Peover Superior Endowed Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Peover Superior Endowed Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very enthusiastic about coming to Peover Superior Primary School. Those who spoke with inspectors said that they feel safe and happy there. They talked about how it is reassuring to have a trusted adult who will help them if they have any worries.

Relationships between staff and pupils are very warm and friendly.

Leaders' expectations for pupils' work and behaviour are high. Pupils respond extremely well to these expectations.

They work hard and show highly positive attitudes to their learning. Pupils and children in the early years achie...ve exceptionally well.

Pupils' behaviour is excellent.

They focus closely on their learning when they are in class and they move about the school in a very sensible and orderly way. Bullying is rare. Leaders have a very effective approach to reporting and dealing with any bullying that does occur.

Pupils benefit from a vast range of activities which leaders provide to enhance their experience of school. For example, there are a wide variety of clubs which help them to develop their talents and interests. These include sports clubs, such as boccia and basketball, and other activities, such as gardening.

Pupils also enjoy debating various topics, such as democracy.

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

Leaders have designed a highly effective curriculum that is broad and ambitious. It includes all the subjects of the national curriculum.

Across all subjects, it is very clear what leaders want pupils to learn and in which order they should learn it. This includes the knowledge that children in the early years should acquire to enable them to make strong progress through the curriculum once they move into Year 1 and beyond. Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is firmly in place across the school.

Teachers have a deep understanding of the curriculum and how to teach it. They have a highly secure knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They use a range of very effective methods to assess how well pupils have remembered what they have learned.

These include frequent, informal checks on what they have recently taught them. Teachers explain learning to pupils very clearly and are quick to address any misunderstandings they may have. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive excellent support, which enables them to access the curriculum fully and successfully.

The achievement of pupils, including those with SEND, is exceptional. They gain a highly secure knowledge of the subjects that they learn, which they retain over the long term.

Leaders make reading a top priority.

There is a well-structured phonics scheme in place. This gives children and pupils in the early stages of reading an excellent foundation to develop strong fluency and accuracy as they progress through the school. Children start to learn phonics soon after they join the school in the Reception Year.

There are a wide range of very effective strategies to ensure that pupils keep up with the learning and securely embed their knowledge of phonics. These include providing extra sessions on the same day that any misunderstandings are identified. Pupils use their phonics knowledge very well to read unfamiliar words.

Leaders also help pupils to develop a strong love of reading by, for instance, enabling regular use of the school's library and encouraging reading for enjoyment. By the time pupils reach Year 6, they read a wide range of books with a very high level of accuracy, understanding and confidence.

Pupils' behaviour is exemplary.

They show consistently high levels of respect for staff and for each other. Younger pupils told inspectors that they see older pupils as positive role models. Pupils show strong self-discipline.

They are very well behaved in class. This means that they do not disrupt teaching.

Leaders have highly effective systems for identifying the needs of pupils with SEND and providing suitable support to meet those needs.

They have a wide range of useful strategies to help these pupils to learn, such as breaking down the learning into smaller steps. This contributes strongly to the excellent achievement of these pupils.

There is a broad range of high-quality provision which caters exceptionally well for pupils' wider development.

Pupils have opportunities to show that they can develop a sense of responsibility. For example, they can become house captains or organise events to raise money for charities and good causes. Pupils enjoy visits to places of worship and museums.

There are residential trips involving outdoor activities, which support pupils' physical development and help to strengthen qualities such as independence and resilience. Leaders also provide for pupils' mental health, with activities that help them to manage emotions, for instance.

Members of staff who spoke with inspectors were highly complimentary about leaders' consideration of their well-being.

Leaders act positively to aid teachers in managing their workload. Trustees and local governors know the school extremely well. They have a secure knowledge of their roles and responsibilities.

Their work holding school leaders to account contributes strongly to the high levels of achievement that pupils reach.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have robust systems in place to report and record any concerns which staff may have about pupils' safeguarding.

Staff have received thorough training to enable them to identify signs of abuse or neglect. Leaders are swift to respond to any issues that emerge, and provide pupils with the help that they need. They refer concerns to outside agencies, such as children's social services, if they need to do so.

Staff help pupils to keep themselves safe by giving them relevant information. For instance, pupils learn about the risks associated with using the internet and the importance of reporting incidents of sexual harassment if they were to occur.

Background

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

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 outstanding in November 2017.