Lancaster Road Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 March 2026

Pupils feel included in the school and have good relationships with caring staff due to the positive ethos that leaders have established. Pupils conduct themselves well around the school and maintain successful friendships with their peers. They have positive attitudes towards school. Pupils feel safe in school, including from the harmful effects of bullying, because they know that staff will deal with this swiftly and decisively. In the main, pupils enjoy learning about the interesting topics that teachers deliver. Pupils experience a broad curriculum that helps to build their knowledge sequentially. However, due to the variation in the quality of teaching and learning across classes and year groups, some pupils do not achieve as well as they otherwise could. This is reflected in the published data at the end of key stage 2, which has been below national averages in recent years. Leaders have ensured that there are comprehensive systems in place to identify where pupils may have any barriers to learning, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These pupils generally make positive progress from their starting points. In recent years, pupils' attendance has been lower than leaders expect. This means that they miss out on many of the positive things that happen at the school. Although leaders have tried many strategies, attendance remains below the national average. There is a wide range of activities available that include visitors to school and trips, including residential visits. Every pupil gets the opportunity to attend a club or sports competition. The range of sports clubs includes diverse opportunities, such as judo, dodgeball, girls' football and cross-country running.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that teachers have a more consistent approach to correcting the basic errors in pupils’ grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting, to ensure that this knowledge is more securely applied in subjects across the curriculum.
• Leaders should continue to develop teachers’ expertise when making curriculum adaptations so that learning tasks are more precisely matched to pupils’ needs in all subjects.
• Leaders should continue to work closely with parents and carers to improve attendance and reduce the risk of pupils developing further gaps in learning.
• Leaders should ensure that they check on the consistency of curriculum implementation more rigorously and systematically, particularly in relation to the teaching of foundational writing knowledge.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)