St Luke's CofE Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 8–9 March 2012 Inspection number 376517 St Luke’s Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 101134 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 376517 Inspection dates 8–9 March 2012 Lead inspector Nigel Grimshaw

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 194 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Karen Robinson Headteacher Barbara Dunn Date of previous school inspection 12 November 2008 School address Fernhead Road London W9 3EJ Telephone number 020 7641 5855 Fax number 020 7641 5827 Email address office@stlukesprimary.org.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 ser vices 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. Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 14 lessons or parts of lessons taught by eight different teachers and looked at pupils’ work. They listened to pupils read and talked to them about how much reading they did. Discussions took place with members of the governing body, staff, parents and carers and groups of pupils. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding, the school’s improvement plan and self-evaluation report, minutes of governing body meetings, reports from the local authority and the school’s own assessment data. The inspectors analysed questionnaires from pupils and staff as well as those from 48 parents and carers.

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Information about the school

St Luke’s is smaller than the average-sized primary school, although the numbers on roll are increasing. Pupils come from a range of backgrounds with 16 different ethnic groups represented. The largest group is of Caribbean heritage. More than half of the pupils speak English as an additional language, which is well above average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is three times the national average at 47% of the number on roll. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is broadly average and the majority of these have speech, language and communication difficulties. The school has gained various awards including the Healthy School status and the Activemark award. The school meets the current government’s floor standard, which sets minimum expectations for attainment and progress. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Information about the school

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

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Key findings

 St Luke’s is a good school when previously it was judged satisfactory. When pupils enter in the Early Years Foundation Stage their skills and abilities are below those expected for their age especially in basic literacy and numeracy skills. When leaving in Year 6, overall attainment is in line with the national average. Progress is good because the headteacher has focused on improving the learning environment and particularly the quality of teaching. Consequently, the great majority of the teaching is now good or outstanding. The school is not outstanding because of less strong outcomes for the more-able pupils.

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Key findings

 Pupils make consistently good progress through the school, especially in English where progress is significantly above expectations. Progress in mathematics is good overall but not as good as in reading. Pupils enjoy reading and make good progress because it is taught well. An effective and well-structured programme links the teaching of sounds to letters (phonics). The more-able pupils are sometimes not challenged sufficiently to attain higher levels, especially in writing.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching is good because senior leaders monitor it rigorously and provide appropriate support. Planning is detailed and good use is made of individual targets for pupils. Opportunities for pupils to apply their writing and mathematical skills in other subjects are sometimes missed.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is good in lessons because they are motivated by their work and consequently enjoy learning.

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Key findings

 The headteacher is well supported by a motivated senior leadership team and a knowledgeable, challenging governing body. The school promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. The school leadership has worked hard and successfully to improve teaching through performance management and to involve parents and carers in their children’s learning and within the school’s life. As a result, outcomes from the parental questionnaire were very positive. 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?

 Build on the newly planned curriculum to ensure there are increased opportunities for pupils to apply their basic writing and numeracy skills across other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide additional challenge for the more-able pupils to achieve their full potential through:  improved use of extension activities in lessons  more opportunities for individual pupils to undertake independent research.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment in English and mathematics, for boys and girls, is in line with national averages. From low starting points, all groups of pupils, including disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those known to be eligible for free school meals make good progress across all key stages. Pupils who are learning English as an additional language make exceptionally good progress because of an effective induction programme and a well-structured programme of support. Progress in reading is significantly better than expected and is more consistent than it is in mathematics.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress in the significant majority of lessons observed was good or better. Pupils enjoy learning in lessons and teachers plan work that they find motivating. This has encouraged pupils’ growing levels of confidence. This was particularly true in a Year 6 mathematics lesson when the pupils revisited a problem that had defeated them two weeks earlier. This time they solved the problem and their confidence rose as they realised their progress over time. This in turn motivated them to undertake their set homework challenge. This lesson, along with many others observed, also had examples of the pupils’ excellent cooperative working.

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Achievement of pupils

Teachers and teaching assistants provide good support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Consequently these pupils make good progress, often in line with that of their peers.

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Achievement of pupils

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage settle quickly into school life and make sound progress in all areas of learning so that they are generally well prepared for moving into Year 1. They make particularly good progress in learning their letter sounds and applying them in decoding words and hence improving their reading. 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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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ standards of reading at the ends of Year 2 and Year 6 are above average. The pupils have a real enjoyment of reading and most say that they read for pleasure outside school.

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Achievement of pupils

An overwhelming number of parents and carers responding to the questionnaire feel that their children make good progress, have good basic skills and that the school helps them to support their child’s learning. Inspectors agree that this view is accurate.

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Quality of teaching

In almost every lesson observed, pupils were clear about the learning objective and the small steps in learning by which they could measure their own progress. They were also given longer-term targets for improving their work. This development of the pupils’ involvement in their own learning is a strength of the school and one reason why the pupils achieve as well as they do. Work planned by the teachers in the better lessons made good use of their knowledge of the pupils’ attainment to ensure it was appropriately challenging for all. However, in a small number of lessons this match of work to pupils’ abilities was not as good and the more-able pupils were not sufficiently challenged because there were no extension activities planned by the teacher. The marking of pupils’ work and the guidance given to pupils on how to improve their work are of a high and consistent standard as a result of a recent

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Quality of teaching

The school has planned a new topic-based approach to the curriculum, which is starting to provide improved opportunities for the pupils to apply their basic literacy and mathematical skills in other subject areas. This was true of a Year 2 lesson linked to a topic on The Romans where pupils developed their extended writing and the teacher used good phonic teaching to aid their spelling. However, these opportunities are not yet consistently in place across the school and there are insufficient occasions planned where pupils can undertake their own independent research. There are also missed opportunities occasionally for pupils to undertake mathematical investigational work in other subject areas. Occasionally, opportunities were missed for developing writing and mathematical skills and understanding in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, especially for the more-able pupils. In a small minority of lessons seen during the inspection, the teacher’s introduction

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Quality of teaching

was too lengthy and pupils had insufficient time to make better than expected progress. Most pupils take pride in all their work and are well motivated because they find the subject matter interesting and often fun. The school makes good use of visits and visitors and these enable the pupils to have a good awareness of different communities and other cultures.

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Quality of teaching

The teaching is often inspirational in the very effective way that it promotes aspects of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are given frequent opportunities to reflect on their work in lessons and in assemblies. Through teachers’ high expectations pupils have a good appreciation of right and wrong, and how to behave appropriately with other children and adults both in lessons and around the 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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Quality of teaching

A very high proportion of parents and carers feel that their children are taught well and are prepared for the next stage of their education. The inspection findings fully support this view. One parent wrote typically, ‘Teachers take a lot of effort to show parents how to support our children’s learning. I am so impressed.’

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are polite, confident and very welcoming. They behave well in lessons and around school. They generally show consideration for others and work and play together harmoniously. School records indicate that there are very few incidents of bullying. Pupils have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying and they agreed that bullying in any form only happened rarely, was seldom serious, and was dealt with promptly and effectively by the adults in school. Racist incidents are even less common because the pupils show mutual respect for each other at all times. New pupils into school said that they were made to feel welcome very quickly and they all said that they settled happily into school life. Most pupils were confident that they felt very safe at school and had a good awareness of possible dangerous situations. The school has ensured that the pupils are well aware of safe and appropriate use of the internet.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The response of pupils, parents and carers was again extremely positive with the significant majority having views that behaviour was good, bullying was handled effectively and that disruption in lessons was minimal. The inspection team can again confirm its agreement with these views.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher and senior staff, make a very strong leadership team with a clear vision and a successful track record of improvement in the school. The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection through raising teachers’ expectations and focused professional development. For example, they have planned carefully and implemented well a structured programme of phonics teaching that is strongly meeting the needs of the pupils. The senior team is ably supported by a knowledgeable governing body, well led by the new Chair and vice-chair. They have a clear view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement because of their active involvement in monitoring and challenging the school’s work. Areas for improvement from the previous inspection have been tackled successfully and are now strengths of the school, particularly the use of pupils’ individual targets to identify what they need to do to improve. The

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Leadership and management

school’s self-evaluation is clearly focused on the correct priorities and stems from an effective programme of monitoring and evaluation and analysis of data. Consequently, the school’s capacity for further improvement is good. Improvements in subject leadership have been very evident and the monitoring role the subject leaders undertake has developed well. 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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Leadership and management

The curriculum has been effectively reviewed to create opportunities for enjoyable learning that is meeting the needs of the great majority of pupils. The opportunities for pupils to apply their writing and mathematical skills across the curriculum have improved but are not yet fully established. The curriculum is also providing a very effective platform for promoting good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Leadership and management

In the Early Years Foundation Stage the teacher and teaching assistants are increasing opportunities for the children to choose activities for themselves.

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Leadership and management

The school is successful in promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination. It has systems for identifying groups and individuals who need additional support and has proved successful in providing appropriate strategies to accelerate their learning and close any gaps in their outcomes compared to their peers. Safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements. The site is secure and all visitors are checked on arrival at the school before they can gain entry. Consequently, parents and carers were almost unanimous that their children feel safe at school. Parents and carers again strongly agreed that the school keeps them well informed and responds well to any concerns raised. The inspection team fully supports these views.

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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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Inspection of St Luke’s Primary School, Westminster, W9 3EJ

On behalf of the inspection team I would like to thank you for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school. We really enjoyed our time with you. We enjoyed talking to many of you in lessons, in our meetings with you and at break times. We were impressed with your enthusiasm for your work and the progress you are making, especially in English.

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Inspection of St Luke’s Primary School, Westminster, W9 3EJ

We have judged that yours is a good school. You all get on well together and value each other’s cultures and backgrounds exceptionally well. We know from talking to you and from your questionnaires that you like coming to school very much and enjoy your learning. This is because the teachers try to make the work interesting and fun and so you are making good progress. You report that you feel safe at school.

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Inspection of St Luke’s Primary School, Westminster, W9 3EJ

Although yours is a good school, we have asked the headteacher, staff and the governing body to make some changes to help it to improve further. We have asked them to make sure that the work is challenging for all of you in all your lessons. We have also asked them to provide more opportunities for you to learn your basic writing and mathematical skills when you are doing your topic work and work in other subjects.

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Inspection of St Luke’s Primary School, Westminster, W9 3EJ

Having met you, we are very confident that you will want to help too. You can do this by trying your best at all times and checking that your work in lessons is as good as expected. We would like to wish you all the very best in the future at St Luke’s Primary School and also when you move on to your next school.

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Inspection of St Luke’s Primary School, Westminster, W9 3EJ

Nigel Grimshaw 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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