St Luke's Church of England School

Inspection of St Luke's Church of England School Harts Lane, Exeter, Devon EX1 3RD

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Harrison Littler. The school is part of The Ted Wragg 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, Moira Marder, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Andy Mulcock. 14 to 15 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of the pupils. Pupils know staff are ambitious for them. Pupils are well prepared for their future choices as a result.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils follow the school routines and are ready for their learning. As a result, the school is calm. Lessons are respectful. Pupils learn without disruption. The school provides support and adjustments for pupils to meet different needs. For example, the CHAT room provides a space to help pupils when they need it. Pupils who go to the Behaviour Support Room continue with their curriculum learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school actively works to ensure bullying is not tolerated. Pupils train as anti- bullying ambassadors through a national award scheme. They take these roles seriously. When pupils report bullying to the school, the school acts on it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school plans a range of clubs and enrichment for pupils. For example, older pupils complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Pupils take responsibility for their own Pride club. Many pupils involve themselves in the school show, such as the production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ The school seeks ways to work with parents and the community and invite them to the school, such as family cookery sessions.

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better?

The school has planned a robust and ambitious curriculum. It has been thoughtfully sequenced to ensure pupils learn the skills and knowledge they need to support their future learning. As a result, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), perform well in published outcomes.

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better?

The curriculum is well implemented. Staff have high-quality training to hone their expertise. The school shares this work with other schools. There is a consistent pedagogical approach to help pupils learn the subject content. Pupils know the routines and expectations in the classroom. Teachers frequently check what pupils understand. This helps pupils to secure their knowledge before they move on.

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better?

The curriculum is clearly set out to support all pupils. However, this can be very structured. At times, this provides only limited opportunities for pupils to think evaluatively and develop discussion around their learning. When this happens, pupils are not able to talk about the content they have learnt with confidence.

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better?

Pupils with SEND are well supported in their learning. Staff make sure learning is appropriately adapted. In lessons, the regular recall of learning helps pupils to remember more. The school has recently put in place a learning support room to provide further support when pupils need it.

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better?

The school has carefully planned reading experiences for all pupils. The barriers that make reading difficult for some pupils are precisely understood. The school plans 14 to 15 May 2024

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appropriate interventions, such as the teaching of phonics and rehearsing fluency. These are carefully matched to help pupils improve their reading. As a result, pupils make strong progress with their reading.

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Too many pupils do not attend school regularly. The school has put in robust processes to support and improve pupil attendance. This work is starting to have an impact. However, some pupils continue to have too many days away from school.

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The ‘Life to the Full’ curriculum helps pupils to prepare for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about relationships and sex education in a timely and age-appropriate way. Pupils learn to look after their physical and mental health, such as mindfulness time in tutor. From Year 7, pupils follow an ambitious careers programme. For example, ‘Futures Friday’ means pupils have weekly careers focus to develop different skills. The school works closely with local providers, such as the college and university, to support pupils in planning their next steps. Staff help pupils to make appropriate and aspirational choices.

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The school has focused on making sure pupils experience an ambitious education. It has been through rapid change. As a result, parents have mixed views of the school. The school is working to build stronger relationships with parents and the community. Older pupils say the school has improved in recent years. They recognise how hard staff work to support them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Too many pupils do not attend school regularly. The school has put robust systems in place to address pupil attendance. As a result, this is slowly getting better. However, the trust and the school need to persist with their work to ensure the attendance to school of those pupils continues to improve.  In some subjects, pupils have few opportunities to develop their thinking through discussing the content. This means they do not talk about their learning with detail and confidence. The trust and the school should consider how pupils can develop their understanding through how they explore subject content. 14 to 15 May 2024

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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). 14 to 15 May 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 St Luke’s Church of England School is part of The Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust. It is also a church school within the diocese of Exeter.  The school’s last section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in March 2023.  The school uses 3 registered alternative provisions and 3 unregistered alternative provisions.  The headteacher joined the school in September 2023.  When its predecessor school, St Luke’s Science and Sports College, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be inadequate.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. 14 to 15 May 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 educa- tion 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.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, science, history and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the local governing body, trust leaders including the CEO, trustees and spoke to a representative from the diocese.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, members of the senior leadership team, the special educational needs coordinator, subject leaders and

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Information about this inspection

teachers.  Inspectors spoke with pupils from key stages 3 and 4 about their experiences of school.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentation, including school improvement plans, self-evaluation documents, minutes of governing body meetings and records of behaviour and attendance.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. Inspectors also viewed the responses to the pupil survey and the responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Rachel Hesketh, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

David Simons Ofsted Inspector 14 to 15 May 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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