Linden Primary School

Overview

Linden Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. The report describes a “friendly and welcoming school” where pupils are “polite and courteous” and demonstrate “genuine care, empathy and understanding.” Leaders have implemented robust processes to support learning and attendance, resulting in a positive environment where staff feel “motivated and respected.”

Strengths

• Pupils have “positive attitudes to learning” and “relish the challenges set by the staff.”
• The school has a “sharp focus on helping pupils to read,” with an effective phonics approach that quickly addresses misconceptions.
• Children in the early years “make a strong start” thanks to a curriculum designed to ensure learning “builds well over time.”
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are “well supported” through a “well-adapted curriculum” and personalised provision.
• Attendance has improved due to a “well-defined, staged approach” used effectively to encourage regular school attendance.

Areas to improve

• The school must develop its approach to improve pupils’ handwriting skills, as some lack the ability to form letters correctly, leading to work that is “difficult to read.”
• In some wider curriculum subjects, staff do not check well enough if pupils have learned planned knowledge, creating “gaps in their learning” that prevent systematic progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.