Fulwood, St Peter's Church of England Primary School and Nursery

St Peter’s CE Primary School Meadowfield, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 9RE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  St Peter’s inspires pupils to thrive in both their personal and academic development.  Inspired by the adults around them, pupils are highly motivated and achieve high levels of attainment.  All groups of pupils are treated as individuals and have outstanding achievement.  Outstanding teaching stimulates and supports pupils. This is owing to the skills, dedication and commitment of teachers, other adults and volunteers who work extremely well together to plan lessons which enthuse pupils. Adults continually measure pupils’ understanding of their work and use this to plan lessons which meet the needs of every individual.  Pupils show a great deal of respect towards each other and to all the staff and visitors to the school. From an early age, pupils enjoy coming to school and this is reflected in above average attendance. They are polite, courteous and eager to learn.  Staff and pupils alike take pride in their work.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Occasionally the presentation of pupils’ work across all subjects is not to the highest standard of which they are capable.  The behaviour of pupils in lessons and around the school is mostly exemplary. Pupils play a part in developing their school community through the school council and eco groups.  Throughout the school there is a supportive and caring atmosphere. Pupils of all ages work hard and play well together. Older pupils are excellent role models for the younger children and the prefect system allows pupils to take on extra responsibilities which they enjoy.  All staff, members of the governing body, volunteers and visitors to the school, together create an exceptional school. This contributes to the pupils being extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education which is very much appreciated by them and by their parents and carers.  The headteacher, senior staff and the governing body are totally committed to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

driving school improvement. They check thoroughly on the work of teachers in charge of different subjects and this has led to continuous improvement in pupils’ performance across all subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed eight teachers and visited 16 lessons, of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons.  Discussions were held with school staff, two groups of pupils, senior teachers and subject leaders, parents, a representative of the local authority and members of the governing body.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation including safeguarding documents, the school’s self-evaluation and development plans, local authority evaluations, records of pupils’ attainment and progress, documents relating to attendance and pupils’ behaviour and pupils’ work.  The inspection team took account of the four responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) received beforehand and an additional 20 received during the inspection.  The school meets the current floor standard which sets the government’s minimum

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Information about this inspection

expectations for attainment and progress.

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Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Elaine Maloney Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Peter’s is a smaller than average primary school.  The cohort of pupils known to be eligible for additional government funding is much lower than that found nationally.  Most pupils are of White British heritage but the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is higher than the national average. Those pupils for whom English is an additional language is lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils whose learning needs are supported by ‘school action’ is well below the national average and those supported by ‘school action plus’ or who have a statement of special educational needs is in line with the national average.  Pupils are taught in mixed-ability classes, other than for mathematics when they are taught by level of ability.  There are breakfast, after-school, holiday clubs and a nursery based at St Peter’s that are not managed by the governing body.  The school holds a number of awards, the most recent being Fair Trade School, Green Flag

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Information about this school

assessment, Eco Silver Award and Let’s Get Cooking Accreditation.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of presentation of pupils’ work across all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children settle very quickly into the Early Years Foundation Stage as a result of highly effective links with parents and with nurseries before they start school. From a young age they learn how to respect each other, the adults around them and their school surroundings.  Children start school with skills and knowledge that vary from year to year but are generally in line with those expected for their age other than in number and communication which are sometimes weaker. They develop an eagerness for learning as a result of a well balanced curriculum which includes adult led activities and opportunities for pupils to explore and find out things for themselves both in class and outdoors. Through the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2, children make outstanding progress, with the vast majority reaching or exceeding that found in other schools nationally.  Similarly, throughout Years 3 to 6, pupils make outstanding progress and almost all do better

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

than pupils in other schools nationally. Those who are disabled or who have special educational needs, those who are known to be eligible for extra support through the additional funding from the government. Pupils from minority ethnic groups also make outstanding progress and achieve well. This demonstrates the school’s highly successful promotion of equality of opportunity.  When pupils leave school at the end of Year 6, they have achieved standards in reading, writing and mathematics which are well above the national average. Lessons tailored to the needs of individuals, together with an improvement in the quality of teaching, have led to a rapid improvement in writing since the previous inspection. However, occasionally pupils do not take enough care with the presentation of their work across the range of subjects on a day-to- day basis.  There have been extremely effective changes to the teaching of reading throughout the school.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

The younger children who read to the inspectors demonstrated their very secure ability to link different sounds and letters to work out unfamiliar words. They were able to re-tell parts of stories in their own words demonstrating that they had understood what they had read.  Pupils of all ages develop a love of reading and this is as a result of highly effective teaching and support from other adults, volunteers and parents who regularly listen to individual children read. The older pupils who read to the inspectors were exceptionally strong readers and this is reflected in the well above average standards achieved in reading by the time pupils leave school.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Since the previous inspection, the senior staff have been relentless in driving improvements in teaching, resulting in the quality of teaching now being outstanding. The progress of pupils is precisely measured and recorded to help inform teachers’ planning of lessons and to set the right level for each pupil. There is early and highly effective extra support for pupils whose progress is occasionally not rapid enough.  The teaching in most lessons is outstanding as a result of exceptional planning by teachers. It includes learning through a wide range of activities and at a rapid pace, which highly motivates and engages pupils.  During a science lesson, Year 5 pupils were making exceptional progress as they worked in teams to learn about the effects of lack of exercise, alcohol and smoking on our bodies. The challenges for each team were well matched to abilities. Skills in skim reading and note-taking

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

developed extremely well pupils’ reading and writing skills. They enthusiastically demonstrated their ability to work independently and share their ideas while the teacher provided support through highly skilled questioning techniques which accelerated their progress.  In outstanding lessons on phonics(sounds that letters make), when Year 1 and 2 pupils were developing their reading skills, teachers and teaching assistants ensured a rapid pace and variety of activities to highly involve pupils and challenge their understanding. For example, tricky word bingo and dominoes using tricky words led to pupils having a lot of fun as they sharpened their recognition of some difficult words. Staff were highly skilled in checking progress and moving children onto their next steps for learning.  Pupils are given many opportunities to learn from their own and each other’s work. A striking example of this was seen when two pupils were guided by the another adult in highlighting

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

good examples of the use of effective use of words, such as words linking sentences together and the use of punctuation throughout the story that each had written. Pupils were extremely competent in recognising well developed writing skills along with making very good suggestions as to how the work could be developed and improved.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 From an early age, children learn how to value each other and their school surroundings. There is an exceptionally strong spirit of mutual respect throughout the whole school and this leads to pupils and their families feeling safe and secure. Pupils also learn how to stay safe in environments beyond school and their experiences are broadened through a range of trips and visitors to the school.  Pupils behave exceptionally well both in lessons and around the school and this leads to extremely good attitudes to learning and caring for each other. This was reflected in the school’s own surveys of pupils and their parents and carers, from speaking to pupils and their families, and from views expressed on Parent View.  Pupils are adamant that bullying is not an issue at St Peter’s although they do learn about different forms of bullying. They learn how to stay safe in places beyond school and their

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

experiences are broadened through a wide variety of trips and visitors to the school.  This school is at the heart of the local community and pupils clearly enjoy and value the range of opportunities St Peter’s provides. This is reflected in their above -average attendance and their punctuality in the mornings, which is very good indeed.  The curriculum provides many and varied opportunities. It includes themed weeks when the pupils are encouraged to consider, for example, caring for the environment and also how to develop their knowledge of business and enterprise to raise funds for school and for those less fortunate than themselves. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extremely well developed through their experience at school.  Both in terms of their personal development and their academic achievement, pupils are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher, senior leadership team and the governing body are relentless in their drive to improve the school even further. There are highly effective systems to check on the quality of teaching and staff are not allowed to be content with teaching which is less than good. This has proved to be highly effective as teaching has improved since the last inspection and is now outstanding.  Teachers’ work is closely checked and the headteacher uses information from lesson observations, together with information on pupils’ progress, to decide whether teachers should be paid more. There are systems in place to provide expert support for staff, should weaknesses in teaching arise. Staff who are new to the school and newly qualified teachers settle very quickly and are extremely well supported through training opportunities both within the school and beyond.  All staff are dedicated and committed to providing a high standard of education for pupils in a

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The leadership and management are outstanding

safe and secure school which is at the heart of the community. This enables pupils to reach their full academic potential alongside ensuring their personal growth as individuals, preparing them extremely well for the future. As a result, the local authority’s involvement with this school is appropriately ‘light touch’.  Accurate and honest check on what the school does has led to many improvements since the previous inspection. For example, senior staff and subject leaders regularly work with class teachers to decide on appropriate support for individual pupils who may not be making as much progress as expected. This has led to rapid improvement in progress for every individual pupil.  The governance of the school:  Since the previous inspection, members of the governing body have received effective training and they now possess the necessary skills and experience to ask the school to justify what it does. They carry out routine monitoring to assess the impact of the extra

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The leadership and management are outstanding

funding that the school receives on pupils’ progress and are very well aware of how good teaching is and how well pupils are doing. They are also very supportive of the school community and fully involved in the social aspect of school life. The governors ensure that the school fulfils its statutory responsibilities to a very high standard; all staff have been vetted and are trained appropriately to keep pupils safe and free from harm. Safeguarding policies and practice meet all requirements.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 119416 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 403385

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 212 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Evelyn Taysum Headteacher David Merritt Date of previous school inspection 14 July 2008 Telephone number 01772 864550 Fax number 01772 861269 Email address head@st-peterscofe.lancs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille,

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School details

please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

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

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