The 'Outstanding' Langley Primary Academy

The July 2018 Ofsted inspection of The Langley Academy Primary school in Berkshire has resulted in an ‘outstanding’ judgement for the school, which opened its doors in 2015 and is a part of The Langley Academy Trust.

Underpinning everything at the primary school is their ethos of: ‘Curiosity, Exploration and Discovery’, with skills for children being delivered through the child-centred, learning-challenge approach to the curriculum. This ethos stems directly from museum learning, which is so central to learning at the school and was recognised by Ofsted as being a part of what makes the school an outstanding environment.

The Langley Academy Primary’s curriculum is designed to offer a broad and balanced educational experience and is made up of the four key loci of:

• Museum Learning

• Science

• Sustainability

• Internationalism.

Museum learning is a core building block of the school’s curriculum, focusing on extended theme-based projects which encourage children to learn from the past and to understand that every object has a story to tell. The school works alongside an exciting range of partners throughout the curriculum, including The River & Rowing Museum, The Museum of English Life, The V&A, The Oxford University Museum of the History of Science, and The Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

The school has received its outstanding judgement after just three years of being open, having received outstanding ratings in each of the five areas of:

• Effectiveness of leadership and management

• Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

• Personal development, behaviour and welfare

• Outcomes for pupils

• Early years provision.

The school’s commitment to museum learning was a contributing factor leading to the outstanding judgement, with Ofsted commenting that this focus on museums gives the school pupils a rich range of experiences which help to bring the curriculum to life.

"Pupils regularly demonstrate real awe and wonder as they benefit from a wide range of exciting opportunities, including trips, special events, visits from museum experts and hands-on experience." Ofsted Report

Ofsted also found that the school’s pupils are typically engrossed in what they’re learning, helped by the fact that they are taught to think independently and make choices about their own learning, and to build on own personal interests.

This Ofsted rating really helps to show the benefits of museum learning on primary school children in a tangible way. You can find out more about the school here: