Lawrence Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further strengthen leadership and management by:
  • designing and implementing a curriculum that develops key subject skills and promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding further
  • ensuring that monitoring provides teachers with effective support and guidance, so that teaching is of a consistently high standard and all groups of pupils receive appropriate levels of challenge and support
  • increasing the level of challenge that governors provide to other leaders.
• Reverse the increasing trend of pupils’ persistent absence to ensure that attendance matches that seen nationally.
• Ensure that tasks set in lessons consistently challenge all groups of pupils.
• Ensure that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities receive the academic support required to improve their progress and attainment further.
• Improve pupils’ attainment in reading and writing to match pupils’ attainment in mathematics by the end of key stage 2.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Senior leaders and governors have not ensured that the curriculum design is suitable, most notably in foundation subjects. Leaders are aware of the issue and have highlighted curriculum development in their own improvement planning. However, work to develop the curriculum has been slow. There is no clear design for some subjects, such as history and geography. Others, such as the new schemes for English, are overly complicated and require further refinement to ensure that teachers can use them to better effect.
• Leaders ensure that opportunities exist to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their understanding of British values. However, in areas where curriculum design is weaker, leaders have not planned for this in an effective manner.
• Systems for checking pupils’ progress in a range of subjects are in place, but they are stronger in English, mathematics and science. As a result, teachers do not have a clear enough overview of pupils’ learning. Work set for groups of pupils is not always suitably challenging for them. This is because teachers are not clear about pupils’ prior learning.
• Leaders monitor aspects of teachers’ performance. However, this monitoring is not precise. It does not provide teachers with the guidance they need to ensure that their teaching is of a consistently high standard.
• Staff receive a wide range of opportunities to undertake training. However, leaders, including governors, do not routinely consider the impact of this training in terms of its effect in raising standards of teaching and learning.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities receive a wide range of support. Progress meetings take place in all year groups to monitor, evaluate and plan provision. As a result, leaders’ tracking of their progress shows that learning is taking place. However, the school’s most recent published performance information in 2017 showed that by the end of Year 6, progress and attainment for this group were well below that of other groups of pupils.
• The leader for physical education (PE) works with senior leaders to spend the PE and sports premium in an effective manner. Pupils experience a broad range of sporting activities such as athletics, cricket and lacrosse. Sports coaches work effectively with pupils to develop their skills both in school and during after-school activities. Teachers use training provided by coaches to provide pupils with higher-quality lessons. As a result, the school has gained a silver award for sport. Pupils spoken to during the inspection spoke with enthusiasm about the wide range of sporting activities available for them in school.
• The current curriculum is not well planned in some subjects to ensure skill development. However, it does provide opportunities and experiences to which pupils would not usually have access. Teachers ensure that they enrich the curriculum through a wide range of visits and by inviting speakers into school to talk with pupils. They thread the key values of equality and diversity through aspects of learning. For example, in Year 6, pupils discussed a poem linked to racial equality. This supported their awareness of current affairs and reinforced their ability to understand the experiences of others.
• Almost all parents who spoke to inspectors or completed Ofsted’s online survey, Parent view, were very positive about the school. The positive views of parents are reflected in the following comment: ‘The care from the class teachers is phenomenal. They know our children as individuals and treat them as such.’
• Leaders use pupil premium funding in an effective manner to ensure that disadvantaged pupils receive the support they need to progress. Additional members of staff provide support for pupils’ academic as well as their social and emotional needs. This work has been effective in ensuring that these pupils make strong progress. For example, in the school’s 2017 published performance information, the progress made by disadvantaged pupils in mathematics was in the top 20% of schools nationally.
• While some aspects of leadership and management require improvement, leaders have worked hard to develop effective tracking systems in reading, writing and mathematics. Additionally, leaders are improving the planning and teaching of these subjects to ensure deeper learning. This has been most effective in mathematics, where pupil outcomes have improved, most notably in key stage 2.

Governance of the school

• The governor responsible for overseeing the pupil premium has a clear understanding of the rationale for spending decisions. She understands pupils’ performance information and evaluates the progress and attainment made by the disadvantaged pupils. Governors use a progress and attainment matrix to monitor effectively the impact of pupil premium spending.
• Other members of the governing body take responsibility for developing aspects of the school’s provision. For example, the school’s safeguarding governor works closely with leaders to ensure that effective systems are in place to keep pupils safe.
• The governing body is fully supportive of the staff and the pupils. Through detailed reports presented to them by the headteacher, they are aware of the progress that pupils are making in English and mathematics and how performance links to the school’s improvement priorities. However, the questions they ask are sometimes not sufficiently challenging.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school building is secure, with electronic gates controlling entry to and exit from the site. School staff check the identity of visitors on entry to the building and provide them with information relating to the school’s safeguarding procedures.
• The school’s inclusion team is highly efficient in ensuring that pupils remain safe and receive effective support. Leaders ensure that policies and procedures are fit for purpose and are adhered to by staff.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe both in the real world and online. They value the opportunities provided by leaders to attend talks from various agencies, who visit school to give pupils advice on personal safety and well-being.
• The pupils and leaders are proud to have received the ‘School of Sanctuary’ award, which has supported their drive for equality and diversity.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The standard of teaching is inconsistent. This is because teachers have not received the support they require to plan effectively for the knowledge and skills that pupils require. This hampers the level of challenge that they receive in their learning.
• Where learning is strongest, good teacher subject knowledge and positive relationships help pupils to make strong progress. However, where learning is weaker, teachers miss opportunities to engage and challenge pupils. This results in limited progress and pupils failing to focus on their learning.
• The most able pupils value greatly the education that they receive. However, this group of pupils are not consistently challenged to do their very best. Evidence in the books of the most able pupils also highlighted a lack of challenge over time across subjects such as history, geography and science.
• The less able pupils receive inconsistent support. On occasions, the level of challenge is inappropriate. Tasks are sometimes too hard for the pupils. This limits the progress they make.
• The teaching of mathematics is developing well throughout the school, most notably at key stage 2. This is because the planning for this subject is thorough and outlines clearly for teachers the knowledge and understanding that pupils require.
• Pupils receive opportunities to take part in problem-solving and reasoning activities. For example, in key stage 2, pupils received a three-digit number and were challenged to use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of a group of numbers to arrive at the three-digit number. Such activities challenge pupils’ thinking and excite and engage them. Teachers ensure that pupils receive a varied range of opportunities to further develop mathematical skills in subjects such as science and geography.
• Pupils enjoy reading in Lawrence Community Primary School. Leaders ensure that pupils have access to a broad range of high-quality fiction and non-fiction books. Leaders have recently purchased a ‘virtual library’, where pupils access a broad range of fiction and non-fiction books both at school and at home. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to read books every day and provide additional support to those pupils who are disadvantaged. Older pupils enjoy opportunities as ‘reading buddies’ to develop younger pupils’ reading skills.
• The leader for English has introduced a new system to support teachers with the development of pupils’ key skills in reading and writing. However, teachers do not use it to best effect to support the performance of pupils. Additionally, curriculum guidance used by teachers and made available to parents is out of date in relation to reading.
• The teaching of phonics is inconsistent across classes and this is slowing pupils’ progress. Some teachers do not systematically develop pupils’ skills. Additionally, the books that pupils read do not always match their phonic knowledge appropriately.
• Leaders are aware that a large proportion of children enter school with language skills that are below those expected for their age. Additionally, many pupils have limited experiences to draw on to support their writing. To address this, teachers provide pupils with a broad range of activities to engage and excite them and to give them experiences to support their writing.
• Lawrence Community Primary School has a high turnover of pupils. Many arrive speaking little or no English. Provision for pupils who speak English as an additional language is strong; consequently, they make good progress. Teachers give these pupils a broad range of experiences to write from. For example, a group of pupils visited a furniture store to learn words that are associated with houses. As a result, teachers were able to extend the pupils’ vocabulary.
• Classrooms are well stocked and vibrant. Staff use displays effectively to celebrate learning and to support pupils’ understanding. This was most evident in subjects such as writing and mathematics.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are kind and considerate. They open doors for others and are welcoming and friendly. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Pupils think very highly of their teachers and teaching assistants.
• Pupils feel safe in school. They greatly value the support they receive from staff in relation to their physical and emotional well-being. Pupils were keen to show an inspector the nurture rooms where they receive support. Pupils typically commented that the support made them feel happier and more confident.
• The school’s inclusion team offers high-quality advice and support to both pupils and their families. Pupils receive training on the dangers of gang cultures and knife crime. Staff encourage pupils’ healthy eating. The school has an allotment where pupils enjoy growing fruit and vegetables.
• Leaders consider transition between year groups and from Year 6 to Year 7 very carefully to ensure that pupils feel confident and clear about the changes that they will face. Leaders ensure that vulnerable pupils receive additional support with this transition. For example, more vulnerable pupils in Year 6 receive additional visits to their new secondary school to ensure that the transition is smooth.
• Pupils are proud of their role as school councillors. They value the opportunities that this gives them to represent their friends. Older pupils enjoy supporting the well-being of younger pupils as playground buddies, reading buddies and playleaders.
• Pupils are aspirational. They understand the value of education and have considered the careers that they might enter as adults.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• The main reason for this is that many pupils do not attend school regularly. For at least the last three years, attendance has been lower than the national average. In addition, rates of persistent absence have been well above those seen nationally. This is most notable for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Leaders are working hard to address issues of low attendance and persistent absence. Pupils receive a broad range of rewards for regular attendance, and leaders offer free breakfast club places. Families receive support from the school’s inclusion team. However, leaders have not yet measured the impact of these initiatives to ensure that they are making a positive difference to attendance. The school’s most recent attendance information shows a further increase in the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent.
• In lessons, the vast proportion of pupils behave well. They listen attentively and work well both individually and with other pupils. However, where there is less challenge, a small proportion of pupils lose concentration and their behaviour declines.
• Pupils’ behaviour in the playground and around school is of a high standard. Pupils are polite, friendly and welcoming. They open doors for others and are considerate and caring.
• Bullying is extremely rare. This is because pupils have the highest respect for the rights of others. They understand the importance of equality and diversity and are proud that these values are part of their school’s vision. Leaders and pupils are proud to have received the ‘School of Sanctuary’ award which highlights success in this area.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Published assessment information must be read with caution as Lawrence Community Primary School has a high turnover of pupils. Children start at the school with varying levels of abilities. From their differing starting points, most pupils make good progress. The school’s most recent published performance information in 2017 shows that by the end of Year 6, pupils made average progress in reading and writing and well above average progress in mathematics.
• The proportion of pupils who pass the phonic screening check in Year 1 remains below the national average and declined in 2017. For pupils attending school since Reception, this figure was greater, although still below that seen nationally. Unvalidated performance information in 2018 indicates a slight rise in pupils’ performance in phonics in Year 1, but a decline in Year 2. This is due to inconsistencies in teaching.
• In 2017, attainment at the end of key stage 1 was well below national averages in reading, writing, mathematics and science for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. As a result, many pupils enter key stage 2 with significant gaps in their learning, meaning that they are not well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• In 2017, attainment at the end of key stage 2 was well below the national average in reading, writing and science. However, in mathematics and in grammar, punctuation and spelling, performance was stronger, with attainment being broadly in line with that seen nationally. In mathematics, attainment was greater than that seen nationally at the higher level. The school’s most recent unvalidated performance information shows areas where performance has improved at both key stage 1 and key stage 2. However, this improvement is not consistent within or across subjects. As a result, the school’s reading, writing and mathematics combined score at the end of key stage 2 has declined.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good levels of progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, their attainment at the end of key stages 1 and 2 is well below that of other pupils nationally.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress. Their acquisition of English is rapid. In some subjects, such as writing and mathematics at key stage 2, published performance information shows that they perform at a higher level than those for whom English is their first language.
• The school’s most recent published performance information in 2017 shows that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make good progress and do not attain well. This group of pupils receive focused support in school, and leaders can evidence their progress. However, their attainment throughout school is low. In addition, low attendance and persistent absence result in large amounts of lost learning time for many pupils.
• In some classes, the level of challenge is low. As a result, some pupils lose concentration and do not achieve as they should.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership is effective in early years. It is driving forward improvements and leading to better provision for children.
• Children get off to a strong start in Nursery with phonics and early reading. As a result of good teaching, progress is swift from children’s starting points, which are often low.
• Teachers and teaching assistants are effective in developing children’s levels of independence. Staff have very good relationships with the children and offer guidance and encouragement to develop their learning.
• Displays and resources in the classrooms are language-rich and support children in developing a good vocabulary. As result, children can work independently and freely access activities.
• Leaders and teachers ensure that children have a broad range of activities to do, both in the classroom and outdoors. Leaders have worked hard to develop the outdoor provision to ensure that the quality of learning that takes place matches the same high quality that is available indoors. Some children working outdoors were able to explain to an inspector what doubling was. They then proceeded to double items in shapes while another child wrote the numbers next to them.
• Staff ensure that children are safe in early years. High levels of supervision by school staff ensure the safety of the children. Children’s behaviour is good. For most of the time they are cooperative and supportive. On rare occasions where cooperation deteriorates, members of staff intervene to improve behaviour.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported. Leaders ensure that these children receive focused support and guidance. The environment in Nursery and Reception is literacy-rich, with a wide range of high-quality books and displays. A project to develop pupils’ language and communication skills, together with a range of first-hand experiences, is building up children’s language skills effectively.
• Teachers work effectively with parents. Parents attend a range of meetings to ensure that the transition into school is smooth. Teachers encourage parents to stay and play with their children, to enable parents to develop their skills in supporting their children’s learning.
• Leaders use additional funding effectively to provide additional support for children both academically, socially and emotionally. This has enabled a high proportion of children to gain individual and small-group support. As a result, outcomes for these children have improved over time.
• The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development at the end of Reception is below that seen nationally for all children, including those who are disadvantaged. However, some of the low attainment in published results is because there is a high level of mobility. The progress that children make throughout the Reception Year from low starting points is good. Overall, children are well prepared for Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 130395 Liverpool 10045822 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 471 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Local authority Marlene Taylor Mark Rigby 0151 733 3558 www.lawrence-primary.co.uk lawrence_school_uk@yahoo.co.uk Date of previous inspection 12–13 March 2014

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils receiving support for SEN and/or disabilities is above average.
• The proportion of pupils supported with an education, health and care plan or with a statement of special educational needs is average.
• The school receives additional funding through the pupil premium funding for a higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils.
• The vast majority of pupils are from minority ethnic groups.
• The vast majority of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The school runs a breakfast club and offers a wide range of clubs during lunchtimes and after school.
• The mobility of pupils is high.
• The school is in an area of high deprivation.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all year groups.
• Inspectors examined a range of documents, including information about pupils’ attendance, school improvement plans, the school’s own self-evaluation, safeguarding records, curriculum planning, information about managing teachers’ performance, and staff training records.
• Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the school day. They took account of eight responses to Ofsted’s online survey.
• An inspector met with a representative of the local authority who is the school’s improvement partner.
• An inspector met with the chair of the governing body and three other governors.
• Inspectors talked with pupils informally at playtimes, visited the dining hall at lunchtime and observed pupils’ movement around the school. Formal meetings also took place with pupils, and a group of pupils joined an inspector on a learning walk around school.
• Inspectors looked at behaviour at the start and end of the school day and during breaks and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors undertook a detailed scrutiny of pupils’ work and talked with them about it. They listened to pupils read and talked to them about the books they enjoyed and those that they are currently reading.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, the leader of the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, and the inclusion manager.
• Inspectors carried out a detailed scrutiny of current progress and attendance information for all groups of pupils.

Inspection team

Gill Pritchard, lead inspector Julie Downing Adrian Francis Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector