Lewis Street Primary School

Lewis Street Primary School Lewis Street, Patricroft, Eccles, Manchester M30 0PU

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The executive headteacher and her staff are utterly dedicated to the well-being of pupils at the school.  Pupils’ personal development and welfare are outstanding. This is because of the carefully planned support that leaders provide.  Leaders ensure that the large majority of pupils make good progress in a range of subjects. Progress is particularly strong in reading, writing and mathematics in key stage 2.  The quality of teaching across the school is good. Leaders regularly review it and devise strategies to strengthen it.  Leaders provide a broad and balanced curriculum that contributes well to pupils’ development.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress.  Leaders ensure that school is a safe place. Pupils feel safe and have a very secure understanding of how to keep themselves from harm.  Governors have a secure overview of the work of the school. They show ambition and hold

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

leaders to account effectively.  Pupils’ behaviour in class and around the school is good.  Children in the early years make good progress from starting points that are below typical for their age.  Leaders’ strategies to strengthen pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics are not fully embedded across all year groups.  Sometimes, teachers do not provide work that matches pupils’ abilities and needs sufficiently closely.  Leaders have not fully developed their strategies in the early years to strengthen children’s progress by improving their communication skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop leaders’ strategies to enhance pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics in key stage 1 so that it is as strong as that in key stage 2.  Further strengthen the quality of teaching and learning and pupils’ progress by sharing the strong practice that exists in key stage 2 in order to ensure that teachers more consistently match pupils’ work to their abilities.  Enhance children’s progress in the early years by fully developing leaders’ strategies to strengthen children’s communication skills.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The executive headteacher and the head of school work tirelessly and highly effectively to ensure that pupils feel safe and welcome at Lewis Street Primary School. Some pupils arrive as refugees from other countries. A few transfer into the school with behaviour issues, which leaders manage successfully. Leaders have put a wealth of activities in place to support pupils’ personal development and welfare. The work that they do in this area is outstanding.  Leaders provide a wide range of facilities to support pupils’ mental health and emotional needs. For example, they have commissioned a charity, ‘Place2Be’, to provide emotional support to those pupils who need it. There is also a dedicated room in school called the ‘Blue Lagoon’. Pupils can go there during breaktimes, if they need emotional support from an adult.  Leaders analyse pupils’ performance thoroughly and have suitable action plans for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

improvement in place. They ensure that pupils across the school make good progress in English and mathematics from typically low starting points. However, leaders’ strategies are not securing progress in key stage 1 that is as strong as that in key stage 2.  Subject leaders in English and mathematics are capable and have a clear view of standards. They evaluate the quality of teaching and learning regularly by carrying out work scrutinies and lesson observations, for example. They have introduced effective strategies to improve teaching and learning, especially in writing. For example, teachers now use new, high-quality texts in Year 4, 5 and 6 to act as a stimulus to enhance pupils’ writing. This has been very successful. Teachers now have plans in place to develop the approach in other year groups.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and aims to provide pupils with an understanding of ‘the world beyond Eccles’. Leaders of subjects other than English and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

mathematics have a secure understanding of standards in their subject. They regularly review pupils’ progress and check on the quality of teaching and learning. Their work contributes considerably to the good progress that the majority of pupils make.  The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) is knowledgeable and manages the provision effectively. Support activities are well targeted and the SENCO evaluates them regularly to check their effectiveness. The large majority of pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points. The work of the SENCO makes a valuable contribution to this progress.  Leaders make effective use of the pupil premium funding. Assessment information in 2018 showed that, by the end of Year 6, disadvantaged pupils made progress in reading, writing and mathematics that was in line with other pupils nationally. Current pupils make good progress, with typically stronger progress in key stage 2.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Pupils and staff benefit from leaders’ effective use of the primary school physical education (PE) and sports premium. All pupils represent the school competitively by the time they leave at the end of Year 6. Leaders provide opportunities to play football and more unusual sports, such as American football. The use of specialists in PE to work alongside staff helps to strengthen the staff’s teaching skills.  Leaders take very effective action to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There is a wide range of clubs available and a high participation rate by pupils. Pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values is developed successfully. A well-planned range of lessons in personal, social and health education fosters, among other qualities, a respect for, and tolerance of, others’ beliefs. Lessons in religious education enable pupils to find out about other faiths. Pupils have a well-developed

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

sense of equalities. This is because of a scheme of work that educates them about diversity and focuses on the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010.  The local authority provides effective support and has an accurate view of the quality of education that the school provides.  Staff are overwhelmingly positive about their work in the school. They appreciate the training that leaders provide and feel that it improves the quality of their work. Newly qualified teachers in the school feel well supported. In conversation with inspectors, staff said that leaders are approachable and helpful.  Parents who spoke with inspectors or responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, were highly positive. They said that their children are safe and enjoy coming to school. They find leaders easy to talk to. Parents appreciate the work that the school does to support pupils’ mental and physical health.

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Governance of the school

 Governors are ambitious for pupils to develop to the best of their ability. They have a mainly accurate view of the quality of all-round education that the school provides. They have a secure knowledge of the strategies that school leaders are using to secure further improvement. They hold leaders to account effectively, providing challenge through well-targeted questioning during regular meetings with leaders. Governors’ work makes a considerable contribution to the good progress that pupils make across the school.  Governors keep a close check on the effectiveness of safeguarding in the school. The chair is the dedicated link governor. He liaises regularly with the designated lead to discuss safeguarding issues. Governors receive and scrutinise periodic reports from the designated lead. Because of these actions, governors ensure that safeguarding is a high priority in the school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school’s required record of checks on members of staff is compliant. It is well organised and comprehensive.  The culture of safeguarding is strong. Staff are very well trained in how to recognise the various signs of abuse. They report any concerns by logging them on the school’s electronic recording system and alerting the designating lead. Leaders provide extra training relevant to specific issues that may feature in the locality, such as matters related to drugs and the criminal exploitation of children.  There are thorough systems in place across the school to ensure that pupils are protected from harm. The designated lead keeps detailed records of any concerns and takes prompt action, making referrals to outside agencies when necessary.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching across the school in reading, writing and mathematics is good. There is particularly strong teaching in key stage 2. Leaders have introduced various strategies to enhance the quality of teaching. These include a new focus on developing pupils’ fluency in mathematics and the use of high-quality texts to support writing in key stage 2. These strategies are beginning to have a positive effect on pupils’ learning. However, they are not fully embedded across the school to ensure that the highest quality teaching is evident across all year groups.  Teachers typically plan lessons that interest pupils and keep them focused on their learning effectively. For example, pupils in key stage 2 take inspiration from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ to write a letter as one of the characters. They successfully incorporate some Shakespearian language into their work. However, sometimes the match between the task and pupils’ ability is not close enough. This

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

results in some pupils occasionally losing concentration.  Staff mainly use questioning effectively and provide an appropriate level of support and challenge. Teachers usually assess effectively and help pupils with their misconceptions. However, there are times when teachers do not address mistakes in spelling or the incorrect writing of numerals, particularly among the younger age groups. Consequently, there is some repetition of earlier mistakes, which prevents some pupils from progressing as strongly as possible.  There are warm and constructive relationships between staff and pupils. Teachers typically have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and manage it effectively. Pupils mostly show positive attitudes to their learning.  Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to apply the skills that they learn in mathematics and English to other subjects. For example, in religious education, pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

have opportunities to write about the characteristics of different religions. In geography, pupils write factual summaries about countries such as Mexico and use pie charts and Venn diagrams to represent information.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils feel safe in school and are confident that there are adults to help them if they have any concerns. Pupils are very clear about how to stay safe when they are using the internet because staff keep them very well informed. For example, pupils know how to manage the risks connected with playing online games that enable them to connect with other players. There is a wide range of other safety messages, of which pupils have a very secure understanding. For instance, they know about the dangers of playing near the local railway.  Pupils are happy and confident. They typically show highly positive attitudes to their learning. They are very caring in their relationships with one another.  Pupils have a very good understanding of the various kinds of bullying because teachers regularly make them aware of them. In conversation with the inspection

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Personal development and welfare

team, pupils said that bullying is extremely rare and, if it does happen, adults deal with it very effectively. Pupils also said that there is no use of homophobic language.  Pupils have a highly secure understanding of fundamental British values, equalities and inclusion because they learn about them through planned activities. These include lessons in personal, social and health education and a scheme of activities that specifically promotes protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Pupils told inspectors that it is important to make newcomers to the school feel welcome, by making them feel part of the school.  Pupils benefit from excellent provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through, for example, a wide range of educational visits. They also enjoy very strong support for their physical development and their mental health. They have numerous opportunities to take part in a wide range of sports clubs, such as football.

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Personal development and welfare

All pupils also have the opportunity to represent the school at a competitive sports event before they leave in Year 6. Pupils’ mental health is well supported by the provision of adult support and dedicated ‘calm’ places in school for pupils who experience emotional issues.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupil typically play well together in the playground. There are sometimes incidents where pupils fall out at lunchtime, but staff manage these well. Since 2017/2018, leaders have analysed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtime and have worked to address specific causes of misbehaviour. As a result, the number of incidents has reduced.  The school environment is an orderly one. Pupils’ conduct is good. The vast majority of them know and follow the school’s routines well. Pupils who have behaviour issues because of specific needs receive excellent support from leaders, which results in substantial improvement. Behaviour in class is good, with some year groups in key stage 2 demonstrating excellent behaviour. However, there are occasions when some pupils do not show self-discipline, which results in them disengaging from their work.  Leaders have worked hard to improve pupils’ attendance, with considerable success.

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Behaviour

Absence and persistent absence have now reduced to a level that is in line with the most recent national average. This is because of a combination of actions, such as unannounced visits to any absent pupil’s home and celebrations of high attendance in school.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Leaders strive to ensure that they continuously enhance the quality of teaching. As a result, the progress of the large majority of current pupils across a range of subjects is good. This includes boys, for whom leaders are successfully diminishing the difference in performance, by comparison with girls. Most pupils are ready for the next stage of their education. Some year groups in key stage 2 make very strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Progress in these subjects in key stage 1 is good, but not as strong as that in key stage 2. Published assessment information in 2018 showed that progress in writing in Year 6 dipped, compared to 2017, and was in line with the national average. However, current pupils in Year 6 are making strong progress in this subject. Pupils’ performance in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 2 in 2018 also declined slightly. Current pupils in Year 2 are making good

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Outcomes for pupils Good

progress.  Evidence from pupils’ work and the school’s assessment information shows that current pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics in key stage 2 is very strong. For example, in writing, pupils develop a sophisticated style and use complex structures. They write sentences such as, ‘A magical glow of snow and white light caught my eye.’ In mathematics, they confidently and accurately apply their knowledge of fractions to solving problems involving mixed numbers.  Most current pupils in key stage 1 make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils have opportunities to solve mathematical problems and use their reasoning skills. In writing, pupils typically make good progress. However, it is not as strong as it could be, because some pupils’ spelling skills are not secure.  In subjects other than English and mathematics, the majority of pupils make good progress. They acquire the relevant knowledge, understanding and skills for each

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Outcomes for pupils Good

subject well. For example, in geography, pupils learn about other countries, such as Spain and Mexico. In religious education, pupils find out about the features of different faiths. In science, pupils learn about a wide range of topics, including living things and solids, liquids and gases.  The most able pupils typically do work that challenges them and requires them to apply their learning at a deeper level. For example, in key stage 2, pupils apply their knowledge of multiplication and division to solve problems involving percentages. In science, however, most-able pupils sometimes do not attempt work that enables them to apply their knowledge in ways that challenge them.  The majority of pupils with SEND make good progress from their various starting points. They benefit from a blend of good teaching and a range of extra activities that help them to learn. Learning support assistants are well trained to support these pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

Pupils in the separate SEND unit also make good progress. This is because staff teach them effectively, supporting their social and emotional needs well to enable them to learn.  Pupils who are disadvantaged make good progress because of the support that leaders provide. This includes work with learning support assistants to overcome emotional as well as academic barriers. By the end of Year 6, disadvantaged pupils’ progress is typically in line with that of other pupils nationally.  Most pupils read widely and with good fluency and understanding for their age and capability. Many pupils are confident and enthusiastic. Effective teaching of phonics in Year 1 ensures that the proportion of pupils who reach the expected standard in the phonics check is close to the national average. This represents good progress from their starting points.

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Early years provision Good

 As they enter the early years, children have skills and knowledge that are below those typical for their age and stage of development. Communication skills are not strong among many children, including those who speak English as an additional language. Some of these children arrive as refugees from other countries. The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development has increased over time and is now typically nearly 60% of the Reception year. Although this is below the national average, it represents good progress, which gives these children a secure preparation for Year 1.  The early years lead analyses children’s performance thoroughly. She puts effective actions in place to help children to make progress in their learning. There has been recent success in improving the progress of boys, for example. The early years lead is ambitious to improve children’s progress further. Staff are trained to support the

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Early years provision Good

development of children’s communication skills. Senior leaders have also commissioned the services of a speech and language specialist. Although these new strategies are beginning to have a positive effect, they are not yet fully embedded to secure stronger progress by the end of Reception.  Evidence from children’s work and from the school’s assessment information shows that current children, including those with SEND or who are disadvantaged, make good progress from low starting points. For example, in mathematics, children can order numbers up to 20, and the most able can recognise that 12 is greater than 11.  Leaders ensure that teaching is typically of good quality. They provide an interesting curriculum that covers a broad range of skills and knowledge. Teachers make effective use of their subject knowledge to plan exciting and engaging activities. This contributes well to children’s progress and development. On occasion, however, a small number of

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Early years provision Good

children lose concentration when the task is not quite matched to their needs.  Teachers and teaching assistants mostly provide a suitable level of demand in the work they give to children. They typically ask questions effectively. For example, children have the opportunity to look for models of animals in the outdoor area, where the teacher uses questioning to encourage the use of positional language, such as ‘under’.  Children are safe in the early years because there is a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are well trained in safeguarding and know children’s backgrounds well. Children show that they feel safe by their conduct and the confidence that they display. Adults look after children very effectively. Relationships are warm and positive.  Leaders have ensured that there are strong links with parents. The school makes effective use of an online ‘learning journey’. This enables parents to see how well their

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Early years provision Good

children are progressing and to make comments in response. Leaders also provide parents with a helpful programme of events before their children start in the early years and throughout their time there. These include home visits prior to starting school and workshops to find out about teaching methods, for example in mathematics.

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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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address gemma.lavelle@salford.gov.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 February 2018

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Information about this school

 Lewis Street Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Leaders run a breakfast club at the school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is nearly twice the national average.  The proportion of pupils who receive SEND support is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is above the national average.  Since the previous inspection, there have been changes in staffing. There is a new assistant headteacher and there are four newly qualified teachers.  The school is part of a soft federation with Christ Church, Church of England Primary School. The executive headteacher oversees the work of both schools.  The school has a social, emotional and mental health resource provision, ‘The Leaf’,

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Information about this school

which caters for Salford pupils in the early years and key stage 1. It also hosts a confidential counselling service, ‘Place2Be’, which is regularly available for both parents and pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team carried out observations of learning in all classes. Some of these were joint observations with the executive headteacher and the head of school. The executive headteacher and the head of school were present at inspectors’ team meetings.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including: the school’s self-evaluation summary; action plans for school improvement; assessment information; minutes of meetings of the governing body; reports of external evaluations; and records connected with the safeguarding of children.  The inspection team had meetings with: the executive headteacher and the head of school; senior leaders; subject leaders; other members of staff; the chair and other members of the governing body; a representative of the local authority; parents; and pupils.  The inspectors listened to pupils read and analysed pupils’ work in a range of subjects.  Inspectors evaluated 16 responses received through Parent View, Ofsted’s online

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Information about this inspection

survey, during the inspection. They also analysed 32 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Mark Quinn, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Barlow Her Majesty’s 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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