Luckington Community School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Luckington Community School

Following my visit to the school on 26 June 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 November 2014. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You are determined to ensure that every pupil receives the very best education and achieves well. You lead the school with a calm authority that supports teachers to improve.

Morale among the staff is high because they feel valued and r...espected for the work they do. You know the strengths and weaknesses of the school well. You are ably supported by well-trained and dedicated middle leaders.

They have ensured that improvements in teaching lead to improving outcomes for pupils. Governors are equally committed. They have good systems in place for finding out how well the school is performing.

Since the previous inspection, you have been focused on tackling the issues raised at that time. You and your middle leaders are fully focused on improving the quality of teaching to raise pupil outcomes. For example, following a dip in outcomes for pupils' reading in 2017 at key stage 2, middle leaders put in place a range of strategies to develop pupils' reading comprehension.

Pupils are now exposed to a wider range of challenging texts, helping them to understand new, more complicated vocabulary. Consequently, pupils' outcomes have continued to improve since the last inspection. The strong, inclusive ethos shines through every aspect of the school's work, helping to form its distinct character.

Pupils are included in every part of school life. The pastoral support is strong and pupils and parents feel this particularly deeply. Parents spoken to during the inspection fully support the school's welcoming and inclusive ethos.

A typical comment made by parents describes the pastoral support as 'second to none'. Parents feel fully included in the school, particularly where leaders and teachers embrace extra support for their children. The school sits in the heart of the local community, which in turn values the school.

Pupils work extremely well together in mixed-aged classes. Behaviour in classes is of a high standard. Pupils eat together and play together readily as a result of the strong relationships they have with each other and with staff.

Pupils are proud of their school. They like the extra sporting activities on offer and are proud of their recent sporting achievements against other schools. Pupils respect each other and are very happy that they all know everyone in school.

The older pupils take their added responsibilities seriously, and understand that they are an equal part of making the school a better, safer place. Pupils are kind, considerate and polite to each other and other adults. They are particularly pleased with the outside playground, where they get to choose areas to play in happily together.

Safeguarding is effective. The culture of safeguarding is strong because you, your staff and governors give the safety and welfare of pupils the highest priority. All staff receive the appropriate training to identify possible signs of risks and harm.

Staff know what to do if they have a concern. Records show that staff are up to date in their training, including on guidance in recognising the dangers of extremism and terrorism. You ensure that vetting procedures are in place for all staff and volunteers who work in school.

You and your governors are aware of the need to check the school's single central record regularly and thoroughly, so that it is up to date with all the statutory information required. You have comprehensive risk assessments in place, some of which have been developed with pupils. Staff are appropriately trained in first aid.

You work with other agencies effectively, making timely referrals when the need arises. Pupils say that bullying is extremely rare and they would know what to do if it did occur. They are adamant that the school is safe.

Parents express great confidence in the school and the ability of staff to keep pupils safe. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe online and when using social media. Inspection findings ? At the beginning of the inspection, we agreed on the lines of enquiry to consider during the day.

We agreed to evaluate how effective the teaching of writing is in ensuring that pupils make good progress, especially for middle-achieving pupils. We also agreed that we would explore actions leaders have taken to ensure that pupils reach the standards expected in mathematics in key stage 2. In addition, we decided to look at the effectiveness of the support provided for pupils who have special education needs (SEN) and/or disabilities in order for them to make good progress.

Finally, I considered the effectiveness of safeguarding and the steps you have taken to improve attendance for disadvantaged pupils. ? In 2016 and 2017, pupils' progress in writing at the end of key stage 2 was not as strong as that of other pupils nationally. In 2017, children's writing at the end of early years was not as good as their other areas of learning.

You have continued to focus on improving the quality of teaching in the mixed-aged classes, although making improvements in pupils' writing is not currently a focus for the school. Teachers organise pupils' learning effectively in both of the mixed-aged classes. They know their pupils well and plan work that matches pupils' learning.

Teachers have high expectations of their pupils, who rise to meet the challenges. Teachers provide effective feedback to improve pupils' written work. As a result, some pupils who had previously fallen behind can catch up.

• Pupils are supported to use a range of increasingly complex vocabulary in their writing, and to spell words correctly. Pupils' workbooks show they make good progress, and use progressively more complicated grammar and punctuation in their writing as they move through each year group. Pupils' handwriting is neat and their books are well cared for.

However, pupils' writing in other subject areas is not at the same high standard as that in their writing books, because teachers do not have the same expectations when pupils write in other subjects. ? Previously, you and your middle leaders were aware that changes needed to be made to the teaching of mathematics to prepare pupils for the rigours of the new national curriculum. Standards at the end of key stage 2 in mathematics in 2017 were below the national average.

Your mathematics leader set about changing the way mathematics is taught in the key stage 2 class. ? Teachers have strong subject knowledge that enables complex mathematical concepts to be clearly explained to pupils. Teachers plan lessons that support pupils through using visual and practical resources.

Highly effective questioning challenges pupils to really think. Pupils are challenged to deepen their learning through a range of increasingly complex tasks. The most able pupils, and those who grasp concepts quickly, are rapidly moved on to more complex mathematical problems which challenge them.

Pupils say they enjoy mathematics. Pupils' learning is checked during lessons so that misconceptions are addressed and additional support put in place. Pupils' basic arithmetic skills are well taught, enabling them to apply their learning.

Pupils are encouraged to reason through their thinking and explain their ideas. However, this is not as well developed as it could be because pupils lack the structure, support and mathematical vocabulary to do this well. ? At the previous inspection, you were asked to improve the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.

You were also asked to develop the role of teaching support staff. The number of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is very small. Published data shows that some lower-achieving pupils have not done as well as other pupils nationally.

You are fully committed to ensuring that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities achieve well and receive an inclusive education. You quickly identify pupils who may require extra help, including through effective individual plans. Teachers plan tailored support that helps pupils learn.

Teaching assistants provide highly effective support for pupils with additional needs. This is because they understand the pupils' needs and use resources to support their learning extremely well. You have the full support of parents of pupils you are providing this additional support for.

You use a wide range of strategies to support pupils' learning and well-being, and check the progress of pupils accordingly. Consequently, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. ? Attendance has been above the national average for the past three years, partly because pupils enjoy coming to school.

However, attendance for certain groups of pupils is often below the national average. You are aware that numbers of pupils in these groups are often very small. You keep a close eye on pupils' attendance and are aware of the reasons why some pupils have had time off.

You are not afraid to tackle poor attendance when it does occur. You are also very supportive of families who need additional help to reduce absence. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? writers have more opportunities to write to a high standard across a wide range of subjects ? teachers continue to develop pupils' reasoning skills in mathematics by requiring them to explain their methods and think more extensively, using appropriate mathematical language.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Wiltshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Richard Lucas Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection I met with you, your middle leaders, governors, staff and pupils.

We visited lessons jointly to observe learning. We looked at pupils' workbooks together. We considered documentary evidence relating to the impact of the school's work, including the school's self-evaluation document, school improvement plan, safeguarding documents, attendance information and internal data.

I spoke to pupils in lessons about their work and at lunchtime. I took into account 32 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, and I spoke to parents as they dropped off their children at the beginning of the school day. There were 22 pupil survey responses and I took into account eight staff survey responses.

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