Thurnby, St Luke's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Thurnby, St Luke’s Church of England Primary School Main Street, Thurnby, Leicester, Leicestershire LE7 9PN

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 October 2021

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Outcome

Thurnby, St Luke’s Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are very happy. They enjoy their learning and work hard during lessons. Pupils say that the school values motivate them to learn and behave well. They positively demonstrate the values of kindness, thankfulness, forgiveness, aspiration and perseverance.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They are well behaved and kind to each other. One pupil told the inspector, ‘We are never alone; we all have friends here.’ Pupils say that bullying is rare. They are confident that if it does happen, adults act swiftly to sort it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. They want pupils to achieve well. Leaders work with other partners to enrich the wider curriculum, which pupils enjoy accessing. Sports leaders offer a range of after-school fitness clubs. Pupils say that they enjoy attending these.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the positions of responsibility they hold. The members of the school council are proud of their newly written children’s anti-bullying policy. They have helped to improve the school grounds and raised money for charities. The Eco warriors, librarians and monitors take their roles very seriously. They are dedicated to improving the school environment and how the school runs on a daily basis.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

There have been changes in school leadership recently. Some parents have found this unsettling and expressed dissatisfaction that leaders have not always communicated with them well enough. It is evident, however, that leaders are keen to work in partnership with parents. They want the very best for all pupils.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders are ambitious about pupils’ development as confident and independent readers. Children start to learn phonics straight away in the Reception Year. Pupils develop their reading fluency well. This is because the books they read match the sounds they have 26 and 27 October 2021

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learned. Good-quality phonics teaching makes sure that pupils make a strong start to early reading. Pupils enjoy reading. They talk about their favourite books and authors with enthusiasm. Reading is highly promoted throughout the school.

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In all subjects, leaders have made sure that the curriculum planning sets out a clear sequence of intended learning. They have identified the knowledge they expect pupils to learn. While the curriculum plans are well sequenced, leaders are yet to see the full impact of some on the quality of pupils’ learning. This is because plans in some subjects, such as science and design technology, have only recently been developed. Leaders are confident that, in time, pupils will know more and remember more in all subjects.

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Leaders have ensured there is breadth and quality in what pupils learn. In mathematics, there is a well-planned programme of learning across all year groups. Pupils build their mathematics knowledge securely and systematically. In the early years, children develop knowledge and skills during mathematics activities. For example, children were developing small-muscle skills when using tweezers to pick up counters and placing them on the correct number. As with reading, leaders have made sure that children learn well in mathematics right from the start in early years.

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Pupils build their knowledge of artists and artistic techniques well over time. Teachers make sure that pupils learn the key subject vocabulary. This helps pupils to use a range of words to explain their thinking when being creative. Pupils have acquired knowledge about different artists. Pupils’ art books show a clear sequencing of their skills and knowledge. Pupils are rightly proud of their work in art.

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Teachers know what pupils have already been taught in science and how lessons fit into the sequence of learning. Pupils enjoy science. In Year 1, children were able to identify mammals and reptiles. Teachers assess pupils at the end of each unit of learning. This helps them to identify any gaps in pupils’ knowledge so they know whether they need to revisit parts of the science curriculum.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff are trained to understand pupils’ needs. Pupils are fully included in the lessons with their classmates. Teachers skilfully adapt their teaching, if required, to ensure that these pupils have access to the same learning opportunities as others.

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Leaders ensure that through the curriculum, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted effectively. Pupils understand the importance of having respect for each other. Leaders promote pupils’ understanding of diversity. Pupils have a broad knowledge of different faiths and cultures. They understand the principles of fairness of voting and democracy.

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Leaders show a deep commitment to the well-being of pupils and staff. Teachers, in turn, have confidence in their leadership. All staff feel fully supported by the multi-academy trust and the governing body. They work effectively with leaders to ensure that the school continues to improve. 26 and 27 October 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. All staff are fully trained in all aspects of safeguarding. Staff are alert to any risk to their pupils. They know their pupils very well and are quick to pick up any concerns.

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Safeguarding

The curriculum has been designed to keep pupils safe. Pupils know about and can describe different ways of keeping safe online. Pupils say that they feel safe in school.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that all the appropriate recruitment checks are carried out. Leaders from the multi-academy trust conscientiously monitor safeguarding processes in the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In all subjects, leaders have made sure that curriculum planning sets out the sequence of pupils’ learning. They have precisely identified the essential knowledge that they want pupils to learn. However, this is not yet fully embedded in all subjects. The curriculum needs to be implemented consistently across all subjects. This is so that pupils know and remember more in all subjects of the curriculum.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour, or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2014.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 26 and 27 October 2021

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

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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. 26 and 27 October 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10199538 Type of school Primary

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School details

Headteacher Louisa Morris (Interim executive headteacher) Alison Benson (Interim head of school) Website www.st-lukes.leics.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the RISE (Church of England) multi-academy trust.  The interim executive headteacher joined the school in August 2021.  The school is part of the Diocese of Leicestershire. The last section 48 inspection took place in June 2019.  Thurnby, St Luke’s Church of England Primary School converted to become an academy school in June 2017. When its predecessor, Thurnby, St Luke’s Church of England Primary School was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation. 26 and 27 October 2021

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 During the inspection, discussions were held with the interim executive headteacher, the interim head of school, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, the early years leader, curriculum subject leaders and teachers from across all year groups. Meetings were held with the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the director of education and members of the governing body, including the chair.  Discussions were held with several groups of pupils to talk about their learning across the curriculum.  Deep dives were undertaken in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, art and science. Each deep dive included speaking with leaders of subjects, visiting lessons, speaking with pupils and teachers, listening to pupils read and looking at pupils’ work. This was to gather evidence about the quality of education provided by the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, consideration was given to reviewing

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school policies, procedures and records. Discussions were held with the designated safeguarding lead, staff, trust members, governors and pupils about the school’s approach to keeping pupils safe.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed during lessons and around the school.  The inspector considered the 45 responses to Ofsted Parent View, and 47 free-text comments. The views of staff were considered. This information was gathered from meetings with groups of staff and from the 14 staff who responded to the confidential questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Norbury, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 26 and 27 October 2021

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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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