The Langley Academy Primary Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further develop the role of middle leaders to sustain and improve outcomes as the school grows.
• Continue the work with families to secure further improvements in attendance for disadvantaged pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The sponsor and trustees opened this school with the ambition to have a positive impact on younger pupils and their families before they join the secondary academy. In just three years, they have grown a school that puts pupils first in every respect. It provides an extraordinary curriculum that leads to pupils making great progress and achieving very well. It is no surprise that parents speak so highly of the school.
• The headteacher’s enthusiasm and energy are infectious. She has led with strong moral purpose to make the sponsor’s vision a reality. Her high expectations have been maintained as the school has grown. She works with other leaders, including the executive principal and deputy headteacher, to continually review and evaluate the effectiveness of what they do and swiftly make any improvements needed.
• Leaders have designed a highly effective curriculum, and they articulate the rationale for this with a clarity of purpose. The curriculum and the school’s approach give pupils the opportunity to make choices about their learning and develop their independence. It is highly engaging, creative and improves pupils’ knowledge very quickly. The school ethos of ‘curiosity, exploration and discovery’ is certainly brought to life!
• Pupils regularly demonstrate real awe and wonder as they benefit from a wide range of exciting opportunities, including trips, special events, visits from museum experts and hands-on experiences. For example, a recent visit to London later inspired pupils back at school to take their own imaginary bus around famous landmarks, recalling in great detail information about the London Eye, ‘Big Ben’ and Trafalgar Square.
• Pupils develop a real passion about the world around them and often enjoy learning outside. Pupils are inquisitive about other countries, their traditions and values, seeking to make links and understand differences. As a result, their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extremely strong.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. The curriculum strongly develops pupils’ understanding of the history of Britain and the development of fundamental British values. Even the youngest pupils engage in debates and votes. A recent ‘protest’ and petition to the headteacher, following the suggestion that teachers could be replaced by robots, shows pupils’ awareness of the democratic process.
• The curriculum is further enhanced by a wide range of extra-curricular activities and clubs. Most pupils take part in at least one after-school club, with choices including judo, gymnastics, dance, yoga, football, cheerleading, languages and computer animation.
• Additional funding is used extremely well. Leaders’ insightful understanding of the pupils and their needs ensures that disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities receive precisely targeted support. Funds are used to support academic, emotional and physical well-being. The sponsor personally takes a keen interest in the progress of every disadvantaged pupil.
• Sport premium funding is used effectively to develop the provision of physical education (PE). Staff have accessed high-quality training from the local partnership and specialist coaches to enhance their skills. PE is integrated seamlessly into the school day, linked to healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. Staff encourage pupils to take part in physical activity through engaging, topic-based play activities such as climbing ‘pirate rigging’ or catching ‘sharks’.
• Staff across the school are highly motivated. They appreciate that leaders care about their work–life balance. Staff express great pride in being members of the team and are dedicated to ensuring that pupils succeed. Staff who completed the online survey are fully committed to the school and appreciate the professional investment that leaders make in them.
• Staff seize every opportunity to profit from the excellent training and development provided by the trust. School leaders know that as the school continues to grow they will need to nurture and train their strongest teachers to take on leadership roles across the school.

Governance of the school

• Governance at all levels is extremely strong and has contributed greatly to the school’s growing success and popularity and very positive outcomes for pupils. The sponsor’s unwavering determination to ensure the pupils of Langley achieve well, especially those who are disadvantaged, is relentless. This determination sets a clear and ambitious direction for the school.
• Trustees are very well qualified and provide exceptional strategic leadership. They speak knowledgeably about the needs of the local community and are passionate about improving life chances for pupils of all ages in the local area.
• The local governing body includes the sponsor and trustee representatives, as well as other local stakeholders. Governors understand the unique context of the school and care deeply about maintaining the high standards that they have become accustomed to as the school grows.
• The sponsor, trustees and governors visit the school regularly to seek the views of pupils, staff, leaders and parents and to see for themselves what is going well. They provide leaders with a great level of challenge, demonstrating their insightful understanding of the school’s priorities.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff know their pupils very well as individuals and are well trained in all aspects of safeguarding. As a result, they are able to spot changes in behaviour or attitudes that may indicate that a pupil is at risk of harm.
• Procedures to refer concerns and liaise with other professionals are well established and work successfully. The headteacher, as designated safeguarding lead, is well supported by other leaders in the school and across the trust to ensure that all necessary actions are taken to keep pupils safe.
• The trust takes safeguarding seriously. Trustees and governors are aware of the risks that pupils who attend this school and in the wider community may face. The sponsor has nominated herself as the designated safeguarding trustee.
• Procedures to check the suitability of new employees are very robust. Recruitment and induction procedures are very well thought out and help to keep pupils safe. The chair of governors checks these procedures regularly.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• There are four key factors that contribute towards making teaching outstanding at this school. Firstly, teachers know every pupil well as an individual. Secondly, teachers have the very highest expectations of what can be achieved. Thirdly, teachers understand how young pupils learn best and, finally, teachers have excellent subject knowledge.
• Expectations are high for all pupils, and this allows many to achieve very well for their age. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, are disadvantaged or have fallen behind receive superb support. This support may be before, during or soon after a lesson and allows the overwhelming majority of pupils to keep up with their learning.
• Teaching and support staff use questioning extremely effectively to probe and challenge pupils’ thinking. They encourage pupils to discuss their ideas together to clarify their understanding. Pupils are also encouraged to develop their own questioning skills. For example, in mathematics, pupils discussed the symmetry of the flags of the countries in the World Cup, deciding how shapes could be divided vertically, horizontally or diagonally.
• Teachers’ planning is highly effective and makes excellent use of the accurate assessment information available. Teachers design a clear learning journey for their pupils, using their deep understanding of pupils’ interests to inspire and engage them in lessons. Additionally, teachers use the school’s links with local museums imaginatively to enliven the curriculum. For example, a recent project on bridges was brought to life by a visit from a member of the museum staff dressed as Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Pupils developed a clear understanding of bridge-building through interviewing ‘Mr Brunel’, resulting in them designing and making some impressive models.
• High-quality phonics teaching helps pupils to make rapid progress when learning to read. Key stage 1 teachers build successfully on the strong start that children receive in the early years, ensuring that pupils have the skills to tackle new vocabulary with confidence. Pupils read with expression and understanding, self-correcting when a sentence does not make sense. Books are well matched to pupils’ reading ability, allowing them to experience high levels of success.
• Parents are highly appreciative of the quality of teaching at the school and the experiences their children receive. One parent wrote: ‘Everything’s a learning opportunity – from writing letters about paddling pools to impromptu solar system models. The teachers are energetic and brilliant.’

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Leaders have developed a culture where pupils can thrive. The needs of the pupils are absolutely at the heart of the school’s work. Everything that staff members do comes from a genuine and deep-felt desire to see their pupils succeed. As one staff member commented, the pupils are ‘people, not facts and figures’.
• Pupils demonstrate exceptionally strong self-confidence and self-awareness. They are confident in their learning and secure in the approval of adults around them. As a result, they express their ideas with great self-assurance.
• Differences are celebrated, and even the youngest children demonstrate genuine support and concern for their peers. There is no hint of any kind of bullying behaviour.
• Staff support pupils’ growing understanding of right and wrong by creating moral dilemmas for them to address. For example, in a recent vote on guinea pig names, staff suggested that only the boys should vote. Both boys and girls recognised the unfairness of this situation and objected strongly.
• Pupils know how to keep safe. They are especially aware of the dangers of being in the sun and becoming dehydrated. Pupils readily share their understanding of healthy eating and healthy lifestyles, including the importance of fruit and vegetables and ‘not too much sugar’. They are also clear about what to do to stay safe online, such as not sharing personal information, and how adults can help them.
• Parents speak glowingly of the school’s work to develop pupils’ well-being. Some parents shared personal stories of how their children had been supported emotionally when joining the school and how rapidly they had seen their children’s confidence grow. They are highly appreciative of leaders’ focus on education that goes beyond academic success.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Staff are united in their positive approach to learning and behaviour. As the trust’s sponsor commented, ‘every child knows they are super special and they are going places’. Pupils’ excellent attitudes to learning are a direct result of the school’s approach.
• Pupils’ behaviour in and around school is exemplary, and pupils are totally engrossed in their learning. They are incredibly keen to share their work, demonstrating huge pride in their learning.
• Pupils move around the school sensibly from one activity to another, with little need for adult intervention. Their eagerness to engage with the next activity ensures that there is virtually no disruption to learning.
• Lunchtime is a civilised ‘family’ time when everyone eats together. It is characterised by polite conversation and excellent manners.
• Minor incidents of poor behaviour reduce rapidly over time as children new to the school become accustomed to the high expectations of staff.
• Attendance overall is in line with the national average. However, leaders are aware that absences are too frequent for a small proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Leaders are relentless in their determination to improve attendance for this group.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• The headteacher believes that there is ‘no glass ceiling’ on learning and, as a result, current pupils make excellent progress from their starting points across the curriculum. Very many pupils achieve standards that are much higher than might usually be expected for their age.
• A high proportion of children typically join the school in Nursery or Reception with knowledge and skills below those that are typical for their age. However, strong progress during the early years means that they quickly catch up, and often exceed the expected standards.
• The vast majority of pupils meet the requirements of the phonics screening check in Year 1. This is because pupils make very strong progress when learning to read.
• Teaching staff successfully develop pupils’ speaking skills and understanding of grammatical structures through frequently demonstrating and rephrasing language. Pupils are given opportunities to rehearse sentences orally before committing them to paper. This enables them to write effectively, using precise vocabulary. As a result, progress in writing is strong.
• Opportunities for pupils to develop and consolidate mathematical concepts form an integral part of lessons. This ensures that understanding is secure before moving onto new learning. Consequently, pupils make excellent progress in mathematics.
• The school’s approach to teaching subjects other than English and mathematics ensures that pupils make excellent progress across the wider curriculum. Pupils have deep and extensive knowledge and understanding of the areas they have studied in science, history and geography. Many pupils remember fondly and can recall key facts they learned much earlier in the year. Additionally, frequent and focused opportunities in the creative arts allow pupils to develop strong skills in art and music.
• Disadvantaged pupils generally do at least as well as their peers. Where disadvantaged pupils do fall behind it is because there are sometimes additional barriers to learning. For example, some disadvantaged pupils also have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Work in books, the school’s own performance information and moderation reports by the local authority monitoring show that pupils currently in Year 2 have made excellent progress. The overwhelming majority have achieved age-expected standards, while a good proportion of pupils are set to achieve at a greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Leaders and those responsible for governance are dedicated to the establishment of strong foundations in the early years. Nursery provision was initially provided only because of the sponsor’s personal funding. Current leadership of the early years is excellent, and this leads to outstanding outcomes for children.
• The quality of teaching in the early years is outstanding. Staff review their own practice continually, placing children at the heart of learning. Teachers use their excellent subject knowledge and an in-depth understanding of child development to design an exciting curriculum personalised to children’s interests and abilities. As a result, children across the early years make very strong progress from their starting points.
• Teachers provide a stimulating and engaging environment, inside and out. Activities are well organised, and children are utterly absorbed in their learning. In a recent project on pirates, children successfully built their own cardboard pirate ship, complete with oars, pirate costumes and flags.
• Staff use questioning effectively to explore children’s understanding. For example, children making healthy plates of food were asked to explain how vitamins would help and why they did not want to add sugar. Teachers also support children successfully to develop their own questioning skills, encouraging them to find out more from each other.
• Children make strong and sometimes exceptional progress developing their knowledge, understanding and skills. Given the low starting points of many children, the higher-than-average attainment at the end of Reception is impressive. As a result, children are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Any children who fall behind are well supported and any SEN and/or disabilities quickly identified.
• Children have a thirst for knowledge and the ability to retain it. When talking about learning from earlier in the year, one child explained clearly to an inspector that the thing around the planet Saturn was not a ‘hat’ but a ring of rock and dust.
• The school’s comprehensive approach to teaching phonics enables children to make impressive progress in reading. Recent training has supported the consistency of phonics teaching across all the early years classes. Children use their excellent phonic knowledge with great success in their writing. They sound out words confidently and relish opportunities to write for a wide range of purposes, including stories, posters and labels.
• Children are highly motivated and cooperate well with each other. They demonstrate extremely positive attitudes to learning and behave beautifully. When children start nursery and school they become used to the school’s expectations, and any early issues with behaviour are quickly resolved.
• Safeguarding procedures in the early years are effective. Pupils’ welfare has a very high priority. Children know how to keep themselves safe and are considerate of each other.
• Parents speak very highly of the level of care and consideration shown to their children in the early years. They are overwhelmingly positive about the progress their children make, both academically and socially. One parent voiced the opinion of many, stating: ‘This school concentrates not only on the academic side, but also on the overall development of the child.’

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 142173 Slough 10046643 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy free school 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 321 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Oona Stannard Tracey Bowen 01753 214450 www.langleyacademyprimary.org office@langleyacademyprimary.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The Langley Academy Primary is part of The Langley Academy Trust, which includes a secondary school and another primary school. The trust was created by, and remains under the sponsorship of, the Annabel Arbib Foundation, the charitable trust that supports the philanthropy of Annabel Nicoll.
• The Langley Academy Primary opened in September 2015 with three Reception classes. Since that time, it has expanded by three classes each year, with an intake of up to 90 pupils each time. There is currently a Nursery class with morning and afternoon sessions and three classes in each of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. The school plans to continue to expand until there are pupils from Reception to Year 6.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is similar to the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes and in a range of subjects. Most of their observations were carried out together with the headteacher or other senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, executive principal and other senior and middle leaders. Inspectors also spoke to other staff informally and considered 22 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.
• Her Majesty’s Inspector met with the sponsor, the chair of trustees and the chair and other members of the local governing board.
• No pupils completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire. However, inspectors gathered their views by meeting with them formally and talking to them informally in class and around the school, including in the dining hall. An inspector heard some pupils read.
• Inspectors worked with senior leaders to evaluate the quality of pupils’ work across the curriculum over time. They took account of the school’s own assessment information.
• A wide range of school documentation was scrutinised by inspectors. This included the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan and documentation relating to safeguarding, governance, the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes.
• Inspectors met informally with parents on both days of the inspection. They evaluated 142 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including 45 free text comments.

Inspection team

Ali Dakin, lead inspector Joyce Lydford Christopher Crouch

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector