Ludlow Primary School

Inspection of Ludlow Primary School Clee View, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 1HX

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Inspection dates: 30 and 31 January 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Kate Mather. This school is part of the Diocese of Hereford Multi Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Andrew Teale, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Will Finn. 30 and 31 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a strong community spirit at Ludlow Primary School. Since the amalgamation of the infant and junior schools, staff have worked together to build a shared identity across the two sites. Everyone is kind, welcoming and caring. Pupils are happy, behave well and enjoy coming to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are high aspirations for all pupils. Children get off to a great start in the early years where they are supported well to be confident and independent. Leaders have rightly focused on creating a thoughtful curriculum with a focus on communication, citizenship and health. Pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school and they enjoy carrying out special jobs, such as reading champions and sports crew. The school provides a wide range of educational experiences to bring learning to life, including stargazing, bedtime stories and visits to cities and outdoor centres. Pupils learn how to be resilient through challenges, such as cross-country running. There are many clubs on offer including cricket, choir and computing, as well as music lessons and science challenges.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers say they are very happy with the changes to the school because staff help their children to be confident and happy. All staff are proud to be part of the team.

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better?

Following the amalgamation of the two schools, leaders have rightly focused on developing well-defined, consistent expectations and systems. The curriculum is sequenced clearly so that teachers know what to teach and when. There is a strong focus on pupils’ language development. The school has mapped out the vocabulary it wants pupils to know across the year groups. In most subjects, pupils have a good depth of knowledge. In a few subjects, however, the content is too broad and so pupils struggle to remember the detail of what they have been learning.

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better?

The school has provided support and training for teachers to implement curriculum changes in classes. Teachers use resources well and have good subject knowledge. However, sometimes teachers do not adapt activities and resources well enough to meet the needs of different groups of pupils. Some pupils do not receive enough help to access their work, whereas for others, expectations are not high enough.

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better?

The school is determined that all pupils will quickly learn to read. Staff have real expertise for teaching early reading and leaders make sure that they have regular training. Frequent checks identify any pupils who need additional support. They then get opportunities to keep up through quick and regular practice. Leaders have thought carefully about the books and stories that they want children to read, 30 and 31 January 2024

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including in the early years. Pupils quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers.

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Children play together, take turns and share happily in the early years. This is because there are consistent routines and strong relationships that help them gain independence from the start. Children listen carefully to adults and each other. Adults know how to support children’s language development well through sharing stories and rhymes, asking open questions and thinking out loud.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. This includes those with an education, health and care plan. Identification of pupils’ needs is swift and accurate. Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as all pupils. Staff work closely with external services to make sure that pupils get the help they need to make progress and to support their well-being.

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The school has high expectations of behaviour from everyone. There is an inclusive ethos. Pupils are kind and respectful towards each other. Pupils clearly enjoy coming to school, and their attendance is high. The well-being team knows the community well. It works closely with families who need help to get their children to school. This is having a positive impact on attendance and levels of persistent absence have fallen rapidly.

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Staff are committed to broadening pupils’ horizons. This ambition is realised through the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities available, as well as lessons in personal development. These include learning about safer relationships by working with external agencies. Pupils take their roles on the school council and in the community seriously. They visit care homes to read stories and play games with residents. They learn to play the ukulele and compete in intra-school competitions, including cricket and football.

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The trust offers highly effective challenge and support to the school. Staff speak highly of the development opportunities the trust provides and feel that leaders are mindful of their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum content is too broad. The school has recently identified the precise knowledge it wants the pupils to learn. However, this means that pupils are not yet gaining a depth of knowledge in these subjects and struggle to remember their previous learning. The school should ensure that the 30 and 31 January 2024

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curriculum changes are implemented effectively so that pupils are secure in what they know and understand in all subjects.  At times, teachers do not adapt learning precisely enough to match the needs of different groups of pupils. Some pupils cannot fully access their learning, whereas others are not provided with work that challenges their thinking. When this happens, pupils do not achieve as well as they might and it slows their progress. The school should ensure that staff are equipped to adapt their lessons, when necessary, to meet the needs of all pupils.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a so- cial worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 30 and 31 January 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Ludlow Primary School opened in September 2019, following the amalgamation of Ludlow Infant and Nursery Academy and Ludlow Junior School. The headteacher of the junior school became the headteacher of the new primary school.  The school is part of the Diocese of Hereford Multi Academy Trust.  The school runs provision for two-year-olds, Acorns, on the Sandpits Road site.  The school uses one registered alternative provision and one unregistered alternative provision.  When the predecessor school Ludlow Junior School was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  When the predecessor school Ludlow Infant and Nursery Academy was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be inadequate.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 30 and 31 January 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke to the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher and special educational needs coordinator, as well as phase and subject leaders in school.  Inspectors also met with the chief executive officer and the director of education for the Diocese of Hereford Multi Academy Trust, as well members of the strategic task group and the school improvement adviser.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and

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looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, around the school and at lunchtime. The inspectors spoke to pupils about pupils’ behaviour.  The lead inspector reviewed a wide range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans and information on the school’s website.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text responses. The inspectors also took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.  Inspectors spoke with parents and families at the end of the school day.

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Inspection team

Johanne Clifton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Stuart Evans Ofsted Inspector 30 and 31 January 2024

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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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