A “welcoming and inviting” primary school has retained its good rating following an inspection by Ofsted.

St Augustine of Canterbury RC Primary School in Lowerhouse Lane, Burnley, was being inspected for the first time since it was converted to an academy under the Romero Catholic Academy Trust.

The school received a good rating in its last full inspection in 2014 before the conversion and remained good at a short inspection in 2018.

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Inspectors said the school’s pupils achieve well and are set high aspirations for their achievement and well-being.

The report said: “St Augustine’s is a welcoming and inviting place to learn. Pupils are happy and feel safe at school.

“The pupils are well prepared for life beyond primary school. Pupils behave maturely and respectfully. They strive to uphold the school values of compassion, teamwork, and success.

“Pupils in all year groups take great pride in their leadership roles. For example, pupils can be an eco-warrior, a happiness hero, a mental health ambassador, or a corridor monitor.

“Pupils in years 5 and 6 talk enthusiastically about being positive role models for children in the reception year.”

Inspectors also praised the school’s curriculum, which they said was organised in logical steps starting from the early years, and that swift action was taken when in the past it was identified pupils had not grasped some key concepts fully.

The report says in early years, there is a sharp focus on developing children’s communication and language skills, and the needs of pupils with SEND are identified accurately and quickly.

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To improve, the report said: “At times, teachers do not have the subject knowledge they need to teach some concepts in some subject curriculums. This hinders them from deepening pupils’ learning.

“The support that some pupils who are at the earliest stages of learning to read are not fully effective. This means that these pupils do not overcome gaps in their phonic knowledge, which limits their ability to read fluently.”

Inspectors said the safeguarding arrangements for the school are effective.

The next inspection is expected to be an ungraded one some time within the next four years.