Lowerplace Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Since his appointment in 2017, the headteacher has raised expectations and initiated an ambitious programme of improvements which is having a positive effect in all areas of the school.

The new leadership team is successfully driving these improvements after a period of instability and a decline in outcomes. As a result, current pupils are making good progress. Governors are knowledgeable and make a good contribution to shaping the strategic direction of the school.

Since the last inspection, leaders have put in place a rigorous programme of training to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. As a result, the quality of ...teaching is good and standards are now rising. Pupils are very proud of their school.

They show respect to adults and to each other. Their behaviour is good. The work the school does to support pupils' personal development and welfare is excellent.

Pupils flourish in this nurturing environment. They enjoy school and find learning interesting. Pupils' safety has high priority.

Robust systems are in place to keep pupils as safe as possible in school and beyond. Provision for children in the early years is outstanding. Strong leadership, purposeful activities and high-quality teaching mean children make rapid progress from the time they enter school.

The content of pupils' writing is often of a high standard but this quality is not always replicated in their writing in other subjects. The majority of current pupils make good progress from their starting points in a range of subjects. This is not rapid enough for all pupils in key stage 2, including for the most able.

In some year groups, disadvantaged pupils lag behind their peers due to a legacy of weak assessment which did not accurately identify their needs. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has improved. The new coordinator of the provision for pupils with SEND has rapidly got to grips with the challenges of the role.

However, she has not yet had time to have sufficient impact on fully improving outcomes for this group. Some subjects in the curriculum, such as art and design and modern foreign languages, are not planned or taught in sufficient depth.

Information about this school

The school is larger than average and caters for pupils from aged four to 11 years old and is expanding.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average. The large majority of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, with the highest proportion being those of Pakistani heritage. The school is in the top 20% of all schools nationally for the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.

The proportion of pupils with SEND who receive additional support is lower than average. The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is lower than average. There have been changes to the leadership team, including a new headteacher, since the last inspection.