St Peter’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Peter's Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel part of a family in this caring school community. Staff have high expectations for what all pupils should achieve, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils meet these expectations and achieve well. Pupils develop caring relationships with each other and with staff. Pupils said that staff encourage them to be the best that they can be.

Pupils are happy to come to school. They feel safe. Pupils understand the importance of mental health.

They learn different ways to communicate their feelings, for example by u...sing the worry boxes that are in classrooms. Children in the early years settle in well.

Pupils are well behaved in class and around school.

They are kind and courteous to visitors and to each other. Pupils respond well to the rewards that they receive from staff for displaying positive behaviours. Pupils wear their golden jumpers with pride to celebrate their achievements.

They said that if bullying does happen, staff always sort it out quickly and effectively.

Leaders provide a range of opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills and take on responsibilities. For example, older pupils become librarians and take pride in running the school's library every lunchtime.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs that they can attend, such as yoga and circus skills.

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

Leaders have organised the curriculum content into carefully ordered steps, starting in the early years. This enables teachers to design learning that helps pupils to build on what they already know.

This well-organised content also supports teachers in checking that pupils are secure in what they have learned. Even though subject leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum, some subject leaders do not monitor whether teachers are delivering their subject curriculums effectively. This means that, in a small number of subjects, subject leaders do not have oversight of how well the curriculum is supporting pupils to achieve.

Developing pupils' communication and language skills is a key priority for staff. Leaders make sure that the vocabulary pupils learn is increasingly complex. Teachers highlight vocabulary well in lessons and expect pupils to use and apply new words independently.

For example, in mathematics, teachers ensure that pupils use terms such as 'maximum' and 'minimum' correctly. Similarly, children in the Reception class learn to use 'oldest' and 'youngest' when talking about family timelines in history.

Children in the early years get off to a flying start in learning to read.

Reading is prioritised by staff. Children enjoy regular story-time sessions with their teachers. They learn a range of nursery rhymes and familiar stories, which supports their language development.

Children and pupils learn phonics in a carefully planned order to support them to begin to read. They have access to books that help them to practise the sounds that they have learned. Teachers assess pupils' reading knowledge regularly.

They put swift support in place for those pupils who fall behind. Leaders have provided most staff with useful training so that they can deliver the phonics programme well. However, a small number of staff require further training to develop their expertise.

That said, the majority of pupils become fluent readers over time.

Leaders identify pupils with SEND quickly. They work closely with parents, carers and a range of professionals to ensure that pupils receive appropriate support.

Teachers adapt their delivery of the curriculum carefully to meet these pupils' individual needs. This allows these pupils to be fully included in lessons and gives them every opportunity to develop their knowledge successfully alongside their peers.

Leaders have put in place a range of strategies to improve pupils' attendance.

Despite leaders' efforts, some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. Some of these pupils have gaps in their curriculum knowledge.

Pupils behave well in lessons and there is little disruption to learning.

Most pupils value the high-quality education that they receive. They understand that a strong education will contribute well to their future lives.

Leaders provide pupils with a range of pastoral support to develop their confidence and self-esteem.

Pupils learn about the importance of friendship and of being responsible citizens. They said that they learn to treat everyone equally. Pupils actively make a positive contribution to their school and wider community.

For example, pupils recently organised Easter egg donations for children in a local hospital. Pupils understand the importance of democracy through the activities that they engage with, such as voting for their school council representatives.

Staff feel well supported by leaders.

Leaders and staff work closely with governors, for example sharing curriculum developments. Governors know the school well and are confident in challenging school leaders to continue to improve the quality of education for all pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff and governors receive regular safeguarding training and updates. This means that all staff are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any safeguarding concerns.

Leaders are proactive in following up safeguarding concerns with external agencies. They ensure timely identification and support for pupils and their families when needed. Leaders do not shy away from escalating concerns when a pupil may be at risk of harm.

Pupils learn about healthy relationships and how to keep themselves safe online and in the wider community.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not checked that teachers are delivering the curriculum effectively. As a result, leaders do not know how well pupils learn in these subjects.

Leaders should ensure that they check how well the delivery of the curriculum is enabling pupils to learn the important knowledge that they need in these subjects. ? Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This prevents these pupils from achieving as well as they should.

Leaders should review their strategies for supporting these pupils and their families to improve pupils' attendance. This is so that pupils' poor rates of attendance do not impede their learning and development.

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 March 2017.

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