic Skills Quality Mark. The school has Nursery provision for 27 children, which is managed by the school's governing body. Some 38 children attend on a part-time basis either in the mornings or in the afternoons.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory standard of education. It gives high priority to pupils' personal, social and emotional development. Consequently, pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. The school works effectively with external agencies to ensure that all pupils, especially the most vulnerable, are cared for well. Pupils say that they feel safe and secure, and enjoy coming to school. Children make a good start in the Nursery and achieve well. However, this momentum is not maintained throughout the rest of the school. Most pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, make satisfactory progress. Over recent years, standards at the end of Key Stage 1 have been steadily rising, mainly due to the work undertaken to improve pupils' writing. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 have been consistently broadly average.

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Grade: 3

The initiatives to improve pupils' writing in Key Stage 2 have not yet had an impact on achievement, and standards in writing are below average. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. However, their awareness and understanding of the diversity of cultures and faiths worldwide is less well developed. Pupils understand clear moral and social codes, and are kind, tolerant and forgiving. Pupils make a good contribution to school life. Older pupils act as 'playground pals' and willingly give support to other pupils when needed. These positive attitudes, together with their academic achievement, give pupils a satisfactory grounding for their future learning. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep fit and healthy through regular exercise and eating sensibly. A significant number of pupils take part in the wide range of sporting activities and clubs. Many pupils say that they particularly like the street dance sessions and enjoy the

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Grade: 3

many successes of the sports teams. Although there were some good lessons seen during the inspection, teaching and learning overall is satisfactory. Some teachers ensure that the activities are well matched to the needs of pupils of a range of capabilities and plan carefully pupils' next small steps in learning. Where this occurs, pupils' progress is accelerated. However, this does not happen in all classes. Consequently, some pupils do not make as much progress as they could. The curriculum offers a wide range of activities and is enriched well through many visits and visitors. A strong personal and social programme helps pupils develop a good level of confidence and independence. Pupils begin to understand the world of business and enterprise through making and selling a variety of goods and using the profits made to buy additional items for classroom use. Although the pastoral support for pupils is good, academic guidance is only satisfactory. The

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Grade: 3

recently revised policy on marking is not yet fully understood by many pupils as they are not clear how to use their progress targets to help them improve. Leadership and management are satisfactory. All leaders are committed, hard-working and want to improve upon standards and achievement. They have implemented several initiatives and some, especially for writing in Key Stage 1, are beginning to have a positive impact. Although regular testing of pupils gives leaders information on individual pupils' progress, it is not collated to evaluate progress made by classes and groups of pupils. This information is not used to hold teachers to account for pupils' progress. Governors are fully committed to the school but do not have sufficient information on pupils' progress and do not challenge the leaders effectively 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009 to raise standards and achievement further. Although pupils make good contributions to the

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Grade: 3

school and local communities, work in promoting community cohesion through the global community is still developing.

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Grade: 3

Children enjoy coming to school and make satisfactory progress. Relationships are good. All children show respect for each other, patiently taking turns and sharing equipment. They are able to make decisions, show initiative and enthusiastically take part in the rich variety of practical experiences. The environment, especially in the Nursery, is well organised and stimulating. Planning reflects the six areas of learning and staff provide a wide range of activities, including regular access to a well-equipped outdoor area. The school provides a good balance of child-centred activities; some of which are initiated by the children and the others are directed by the adults. In the Nursery, children achieve well mainly because adults make effective use of child observations to plan carefully for the next stage in each child's learning. However, in Reception, the planned activities do not always provide sufficient challenge and the next small

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Grade: 3

steps in learning are not planned carefully enough. Consequently children's rate of learning slows. By the time the children enter Year 1, attainment is broadly average. Overall, teaching is satisfactory. Teachers often use skilful questioning well to develop a child's understanding, especially in the Nursery. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Although children are regularly assessed, the information is not used rigorously enough to measure the progress made by the children as they move through the Nursery and Reception classes.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in writing at the end of Key Stage 2.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that all teachers match work to pupils' different capabilities and plan pupils' next small steps in learning. ■ Ensure that leaders at all levels, including governors, use the information on pupils' progress more rigorously to monitor the progress made by classes and groups of pupils and to hold teachers and leaders to account. ■ Promote community cohesion more effectively and ensure that pupils gain a greater understanding of the diversity of faiths and cultures, especially in the global community. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Most pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, make satisfactory progress in all key stages. In recent years, standards at the end of Key Stage 1 have been steadily rising and, in 2008, were slightly above average. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 have been broadly average for a number of years. The school has recognised that standards and achievement in pupils' writing have consistently been lower than in reading and mathematics 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009 and has implemented several initiatives to raise standards. Although the improvements have been very successful in Key Stage 1, they have yet to have an impact on standards in writing at the end of Key Stage 2.

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Grade: 2

Pupils develop a good awareness of moral and social issues through assemblies, class discussions, individual support, and effective programmes for personal and social education. They are confident, willingly discuss their learning and develop a good level of independence. They show respect for each other and the adults in the school. Pupils' cultural development is satisfactory because their awareness and understanding of the diversity of cultures and faiths worldwide is not well developed. Pupils say that there are no instances of bullying, and are confident that the adults would deal with them well if they occurred. Pupils enthusiastically undertake the tasks set by the teachers and cooperate well when required. Members of the school council say that their views are listened to and acted on when possible. They are proud of their contributions to preserving the environment through recycling and litter collection. Pupils willingly raise

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Grade: 2

money for a variety of charities which support people worldwide. Although the school monitors pupils' attendance, rewards pupils who attend well and works closely with the welfare service, attendance is only average.

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Grade: 3

Although there were some good lessons seen during the inspection, the quality of teaching overall is satisfactory. Pupils say that they like their teachers and enjoy the work they are given. The strong relationships between adults and pupils promote good attitudes to learning and help ensure that lessons are calm and orderly. Teaching assistants are highly skilled and play a significant role in guiding many pupils, especially those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, through their next steps in learning. Although lesson plans demonstrate good planning to include a range of activities to meet the needs of pupils of different ages and capabilities, these do not work well in practice. Some of the key learning steps are not planned carefully enough. Consequently, many of the activities lack challenge.

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Grade: 3

Pupils of all ages benefit from a good range of enrichment activities to support the curriculum, including clubs, visits to places of interest and visitors who come into school to share their expertise. Pupils acknowledge that these are an enjoyable part of school life and eagerly take up the opportunities offered. Year 6 pupils speak enthusiastically about the opportunity to take part in a residential visit. French lessons are enjoyed by the pupils and valued by the parents. Staff work well with teachers from other local schools, and they make good use of local venues to support and enhance the curriculum. Recently, pupils worked alongside other pupils from local schools to engage in a variety of art activities. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009 The curriculum planning in each class clearly identifies the learning activities that take place. However, the activities are not always closely matched to individual pupils' needs and abilities.

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Grade: 3

Some teachers are starting to develop links between different subject areas, providing good opportunities for pupils to apply their literacy skills.

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Grade: 3

The caring attitude of the staff is evident in all aspects of the school's work. Many parents praised the high level of care shown by the teachers and other staff. The school's caring and supportive ethos helps all pupils settle quickly into school and feel part of the school community. Well-developed links with local secondary schools help pupils make a smooth transition at the end of Year 6. The school works in close cooperation with external agencies. This helps support those pupils who face the most challenging of circumstances. The procedures for ensuring the protection, safety and well-being of pupils are satisfactory and meet the current government requirements. Although all pupils have curricular targets in literacy and numeracy, they do not always know their levels of performance, or what they need to do to improve. The school has recently introduced a new policy for marking which is intended to help pupils understand more clearly

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Grade: 3

how to improve their work. However, the policy is not sufficiently effective across all classes and is currently having little impact on raising achievement.

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Grade: 3

Leaders at all levels are fully committed to improving the life-chances of all the pupils and work hard. Teamwork of the staff is strong, and teachers support each other well. Leaders have been effective in establishing a common sense of purpose based on strong pastoral care for all pupils. The school has made satisfactory progress since the last inspection and has satisfactory capacity to improve further. In recent years, leaders have developed a new library area and have successfully introduced initiatives to raise standards of pupils' writing in Key Stage 1. The school has satisfactory self-evaluation process. Leaders monitor many aspects of the school's performance, but it is not sufficiently focused on the quality of pupils' learning. The system for tracking pupils' progress enables the leaders to identify pupils who are underachieving and set individual progress targets. However, leaders do not collect or analyse the information on

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Grade: 3

pupils' progress for all year groups, classes and groups of pupils. Consequently, leaders do not hold teachers to account rigorously enough for pupils' progress. Governors are committed and wholeheartedly support the school. However, they do not have enough information to hold an accurate view on standards and progress. Without this information, governors are unable to fulfill their role as critical friend. The school has evaluated its current provision for promoting community cohesion and has taken appropriate steps, including developing links with local communities. Leaders are aware that their plans to promote community cohesion through the global community are in the early stages of development. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009

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Inspection judgements

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

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needs of learners?

Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 3 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009

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learners?

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

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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

13 March 2009 Dear Children Inspection of Longmoor Primary School, Long Eaton, NG10 4JG Thank you for making our recent visit to your school such a pleasurable experience. It was a delight to talk to you about your school and to hear all about the exciting things that you do. We were very impressed with your behaviour and how polite you all are. Well done! We have judged your school to be satisfactory and here are some of the reasons why.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Most of you enjoy your learning and make satisfactory progress.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You behave well in class and around school and have good attitudes to your learning.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The youngest children get off to a good start in the Nursery.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

To help the school become even better, we have said that the headteacher and governors should:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ ensure that those of you in Key Stage 2 make better progress in writing

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ improve teaching by making sure that your work is closely matched to your abilities and the teachers plan carefully your next small steps in learning ■ ensure that those teachers and governors who have special responsibilities for your progress, check carefully and make sure that you are all achieving as well as you could ■ ensure that you all gain a better understanding of the variety of faiths and cultures throughout the world. We shall take away many good memories of your school and have very much enjoyed the time we have spent with you. Thank you again for being so helpful and friendly. Yours faithfully Roy Bowers Her Majesty's Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Longmoor Primary School, 11–12 March 2009

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