Langdon Park Community School

Overview

The report describes a school where leaders have established a "broad and ambitious" curriculum and fostered a positive culture in which pupils "enjoy coming to this school." Inspectors found that pupils are "well prepared for their next steps," with disadvantaged pupils achieving results "above the national average" when compared to their peers. The school is judged to be fulfilling the "expected standard" across all key areas of education and care.

Strengths

• Disadvantaged pupils are "particularly well supported," achieving examination results that exceed national averages for their peers.
• Attendance is "particularly positive" for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, aided by "robust systems" to monitor absences.
• Pupils are "well behaved" with "positive attitudes to learning," and staff address bullying or discriminatory language "swiftly and effectively."
• Pastoral support is identified as a "strength," with leaders knowing pupils' individual needs "very well" and providing access to counsellors and external organisations.
• The sixth form has seen "clear improvements in achievement" following leadership changes, with students demonstrating a "very secure understanding of the curriculum."

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure staff "consistently check pupils' understanding and address any misconceptions" to prevent gaps in learning from developing.
• Strategies to support pupils lacking firm foundations in literacy and numeracy should be refined to ensure these pupils "catch up as quickly as possible."
• The school should develop leadership at all levels to ensure training and development priorities are "consistently applied and embedded across the school."

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders having "established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility" and concerns are actively identified and managed.