Lancaster Road Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Lancaster Road Primary School Lancaster Road, Morecambe, Lancashire LA4 5TH

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Inspection dates: 9 and 10 November 2021

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Outcome

Lancaster Road Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to attend the school because their learning is interesting. They enjoy playing with their friends at breaktimes. The pupils who spoke with the inspector said that staff listen to their views and take good care of them. Pupils feel safe. There is always an adult to talk to if they are worried.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils want to learn. They are proud to have everyone celebrate their successes in assemblies. They know that leaders and teachers always expect them to do their very best, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that leaders and teachers expect them to behave sensibly and not to disturb learning. They said that teachers are fair when managing behaviour. As one pupil commented, ‘We respect them, and they respect us.’ Pupils know that bullying and name- calling are not acceptable. Pupils are confident that adults deal with any incidents quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in a range of clubs and activities, such as football and athletics competitions. Older pupils have the chance to go on a visit to an outdoor adventure centre where they stay away from home for a few nights. Leaders make sure that all pupils can be part of all these activities. This includes disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

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

Leaders are determined that all pupils will achieve well, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Leaders’ plans for the curriculum set out what they expect pupils to know in every year group, including in the early years. This helps teachers plan learning that builds pupils’ knowledge and skills step by step as they move through the school. For example, in mathematics pupils frequently practise number facts, including multiplication 9 and 10 November 2021

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tables. This gives them a firm base to develop their skills in calculation and in solving problems.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, leaders prioritised pupils’ learning in English and mathematics. Leaders also ensured that pupils continued to access their usual curriculum in most other subjects. That said, some older pupils have developed gaps in their knowledge in some subjects. They do not remember enough about the subject content that they learned earlier in school. In these subjects, the curriculum is not being adapted well enough to help them recover missed or lost learning. This is hindering their achievement and readiness for the next stage of their learning.

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Leaders and teachers ensure that pupils quickly learn to read. Children learn phonics from their earliest days in the Reception class. They can soon recognise letters and the sounds that they represent as they begin to read simple words. Adults in key stage 1 are highly skilled in building up pupils’ phonics knowledge as they move through the school. By the time pupils begin key stage 2, most are fluent and confident readers. They continue to develop their skills in understanding and interpreting a wide range of texts. Pupils in key stage 2 said that they enjoy reading. However, some pupils do not read widely enough, and they choose to read a limited range of books. These pupils miss out on opportunities to further develop their love of reading.

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Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND feel welcome in school and learn the full range of subjects in the curriculum. Accurate, early identification of pupils’ individual needs mean that they swiftly receive the right support. Parents and carers commented that they appreciate being involved in the plans to support their child’s needs and that they receive useful information about their child’s progress.

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Leaders and teachers enhance pupils’ experiences through frequent opportunities for pupils to take part in trips, visits and to meet interesting visitors to the school. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, pupils joined in with a reading workshop online, which was run by two well-known children’s authors. Once restrictions eased, pupils visited Lancaster Castle and went to the local beach. This supported their personal well- being as well as helping them to settle back into school.

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Leaders and teachers help pupils to understand the school’s values of respect, responsibility and resilience. Pupils know that people come from families, faiths and cultures that may be different from their own. They respect and celebrate these differences.

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Staff speak highly of school leaders. They feel valued and they believe that leaders listen to their views. Staff said that leaders are considerate of their workload, personal well- being and work–life balance. Leaders do not bring in changes or add extra work without first consulting staff and making sure that there will be a real benefit for pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 9 and 10 November 2021

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Leaders and governors take safeguarding very seriously. The procedures in place to protect pupils are thorough. Leaders make sure that staff have regular and up-to-date training. Staff know that it is everyone’s responsibility to keep pupils safe. They know exactly what to do and who to contact in response to any concerns.

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Leaders have developed an effective safeguarding team at the school. This includes three learning mentors who work closely with vulnerable pupils and their families. Leaders also work closely with other agencies to protect pupils and their families.

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. They understand the dangers of misusing social media.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers do not check that pupils in key stage 2 are reading regularly from a broad range of high-quality texts. This limits pupils’ opportunities to develop a love of reading. Leaders should ensure that teachers monitor pupils’ choice of reading book, encouraging them to read more widely and giving guidance on suitable texts.  Older pupils have insufficient recall of prior learning in some foundation subjects, including history and geography. They also missed out on some key learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This means that pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding of some subjects. Leaders should ensure that teachers swiftly address gaps in pupils’ learning and that the curriculum is adapted to be more effective in helping pupils commit their learning to long-term memory.

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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 second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2013. 9 and 10 November 2021

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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.

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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. 9 and 10 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10211122 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 10 January 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the number on roll in the school has increased significantly, and there are now three classes in each year group.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school 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 her evaluation.  During this inspection, the inspector met with the headteacher and a member of the governing body.  The inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector reviewed a range of safeguarding documentation, including the single central record of checks on staff suitability to work with pupils. The inspector met with the designated safeguarding leader and checked how leaders record and respond to safeguarding concerns. 9 and 10 November 2021

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector considered the responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including free-text comments.  The inspector considered responses to the survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Jan Corlett, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 November 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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