St Peter's CofE Aided Junior School

Inspection of St Peter’s Church of England Aided Junior School Trafford Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE13 2ES

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 4–5 March 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that their school is ‘amazing’ and ‘fun’. Leaders have made many changes for the better. Pupils, staff and many parents and carers report that leaders have made numerous improvements this year. Pupils behave well. Leaders and staff share high expectations of what pupils could and should achieve. However, pupils do not receive a good quality of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Staff follow the school’s behaviour management policy. Pupils are polite. They do not interrupt others’ learning. Pupils show respect to adults, holding doors open and greeting visitors. Staff offer appropriate support to the few pupils who find it harder to make the right behaviour choices. A small number of parents who responded to Ofsted’s Parent View expressed concerns about behaviour. We saw pupils working hard and behaving well. Pupils told us, ‘This is what it is usually like.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe at school and feel safe. They know about types of bullying but say that, ‘it doesn’t really happen anymore’. All pupils we spoke with said that there is someone at school they would tell if they were worried. Pupils explained that staff sort out problems when they happen.

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better?

Leaders have made changes that have improved pupils’ behaviour in lessons and the provision for pupils’ personal development. This means that pupils can concentrate on what they are learning. However, there is still too much unevenness in how learning is planned and taught in some subjects. Pupils’ work is not of a consistently good quality.

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better?

Governors and the Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust challenge and support school leaders. Leaders are clear about what they want from staff to achieve their high expectations. That said, in some subjects, such as geography, the curriculum is not as well established. As a result, teaching is not as strong and does not enable pupils to close the gaps in their knowledge.

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better?

Leaders have improved the reading curriculum. The leader for English has set clear expectations for how staff teach reading. Staff teach reading as the leader expects. Pupils read and understand appropriate books. Pupils’ fluency in reading is improving and some pupils are closing gaps in their learning. However, some pupils are still developing their fluency and enjoyment of reading.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are progressing well in reading. Adults provide them with the help that they need to improve their reading. For example, pupils who still need to improve their use of phonics receive individual lessons. Their reading books are well matched to what they can read. Pupils with SEND make strong progress across the curriculum. They receive extra support that matches their needs very well. 4–5 March 2020

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Where the curriculum is well planned and taught, pupils do better. This is because teachers understand the expectations of the curriculum. For example, teachers make sure pupils get a solid grasp of mathematical concepts. Pupils’ writing is also developing quickly. Leaders and teachers help pupils to gain necessary knowledge and skills so that they write well and at length. Teachers give pupils the chance to recap on previous learning. Pupils then put their knowledge into practice. For example, pupils use mathematics in their science lessons, recording their findings clearly.

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Leaders have focused on improving pupils’ attitudes to school. Pupils enjoy learning. Their attendance has improved a lot in the past year as a result of leaders’ actions. Good attendance is rewarded weekly in assembly. It is highlighted in the newsletter for parents to see. Staff support parents if a pupil’s attendance needs to improve. Attendance is in line with the national average.

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Leaders provide well for pupils’ personal development. Pupils receive a structured programme of classwork and, where appropriate, individualised art therapy sessions. The programme is interwoven with curriculum subjects such as science and art. Pupils are developing an understanding of others’ needs. They are also becoming independent and confident learners. There are also effective systems to offer pupils pastoral support.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive regular training in safeguarding practice. Their understanding of how to recognise concerns and what do remain up to date. Leaders track concerns about pupils’ welfare thoroughly. Leaders provide pupils with extra support when it is needed.

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Safeguarding

Leaders manage the recruitment of staff well. Governors make sure that safeguarding checks on people who are regular visitors or who work at the school are in place.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know what staff do to keep them safe. For example, they understand that fire drills and weekly reminders about how to stay safe online protect them.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils do not read fluently or confidently. This hampers their enjoyment of reading and their access to the wider curriculum. Leaders need to build these pupils’ fluency and confidence in reading alongside the work they are doing to develop reading accuracy and comprehension. 4–5 March 2020

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 Some parts of the curriculum are not fully sequenced or well established. This means that some pupils do not have appropriate opportunities to fill gaps in their knowledge. Consequently, some pupils are not able to produce work of the expected standard for their age across the curriculum. Leaders need to consolidate improvements that have been made to the curriculum and continue to develop subjects such as geography.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 4–5 March 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121370 Type of school Junior

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 October 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been a number of personnel changes in school leadership, trust positions and membership of the local governing body since the previous inspection. The headteacher was head of school for one year. She and the deputy headteacher took up their substantive posts in September 2019.  This is a Church of England aided school. Its previous Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) was in November 2016. The next SIAMS inspection is due in the academic year 2021/22.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 As part of this inspection, we held meetings with the headteacher, governors and the chief executive officer of the trust. We met with groups of teachers and pupils.  We did deep dives in reading, mathematics, science and geography. We spoke with curriculum subject leaders, visited lessons, evaluated work in pupils’ books 4–5 March 2020

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and met with teachers and pupils to determine the quality of education. We also analysed the work in pupils’ writing books.  We scrutinised a wide range of documents, including those related to curriculum planning and development, behaviour, exclusions, attendance, the school’s evaluation of its own performance, the school’s development plan, the school’s website and minutes of governors’ meetings.  We took account of the 19 responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire.  We took account of the 42 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View, and 40 comments on the free-text service.  We spoke with pupils about their experiences of school life and their learning. We also observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at playtime.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, we reviewed school policies, procedures and records, including recruitment checks of adults working at the school. We met with designated safeguarding leaders and spoke with staff and

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Inspection team

Paula Masters, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Katherine Douglas Her Majesty’s Inspector 4–5 March 2020

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regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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