Leasowe Primary School

Inspection of Leasowe Primary School Oxley Avenue, Leasowe, Wirral, Merseyside CH46 1RU

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 11 and 12 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive school. Pupils are happy here. They benefit from strong and supportive relationships with staff and each other. Staff greet pupils each morning with a smile to ensure that they have a positive start to the day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are considerate and polite. Rewards, such as raffle tickets given for upholding Leasowe’s values, encourage good behaviour and motivate pupils to adhere to the school’s rules. Throughout the school there is a calm and purposeful atmosphere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), both in the mainstream and in the ‘green classes’, enjoy their learning and strive to meet the high standards that the school has set for their achievement. Across the curriculum, pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a vast array of opportunities that promote pupils’ wider development. These opportunities are available to all pupils. This includes a range of before- and after- school activities such as dance, choir, art and sports clubs. The school ensures there is something for everyone to enjoy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils eagerly take on leadership roles. School councillors, reading buddies and play leaders make meaningful contributions to school life. Pupils develop their confidence and leadership skills in these valued roles.

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

Governors use their considerable and varied experiences to contribute to the school’s ongoing development. They understand the community that the school serves. Governors provide a balance of support and challenge to hold the school to account for the educational outcomes of its pupils.

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

As a result of changes the school has made during the last two academic years, there is now a suitably broad and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils well, including those with SEND. This begins from the moment that children enter the early years where there is a clear focus on developing language skills. In most subjects, pupils’ learning is carefully mapped out from the early years to Year 6. Staff are clear about exactly what pupils need to know, and the order in which they should learn subject content. However, in a small number of subjects, the core knowledge pupils need to know is not as clearly identified as it could be. This sometimes means that learning does not help pupils to know and remember more over time.

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

The school has highly effective processes to identify and support pupils with additional needs. It seeks and provides specialist support where appropriate. Staff receive appropriate training to enable them to skilfully adapt their delivery of the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs. 11 and 12 March 2025

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Reading is central to the school’s curriculum. The school has made sure that pupils develop a love of reading from an early age. In the Nursery class, children have many opportunities to listen to stories and rhymes that develop their vocabulary. Through high- quality training and ongoing support, staff have developed expertise in the teaching of phonics. Pupils who find reading more difficult receive the support that they need in a timely manner. Books that pupils read match the sounds that they already know. This helps them to become fluent, confident readers. Older pupils recognise the importance of reading. They talk with enthusiasm about the books that they have read and their favourite authors. Pupils read frequently in school, helping to build their confidence and interest as readers. They particularly enjoy the online reading system the school has in place and relish the possibility of achieving success in the online reading quizzes.

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Pupils’ attitudes to their education ensure that learning is rarely disrupted. This respectful behaviour means that classrooms, from the early years to Year 6, are purposeful and productive. Pupils who find it more difficult to manage their feelings and emotions get the help they need from well-trained staff. This supports them to return to their learning at the earliest opportunity.

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The school has rightly made pupils’ attendance a key priority. It has a clear picture of pupils’ individual circumstances, including the reasons which might cause higher rates of absence. The school has a range of systems in place to support and challenge issues with attendance. For some pupils, this work has made a real difference. However, the rates of persistent absence are still too high.

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The school provides a range of enrichment opportunities which take into account pupils’ prior experiences. For example, ‘The Leasowe promise’ sets out key experiences that the school want pupils to enjoy. These include a trip to the beach or cooking a meal from scratch alongside residential trips and performing in front of an audience.

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The school has a well-considered programme to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe both online and offline. They also learn about different faiths and cultures and understand the importance of respect. Pupils are especially knowledgeable about British values including tolerance and democracy. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Rates of persistent absence are too high. This means that some pupils are absent too often and miss out on key learning. This creates gaps in their knowledge. The school 11 and 12 March 2025

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should review its systems to identify and address the barriers to pupils’ regular attendance so that the rate of persistent absence is reduced.  In a small number of subjects, the school has not identified the core knowledge that pupils need to know. Where this is the case, some pupils do not retain important subject content. The school should ensure that, in these subjects, the key knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember over time is identified clearly.

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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.

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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). 11 and 12 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 October 2019

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher was appointed in September 2022.  A new chair of governors was appointed in September 2024.  The school makes use of one alternative provision.  The school runs breakfast and after-school provision for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 11 and 12 March 2025

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 This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other members of staff. The lead inspector spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. She also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in these subjects: early reading and English, mathematics and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, considered samples of pupils’ work and spoke to some pupils about their learning. The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult. Inspectors also viewed curriculum documents and samples of pupils’ work in other subjects.

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 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 observed pupils’ behaviour at various times in the school day. This included during lessons as well as at playtime, lunchtime and at the before and after-school provision.  Inspectors considered the views expressed by parents and carers in their responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. An inspector spoke with parents as they brought their children to school at the start of the school day.  Inspectors also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Pat Speed, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Ward Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 March 2025

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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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