St Peter's Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ progress in reading during key stage 2, particularly the most able and the most able disadvantaged pupils, by ensuring that:
  • teachers set pupils reading tasks which deepen and extend pupils’ reading skills
  • consistently leaders provide a sufficiently wide range of stimulating and challenging books and reading materials for the most able pupils.
• Develop middle leaders’ roles by ensuring that they are clear about how well different groups of pupils are learning and use this information to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders and governors have steered the school effectively through a period of change as the school has grown from an infant to a primary school. They have maintained the school’s positive and inclusive atmosphere throughout. Good relationships and clear routines have maintained pupils’ good behaviour since the previous inspection.
• The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection. Senior leaders check the quality of teaching regularly through a range of activities, such as visits to classrooms and reviews of pupils’ work. Leaders provide good-quality training to help teachers to develop their practice. They have eradicated an element of weak teaching.
• Staff morale has improved over the past two years. All members of staff who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire feel that the school has improved since the previous inspection.
• Senior leaders have recently established a consistent procedure for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress. This gives teachers a more accurate view of how well pupils are progressing and about what pupils need to learn next. Leaders meet regularly with teachers to discuss how well pupils are learning and to identify extra help for any pupils falling behind.
• The curriculum is well planned so that pupils learn a broad, balanced range of subjects. Leaders have extended the curriculum as the school has grown. This ensures that pupils cover an appropriate range of subjects as they move up through the year groups.
• School clubs develop pupils’ interests and skills well. However, some parents would like more clubs that are suitable for the older pupils. Leaders have identified accurately the potential to improve this aspect of the school’s work. They have suitable plans in place to extend opportunities to enrich pupils’ learning through a wider range of clubs, particularly for the older pupils.
• Learning and school life contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils regularly complete creative and artistic activities, learn about historical events through topic work and respond very positively. For example, during the inspection, pupils listened carefully and behaved exceptionally well during the key stage 1 Harvest festival assembly. Pupils sang beautifully while concentrating hard on the actions which accompanied the songs.
• Teachers give pupils regular opportunities to find out about differing viewpoints and values, including British values such as tolerance and a sense of fair play. Pupils are interested in what others have to say and respect religions and beliefs. For example, during the inspection, children in Reception Year happily talked about how traditional Diwali music made them feel.
• Senior leaders and governors make sure that additional funds are used appropriately. For example, they have successfully used pupil premium funding to diminish the differences between disadvantaged pupils’ attainment and that of other pupils nationally since the previous inspection. However, leaders recognise that there is still more to do to ensure that the most able disadvantaged pupils achieve their full potential in reading during key stage 2.
• Leaders use the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium effectively to improve the quality of PE teaching. For example, a sports coach has worked alongside teachers to improve the teaching of PE.
• Recent rapid developments in middle leadership have strengthened the school’s capacity to secure further improvements. However, while much improved, there are still some variations in the effectiveness with which middle leaders contribute to the school’s development. For example, some middle leaders do not have a sufficiently clear view of how well different groups of pupils are learning or about those aspects of teaching that need improvement.
• The range of books and reading materials provided in school lacks sufficient challenge to extend the most able pupils during key stage 2, so that some pupils choose to bring more stimulating books from home.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has established a well-organised committee structure and introduced clearly defined roles for all governors. As a result, governors have a better understanding of their responsibility for holding the school to account for pupils’ achievement.
• Governors work constructively with school leaders and with members of staff to check on the school’s performance. For example, they have participated in training to ensure that they understand the school’s assessment procedures. As a result, they speak confidently about expectations of pupils’ learning. They regularly ask leaders challenging and searching questions about the quality of teaching and about pupils’ achievement.
• Governors look carefully at the progress made by different groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, with senior leaders. They have high expectations of disadvantaged pupils’ achievement, comparing outcomes with those of other pupils nationally as well as those in school.
• Governors make sure that they are up to date with current research about how to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve their full potential. For example, they are aware of the link between regular attendance and achievement and are justifiably proud of substantial improvements in disadvantaged pupils’ attendance in school since the previous inspection.
• Governors have an accurate view of how well the school is performing. For example, they identified appropriately the need to develop the school’s website to reflect the full primary age range. They already have plans in place to ensure that the website is completely overhauled and improved in the near future.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have successfully created and sustained a safe culture in school so that pupils are secure.
• Leaders ensure that all members of staff are regularly trained so that they know what to do if they have any concerns about pupils’ safety. Members of staff work well together as a team. Effective communication ensures the sharing of information.
• Leaders respond promptly and seriously to any safeguarding issues. They maintain careful records. This ensures that they can access information quickly and efficiently and identify any patterns in pupils’ behaviour which may be causing concern.
• Leaders follow robust systems for checking pupils’ attendance. Well-established procedures ensure that any unexplained absences are swiftly and rigorously followed up so that pupils are safe. Leaders work constructively with parents, agencies and other stakeholders to coordinate help for pupils and families so that all pupils are safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have higher aspirations for pupils than at the time of the previous inspection, including for the most able pupils and those who are disadvantaged. Teachers expect all pupils to do their best. Systematic assessment procedures ensure that teachers are more aware of pupils’ progress over time. This is increasing their expectations of how much progress pupils need to make to achieve their full potential.
• Teaching enables pupils to write for a wide range of purposes and for different audiences. For example, pupils learn how to write poems, stories, letters and diary entries. Teachers successfully encourage all pupils, including the most able, to improve their writing by using increasingly complex vocabulary and techniques in their writing.
• Teachers and teaching assistants effectively support those pupils who find learning more difficult, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Teachers continually check pupils’ progress in lessons and use their assessments of pupils’ learning to plan the next activities. For example, teachers sometimes give pupils more practice in a mathematical skill in different contexts to strengthen their understanding and confidence before moving them on to the next stage.
• Effective teaching in Year 6 is successfully addressing gaps in pupils’ learning caused by historical weaknesses in teaching. Pupils in Year 6 say that the level of work set for them has stepped up considerably this year and they feel that they are learning well. The work in their books supports this view.
• Science teaching gives pupils a good grounding in scientific knowledge and skills. Subjects such as space and forces are taught in a meaningful way, so that pupils can relate learning to their own experiences.
• The teaching of reading during the early years and key stage 1 has improved since the previous inspection. Teachers in the early years make sure that a range of good-quality and appealing books are available throughout the early years. As a result, children are keen to read and dip into books throughout the school day. Substantial improvements in the teaching of phonics skills in the early years and key stage 1 mean that pupils are better equipped to read successfully from an earlier age than previously.
• The teaching of reading is less effective in key stage 2 than in the early years and key stage 1. This is because teaching in the older year groups does not ensure that pupils, particularly the most able readers and the most able disadvantaged readers, achieve their full potential. For example, teachers too often give pupils undemanding tasks which require only a superficial reading of the text and so are completed too easily.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils enjoy school and most work hard.
• Pupils feel safe. Most follow the school’s rules and know how these help to keep them secure. Pupils describe how school events, such as regular assemblies about internet safety, help them to keep safe by reminding them about what to do if they feel unsafe.
• Pupils are very clear about what bullying is and why it is unacceptable. They can identify the characteristics of different forms of bullying, such as cyber-bullying, and know what to do if they are worried.
• There have been very few bullying incidents since the previous inspection. Pupils say that there is rarely any bullying in school, and school records support this view. Leaders record any concerns systematically and take effective action wherever needed.
• Pupils who arrive part-way through a school year say that pupils and teachers are friendly so that they feel welcomed in school.
• Most parents who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire feel that pupils are safe and happy.
• Most pupils are polite, welcoming and kind. However, a few need occasional reminders about the need to be considerate towards others. For example, pupils say that sometimes a few of their classmates are mean to each other, although their teachers quickly address these incidents.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Most pupils behave well during playtimes, assemblies and when moving between classrooms and different parts of the school.
• Parents value their children’s education and make sure that their children attend regularly. All groups attend well, including disadvantaged pupils. Attendance levels are consistently higher than the national average. Few pupils are persistently absent.
• Most parents who completed the online questionnaire feel that pupils are well behaved. Most pupils who completed the questionnaire feel that behaviour is good.
• While most pupils behave well during lessons, some are silly at times. These incidents of misbehaviour, while infrequent, detract from the quality of learning in the classrooms when they occur.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make good progress from their starting points during key stage 1. In 2015, average standards at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics represented good progress from pupils’ starting points at the beginning of the key stage. Improvements in teaching since the previous inspection mean that pupils currently in Year 1 and Year 2 are working at higher levels than in previous years and so are better prepared for learning in key stage 2.
• The work in pupils’ books indicates that mathematics teaching builds well on pupils’ prior learning. For example, all pupils, including the most able, learn how to use formal calculation methods successfully to solve increasingly demanding mathematical problems and tasks. The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, say that they like mathematics and that they have to think hard when completing mathematical tasks. All groups of pupils, including the most able, make good progress in mathematics.
• Pupils make good progress in writing during both key stages, including the most able and those who are disadvantaged.
• Improvements in the teaching of reading during the early years and key stage 1 ensure that pupils are well equipped with key skills to help them to read successfully and to make good progress. The results of the Year 1 phonics check have improved substantially since the previous inspection. In 2016, the proportions achieving expected levels were above the national average. All those who did not achieve the expected levels in Year 1 in 2015 did so the following year when the check was repeated.
• The school has Year 6 pupils for the first time this year, so it is not possible to compare the school’s performance at the end of key stage 2 with that of other schools nationally. However, the work in pupils’ books indicates that those pupils currently in Year 6 are making good progress in writing and mathematics. Effective teaching is successfully addressing gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding caused by historical weaknesses in teaching, so that pupils are increasingly well prepared for secondary school.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points, including those who have complex needs. Teaching assistants combine effective support for individual pupils with opportunities for them to work and play without the help of an adult. This ensures that pupils develop the personal and social skills needed to enable them to participate fully in school life.
• The least able readers at both key stages enjoy reading. They use strategies such as phonics successfully to help themselves to read.
• The differences between disadvantaged pupils’ attainment and that of other pupils nationally at the end of key stage 1 have diminished in reading, writing and mathematics since the previous inspection. It is not possible to compare disadvantaged pupils’ achievement at the end of key stage 2 with that of other pupils nationally because those currently in Year 6 have not yet completed the key stage.
• Most disadvantaged pupils make good progress in their learning during both key stages. However, like their classmates, they make slower progress in reading than in writing and mathematics during key stage 2.
• Pupils make slower progress in reading than in writing and mathematics during key stage 2 compared with key stage 1. Variations in the quality of teaching and insufficiently challenging work for pupils, particularly for the most able readers, including those who are disadvantaged, mean that pupils make slower progress in reading in Years 3 to 6.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader has ensured that children continue to make good progress since the previous inspection. She has managed changes in staffing over the past two years very well. Leaders provide good-quality support and training to ensure that teaching continues to be effective.
• Teachers make sure that the classrooms are bright, welcoming and safe places for children to play and learn. Teachers widely display children’s work with care so that children are encouraged to value their classmates’ work and to take pride in their own achievements. The work in children’s learning journals illustrates their enjoyment of a wide range of well-planned activities, which supports their good progress.
• Teachers quickly get to know children at the start of the year. They accurately assess children’s starting points. Good links with parents ensure that teachers develop a full picture of children’s knowledge and skills at the start of the year. Teachers use ongoing assessments effectively to gauge how well children are learning and to plan activities that build well on children’s needs. This ensures that all groups of children, including those who are disadvantaged, make good progress.
• Clear expectations and well-established routines help children to settle quickly and safely when they start school in the early years. For example, children know that they must put on their coats to keep warm when going into the outdoor areas and understand why they need to sit down at a table in the classroom to drink their milk. Children behave very well. They are interested in learning and listen carefully to their teachers.
• Children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning in Year 1. Improvements in aspects of teaching over the past three years have accelerated children’s progress during the early years. The proportions of children achieving a good level development are higher than at the time of the previous inspection. In 2016, the proportions were in line with the national average. This represents good progress from children’s starting points, which differ each year.
• The numbers of disadvantaged children in the early years vary each year and, in some years, there are very few. Disadvantaged children make good progress. The proportions achieving a good level of development are consistently in line with the national average.
• Effective teaching ensures that children are equipped with early reading and writing skills, including phonics. For example, teachers routinely draw children’s attention to the sounds they can hear in everyday words while they are learning. For example, during the inspection, children in Nursery recognised the sound at the beginning of the word ‘leaf’, copying the teacher to practise and reinforce their understanding.
• Teachers provide many interesting and engaging opportunities, reflecting all areas of the early years curriculum. Children clearly enjoy playing and learning, although some activities are too easy for the most able. However, the early years leader has a clear view of strengths and aspects which need further development in the quality of teaching. She has introduced substantial, sustained improvements in the past year and continues to develop the quality of teaching rapidly.

School details

Unique reference number 114411 Local authority Brighton and Hove Inspection number 10019869 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 231 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Jenny Barnard-Langston Michele Lawrie 01273 296712 www.stpeters.brighton-hove.sch.uk head@stpeters.brighton-hove.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 7–8 October 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It converted from a nursery and infant school to a primary school in September 2013. The school now has pupils in all year groups from the Nursery class through to Year 6. This is the first year in which the school has had pupils in Year 6.
• The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium funding is lower than that found in most schools. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is lower than the national average.
• The school provides part-time early years provision in the Nursery class and full-time early years provision in the Reception class.
• Almost all governors have been appointed since the previous inspection. The chair of governors, who is a national leader of governance, was appointed in January 2016.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team observed learning in 10 lessons or part lessons, including six observed jointly with either the headteacher or the deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors had discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, a local authority representative, teachers, members of staff, parents and pupils. A meeting also took place with the chair of the governing body and two other governors.
• The inspection team took account of the 20 staff responses and 26 pupil responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire. In addition, they considered the views expressed in the 81 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. They also considered the views expressed by parents who spoke with them informally during the school day.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work and considered a range of documents, including the improvement plan, information about pupils’ progress and attendance, and safeguarding policies.
• The inspection team looked at a sample of pupils’ work provided by the school, as well as looking at pupils’ work in lessons. They also listened to pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 reading.

Inspection team

Julie Sackett, lead inspector Patricia Wright

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector