The Lancaster School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

The school provides pupils with a good education.

All the main aspects of provision are good. This ensures that pupils are well cared for and that their achievement is good. As one parent reported, representing the views of many others, 'This is the third child we have sent to the school and we love it.

All children have enjoyed attending and all have done really well.' Pupils make good progress and attainment is average overall. The attainment of boys has risen strongly over the last three years because of the good progress they make in lessons so that their attainment is now broadly average.

In reading and writing, girls perform better than boys because they make faster progress in... lessons. School assessment information and pupils' work demonstrate that the school is well placed to sustain this rising trend in attainment for all groups of pupils because of good teaching and learning in lessons. Children benefit from a good start to their education in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The good progress that they make continues into Key Stage 1 because in lessons teachers are effective in ensuring that work is pitched to the right level for nearly all pupils. Improvements to the curriculum in English have better engaged boys in their learning. For example, the well-structured reading lessons with carefully chosen books appeal to boys.

However, there are insufficient practical activities that are linked to the development of pupils' writing skills to fully engage boys in writing. Some aspects of care, guidance and support are very strong, for example, the procedures for nurturing and safeguarding the significant proportion of pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. These procedures have resulted in good behaviour and improved attendance that is average overall.

Determined efforts by the school have resulted in a rise in attendance by the very large majority of pupils whose attendance is either average or above average. There are still, however, a few pupils who do not attend as regularly as they could. The headteacher provides very effective leadership and is well supported by other school leaders and the governing body.

Robust procedures to check the work of the school have driven important improvements in teaching and learning since the previous inspection and resulted in the better achievement of all groups of pupils. For example, accurate measures to check the progress of pupils have ensured that all groups make good or outstanding progress as well as identifying where further improvements to provision can be made. School leaders demonstrate a good capacity for future improvement.

Information about the school

This is a smaller than average-sized infant school. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language are below average. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals are above average.

A minority of pupils experience circumstances that may make them vulnerable. The school has achieved National Healthy Schools status. It has recently gained the Investors in People Bronze level and the Arts Mark Silver level awards.

The school works in close partnership with a local infant and junior school. Some resources and staff are shared, such as the special educational needs coordinator and the newly appointed family support worker. Pupils benefit from a breakfast club that is managed by the governing body.

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