St Peter's Catholic Primary School, Waterlooville Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ performance, particularly in mathematics, by ensuring that: − teachers use assessment information effectively to build on what pupils already know and can do − teachers plan suitably challenging activities for the most able pupils and support them to master new topics during lessons − teachers check pupils’ level of understanding regularly throughout lessons and reshape tasks when pupils are ready to move on − best practice is shared across the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The recently appointed headteacher has brought stability to the school. He quickly formed strong and positive relationships with the school community and has worked hard to establish a cohesive staff team with a clear vision for the school. He has built an effective new leadership team with high expectations to address weak teaching and improve outcomes.
• Leaders have an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They carefully consider plans for development, and accurately identify aspects needing further improvement or consolidation. They have responded to staffing issues decisively and ensured that responsibilities are allocated to capable staff. Leaders ensure that regular support and development opportunities develop the skills that staff need.
• The positive impact of leaders on pupils’ achievement is evident in the improved number of pupils achieving greater depth in the core subjects in key stage 1 and the above-average attainment for key stage 2 pupils in writing and reading. The school’s progress measures show that in some year groups, pupils are now making good progress in all core subject areas. However, the legacy of weak teaching means there are still some pupils who need to catch up.
• Leaders and governors quickly recognised where there were weaknesses in the school and made judicious use of the support and advice offered by the local authority. As a result, the quality of teaching has been strengthened in English and greater challenge and progress can be seen in pupils’ books. Recent monitoring and evaluation by the new English coordinator have shown that this is continuing and further improvements are being driven by the school.
• The school uses pupil premium funding effectively. The careful monitoring of the progress of disadvantaged pupils shows that, overall, the funding is having a positive impact on pupils’ rates of progress.
• Leaders check how well teachers’ skills are developing and use this information effectively to refine the support given. Expectations are high and targets are shared successfully with staff. Comprehensive support has been put in place where there has not been rapid improvement. Leaders are aware that inconsistencies still remain and are continuing to ensure the development of good teaching across the school.
• The staff are highly motivated and talk warmly about the school and the pupils. They have welcomed the introduction of robust performance management processes and they value the opportunity to develop further skills. Coaching and mentoring is readily available for teaching staff.
• Pupils develop spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness effectively through lessons and assemblies. Pupils enjoy ‘Golden Leaf’ assemblies as they celebrate success and effort. Pupils are supportive of each other and appreciate the opportunity to be praised and to praise others. The school has strong links with the community, including the local hospice, and makes good use of the local area and attractions to support learning. Leaders are strongly committed to preparing pupils well for life in modern Britain and provide a rich and varied curriculum to support this.
• Additional funding is used effectively to support pupils who have a range of special educational needs and/or disabilities. This includes the employment of skilled learning support assistants who work with individual pupils to support their varying needs. The special educational needs coordinator has a good understanding of the support that pupils need and champions this at leadership level.
• Parents are positive about the school and welcome the recent changes and improvements. Parents of children who had recently joined the early years were quick to mention the smooth transition from nursery and the care that their children had received.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is small but all members carry out their responsibilities with dedication, skill and knowledge. Members are well informed about teaching, learning and pupils’ achievement. Despite recruitment issues and recently suspended plans to join a multi-academy trust, they have worked hard to support the school following the previous inspection.
• Governors have supported the involvement of the local authority and have a good understanding of the improvements that have been made because of this support. They meet regularly with leaders and, following the appointment of the new headteacher, have made sure they review attainment and progress carefully and ask challenging questions.
• Governors ensure that the school has good financial practices. They have a detailed knowledge of how well additional funding is used for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They scrutinise its impact and recognise where the school can improve.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff are provided with regular training about how to safeguard and protect pupils. Staff are confident in identifying risks and reporting any concerns that may arise. All staff, including lunchtime supervisors, receive high-quality training on recognising any potential signs of risk. They know what to do should they have any concerns. There is a comprehensive induction process for new staff to ensure they know what to do.
• Leaders ensure that pupils understand their role in ensuring that there is a culture of safeguarding. For example, internet safety is given a high priority and pupils are able to explain clearly how to keep themselves safe online. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and healthy. They know who to talk to if they are worried or concerned and, if anxious, welcome the quiet refuge of ‘The Pumpkin Room’, staffed by experienced emotional-literacy support assistants.
• Checks on staff and other adults working in the school are rigorous. Governors are trained in safer recruitment and monitor policies and procedures to ensure that they are implemented effectively. The designated safeguarding lead works closely with the family support worker and other agencies to ensure that pupils and their families are supported sensitively. Leaders keep careful records of this work. The culture of the school is caring, supportive and ensures that pupils are safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching and learning is too variable across the school. This means that some pupils are not making fast enough progress and are behind where they need to be in their knowledge and skills. Current staff skills are improving, particularly in the teaching of English, due to the help and support of school leaders. However, there is not enough good practice to ensure that all pupils build well on their starting points.
• Numerous changes in teaching staff across the school have interrupted and hampered pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The work in pupils’ books indicates that there have been some marked improvements in the quality of pupils’ learning during the past few months.
• In mathematics, pupils do not always focus well on their learning. This is because they are sometimes asked to repeat work that they already know well. Across the school, there are pockets of practice where questioning does not deepen learning and activities do not offer enough challenge.
• Where learning is successful, teachers and teaching assistants have a good understanding of the pupils’ current abilities and how they can support and challenge pupils. In some mathematics lessons, good use was made of the ‘maths toolkits’. Pupils could support their own learning through a range of resources the teacher had made available. However, sometimes not enough attention was given to deepening and extending the abilities of the most able pupils.
• School leaders have worked hard on the improvement points identified in the previous inspection report. Teachers now have higher expectations of what pupils should achieve and, therefore, books show an improvement in presentation and basic grammar, spelling and punctuation skills.
• Teachers generally manage pupils’ behaviour in class well, but in some classes time is wasted where pupils have been left to work independently and are either unsure of what to do or are not given further challenge when they finish their work.
• In recent months, some groups of pupils in key stage 2 have made significantly better progress due to improvements in teaching. High-quality English teaching ensures that pupils develop a wide vocabulary and a deep appreciation of different texts. Pupils in Year 6 have made considerable progress in the past few months because teachers’ expectations of pupils’ learning are much higher than previously. Pupils self-edit and use feedback from the teacher and their peers to improve sentence structure.
• Teaching assistants support pupils of all abilities well, including those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They use questioning effectively to help pupils plan how they will tackle activities. They teach pupils how to use resources to support their learning, and encourage pupils when tasks are difficult.
• Assessment is now accurate. Teachers and leaders know pupils’ starting points, and are developing a better understanding of assessment information than previously. Where teaching is most successful, staff are using this knowledge to plan effectively to support and challenge pupils. However, this still varies between classes.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are confident and have a developed understanding of right and wrong, both in school and in the wider community. The school values are displayed around the school and addressed regularly in assemblies. The school’s ethos is underpinned by Christian beliefs and pupils are given many opportunities to reflect in assemblies and throughout the curriculum.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in school, in the community and online. Pupils are kind and caring and are quick to look after others or include someone who they think has been left out. They enjoy learning about how to keep themselves healthy and have a well-developed understanding of the importance of diet and exercise.
• Pupils’ attitudes to all aspects of learning are positive. They show stamina and resilience when tackling difficult tasks. Pupils are supportive of each other in lessons and in the playground. They sensitively listen to and help each other. However, in occasional lessons pupils are not fully engaged in learning because they find the tasks too easy.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. The atmosphere in the school is calm and orderly and pupils move around in a purposeful manner. Pupils are respectful of others and are quick to offer help to those who do not know the school as well.
• In classes, pupils respond quickly to instructions and show engagement in their learning. Rare occurrences of low-level disruption are managed well by staff. At breaktime, pupils engage in purposeful, energetic play.
• Attendance is good for most pupils and is above the national average for primary schools. This is because pupils’ absence is investigated thoroughly and lateness is recorded and followed up. Persistent absence has decreased for all groups of pupils. Early morning clubs, funded by the school, have helped this.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in school, at home and online. Pupils said that they enjoy school, feel safe and are encouraged to look after their own health and well-being. The majority of parents agreed that their children are safe and happy in school and that behaviour is well managed.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The many changes of teaching staff throughout the school have had a negative impact on pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders and teachers have recently addressed this and there are early signs that pupils are now catching up, particularly in English. The work in pupils’ books indicates that there have been some marked improvements in the quality of pupils’ learning during the past months but outcomes are not yet good enough.
• Achievement in mathematics at the end of key stage 2 has been below national averages for the past two years. The most able pupils have not met the higher standard in tests. Leaders and teachers have addressed this over the past term and there is evidence that pupils in some classes are quickly catching up. The introduction of additional resources and a standardised approach to teaching are supporting this effectively.
• In key stage 1, pupils are making good progress and attaining well across the core subjects. In 2017, the proportion of pupils who achieved greater depth rose to broadly average. The skills and knowledge of these pupils in English and mathematics are reflected in their work across the curriculum.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make typically expected, and sometimes better, progress from their starting points because teaching in class and in small groups supports their learning well.
• The most able pupils have not fulfilled their potential in recent years. In 2016 and 2017, the proportion of pupils achieving greater depth in reading and mathematics was below the national average at the end of key stage 2. Teachers do not routinely provide the most able pupils with sufficiently challenging activities to enable them to make good progress in all classes. Pupils sometimes spend too much time repeating what they can already do.
• Initiatives funded through the pupil premium are having a positive effect on outcomes. The school’s assessment information shows that pupils who were eligible for this funding last academic year are making similar progress to their peers and in some cases are making better progress.
• Pupils effectively learn how to use phonics skills to help them to read and write successfully. The Year 1 phonics screening checks show that over the past four years a growing number of pupils have achieved the expected standard.

Early years provision Good

• The decision to give the assistant headteacher responsibility for early years has further improved the early years provision at the school. She sets high expectations across the classes and uses performance management, information from books and lesson observations in a constructive manner to improve outcomes for the children. The early years team demonstrate expertise and enthusiasm and are keen to improve further.
• Assessment throughout early years is regular and captures the individual children’s learning styles and interests. This means that staff can successfully plan next steps that motivate and engage children. Staff liaise effectively with the 10 or more pre-school settings from which the children transfer. Parents report that ‘the school’s welcoming and caring approach has made transition easy’. Assessment at the end of the year is accurate and ensures that children receive the right level of support and challenge when they enter Year 1.
• Teachers and teaching assistants work as a cohesive team and all staff interact positively with different groups of pupils. They extend learning by asking open-ended questions that prompt children to undertake further activities. As a result, children remain engaged and in some cases are very engrossed.
• Staff have taken effective action to improve the opportunities for writing and number work both inside and outside. For example, during the inspection boys and girls were choosing to produce labels for the role-play area and children used puppets to help them count accurately.
• Teachers make good use of an extensive outdoor area and ensure that it contains activities to support children’s learning well in all areas of the early years curriculum. There are many opportunities for children to develop both fine and gross motor skills as well as English and number skills. Children are encouraged to make creative use of resources. For example, two children set up imaginatively a car wash using the water tray and some paintbrushes, showing a high level of confidence and independence.
• Children get on well with each other and they are polite and confident. Staff encourage children to be independent and look after themselves and others. Children’s social and emotional skills are developing well. Children respond well to teachers’ instructions and follow simple routines effectively.
• Safeguarding is effective and child protection procedures are implemented consistently.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116489 Hampshire 10032870 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Primary Voluntary aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 438 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mrs Liz Holford Mr Richard Cunningham Telephone number 02392262599 Website Email address www.stpeterswaterlooville.co.uk adminoffice@stpeterswaterlooville.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 7–8 July 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.
• There is a breakfast club and an after-school club on the school site, managed by the governing body.
• Since the last inspection, there has been a considerable turnover of staff. The acting headteacher and half of the teaching staff left in July 2016. An interim headteacher was appointed in September 2016 and an interim leadership team was formed. The interim headteacher became the substantive headteacher in April 2017. The staff team has remained stable for September 2017 and an additional deputy headteacher has been appointed.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed activities in all classes. Most observations were undertaken with a member of the senior leadership team.
• The lead inspector met with all members of the governing body and a member of the local authority.
• Inspectors met with pupils to discuss their views of the school and their learning. Inspectors met with parents in the playground and gained their views of the school.
• Inspectors examined a range of school documents, including information on pupils’ performance across the school, school improvement plans, school evaluation documents, local authority evaluations and monitoring, governors’ minutes and the school’s evaluation of teaching and learning.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of books, some with the senior leadership team, to see the progress that pupils had made in a range of subjects.
• Inspectors heard pupils read from Year 2. They talked to pupils at breaktimes, in the lunch hall and in lessons.
• Inspectors conducted interviews with senior leaders and middle leaders.
• Inspectors took account of 84 responses to the Ofsted parent survey, Parent View, the results of the inspection questionnaire completed by 30 members of staff and the results of the pupil questionnaire completed by 91 pupils.

Inspection team

Tracy Good, lead inspector Charlotte Wilson Lea Hannam

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector