St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being part of this welcoming school, which prides itself on supporting the community. Pupils embody the school's vision of respecting others.

They appreciate that everyone is unique and understand the importance of treating others in a way that they would like to be treated themselves. This helps pupils to feel happy at school.

The school is ambitious for pupils to achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

However, a number of pupils have gaps in their learning that have not been addressed. This means that these pupils do not achieve as well as they should in a range of subjects. Furthermore, some pu...pils in key stage 2 do not have the knowledge that they need to be successful readers.

Despite this, pupils work hard and behave well in lessons.

Pupils value the different trips that they experience. These include visits to outdoor adventure centres, the library and orchestral performances.

The school ensures that many pupils access the range of clubs that it offers. These vary from family Zumba, martial arts, through to American football. Charitable activities, such as fund raising for a local hospice, help pupils to develop their understanding of empathy.

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

The published performance data in 2023 shows that by the end of Year 6, pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was significantly below the national average. Some of these pupils missed considerable amounts of time in school as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, weaknesses in the school's previous curriculum also hampered how well pupils learned.

The school has taken action to improve the consistency with which mathematics and writing is taught. However, some pupils in key stage 2 have gaps in their understanding of important vocabulary. While pupils can read many of the words, they do not know what they mean.

This has not been identified or addressed. Therefore, some pupils struggle to understand the important information in the texts that they read. This limits their comprehension and how well prepared they are for the next stage of education.

In subjects other than English and mathematics, the school has set out the important knowledge that pupils should learn in Years 1 to 6. In a small number of these subjects, pupils have gaps in their knowledge. The reasons for this are varied.

Weaknesses in the previous subject curriculums have led to some of the gaps in pupils' knowledge. These gaps have not been identified and addressed, which hinders some pupils from making sense of new learning. Other gaps in pupils' knowledge stem from some teachers lacking the subject knowledge that they need to deliver the curriculum as intended.

The school has not set out the important knowledge that children in the early years should learn in some areas of learning. This makes it tricky for staff to know what they should prioritise when designing activities. As a result, some activities do not help children build on what they already know.

This leads to some children not being as well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum as they should be.

The school prioritises the teaching of phonics. The phonics programme is delivered by well-trained staff.

Staff ably support those pupils who need extra help in learning phonics. New arrivals to the school who speak English as an additional language, learn phonics quickly and successfully. Parents and carers value the information that they receive from the school that helps them to support their children's phonics learning at home.

The school has effective systems in place to identify the needs of pupils with SEND. Pupils with SEND benefit from well-chosen resources that help them to access the same curriculum as their peers.

Pupils' behaviour across the school is positive and learning is rarely interrupted.

Children in the early years learn cooperatively alongside one another and follow class rules and routines. Previously, too many pupils have been absent from school. The school has put in place a range of effective strategies that have reduced the number of pupils who are persistently absent.

Pupils experience a range of personal development opportunities. Pupils understand that there are many different types of families in society. They learn about healthy relationships and how to keep themselves safe online.

Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

The local governing body and trustees understand the weaknesses in pupils' achievement. They have worked to improve the school's capacity to begin to improve the quality of education.

However, turbulence in staffing since the previous inspection has limited the impact of this. Staff are positive about what the school and the trust do to support their workload and well-being. This includes access to external well-being support and measures that reduce paperwork.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers do not check how well pupils have remembered and understood what they have been previously taught. Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge that have not been identified.

These gaps hinder their ability to make sense of new learning and they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers are well equipped to check that pupils' knowledge is secure before introducing new topics and concepts. The school has not identified the key knowledge that children in the early years should learn in some areas of the curriculum.

As a result, a number of children have gaps in their knowledge and are not sufficiently prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum. The school should ensure that they finalise their curriculum thinking so that it is clear what children in the early years should learn and when this knowledge should be taught. ? In a small number of subjects, some teachers do not have the knowledge that they need to teach the intended curriculum effectively.

Some of the learning activities that pupils complete do not enable them to learn the important knowledge as well as they should. The school should make sure that teachers have the subject knowledge that they need to effectively deliver the curriculum, so that pupils achieve well. ? Some pupils in key stage 2 have gaps in their understanding of important vocabulary.

These pupils struggle to comprehend the important information in the texts that they read. As a result, they are not as well prepared for the next stage of education as they should be. The school should ensure that there is increased emphasis on identifying and addressing the gaps in knowledge that limit pupils' reading comprehension.

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