STATUTORY
INSPECTION OF
ANGLICAN SCHOOLS
Name & address of school: St Luke’s Church of England Primary School
Saunders Ness Road, Poplar, London, E14 3EB
Diocese of London
Date of inspection: 3rd April 2008
Type of School: Voluntary Aided Primary
Headteacher: Mr Ian Jones
Local authority: Tower Hamlets
Date of last inspection: October 2003
School’s unique reference number: 100954
SIAS Inspector: Alan Thornsby (N.S. 137)
School context
St Luke’s is an average sized primary school serving a diverse community. Many pupils are from
ethnic minority groups and areas of deprivation. The school is presently undergoing the
redevelopment of a community house and the school entrance. These are designed to create a
more welcoming entrance to reflect the ethos of the school and accommodation to meet parents
outside the school environment.
The distinctiveness and effectiveness of St. Luke’s Tower Hamlets as a Church of England
school are outstanding
St Luke’s is an outstanding church school because of the commitment of the whole school to
create a truly inclusive school. Every child is seen as an individual regardless of their faith and
background. The ethos of the school based on common values is key to the care and respect of
every family within the school.
Established strengths
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The impact on relationships throughout the community by the ‘St. Luke’s way’
The active teamwork of adults in school to develop each child as a happy and successful
individual academically and personally
The commitment of the school to the whole child that includes parents and families.
Focus for development
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To further improve standards in religious education by developing self-assessment by pupils.
The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is outstanding at meeting the needs
of all learners
The ethos, drive and commitment of the school is based on ‘The St. Luke’s Way’. This unwritten
code, so tangible as anyone enters the school, is understood by all. It combines love, justice,
reconciliation and respect that nourish and challenge the whole community. Older pupils recognise
that because it is not written down, it can constantly develop. It is the foundation of the successfully
inclusive multi-faith nature of the school. There is a real recognition and celebration of faith in the
school in which as one child stated ‘Here we are all God’s children, Christian and Muslims are
cousins’. Every child is supported to achieve academically and personally because of a rich
curriculum in which worship, religious education and pupils own life experiences are naturally
woven across the whole curriculum. This is extended by a wide range of activities before and after
school and at lunch time. Success is recognised in a range of ways. Pupils have opportunities to
share their thoughts in a ‘Tree of Aspirations’ and can nominate others for spontaneous acts of
kindness in the ’Wall of kindness’. This means relationships between all members of the school
community are excellent. Pupils’ good behaviour and anti bullying is reinforced by positive attitude
posters, some designed by pupils.
The impact of collective worship on the school community is outstanding
The centrality of worship in this multi faith school is seen in the weekly Mass that is led and written
by the vicar and children. The presence of staff and many parents shows the importance of
worship in this community. Pupils develop a clear understanding of faith because each class is
responsible for writing and sharing prayers for Mass, and for conveying the theme in their chosen
way. Pupils describe a warm, happy feeling after being blessed during Mass. The school
recognizes the importance of faith in school by inviting pupils from other faiths to share their
prayers and mother tongue as part of Mass. There is a great celebration and confirmation of faith
because of meaningful links with pupils’ own experiences. These for example allow youngest
children to discuss and explore the Easter story and reasons for the Eucharist. The pupils’
understanding of the Anglican tradition is developed further by the vicar, for example explaining the
relevance of liturgical colours of his stole and by his blessing of everyone as they leave. Other acts
of worship allow a more reflective time for pupils to explore their own thoughts and actions. Prayer
has a high profile in school. Pupils explain its value as a time ‘to talk to God’. Older pupils welcome
coming together to pray before afternoon school as a time to be calm and refocus. The school is
exploring furthering opportunities for prayer after a pupil commented ‘We always pray for ourselves.
We should be praying for the wider world’.
The effectiveness of the religious education is good
Religious education is a strength of the school because of the commitment and enthusiasm of the
knowledgeable subject leader. She has a clear understanding of progress and achievement
because of her monitoring and evaluation of planning, work scrutiny and lesson observation. This
has ensured there is a consistent approach to teaching and learning by all staff. Ongoing teacher
assessment at the end of each unit of work shows achievement is in line with other core subjects.
The school has identified the need to develop pupils’ self-assessment. An outstanding feature of
the school is the joint staff planning for themes such as Easter. This creates an area of study for
the whole school in which pupils are challenged at age appropriate levels. They are also able to
share each others’ work through reflective displays. Teaching is good because of teachers have a
good rapport with pupils and use effective questioning skills. Pupils are engaged by cross-curricular
creative tasks. These allow pupils to learn about religion and develop their knowledge further. For
example, Year two children learning about the Hindu spring festival of Holi explore their own
responses to colours that make them feel happy or sad. Year six pupils research sacred texts using
ICT to explore their moral teachings. Pupils value their multi-faith school, explaining they can ask
each other questions about their beliefs. This allows constant exploration and learning about the
common beliefs of the major world faiths. The school has excellent capacity to continue to develop,
under the leadership of the coordinator, and firmly embed the present good practice.
The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is
outstanding
There is a vision shared and understood by the whole school community that is expressed in “the
St Luke’s Way”. This is a demonstration of the values and ethos of the school that includes justice,
kindness and love. It is a constant reference point in discussions that allows the school to evaluate
its distinctiveness, areas for development and impact on the lives of everyone. Governors are kept
informed through effective communication and opportunities to join staff on an annual residential
retreat to review the progress of the school. The views of the whole school community are sought
formally and informally and taken into consideration when decisions are made. The open door
policy and availability of head and staff enable parents and children to discuss issues as they
arrive. There is unanimous praise by parents for the academic and personal development of pupils.
The importance of family to the school is seen in the way support is given to parents as well as
pupils in times of difficulty. Families are well supported for example by the provision of English
classes. This is a further reflection of the strengths of relationships within the school. The school is
presently creating a community house to extend the opportunities for parental support. There are
strong links with church that includes church members joining in school worship to raise the profile
of a worshipping community.
SIAS report April 2008 St. Luke’s Tower Hamlet E14 3EB