St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School

St Luke’s CofE (C) Primary School is a community-focused Church of England primary in the Great Oak CE Learning Federation, and inspectors found much to praise. Pupils feel safe and cared for, behave well, and take pride in their school. The curriculum is ambitious and well considered overall, with strong early reading, effective support for pupils with SEND, a positive early years start, improved attendance, and a wide range of personal development and enrichment opportunities. Safeguarding is effective, staff are positive about working at the school, and governors are knowledgeable. The main areas for improvement relate to consistency in how well the curriculum is implemented. In mathematics, pupils do not always get enough regular opportunities to develop reasoning and problem-solving skills, which limits how well some deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts. In some foundation subjects, teaching does not consistently help pupils practise and retain important knowledge, so progress is slower than it could be. The school’s previous inspection grade was requires improvement, but this inspection found strong provision across all judged areas. Published outcomes from previous years do not reflect the quality of education inspectors saw, and expectations for pupils are high. Overall, this is a caring, calm and ambitious school with a clear sense of community and a small number of specific curriculum areas to sharpen further.

Strengths

• Strong community links with parents, carers, feeder secondary schools and local residents
• Pupils feel safe, cared for and confident to share concerns
• Pupils behave well, show courtesy and respect, and the school is calm
• An ambitious, well-considered curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge and skills over time
• Early reading is a strength, with well-trained staff and effective catch-up support
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported to access the full curriculum
• Children in the early years get a positive start and develop communication and language skills
• Attendance has improved significantly through successful work with parents
• Personal development is effective and underpinned by the school’s values
• Pupils benefit from leadership roles, clubs, competitions and enrichment opportunities
• Staff feel well supported with their well-being and workload
• Governors are knowledgeable and understand the school’s strengths and priorities
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Not all pupils have enough regular opportunities to develop reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics
• In some foundation subjects, teaching does not consistently help pupils practise and retain important knowledge

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 St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.9% 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 St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were 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 St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.8% 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, 23.4% of pupils at St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.2% 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 St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School received £7,593 and spent £8,033 for each of its 197 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £187,000 (£947 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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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Newcastle · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

What is St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School have?

St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School has 197 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School cover?

St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 35% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School?

St Luke's CofE (C) Primary School is at Pepper Street, Silverdale, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6QJ.