Slyne-with-Hest, St Luke's, Church of England Primary School

Primary School

Address: Shady Lane, Slyne-with-Hest, Slyne-With-Hest St Luke's Ceps, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 6JL Unique reference number (URN): 119542

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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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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils acquire basic skills in early reading and mathematics as soon as they begin school. This supports them to build successfully on their learning in each year group. As a result, pupils achieve very well in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave at the end of key stage 2.

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Achievement Strong standard

Over time, pupils consistently outperform other pupils nationally in tests and assessments. For example, the proportions of pupils reaching the required standard in the phonics and multiplication checks are significantly above the national averages. Attainment at the end of Year 6 is also significantly above national data.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils achieve very well across the curriculum. They confidently talk about their learning, making meaningful connections both with earlier and current knowledge, as well as across different subjects. Pupils with additional challenges to their learning and progress also develop key knowledge across different subjects.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders and staff consistently champion the importance of high attendance. They encourage pupils to attend well by fostering a strong sense of belonging and community. Pupils enjoy receiving awards in class assemblies in recognition of consistently high attendance rates. Staff take the time to sensitively understand any barriers to securing pupils' high rates of attendance. They work very successfully with a wide range of external agencies to garner effective and swift support for pupils. Leaders use the pupil premium funding very effectively to help disadvantaged pupils who struggle with their attendance. As a result, their levels of absence are well below those of other pupils nationally. Leaders also pay close attention to supporting pupils with multiple barriers to attendance. Their attendance levels have risen rapidly over time.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Staff consistently apply the school's high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Pupils’ conduct is commendable both in lessons and when walking round school. Pupils in every year group demonstrate a keen interest in their learning. They show a positive mindset and a 'can-do' attitude. Pupils consistently show kindness and respect to both adults and pupils alike. Pupils happily offer a helping hand or a comforting word to their classmates if they feel sad or upset. Pupils know that bullying is not acceptable. Staff take decisive action to deal with any issues robustly.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders expertly design the curriculum, taking into careful account pupils’ needs and interests. It is very effectively planned and sequenced so that pupils learn new content in a logical way. Staff forge effective links with the local community to bring learning alive.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff teach basic skills effectively, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics, so that pupils can learn the rest of the curriculum successfully. More recently, leaders have provided helpful guidance to enhance staff's knowledge of how to teach early handwriting skills. This work is relatively new, so it is not fully embedded. Staff teach other subjects across the curriculum consistently well. Their enthusiasm for learning, particularly in igniting pupils’ interest in reading and books, is infectious.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff benefit from a coherent professional development programme that supports both new and experienced staff to develop secure subject knowledge across the curriculum. Staff use their well-developed knowledge to consistently and skilfully adjust and adapt teaching strategies so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn successfully alongside their peers.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teachers use assessment information adeptly to pinpoint and address gaps in pupils' knowledge precisely. They encourage pupils to use subject-specific and ambitious vocabulary to deepen their learning and understanding over time.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders continually refine the curriculum so that it remains highly relevant and engaging, preparing pupils extremely well for their future lives.

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Early years Strong standard

Children enjoy extremely warm and nurturing relationships with staff when learning in the early years. Children flourish both academically and emotionally.

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Early years Strong standard

Highly trained staff use their wealth of experience and knowledge to expertly teach the curriculum with enthusiasm and confidence. Leaders prioritise the development of early reading, writing and mathematics skills across all areas of learning. Children animatedly join in with stories, rhymes and songs. This helps them to develop a love of books.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders consistently grasp every opportunity to develop children's knowledge, understanding and language across and beyond the taught curriculum. For example, at snack time, children learn about the importance of eating healthily. They also learn important social skills, such as using their manners, taking turns and talking to their friends.

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Early years Strong standard

Staff work highly effectively with a wide range of external agencies and professionals. Staff swiftly reduce any barriers children may face. Parents and carers have opportunities to visit the early years, such as during stay-and-play sessions.

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Early years Strong standard

The learning environment provides many rich and very well-considered opportunities for children to develop and deepen their knowledge over time. Staff skilfully encourage children to use new words and phrases across all the different places where they can learn.

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Early years Strong standard

Children proudly share their achievements with staff and visitors, including the inspection team. Children across the Reception class are particularly proud of their 'wonderful writing', which is celebrated all around the room. By the time children leave the Reception class, they have developed into successful, curious and independent learners. They are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders' systems to assess and meet the needs of pupils with challenges to their learning or wellbeing are highly effective. Staff ensure that pupils' needs are rapidly and accurately determined. Pupils receive prompt and effective support.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders invest in high-quality staff training to build strong in-house expertise. For example, key staff are trained to teach and use sign language with pupils who are nonverbal. This helps to break down obstacles to pupils' success and supports them to flourish both academically and emotionally.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff expertly and consistently implement highly personalised pupil targets. They fastidiously check pupils' progress and adapt strategies accordingly. Leaders seek out a wide range of professionals to support them with this process. They ensure that the views of pupils, parents and carers are acted upon as part of an ongoing, highly effective package of support. Consequently, pupils with additional needs and multiple barriers to their learning or wellbeing make rapid progress across the curriculum. They enjoy coming to school and attend well.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders ensure that additional funding is used very successfully to meet the collective and individual needs of disadvantaged pupils, including those previously known to social care or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and governors work very effectively to ensure that pupils receive a very high-quality education. They work tirelessly to understand pupils' individual barriers to success, in particular for pupils with multiple challenges to their learning. Overall, they accurately evaluate the strengths and next steps for the school. They take successful action to make sure that pupils learn very well, attend highly and are happy and safe in school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff teach the curriculum consistently well. Staff value the opportunities that they have to develop their subject knowledge and to put their learning into practice in the classroom.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors undertake their duties with diligence. They fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities well. Those responsible for governance hold the school to account effectively for different aspects of the school's work. For example, they scrutinise attendance and achievement information carefully. They ask pertinent questions to check that pupils achieve very well in reading, writing and mathematics. However, they do not have the same high level of oversight of the quality of other subjects across the curriculum.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors keep a watchful eye on how leaders spend the school budget. However, they do not consistently assure themselves that the spending is having the desired impact on the achievement of vulnerable groups. This is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils. Staff are extremely proud to work at the school. They appreciate the way that leaders support them and look after their wellbeing. Parents and carers hold the school in high regard. They cannot praise staff enough for the support, care and guidance that they provide for the pupils in school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have designed the school's personal development programme carefully. They have deliberately ensured that it closely aligns with the school's values. Well-planned visits, trips and other enrichment activities enhance pupils' wider development across the curriculum.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

An important part of their offer is the school's very high focus on promoting pupils' wellbeing, both emotionally and physically. Pupils benefit from caring staff who have their best interests at heart. The school provides highly effective pastoral support for its pupils, particularly for those with barriers or challenges to overcome, including disadvantaged pupils.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils learn about a range of traditions and cultures through visits from members of different religious groups, including from members of the Hindu and Muslim communities. Pupils enjoy attending events such as 'Positive Change Week' at the local university, where themes of diversity and sustainability are championed and celebrated.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils have many opportunities to develop their leadership skills. For example, when working as members of the school council, pupils develop confidence and a sense of responsibility. Pupils learn important British values such as democracy in action when they vote for different projects to improve their school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school's well-implemented personal development programme supports pupils to gain a secure knowledge of a range of topics, including keeping themselves safe. Pupils know about issues such as how scammers target people on the internet. They know about not disclosing personal information or sharing inappropriate material when online.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils learn about important changes that happen physically and emotionally to them when they enter puberty. They learn about the qualities to look for as part of a healthy relationship. They learn how to budget and save for the future. As a result of this work, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and for their future lives and careers.

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

Pupils blossom in this nurturing and happy school that sits at the heart of the community. Children in the early years, guided by expert staff, get off to a flying start in their education.

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

Pupils look forward to their learning each day. They attend well. Pupils enjoy highly positive relationships with staff, who are kind and caring. Pupils rightly feel confident that staff will act on any rare incidents of bullying promptly and successfully.

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

Pupils, including those who face additional challenges and barriers to their learning, are warmly embraced and fully included in all aspects of school life. Pupils work and play in harmony together. Pupils in Year 6 value their roles as buddies, where they support pupils in the Reception class. This positive and nurturing culture permeates across the school. This helps pupils to feel safe and develop a deep sense of belonging.

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

Pupils enjoy and benefit from a highly engaging and interesting academic curriculum. This supports them to achieve very well. Over time, they attain standards well above the national average. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make significant progress in their learning.

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

Pupils take pride in their many achievements and accomplishments. They can discuss how they overcome challenges and grow in confidence. Pupils speak animatedly about how they develop resilience and teamwork skills during visits, including their recent residential trip. They state positively that, 'Teachers help us step out of our comfort zone and challenge us to take risks.'

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

Pupils learn to understand and accept difference and to value diversity. They know why respect and tolerance matter, even when people’s beliefs differ from their own.

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

Pupils have impeccable manners. They hold doors open for each other and for visitors, greeting them with a warm and friendly smile. Pupils’ conduct and attitudes epitomise the school’s motto.

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Next steps

Using the most up-to-date evidence and research, leaders should enhance their programme of professional development so that it has a sustained and widespread impact across all areas of the school's work. Governors should ensure that they hold leaders more robustly and consistently to account for all aspects of the school's work, particularly with regards to the effectiveness of the curriculum in subjects other than English and mathematics. They should have a greater oversight of the achievement of all vulnerable groups, in particular those in receipt of pupil premium funding.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Paul Beach.

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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

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other leaders and staff during the inspection. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and spoke with a representative of the local authority and the diocese.

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Team inspectors:

Cole Andrew, Ofsted Inspector Anna Carroll, 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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What does this mean?

Inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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What does this mean?

This school is a Church of England school and is part of the Diocese of Blackburn. Its last section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in March 2024.

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What does this mean?

The school uses no alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

Headteacher: Paul Bowden 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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average

2022/23 (final) 59% 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

2023/24 (final) 78% 74% 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

2022/23 (final) 78% 71% 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

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

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average

2022/23 (final) 74% 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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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

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

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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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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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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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

2023/24 (3 term) 4.8% 5.5% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.3% 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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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.

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Urgent improvement

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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