Westhead Lathom St James’ Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.

St James' is an extremely happy and harmonious school in which all children and staff are valued. Standards attained by pupils are well above average by the end of Year 6. They achieve exceptionally well, making rapid progress in all year groups in reading and especially in writing and mathematics.

Teaching is consistently good and much is outstanding. Teaching inspires pupils to achieve well and develop a genuine love of learning. However, on occasions teachers' expectations of pupils' presentation of their work is not high enough Pupils greatly enjoy school because learning is enriched by many memorable activities both in and o...ut of lessons.

These contribute extremely successfully to pupils' excellent personal, social, moral and spiritual development. Pupils' behaviour is impeccable. They are polite and well mannered and take on responsibilities very sensibly.

The school is very welcoming and caring. Relationships between pupils and adults are excellent, owing in part to the excellent example of adults and pupils, knowing they are all respected in this highly inclusive school. Staff and pupils are proud to be part of the school.

The wide variety of topics, themes and activities provided, including the after-school clubs and visits, ensure that pupils develop skills in a broad range of subjects. However, on occasions opportunities are missed to develop pupils' skills in reading when they work in other subjects. Pupils are very well prepared for their next stage of education.

Provision in the early years is outstanding. Children relish their time in the setting and are settled and confident. The extremely strong leadership and drive of the headteacher has been instrumental in the school's success.

Leaders are focused on continually raising standards. Systems for managing the performance of staff are rigorous and are explicitly linked to securing pupils' rapid progress in English and mathematics. The governing body is highly skilled and effective at holding the school to account.

Governors have an excellent understanding of the school, its strengths and how it can be even better. The school works very closely with parents, who are exceptionally positive about the education their children receive and the progress they make. They also believe that their children are safe and happy at school.

Information about this school

Westhead Lathom St James' CE is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is well below average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, eligible for support through the pupil premium is well below average.

The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are in the care of the local authority. Virtually all pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics.