Setting

CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 1231231 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566934 Direct F 01695 729320 gtunnicliffe@cfbt.com www.cfbt-inspections.com

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Mrs H Wright Headteacher Chorley St Peter's Church of England Primary School Eaves Lane Chorley Lancashire PR6 0DX

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Church of England Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 18 March 2011, for the time you gave to our telephone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Would you also thank your School Improvement Partner and the two governors who came into school to talk to me and the pupils who willingly gave up their time to tell me so proudly and enthusiastically about their work?

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Church of England Primary School

Since the last inspection a new special educational needs coordinator and a new class teacher have been appointed. A teacher is currently employed on a temporary basis in Key Stage 2 to cover the period of a maternity leave.

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Church of England Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 9 and 10 December 2009, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter. Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made good progress in making improvements and good progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Church of England Primary School

The school is making good progress in raising attainment in English and mathematics in Key Stage 2. Assessment results rose sharply in 2010, showing a good increase in the proportion of pupils attaining the level expected at the end of Year 6 as well as a good increase in the proportion attaining the higher Level 5. The assessments and work of pupils currently in Year 6 indicate that this improvement is being maintained. All pupils in English and a very large majority in mathematics made at least the expected progress, exceeding the school’s targets in both subjects. Improvements in Key Stage 1 have been slower to take effect. However, the decision to move the deputy headteacher, a model of outstanding teaching, has strengthened the teaching in Key Stage 1, resulting in an improved picture of attainment and progress for the current year. January 2011

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Church of England Primary School

Page2 The headteacher has worked closely with the Improving School’s Programme and she and the staff have been enthusiastic in listening to and adopting their good advice. As a result the school has devised a much more useful system for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress, enabling teachers to identify any underachievement at an early stage. The school’s literacy and numeracy leaders and special educational needs coordinator are working closely with class teachers to plan support to address any slowing of progress. Support is well targeted and rigorously evaluated to ensure pupils’ progress is improving. While most pupils are now making improved progress, senior leaders have identified some pockets of slower progress, for example in Year 5, which they are actively seeking to address.

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Church of England Primary School

Leaders have made good progress in improving the quality of teaching. Extensive staff training and clear guidance and expectations of teachers regarding the assessment of pupils’ work and monitoring their progress have resulted in improvements in learning. During the monitoring inspection five lessons were observed. One was satisfactory, three were good and one was outstanding. This matched the evaluations of the most recent monitoring of teaching by the local authority and the school’s own observations and represents a good improvement in teaching since the last inspection. Strengths in the teaching observed included: clear instructions and demonstrations to help pupils to understand; time limits to keep pupils interested and involved; as well as good questioning to encourage pupils to think and develop their own ideas. Examples of good writing for a variety of purposes and solutions to interesting mathematical problems are on prominent display to celebrate good

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Church of England Primary School

work and to provide good examples for others.

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Church of England Primary School

The newly-introduced marking policy provides good guidance to help pupils to improve. The programme of monitoring pupils’ books by the headteacher and subject leaders has ensured that it is being used consistently across the school. Pupils know their targets well and teachers refer to them regularly in lessons to focus pupils’ attention to help them improve. During the monitoring inspection pupils reported how much they enjoyed achieving their targets and that this motivates them to do their best.

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Church of England Primary School

The quality of the headteacher’s leadership in accurately identifying areas for improvement was identified in the last inspection and the school’s senior leaders continue to evaluate the school’s work rigorously. The headteacher, ably supported by the rest of the leadership team, has worked constructively with the local authority to develop successful strategies to improve attainment, progress and teaching. After a successful period of support, there is an improving capacity to improve and the school is now able to move forward independently.

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Church of England Primary School

I hope that you have found the inspection helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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and 10 December 2009

 Raise standards of writing and mathematics by:

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and 10 December 2009

 ensuring that the teaching of writing skills and mathematics is consistently good  ensuring that pupils know what teachers' expectations of writing are, through, for example, displays of good writing in classrooms  embedding the systems to assess pupils' progress accurately and identify underachievers, and intervene in their learning  ensuring that teachers use their marking of pupils' work effectively to guide pupils on how to make better progress  ensuring that pupils' learning targets are clearly explained and that pupils know how to achieve them  ensuring that middle leaders play a full part in the drive for higher standards.

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