Lowton St Mary’s CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are safe and feel happy.

Pupils are well looked after by their teachers and staff. They behave well and are attentive during lessons. Most pupils are confident that they can raise a concern about bullying with a member of staff.

The school takes appropriate action to resolve any issues when pupils do report their concerns.

The school has high ambitions for pupils, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Typically, pupils achieve in line with, or above, national averages in end of key stage 2 assessments.

Additionally, the proportion of pupils meeting the standards of the phoni...cs screening check in Year 1 have been consistently high over time.

Pupils enjoy the wider opportunities that are available to them. For example, they take pride in undertaking a variety of roles and responsibilities.

These range from acting as 'buddies' to being members of a 'champions of change' group, which at the time of inspection was leading a recycling project. Pupils engage well with citizenship activities, such as by raising money for charities. The school provides pupils with some extra-curricular clubs, such as sports clubs.

In some sports, pupils also compete against other local schools.

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

The school has revised much of its curriculum in recent times. This has ensured that the curriculum is broad, balanced and outlines the expectations for what pupils will learn by the end of each year.

In many subjects, the school has clearly broken down these expectations further by identifying the important knowledge that pupils should learn, and when it will be taught. This typically helps staff to deliver curriculum content in an effective and coherent way. Pupils achieve well in many of these subjects.

In some subject curriculums, including in a small number of early years curriculum areas, the school is still working to identify the most crucial knowledge that pupils should learn. This sometimes hinders how well the school helps pupils to deepen their understanding in these subjects. It also occasionally impedes the school in designing and adapting learning activities well, so that pupils acquire the knowledge that they should learn.

Consequently, pupils develop some gaps in their learning in these subjects.

The school fosters a love of reading. Pupils enjoy the stories that their class teachers read to them.

The school delivers its phonics programme well. It provides a range of additional support for pupils to keep up with the expectations of the phonics programme. Pupils quickly gain the knowledge that they need to become confident, fluent readers.

The school carries out regular checks on pupils' learning. In many cases, the school uses these checks well to spot pupils who need additional help with their learning. The school has also improved its oversight of how well the curriculum is implemented by teachers.

In some instances, this has led to the school taking effective action to improve the design and delivery of the curriculum.

The school has effective procedures in place to quickly identify pupils with SEND. Pupils with SEND often receive appropriate support to follow the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates.

Children in the early years get off to a positive start. They develop warm relationships with their teachers, which helps them to feel safe. Children quickly learn classroom routines and expectations.

They are prepared well for Year 1.

The school has robust systems in place to address any attendance concerns. This helps most pupils to attend school regularly.

Pupils have positive attitudes to their education. They conduct themselves sensibly around school.

Overall, the school caters for pupils' personal development well.

It helps pupils to develop warm and inclusive attitudes towards those who might be different to them. Pupils develop a secure knowledge of how to look after their bodies and how to build safe, healthy relationships with others. They learn how to keep themselves safe online.

Pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values.

Leaders are considerate of staff's workload and make sure that it is manageable. For example, leaders provide staff with dedicated time to carry out their wider duties.

Although governors do fulfil their statutory duties, their strategic insight into the school's improvement work is not as secure as it could be. This limits how effectively governors support and challenge the school to further improve the quality of education that pupils receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the school has not identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn. This sometimes leads to pupils not developing knowledge as securely as they could. The school should finalise its curriculum thinking, so that staff are clear on what they should teach pupils and at what point.

• At times, the school does not design and adapt learning activities well to suit pupils' learning needs. Occasionally, this means that some pupils do not acquire the intended knowledge. The school should ensure that learning is consistently well matched to pupils' needs, so that they achieve well across the curriculum.

• The governing body does not have a robust insight into some aspects of the school's strategic work and the impact that this work has on the education that pupils receive.Consequently, governors are not as well equipped to challenge and support the school, to bring about the best possible outcomes and experiences for pupils, as they could be. Governors should ensure that they have the knowledge and expertise needed to fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

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