Longtown Primary School, part of Cumbria Education Trust (CET), is celebrating following their recent ungraded Ofsted inspection, after the inspector concluded that “the school may have improved significantly across all areas.” Their last inspection in May 2019 rated the school as ‘Good’, therefore, based off the inspector’s comments, if they were to be fully inspected, it is likely each of their ‘Good’ ratings would be upgraded to ‘Outstanding’.
The Ofsted report was full of praise for the significant school improvement journey the school has been on since joining CET. This was reinforced by the inspectors, who stated “the school builds highly positive relationships with parents and carers from the start of their children’s learning journey. This helps children, including those with SEND, to get off to a flying start in the early years.”
Quality of Education
The inspectors noted how teaching and learning across the school is of the highest quality, stating, “the school has designed an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils very well” and “pupils achieve very well and are thoroughly prepared for the next stage of their learning.”
The inspectors recognised the school’s reading programme stating, “Learning to read and write is a priority”, noting how hard the staff work towards this, “staff deliver the well-ordered phonics programme effectively.”
Behaviour and Attitudes
The report highlights several key strengths of the school. Inspectors praised the culture and learning environment, quoting “pupils delight in attending this happy and vibrant school. Relationships between staff and pupils are very strong and nurturing” and specifically mentioned behaviour, “pupils behave extremely well” and “pupils quickly learn to be respectful, confident and articulate when expressing their thoughts and views.”
The inspectors commented on the pupils at the school, “the school has thought carefully about the qualities and values that it wants to instil into pupils. It ensures that pupils develop into caring individuals, with a strong sense of moral and social purpose.”
Personal Development
The children have a lot of exciting opportunities to grow and develop, as the report states, “pupils benefit from impressive and wide-ranging experiences that enrich their personal development”. They also commented, “A rich variety of visits and after-school activities enhance pupils’ learning across the curriculum.”
SEND
The school works hard on their SEND provision, to ensure no pupil gets left behind. The inspector said, “the school quickly identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND at the earliest possible opportunity” and “pupils with SEND participate in all aspects of school life and achieve well.”
Anna Carroll, Headteacher, said, “Every member of staff has a tireless dedication and passion for what they do. I am so proud of our wonderful children, whose attitude and behaviour impressed inspectors throughout the visit. This is a proud moment for our school, and I am looking forward to building on this success.”
Lorrayne Hughes, Chief Executive of CET, added, “I am really proud of the upward trajectory Longtown has been on since joining CET. The leadership team and staff have made a significant collective impact on the school’s journey.”
You can view the full report here – www.longtownprimary.cumbria.sch.uk/key-info/ofsted
To find out more about Longtown Primary School, you can visit their website here – www.longtownprimary.cumbria.sch.uk.