Heysham St Peter's Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that staff plan activities that challenge the most able pupils more and strengthen their progress, particularly in subjects other than English and mathematics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since the previous inspection, the quality of teaching and pupils’ academic outcomes in upper key stage 2 have fluctuated. The situation has settled and pupils now make good progress. Leaders have steered the school through a period of uncertainty. There has been much disruption in staffing in the recent past, particularly in leadership posts. The successful changes made, particularly in the past year, demonstrate leaders’ capacity for improvement. The school is not back to its previous outstanding performance, but leaders ensure that teaching is consistently good and that behaviour continues to be excellent.
• Christian values lie at the heart of everything the school stands for. Staff articulate these values through school assemblies and in classrooms. They embody the high expectations of how all members of the school conduct themselves and treat each other. As a result, staff are successful in encouraging pupils to care for others.
• Leaders use information about pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics to plan actions to improve the quality of teaching and learning. They analyse assessment information effectively to ensure that teaching supports pupils in making good progress. They identify pupils who do not make strong enough progress. Teachers then plan targeted support to enable these pupils, including the most able, to catch up.
• Senior leaders make frequent checks on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress in English and mathematics. They provide feedback to teachers about how to improve their practice. Leaders check to ensure that teachers act on advice and, as a result, teaching is good.
• Subject leaders for English and mathematics review teaching and learning across the school. These leaders stay up to date with training and have plenty of good ideas that help staff to improve their teaching. For example, recent changes made to the teaching of grammar as well as arithmetic show signs of success. There is a strong sense of team spirit, which assists communication between staff and leaders and keeps morale high.
• Leaders closely monitor the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils receive bespoke intervention that helps to support their progress. Teachers review targets to check that pupils are making the progress they should do. Leaders use assessment to evaluate pupils’ academic progress and to check that they are doing as well as they should, and they are very clear about the positive impact that their actions have on pupils’ personal development and behaviour.
• The effective use of the pupil premium funding ensures that disadvantaged pupils make strong progress. The school’s strategy identifies barriers to pupils’ learning accurately. Leaders are effective in evaluating the impact of work to support the progress of disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders use the primary sport premium funding highly effectively. They increase the opportunities for pupils to enjoy physical activity and participate in competitive sports. This provides pupils with access to a wide range of sports, including hockey, football and athletics. They achieve great success in inter-school tournaments. As a result of developing effective skills, many pupils take up places at external sports clubs.
• Leaders have taken decisive action to improve the curriculum. Over time, successive interim leadership arrangements and changes in middle leadership roles contributed to the curriculum becoming disjointed. The current curriculum is well planned. Teaching and activities provide scope for pupils to extend their thinking and understanding. These activities also have a positive impact on their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a good understanding of their role and are suitably informed about the quality of teaching and learning. They also have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They attach great importance to the school’s wider work and the values it promotes.
• Records of meetings show that governors ask many questions and have routines in place to ensure that they fulfil statutory duties and that statutory duties are met. This includes their responsibility to ensure that they keep pupils safe in the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff receive regular training and updates in safeguarding practice. As a result, they know how to recognise signs of abuse and neglect. They are clear about how to report concerns using the school’s agreed procedures.
• Records show that leaders take appropriate action in response to concerns about pupils’ safety and welfare. Leaders have recently employed a learning mentor to work closely with external agencies to provide effective support for vulnerable pupils and their families.
• Staff help pupils to understand how to stay safe in a range of different circumstances. For example, pupils, including those in Reception and key stage 1, learn how to use the internet safely.
• Pupils say that they feel very safe in school and that adults will help them if they have any concerns. Parents spoken to by inspectors also agree that pupils feel safe in the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching is consistently good across the school. Staff make expectations clear and treat pupils with kindness and respect. In return, pupils are attentive, responsive and keen to learn. Effective teaching has a positive impact on learning, and pupils make strong progress in a wide range of subjects as a result.
• There is a productive atmosphere in lessons. Teachers create very constructive, trusting relationships. Pupils listen attentively to teachers’ explanations and follow instructions carefully, asking for help if they need it. Teaching prompts pupils to think about what they have to do to succeed and to reflect on previous learning. In key stage 1, for example, they are successful in answering increasingly challenging questions about interpreting data.
• Teachers use the detailed information which is made available to them about pupils with SEND. This ensures that work is accessible to these pupils. Teachers liaise with teaching assistants to help them get the right balance between providing necessary individual support and fostering pupils’ independence.
• Recent initiatives and the swift action taken by the leaders of English have improved the quality of teaching in this subject across the school. Pupils read widely and talk enthusiastically about the books they are currently reading for pleasure.
• Pupils write for a variety of purposes. Teachers plan learning that enables pupils to practise their basic English skills in other subjects. Where teachers provide regular opportunities for pupils to write, their writing stamina is clearly improving.
• In mathematics lessons, staff encourage pupils to draw on previous knowledge to support their new learning. For example, in lower key stage 2 pupils used their knowledge of addition facts to carry out complex investigation work. Teachers provide pupils with equipment that will help them to grasp new concepts. The development of numeracy across the curriculum is also consistently strong. Pupils have a range of opportunities to apply what they have learned in mathematics in other subjects, where they produce a range of graphs.
• Work in pupils’ ‘topic books’ shows that they follow a curriculum that builds on their previous skills, knowledge and understanding. Leaders and teachers also provide pupils with stimulating experiences that bring learning to life. An example of this is the recent World War One theme day.
• Teachers usually have high expectations of what all pupils can achieve in lessons. However, some tasks do not always stretch the most able pupils, especially in subjects other than English and mathematics. As a result, the progress of the most able pupils is not as strong as that of other pupils.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The promotion of pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Staff are highly effective in building pupils’ self-esteem and confidence. Pupils do not worry about making mistakes or asking questions because they know that adults will always help them. The school’s rules are consistent and the Christian ethos is used well to teach the value of such traits as kindness and respect.
• Pupils contribute very well to decision-making on aspects of school life and take part in local events, sometimes through the strong links with the local church. In doing so, they come to realise quickly that their ideas and efforts can bring about important change for the better.
• Pupils spoken to said that they feel very safe in school and showed that they had an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, for example when using the internet. They were able to talk very specifically about how the curriculum supports them in learning about keeping safe.
• Pupils of all ages are particularly considerate and caring towards others. For example, older pupils support younger ones really well in the dining hall and at playtimes.
• Pupils understand British values clearly and show great respect for law and democracy. They can relate these ideals to real life and identify examples in their school, such as the way in which school councillors are elected and how they contribute significantly to school life.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves healthy and adopt healthy life styles. They are very aware of what constitutes a healthy life style. There are many excellent opportunities for pupils to engage in sport and similar physical activities. The take-up of these opportunities is very high. Leaders monitor this carefully to ensure that all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, benefit from this important aspect of the school’s work.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. As reported in previous inspections, their conduct is exemplary. Without exception, they arrive at school ready to learn. They are courteous to their peers and adults. All classrooms and areas within the school are calm and orderly and no time is wasted in lessons or when pupils are moving around the building.
• Pupils work hard in class and play happily with one another in the playground. Pupils of all ages get along very well. They told inspectors that conflict and bullying of any kind are very rare. They said that if it does happen, they have the confidence to do the right thing and that an adult will intervene if necessary.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school. As a result, attendance rates are above average and lateness is uncommon.
• Pupils are very proud of their school and their high level of self-discipline means that adults can trust them to carry out many helpful jobs, particularly at lunchtimes. Their excellent behaviour enables them to make the most of their time at school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• At the end of key stage 2, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics has been below the national average for the last two years. Leaders have addressed this decline and their actions have had an impact. There are significant improvements in the progress of pupils currently in key stage 2, as seen in pupils’ books and in the school’s assessment records. Their progress is strong and their outcomes are good. This is because the quality of teaching is now consistently good across key stage 2.
• Pupils’ attainment at the expected standard at key stage 2 was in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics in 2018. At the higher standard, while this was the case for reading, in writing and mathematics it was below that seen nationally.
• Improvements made in the teaching of mathematics successfully support pupils’ increased progress in key stage 2. In mathematics, older pupils gain the key knowledge, language and concepts that they need. For example, evidence in books shows that pupils have many opportunities to use problem-solving skills on a regular basis, improving their fluency and reasoning.
• The emphasis on writing and mathematics in topic work ensures that pupils in key stage 2 maintain their good progress in English and mathematics across the curriculum. For example, they use spreadsheets to record historical information and create graphs from the data.
• Support for pupils with SEND is effective. Their needs are identified early and leaders check the progress they make regularly. The additional help that they receive in class and through additional interventions is tailored to their needs. As a result, the majority of pupils with SEND make good progress.
• In key stage 1 there has been a two-year trend of improvement. Attainment was above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics and in the top 10% nationally in 2018. The proportion of pupils achieving greater depth was significantly above the national average in reading and in line for writing and mathematics.
• Pupils make good progress in developing their phonics skills because of high-quality teaching. Consequently, the proportion achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 has typically been above the national average. Current pupils also make strong progress. Pupils enjoy reading and often read complex texts that challenge them to use their skills.
• Evidence gathered during the inspection shows that the curriculum contributes effectively to pupils’ skills and knowledge across the different subjects, such as history, geography and science. It provides pupils with opportunities to refine their skills. However, the work teachers give pupils does not consistently challenge the most able pupils to achieve the high standards of which they are capable. This is particularly evident in subjects other than English and mathematics.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Children enter the early years with a wide range of starting points. The majority of them have skills that are typical for their age. They make excellent progress in all areas of learning so that the proportion attaining a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year is above the national average. They are very well prepared to move on to Year 1.
• The leadership of early years is highly effective. A very strong sense of teamwork is evident and provision is of high quality across all classrooms. The early years leader has high expectations and provides good direction for the assessment and planning of activities to meet children’s different developmental needs. As a result, leaders have a clear view of the strengths and any areas in which children need to improve further.
• As in the rest of the school, children’s behaviour is outstanding. They clearly enjoy coming into class and respond exceptionally well to the calm and constructive guidance from staff. They develop wonderful attitudes to learning and to one another. They also develop high levels of independence and are attentive and respectful to adults and other children.
• Children in the early years are confident, inquisitive learners. Warm relationships are evident and routines are well established. Children take turns listening to each other and make sensible choices. All staff have high expectations of behaviour. Learning spaces are very well organised. This supports and engages the interests of children.
• A highly effective assessment process helps adults to identify areas for further development for each child. This enables teachers to plan effectively and address identified areas as part of their daily teaching. For example, children are able to talk about their use of equipment to ‘estimate’ the number of objects.
• The highly effective teaching of phonics enables pupils to use their knowledge of letters and sounds to read and write independently.
• Effective partnerships with parents ensure that learning between school and home is seamless. Workshop opportunities offered by staff enhance this relationship and enable parents to become familiar with the curriculum as well as with the ways in which phonics and mathematics are taught.
• The early years classrooms are safe and secure. Adults are well trained in all aspects of child protection and welfare requirements are fully met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 119537 Lancashire 10053074 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 244 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mr Tim Dodgson Mrs Nicola Gomersall Telephone number 01524 852 155 Website Email address www.stpetersheysham.lancs.sch.uk head@stpetersheysham.lancs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection

Information about this school

• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils with SEND is also lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is also lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is below the national average.
• Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes in staffing.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors conducted meetings with leaders to review the impact of their work to improve teaching and raise standards for pupils. They considered the school’s current assessment information and conducted an in-depth analysis of pupils’ work to consider how well pupils learn and achieve over time.
• Inspectors visited classes in every year group. Some of these visits were conducted jointly with leaders.
• Records of behaviour logs and leaders’ checks on the suitability of staff to work in the school were considered. Inspectors also met with leaders to review the impact of their work to safeguard pupils’ welfare and promote good behaviour and attendance.
• Inspectors held a meeting with members of the governing body. A discussion was also held with a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors met with groups of pupils to discuss their views on the school. They observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, including at playtimes.
• A group of pupils read to the inspectors. Inspectors also heard pupils read during visits to classrooms and talked with them about their attitudes to reading.
• Inspectors gathered the views of parents, primarily through informal discussions in the playground before school.

Inspection team

Simon Hunter, lead inspector Julie Bather Cole Andrew

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector