Inskip St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Kate Leyland Headteacher Inskip St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Aided School Preston Road Inskip Preston Lancashire PR4 0TT

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School

Following my visit to the school on 20 June 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2014.

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The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. As the new headteacher of Inskip St Peter’s, you have made a big impact and ensured that the school continues to go from strength to strength.

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You have created an environment that fosters the care and nurture of the whole school community, driven successfully by your Christian values. You, staff, parents and pupils are rightly proud of the ‘hub of the community feel’ that is such a strong feature at Inskip St Peter’s. You are ably assisted by your enthusiastic and experienced staff team. Together you ensure that you put pupils at the heart of all that you do. As a result, they flourish, both academically and in their personal development.

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The overwhelming majority of parents who spoke to me, or responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, are extremely positive about the school and would recommend it to others without hesitation. Many parents said that their children ‘love school because it is interesting and fun’ and that staff are ‘warm and friendly’. Parents also felt that communication between school and parents was a real strength.

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All staff who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire are proud to be part of Inskip St Peter’s and hold you in high regard. Staff share your vision and aspirations and there is a strong sense of the staff team working to achieve the very best for pupils.

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School

I appreciate that the results of tests and assessments at the end of key stages need to be looked at with caution because the number of pupils in each cohort group is small. At the end of key stages 1 and 2, the vast majority of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. However, you are mindful that the proportion of pupils achieving greater depth and higher standards needs to improve further. The actions you have already put in place are beginning to lead to improvements, particularly in writing, and are starting to be evident in the work in pupils’ books. Current assessment information suggests that the school is on course to have a number of pupils reaching these higher levels by the end of this academic year. However, I agree with you that there is still more work to be done, particularly in mathematics and reading.

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At the previous inspection, inspectors identified a need to continue to raise the quality of teaching. They wanted you to make sure that there is a brisk pace in lessons and that teachers plan appropriately challenging work for pupils. You were also asked to offer pupils time to give feedback on comments made about their work. You were asked to increase the opportunities offered to pupils to use and apply their reading, writing and mathematical skills across the curriculum, as well as using information and communication technology more regularly to support learning. Leaders have ensured that the following improvements have taken place:

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 Since the previous inspection, some of the teaching team have changed. Your insistence on employing high-quality, experienced staff has ensured that they have ‘hit the ground running’ and are having a positive impact on the progress pupils that are making. Lessons start promptly and there is a sense of purpose and pace in activities. Teachers explain clearly what pupils are required to do and in turn, pupils are eager to participate in activities that are both stimulating and enjoyable.  The quality of teaching and learning is consistent across the school and teachers’ subject knowledge is strong, particularly in English and mathematics. Work is planned effectively for pupils and it closely matches the wide range of learning needs in the two classes, one catering for early years and key stage 1 pupils and one catering for key stage 2 pupils. Pupils are offered challenging activities, particularly in writing, where pupils are being extended in their thinking, skills

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and learning. However, I agree with you that pupils could be challenged further, particularly in mathematics and reading. In mathematics, pupils are not being offered enough opportunities to apply their skills to problems and think more deeply about their work. In reading, you are rightly exploring ways that you can develop comprehension skills at a deeper level, particularly the skills of deducing and inferring from complex texts.  Pupils are encouraged to be involved in their learning. They are familiar with their targets in English and mathematics and know what they need to do to improve. Pupils of all ages are confident and keen to talk about their learning. They regularly take opportunities to look through their work and make changes to improve it.  Reading, writing and mathematics are successfully included across the curriculum, often through themed work that incorporates a number of curriculum

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subjects. For example, pupils in Years 1 and 2 were excited to tell me about their robot topic. They showed me their robot storyboards, imaginative writing and their proudly displayed robots, made at home and school from recycled materials. Another good example of cross-curricular work is the bringing together of geography and mathematics using a gigantic world map and large signposts that provide pupils with the opportunity to work out the distances of different countries from the school.  Your present use of information and communication technology is completely different to the time of your previous inspection. Laptops and tablets are a regular feature in classrooms and are used effectively across the whole school as a research tool and as an alternative medium to complete written work. Activities and applications are used by all ages to support and reinforce learning from early years to Year 6. Teachers use tablets to capture learning and to record

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The members of the governing body are supportive and committed to the school. They bring a good range of skills to the role and take their responsibilities seriously. Governors commit to regular visits to monitor areas such as pastoral aspects of school and safeguarding. As a result, they make a valuable contribution to the development of the school. You keep governors well informed about the progress that pupils are making, but not all governors are as confident as they could be in asking challenging questions about the data that you present, particularly in the progress being made toward pupils achieving at the higher levels.

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You and your team have ensured that pupils have a very safe and secure environment by promoting the clear message that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Safeguarding records are kept rigorously, are detailed and are reviewed regularly to ensure that they meet statutory requirements. Appropriate training for staff and governors is undertaken frequently and is up to date, including that related to keeping pupils safe from radicalisation and extremism. Your diligence and that of the staff and governors is a strength. You know pupils and their families very well, which enables you to tailor the support you give very precisely to meet the needs of families. This you do with great sensitivity.

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Pupils say that they feel very safe and well cared for in school. They feel very confident that adults will help them if needed. Pupils talk with knowledge about the ways that they can stay safe in a range of situations, including personally and online. The overwhelming majority of parents feel that you and the staff keep children safe and well looked after.

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Inspection findings

 Your love of children and dedication to providing the best for them shines brightly. This has been instrumental in creating a learning environment that is hard-working but also joyous. You know your school well and have an accurate, honest view of its strengths and priorities. The school has a very good capacity to improve further.  The recent changes you have made to the gathering and use of assessment information is a strength. You have established a simple and effective system that staff at all levels use successfully. Consequently, staff know pupils very well and use ongoing assessment flexibly to adjust planning and ensure that pupils’ needs are pinpointed and met swiftly. As a result, it is evident that all pupils that were able to achieve expected standards at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in 2016 did so. Those that did not have benefited from a good-quality personalised approach to support them to catch up in their learning.

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Inspection findings

 There are a number of other strengths within the school. Pupils have a very good attitude to learning. They conduct themselves according to the school’s Christian values and show a great deal of care and kindness towards each other.  An admirable and distinctive feature of your school is the huge range of opportunities and experiences that you offer to pupils. This is particularly impressive considering the size of your school. For example, all pupils learn to swim, all take part in residential outdoor activities. Pupils have had the opportunity to meet many authors of children’s books, sing in a regional event, and have visited the Houses of Parliament in London.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 middle-ability and the most able pupils are challenged and extended in lessons, so that more achieve greater depth and higher standards  teachers offer pupils more opportunities to apply mathematical skills to problem- solving and chances to think more deeply about their work  pupils deepen their comprehension skills so that they are confident in their understanding of more-complex texts  all governors feel confident to challenge the progress that pupils are making, particularly those pupils that have the potential to reach greater depth and higher standards.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Blackburn, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Lancashire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I met with you and the person responsible for maintaining safeguarding records. I met with three governors, including the chair of the governing body. I met with a representative of Lancashire local authority. We visited lessons and I scrutinised pupils’ work. I took account of the 12 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I also took account of the views of seven parents who talked with me before the school day. Nine responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire were considered and I spoke to staff during the day. I also met with a group of pupils. I observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school. I looked at school documents including: information about pupils’ achievement; your school self-evaluation; the school improvement plan; behaviour and incident logs; and documents relating to safeguarding.

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