St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School

St Luke and St Philip’s Church of England Primary School Hancock Street, Blackburn, Lancashire BB2 2LZ

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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 Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 St Luke and St Philip’s Church of England Primary School is thriving. The headteacher, skilfully supported by governors, senior and middle leaders, has put in place clear plans for success.  Staff morale is high; all staff are provided with good professional support and training. There is a strong sense of teamwork, which is reflected in the way that staff work to support all pupils.  The curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to learn about interesting themes, subjects and topics.  Pupils make great strides forward in their personal development. They are caring, respectful individuals who enjoy coming to school. Pupils behave well and are eager to learn.  Staff promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through the wide and varied range of curriculum experiences, both in and out of the school.  Children get off to a flying start in the early years. They settle into school quickly, are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

happy and enjoy their learning. The teaching of phonics is highly effective.  Teachers have strong subject knowledge. The quality of teaching and use of assessment are consistently good throughout the school.  Occasionally, teachers’ expectations are not matched closely enough to pupils’ abilities. For some most-able pupils, work can be too easy, and this limits their opportunities to reach the higher levels by the end of each key stage.  Pupils make good progress across a range of subjects including reading, writing and mathematics. Improvement in reading is stronger than writing and mathematics. Pupils’ skills in these subjects are not promoted well across other subjects.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils are well supported and make good progress.  Governors are knowledgeable about the work of the school. They provide a good level of challenge and support to the headteacher to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

ensure that the school continues to move forward.  Safeguarding is effective. The strong culture of safeguarding across the school leads to pupils feeling safe. June 2019

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and progress, by: – providing more opportunities for pupils to solve mathematical problems in different contexts – improving the opportunities for pupils to write when learning in subjects other than English. – providing more challenge for the most able. June 2019

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher, leaders and governors are highly aspirational for what pupils can achieve and for all pupils to have the best possible experiences in school. The quality of the school has improved since the previous inspection.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher have made sure that the pace of improvement has increased. Current pupils’ progress is good across subjects, including in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils recognise the positive impact of leaders’ work. One pupil’s comments included, ‘Our school is much better, we do a lot of interesting and exciting things in lessons.’  Morale is very high across the school; staff work effectively as a team and are confident in sharing ideas and leading on new initiatives. Leaders have made sure that all teachers are involved in reviewing the quality of teaching. Leaders encourage support staff to reflect continually and improve their practice.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Professional development is at the heart of the school’s continued improvement. Training for staff it is well considered and linked closely to school priorities. Several teachers commented on how they are trusted to lead, develop and implement their new ideas and areas of responsibility. As a result, teaching is good and improving.  Subject leaders continue to develop their roles. They have good knowledge of their subjects and enjoy their work. They know how their work contributes to the school’s priorities. Changes have been introduced to improve pupils’ experiences through the curriculum. However, staff do not provide opportunities for pupils to deepen their writing and mathematical skills in subjects other than English and mathematics. In addition, some more able pupils are not challenged consistently enough across all subjects.  Leaders carry out effective self-evaluation and have an accurate view of the school’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

strengths and priorities. Leaders resolve occasional dips in performance effectively and provide support to staff where needed. For example, leaders have invested heavily in making sure that pupils have many opportunities to read often and widely. Pupils’ progress in reading is good.  The curriculum is organised effectively and covers all subjects and personal development. Leaders adjust the curriculum to support pupils where needed. For example, in Year 3 a focus on building confidence and engagement for a small group of pupils through collaborating with small construction activities has been important in engaging them in their learning. Pupils’ experiences are enhanced by the many trips, visitors and the wide range of extra curriculum activities available to them.  Pupils who are disadvantaged are making strong progress, which is helping them catch up with other pupils nationally. Leaders make good use of additional funding to help

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

eligible pupils overcome their barriers to learning.  Pupils with SEND are cared for effectively. The school works closely with parents and carers of pupils with SEND, so they are confident that their children’s needs are met. This area of the school’s work is led successfully. The funding for these pupils is spent June 2019 effectively. As a result, pupils with SEND make good progress.  New pupils and their families are given a warm welcome. This is particularly the case for those pupils who arrive at school with English as an additional language (EAL). Leaders make sure that comprehensive programmes of support are in place, so these pupils get a flying start to their education.  Leaders use the government’s additional funding for sport effectively. The school’s records show that all pupils engage in a range of sporting activities. Leaders have improved the quality of physical education teaching through appropriate and regular

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

training for staff.  St Luke and St Philip’s Church of England Primary School is highly inclusive and there is strong liaison with families and external agencies. Vulnerable pupils receive the necessary support they need in class and staff are trained to provide specific support, such as one-to-one tuition to support pupils’ acquisition of language.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils’ experiences are planned carefully and threaded through many aspects of school life. Leaders give pupils many opportunities to experience, discuss and debate other cultures, for instance through weekly assemblies and special celebration weeks. Pupils have an increasingly good understanding of the world around them. Pupils from the school’s debating team provided inspectors with an insight into how they are learning about online safety.  Parents were highly positive in their praise for the school. Parents said that their

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

children are safe, happy and flourishing.

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Governance of the school

 Governance has improved considerably since the time of the previous inspection. The Cidari Trust has an accurate understanding of the school’s effectiveness. It gives tailored support and accurate challenge to leaders, helping the school to improve and ensuring that outcomes have improved to good. The school is benefiting particularly from improved collaboration across the trust and wider school partnerships.  Governors and trustees are highly ambitious for the school and its journey of improvement. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have the requisite skills, abilities and commitment to move the school forward.  Governors have a firm grip on the use of pupil premium and SEND funding and ensure that the school’s finances are used effectively.  Governors challenge school leaders effectively. They know what information to ask for and have a good knowledge of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and

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Governance of the school

the impact on pupils’ learning.  Governors have ensured that safeguarding policies and procedures are fully in place and that safeguarding is effective.

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Safeguarding

June 2019  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The governors and headteacher have put in place procedures and policies to make sure that pupils are kept safe in school.  Leaders carry out accurate checks to make sure that all staff are suitable to work with children. Training ensures that all staff know how to keep pupils safe and carry out their roles and responsibilities with great care. Record-keeping is well maintained and safeguarding concerns are followed up thoroughly.  Pupils are given information to help them keep themselves safe, both online and in the community. Any occasional incidents of bullying are dealt with effectively by staff.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is continually being developed and sharpened to ensure that lessons provide interesting activities, topics and themes that engage pupils well in their learning. Teachers benefit greatly from their training, support and opportunities to work together to plan and learn from each other. Teaching is consistently good and contributes positively to pupils’ good progress.  Highly positive relationships exist between staff and pupils. This means that pupils, including those who arrive at the school part way through their primary education, feel secure and confident in their learning.  Teachers have good subject knowledge, ask probing questions to extend pupils’ knowledge and encourage them to think for themselves. Pupils’ English and topic books reflect teachers’ high expectations about the presentation and completion of work.  Mostly, staff use assessment information well to match activities to meet pupils’ needs.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

This allows most pupils to make good progress in their learning. However, at times, tasks do not stretch the most able pupils sufficiently, limiting some pupils’ opportunities to reach the highest standards in their work.  Teachers ensure that activities are well planned and resourced. For example, a mathematics activity based on the theme of board games was effective in allowing Year 6 pupils to understand how mathematics techniques are used in different industries, such as accounting and graphic design.  Teachers are skilled at encouraging pupils to cooperate and share their ideas to develop learning. For example, pupils in key stage 2 worked well together to discuss leaf classification in science. However, some opportunities were missed to challenge the most able pupils to deepen their knowledge. On occasion, activities, particularly for the most able, are not tailored closely enough to build on what pupils already know

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

and can do.  The teaching of writing is good. Teachers ensure that spelling, punctuation and grammar are taught effectively and pupils are inspired to write about interesting topics. However, pupils are not routinely provided with enough opportunities to practise, develop and extend their writing skills across different subjects.  The teaching of reading is effective. Teachers check that pupils read with understanding. Staff provide a range of activities to promote pupils’ reading skills and love of books. A group of pupils explained in detail how their teachers encouraged June 2019 reading and made sure that they had access to interesting books that are well matched to their reading ability.  The teaching of mathematics across the school is improving and pupils are making good progress. Teachers use interesting resources and activities to inspire pupils’ mathematical understanding. However, there are not yet enough opportunities for

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

pupils to solve mathematical reasoning and problem-solving tasks in their lessons.  Phonics is taught successfully in key stage 1, helping pupils to build on the firm foundation laid in early years.  Leaders work highly effectively with families and support agencies so that pupils’ problems are picked up and addressed quickly. Teachers, pastoral staff, teaching assistants and the leaders work together so that lessons meet the needs of pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. As a result, pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils typically make the same strong progress as their classmates.  Teaching assistants make an important contribution to the good progress that pupils make. They have very positive relationships with all pupils and often use their good subject knowledge to support learning. Teaching assistants’ support for pupils who arrive at the school from other countries and cannot speak English is strong. This helps

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

these pupils to settle happily and be fully included in all that the school offers.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  This is a thriving school with genuine warmth and a strong sense of teamwork between pupils and staff.  The school has worked successfully to create a safe, caring, learning environment where all pupils can confidently learn and play.  Pupils are polite, courteous and well mannered. There is mutual respect between adults and pupils, and pupils and their peers.  Pupils said that they are safe at school. Parents and staff agree.  Pupils relish the opportunities to undertake roles of responsibility at school. They develop their self-confidence and leadership skills, for instance as prefects, lunchtime and reading buddies, pupil technicians or as members of the school council. Pupils understand that these roles help to develop their positive attitudes towards each other.  The school is inclusive and harmonious. Pupils are kind and caring towards each other.

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Personal development and welfare

They accept each other’s differences and make sure that everyone feels accepted and welcomed into the school. This was exemplified by the many pupils who said ‘Hello’, ‘Good morning’ and ‘Would you like me to show you around our school?’ Pupils willingly opened doors for inspectors and generally showed great interest in their work and roles.  Promoting pupils’ personal development is a golden thread that runs through the school’s curriculum. Younger pupils follow the excellent examples set by adults and June 2019 older pupils.  Teachers encourage pupils to collaborate with one another in their studies and pupils respond positively to these opportunities.  Pupils are fully aware of the potential dangers while using the internet. This was exemplified by the pupil debating team, who were putting together strong arguments ahead of a debating competition.  Pupils understand what bullying is and are proud to say that bullying is rare in their

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Personal development and welfare

school. They are confident that adults will quickly deal with any bullying that does occur.  The school’s arrangements for pupils’ transition into secondary education are good.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Mutual respect is evident throughout the work of leaders, staff and pupils.  Pupils look smart in their uniform. They listen carefully and respond warmly to their teachers. Pupils work and play well together. The school is calm and orderly during lessons, in the corridors and in the dining room at lunchtime.  Pupils and staff are in no doubt about the high standards of behaviour that leaders expect. Teachers are quick to acknowledge pupils’ good behaviour, and provide gentle reminders when needed. On occasion, a small minority of pupils lose concentration. This happens when teachers plan lessons which fail to engage or challenge all groups of pupils.  Leaders work closely with teachers to plan effective support for pupils who have additional behavioural needs. Leaders seek specialist advice and guidance to make sure that the school is doing everything it can to meet the needs of these pupils. As a result,

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Behaviour

serious incidents are rare, but dealt with sensitively and effectively when they occur.  Attendance has improved considerably and is now average. The great majority of pupils get to school, on time, every day. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has reduced to below average. The school’s pastoral team is effective in reaching out to those families who struggle to get their children to school.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 At the end of Year 6 in 2018, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and particularly in mathematics was below the national averages and very few pupils reached the higher standard in these subjects.  As a result of the actions taken by school leaders, there have been improvements in pupils’ attainment in reading and writing and, to a lesser extent, mathematics. Teaching is much stronger and current performance information and work seen in pupils’ books indicates that current pupils make good progress.  In mathematics, improved teaching means that progress is good. More pupils have gained confidence in manipulating numbers and carrying out calculations. Their June 2019 attainment in mathematics in key stage 2 has risen. At times progress is restricted, especially for the most able, when pupils are not given enough opportunities to use their reasoning and problem-solving skills to solve mathematical problems in different

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Outcomes for pupils Good

contexts.  Overall progress in writing is good. Pupils enjoy writing, redrafting and improving their writing about interesting topics. However, in some subjects other than English, pupils do not write in greater detail about what they are learning.  As a consequence of leaders’ work to encourage reading across the school, pupils’ progress is good, and standards have risen. By Year 6, pupils enjoy reading and talk enthusiastically about the books they choose. They read fluently and confidently.  Leaders have put in place whole-school strategies to improve the teaching of phonics. Consequently, pupils make a good start in learning to read in key stage 1 and 2.  The large majority of disadvantaged pupils now make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and across the wider curriculum. They receive high-quality support and extra help that matches their individual needs and abilities.  Most pupils with SEND make good progress. This is because they enjoy their lessons,

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Outcomes for pupils Good

are taught consistently well and have carefully targeted intervention and catch-up support.  The growing proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language or who are international new arrivals make good progress in their language acquisition when they arrive at the school. Within a short space of time, these pupils acquire the essential language skills needed to take part in lessons. The school’s comprehensive support programme helps these pupils to overcome the language barriers to learning quickly, so they achieve as well as their classmates.  The school’s assessment information indicates that pupils make good progress across a range of subjects including geography, art and history. Because of the good progress pupils make, they are well prepared for secondary education.

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Early years provision Good

 The early years provision at St Luke and St Philip’s Church of England Primary School is good. Teachers ensure that children enjoy learning in a well-organised and safe space. Children and parents receive a warm welcome when they arrive each morning.  The early years leader has high expectations for all children and staff. She has a built a skilled and effective team who know how to give children a good start to their education. Leadership of the early years is strong.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the early years is good. Adults provide a range of interesting activities in classrooms and in the well-planned outdoor area. For instance, children enjoy exploring in the mud, sand and water.  Children are well behaved in the early years; they respond well to staff’s positive support. Children develop good social and communication skills. Staff develop children’s personal development well. Safeguarding is effective, and children are safe

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Early years provision Good

and happy. June 2019  The teaching of phonics has improved and is now taught very effectively, and an enjoyment of reading is instilled from an early age. Role-play areas in the classroom are interesting and exciting places for children to develop their imagination, language and creative skills.  Staff have developed strong, positive relationships with parents. There are many opportunities for them to come into school to discuss their children’s progress.  Staff’s records of children’s experiences and progress celebrate success. These, together with children’s writing books, show the good progress that children make from their starting points in different areas of learning. Children are well prepared for Year 1 by the time that they leave Reception. June 2019

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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

Email address office@slsp.blackburn.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21–22 February 2017

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Information about this school

 The school opened as a sponsored academy on 1 May 2014. It is part of the Cidari Multi-Academy Trust. According to its scheme of delegation, the board of trustees has responsibility for determining the vision, ethos and strategic priorities for the trust. The school’s local governing committee has responsibility for day-to-day matters, including monitoring the quality of leadership, teaching and learning, behaviour and safety.  The school is smaller than the average-size primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average.  Approximately one third of the pupils are White British. Other pupils come from a variety of minority ethnic groups, with the majority being of Pakistani heritage.  A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language and growing numbers are at an early stage of learning to speak English.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is high. The proportion with an education, health

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Information about this school

June 2019 and care plan is average.  The proportion of pupils who leave and join the school other than at the usual times of admission and transfer is well above average.  The school provides a breakfast and after-school club for pupils.  St Luke and St Philip’s Church of England Primary School has a religious character and is therefore subject to a section 48 inspection. The previous section 48 inspection was conducted in June 2016. June 2019

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in each class and looked at a wide range of pupils’ workbooks.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, subject leaders, and the leader for SEND, the chief executive officer of the trust and four governors, including the chair of the governing body.  Inspectors spoke to pupils informally in class and around the school at break and lunchtimes to seek their views about the school.  Inspectors met formally with groups of pupils to discuss many aspects of school life and to talk about how staff teach them to read.  Inspectors heard pupils in different year groups read.  Inspectors scrutinised the school’s website and a range of school documents, including assessment information, attendance and behaviour records, the school’s own evaluation of its performance and safeguarding records.  Inspectors considered the seven responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online

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Information about this inspection

questionnaire, including free-text comments. They also spoke to some parents before and after school.  Inspectors took account of a questionnaire completed by members of staff.

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Inspection team

Gary Kelly, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

John Shutt Ofsted Inspector June 2019 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

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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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