Langford Budville Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Langford Budville Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 6 March 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2014. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Following the previous inspection in 2014, the school experienced a number of changes in staffing, including in senior leadership roles. In September 2017, the school entered a management partnership arrangement with the We...llington Area Rural Federation.

At this point you took on the role of executive headteacher. A part-time head of school and special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) were also appointed. You and your head of school are successfully focusing the school on ensuring that all pupils are supported to achieve well.

You, other leaders and governors have high expectations of pupils and staff. The school's aim to ensure that 'Loving Learning @ Langford' is an experience shared by all pupils is at the heart of all you do. By facilitating a close working partnership with schools in the federation and the local teaching school, you provide access to high-quality training and support.

This has invigorated the teaching team, giving them a clear sense of purpose and direction. Staff morale is high and there is a shared determination to ensure that pupils achieve well and that the school continues to improve. Parents and carers express their confidence in the school and value the positive and helpful response they receive if they have a query or concern.

Comments such as 'my children are keen to go to school and enthusiastic about their learning' and 'my children are very happy at the school' reflect the positive views communicated by many. Parents appreciate the school's recognition of each pupil's uniqueness, and the help each pupil receives to achieve their best. Pupils recognise and value the support they receive from staff to help them achieve well.

They told me that their lessons are fun, and that teachers and support staff help them to improve. At the previous inspection, school leaders were asked to provide more opportunities for pupils to use the skills they have learned, to improve pupils' handwriting and presentation, and to develop pupils' advanced reading skills. Pupils are given many opportunities, often linked to their topic work, to use and apply their reading, writing and mathematics knowledge and skills.

This helps them to understand the relevance of their learning. You have clearly communicated how pupils' handwriting should develop through the school and encourage pupils to be proud of the work they produce. As a result, pupils' handwriting is typically neat and legible.

Pupils are regularly exposed to challenging and varied texts when reading in class and through the books they take home to read. These actions have contributed well to improvements in pupils' outcomes. Safeguarding is effective.

Leaders and governors ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Training for staff and governors is up to date and records are well maintained. When appointing new staff, you check thoroughly to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

Staff are vigilant, and quick to respond if they have a concern about a pupil. Records are detailed and well organised. Leaders are quick to make referrals when necessary and work closely with outside agencies to resolve issues and secure support for pupils and their families.

All the parents who completed the online questionnaire said that they were confident that their children are happy, safe and well looked after in school. Pupils told me that they feel safe at school, and that they receive valuable information and support so they can keep themselves safe. They were clear about how to minimise risk to themselves when using modern technology, including social media.

They said that bullying is extremely rare at the school and were confident that an adult would help them if they had a worry or concern. You are unwavering in promoting good attendance. Actions taken have brought some success in reducing pupils' absence and the number arriving late at the start of the school day.

As a result, pupils' attendance is rising. Inspection findings At the start of the inspection, we agreed the aspects of the school's work that the inspection would focus on. ? The first line of enquiry considered whether children in early years make good progress, and whether more could reach a good level of development.

Training has supported staff to refine the way they assess children. They are quick to identify the areas where children may need additional support or when they are ready to be challenged more. They modify provision swiftly to take account of this information so that children's learning moves on rapidly.

Activities ensure that children engage in a broad range of appealing experiences inside and outdoors. Some sessions are led by adults who skilfully support children to, for example, know the sounds letters make, or understand how numbers are ordered. The imaginative use of resources and adults' interaction with children, including high-quality questioning, ensure that most children achieve a good level of development.

• Next, we agreed that the inspection would check how leaders have supported teaching so that pupils in Years 1 to 6 make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. I considered how well planning takes account of the wide age and ability range in each of the school's two classes. ? By facilitating high-quality training, you have ensured that teachers have a much-improved understanding of what pupils are expected to know, and be able to do, in each year group.

They check pupils' progress thoroughly and accurately. Teachers construct a 'flight path' for each pupil that takes account of their starting points and identifies the progress they are challenged to make within and between year groups. You ensure that teachers feel supported and empowered to adjust and modify their planning.

They note very quickly any slowing of pupils' progress and provide targeted help to get them back on to their 'flight path'. Similarly, if pupils' progress quickens, teachers challenge them to 'aim higher'. The speedy implementation of these whole-school practices is making a significant positive difference to pupils' outcomes in all year groups.

• Other actions are also contributing well to pupils' good progress. Improved teaching of phonics in Years 1 and 2 and of English grammar, punctuation and spelling in Years 3 to 6 is helping to lift the quality of pupils' writing. Exposure to a wide range of often challenging texts is improving pupils' reading comprehension across the year groups and expanding the vocabulary they use when writing.

Following a recent review of pupils' work, teachers now provide them with specific feedback about how to improve further. Pupils are responding positively and embracing the opportunity to edit and improve their work. These actions are beginning to contribute positively to pupils making faster progress.

• Topics frequently provide a good vehicle for pupils to use their knowledge and skills. Teachers choose resources that engage and motivate pupils of different ages and abilities and that hook them in to their learning. For example, linked to a topic on 'space' pupils in Years 3 to 6 were engrossed when watching a clip of the film 'Avatar'.

They proceeded to locate challenging words in a piece of text about the film, and were keen to find out the meaning of words such as bioluminescence, so that they might include them in their own written work. ? Across the school, teachers use resources well to aid pupils' understanding in mathematics. They encourage pupils to demonstrate that they have grasped concepts and skills.

For example, pupils in Year 2 confidently showed that because they know that 2 x 4 = 8, then they also know that 8 ÷ 4 = 2. 'Now I get it', was the delighted exclamation of a Year 6 pupil who, having worked with practical equipment, understood the equivalence of 0.5, ½ and 50%.

Pupils are frequently asked to prove if answers to calculations are correct or not, and to show their understanding by using their knowledge to solve problems. These approaches are supporting pupils' good progress this year. ? Finally, we agreed that the inspection would check that the school is accurately identifying, and providing appropriate help for, pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.

You have supported the skilled and knowledgeable SENCo to provide high-quality training for staff. As a result, they are now much better equipped to identify pupils who need additional support, and to provide them with the extra assistance they need in the classroom. Well-trained, skilled teaching support staff provided bespoke help for pupils with specific and ongoing needs.

You monitor the impact of this support closely and modify it as pupils' needs change. This approach, together with the school's close working partnership with parents and outside agencies, ensures that pupils receive the help they need to achieve well. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? the actions taken this year to increase pupils' progress in reading, writing and mathematics become fully embedded across the school, so that even more pupils in every year group achieve the expected standard or reach a greater depth in learning.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Bath and Wells, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Somerset. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Alison Cogher Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you, your staff and two representatives of the governing body.

I had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. I spoke to parents at the start of the school day, and gathered their views further through Ofsted's online questionnaire Parent View. I also considered responses to the staff and pupil questionnaires.

I spoke to pupils during lessons and at playtime. We visited lessons, looked at pupils' workbooks and scrutinised the school's information on the progress being made by current pupils in all year groups. I reviewed a range of documents, including those related to safeguarding, the school's evaluation of its own performance and the school improvement plan.