Bryn St Peter's CofE Primary School

Bryn St Peter's CofE Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 17–18 January 2012 Inspection number 377401 Unique Reference Number 106438 Local authority Wigan Inspection number 377401 Inspection dates 17–18 January 2012 Lead inspector Andrée Keddle

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 201 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr M Walker Headteacher Mr C J Calderbank Date of previous school inspection 9 February 2009 School address Downall Green Road Bryn Wigan WN4 0DL Telephone number 01942 204041 Fax number 01942 777883 Email address enquiries@admin.ashtonsaintpeters.wigan.sch.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Andrée Keddle Desmond Stubbs Additional inspector Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed eight teachers in 15 lessons of which two were joint observations with the headteacher. Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, members of the governing body and school staff, including senior leaders. The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents including safeguarding records, the school development plan, policies, teachers’ planning, assessment data and minutes of governing body meetings. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection and analysed 72 questionnaires returned by parents and carers, and others completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This is a smaller than average primary school. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage and very few pupils have English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is average. The percentage of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average and the proportion of those having a statement of special educational needs is low. The school meets the government floor standard for pupils at the end of Year 6. The school has achieved Healthy School status and gained the Eco Green Flag award.

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Information about the school

There is a children's centre on site and this was inspected at the same time as the school. In addition, the privately managed childcare provision has been recently inspected. The outcomes of both are in separate reports available on the Ofsted website. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key Findings

 This is a good school. Standards have improved over the last three years and pupils’ attainment is above average in reading, writing and mathematics, as demonstrated in the 2011 Key Stage 2 statutory tests in English and mathematics. Good teaching in mathematics ensured that half the pupils in Year 6 achieved the higher Level 5.

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Key Findings

 In Key Stage 1 standards have been rising and are broadly average overall. In reading, standards are above average. In the Early Years Foundation Stage children are challenged well through stimulating activities and make good progress as a result. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are well supported and make good progress.

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Key Findings

 Teaching is good overall, though it is not as consistently effective in Key Stage 1 classes as it is in Key Stage 2. Most lessons are interesting for pupils and move at a brisk pace. Good links are made between subjects and visits out of school enrich the curriculum well. Good partnerships exist with local high schools and specialist teachers work with pupils to develop their modern foreign language skills and information and communication technology (ICT) skills well.

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Key Findings

 Pupils behave well in lessons and around school and respond well to teachers’ praise and rewards. Where learning is challenging and well matched to their needs, pupils show high levels of interest and motivation. Pupils say that respect is shown between staff and pupils and between pupils. They speak warmly about the way adults encourage and help them to learn. The school’s strong ethos based on clear moral values underpins the way adults and pupils treat each other.

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Key Findings

 The headteacher and senior staff have an accurate view of the school’s relative strengths and weaknesses. Actions to improve the school since the last inspection have been successful and standards have risen, particularly in Key Stage 2 where progress is more consistently good than in Key Stage 1. Effective policies are in place to ensure that pupils’ behaviour is good and they are safe in school. The governing body supports senior leaders effectively.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards further, particularly in Key Stage 1 by: - sharing and building upon the good and outstanding teaching found in Key Stage 2 and the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure greater consistency in the quality of teaching - ensuring that all teachers have high expectations of what pupils can do and all lessons move at a brisk pace to ensure good learning and progress - using regular teacher assessment information to plan activities which enable pupils to take the precise next steps in learning which are well matched to their prior skills and knowledge - ensuring that success criteria are identified by teachers which help them and the pupils assess whether they have made enough progress in the lesson.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils achieve well and reach above average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. All groups of pupils make good progress, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Where teachers have high expectations, they and pupils, evaluate the quality of work against specific criteria and this contributes to pupils’ good, and sometimes outstanding, progress. There is some variation of practice between Key Stages 1 and 2. In Key Stage 1, pupils’ progress is not as good, because assessment information is not always used rigorously enough to ensure that work is challenging for all groups of pupils. In Key Stage 2, pupils make good progress because in most lessons the level of challenge is high and pupils use their skills to work independently, such as using a search engine on the internet when researching the life and music of a famous musician in order to

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Achievement of pupils

write a biography. Also, in an ICT lesson, older pupils quickly grasped the use of formulae in spreadsheets and could apply them to data they had collected previously.

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Achievement of pupils

Daily sessions to support pupils’ learning of sounds and letters to help them read and write are well established and effective. In a lesson observed in Key Stage 1, pupils had many good opportunities to apply their knowledge of sounds and letters to their writing. However, most pupils were working on similar tasks and these were not closely matched to the learning needs of all, so progress was not as strong for some as for others. Although standards in reading are rising and pupils’ attainment is above average, standards at Key Stage 1 are not improving as rapidly as in Key Stage 2. The children currently in the Early Years Foundation Stage entered the school with a level of skills and knowledge which is typical for their age and are making good, and sometimes outstanding, progress through very well planned activities which stimulate their interest and build well on their skills and knowledge. For example, children were

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Achievement of pupils

observed engaging enthusiastically in role play in a greengrocer’s shop and this was followed by a mathematics activity where children found different ways to make 5p using different coins. In another lesson, a small group of Reception children worked very effectively with the teacher learning new sounds and ‘tricky words’ through activities that were carefully planned to build on and extend their prior knowledge.

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Achievement of pupils

Parental and carers’ questionnaires show that they are happy with their children’s achievement and inspection evidence confirms good achievement.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers have good subject knowledge and communicate this well to pupils. For example, teachers in Key Stage 1 working with pupils to develop their understanding of sounds and letters use correct terminology and explain clearly which letters and groups of letters make which sounds. In the best lessons, teachers ensure that there is a brisk pace of learning through succinct teaching which gives pupils time to apply their skills and knowledge to challenging learning activities. In other lessons, mainly in Key Stage 1, the pace of learning is not quite as quick and teachers occasionally do not expect enough in terms of the quality and quantity of pupils’ work.

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Quality of teaching

In an outstanding lesson observed in upper Key Stage 2, pupils showed high levels of independence using their well developed reading skills to read and identify suitable information to use in their written work. Also, they were able to use a thesaurus correctly to enhance the quality of their writing. Their learning tasks were very well planned in order to help them take the next steps in their learning. This use of assessment information to ensure that learning activities are sharply focused on helping pupils to take the next steps in their learning is not a consistent approach throughout the school.

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Quality of teaching

The curriculum is well planned, includes opportunities for links to be made between subjects to enhance learning and has a positive impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, in a lesson on persuasive writing pupils were given opportunities to reflect on the ethical issue of the preservation of the rainforests. In many lessons, teaching makes a good contribution to pupils’ social development by providing opportunities for pupils to work cooperatively in small groups and pairs. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage were observed talking sensibly with their partners about what they could see on the contents page of an information book. In the questionnaires completed by parents and carers, they express overwhelmingly positive views about the way their children are taught.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

School records confirm that there are typically few instances of misbehaviour and there have been no exclusions since the last inspection. Pupils are courteous and show respect for others. They were observed holding doors open for each other and using good manners. The school’s ethos contributes well to this atmosphere of respect, for example in the way that pupils say grace before having lunch. Pupils say that they appreciate the way that adults speak to them. A typical comment from one pupil was that ‘teachers help you to get it right, they don’t say you’re wrong.’ In the Early Years Foundation Stage children were observed developing their self- confidence as the result of the very kind and encouraging way in which the adults speak to them.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in various situations, including when using the internet. Pupils know how to report concerns on the internet and say that they would do so. They can recall advice given to them in talks from the police and fire service and say that assemblies are often about how to keep safe. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and show a high degree of confidence in adults to sort out any problems quickly. They speak of the ‘buddy stop’ where pupils can stand if they have no-one to play with at lunch-time and say that other pupils will come over and help them join in. Pupils say that there are few instances of bullying, such as name- calling, and that these are dealt with very well by staff. Pupils’ attendance rates, which are well-above average, reflect their enjoyment of school. Through the questionnaires, pupils, parents and carers show they have very positive views about

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

behaviour and safety in school and the effective way in which all types of bullying is dealt with.

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Leadership and management

School leaders have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have taken effective steps to make further improvements since the last inspection. Training for staff in improving pupils’ writing skills has been effective. In addition, standards in reading and mathematics have been raised at all key stages. This demonstrates the school’s good capacity to improve further. Although there is regular monitoring of teaching and learning and this has contributed to raising standards, there is still some variation in the quality of teaching. The features of good and occasionally outstanding teaching have not been shared between teachers well enough or fully and consistently embedded in all classes. The curriculum is good and provides a broad range of learning activities which contributes well to the good progress made by pupils. Pupils develop good basic skills in English, mathematics and ICT and use and apply these well in a range of subjects. Visitors

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Leadership and management

into school enrich the curriculum. For example, a children’s worker from the local church was observed leading an assembly which allowed pupils to reflect on Christian values.

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Leadership and management

Assessment information is used appropriately by senior leaders and the governing body to evaluate the school’s performance accurately and set appropriate priorities. The school’s work in ensuring that pupils of all abilities and backgrounds have good opportunities for development, and in tackling discrimination, is good and all groups generally perform equally well. The governing body is very supportive and members of the governing body regularly spend time in school monitoring its work. They hold the school to account well and ensure that appropriate school policies are in place which are reviewed regularly. The governing body has a good understanding of the main priorities and procedures to safeguard children and ensures that these meet government requirements.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Bryn St Peter's C of E Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0DL

Thank you very much for the warm welcome you gave the inspectors when we inspected your school. We were impressed with your good behaviour and excellent manners. Thank you for talking to us freely and giving your opinions in the questionnaires; you are clearly very proud of your school and feel safe and happy. Inspectors agree with your opinions.

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Inspection of Bryn St Peter's C of E Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0DL

You make good progress as the result of good teaching and you reach above average standards in your work. Your attainment is improving and more of you are reaching the higher levels in mathematics, particularly in Key Stage 2. Your behaviour is good; you are very friendly and treat others with respect. You know the difference between right and wrong and you think carefully about important issues, such as the preservation of the rainforests.

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Inspection of Bryn St Peter's C of E Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0DL

Your headteacher and senior teachers ensure that yours is a good school with standards that are still rising. We have asked that senior leaders help your school become even better by increasing the good and better teaching so that those of you in Key Stage 1 in particular learn at a quicker rate and achieve as well as those of you in Key Stage 2.

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Inspection of Bryn St Peter's C of E Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0DL

You can help by continuing to work hard and by attending school every day.

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Inspection of Bryn St Peter's C of E Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0DL

Andrée Keddle Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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