Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School

Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School is a caring, inclusive school with many strengths, but recent academic outcomes and attendance are not yet where they need to be. Safeguarding standards are met, and inspectors graded early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing at the expected standard. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, and curriculum and teaching were graded needs attention, largely because published key stage 2 outcomes in reading, writing, mathematics and grammar are below national averages, disadvantaged pupils' attainment has fallen, and some pupils' foundational skills are not secure. Leaders are ambitious, visible and well regarded by staff, and governance is developing effectively. Pupils are happy and safe, behave well, and benefit from strong pastoral support, a wide personal development offer, and thoughtful early years and inclusion provision. Early reading and phonics are particular strengths, and there are early signs of improvement in writing and spelling. However, attendance remains a significant concern: overall absence is above national, persistent absence is too high, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are disproportionately affected. Leaders' attendance analysis is not sharp enough, and teaching is not consistently helping pupils secure handwriting, spelling, punctuation and number formation. The next steps are to strengthen teaching so recent improvements translate into better outcomes, address gaps in foundational knowledge, and improve attendance so pupils do not miss essential learning.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
• Early years provides a calm and welcoming start, with clear routines that build confidence and independence.
• The early years curriculum is well sequenced, and staff use assessment well to adapt learning.
• Adults use high-quality interactions to extend children's vocabulary and thinking.
• Phonics and early reading are delivered consistently well in the early years.
• Children with additional needs in early years are supported quickly and effectively.
• Inclusion is strong, with early identification of needs and collaborative work with families and specialists.
• Support staff help pupils with SEND stay focused and learn alongside their classmates.
• The Swannery provides a calm space for pupils to manage emotions before returning to learning.
• Leaders show energy, determination and clear ambition for the school.
• Staff speak positively about leaders, workload and wellbeing, and value training opportunities.
• Governors understand the school's values and priorities and provide support and challenge.
• Personal development is a priority, with pupils learning about healthy relationships, online safety and wellbeing.
• Pupils learn about diversity, justice and respect, and produced a published poetry book on difference and tolerance.
• A wide range of clubs, trips and activities builds pupils' interests, talents and confidence.
• Pastoral support is well developed, and pupils know who to talk to when worried.
• Pupil leadership roles, including buddies, Pupil Parliament and Eco-Green Guardians, build responsibility.
• Behaviour is calm and respectful, and relationships between staff and pupils are warm and supportive.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and have a secure sense of belonging.
• Recent phonics outcomes have been above national outcomes.
• Pupils' work shows clearer progress in key areas of writing and spelling.

Areas for Improvement

• Recent pupil achievement has not been good enough.
• Published key stage 2 outcomes are below national averages in reading, writing, mathematics and grammar.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment has recently fallen below similar pupils nationally in most areas.
• Some pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of their education as they could be.
• Handwriting, spelling, punctuation and number formation are not consistently secure across the school.
• In some books, errors in foundational skills remain over time and limit new learning.
• Overall attendance is below national figures and has not improved.
• Attendance for disadvantaged pupils remains below national levels, and attendance for pupils with SEND has fallen further.
• Too many pupils, including vulnerable pupils, are persistently absent and miss important learning.
• Leaders' analysis of attendance information is not sharp enough to support improvement.
• There are inconsistencies in how well teachers help pupils secure important foundations.
• Questioning and checking routines are not yet used consistently across the school.
• Governors are still developing their understanding of how well disadvantaged pupils are attaining.
• Leaders need to strengthen teaching so improvements in achievement are reflected in pupils' outcomes.
• Leaders need to support staff to identify and address pupils' gaps in foundational knowledge.
• Leaders need to strengthen attendance procedures so attendance improves and persistent absence reduces.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.0% of pupils at Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School had 23.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.1% of pupils at Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School received £7,986 and spent £8,162 for each of its 188 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £82,000 (£435 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School have?

Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School has 188 pupils on roll.

What age range does Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School cover?

Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School?

Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School is at Slyne Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2JH.