Lister Junior School

Lister Junior School

Address: Green Lane, Lister School, Liverpool, Merseyside, L13 7DT Unique reference number (URN): 104554

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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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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The offer for pupils’ personal development is very well crafted. There is a well-designed and coherent programme that runs through both the curriculum and the many other opportunities available. Pupils are exceptionally well prepared to understand the world around them and to live in modern Britain.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The curriculum for pupils’ personal, social, health and economic education is carefully planned to reflect what pupils need to know and to respond to any local or national events. Pupils develop a clear understanding of right and wrong. They recognise that discrimination in any form is not acceptable and know that some characteristics, such as race, gender or age, are protected against this in law. Pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves safe. This is because learning about safety is carefully woven into the whole curriculum as they move through the school. This helps pupils to stay safe when online. Pupils' knowledge of how to keep themselves healthy is detailed and includes clear strategies for promoting positive mental health. Pupils learn about healthy relationships in an age-appropriate way.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders anticipate pupils' needs and intervene at the earliest opportunity to offer highly effective pastoral support as appropriate. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders take care to recognise points in the day at which pupils may require additional help. Staff providing pastoral care know pupils well and react quickly to their changing needs.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

There are multiple and regular opportunities to raise pupils’ aspirations and broaden their understanding of the world. Many pupils proudly represent the school in the local community and across the county. This prepares pupils well to take responsibility, act as part of a team and resolve conflict. Leaders proactively ensure that the wider offer enables all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, to develop their talents, skills and character.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils attend well because they know how much staff value them. Leaders set clear expectations for staff, pupils, parents and carers about the importance of regular attendance. They use their close knowledge of pupils and their circumstances, and their effective relationships with parents, to put effective strategies in place at the earliest opportunity when pupils do not attend regularly enough.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Typically, pupils behave well. They act with kindness and respect because they know that this is what is expected of them. Staff take a consistent approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. Pupils do not need reminding to uphold their responsibility to make the school a happy place. For example, pupils hold doors open and pick up litter without being asked.

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Needs attention

Pupils’ attitudes to learning are equally positive. They show determination and perseverance when facing challenges. Pupils respond well to the reward systems in place. They recognise that their actions have consequences and know what it means to ‘do the right thing’. Negative behaviour, such as bullying or discrimination, rarely happens. Pupils are rightly confident that leaders would take swift action if it did occur. Staff provide effective pastoral support for pupils who find it harder to manage their emotions and meet behaviour expectations.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils' results in national tests in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 are broadly in line with national averages. However, this is not the case for disadvantaged pupils. Disadvantaged pupils did not achieve well in the 2025 tests. This reflects the picture for current pupils. Too many pupils do not make enough progress from their starting points. They do not gain the knowledge they need across a range of subjects to prepare them well enough for their next steps.

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Achievement Needs attention

Leaders have recently placed more focus on supporting pupils to gain the reading, writing and mathematics knowledge and skills necessary for successful learning. There has been some positive impact. For example, results in the Year 4 multiplication tables check have improved. Recent work to improve provision for the most able pupils has had a positive impact, and, typically, these pupils achieve well. However, for too many pupils, weaknesses in handwriting and spelling hold them back.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

There are inconsistent approaches across the school for supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is because pupils’ learning targets are often too broad to be helpful to them. When this is the case, it is difficult for staff to adapt their teaching to meet pupils' needs and to check pupils' progress towards their targets. There are not agreed processes for teachers to check pupils' learning and shape further teaching based on what pupils already know. Where pupils have gaps in their knowledge, at times, teachers do not spot these. As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could. Gaps do not close quickly enough, and some pupils find it hard to remember their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have thought about what pupils will learn and when. They have set out an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum for each subject. This includes consideration for when pupils will revisit key knowledge to build their understanding. Leaders ensure staff have the subject knowledge they need to explain new learning clearly. Leaders' recent focus on ensuring pupils learn the basics in reading, writing and mathematics securely is starting to have a positive impact. However, this work is at an early stage.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders care deeply about pupils’ wellbeing. They identify pupils’ needs at the earliest opportunity and work effectively with external agencies for further help or guidance. Leaders ensure that staff understand the approach to assessing pupils' needs and providing appropriate support. However, this work is not consistently effective. Sometimes, provision does not tackle pupils' barriers to learning as well as it could. This is because pupils' targets are not precise enough. Consequently, some staff are unclear about how to adapt the curriculum and teaching to meet pupils' needs.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Barriers to pupils' wellbeing are more effectively overcome. This aspect of leaders' work helps pupils to be emotionally ready to learn. Leaders carefully monitor the impact of some of their actions to improve pupils’ school experience. They ensure that all pupils can benefit from the range of opportunities on offer. For example, many pupils receive on-site counselling, with a positive impact on their engagement in learning.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils supports them to access many opportunities that the school provides. However, aspects of leaders' strategy for the use of this funding do not focus closely enough on what support for disadvantaged pupils’ academic achievement will look like.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders act in the best interests of pupils. They recognise that too many pupils leave the school without the depth of knowledge, across a range of subjects, to prepare them well for their next steps. Leaders’ actions have resulted in improvements in certain areas, such as improved achievement in the Year 4 multiplication tables check. Leaders are proud of the school's strong offer for pupils’ personal development. In this respect, pupils leave the school very well prepared for the next stage of their education. However, other actions are at the early stages of implementation. For example, the introduction of new teaching approaches. It is too soon to measure the impact of these on pupils' experiences.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Governors fulfil their duties in terms of overseeing pupils' safety. However, they have a limited understanding of other aspects of the school's work, such as the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. Sometimes, governors ask the right questions to hold leaders to account. However, they do not have a sufficiently accurate picture of the school’s current effectiveness to provide appropriate challenge.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel well supported by leaders to develop in their roles. Staff know that leaders are committed to protecting their wellbeing and workload when making decisions to improve the school. They are starting to benefit from training that helps them to realise leaders’ vision for curriculum and teaching, for example. Staff at the beginning of their career receive the help and guidance that they need to grow their expertise.

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

Pupils enter the school each morning with a smile. They are eager to learn. Pupils want to be in school and attend regularly. Pupils value the school as a welcoming and friendly place. They have confidence that staff will support them with any worries they have. This helps them to feel happy and safe. Pupils do all that they can to make the school an enjoyable place to be, sometimes through holding leadership roles. They actively look out for others, show kindness and seek to follow leaders' expectations.

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

That said, too many pupils do not achieve well enough. This is particularly the case for pupils who are disadvantaged. Pupils do not make enough progress from their starting points. Although leaders have made recent changes to improve the school, their actions are at the early stages. Leaders care deeply about pupils’ wellbeing. They effectively identify and reduce any barriers to wellbeing that pupils have. Their work is not as effective in overcoming pupils’ barriers to learning. Consequently, some pupils do not learn as well as they could.

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

Pupils behave well because they know that this is what is expected of them. On any occasions where pupils find this difficult, staff swiftly provide additional support that helps pupils to improve. Pupils do not worry about bullying. It rarely happens.

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

Pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain. Leaders ensure that all pupils benefit from the school’s extensive personal development offer. By the time they leave the school, pupils have an impressive understanding of the ways that people can be different. They see difference as a point of celebration and are curious about those who have different views to them. This helps them to understand the wider world. Pupils make a positive contribution to the community they live in.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that learning targets for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are precise enough to enable staff to make suitable adaptations to teaching and provide support that meets pupils' needs. Leaders should develop effective systems for assessment across the school so that teachers consistently use their checks on learning well to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge, leading to improved achievement in all subjects. Leaders should ensure that pupils consistently receive high-quality teaching to develop their foundational knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics, including pupils who are disadvantaged and those with SEND. Leaders and governors should ensure that their quality-assurance work appropriately identifies and targets the aspects of the school that need to improve and will have the greatest impact on pupils’ achievement.

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Team inspectors:

Ian Cooper, Ofsted Inspector Amy Burkes, Ofsted Inspector

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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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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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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Anne Butler.

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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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About this inspection

Inspection activities: Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher and governors during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school: The school does not use any alternative provision.

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About this inspection

Headteacher : Simon King National average: 272

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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. National average: 15%

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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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average

2024/25 (revised) 57% 62% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 64% 61% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 63% 60% Close to average

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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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average

2022/23 (final) 76% 73% Close to average

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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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average

2024/25 (revised) 72% 72% Close to average

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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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average

2024/25 (revised) 72% 74% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 67% 73% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 72% 73% Close to average

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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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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

2024/25 (revised) 58% 59% 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

2024/25 (revised) 50% 61% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 61% 59% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 69% 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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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 4.9% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.7% 5.5% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.8% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

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

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 12.2% 13.3% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 14.8% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 17.1% 16.2% Close to average

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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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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