St Luke's Church of England Primary School

St Luke’s Church of England Primary School Linton Grove, London SE27 0DZ

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 This is a school to be proud of. Since the previous inspection, it has improved in many ways. Leaders and board members quickly identify where there is need for improvement, and make sure that improvements are made.  The school’s strongly held values underpin its work and are shared by all. The school is a happy one, where all, adults and children alike, respect themselves and others.  Leadership at all levels is extremely strong. As a result of leaders’ vigilance, teachers teach well and children make good progress in their learning.  The personal development of all pupils is extremely effective. Pupils are safe at the school. They are taught highly effectively how to keep themselves safe.  Behaviour is outstanding. Pupils get on extremely well together. They are eager to learn. They take pride in their work, and keep their books and classrooms neat and tidy.  The quality of teaching is good overall, and some

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This is a good school

is outstanding. Teachers’ feedback to pupils, whether written or oral, quickly clears up any misconceptions and helps pupils to improve.  Adults listen carefully to pupils and value the contributions they make, through discussion or through their responses to written feedback.  Pupils make good progress overall, and some, particularly those in Year 6, make extremely strong progress. Pupils given additional support, such as pupils who have special educational needs or disability, make strong progress in their learning.  Through effective targeted support, gaps are closing rapidly between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils.  Children in the Reception class make good progress because adults promote their thinking and social skills well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ overall achievement is not outstanding because teaching does not always expect the maximum from pupils and challenge them to make the most progress they can.  Children’s progress in the Reception class is not outstanding because there are too few opportunities for them, particularly in the outdoor play areas, to develop strong physical skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In order to secure consistently outstanding outcomes for pupils in reading, writing and mathematics, ensure that all teaching matches the quality of the best, by: – ensuring that all teachers have the highest expectations of their pupils – making sure that pupils are all challenged to do their very best work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Give children in the Reception class every opportunity to strengthen their physical development by making sure that their outdoor play areas offer as many opportunities as possible for them to climb, balance, ride and dig.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 This school is improving rapidly. This is because it is extremely well led. The executive headteacher, the head of school and the interim executive board work in an extremely effective partnership to improve pupils’ outcomes and raise the quality of teaching.  Leaders have drawn on the strength of the partnership with a nearby Church of England primary school. This has improved the school in a number of key areas. For example, the executive headteacher has strengthened the management of the quality of teaching, resulting in its improvement since the previous inspection. The leadership of the early years provision is shared between the two schools, and this has improved the quality of provision for Reception pupils.  Staff show in their positive responses to the online survey of their views that they share the leaders’ aspirations. All those who were at the school at the time of the previous inspection agree that the school

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

has improved greatly.  The school is highly valued in the local community. Parents who spoke to inspectors were full of praise for the school. Representatives of the local authority and of the Diocese of Southwark expressed great confidence in the school’s capacity to continue its journey of improvement.  The school’s plans for future improvements are ambitious and based on thorough and rigorous understanding of where it currently is and what remains to be done. As a result, the school is extremely well placed to continue to improve.  The school’s values underpin all it does, and are driven by love and respect for each individual in the school. Pupils are encouraged to think of others, not just themselves. Assemblies are an important way in which the school comes together to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In one assembly, for example, pupils packed their prayers into the rucksacks of ‘prayer bears’. They showed

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

their concern for the well-being of others in such prayers as, ‘Please give Africa what it needs’, ‘Thank you for our teachers’ and ‘Bless my mummy for taking care of me’.  In this diverse and caring community, pupils respect those from different heritages and backgrounds. There are no racist incidents. Adults listen to pupils and respect their views, whether through the school council or through their contributions in class and in response to written feedback. As a result of such mutual respect, pupils easily imbibe British values.  The curriculum is broad and balanced, strongly focused on reading, writing and mathematics. This prepares pupils successfully for the next phase of schooling. The curriculum also enriches pupils’ lives. Music is a strength of the curriculum. Inspectors saw how music is used to bring the community together, and also to improve behaviour by encouraging restless individuals to play music calmly together.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The school spends the additional government funding for primary sports and physical education wisely. New participants are attracted to the wealth of sports in lessons and in after-school clubs. The school ensures that the benefits of the funding will continue in the future by using sports coaches to train class teachers in delivering high-quality sports teaching.  The school spends the additional government funding for disadvantaged pupils extremely well. They achieve as well as, or better than, other pupils. This is because leaders and staff are highly vigilant, and check the progress of these pupils, putting in extra support where necessary.  The governance of the school – Since March 2013 the school has been governed by a highly knowledgeable and effective interim executive board. The board kept the school on an even keel at a time of changes in leadership. The members of the board are now integrated into the newly constituted governing body. In this way the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

school is ensuring the continuity of high-quality governance. – Governors are ready to question the school in order to hold it to account. Governors request information on how well the pupils are achieving. They visit the school to check its work for themselves. – Governors are highly aware of the need to ensure top-quality teaching. They ensure that there is a strong link between teachers’ progression along the pay scales and the quality of pupils’ achievement. – Governors make sure that additional government funding for primary sports and for disadvantaged pupils is well used and benefits those it is aimed at. – Governors carry out extremely effectively their obligation to keep pupils safe. Safeguarding is on the agenda for every meeting. Governors are trained in such safeguarding requirements as safer recruitment.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Parents told inspectors that their children are safe at

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

school. The site is secure. All adults, whether or not they routinely work directly with children, are carefully checked.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching is consistently good, and some teaching is outstanding. As a result pupils learn well and make good progress.  Pupils learn well because the quality of teachers’ feedback, both written and oral, is strong. Pupils’ responses are valued, and this inspires pupils to try harder. As a result of effective feedback, pupils know how to improve their next piece of work.  Questioning is used effectively. Inspectors saw misconceptions being picked up quickly and dealt with, so that pupils continued to learn well. For example, in one Year 2 mathematics lesson the teacher’s questions probed deeper and deeper to ensure that pupils really understood mathematical concepts. One pupil, asked to explain division, showed a good grasp of the principle by pointing out, ‘It’s when you have four biscuits and there are two people.’  Teachers’ expectations are usually high, leading to pupils typically learning exceptionally well where this is

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

the case. For example, in one Year 6 English lesson pupils were composing sentences using participles and abstract nouns. They showed how well they had been prepared in their prior learning by settling down quickly and enthusiastically to the task. An example of one’s pupil’s successful mastery of these skills was seen in the sentence: ‘Shaking with enthusiasm, I jumped on my soft squishy bed.’  Additional adults are used well, not just to help those who struggle, but also to give the most-able pupils an extra boost.  Classrooms are pleasant, orderly places, and pupils keep them tidy. Their work is well displayed on the walls, and this enables them to take pride in what they have accomplished.  Occasionally, however, expectations are less high, and pupils do not receive the most demanding challenge they need to do their very best work.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils are confident and articulate learners. This is because the school values their contributions and gives them every chance to join in discussions and to evaluate for themselves how successfully they are learning.  The school’s strong values are clearly imparted to pupils and provide them with a sense of security that they belong to what several pupils refer to as ‘the school family’. As a result, pupils’ emotional well-being is extremely strong.  Pupils are looked after extremely well, and are physically safe. The school is an orderly, secure environment where good manners and consideration towards others are firmly embedded. Playground behaviour is lively without being boisterous. Pupils are respectful of others as they move around the building.  The breakfast club provides those who attend with healthy food and an enjoyable start to the day.

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Personal development and welfare

Behaviour is excellent, and pupils enjoy socialising with those from different year groups.  Pupils report that there is no bullying, and this is confirmed by a scrutiny of the school’s logs of behaviour incidents. A typical comment from one pupil was, ‘The love you have from teachers and friends is awesome.’  The school teaches pupils to keep themselves safe, whether in the building or out and about. Pupils learn about dangers from using computers, and those posed by strangers or gangs.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils from all heritages and backgrounds get on extremely well together. Pupils told inspectors that they are taught about being kind and respectful, and that the school helps them to understand other faiths and ways of life. In such ways the school promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development extremely strongly.  Behaviour for learning is outstanding. Pupils are eager to learn. One told an inspector, ‘I like learning because the school helps me to develop as a person.’ Another said, ‘Teachers model good behaviour for us.’ These views are typical of many. Pupils take pride in their workbooks and keep them neat. They enjoy showing their work to visitors.  Pupils show their enjoyment of school through their attendance, which is above average and on a rising trend.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils’ outcomes are good rather than outstanding because the quality of their learning in lessons is not uniformly outstanding. School figures confirm that, though Year 6 progress from Key Stage 1 starting points has been extremely strong over a number of years, lower down in the school progress is not always as strong. Overall, pupils make good progress from their various starting points.  Disabled pupils and those with a range of additional and special educational needs make strong progress in their learning. This is because their needs are quickly identified. The school puts in extra support for these pupils, and measures the impact of this support, so that it always delivers.  A particular success story is the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. Figures for their achievement in all year groups show that there is no appreciable difference between how well these pupils achieve and how well other pupils do. In many cases disadvantaged pupils outperform other pupils. This success reflects

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Outcomes for pupils are good

the vigilance of leaders in carefully measuring the progress of all groups and providing effectively for their needs.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language are given effective support from the earliest age. This enables them to catch up quickly, and they make good progress in line with others.  The most-able pupils achieve well. The school provides many opportunities for them to extend their learning, both in lessons and in activities outside the classroom. For example, links with nearby secondary schools help able pupils in Year 6 to extend their skills in writing under the supervision of Year 7 teachers. Such opportunities help to raise pupils’ aspirations so that they aim high.  Pupils who struggle with their work are given patient support by teachers and additional adults. This enables them to make good progress in line with others at the school.  By the time pupils leave St Luke’s, they have acquired good skills in reading, writing and mathematics

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Outcomes for pupils are good

that prepare them successfully for the next stage of schooling.

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Early years provision is good

 Children do well in the Reception class and enter Year 1 with excellent habits of learning and good powers of concentration.  The early years provision is very well led by senior leaders and by an early years coordinator who divides her time between the two partner schools. Leaders plan very effectively for the differing needs of the children within the class, and the support they provide enables the children to make good progress in their learning.  Teaching is effective in the Reception class. All the adults work well together, and no child is overlooked. The adults miss no opportunity to extend the children’s speaking and thinking skills through conversation designed to help children think about the activities and talk about them.  As a result of effective teaching, children learn well. Children arrive with a wide range of skills and aptitudes. Overall, these are below those typical for their age. By the time they leave Reception, their

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Early years provision is good

language and number skills are generally in line with those in the country as a whole. This represents good progress. Children are ready through good learning and social skills to move confidently into Year 1.  The school uses the additional early years funding successfully to provide targeted support for disadvantaged children. This enables them to make good progress in line with others.  The activities prepared for the children, particularly in the indoor play areas, are imaginative and challenging. For example, children showed they could use ‘story maps’ to retell in their own words the story of the Three Little Pigs. However, children’s physical skills are not always fully developed in the rather cramped outdoor environment. As a result children do not always have enough opportunities to build up full strength in their muscles by developing advanced skills, such as holding a pencil, balancing,

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Early years provision is good

riding wheeled vehicles or digging in beds.  Children’s behaviour and welfare are of the highest order. Children, some of whom are new to schooling or to speaking English, quickly settle into their new routines. Home visits and visits to the school are well structured to help them to familiarise themselves with the adults and the environment.  Parents of Reception children told inspectors that there is strong communication between school and home and that their children are safe and happy.  Children quickly absorb the school’s values. For example, they take advantage of opportunities to celebrate the Chinese New Year, such as by ‘painting’ Chinese characters in glittery sand, which helps them to understand the culture of others and to develop tolerance.

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School details

Unique reference number 100618 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 10001982

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School details

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

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School details

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 190 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Hills Headteacher Nicky Zeronian-Dalley (executive headteacher), Sophia Bryan-Whyte (head of school, St Luke’s) Telephone number 020 8670 1981 Website www.st-lukes-primary.lambeth.sch.uk Email address admin@st-lukes-primary.lambeth.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 November 2013

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Information about this school

 St Luke’s is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It is in a soft federation with a nearby primary school. The executive headteacher is head of both schools, and the head of school is based at St Luke’s. The schools retain their own governing bodies.  Prior to January 2016 the school was run by an interim executive board. The school has recently constituted its own governing body.  A higher-than-average proportion of pupils are supported by additional government funding, known as the pupil premium. The funding is used to support pupils who are eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after.  Most pupils come from minority ethnic heritages. A wide range of heritages is represented. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability varies from year to year. In

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Information about this school

recent years it has been higher than average but is currently below average.  The school runs a breakfast club.  Children in the Reception class attend all day.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited classes throughout the school and observed pupils’ learning in a range of subjects. The executive headteacher and the head of school joined inspectors on several of their classroom visits.  Inspectors spoke to a number of pupils, listened to them read and looked at samples of their work. An inspector met with a group of pupils to hear how they felt about the school.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, including those who hold responsibility for specific subjects.  A meeting was held with the Chair of the Governing Body and five other governors.  Telephone interviews were held with a representative from the Diocese of Southwark and with the school’s former school improvement adviser. A meeting was also held with the primary adviser for the diocese and the current school improvement adviser for the local authority.  Inspectors spoke to a number of parents during the inspection. There were too few responses to the

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Information about this inspection

online survey, Parent View, to take into account. Inspectors took into account the school’s own survey of parents’ views, and its surveys of pupil and staff views.  Inspectors took account of 21 responses to an online questionnaire for members of staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents. These included the school’s own views of how well it is doing, its plans for the future, and minutes of meetings of the interim executive board and of the governing body.  Inspectors considered a range of evidence on pupils’ attainment and progress. They also examined safeguarding information, and records relating to behaviour and safety.

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Inspection team

Natalia Power, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Gary Rawlings Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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