St Peter’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school sits at the heart of the locality. Staff have an astute awareness of the needs of the local community and strive hard to meet these. The ethos of the school is rooted in the values of 'love, hope, joy, respect and forgiveness'.

Staff have high expectations of everyone. They support pupils to flourish.

Pupils participate in a range of civic initiatives.

Through these, they develop confidence and independence. For example, they work with local charities to design and improve public spaces. The school works in partnership with parents and external agencies to secure regular attendance.

Consequently, most pupils attend well.

Pupils ar...e welcoming to new pupils and visitors. They are interested to find out about the lives of others.

Pupils learn about future career options. They build aspiration and develop ambition about their own futures. Pupils understand the school rules and behave well.

Consequently, the school environment is a calm and orderly one where pupils socialise happily.

Pupils develop their talents and interests through extra-curricular clubs. They take part in activities, such as football, craft and coding.

Pupils are proud to represent their school at sporting events. They make visits to places of interest, such as the local football stadium. Through these experiences, pupils build an appreciation of wider cultural opportunities.

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

The school has maintained a relentless focus on improvement. Pupils learn an ambitious curriculum. The curriculum begins with small components of knowledge which build progressively over time from Nursery to Year 6.

Pupils regularly revisit learning. For example, in mathematics, pupils develop rapid recall of arithmetic knowledge. This helps them to solve more complex mathematical problems later.

The school considers and meets the varying needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

In most subjects, leaders have identified clearly the important knowledge that pupils should know and remember. They have a strong overview, so pupils receive the subject-specific input that they need to develop their knowledge securely.

Where pupils have gaps in understanding, teachers adjust future planning to respond to this. However, in some subjects, this is less developed. Where this is the case, staff do not use what they know from their assessment of pupils' understanding to inform their decisions about what comes next.

Underpinning the school's curriculum are the carefully considered threads of reading and oracy. Pupils learn to read as soon as they start school. They increase in confidence because books are well matched to their knowledge of phonics.

Beyond phonics, pupils continue to develop their reading knowledge and skills. Those pupils who need extra help with reading get beneficial support. Pupils are supported to become confident, fluent readers.

They develop a love of reading and enjoy a range of fiction and non-fiction books. Pupils relish the opportunity to share book recommendations with others. They enjoy earning 'raffle' tickets which encourage their positive attitudes to reading, for example.

Children in Nursery Year make a strong start. They become familiar with high-quality texts, stories and rhymes. Staff model how to communicate in well-formed sentences.

Through these experiences, children learn about the rules of language and develop a broad vocabulary. Through the curriculum, children develop their core strength, stability and balance.

There is a carefully-planned curriculum to support pupils' broader development.

Pupils are proud advocates of their school. Through the 'pupil parliament' they have an active voice and take on roles of responsibility. Pupils have a mature understanding of British values.

They link opportunities to vote in school with the wider democratic system.

Pupils are interested to learn about other cultures and faiths. They identify similarities and differences between life in this country and life elsewhere.

Pupils understand the importance of treating everyone with fairness and respect. They develop an age-appropriate knowledge of the potential dangers of the online world. Pupils learn how to use technology safely and responsibly.

The school communicates regularly with parents. It keeps them up to date with their child's progress, as well as school life in general. Parents value this.

The trust and the local governing body know the school well. They plan strategically for the school's long-term future.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school has not identified precisely what is important for pupils to learn. Where this is the case, pupils do not benefit from the subject-specific input they need to develop detailed knowledge. The school and the trust need to ensure that pupils deepen and extend their knowledge in all subjects of the curriculum.

• In some subjects, teaching does not take into account what assessment highlights about pupils' understanding of the curriculum. This means that some pupils do not build a secure understanding of important concepts and ideas before they move on to new learning. The school and the trust should ensure that staff use assessment to inform their future planning, so that pupils know and remember more across all subjects.