Lewis Street Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Lewis Street Primary School Lewis Street, Patricroft, Eccles, Manchester M30 0PU

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Outcome

Lewis Street Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Lewis Street Primary love the welcoming atmosphere at the school. They appreciate the thoughtfulness of staff, who provide a nurturing and friendly environment. Pupils, including children in the early years, are happy at school. They are eager to learn because of the ways in which teachers support them to succeed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have excellent relationships with staff. They feel safe and readily place their trust in the adults working in the school. Pupils are supported well to reflect and manage their own behaviour. They understand how their actions can affect others’ feelings. The school is a calm place to be. Pupils respect each other’s opinions and differences.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for pupils’ achievement, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a range of clubs to develop pupils’ talents and interests, which include clubs for arts and crafts, sports and mindfulness. The curriculum is built to include a range of experiences that enrich pupils’ personal development. For example, Year 3 pupils perform at a local theatre to help develop their confidence and Year 5 pupils learn to fish to develop their patience and resilience.

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

Including in the early years, the school has clearly defined the key knowledge that it wants pupils to know in most subjects. Teachers use this information to skilfully introduce new learning. Staff adapt their approach to delivering the curriculum to cater for pupils’ individual needs, including for pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision).

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

Pupils across the school achieve well from their starting points. However, in a small number of subjects the underlying concepts that connect different aspects of learning are not defined well enough. This means that, in these subjects, teachers are not sufficiently 10 and 11 July 2024

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clear about some of the essential knowledge that pupils need for future learning. As a result, there are some gaps in pupils’ understanding in these subjects.

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Teachers routinely check on pupils’ recall of recent learning. This enables staff to build successfully on what pupils already know. This is effective in most subjects. However, in a small number of subjects, these checks do not enable teachers to identify where some pupils have developed misconceptions in their learning over time. This sometimes hinders pupils’ long-term recall of knowledge.

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The school has ensured that there is a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics. Staff show children in the early years how to link letters and sounds together to read words. In key stage 1, pupils successfully apply this knowledge to read simple sentences with increasing fluency and confidence.

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In the specially resourced provision, staff use different approaches to accommodate individual pupils’ needs. These pupils progress well from their starting points. When needed, the school has also put in place effective programmes to support pupils to catch up with their learning. This is particularly effective for the large number of pupils who arrive from overseas and speak English as an additional language.

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The school has comprehensive measures in place to identify pupils’ additional needs as quickly as possible, including in the early years. Staff have received the training necessary to support pupils with specific needs, including those in the specially resourced provision. The thoughtful approach to supporting pupils with SEND ensures that these pupils are included in all aspects of school life.

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Staff are highly effective at making sure that pupils behave well in lessons and focus on their work. Disruptions to lessons are rare. When this does happen, staff handle any incidents swiftly.

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Despite a high level of persistent absence for some pupils, the school has clear systems in place to promote better attendance. Although there have been improvements in some pupils’ attendance, this remains a priority for the school.

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The school has a wide range of strategies in place to support pupils’ social, emotional and mental health, such as counselling for bereavement and low self-esteem. Pupils in the specially resourced provision have horse riding lessons to promote their understanding of relationships and communication. There is also an extensive series of trips to enable pupils to learn about their local heritage and about other cultures. For example, Year 4 pupils study Shakespeare before performing on stage. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and they have a keen awareness of what it means to treat others equally.

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Governors have a strong understanding of the school. They receive detailed information about the school’s priorities for improvement and they challenge the effectiveness of these actions well. 10 and 11 July 2024

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The school has taken appropriate steps to reduce the workload of staff, such as working with colleagues from partnership schools when designing the curriculum. This has resulted in a well-designed curriculum in most subjects.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the school has not defined the essential knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that teachers are unsure about the deeper understanding that pupils need in readiness for future learning. The school should make sure that the curriculum in these subjects clearly defines the underlying concepts that pupils need. This is so that teachers can support pupils to build on their prior learning more effectively.  The checks on pupils’ recall in a small number of subjects do not support teachers to identify where pupils have not remembered key knowledge correctly. This means that, on occasion, some misconceptions remain in pupils’ understanding over time. The school should ensure that, in these subjects, teachers are suitably equipped to identify and address pupils’ misconceptions more effectively.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2019.

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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. 10 and 11 July 2024

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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 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). 10 and 11 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 April 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of a soft federation with Christ Church, Church of England Primary School and Lark Hill Community Primary School. The executive headteacher oversees the work of all three schools.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school has a specially resourced provision for seven pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. These pupils are aged between four and 11. All pupils have an education, health and care plan.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, physical education, and art and design. For each deep dive, the inspector visited a sample of 10 and 11 July 2024

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lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also discussed the curriculum in other subjects, looked at a sample of work in these subjects and spoke with pupils about their work.  The inspector heard pupils read individually and as part of classroom activities.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, at breaktimes and around the school. They looked at records for behaviour and bullying and spoke with pupils and staff.  The inspector discussed the provision in place for pupils’ personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Steve Bentham, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 10 and 11 July 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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