Linacre Primary School

Linacre Primary School

Address: Thornton Road, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 5ED Unique reference number (URN): 104853

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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This school requires special measures

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education, and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders have recently introduced a revised programme to promote pupils' wider development and wellbeing. This includes broadening the range of experiences on offer beyond the academic curriculum. However, this work is at an early stage of implementation.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Pupils enjoy developing their interests through activities, such as cookery, dance and art clubs. They look forward to visiting places of interest, such as the zoo and the beach. Pupils enjoy attending the residential visit in key stage 2. Pupils learn about different religions through visits to places of worship. They study significant people, including Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, to develop their understanding of equality.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Increasingly, pupils benefit from pastoral support to help them gain confidence. However, some pupils who shared their views with inspectors do not believe that staff take their concerns seriously. For example, they report that incidents of some pupils using unkind words or being disrespectful to each other are not dealt with successfully.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders have begun to track the attendance of particular groups of pupils at extra-curricular activities. However, this work has had limited impact on improving pupils' levels of participation.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Despite the recent steps that leaders have taken to improve pupils' experiences, there are still limited opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills or to become active and respectful citizens. Pupils show a basic understanding of issues, such as different ways to stay safe and healthy, both physically and mentally. However, their understanding of many areas, such as fundamental British values is superficial. This hampers pupils' wider development and their readiness for life in modern Britain.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Overtime, a significant proportion of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who are disadvantaged, have left the school having not achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and/or mathematics. Embedded weaknesses within the school’s curriculum and teaching have contributed to gaps in pupils’ learning. Many pupils do not securely learn the skills and knowledge that they need as they progress through the school. This prevents them from successfully accessing content across the curriculum.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Current pupils remember little of what they have learned. This includes pupils with additional needs and those from vulnerable groups. The progress that pupils make, in particular those who are disadvantaged, is well below that of their peers nationally. As a result, pupils are ill- equipped for the next stage of their education.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

Leaders have not addressed the extensive and ongoing issues with pupils' poor behaviour, or pupils’ low rates of attendance and frequent lateness.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

In recent years, pupils’ attendance has declined and has remained below the national average for a sustained period of time. The number of pupils who are persistently absent remains significantly above national averages. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and pupils who are disadvantaged have the lowest attendance in the school. Their frequent absences and lateness, together with staff's lack of knowledge about how to meet these pupils' needs, impacts severely on how well these pupils learn and thrive. Recent strategies aimed at improving pupils’ attendance have had little impact.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

Staff expectations of pupils' behaviour are too low. Some pupils' unruly conduct impacts negatively on others’ learning and school experience. For some pupils, this makes them feel unsafe. Staff do not know how to support pupils effectively who struggle to regulate their behaviour. As a result, the poor behaviour of a significant number of pupils, particularly those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, frequently goes unchecked. Many pupils show a lack of pride in their work and have very negative attitudes to their learning. Most pupils report that issues of bullying are dealt with swiftly.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

The school has not taken decisive action to remedy long-standing weaknesses in the design of the curriculum. The curriculum lacks ambition and does not meet pupils' needs effectively. Although the teaching of phonics is improving, the broader reading curriculum remains weak. In other subjects, leaders have not identified clearly what pupils should know. Sometimes, teachers choose new approaches to deliver the curriculum that do not match pupils’ needs or resolve gaps in pupils’ learning sufficiently well.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Leaders have not ensured that pupils have the basic skills that they need in reading, writing and mathematics to learn well across the curriculum. Many pupils are expected to write at length, when they have not mastered the fundamentals of spelling, handwriting or punctuation. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, or those who have other barriers to learning. Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of the curriculum. Limited training means that staff do not know how to teach the curriculum well. As a result. pupils, including those with additional needs, do not build up a strong body of knowledge and skills over time.

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Early years Urgent improvement

The early years curriculum is poorly planned and lacks ambition. Leaders and staff do not take into account children's different needs and starting points sufficiently well. They do not consider well enough what children need to know and do by the time they start in Year 1.

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Early years Urgent improvement

Staff do not design high-quality learning experiences that are appropriate to children's different ages and stages of development. Many children begin school with very poor communication and language skills. Despite this, staff do not support children to learn new vocabulary or to develop their levels of oracy effectively. While there have been recent improvements in the teaching of phonics, staff do not ensure that children develop a thirst for learning and a love of books and reading. This severely hinders children's learning across the curriculum.

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Early years Urgent improvement

Staff work alongside parents and carers to better understand children's emotional needs. However, staff do not ensure that children become increasingly independent and confident. Consequently, many children struggle to manage their emotions and to follow simple routines, such as responding to tidy-up time. As a result, children are unprepared for key stage 1, both emotionally and academically.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

An ingrained culture of low expectations and frequent staff instability have severely affected the support for the learning and wellbeing of vulnerable pupils. Pupils who are disadvantaged do not benefit from a well-thought-out pupil premium strategy. Leaders do not check that their actions bring about the improvements they intend over time.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

Staff struggle to identify individual barriers to pupils’ achievement or wellbeing swiftly and accurately. This includes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Often, the support or adaptations provided by staff do not match pupils’ needs. This help makes little positive difference to pupils’ learning or wellbeing. Often, pupils with the most complex needs do not benefit from consistent, high-quality support.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

Vulnerable pupils, including those known to or previously known to social care, have very few opportunities to increase their confidence or develop a sense of belonging. The poor attendance of many vulnerable pupils makes it hard for them to participate meaningfully in school life.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

The school has recently started to help staff to better understand the needs of individual pupils. This work is at an early stage of development. It is too early to see its impact on pupils’ achievement or wellbeing over time.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders and governors have not ensured that the school is providing an acceptable standard of education for its pupils. They have overseen the decline in standards of pupils' achievement and pupils' behaviour and attendance over time. Leaders' and governors' capacity to improve the school is poor.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Since the previous inspection, the school has experienced an exceptionally high turnover of staff and leaders. This, as well as frequent and prolonged staff absences, has contributed to the school’s decline. Staff often lack the knowledge or experience to support some of the most vulnerable pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are disadvantaged.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders and governors have not ensured that staff have received suitable training to support them to carry out their roles effectively. Staff do not know how to meet the increasing needs of pupils with SEND and other vulnerable pupils. Some decisions made by leaders have not been in pupils' best interests. This has had a detrimental impact on pupils' wellbeing, behaviour, rates of attendance and achievement.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Recent leadership changes have brought some much needed stability to the school. Staff report that morale is increasing slowly. Leaders consider staff's workload and care about their wellbeing. However, changes to the senior leadership team are only temporary and the school is overly reliant on external support. As such, the school remains in a fragile position.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils’ day-to-day experiences of school life are extremely variable. Many pupils do not behave well. Some pupils show a lack of respect for others or refuse to follow teachers’ instructions. The conduct of a significant number of pupils, both in lessons and around the school, is poor. These behaviours frequently escalate and disrupt other pupils' learning. This hinders pupils' enjoyment of school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Staff's expectations of what pupils, including those in the early years, should know and do are too low. This is compounded by the fact that the school has not addressed the high rates of pupil absence that have occurred over time. As a result, too many pupils arrive at school late or miss significant amounts of learning. While phonics teaching is improving, these gains are not reflected across the wider curriculum. Pupils have significant gaps in their basic knowledge, especially in reading, writing and mathematics. Little has been done to stem the tide of pupils' underachievement. Consequently, many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are not prepared well for the next stage of their education.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils appreciate the very recent changes that leaders have made to improve the school. The start of each school day is increasingly calmer. Staff greet pupils warmly at classroom doors. This helps pupils to feel safe and well cared for.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Recently, pupils have begun to benefit from a wider range of school activities. For instance, during lunchtimes, pupils enjoy taking part in relaxing activities, such as crocheting. Pupils also value the increased variety of playground equipment and games that they can use. Pupils appreciate recent opportunities to participate in activities, for example, to improve the local environment. However, pupils have very few other chances to develop their character or broaden their horizons. This limits pupils' wider development beyond the academic curriculum.

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Next steps

• Leaders and governors must swiftly address the high turnover of staff and frequent staff absences to reduce the school’s reliance on external support. • Leaders and governors must ensure that staff's expectations of pupils' achievement and conduct are raised rapidly, leading to a culture of high aspirations for all. • Leaders and governors must take swift action to improve the behaviour of a significant proportion of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and/or have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), so that all pupils can enjoy their learning in an environment where they can thrive. • Leaders and governors must act decisively to improve pupils’ attendance and punctuality, particularly pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, so that pupils do not miss out on important learning and experiences. • Leaders and governors must ensure that staff deliver a curriculum that is ambitious and

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Next steps

well sequenced, and that meets the needs of pupils, including those from vulnerable groups and children in the early years. • Leaders and governors must ensure that any barriers to pupils' learning, including in the early years, are identified accurately and resolved swiftly so that pupils achieve well and thrive. • Leaders and governors must ensure that gaps in pupils' basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics are addressed swiftly so that pupils can access the full breadth of the curriculum effectively. Leaders and governors must also ensure that pupils develop a love of reading, so that they read widely and often. • Leaders and governors must ensure that staff are well trained so that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out their roles effectively. • Leaders should ensure that the recent improvements to the programme to enhance pupils' personal development and wellbeing are embedded thoroughly, so that pupils are well

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Brenda Lane.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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132

Below average Inspectors spoke with the interim headteacher, as well as other leaders and staff. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and a representative of a trust supporting the school.

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132

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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132

The school may not appoint early career teachers before the next monitoring inspection. The position regarding the appointment of early career teachers will be considered again during any monitoring inspection we carry out.

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132

Inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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132

There have been significant changes to leadership and other staff since the previous inspection. This includes changes to the senior leadership team. The school is currently led by an interim headteacher and an acting deputy headteacher.

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132

The school runs a before-school breakfast club.

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132

The school does not use any alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2023/24 (final) 54% 62% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 62% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 62% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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