Slyne-with-Hest, St Luke's, Church of England Primary School

Overview

The report describes a “nurturing and happy school” where pupils “blossom” and achieve “very well” in core subjects, consistently outperforming national averages. Leaders and staff foster a strong sense of belonging, resulting in high attendance and exemplary behaviour, with pupils demonstrating a “can-do” attitude and kindness towards one another.

Strengths

• Pupils “achieve very well in reading, writing and mathematics,” with attainment “significantly above national data” by the end of Key Stage 2.
• Attendance is high, supported by a “strong sense of belonging” and effective use of pupil premium funding to help disadvantaged pupils.
• Staff “teach basic skills effectively” and use assessment information “adeptly to pinpoint and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.”
• The early years provide “extremely warm and nurturing relationships,” helping children flourish academically and emotionally.
• Inclusion systems are “highly effective,” with staff using personalised targets and specialist training, such as sign language, to support pupils with additional needs.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should enhance their professional development programme to ensure it has a “sustained and widespread impact across all areas of the school's work.”
• Governors should hold leaders “more robustly and consistently to account” for the quality of subjects other than English and mathematics.
• Governors need greater oversight of the achievement of vulnerable groups, particularly those in receipt of pupil premium funding, to assure spending has the desired impact.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an “open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” and concerns are actively identified and managed.