St Lucia's CofE Primary School & Nursery

Inspection of St Lucia’s C of E Primary School & Nursery Upton Magna, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 4TZ

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 February 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 27 and 28 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and well cared for at St Lucia’s C of E Primary School and Nursery. They look forward to coming to school. Most pupils achieve well here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is located in a small rural village in Shropshire. Pupils appreciate the scenic landscape and surroundings. Pupils run an eco-committee. They make important environmental decisions for the school and local community. The school has strong links with the local church. For example, pupils plant flower bulbs in the local village churchyard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave very well. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. If pupils display any disruptive behaviours, these are dealt with quickly and positively. Staff help pupils understand what is right and wrong. This is underpinned by the school’s core Christian values and their motto of ‘Nurture, nourish, grow’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are determined that pupils will have a wide range of experiences beyond their local community. All pupils attend visits regularly. They are involved in sports tournaments with other schools. In addition, there are a wide range of after-school clubs. Pupils, parents and carers comment positively on the school’s offer to broaden pupils’ experiences. They comment on how this offer is growing and how the benefits to their children are invaluable.

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better?

The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most subjects, the school has clearly set out what it wants pupils to learn and in what order, starting from the early years. Since the appointment of the new headteacher, there has been a focus on enhancing pupils’ learning through wider experiences. For example, in art, pupils worked with visiting artists to set up an art exhibition in school. The curriculum is well embedded in most areas. However, this is not the case in writing. The school has not clearly set out the specific subject knowledge it wants pupils to learn over time. As a result, not all pupils are achieving their full potential. The school has identified this as an area for development and has started to make improvements.

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better?

The school prioritises the teaching of reading. Pupils learn to read from the start in the early years. A suitable phonics programme is in place. Pupils who fall behind catch up quickly and are very well supported. All pupils across school read often and widely. Children in the early years are excited when older pupils read with them. Pupils access the school’s well-resourced library and the visiting library bus. All this means that pupils learn to read accurately and fluently.

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better?

The needs of pupils with SEND are generally well supported in lessons. There are systems in place to identify the needs of pupils with SEND, which are effective most of the time. However, on occasion, the strategies and adaptions identified to support 27 and 28 February 2024

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pupils lack detail. As a result, some staff are unsure how to support some pupils precisely enough. This slows these pupils’ learning.

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In lessons, pupils’ misconceptions are picked up quickly most of the time. Most staff use questioning well to develop pupils’ thinking further. In the early years, interactions between adults and children are purposeful and help to build children’s language. The indoor and outdoor areas are well set out and well resourced. In some foundation subjects, systems for checking how well pupils have learned the intended curriculum over time are at the early stages of development. This means that leaders do not yet know how well pupils are accumulating knowledge and key concepts as they move through the school.

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Pupils’ behaviour is calm and orderly across school. Children in nursery and Reception know how to take turns and demonstrate good manners. Pupils who need additional help with managing their emotions and behaviours are very well supported. Staff are caring and have the necessary knowledge to de-escalate behaviours calmly and effectively. This means little learning time is lost.

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Pupils have a secure understanding of different faiths and cultures. They say everyone is welcome and accepted. Pupils are inspired by the experiences of different visitors to the school, such as artists, police officers and explorers who have visited the Arctic. Pupils benefit from a range of extra-curricular activities, such as archery, yoga and languages.

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Since the last inspection, there is a new headteacher and governing board in place. Governors have high expectations. They are passionate about pupils receiving a high-quality education. Governors understand their roles and responsibilities. They are becoming more skilled at holding leaders to account.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, but minor improvements are required.

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Safeguarding

Staff report all safeguarding concerns and these are acted upon quickly by leaders. Serious safeguarding concerns are recorded in detail and thoroughly responded to. The school works closely with external agencies to support pupils and families. However, the school does not have robust systems in place to record minor safeguarding concerns. This may hinder leaders’ ability to build a clear picture and chronology of concerns over time.

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Safeguarding

Pupils speak to adults confidently if they have any worries. The curriculum teaches pupils how to stay safe online. Visitors are invited to speak to older pupils about wider risks in society, such as county lines. All this teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe. 27 and 28 February 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In writing, the school has not set out the specific subject knowledge that it wants pupils to learn over time. The school is too reliant on individual teachers deciding on the key knowledge for their own individual classes. This means that in writing, pupils are not consistently building on prior knowledge in a sequential and logical order. The school should ensure that the essential knowledge is identified in writing and sequenced clearly over time.  For some pupils with SEND, the precise areas of need and support identified are too broad and not specific enough. This means that some pupils with SEND are not consistently receiving the support they need to achieve well. The school should ensure that staff develop the skills and knowledge to precisely identify the specific needs of pupils with SEND and accurately put in place the support needed for these pupils so that they can achieve their full potential.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, assessment is in the early stages of development. This means leaders do not yet have systems in place to check how well pupils are accumulating knowledge and key concepts over time in these subjects. The school should continue to develop its systems for assessing how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum over time in the foundation subject areas.

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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 social 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). 27 and 28 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection there have been several changes to leadership. A new headteacher was recruited in April 2023. The chair of governors and the governing body are all new since the last inspection. There have also been several changes to staffing.  The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Pupils are organised into three mixed-age classes. In the early years, children are organised into Nursery- and Reception-age classes. This includes provision for two-year-olds.  Leaders do not use any alternative provision.  The school runs a before- and after-school provision on site.  The school is part of the Diocese of Lichfield.  A Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools inspection to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of St Lucia C of E Primary School and Nursery as a Church of England school took place on 30 April 2017. 27 and 28 February 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 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 the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the chair of governors, members of the governing board, subject leaders, teachers and pupils. They also talked informally with parents and carers.  The lead inspector spoke to the Christian distinctiveness adviser of the diocese. She also spoke to a representative of the local church.  The lead inspector spoke with a local authority representative.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, English, mathematics, and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning

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Information about this inspection

and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also looked at additional subjects, including science, history, physical education and languages. ◼ Inspectors looked at a sample of pupils’ education, health and care plans. ◼ The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. ◼ Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school. ◼ Inspectors observed informal times to evaluate safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour. ◼ 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 around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. ◼ Inspectors considered responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. This included free-text comments. Inspectors also looked at responses to Ofsted’s

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Information about this inspection

online survey for staff. ◼ Inspectors looked at a range of documents provided by the school,including the school’s self-evaluation, school policies, curriculum documents and SEND records.

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Inspection team

Anna Vrahimi, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Newby Ofsted Inspector 27 and 28 February 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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