St Luke's CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Enhance further pupils’ achievements by ensuring that the many rich opportunities to learn at the highest standards in most subjects are available in all.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher has created a highly skilled team whose members are tenacious in striving for every pupil to achieve their very best. Leaders’ strong commitment in achieving the highest standards of teaching and learning, alongside their ambitious aspirations for pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and well-being, has ensured that the school is now outstanding.
• Leaders have built a wonderful ethos at the school that encourages and celebrates pupils’ outstanding learning and tolerant, caring attitudes. Pupils and staff alike model the school’s values in every part of school life, making St Luke’s a happy and inclusive environment in which pupils thrive.
• The headteacher is supported by talented senior leaders who manage expertly their areas of responsibility. They work incisively in evaluating the overall effectiveness of the school and understand accurately what makes it successful. They are never complacent. The leadership team works in a cycle of reviewing, adapting, and improving provision to ensure that pupils always achieve well, and that the school goes from strength to strength.
• Leaders know pupils’ individual needs exceptionally well. The school serves a community with a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds. A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language, and a similarly high number have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders ensure that strikingly effective teaching and additional support enable all pupils, regardless of their circumstances, to succeed.
• Leaders have developed an outstanding curriculum. Teaching is organised meticulously to provide high-quality learning opportunities across a range of subjects. Leaders ensure that all pupils benefit from life-enhancing activities. This is particularly the case for those facing challenging personal circumstances. For example, excursions to the seaside, and educational visits to the theatre, ensure that all pupils experience a thrilling learning journey as they progress through St Luke’s.
• Subject coordinators work diligently to lead their areas of the curriculum. They are enthusiastic and highly motivated to ensure that teaching is of a high quality, and that learning activities are relevant to pupils’ interests. For example, the geography coordinator skilfully planned learning about Poland so that Polish pupils could share their knowledge and expertise of the country with their peers.
• Staff relish opportunities to develop their own professional skills and knowledge. Leaders provide everyone with excellent training and highly effective performance management. For instance, newly qualified teachers are supported by skilled mentors to improve their practice and develop their confidence. Teaching assistants are enthusiastic to learn new skills and take on additional professional roles and responsibilities. Consequently, the excellent culture of learning at St Luke’s extends among pupils and staff alike.
• The headteacher acts as the school’s special educational needs coordinator, providing the highest quality care for this group of pupils. She uses her in-depth knowledge of children’s needs to ensure that perfectly tailored support is provided for each pupil. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities flourish. This is because these pupils’ continuous achievement is a major priority for leaders who, therefore, monitor regularly, assess accurately and adapt provision for them accordingly.
• The pupil premium grant is used to outstanding effect. For example, highly knowledgeable pupil premium ‘champions’ work closely with disadvantaged pupils to provide an individual programme of academic support and pastoral enrichment. Extra lessons, in a range of subjects from English and mathematics, to art and music, ensure that disadvantaged pupils make rapid progress in all areas of their learning and emotional development.
• Leaders provide pupils with a wealth of sporting activities using the primary physical education and sport premium. They use this to great effect to teach pupils the health benefits of being active, the joy to be had in playing as part of a team, and how to take part sportingly.
• Representatives of the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust work efficiently and supportively with school leaders. For example, the school’s improvement adviser provides significant knowledge and expertise in helping the school evaluate its effectiveness. The trust also provides additional, quality training to enhance governors’ strategic leadership of the school.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is at the heart of leaders’ work, and no opportunity is missed to enhance this understanding. For example, as part of the school’s ‘diversity week’, pupils studied historical figures such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and engaged in powerful learning that deepened their knowledge of human rights. Leaders’ work in this area, and in developing pupils’ readiness for life in modern Britain, is a strength of the school.
• Parents hold the school in high regard. They appreciate the many opportunities they have to visit and see the progress their children are making. One comment, typical of many, stated: ‘I cannot praise this school enough. Teachers and staff are wonderful, careful and passionate to see our children shine.’

Governance of the school

• Governors have the necessary skills to support and challenge school leaders strongly. They know the school community well, and the particular challenges faced by vulnerable pupils. They act as ‘champions’ for pupils, and monitor closely leaders’ work against the school development plan. Governors’ actions have contributed well to the school’s sustained development over recent years.
• Governors make good use of visits to the school to check for themselves leaders’ work, and pupils’ achievements. They use a range of information, including reports from the trust, to gain a clear and accurate understanding of what the school does well, and what could be even better. Governors use this information skilfully to evaluate the school’s overall effectiveness.
• Governors oversee the financial management of the school successfully. For instance, they know that the pupil premium grant is used well. Governors monitor keenly the range of strategies the school deploys to support disadvantaged pupils, and check astutely the impact they have on this group of pupils’ outcomes. Consequently, governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities to a high standard.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that systems to keep children safe are robust. For example, when recruiting new staff all appropriate background checks are made and recorded appropriately on the school’s single central record. All records are detailed and accurate, and kept secure and confidential.
• Staff are suitably knowledgeable in safeguarding children. They understand signs of risk and know what to do if they have a concern about a child’s well-being. Appropriate training, such as that recently completed in relation to female genital mutilation, ensures that all staff are kept up to date with child protection matters.
• Leaders recognise that online safety is of particular importance to pupils’ safety. They ensure that frequent learning raises pupils’ awareness of the dangers present when using the internet. This work is highly effective. For instance, pupils were able to articulately and convincingly explain to inspectors how they manage well the risks present when using social media, and what to do to keep themselves, and their friends, safe online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. They nurture pupils’ talents well, and develop strong, effective relationships. In turn, pupils trust and respect their teachers, rise to the challenges they are set, and work hard to do their very best.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is excellent. They use it extremely well to provide pupils with clear explanations, tackle carefully any misconceptions they might have, and make pupils think more deeply. Pupils learn well because teachers are highly adept at strengthening their knowledge and understanding.
• Assessment is used by teachers clearly, in line with the school’s policy. They use their strong questioning skills to understand what pupils do, and do not, know. When checking pupils’ work, teachers identify expertly where pupils have gone wrong, and tell them succinctly and accurately what they need to do to improve. Pupils respond particularly well to this, and ably use teachers’ precise feedback to deepen their understanding.
• Teachers plan engaging and interesting learning activities that spark pupils’ interests. For example, in learning about the Second World War, pupils studied the D-Day landings and imagined what it would be like to be soldier on the beach.
• The support provided by teaching assistants is outstanding. They work closely with teachers to understand what is being taught, and what they must do to help pupils make rapid progress. Like teachers, they have strong subject knowledge. They use this expertly to balance support and challenge for pupils.
• Teaching places a firm emphasis on developing pupils’ communication skills. For example, teachers take every opportunity to invite pupils to share their thoughts and ideas orally with their peers. As a result, pupils talk confidently, enjoy discussions, and listen attentively to others.
• Teaching provides strong challenge for all pupils. Learning is adapted according to pupils’ different levels of understanding, and tasks demand pupils to think deeply and work efficiently. For example, in one Year 2 English lesson, pupils were challenged to suggest different connectives that could improve their writing. Pupils responded by providing accurate examples using ‘therefore’, ‘consequently’ and ‘nevertheless’. This enabled pupils to demonstrate standards in excess of age-expectations.
• Learning is adapted to pupils’ individual needs. If any pupil falls behind, or joins the school with gaps in their knowledge, narrowly focused additional teaching helps them catch up. Similarly, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who speak English as an additional language, receive precise extra support to ensure that they make rapid progress.
• The wider curriculum is taught very well. For example, in art pupils were producing impressive work using the ‘pointillism’ technique. Pupils were able to confidently explain the great value of this style, stating: ‘It enables you to add more texture to your picture.’
• Occasionally, in very few subjects, some learning activities are not planned carefully enough to enable pupils to work at the highest standards. For example, sometimes learning in history and geography does not require the most able pupils to think deeply enough. Leaders are aware, but their work to tackle this is in its early stages.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are proud to attend St Luke’s. They demonstrate endless enthusiasm to fulfil wider responsibilities such as being eco-warriors, prefects, school councillors, and art monitors. They carry out these roles with aplomb.
• Pupils demonstrate the highest standards in tolerance and respect at all times. They value each other’s differences and consider everyone equal. One pupil commented: ‘We might be different but we treat each other equally. Our different cultures and beliefs are what makes St Luke’s an interesting place to learn.’
• Leaders arrange excellent support for pupils’ well-being. For instance, afternoon nurture classes provide vulnerable pupils with the additional emotional care that they need to be able to learn well.
• Bullying is not a problem at St Luke’s. Pupils demonstrated eloquently their strong understanding of what bullying is, and state clearly that it does not happen. They say that sometimes they fall out with their friends but that any arguments are tackled swiftly and successfully by teachers. Pupils say that they trust teachers to sort out bullying fairly and effectively were it to happen.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ behaviour in classrooms is often exemplary. They frequently support each other to learn, and celebrate freely each other’s achievements. The school is a haven of politeness and good manners.
• Pupils’ behaviour at break and lunchtimes is also excellent. They play together well, and are inclusive of everyone. A range of different activities and play equipment ensures that pupils can enjoy themselves and let off steam appropriately.
• Pupils are helpful and supportive. For instance, while talking to an inspector on the playground, one older girl ran off to help a younger child who had fallen over. This caring behaviour is typical.
• Pupils’ attendance is very good. Leaders are quick to support families should they need help to get their children to school on time, regularly.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• The vast majority of children join the early years with starting points significantly below those of other children nationally. However, outstanding teaching ensures that children, including those who are disadvantaged, make rapid progress. The small number of children who do not achieve a good level of development by the end of Reception catch up quickly.
• In Year 1, the large majority of pupils achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check. The proportion of pupils who achieve this standard by the end of Year 2 consistently exceeds the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 is similar to the national average. Disadvantaged pupils, and the high proportion of other pupils with low starting points, make more than expected progress in a range of subjects.
• At the end of key stage 2, results show that pupils’ rapid progress in reading, writing and mathematics has been sustained from the end of key stage 1. The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are challenged highly effectively and make strong progress from their starting points. Pupils are well-prepared for their move up to secondary school.
• Throughout the school, pupils achieve particularly well in writing. This is because across the curriculum there are exceptionally good opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their writing skills.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve well throughout the school in a range of subjects, including reading, writing and mathematics.
• Carefully planned provision, both in class and through extra teaching and support, helps pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve particularly well from their starting points.
• Pupils read with fluency and expression. Teachers’ high expectations, access to a wide range of different books, and a stimulating library help pupils develop a love for reading.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding are excellent. The progress pupils make as a result ensures that they have a solid understanding of fundamental British values, and are particularly well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• A high proportion of pupils join St Luke’s later in their education, and many have significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding. These pupils make rapid progress in a range of subjects from their starting points, but occasionally do not attain as highly as other pupils in national assessments.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Provision in the newly opened Nursery, and the early years setting is outstanding. Staff have the highest expectations for what children can achieve, and waste no time in supporting them to learn very well across all areas of the early years curriculum. Learning is stimulating, engaging and imaginative and, as a result, pupils make rapid progress.
• The early years coordinator provides exceptional leadership. Staff complete early, accurate assessments to build a clear picture of what children know and understand. Importantly, these assessments are checked rigorously against standards within the trust and the local authority. Leaders scrutinise this information carefully and use it to set challenging targets for children’s next steps in learning. Consequently, children make rapid progress, and those who have very low starting points are supported extremely well to catch up swiftly.
• Leaders have identified that a high proportion of children join the early years with language and communication skills lower than is typical for their age. Where appropriate, staff work closely with external professionals to develop this group of pupils’ speaking and listening skills well. Rightly, leaders also ensure that learning activities provide high-quality opportunities for pupils to practise and successfully deepen their emerging verbal and writing skills.
• Teaching is exceptionally good in the early years. Staff, including teachers, teaching assistants, and additional adults, support children’s learning expertly. Questions are used particularly well to develop children’s skills when they are learning, and also when they are playing. For example, as children looked for buried treasure hidden in a tray of rice, the teaching assistant attempted to deepen their knowledge and understanding by asking, ‘How does it feel? Is it soft or hard? Can you stretch it?’
• Leaders work closely with families. This enables staff to prepare very well for children to transfer seamlessly into their new school. Strong relationships with settings, such as pre-schools, ensure that children are happy and confident to start learning at St Luke’s.
• Children learn how to keep themselves safe very well in the early years. For example, a group of children were learning about oral hygiene. They knew the importance of brushing their teeth, so as to ‘get rid of the germs that are on them’.
• All safeguarding and statutory welfare requirements are met to a high standard in the early years setting. Staff demonstrate a robust knowledge of the actions to take to keep children safe.

Inspection report: St Luke’s CofE Primary School, 11–12 October 2017

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School details

Unique reference number 141601 Local authority Windsor and Maidenhead Inspection number 10036801 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 300 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Oliver Laurenson-Gore Amanda Hough 01628 621600 www.st-lukesprimary.com office@st-lukesprimary.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is below the national average.
• A high proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is also high.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is above the average seen nationally.
• The school has a high rate of mobility.
• St Luke’s Church of England Primary School is part of the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust.
• The school meets the government floor standards which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in primary schools by the end of key stage 2.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning throughout the school, spoke to pupils and looked at work in their books. Some observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders, groups of pupils, the chair of the local governing board and other governors, and representatives from the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust.
• Inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the day and took into account eight responses, including written comments, to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also analysed 23 responses to the staff questionnaire.
• A range of documents were reviewed, including the school’s development plan and self-evaluation document; information about pupils’ achievement, attendance, behaviour and safety; information about the school’s performance management of staff; governing body reports, and trust reports.

Inspection team

Dom Cook, lead inspector Stephen Phillips Emma Palastanga Christopher Crouch

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector