Heysham St Peter’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Heysham St Peter's Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive at school happy and smiling each day. The school's calm and nurturing environment enables pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to flourish. Children in the early years settle quickly into well-established routines.

They enjoy the opportunity to explore the outdoors and to learn with their friends. Older pupils talked enthusiastically about all the interesting things that they learn in different subjects. Pupils work hard and strive to reach the high expectations that the school has for their academic su...ccess.

Typically, pupils achieve well.

Pupils demonstrate positive behaviour. They know that staff care about them.

Any fallings out between friends are resolved quickly. This helps pupils to feel safe in school. Pupils explained that everyone is treated with respect and is made to feel welcome.

Pupils are excited by the many opportunities to represent their school, including sports competitions and music events. Older pupils take their responsibilities seriously. These include positions as house captains and 'buddies' for children in the early years.

Residential visits and trips help to build pupils' confidence, resilience and self-esteem. Pupil develop a strong sense of community and pride through raising money for local charities. The care and support that pupils receive are commented on positively by parents and carers.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school's well-designed curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND. The important knowledge that pupils need to be successful learners is carefully ordered from the early years to Year 6. Pupils have many opportunities to practise what they learn.

Their knowledge and understanding in most subjects deepen over time across the curriculum. This helps pupils to apply what they know when they encounter new learning.

The school accurately identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND.

Staff use a variety of resources and specialised equipment to help pupils to learn the same curriculum as their classmates. Tailored support enables pupils with SEND to be successful and to achieve well.

Staff have the knowledge and understanding that they need to deliver the agreed curriculum effectively.

They benefit from the opportunity to work together. Staff provide the resources and equipment that pupils need to complete the set activities.

In most subjects, staff use assessment information effectively to check what pupils know and remember.

This helps teachers to spot any gaps in pupils' knowledge and to identify what they should learn next. However, in a small number of subjects, these checks are less effective. This means that staff are less certain of how well pupils are achieving over time.

Fostering pupils' love of reading is a priority of the school. This is reflected in the broad range of books that pupils can select from the well-resourced library. Pupils read widely and often across a range of subjects.

Children in the early years enjoy listening to their favourite stories. Older pupils enthusiastically recommend books from their favourite authors to their friends. Phonics is taught consistently from the beginning of the Reception Year.

Children quickly learn the sounds that letters represent. This helps them when they read new and unfamiliar words. Staff support pupils who struggle to keep up with the phonics programme so that they learn all that they should.

Most pupils become confident and fluent readers by the end of key stage 1.

Pupils are polite and well mannered. They talked positively about their experiences of school.

Pupils focus on their learning during lessons. Attendance is a high priority for the school. Most pupils attend well.

The school provides effective support for pupils and their families to reduce any rates of absence.

Pupils benefit from many opportunities to enhance their personal development. Pupils develop their aspirations for their future careers by meeting people from a range of professions, such as members of the emergency services.

Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. This prepares them well for life in modern Britain. Visits to places of interest, and to the theatre, help to broaden pupils' experiences further.

As members of committees, pupils make a positive contribution to the life of the school. For example, they helped to design the new play equipment in the playground.

Governors are well informed about the work of the school.

They use their breadth of knowledge effectively to hold the school successfully to account for the quality of education that it provides for pupils. Governors are mindful of staff's workload. Staff appreciate the support available for their well-being.

This includes the strategies that have been put in place to ensure that staff have access to any help and support that they may need.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the checks on what pupils remember are not fully effective.

This means that teachers do not know how well pupils achieve in these subjects. The school should enable teachers to check pupils' learning more effectively to ensure that they build a secure body of knowledge over time.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2018.