Linacre Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their time at this supportive school.

They build strong relationships with each other and benefit from the encouragement of the caring staff. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are kind and considerate towards each other. They are welcoming and caring towards pupils who have recently joined the school.

Pupils know that the staff care about them. They trust that staff will help them if they share any worries. Leaders deal with any concerns about bullying promptly.

This helps pupils to feel safe.

Pupils are eager to meet leaders' high expectations of their behaviour. They make every effort to... model their three simple rules, 'Look after yourself, look after each other, look after our school.'



Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning and take pride in their work. They are starting to benefit from the recently improved curriculum and leaders' higher expectations of what they can achieve. However, in some subjects, pupils, including children in the early years, do not achieve as well as they should.

Pupils enjoy visiting places of interest, such as a museum and an art gallery in Liverpool city centre. They value activities such as football and yoga clubs.

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

Over time, leaders, including governors, have not checked for, or acted swiftly enough, to address weaknesses in the curriculum.

They have not assessed the impact of their actions to improve the quality of education. As a result, pupils have not benefited from a well-designed curriculum. However, recently, leaders have taken steps to rectify this.

They have introduced a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including those with SEND. They have identified the important knowledge that pupils should acquire. In most subjects, they have ordered this knowledge thoughtfully, so that when teachers introduce new ideas, they build well on pupils' previous learning.

As a result, pupils are beginning to achieve well in the subjects that leaders have prioritised. However, as this recent work to strengthen the curriculum is not complete for all subjects, in some areas of the curriculum pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

The training which subject leaders have undertaken has improved their expertise and confidence.

As a result, in many subjects they now give teachers clear guidance and direction in how to implement curriculums effectively. Typically, teachers have strong subject knowledge. They use assessment well to respond to pupils' needs and adapt their teaching to meet them.

In the early years, most children learn to listen attentively and participate enthusiastically in activities. However, leaders have not ensured that teachers implement all aspects of the early years curriculum effectively. Staff do not focus appropriately on developing children's spoken language and vocabulary.

As a result, some children make limited progress.

Leaders have successfully introduced a clearly structured phonics programme. From the start of the Reception Year, children learn sounds and letters in daily lessons.

Leaders ensure that staff teach the phonics programme consistently well. As a result, most pupils can successfully decode words by the end of Year 1. However, leaders have not given enough thought to the reading curriculum beyond the phonics programme.

As a result, the reading curriculum beyond Year 1 does not build well on pupils' strong start. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunity to develop their comprehension skills or a love of reading. Older pupils who struggle to read do not receive effective support to catch up quickly.

Consequently, some pupils lack the confidence to read independently. Many older pupils do not read widely and often.

Leaders have strengthened their systems to ensure that they identify the needs of pupils with SEND early.

Teachers have developed their confidence in adapting the curriculum to ensure that these pupils have access to the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

Pupils are polite, friendly and caring towards each other. The atmosphere throughout the school is calm and purposeful.

Poor behaviour rarely disrupts lessons. This means that pupils can concentrate without interruption. Leaders have worked diligently to improve pupils' attendance with some success.

However, the irregular attendance of some pupils hampers their learning and limits their achievement.

Leaders provide pupils with a range of opportunities to develop their understanding of diversity in modern British society. Pupils develop empathy for others.

They are welcoming and inclusive. They show a keen interest in learning about different beliefs, families and cultures and demonstrate a mature approach to discussions and debate. They understand that they should treat everyone with respect.

Governors are knowledgeable and dedicated. With support from the local authority, they have begun to tackle long-standing weaknesses in the quality of education at the school. A few staff raised concerns about workload.

They acknowledged that leaders have engaged with them when they have raised concerns.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff undertake regular safeguarding training to help them to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

This has included training in sexually harmful behaviour. Staff understand their responsibilities for keeping children safe and follow the school policy for reporting their concerns.Leaders act promptly to address any concerns which staff or pupils raise.

They engage with a range of local agencies to provide support for vulnerable pupils and their families.Pupils receive helpful guidance from outside agencies, including the police, to help them to avoid risks in the community. They have a secure understanding of some of the features of healthy relationships, such as consent.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders' expectations of what pupils should learn are not clear enough in some subjects. This hinders teachers when designing learning for pupils and prevents pupils from achieving well. Leaders should ensure that they finalise what pupils should know and remember in all subjects from the early years to Year 6, so that they deepen their knowledge and develop their understanding over time.

• Some pupils do not benefit from effective support to catch up with phonics and early reading skills. This means that they do not become fluent or accurate readers quickly enough. Leaders should ensure that these pupils receive effective support to catch up quickly in reading.

In addition, leaders have not ensured that pupils have sufficient opportunities to develop their reading fluency and comprehension as they move up the school. This means that pupils lack the skills, confidence and motivation to read widely and often. Leaders must ensure that they implement a reading curriculum that develops in pupils the skills that they need to enable them to read independently with interest and motivation.

• Persistent absence and overall absence rates are high. Too many pupils do not attend school often enough. This limits their achievement.

Leaders should ensure that they communicate with parents and carers and take effective action to improve pupils' attendance. ? Leaders have not ensured that staff implement the early years curriculum as intended. This prevents some children from getting off to a strong start, particularly in communication and language.

Leaders must ensure that staff in the early years are clear about the important knowledge and vocabulary that children need to acquire and remember in readiness for their future learning. In addition, leaders should ensure that staff in the early years have the skills and knowledge to teach the curriculum effectively. ? Over time, leaders, including governors, have not kept a close enough check on the impact of their actions to improve the school.

At times, this has meant that some areas of weaknesses have not been addressed with sufficient urgency. Leaders and governors should ensure that they evaluate the effectiveness of actions regularly. This will enable them to adjust their approaches in a timely manner when necessary.