Leighton Buzzard school needs to do better say Ofsted inspectors

Inconsistent teaching and a lack of leadership in pushing through changes quickly enough is impacting on a Leighton Buzzard school’s ability to improve say Ofsted inspectors.

But the inspection found pupils at Leedon Lower School on Highfield Road were welcoming and friendly.

Ofsted visited the school in June – with the inspection report published on September 19.

Inspector Julie Winwood said: “They enjoy the activities staff plan for them. Assembly is a very special part of the school day and provides an opportunity for pupils and staff to come together. They enjoy singing and learning about the school values.

“Improvements have been made in the early years. This supports children to make a strong start to school. However, as pupils move through the school, there are inconsistencies in the quality of education they receive. This has created gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Consequently, pupils are not making as much progress as they could.”

The report added that behaviour of pupils in lessons and around the school is good. When issues do arise, including bullying, pupils know that adults will deal with them. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school, and their children are happy and safe.

Pupils have lots of opportunities to attend a wide range of clubs. These include, gardening, film making, sports and guitar lessons. The choir proudly performed at Wembley Arena. Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities, such as acting as sports leaders and helping the younger pupils.

Ms Winwood said: “Leaders have a newly planned, ambitious curriculum in place. They have developed the sequencing to ensure that new learning builds on prior learning, from early years to Year 4. However, this work is new. There has not been the rapid change required to drive pupils’ progress. Subject leaders have not yet developed systems to monitor, evaluate and develop the curriculum.

"Leaders have made improvements since the last inspection. However, some improvements needed have not been made or identified quickly enough. Leaders work well with outside agencies to get the support they need. For example, recent work with early years specialists has improved the provision. Planning is adapted to follow the children’s interests. Children engage with learning positively, whether supervised by an adult or working with their peers. Consequently, children achieve well and are well prepared for key stage 1.”

The school was praised for its reading standards but inspectors found written work was inconsistent.

“Staff do not always have sufficiently high expectations of pupils in the foundation subjects. Some pupils do not hold their pencils correctly, making handwriting difficult for them."

Inspectors said leaders need to ensure that they continue to work closely with the local authority so that leadership has sufficient capacity to deliver effective change that increases pupils’ progress and put systems in place to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and the impact on pupils’ learning. Subject leaders need to be provided with high-quality training and support to enable them to monitor and improve their curriculum area to ensure that pupils have the best quality provision.

The school has been approached for comment.