St Luke's CofE (Aided) Primary School

122793 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LA Local Authority 314403 Inspection number 21 °22 November 2007 Inspection dates Dorothy Bathgate HMI Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 137 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Peter Stanley Chair Mrs Anne Bennett Headteacher 16 June 2003 Date of previous school inspection Brancliffe Lane School address Shireoaks Worksop S81 8PW 01909 475821 Telephone number 01909 473857 Fax number

p.1

4-11 Age group 21 °22 November 2007 Inspection dates 314403 Inspection number .

p.1

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

p.2

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

St. Luke's is a smaller than average primary school situated in the small rural village of Shireoaks. It is a church-aided school, enjoying a strong partnership with the local parish church of St. Luke's. Pupils enter the school with knowledge, skills and understanding that are in line with expectations for their age. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and those with learning difficulties or disabilities is below average. Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007

p.3

Grade: 3

St. Luke's is a satisfactory school. It educates pupils in a caring, Christian environment through its strong Christian heritage as a church-aided school. Pupils attend regularly, enjoy many aspects of school life and show considerate behaviour towards each other. Children make a sound start in the Foundation Stage. They develop positive attitudes to learning and most are working well within the early learning goals by the end of the Reception year. Standards have been inconsistent at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in recent years. At the end of Year 6 in 2007, they fell significantly from the previous year. Overall standards are average and the current work of pupils throughout school confirms that they are making satisfactory progress. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall as reflected in pupils' progress. When there are interesting and stimulating activities, pupils concentrate on their

p.4

Grade: 3

tasks and are able to learn well. However, in many lessons, pupils become restless and lose concentration because lessons are too mundane and do not capture their interests or ensure purposeful learning. This is because teachers do not make effective use of assessment information to match work carefully to each individual pupil's needs. Although parents expressed concerns about behaviour in the school, overall behaviour is satisfactory and most pupils do behave well. However, the school is aware of the need to manage the disruptive behaviour of a very small number of pupils in a consistent manner. Pupils' personal development is satisfactory overall. The curriculum is satisfactory and is supported well by a wide range of after-school clubs and activities. Many of these are sporting activities that encourage pupils to take regular exercise. A strong school council ensures that pupils have an effective voice within the school and have

p.4

Grade: 3

influenced decisions on issues such as planning the school day and developing playground resources. The care, guidance and support provided for pupils are satisfactory. Pupils feel safe and know who to go to if they have worries or concerns. There are some systems in place for assessing and tracking pupils' progress. However, this data is not analysed rigorously enough to inform senior management clearly about the progress made by classes and groups of pupils. Consequently, teachers are not held to account for the progress made by their pupils. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school demonstrates it has satisfactory capacity to improve because it has successfully tackled a number of issues identified at the last inspection.

p.4

Grade: 3

Overall, children in the Foundation Stage make satisfactory progress and most are working well within the early learning goals by the end of the Reception year. Staff working in the Foundation Stage possess a good knowledge of how young children learn. There is a strong emphasis on learning through play as well as good personal, social and emotional provision. Consequently, children behave well, work co-operatively, enjoy taking turns to be a helper and develop positive attitudes to learning. Children are well cared for and are helped to learn good, basic, personal hygiene. The day-to-day running of the Foundation Stage by the class teacher is good, and the overall management of the Foundation Stage is satisfactory.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise achievement and improve the quality of teaching by making lessons more stimulating and motivating, and by providing more practical opportunities to enthuse pupils. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007 ■ Use the tracking data to measure the progress made by classes and groups of pupils and hold teachers to account for the progress made by their pupils. ■ Ensure that teachers use the assessment data to match work more precisely to the needs of all the pupils. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged to satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

p.4

Grade: 3

Achievement and standards are satisfactory. Although standards at the end of Key Stage 1 over recent years have fluctuated, standards are average overall. Results of national tests at the end of Year 2 in 2007 indicated that pupils made better progress in reading than in other areas, particularly at the higher Level 3. At the end of Key Stage 2 standards are broadly average. Results of national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2007, show that standards have declined in all core subjects from the previous year. Pupils make satisfactory progress throughout their time at the school and their current work confirms this. There is no significant difference between the progress of boys and that of girls in any area. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities achieve as well as their peers and participate fully in all lessons.

p.5

Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development is satisfactory. Pupils say they enjoy school and feel safe within its supportive environment. The school provides a warm, caring Christian ethos where positive relationships exist at all levels. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. However, some exemplary project work linking the school with a community in Nottingham city is successfully enabling pupils to establish meaningful relationships with a community very different from their own. Consequently, cultural development is good. The school has received the Healthy Schools Award in recognition of its work in promoting healthy lifestyles. The school successfully prepares pupils for future citizenship in a changing world through developing satisfactory basic skills and encouraging teamwork. The recent development of an impressive eco garden with a wind turbine, and minibeast tower, as well as bird and

p.5

Grade: 3

hedgehog homes, is a direct result of the work of the school's eco-club.

p.5

Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. There are a number of positive and consistent features in all lessons including the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT), sharing of learning objectives and opportunities for paired or group working. In a Year 5 and Year 6 lesson observed, pupils made good progress in science because the teacher made effective use of resources to ensure that all children were involved in practical, interactive activities for much of the lesson. As a result pupils were enthusiastic and actively engaged in learning. However, in too many lessons the tasks fail to challenge the pupils sufficiently or hold their attention throughout the lesson. This is because teachers do not make effective use of the link 5 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007 between assessment and planning to plan work to match the abilities of all the pupils.

p.5

Grade: 3

Consequently, pupils do not always make as rapid progress as they could.

p.6

Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and is supported by a good range of visits, visitors and residential experiences, as well as specialist teachers in music and Spanish. The after-school clubs provide a wide range of activities including gymnastics, cooking, art and drama. The introduction of a new skills based curriculum in September 2007 is beginning to ensure that pupils develop the necessary key skills in each subject area. The school makes good use of the local community and semi-rural environment to enrich pupils' learning in geography and science. Satisfactory progress has been made in developing ICT resources and expertise since the last inspection. Consequently, there is improved use of ICT across the wider curriculum.

p.6

Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall. However, although parents are generally happy, they are not confident that the school always responds to their legitimate concerns with sufficient urgency. Pastoral care, guidance and support contribute positively to pupils' progress, enjoyment and well-being. There are effective partnerships with a range of local agencies that safeguard the needs of the most vulnerable pupils, including those with learning difficulties or disabilities. Whilst the school has systems in place for assessing, tracking, and target-setting, procedures are not sufficiently rigorous to ensure that pupils have work that is well matched to their needs.

p.6

Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Managers at all levels are committed to the school and strive to seek further improvement. The school's self-evaluation demonstrates that it broadly knows what it needs to do to improve. However, senior managers do not analyse the information well enough to inform them of the progress made by classes and groups of pupils. Consequently, they do not hold teachers to account for the progress made by their pupils. The school makes best use of its limited accommodation, including the designated ICT area. Governors are supportive and have a satisfactory knowledge of how well the school is doing and what it needs to do to improve. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007 .

p.6

Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007

p.7

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.8

Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

p.8

Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.8

learners?

3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 3 The behaviour of learners 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

p.8

and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.8

and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007

p.8

and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

23 November 2007 Dear Pupils, Inspection of St. Luke's CE Primary, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S81 8PW It was lovely to visit your school a few weeks ago and you all made me feel so welcome. Thank you very much. I really enjoyed talking to many of you during my visit. I particularly enjoyed meeting the very youngest pupils who were taking teddy on an exciting journey to the moon! I was also impressed with the Year 5 and Year 6 children who were using good scientific language to explain their conclusions following a number of scientific experiments. I enjoyed my tour of your eco garden and you are quite right to be very proud of this special feature in your school. You told me you enjoy coming to school. Most of you behave well and try hard in your lessons. You feel safe in school and trust your friends and all the staff. Many of you enjoy the after-school clubs and activities and I was pleased to see so many of you taking part in these.

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

St. Luke's is a satisfactory school. However, there are some important things that could be made better. Many of you are not learning as well as you could because the lessons are too easy for you. Your teachers are not using the assessment information they have to set work at the right level for you. We have asked them to use this more carefully to ensure that you make good progress. Your lessons are not always interesting and you often lose concentration and become restless. We have asked your teachers to make all of your lessons much more interesting for you. You can play your part by getting on with your work and letting everyone else do the same and by not fidgeting or distracting others. We have asked your headteacher to make better use of the information she has about all of you to make sure she knows exactly how well you and your class are doing, and to check regularly with your teachers on your progress. We

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

want all of you to learn as well as possible and everyone needs to play their part to make sure these things improve. Thank you for helping me with my work during my visit. I wish you all well for the future. With best wishes, Dorothy Bathgate HMI 10 of 10 Inspection Report: St Luke's C.E Primary, 21 °22 November 2007

p.10