St Peter's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Peter’s Catholic Primary School Firbank Road, Newall Green, Wythenshawe, Manchester M23 2YS

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2022

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Outcome

St Peter’s Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel part of a family in this caring school community. Staff have high expectations for what all pupils should achieve, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils meet these expectations and achieve well. Pupils develop caring relationships with each other and with staff. Pupils said that staff encourage them to be the best that they can be.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to come to school. They feel safe. Pupils understand the importance of mental health. They learn different ways to communicate their feelings, for example by using the worry boxes that are in classrooms. Children in the early years settle in well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well behaved in class and around school. They are kind and courteous to visitors and to each other. Pupils respond well to the rewards that they receive from staff for displaying positive behaviours. Pupils wear their golden jumpers with pride to celebrate their achievements. They said that if bullying does happen, staff always sort it out quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide a range of opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills and take on responsibilities. For example, older pupils become librarians and take pride in running the school’s library every lunchtime. Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs that they can attend, such as yoga and circus skills.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have organised the curriculum content into carefully ordered steps, starting in the early years. This enables teachers to design learning that helps pupils to build on what they already know. This well-organised content also supports teachers in checking that pupils are secure in what they have learned. Even though subject leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum, some subject leaders do not monitor whether teachers are delivering their subject curriculums effectively. This means that, in a small number of 18 and 19 October 2022

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subjects, subject leaders do not have oversight of how well the curriculum is supporting pupils to achieve.

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Developing pupils’ communication and language skills is a key priority for staff. Leaders make sure that the vocabulary pupils learn is increasingly complex. Teachers highlight vocabulary well in lessons and expect pupils to use and apply new words independently. For example, in mathematics, teachers ensure that pupils use terms such as ‘maximum’ and ‘minimum’ correctly. Similarly, children in the Reception class learn to use ‘oldest’ and ‘youngest’ when talking about family timelines in history.

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Children in the early years get off to a flying start in learning to read. Reading is prioritised by staff. Children enjoy regular story-time sessions with their teachers. They learn a range of nursery rhymes and familiar stories, which supports their language development.

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Children and pupils learn phonics in a carefully planned order to support them to begin to read. They have access to books that help them to practise the sounds that they have learned. Teachers assess pupils’ reading knowledge regularly. They put swift support in place for those pupils who fall behind. Leaders have provided most staff with useful training so that they can deliver the phonics programme well. However, a small number of staff require further training to develop their expertise. That said, the majority of pupils become fluent readers over time.

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Leaders identify pupils with SEND quickly. They work closely with parents, carers and a range of professionals to ensure that pupils receive appropriate support. Teachers adapt their delivery of the curriculum carefully to meet these pupils’ individual needs. This allows these pupils to be fully included in lessons and gives them every opportunity to develop their knowledge successfully alongside their peers.

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Leaders have put in place a range of strategies to improve pupils’ attendance. Despite leaders’ efforts, some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. Some of these pupils have gaps in their curriculum knowledge.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and there is little disruption to learning. Most pupils value the high-quality education that they receive. They understand that a strong education will contribute well to their future lives.

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Leaders provide pupils with a range of pastoral support to develop their confidence and self-esteem. Pupils learn about the importance of friendship and of being responsible citizens. They said that they learn to treat everyone equally. Pupils actively make a positive contribution to their school and wider community. For example, pupils recently organised Easter egg donations for children in a local hospital. Pupils understand the importance of democracy through the activities that they engage with, such as voting for their school council representatives.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders. Leaders and staff work closely with governors, for example sharing curriculum developments. Governors know the school well and are 18 and 19 October 2022

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confident in challenging school leaders to continue to improve the quality of education for all pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff and governors receive regular safeguarding training and updates. This means that all staff are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any safeguarding concerns.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are proactive in following up safeguarding concerns with external agencies. They ensure timely identification and support for pupils and their families when needed. Leaders do not shy away from escalating concerns when a pupil may be at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn about healthy relationships and how to keep themselves safe online and in the wider community.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, leaders have not checked that teachers are delivering the curriculum effectively. As a result, leaders do not know how well pupils learn in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that they check how well the delivery of the curriculum is enabling pupils to learn the important knowledge that they need in these subjects.  Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This prevents these pupils from achieving as well as they should. Leaders should review their strategies for supporting these pupils and their families to improve pupils’ attendance. This is so that pupils’ poor rates of attendance do not impede their learning and development.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2017. 18 and 19 October 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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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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. 18 and 19 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226115 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 St Peter’s Catholic Primary School is part of the Diocese of Shrewsbury. The last section 48 inspection took place in April 2016.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.  Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher and a new chair of governors have been appointed.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and members of staff.  The inspector met with members of the governing body and a representative of the diocese. 18 and 19 October 2022

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 The inspector scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding. The inspector also spoke to staff about safeguarding and about leaders’ support for their workload and well-being.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour as they moved around the school, in class and in the outdoor play areas.  The inspector talked with parents as they dropped their children off at school. He also considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View online survey, including the free- text responses.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  The inspector conducted deep dives into early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. The inspector also spoke to leaders about the

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Inspection team

James Marsh, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 October 2022

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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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