Lanchester Endowed Parochial Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 March 2024

The school's strong and distinctive Christian ethos shines through. The school's core values, such as love, hope and compassion, are not platitudes; they are enacted. Pupils trust adults to keep them safe, resulting in a feeling of confidence and self-belief. Relationships are warm and trusting. Older pupils 'buddy up' with younger pupils to talk, read or play together. Pupils talk openly about the need for equality and the need to include everyone, no matter how they may be different. Pupils behave very well. Adults deal swiftly and fairly with any poor behaviour or 'falling out'. Pupils are self-motivated, which means they work hard, but also know teachers expect the very best from them. Aspiration and ambition are tangible. Pupils set themselves challenging targets and achieve well. They aspire to rewarding careers in, for example, architecture, science, education or sport. Pupils are enthusiastic about the range of opportunities available to them. This includes local, national and international residential trips and access to the creative arts. Pupils enjoy performing Shakespeare and working with the National Opera to sing parts of 'The Magic Flute'. A clear favourite is learning outdoors in the school's forest area to build dens, cook food by an open fire or birdwatch in a special hide.

What the school should improve

• In some foundation subjects, the most important knowledge and key concepts that pupils need to grasp and remember lack clarity. Some pupils only concentrate on the topic. This limits pupils' ability to connect new learning to what they already know and to remember more key knowledge over time. The school should ensure that the key knowledge in all subjects is equally clear, so that pupils can remember more and do more.

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