Peckover Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Peckover Primary is a good school and its leadership team is strong and purposeful. The school provides a very caring and supportive environment for pupils and their families, and is an important part of its local community. Pupils make good overall progress as they move through the school.

By the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6, attainment is average and they have achieved well. Children make satisfactory progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. On occasions opportunities are missed to use the outside area and to promote child-selected learning.

Effective support for those pupils at the early stages of learning English, pupils who enter the school partway through their education,... and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities ensures that all groups achieve equally well. The curriculum is imaginative and matched well to pupils' learning needs. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

They are courteous and cooperate well with one another. The very large majority of pupils who responded to the questionnaire felt that they were safe in school. The school provides good care, guidance and support.

Pupils know who to turn to for help, and are confident that any concerns they have will be taken seriously and dealt with effectively. Pupils lead active lives and are clear about how to live a healthy lifestyle. They mix well socially and have a clear understanding of what is right and wrong.

Close liaison with parents and carers and effective partnership work with other agencies have led to attendance levels in Years 4, 5 and 6 reaching average and sometimes above average levels. However, pupils' attendance is low overall. The school's leaders and the governing body have a good understanding of the most important areas for improvement and have drawn up appropriate plans to address them.

They have rightly focused on improving the quality of teaching, which is now good overall and sometimes outstanding. In the best lessons, expectations are high and pupils experience imaginative and challenging tasks that fully engage their interest and quickly develop their understanding. Where teaching is satisfactory, teachers explain concepts clearly and plan activities carefully, but do not always use assessment information to match work closely to pupils' needs and abilities.

The school has good capacity for sustained improvement. It has made good progress since it was last inspected. School leaders carefully and accurately monitor the progress of all groups of pupils and this contributes to the clear, upward pattern of improvement.

Information about the school

Peckover Primary is larger than the average primary school. A major extension to the school's facilities is nearing completion. The large majority of pupils are White British.

The rest are from an increasingly wide variety of other heritages. The number of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. The number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is about average.

The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is well-above average, although the number with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The percentage of pupils who join or leave partway through their primary school education is above average. Among its awards the school has Artsmark Gold, ICT Mark, London 2012 Get Set Network and National Healthy School Status.