St Peter’s Church of England Primary School, Hindley

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

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

The headteacher of this school is Nicola Green. This school is part of Quest (A Church of England Schools Trust), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO) Marc Doyle and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Crispin Pailing.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils describe St Peter's Church of England Primary School as being kind and caring. This is reflected in their positive attitudes to learning and excellent conduct.

Pupils welcome those who are new to the school in a... warm and friendly way. They are proud of their school and want everyone to feel part of the school team. Pupils know why it is important to respect others, regardless of their background.

They fulfil this responsibility with diligence to make the school a happy and safe place for all.

The school wants the best for all pupils. It has high expectations for pupils, and staff ensure that pupils strive to meet these.

Pupils know that only their best effort is good enough. Consequently, they achieve well.

Parents and carers are rightly proud of the way the school supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

They praise the school for the tenacious approach that it shows towards securing the support that pupils need. This includes ensuring that all pupils can benefit from the wider offer, including a wide range of extra-curricular clubs.

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

Pupils learn a highly ambitious curriculum.

The school has made recent changes to the curriculum design. It has carefully considered what pupils will learn and when they will learn it. This begins in the Reception Year where staff design learning that prepares children well for the curriculum in Year 1.

Pupils learn new knowledge in an order that helps them to deepen their understanding. In many subjects, they have regular opportunities to revisit their previous learning. Staff have secure subject knowledge across the curriculum.

This helps them to break down learning into smaller steps for pupils.

Due to the limitations of the previous curriculum in some subjects, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This makes it hard for them to remember parts of their learning over time and to link new learning to what they already know.

At times, assessment of pupils' learning does not give the school the most useful information about what pupils know and remember. New learning does not always build precisely enough on what pupils already know.

The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND well.

It ensures that pupils' confidence and independence increase as they progress through the curriculum. The school makes regular checks on the effectiveness of the support that pupils receive to ensure that pupils learn with success.

Children get off to a strong start when learning to read in the Reception Year.

Staff quickly find out what children already know when they join the school and use this to plan their next steps. They have the expertise to know when to stand back and let children 'have a go' and when they need help. Staff involved in teaching phonics have secure subject knowledge.

They model sounds with accuracy and spot when pupils are unsure. Pupils read books which contain the sounds that they know. This helps them to develop into confident and fluent readers.

Staff share key information about the school's approach to phonics with parents. This helps parents to understand how to best support their child's learning at home.

Pupils behave well in this school.

Classrooms are calm and orderly. Learning is rarely disturbed by any low-level disruption. Younger pupils look up to older pupils as behaviour role models.

The school helps pupils to learn from their mistakes, reflect on their choices and understand the impact of their actions on others.

Pupils hold various roles of responsibility, such as play leaders. They fulfil these roles with pride.

Pupils are forthcoming in volunteering to help others. They proudly support local charitable projects. This develops their understanding of what it means to be an active member of society.

The school ensures that pupils learn to appreciate and celebrate differences. Pupils are adamant that everyone is treated the same and that everyone feels valued. They shared many examples that illustrate their understanding of fundamental British values.

For example, learning about democracy through voting for their favourite books to be read aloud.

The school goes to great lengths to ensure that pupils attend well. It provides well-placed support that positively impacts on pupils' attendance over time.

The school shares important information about pupils' attendance with parents so that they can support the school's actions.

Staff appreciate the consideration that the school gives for their well-being. They get the time that they need to understand and implement new ideas.

Staff comment positively about the impact of the professional development that they receive. This enables them to fully understand the school's vision for the further development of the curriculum.

The trust has an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.

It provides suitable support and challenge for the school to check that its actions have the necessary impact on the education that pupils receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Due to the limitations of the previous curriculum in some subjects, some pupils have gaps in their learning.

Assessment strategies are in development but do not consistently identify the learning that pupils should revisit. The school should ensure that assessment strategies are in place to identify any gaps in pupils' knowledge, so they are more able to link new learning to what they already know.

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.

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