St Peter's Church of England Primary School (VC)

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School Ellfield Road, Bristol, BS13 8EF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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.  From well below average starting points, all groups of pupils make rapid progress as they pass through the school and achieve exceptionally well.  By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils’ attainment is above average and is getting better year on year.  Pupils make particularly strong progress in reading.  Pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium and those who have a disability or special educational needs make exceptional progress because of the very high quality support they receive.  Excellent teaching is the main reason why pupils make such rapid gains in their learning.  Teachers expect much of their pupils; questions are probing and tasks are creative, imaginative and demanding.  Pupils are strongly encouraged to explain their ideas fluently and with confidence.  In those lessons where pupils’ learning is less than outstanding, teachers sometimes miss opportunities to push some of the more able

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils to reach the higher levels.  Pupils have outstanding attitudes to learning, show consideration for others and cooperate readily when working in groups.  Behaviour in lessons and around the school is excellent. Pupils get on very well with each other, feel completely safe and enjoy school greatly.  There are very strong partnerships with parents and very effective links with outside professionals. In this way, the school ensures that the precise need of every pupil is very well met.  The headteacher’s strong and positive leadership is the driving force behind the school’s success. She has led the way in taking highly effective steps to greatly improve the quality of teaching and thus pupils’ achievement.  School leaders check the school’s work thoroughly to make sure it remains high quality.  The very well informed governing body plays an active role in the school and regularly checks how well the school is doing.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons or parts of lessons, amounting to 12 hours in total. All classroom teachers present at the time of the inspection were observed teaching.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and paid short visits to all classrooms with senior staff to look at how well disabled pupils and those with special educational needs were learning.  Discussions were held with senior and middle leaders, staff, members of the governing body and different pupils.  A telephone conversation was held with an officer from the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at self-evaluation and planning documents, external evaluations of the school’s work and examples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors took note of the 47 responses to the on-line Parent View survey, 27 questionnaires returned by staff, and spoke to groups of parents and carers at the beginning and end of the school day.

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Inspection team

Michael Merchant, Lead inspector Additional inspector Colin Lee Additional Inspector Fiona Robinson Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above-average-sized primary school. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in the Nursery and in two Reception classes.  The majority of pupils are of White British backgrounds.  An above average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding from the government for pupils looked after by the local authority, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, or those with parents in the armed services).  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with a special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.  The school does not use any alternative provision (regular places away from the school) for its pupils.  The school exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure there is an even higher proportion of outstanding teaching in all year groups by making sure that all teachers provide tasks that always fully stretch all the higher ability pupils in their classes.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children start in the Nursery class with skills and abilities that are well below those expected of their age, and in some years are exceptionally low. They get off to an excellent start and make fast progress because there is a strong focus on developing children’s social skills and their ability to communicate with each other.  All groups of pupils continue to make a high rate of progress between Reception and Year 6 and do very well. By the end of Year 6, attainment has risen year on year and is currently above average in reading, writing and mathematics.  This represents outstanding achievement from their starting points and nearly all pupils are meeting or exceeding their very challenging targets.  Attainment and progress have risen sharply in recent years because: – teachers have rightly focused on developing pupils’ reading, writing and comprehension skills in English – very careful attention has been given to developing problem-solving skills in mathematics

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

– rigorous procedures for checking the progress that each pupil makes have been introduced.  Those pupils supported by the pupil premium make progress that is as rapid as others in the school. School leaders have bought in extra help for these pupils and check thoroughly that this extra help is working. Indeed, it is. In the national tests taken at the end of Year 6 in 2012, the attainment of pupils entitled to the pupil premium was slightly higher than that of other pupils in the school.  Pupils who are disabled and those who have special educational needs also make outstanding progress given their starting points, because of the high quality care and attention they receive and also because of the strong support they receive in class.  The school has been particularly successful at improving the way reading is taught. A very strong emphasis is placed on developing reading skills across all subjects as well as making sure

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

that all pupils have a good understanding of how to link sounds and letters.  Carefully planned programmes of one-to-one and small group support in reading are highly effective in raising pupils’ confidence and self-esteem. By the time pupils reach the age of six, their attainment in reading is broadly average, as shown by the recent screening test. It is considerably above average by the age of 11.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is never less than good and a high proportion is outstanding. This is a very big improvement over the previous inspection, because leaders have given very strong attention to improving teaching through well-planned training and coaching for all staff.  Consequently, the quality of learning in all lessons is at least good and is frequently outstanding. In an exceptional Year 5 numeracy lesson, all groups of pupils made rapid progress developing their addition and subtraction skills when tackling number problems. They were engrossed in the task of untangling complex number problems and excelled at helping each other in pairs to do so. In an excellent Year 6 lesson, pupils were learning to construct complex sentences at a blistering pace because of the teacher’s exceptionally high expectations of what she wanted them to learn and the fun-filled, challenging tasks she set for them.  Excellent relationships between adults and pupils are evident in all lessons and around the

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

school. A great deal is expected of pupils and they respond by trying hard, persevering when faced with difficulties and always aiming high.  Teachers use their very good subject knowledge to motivate and inspire pupils. Good use of different media, such as information and communication technology, adds greatly to pupils’ enjoyment of learning, which is palpable.  Teachers plan well for the needs of different groups of pupils in their class. Nearly all work is set at just the right level for all individuals, based on very good information about the starting points of each. This is gained by regular tracking of pupils’ progress and frequent discussions with senior staff.  Where teaching occasionally falls short of outstanding, some teachers are not as rigorous as others at using assessment information to plan tasks that really make the high ability pupils think deeply and go that extra mile.  Teachers mark books with care and rigour. Their helpful and constructively written comments in

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

pupils’ books ensure that all know precisely what they need to do to improve. Pupils spoken to were unanimous that their teachers’ marking helps them greatly to do even better.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary, and all pupils, staff, parents and carers spoken to said that this is typically the case. They were unanimous in saying that the school is a happy, friendly and harmonious community.  Pupils are exceptionally keen to learn. They work hard in lessons, listen attentively and show great eagerness when working in pairs or small groups. They are particularly adept at searching out information and solving problems for themselves. All of this means pupils learn quickly and efficiently without wasting any time.  Pupils feel extremely safe and say that they are sure that there is no bullying. They have a good understanding and awareness of the different forms of bullying such as name calling and bullying based on gender or background. They are aware of the dangers posed by some internet sites and, equally, they know that adults will help them should they have any concerns.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ great enjoyment of school is well shown by their ever improving attendance rate, which is now above average.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very well provided for. Pupils have an acutely developed sense of right and wrong, respect each other greatly and get along noticeably well together.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher is widely acclaimed by staff, parents, governors and the local authority as having been hugely instrumental in improving the school. She leads the way in driving ambition and has succeeded in creating a shared sense of purpose to raise the aspirations of pupils and teachers alike.  She is supported most effectively by a talented and energetic deputy headteacher and senior leadership team and by middle leaders and other staff who are committed to ongoing improvement. Consequently, teamwork is strong, staff morale is high and pupils’ progress is accelerating.  The senior team checks the school’s performance very carefully. The members use their excellent coaching and mentoring skills to offer constructive advice and training and use their highly effective teachers very well to extend and share good practice. In this way, the quality of teaching and learning is rapidly improving.  The headteacher has made sure that there are strong procedures in place to hold teachers to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

account for their performance. Staff are not allowed to be rewarded financially unless it can be seen that they have been successful in helping pupils make at least good progress.  The achievement of all groups of pupils, including those whose circumstances might make them vulnerable, is similarly strong, indicating that the school’s commitment to equal opportunities is put into practice.  This successful school has benefited from pertinent and well targeted support from local authority staff over recent years. The local authority now considers St Peter’s to be a very effective school in need of minimal external support.  The governance of the school:  Governors have played a strong role in helping the school drive forward improvements to pupils’ achievement and teaching since the last inspection. They are very well informed about how well the school is doing and have a secure understanding of different types of school

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The leadership and management are outstanding

data. They know where the best teaching is in the school and have given 100% support to the initiatives of school leaders to improve classroom performance, including, where necessary, taking difficult decisions. Governors have contributed fully to the discussions on how the pupil premium funding should be spent and have checked the impact on the pupils’ progress of the extra support and guidance provided for those eligible. Governors are also very well informed and control the systems for managing staff performance and the way that pay rises are decided. They are well trained and meet all their responsibilities very well, including national requirements for safeguarding pupils.

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 135872 Local authority City of Bristol Inspection number 406640

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 374 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Colin Wynne Headteacher Livvy Sinclair-Gieben Date of previous school inspection 11–12 January 2011 Telephone number 0117 377 2186 Fax number 0117 377 2187 Email address school.st.peters.p.@bristol.gov.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, please

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School details

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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