
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
2| LONGNEY CE PRIMARY ACADEMY
(OPAL) programme since 2016. All our
pupils spend one morning a month at
our Forest School, which is situated
in local woodland a 20-minute walk
from the school, and which gives the
children the opportunity to connect
with the local area. This learning is
applied to the rest of the curriculum,
including creative writing, science or
geography, for example.
Physical education is also a key element
of our school curriculum. The whole
school takes part in the daily mile, and
our pupils have many opportunities
to compete in a wide range of sports
events, representing the school and
county, including indoor rowing,
archery and New Age Kurling. We
achieved our second School Games
Gold Mark last summer.
Music is also a significant aspect of
school life, with singing at the heart
of this. The majority of our Key Stage
2 pupils participate in the Young
Voices concert and sing at Gloucester
Cathedral. These wider opportunities
help the pupils develop enthusiasm,
self-discipline and collaborative and
listening skills, all of which transfer to
the academic subjects.
Moving forward
Developing and supporting our staff
has always been a priority for me as
the headteacher. I am fully aware
that in a small school, there is a risk
that staff may not have the usual
opportunities to progress, as there are
no head of year or key stage roles to
aim for or any team from the same
year groups to plan with. Therefore,
staff training has to be carefully
constructed to ensure staff have an
opportunity to lead projects and work
with colleagues teaching in other
schools, in order that they can keep
motivated and moving forward with
their careers.
Action research projects have changed
the way we have approached staff
professional development. Encouraging
staff to read the latest research and to
work collaboratively with colleagues on
projects that are based on their own
teaching practice has had a greater
impact on teaching and learning than
we would have seen had teachers
simply attended courses. They feel a
sense of ownership about developing
their own expertise and view the
projects as relevant to their teaching
in the classroom. This can be seen in
our maths curriculum; our mastery
approach means teaching starts at a
point where all pupils are equal, and
we do not limit our expectations.
Music ensures
development of a wide
range of skills and
opportunities
Our pupils develop healthy
lifestyles, resilience,
teamwork andhave fun
Staff training
has to be
carefully
constructed to
ensure staff
have an
opportunity to
lead projects
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