Lancaster Road Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Lancaster Road Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to attend the school because their learning is interesting.

They enjoy playing with their friends at breaktimes. The pupils who spoke with the inspector said that staff listen to their views and take good care of them. Pupils feel safe.

There is always an adult to talk to if they are worried.

Pupils want to learn. They are proud to have everyone celebrate their successes in assemblies.

They know that leaders and teachers always expect them to do their very best, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)....

Pupils know that leaders and teachers expect them to behave sensibly and not to disturb learning. They said that teachers are fair when managing behaviour.

As one pupil commented, 'We respect them, and they respect us.' Pupils know that bullying and name-calling are not acceptable. Pupils are confident that adults deal with any incidents quickly and effectively.

Pupils enjoy taking part in a range of clubs and activities, such as football and athletics competitions. Older pupils have the chance to go on a visit to an outdoor adventure centre where they stay away from home for a few nights. Leaders make sure that all pupils can be part of all these activities.

This includes disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders are determined that all pupils will achieve well, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Leaders' plans for the curriculum set out what they expect pupils to know in every year group, including in the early years.

This helps teachers plan learning that builds pupils' knowledge and skills step by step as they move through the school. For example, in mathematics pupils frequently practise number facts, including multiplication tables. This gives them a firm base to develop their skills in calculation and in solving problems.

During the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, leaders prioritised pupils' learning in English and mathematics. Leaders also ensured that pupils continued to access their usual curriculum in most other subjects. That said, some older pupils have developed gaps in their knowledge in some subjects.

They do not remember enough about the subject content that they learned earlier in school. In these subjects, the curriculum is not being adapted well enough to help them recover missed or lost learning. This is hindering their achievement and readiness for the next stage of their learning.

Leaders and teachers ensure that pupils quickly learn to read. Children learn phonics from their earliest days in the Reception class. They can soon recognise letters and the sounds that they represent as they begin to read simple words.

Adults in key stage 1 are highly skilled in building up pupils' phonics knowledge as they move through the school. By the time pupils begin key stage 2, most are fluent and confident readers. They continue to develop their skills in understanding and interpreting a wide range of texts.

Pupils in key stage 2 said that they enjoy reading. However, some pupils do not read widely enough, and they choose to read a limited range of books. These pupils miss out on opportunities to further develop their love of reading.

Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND feel welcome in school and learn the full range of subjects in the curriculum. Accurate, early identification of pupils' individual needs mean that they swiftly receive the right support. Parents and carers commented that they appreciate being involved in the plans to support their child's needs and that they receive useful information about their child's progress.

Leaders and teachers enhance pupils' experiences through frequent opportunities for pupils to take part in trips, visits and to meet interesting visitors to the school. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, pupils joined in with a reading workshop online, which was run by two well-known children's authors. Once restrictions eased, pupils visited Lancaster Castle and went to the local beach.

This supported their personal well-being as well as helping them to settle back into school.

Leaders and teachers help pupils to understand the school's values of respect, responsibility and resilience. Pupils know that people come from families, faiths and cultures that may be different from their own.

They respect and celebrate these differences.

Staff speak highly of school leaders. They feel valued and they believe that leaders listen to their views.

Staff said that leaders are considerate of their workload, personal well-being and work–life balance. Leaders do not bring in changes or add extra work without first consulting staff and making sure that there will be a real benefit for pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and governors take safeguarding very seriously. The procedures in place to protect pupils are thorough. Leaders make sure that staff have regular and up-to-date training.

Staff know that it is everyone's responsibility to keep pupils safe. They know exactly what to do and who to contact in response to any concerns.

Leaders have developed an effective safeguarding team at the school.

This includes three learning mentors who work closely with vulnerable pupils and their families. Leaders also work closely with other agencies to protect pupils and their families.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

They understand the dangers of misusing social media.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers do not check that pupils in key stage 2 are reading regularly from a broad range of high-quality texts. This limits pupils' opportunities to develop a love of reading.

Leaders should ensure that teachers monitor pupils' choice of reading book, encouraging them to read more widely and giving guidance on suitable texts. ? Older pupils have insufficient recall of prior learning in some foundation subjects, including history and geography. They also missed out on some key learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

This means that pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding of some subjects. Leaders should ensure that teachers swiftly address gaps in pupils' learning and that the curriculum is adapted to be more effective in helping pupils commit their learning to long-term memory.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2013.

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