St Luke's CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Luke’s Church of England Primary School Fernhead Road, London W9 3EJ

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Inspection dates: 9 and 10 December 2021

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Outcome

St Luke’s Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupil come to school happy and motivated to learn. Staff have consistently high expectations of behaviour both in and out of lessons. Pupils learn what these expectations are as soon as they join the school in early years and routinely meet them. Pupils enjoy receiving rewards or ‘smiles’ for their behaviour and for trying their best. Leaders deal with any incidents of bullying swiftly when they occur.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders strive to create a school that is a caring and supportive place in the community. They foster supportive and respectful relationships with pupils and their parents and carers. Parents who responded to the online Ofsted survey said that school staff are ‘kind’ and ‘helpful’. Pupils are safe in school. They said that they are confident that they could speak to an adult in school if they were worried about anything.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils. They want all pupils to do well. Leaders ensure that teachers and teaching assistants are well trained. As a result, all staff share leaders’ high expectations of what pupils learn and can do. The school’s consistently high expectations and consistent approach to teaching help pupils achieve highly.

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

Leaders have strong subject knowledge. Subject leaders share their knowledge with other schools across the partnership. They meet regularly to check each other’s work and share ideas. They have thought carefully about the most important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember in each subject. Leaders sequence this subject content carefully from early years to Year 6. They check that teachers implement subject plans consistently. They train teachers and teaching assistants and make sure that staff have the necessary subject knowledge to present subject matter clearly. Leaders and teachers check that pupils remember important knowledge. Teachers use this assessment information to 9 and 10 December 2021

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decide what they will teach next. In class, teachers break subject content down into small steps. Pupils regularly have opportunities to go over what they have learned previously. As a result, pupils connect prior and current learning easily. For example, pupils in Year 2 said that knowing ‘repeated addition’ helps them understand how to multiply numbers. Pupils have secure knowledge and skills across subjects. For instance, the work pupils produce in art is careful and of high quality.

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Leaders work with parents and external experts to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND receive appropriate support to access the same curriculum as their classmates. Teachers and teaching assistants pre-teach pupils with SEND important knowledge that they need to know. This helps pupils with SEND to keep up and learn alongside their peers. Experts such as therapists and psychologists work with selected pupils who need specialist support.

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Leaders embed a consistent approach to teaching phonics. Teachers and teaching assistants receive training to deliver the phonics programme. Pupils use their knowledge of phonics across subjects. For example, in mathematics, pupils in Year 1 were observed using their knowledge of segmenting words into sounds to spell the word ‘thirteen’. Pupils enjoy reading. Adults make sure that pupils read books matched to the sounds they know. As a result, pupils gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers.

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Pupils behave well in school. Pupils from early years to Year 6 follow established routines. For example, when a teacher raises a hand, pupils know that they must pause and do the same. Pupils are motivated to behave well. Low-level disruption does not disrupt learning.

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Pupils enjoy the range of clubs that the school organises. These include those for steel band, football and basketball. Leaders organise outings and visits for pupils linked to the subject curriculum. Some educational visits were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As result, leaders arranged in-school workshops instead. Pupils are taught about equality, values and safety through the school’s personal, health, social and economic programme.

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Governors support leaders and check that they are doing the right things. Staff said that leaders’ consistent systems and clear communication help them to manage their workload. Governors consider the results of staff surveys, and meet with leaders regularly to understand how staff feel about their workload and well-being. However, occasionally, governors place more emphasis on feedback from leaders regarding staff well-being than on hearing the views of staff first-hand. Governors are keen to do more to find out from staff directly how they feel about their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders train staff to recognise possible signs that pupils may need help. Staff know how to report any concerns to leaders. Leaders work with safeguarding partners and agencies to provide the right support. Leaders carry out the necessary pre-employment checks before staff start working at the school. 9 and 10 December 2021

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Teachers teach pupils about safeguarding risks. Pupils are guided to keep themselves safe, including online. Pupils are taught to recognise inappropriate and/or sexual language and are encouraged to report any concerns to adults.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Governors gather feedback routinely from leaders about workload and well-being of staff. They have identified that this occasionally limits opportunities for staff to feed back their views directly. Governors should follow through with their plans to develop this further.

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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 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 March 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents 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 December 2021

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

1 December 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 St Luke’s is a Church of England school under the Diocese of London.  The school’s most recent section 48 inspection took place in June 2017.  The school does not use any alternative providers.  The current headteacher joined the school in September 2018, after the previous inspection.  Since the previous inspection, leaders joined a partnership with five other local primary schools. The partnership is led by an executive headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had 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.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, executive headteachers and other senior leaders. 9 and 10 December 2021

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 The inspector also met with representatives of the governing body and a representative of Westminster local authority.  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 also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  The inspector spoke with leaders, staff and pupils about safeguarding. The inspector also looked at records and documentation related to pupil welfare.  The inspector looked at the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents and staff.

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Inspection team

Andrea Bedeau Her Majesty’s Inspector 9 and 10 December 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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