St Luke's Church of England Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 5–6 March 2012 Inspection number 376426 St Luke's Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 100618 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 376426 Inspection dates 5–6 March 2012 Lead inspector Tim McLoughlin

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Juline Sinclair Headteacher Catherine Mitchenall Date of previous school inspection 31 March 2009 School address Linton Grove London SE27 0DZ Telephone number 020 8670 1981 Fax number 020 8670 0600 Email address admin@st-lukes-primary.lambeth.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 18 lessons taught by eight teachers. They also held meetings with members of the governing body, staff and groups of pupils. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and scrutinised a number of policies, including those relating to safeguarding, minutes of governing body meetings, planning documents, pupils’ work and questionnaires returned from 81 parents and carers.

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Information about the school

This is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school situated in an urban area. Most of the pupils are of minority ethnic heritage. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is about double the national average. The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is also higher than average. The proportion of pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs is higher than that found nationally. Their needs relate mainly to social or language and communication difficulties. There is a high turnover of pupils joining and leaving the school at other than the usual times in all years. The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Key Stage 2. The school has been awarded the national Artsmark Gold for its work in the performing arts, the Advanced Healthy School

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Information about the school

award in recognition for its work in promoting healthy lifestyles, and the Leading Parent Partnership Award. In recent times there has been a high turnover of staff. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. It has a caring and inclusive ethos and provides a safe environment in which for pupils to learn. Attainment is improving across the school. The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school’s work. The overall effectiveness is satisfactory rather than good because pupils’ progress is not even across year groups because of inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. Progress has also been adversely affected by the high staff turnover. Systems for monitoring and evaluating the school’s work are not always sufficiently focused on pupils’ achievement.  Children start school with skill levels that are generally well below those expected for their age. They make good progress in the Reception class to close the gap with the national picture by the time they enter Year 1. Thereafter, pupils make satisfactory progress overall from their starting points

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Key findings

to reach broadly average standards by the end of Year 6. Pupils make accelerated progress in Years 5 and 6 as a result of strong teaching.  Teaching is satisfactory, with some good classroom practice when teachers’ expectations are high and pupils’ individual needs are met effectively. Pupils’ progress slows when they are given work that is not matched to their ability levels.  The school offers a warm and welcoming environment where pupils feel cared for and secure. As a result, most pupils have positive relationships with adults and other pupils and respect each other’s achievements. In the main, they behave well, although pupils lose focus when the work set in lessons does not meet their needs  The school’s leaders have taken successful actions to tackle the school’s weaknesses since the previous inspection. The leadership of teaching through performance management has resulted in improvements. However,

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Key findings

inconsistencies remain, which has an impact on pupils’ progress.

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Key findings

Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Reduce variability in the rate of pupils’ progress, so that pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 achieve consistently well, by:  improving the quality of teaching from satisfactory to good, particularly with regard to the use of assessment data to plan work that is precisely matched to pupils’ needs  encouraging pupils to become more independent in their learning and progress, with a greater sense of pride in their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that systems for monitoring and evaluating the school’s work assist leaders, managers and governors in bringing about rapid improvements to pupils’ achievement by:  placing greater emphasis on the rigorous monitoring of the quality of pupils’ learning over time  increasing the focus on raising pupils’ achievement in the school’s self- evaluation and improvement planning.

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Achievement of pupils

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress from their below- average starting points. Nevertheless, by the time they start Year 1, attainment remains below average. By the time the children have left the Reception Year they have made a very good start on learning to read because of the effective teaching of linking sounds and letters (phonics).

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ progress from Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory overall but quickens in Key Stage 2 as the teaching is more consistent than it is in Key Stage 1. Accelerated progress in Key Stage 2 is due, in part, to the use of a wide variety of school-based interventions to help pupils who may have fallen behind catch up. Standards in reading at the end of Key Stage 1 are below average; by the time pupils leave the school they are average, but rising rapidly. All groups of pupils progress at a similar rate across the school. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make satisfactory progress as a result of well-targeted support and good-quality interventions. Pupils’ learning is often satisfactory but brisk pace and the effective use of assessment to plan appropriate work result in good progress for pupils in Years 5 and 6. Where teaching is good, pupils focus on their learning and often work well in groups and

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Achievement of pupils

independently; however, in some lessons there are too few opportunities for pupils to work independently and take responsibility for their own learning.

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Achievement of pupils

Over time, attainment has risen so that by the end of Year 6, standards are now in line with the national average. Pupils develop and apply their reading, writing, communication and mathematics skills in a wide range of other subjects, ensuring that they are adequately prepared for the next stage in their education. Parents and Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms carers are pleased with the progress their children make at the school, particularly in the core skills of literacy and numeracy. Nevertheless, the inspection evidence indicates that progress is satisfactory rather than good.

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Quality of teaching

In the best lessons, particularly in Years 5 and 6, teachers make good use of pupils’ interests and encourage lively discussion to inspire and motivate them. For example, Year 6 pupils were investigating how to measure the internal angles of shapes correctly; the teacher explained to them how this information would be needed in a practical context, such as in the cracking of safe codes! In this lesson, pupils talked excitedly with each other and explored complex vocabulary needed to name shapes, such as decahedron and dodecahedron. This good practice is not yet sufficiently widespread, and so the quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, resulting in pupils making adequate progress. Data on pupils’ achievements are not always used effectively to plan work that precisely meets the needs of individuals. The teaching of reading in Key Stage 1 does not consistently build on the exciting lessons the children experience in the Reception classes. Occasionally, lessons are too teacher-

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Quality of teaching

dominated and pupils are not given enough opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning.

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Quality of teaching

The strong focus on the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills permeates many of the Reception activities and gives children appropriate confidence and ability in their early reading and writing skills. Presentation of work varies tremendously and while some pupils are beginning to take real pride in their work, sometimes work is done in haste and without sufficient attention being paid to presentation.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers, particularly in Key Stage 2, mark pupils’ work well, frequently pointing out where pupils have made good progress and what they need to do to make even more. Pupils are beginning to demonstrate a sound awareness of their own abilities and understand the targets that are set for them to achieve, although this is not yet consistently embedded across the school.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is promoted well during lessons and, as a result, pupils have the ability to understand how their chosen actions affect others. The planned curriculum has a satisfactory impact on teaching overall, with some teachers using imaginative approaches and resources to motivate pupils. Parents’ and carers’ view of teaching is positive at the school, although a very small proportion felt that the school could do more to stretch the most-able pupils. Inspection evidence, however, suggests the quality of teaching is satisfactory rather than good.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Parents and carers are mostly confident that that their children are safe in school and are generally positive about the standard of behaviour. Inspection evidence, however, indicates that behaviour and safety is satisfactory rather than good. In discussions, pupils show a secure awareness of different forms of bullying, including Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms name-calling and cyber-bullying; they say that incidents of bullying are infrequent and they are confident that any concerns are dealt with effectively by staff. Parents and carers agree, and inspection evidence endorses these views. Pupils explain that lessons are rarely disrupted as a result of bad behaviour and say that teachers are working hard to manage behaviour. Low-level disruption does sometimes occur,

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

particularly when the teaching is not matched adequately to pupils’ needs. Some pupils at the school do find managing their own behaviour a challenge. However, all staff use agreed behaviour management techniques and, as a result, a positive, calm and friendly atmosphere is evident for the most part. Pupils say they feel safe in school and can identify how particular lessons help them to keep themselves safe, such as a Year 6 lesson looking at a multi-agency approach to preventing violent extremism.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

A consistent approach to improving attendance has resulted in the school engaging in some effective partnership work with parents and carers to address persistent absenteeism, improve punctuality and reduce the number of holidays taken in term time. As a result, attendance has improved and is now average.

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Leadership and management

Since the previous inspection the school’s leadership has sharpened the processes for tracking pupils’ achievement. This has been done by introducing focused pupil progress meetings for all teachers and through more systematic moderation of pupils’ work in order to assess progress more accurately across the different year groups. Evidence indicates that leaders have a broadly-accurate understanding of key strengths and weaknesses, and self-evaluation links soundly with improvement planning. Teaching has improved since the last inspection and in spite of local recruitment difficulties the school’s leaders have been successful in recruiting staff of an improved quality, As a result of this, attainment, particularly at Key Stage 2 has risen over time and is now also rising in Key Stage 1. This, coupled with the record of improvements since the previous inspection, shows that the school has capacity for

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Leadership and management

further improvement. Nevertheless, systems for monitoring, evaluating and action planning are not always sufficiently focused on pupil achievement and looking at the needs of individual groups. Currently, the school does not focus sharply enough on what actual learning is taking place in each lesson and tries to assess the overall quality of teaching.

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Leadership and management

Staff take responsibility for the performance of pupils in their class or group and the expectations of senior leaders and governors are reflected by everybody in the school. Middle and senior leaders take on key roles in the training of staff, although the rapid turnover of staff has hindered progress in improving the quality and consistency of teaching. The governing body is diligent in exercising its statutory responsibilities, particularly with regard to pupils’ health, safety and well-being. However, the governing body has been insufficiently involved in monitoring and evaluating the school’s work with a particular focus on pupils’ achievement and is currently looking at ways to address this. The statutory requirements for safeguarding arrangements are robust and effective. The school takes its responsibilities to keep pupils safe seriously and with due care. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Leadership and management

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

The school’s curriculum is broad and balanced, meets pupils’ needs well and makes effective provision for pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development. As a result, pupils show a sense of enjoyment in learning about the world around them and are developing an ever-increasing respect for the cultural diversity of different nations across the world. This understanding has been supported through links with community groups in the local area and through regular celebrations of a range of cultural and religious festivals, including Black History Month and links with the parish church.

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Leadership and management

There is a strong commitment to inclusion and equality of opportunity, reflected most clearly in the sensitive care and management of all pupils. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated. The school is successful in helping those pupils whose circumstances cause them to be vulnerable to overcome barriers to their education, by providing additional support and by utilising partnerships with others schools and agencies. Staff have very good relationships with parents and carers and provide useful information so that parents can help their children at home with their studies. The majority of parents and carers who returned inspection questionnaires expressed high levels of satisfaction and were very pleased with their children’s experiences in school.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons, and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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0DZ

Thank you for being so friendly when we came to your school. We enjoyed visiting your lessons and talking to you. You really helped us with our work. Your school gives you a satisfactory standard of education. You told us that you enjoy school but do not enjoy lessons when you have to sit for too long listening to the teachers. We found that everyone in school looks after you well, especially those of you who have difficulties from time to time. We were impressed with your understanding and knowledge of how to keep safe. We could see that you mostly behave well and help the school to run smoothly.

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0DZ

Your headteacher and other staff know that there is still work to be done to make the school even better. We have asked them to do two things.

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0DZ

 They should make sure that all lessons are as good as the best by helping teachers to ensure that all of you are able to do your very best work. This means giving you lots of opportunities to find out things for yourself, as well as making sure that staff use everything they know about your progress to set work that is just right for every one of you.  Senior leaders should check that this is done successfully across the school.

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0DZ

We hope that you will all continue to enjoy coming to school and try your hardest so that you are even more successful in the future.

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0DZ

Tim McLoughlin Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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