St Luke's Church of England Primary School

St Luke’s Church of England Primary School Jubilee Road, Formby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L37 2HW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils do well here. From Years 1 to 6, pupils achieve well and make good progress in mathematics. Pupils make outstanding progress in reading and writing. Standards are above the national average by the end of Year 6.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Staff who support disabled pupils, and those with a special need do an excellent job because the help they provide is extremely well matched to pupils’ precise needs.  Pupils who receive help funded by the pupil premium are well supported and make good progress from their starting points.  The quality of teaching is good and some elements are outstanding. The teaching of mathematics has improved since the last inspection.  Behaviour and safety are good because there are clear systems in place. All adults respect pupils and show them how to behave. They are on hand to help pupils with any issues that they may have.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The pupils are proud of their school. Everybody is made to feel very welcome and everyone has an equal opportunity regardless of their background or ability.  Effective leadership by the headteacher has ensured that the spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of the school are often outstanding and included in subjects taught.  Senior leaders have ensured the quality of the teaching and the pupils’ achievement has improved since the last inspection.  The governing body supports and challenges the school well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The teaching of mathematics is not as strong as that of English and sometimes progress slows in mathematics, especially for girls. Leaders have not been swift enough in addressing this.  Marking comments in mathematics do not always give pupils enough information on how to improve further.  Sometimes, tasks do not build well on what pupils already know.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 20 lessons including one that was observed jointly with the headteacher. There was also specific attention paid to the teaching of mathematics in Year 5 and 6. Inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons and they listened to some pupils read and asked them about their reading books. The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) was observed in the Early Years Foundation Stage, in Years 1 and 2.  Separate meetings were held with members of the governing body, staff, groups of pupils and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors reviewed information from 120 responses to the online parent questionnaire (Parent View).  They took account of the views of staff from 29 questionnaires.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation including national assessment data, the school’s assessments, the school’s view of its own

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Information about this inspection

performance, curriculum information, pupils’ work and safeguarding documents.

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Inspection team

Jean Tarry, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Douglas Scholes Additional Inspector Michelle Murray Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Luke’s Church of England Primary School is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by pupil premium funding is lower than the national average. (The pupil premium is additional government funding provided for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children who are looked after by the local authority.)  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is similar to the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is lower than average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  A breakfast club takes place in the school hall for a small charge and an after-school club but

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Information about this school

this provision is not governed by the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the standards that pupils reach and quicken their rate of progress in mathematics by:-  ensuring that the gaps identified in pupils’ learning are addressed by providing them with tasks that are at the right level of difficulty and build on what they already know  ensuring marking always clearly explains to pupils what it is that they need to do to improve  ensuring any misunderstandings that pupils have are quickly and rigorously addressed.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of the leadership and management of mathematics by ensuring checks on pupils’ work is a high priority with a particular focus on rapidly improving the standards that girls reach.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress from their individual starting points. Pupils make good progress in mathematics. Boys do better in this subject than girls. Most pupils make outstanding progress in reading and writing. As a result, standards at the end of Year 6 in English and mathematics are above the national average. Current data indicates that standards are rising, with some pupils predicted to achieve the higher Level 6 in 2014.  Most children start school with skills in reading, writing and number that are similar to those typically expected for their age. They make good progress in Reception because teaching is well organised. Full account is taken of children’s varying abilities when planning group activities, such as when they learn about letters and the sounds they make (phonics).  Between Years 1 and 6, many pupils make sustained, good progress. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 is high compared to pupils nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2013, in the national check of pupils’ skills in phonics at the end of Years 1 and 2, a higher proportion of pupils than nationally reached the expected standard. The phonic skills of pupils in the school are developing well.  Pupils read widely and often enough to develop their reading skills at the expected rate and beyond. By the end of Year 2, standards in reading are outstanding. What is provided in Year 6 to promote reading is outstanding and this results in outstanding progress. Some pupils this year are predicted to achieve the highest Level 6 in reading.  In mathematics, while pupils do well, they do not do as well as they do in reading and writing. Leaders do not have a tight enough grip on all the school information to ensure that what is provided is the best it can possibly be for all groups of pupils.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to their peers

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The achievement of pupils is good

due to the good support in school and the school’s effective partnerships with external agencies.  The pupil premium funding ensures that the pupils eligible for such funding, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, are making good progress. This group of pupils is a very small minority and therefore the standards they reach are difficult to compare with others.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching results in pupils making good and sometimes outstanding progress. This is confirmed by the work in pupils’ books. Work is usually planned through an accurate understanding of what pupils are able to do and so they learn well. However, an analysis of the gaps in pupils’ mathematical knowledge is not always reflected in the tasks that pupils are asked to do. Hence, work is not always hard enough to challenge pupils, and particularly girls. Consequently, progress for some groups of pupils slows.  Further training in teaching mathematics has made a significant difference to pupils’ learning since September 2013. The teaching of mathematics is now good and sometimes outstanding. In Year 6, girls were asked to multiply quantities in a goulash recipe for a party of twelve and this activity really challenged them to make a whole host of difficult calculations. They enjoyed and achieved the challenge in their endeavour to get it right and made outstanding progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ work is marked regularly and with celebratory comments. However, too often pupils are not given the opportunity to respond to comments in their mathematics books and so they do not learn from their mistakes.  Disabled pupils and those with a special educational need achieve well from their starting points because they are taught well as tasks are well matched to their need.  Pupils develop their skills in reading and writing at a fast pace and make rapid progress. This is because of the skilled choice of activities. For example, pupils in Year 1 were motivated in their writing lesson when they had to produce a short story complete with adjectives about Blackbeard the pirate. During their supported group work, they tackled this well, producing well- thought-out pieces of writing. In a Year 2 reading lesson, pupils were asked to comprehend an unfamiliar text and were able to achieve this task well on their own.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The most able pupils make outstanding progress in reading, writing and mathematics across all key stages. They are motivated to learn as much as possible through the school’s new independent learning project that makes pupils tease out what they really think makes a good learner.  Teaching assistants are well trained and make a significant impact on pupils’ good learning because the help they give is well tailored to suit pupils’ needs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good and make a positive contribution to their progress. They have a sense of what good behaviour is and pride themselves on knowing what is not acceptable. They have a good knowledge of the school code of conduct. However, some pupils and adults report that sometimes behaviour is not yet outstanding when other adults take the class other than the class teacher.  In the classrooms and on the playground, pupils behave well. The older pupils develop a sense of responsibility in caring for younger ones. They act as good role models and help those in need to find friends or sort out issues. The school council find their project about road safety interesting and they believe they can make a difference.  The pupils are friendly, polite and considerate. Pupils enjoy coming to school because they enjoy learning and do their very best to succeed. Pupils are well-mannered, respectful and polite. One

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

pupil said, ‘We like our lessons especially when teachers make it fun. We have to learn loads of new things.’ A staff member said, ’I feel really proud to be a member of this school because it’s caring, ambitious and encourages the pupils to achieve their potential across different areas.’  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The parents and staff believe that pupils feel safe and happy in school. Pupils know about name-calling and physical bullying and say that it rarely happens and they know who to talk to if it does. They know how to keep themselves safe and talk sensibly about the dangers of inappropriate use of the internet.  Attendance is well above the national average. There are effective monitoring systems in place and links with parents are really good. This ensures learning continues at home with research work and homework projects.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is driving improvement by ensuring that teachers concentrate on the progress pupils are making from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.  The quality of teaching is checked by the senior leadership team regularly and well. This has already led to improvements in teaching and has identified where further improvements are needed. Leaders hold staff to account for the progress of pupils and they link this well to any increase in pay. The middle leaders are also involved in identifying where improvement can be made but up to now there has been little effective focus by them on improving the performance of girls in mathematics.  The senior leaders regularly assess pupils’ knowledge and skills. This means that the school’s data that tracks pupils’ standards and progress is reliable. Meetings to discuss pupils’ progress are effective and result in rapid progress for pupils especially in reading and writing.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders regularly check how well additional funds are used. For example, pupil premium funding is used well to ensure those who are entitled to it do as well as others. The new primary school sports funding is being used to provide a wider range of sporting opportunities for pupils. The impact of this funding can be seen in how well pupils are doing. It is also being used to add to teachers’ skills in teaching physical education so that the benefits to pupils are long lasting, even when the funding stops in the future. There are very effective partnerships with external agencies and this is helping to ensure those with special educational needs make good progress.  The curriculum is a real strength of the school because it is well thought-out to meet the needs of pupils well. The work is often lively and keeps pupils keen to learn. The leaders ensure that pupils’ basic skills are developed well in addition to a strong focus on promoting their spiritual,

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The leadership and management are good

moral, social and cultural awareness which is often outstanding.  The local authority has provided some support in mathematics. The school leadership have been very pro-active with staff training and professional development. This training has resulted in rapid and sustained improvement in teaching and pupils’ achievement since the last inspection.  The governance of the school:  Governors have an accurate view of pupils’ achievement through their analysis of the results of national tests. They have a good grasp of what teaching in the school is like. Governors support the leaders in addressing any weaknesses in teaching. They check that performance management systems are implemented effectively.  They ensure that the pupil premium funding is allocated to support the learning of those pupils for whom it is intended and have checked closely whether this support has been successful in narrowing the gap in the standards reached by these pupils compared with

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The leadership and management are good

similar pupils nationally. Statutory duties are fulfilled and meet requirements. They ensure that pupils are treated equally and discrimination is not tolerated.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 104897 Local authority Sefton Inspection number 439527

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 420 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jean Cox Headteacher Sharon Cowey Date of previous school inspection 5 February 2009 Telephone number 01704 872692 Fax number 01704 872692 Email address admin.stlukesformby@schools.sefton.gov.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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