St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Cassington Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching to ensure consistently rapid rates of progress for some pupils, by:
  • making sure that teachers identify and swiftly address errors in individual pupils’ punctuation and grammar skills
  • further developing teachers’ questioning skills to prompt pupils’ deeper understanding
  • ensuring that the most able pupils are consistently set challenging tasks.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher has worked resolutely since the last inspection to ensure that teaching and learning across the school continue to improve. She has taken strong action to address any teaching that was not meeting the needs of all pupils. She has built an effective leadership team which shares her belief that all pupils can, and should, succeed in all aspects of their school life.
• Senior leaders monitor the school’s progress towards the demanding targets set for pupils’ achievement. Effective support activities are put in place if an individual or group of pupils fall behind so that they can quickly make up any lost ground. This means that pupils achieve well irrespective of their backgrounds or starting points.
• The school has a robust system for holding teachers and leaders to account for the impact of their work in school. Ambition is high for all members of staff. Senior leaders are very effective at identifying what teachers do well, the areas for improvement and when follow up checks will be made.
• Performance management has been successful in improving teaching and learning. Teachers know the high standards they are expected to reach and appreciate the opportunities they are given for support and training. This has a positive impact on pupils’ learning. For example, staff have received effective training on developing pupils’ reasoning skills to solve mathematical problems.
• The curriculum is broad and well balanced. Topics fully engage pupils’ interest and motivate them to learn. Pupils benefit from a curriculum that is brought to life through a range of trips and visitors. For example, in Years 3 and 4 pupils gained much from their trip to the Roald Dahl Museum. It created vivid pictures for them of some of the characters they had previously studied. There are a wide variety of cross-curricular links. Teachers use these links to set challenging tasks which enable pupils to apply their English and mathematical skills in their topic work. For example, pupils in Years 1 and 2 created good-quality pieces of writing about the Great Fire of London after acting in contemporary costumes.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well through the curriculum and the opportunities offered. Pupils have a very good understanding of the school’s values such as: peace, compassion, friendship, dignity, respect and honesty. These are effectively linked with British values. Staff plan a range of events that help pupils to understand in depth other cultures and people, such as the Chinese New Year workshop and the popular Egyptian play.
• Effective use is made of additional funding for pupil premium and special educational needs. Early identification and accurate assessment ensure that eligible pupils receive targeted support to reach their potential. Support is implemented through additional teaching, small-group work or one-to-one interventions to keep pupils firmly on track. Leaders monitor how successful this support is and adjust it as necessary.
• The primary physical education (PE) and sport premium is used well. It has increased pupils’ participation in sport and the school is now more successful in competitive sport. The funding has also been used to strengthen teaching in PE. Teachers are benefiting from structured professional development programmes which are improving the quality of PE teaching. Pupils are very active at lunchtimes, using their play equipment well.
• The Eynsham Partnership Academy has provided good advice and support. It has carefully tracked and monitored the development of the school since the previous inspection. Regular review meetings hold leaders to account about the school’s progress. Leaders are challenged to demonstrate evidence of improvement for those areas identified as priorities.

Governance of the school

Safeguarding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use what they know about pupils’ interests to plan work that fires their imaginations and provides purposeful learning experiences. Pupils say that they enjoy their lessons because teachers make learning fun and ensure that they are always learning something new.
• Teachers’ strong subject knowledge ensures that pupils are taught to a good standard. Teachers structure learning activities to enable pupils to make good progress. They plan lessons which build on pupils’ previous knowledge and skills.
• The teaching of mathematics is strong. Pupils tackle challenging problem-solving and reasoning activities that make them think hard. This helps them to develop higher-level skills in mathematics. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 made very good progress as they were challenged to understand and answer questions on complex data from a triathlon event.
• The quality of pupils’ writing is good. Pupils have opportunities to write at length and across a range of subjects. Targets for pupils are used to support pupils’ progress in writing. These are effective in ensuring that pupils and teachers know the next steps required. Some pupils are not yet reaching the higher standards because staff do not fully address gaps in pupils’ grammar and punctuation knowledge.
• Teachers develop positive relationships with pupils and this has a beneficial impact on pupils’ motivation and learning. Teaching is good across a range of subjects, including history and geography. Teachers plan exciting activities to engage pupils during lessons and make good use of museum visits.
• Phonics teaching, especially in key stage 1, is a strength. There are clear routines in place and sessions are fast paced and engaging. Teachers model letter sounds clearly and employ a range of multi-sensory approaches to support pupils’ learning. In a Year 1 and 2 phonics lesson the teacher and teaching assistant expertly guided pupils of different abilities to use letter sounds to read unfamiliar and challenging words.
• Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to the progress that pupils make because they are well trained, and deployed to support pupils who need the most help. If they spot pupils who are struggling or losing concentration, they skilfully intervene to bring them back on track.
• Pupils use feedback and guidance in lessons to improve their work and increase the level of challenge. Teachers consistently follow the school’s feedback and marking policy and this helps pupils to quickly improve their work.
• Expectations are usually high and activities are typically well matched to challenge pupils of all abilities. There is some inconsistency for the most able pupils. When the challenge is not strong for these pupils, they do not develop a greater depth of understanding of their work, or reach the higher standards they are capable of, across all subjects.

Teachers and teaching assistants have effective discussions with pupils during lessons and their explanations are clear. However, staff do not use questioning to promote deep thinking. Questions are not always asked in ways that require pupils to explain their thinking or justify their answers.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• From the youngest to the oldest, pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school. One parent, typical of many, said, ‘My child is disappointed when they can’t come to school.’ Pupils show great pride in their school and have an unstinting desire to learn. They are very polite and friendly and are highly respectful to adults and each other.
• The school is highly effective at addressing pupils’ personal and social needs. Pupils become very confident, articulate and self-aware learners. Leaders and teachers know their pupils well and this enables tailored support to be provided at a very personal level, which parents appreciate.
• Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to take on responsibility, including acting as school councillors and playground buddies. Pupils see these roles as vital to the life of the school community. Those who take on these responsibilities step up to the task with significant success, appreciation and maturity.
• Healthy living is strongly promoted and pupils have a very good understanding of the importance of a balanced diet and regular exercise. This is encouraged extremely well through regular exercise, outdoor learning and topic work. For example, pupils across the school swim in the school’s swimming pool every week during the summer term. The school grounds are used exceptionally well to ensure that pupils understand risk and energetically play and work. The ‘Forest School’ learning opportunities enable pupils to develop their social skills through team work to solve a wide range of practical problems.
• Pupils feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe. Work in pupils’ books and pupils’ conversations with the inspector show that pupils are taught different ways to keep themselves safe. Pupils are well informed about different types of bullying, including cyber bullying. They are confident that bullying is not tolerated in the school, and that if it were to occur it would be dealt with very swiftly and effectively.
• Pupils are well taught about how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. The school effectively promotes this with parents through its website and by regular communication, for example through specific workshops for parents.
• The breakfast club provides pupils with a positive and enjoyable start to the school day. It provides a good opportunity for socialising with each other and adults. The atmosphere is welcoming, relaxed and ensures that pupils are ready to immediately, and very enthusiastically, start learning.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• In lessons and throughout the school day, pupils are very attentive and respond almost instantly to instructions from different staff. They hold their teachers, teaching assistants and the headteacher in high regard. This is because of very clear expectations that pupils and staff should respect everyone.
• Pupils are outstandingly well behaved from the start of the school day to the end. They listen very carefully in lessons and do not disrupt other pupils’ learning. Pupils’ behaviour at breaktime and lunchtime is equally positive. Pupils walk quietly and sensibly around school and wait patiently to go into classrooms or the dining hall.
• Leaders carefully record any incidents of inappropriate behaviour. Records show that incidents are very rare but that action is taken and the behaviour policy is followed, when necessary. Adults manage behaviour well and remind pupils of the ‘choices’ they make as they learn and play.
• The attendance of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, is improving and is in line with pupils nationally. The few pupils who are persistently absent are carefully monitored and well supported to encourage better attendance.
• The school environment is very well cared for by pupils, and is free of litter. Displays of pupils’ work around the school show that pupils take great pride in their work and want to do the best they can. This is further shown in the way they encourage each other to achieve their best.

Outcomes for pupils

Good

• Pupils’ outcomes are good across the curriculum. Leaders’ accurate analysis of pupils’ published outcomes noted where the school needed to strengthen the quality of writing. Leaders also recognised that more pupils needed to deepen their learning in key stage 1 to reach higher standards.
• Leaders’ assessments indicate that currently most pupils are working at the standard expected for their age and prior attainment, across a wide range of subjects. This is confirmed by evidence in pupils’ books and in current displays. Information also shows that pupils make good progress from their starting points. This prepares them well for the next stage of their education.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good and timely support linked closely to their specific needs. Activities in class and small groups are adapted well and extra help is provided to enable pupils to develop independence and make gains in their learning. Consequently, these pupils make good progress.
• Outcomes for the small number of disadvantaged pupils vary from year to year but because the funding to support their progress is used well they are making progress in line with other pupils nationally. The difference in attainment between this group and the national average is decreasing.
• Evidence gathered from across the school demonstrates that pupils make good progress in writing. This applies equally to boys and girls. However, more work is needed to ensure that pupils fully understand grammar and punctuation rules so that they apply them accurately in all of their writing. Pupils also make good progress in other subjects, although weaknesses in these aspects of writing weaken the quality of their written work.
• The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, achieve good outcomes. Teachers usually have high expectations for these pupils. However, there are times when additional challenge is limited and learning activities are not sufficiently demanding. Time is spent on what pupils already know and as a result, learning does not move on quickly enough.
• Outcomes in the phonics screening check for pupils in Year 1 have been consistently well above the national average for the last three years. This reflects the high priority that leaders place on ensuring that pupils develop secure phonic knowledge, and can read with fluency and enjoyment. The teaching of early reading skills is strong.

Early years provision Good

• On entry, children’s abilities are in line with those expected for their age in most areas. The leader of the early years has an accurate view of the children’s achievement and the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. She has used this knowledge to continually improve the provision. For example, the outside learning space inspires children to quickly develop their writing skills within the ‘construction’ shed. Consequently, children are prepared well for Year 1.
• Children, including disadvantaged children and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, experience a good start to life in school. This is because adults assess children’s needs carefully and tailor experiences to provide for their different skills, both academically and personally.
• Teaching is effective and well planned. The teacher and teaching assistants work together well. Information about children’s learning is shared and used to plan engaging and exciting lessons. As a result, children’s progress is good across all areas of learning. However, the teacher and other adults rightly ensure that there is a particularly strong focus on developing children’s communication skills.
• Provision in the classroom and outdoor area is well planned and both areas complement each other. They provide real-life experiences for children so that they become confident in applying their skills in different areas of learning. Children develop high levels of curiosity and show good levels of cooperation with adults and other children.
• Staff ensure an appropriate balance of activities led by adults and those which children choose for themselves. Effective use is made of the outdoor area to develop different aspects of the curriculum. Early reading, writing and number skills are taught well and build on children’s different levels of ability. Occasionally, questions posed by staff do not stretch the most able children.
• Children are well cared for and nurtured so that they feel confident and eager to join in activities. Their behaviour is excellent and they show respect for each other. They play well together, sharing resources and discussing their activities.
• Early years staff are welcoming and encourage regular communication with parents. This starts in the summer term before the children are officially enrolled in school, and is effective in building confidence and ensuring that children settle quickly.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140915 Oxfordshire 10032483 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 Academy converter 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 102 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Academy trust Annette Wade Jeanette Millward 01865 880443

www.st-peters.oxon.sch.uk

office.3651@st-peters.oxon.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• In June 2014, the school became part of the Eynsham Partnership Academy.
• A breakfast club is managed by the governing body.
• St Peter’s is smaller than the average primary school. Pupils are taught in four classes, including one for early years, including Nursery-age children.
• The vast majority of pupils are of White British backgrounds.
• The number of pupils supported by the additional pupil premium funding is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed pupils’ learning in all classes and over eight lessons or parts of lessons. Most of these observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher.
• The inspector met with pupils and listened to some pupils read. He looked at examples of pupils’ work in their books and spoke to pupils formally and informally. The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, lunchtime and around the school as well as in lessons.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, other leaders and members of staff. The inspector met with the chief executive officer and the school improvement officer from the Eynsham Partnership Academy. The inspector also met with six representatives of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body.
• The inspector looked at a wide range of documentation, including: the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans; the school’s recruitment and vetting checks and records relating to safeguarding and attendance; minutes of meetings of the governing body; information relating to the monitoring of teaching and learning; and school performance data.
• The inspector considered parents’ opinions through the scrutiny of 41 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and a letter from a parent. The inspector spoke to some parents on the first day of the inspection, as parents collected their children at the end of the school day.

Inspection team

Richard Blackmore, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector