St Luke's CofE Primary School

Inspection of St Luke’s CofE Primary School Albion Street, Chadderton, Oldham, Lancashire OL9 9HT

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 21–22 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a strong sense of community at this school. All staff are proud to be part of the team. Staff have forged positive and supportive relationships with pupils. Pupils enjoy coming to the school. The pupils that we spoke with told us that they feel safe in the school. Pupils behave well. They said that there are very few cases of bullying and, if it does happen, teachers sort the problem out quickly. Parents and carers told us that they appreciate the way in which staff work with them to sort out any issues.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are lots of activities for pupils to take part in beyond their lessons. Staff organise games during playtimes, which pupils really enjoy. There are a range of sporting opportunities for pupils and plenty of opportunities for them to visit local places of interest.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There have been some recent improvements to the quality of education that pupils receive. However, some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not achieve as well as they should. This is because, in some subjects, improvements to the curriculum are at an early stage and the expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough.

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better?

Leaders ensure that pupils can access a broad range of subjects. In some subjects, leaders have considered carefully the order in which pupils learn topics. This is particularly the case in history, geography and French. In these subjects, the curriculum is planned and delivered well. However, in mathematics and science, recent changes to the curriculum are not as well developed. For instance, in science, pupils’ knowledge of scientific methods is not secure. In mathematics, pupils are becoming more confident with number. However, the mathematics curriculum is not sufficiently ambitious for some pupils.

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better?

In the past, the phonics programme has not been followed well enough. This means that some older pupils lack confidence in reading, because their phonics knowledge is not as good as it should be. Leaders have recently introduced a new approach, and the teaching of phonics is improving. Children and younger pupils who fall behind in their phonics knowledge and early reading skills receive extra help to catch up.

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better?

Leaders have also made changes recently to the teaching of reading across the school. Leaders know that pupils’ attainment in the national tests at the end of key stage 2 has declined over the past three years. The changes that they have made are beginning to have a positive effect. Pupils are keen to read. They especially enjoy the time they are given to read quietly after lunch. Teachers have also made changes to the books that pupils read. This means that pupils are more interested in reading than they have been in the past. That said, the changes to the teaching of 21–22 January 2020

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phonics and reading are not being implemented consistently well across all classrooms and all year groups.

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Pupils achieve well in writing. Leaders have designed the writing curriculum so that pupils can develop their knowledge and skills in a logical order. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are able to use their secure knowledge from previous learning to write creatively, persuasively and at length, using a wide range of vocabulary.

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Since the last inspection, leaders have redesigned the areas in the early years to support the delivery of the curriculum more effectively. Leaders have redesigned classrooms to allow children to be more independent. For example, children tidy up and put back their equipment. That said, leaders have not made some necessary changes quickly enough. As a result, the proportion of children who reach a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year remains low. The curriculum has not, until recently, allowed children to develop their reading and writing knowledge as well as it should.

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The school caters well for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND are involved fully during lessons. Leaders ensure that the individual needs of pupils with SEND are identified and addressed by staff. There is regular and effective contact between the school and other specialist agencies. This ensures that this group of pupils receive appropriate support.

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Pupils attend school regularly and arrive on time each day. The school is a calm and orderly place in which to learn. Pupils behave well during lessons and around the school. Many pupils are enthusiastic about their learning. Occasionally, due to weaknesses in how well the curriculum is delivered, a small number of pupils lose concentration in lessons.

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Pupils enjoy a wide range of opportunities outside their lessons. There are a broad range of sporting activities on offer. There are many school trips that support pupils’ understanding of the curriculum. For example, Year 6 pupils concluded their study of the Tudors with a visit to a local Tudor manor house. Many visitors come into the school to speak to pupils about various topics. There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to develop as leaders. For instance, they can be a member of the school council, help at lunchtime or participate in school assemblies.

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Staff appreciate the training opportunities that are available. They said that leaders are considerate of their well-being and their workload. Members of staff told us that the school is welcoming and inclusive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff place safeguarding at the heart of their work. Leaders ensure that all staff know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil. Staff are aware of the safeguarding needs of individual pupils. Staff work closely with those families who 21–22 January 2020

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need support. All pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe, including how to stay safe online. Governors check to make sure that leaders’ safeguarding arrangements remain robust.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ recent changes to the teaching of reading and phonics have not been consistently implemented in all classrooms. As a result, some children and pupils do not read as well as they should. Leaders must ensure that the improvements they are making to reading have a positive impact in all year classes. This will enable children to be successful early readers and pupils to become confident and fluent readers who attain as well as other pupils nationally by the end of Year 6.  There are some weaknesses in how well the curriculum is planned and delivered in mathematics and science. This means that some pupils are unable to build effectively on earlier learning in these subjects. Leaders must ensure that the curriculums in mathematics and science are suitably ambitious and delivered well, so that pupils achieve well in these subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 21–22 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122028 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9–10 December 2015, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school’s most recent section 48 inspection took place in July 2016.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and subject leaders. We also met with three members of the governing body, including the vice-chair of governors. As the lead inspector, I met with a representative from the local authority.  We checked on safeguarding by speaking with leaders, staff, pupils and parents about safety. We checked a sample of relevant school policies and procedures and leaders’ records of checks on the suitability of adults who work in the school.  We considered pupils’ behaviour by: visiting several classrooms, corridors, outside areas and the breakfast club; speaking with leaders, staff, parents and pupils; and checking a sample of leaders’ behaviour records. 21–22 January 2020

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 We spoke with some parents, and we considered 10 responses to Ofsted’s online survey Parent View, including 11 responses to Ofsted’s free-text facility.  We reviewed 29 responses to Ofsted’s survey for pupils. We met with several groups of pupils to ask them about learning to read, bullying and the school’s support for their personal development.  We met formally with groups of staff. We also considered 14 responses to Ofsted’s survey for staff.  We did deep dives in these subjects: reading; mathematics; science and history. We visited lessons, checked on pupils’ work and spoke with pupils about their learning. We also spoke with subject leaders. We also considered other subjects as part of this inspection.

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Inspection team

Timothy Gartside, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tina Cleugh Ofsted Inspector 21–22 January 2020

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regulates and inspects to 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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