St Peter's Catholic First School

Inspection of St Peter’s Catholic First School Rock Hill, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B61 7LH

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 November 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 22 and 23 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and feel secure at school. Children settle quickly into Reception Year because staff care about them and are attentive to their needs. Pupils are proud of their school and are keen to talk to visitors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff want the best for pupils. They encourage pupils to be ambitious and hard working. Pupils, including the youngest in the school, show good levels of perseverance and resilience in their work. As a result, they achieve well and most reach national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 1.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Occasionally, a small number talk over their teachers and do not listen carefully. But lessons are rarely disrupted, and staff manage pupils’ behaviour well. Pupils have a good understanding of bullying. When it occurs, leaders deal with it swiftly. The majority of parents reported that their child has not experienced any bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents have positive views of the school. They appreciate the caring and nurturing nature of staff. Leaders ensure that their school motto of ‘Love God and Love One Another’ is lived by pupils daily.

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better?

Pupils benefit from a broad and balanced education. Leaders ensure that work planned builds successfully on pupils’ prior knowledge. Key vocabulary is identified so that pupils learn the precise words they need to understand subject content. Leaders have recently revised their curriculum to strengthen it. As a result, the approach taken in a small number of subjects is still developing. Some staff do not yet have the subject knowledge needed to deliver all subjects well.

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better?

Staff check pupils’ understanding during lessons. They provide extra support and adapt tasks for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). But pupils struggle to remember prior learning in some subjects. This is because staff do not always revisit and recap previous learning with sufficient frequency and depth.

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better?

Leaders recognise the importance of reading. Cosy book dens in classrooms and ‘stop, drop, read’ opportunities encourage pupils to enjoy reading. Children begin learning phonics as soon as they join the school. Leaders have purchased new books and resources to improve phonic teaching further. Staff identify pupils who fall behind and these pupils receive more teaching input. However, the support and resources provided are not always targeted well enough. As a result, the lowest attaining pupils are not catching up as quickly as they could.

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better?

Children in the early years enjoy the exciting activities teachers plan. There is a strong focus on improving children’s communication and language skills. Adults read lots of stories and spend time talking to individuals. They ask them questions to 22 and 23 November 2022

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check their understanding. Timetables are suitably adapted for those who are not yet ready for full-time school due to complex individual needs. Children are inquisitive and behave well during both indoor and outdoor activities.

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Pupils with SEND are well supported both in lessons and in extra afternoon sessions. Staff make an effort to ensure that these sessions do not impact on whole-class lessons. Leaders work closely with other professionals. They access specialist help and advice to support pupils with individual behaviour or learning needs.

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Pupils enjoy the range of activities school offers. They readily take on extra responsibilities, such as becoming house captains or liturgical leaders. Pupils are clear about their own Christian faith but are less secure in their understanding of other religions. Pupils’ knowledge of fundamental British values is also at an early stage, even though staff have talked to pupils about these.

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Leaders carefully track the attendance of all pupils. They follow up all absences quickly to check the reasons for non-attendance. The before-school ‘toast club’ has had a positive impact on encouraging some pupils to attend better. Yet, there are still a large number of vulnerable pupils who do not come to school regularly. These pupils miss vital lessons. This affects their achievement.

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Staff morale is high in school. All adults work closely together and share leaders’ ambition to provide a good quality education for every pupil. They appreciate changes made to help reduce their workload. Those who are newly qualified are well supported by senior leaders.

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Academy leaders and governors provide effective support for all staff. This includes training and networking with other schools. Their evaluation of the school is accurate. They utilise their expertise extremely well to closely track all aspects of the school and hold leaders fully to account.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and all members of the multi-academy company (MAC) ensure that safeguarding is at the forefront of their work. Pupils are well looked after. Leaders have developed clear systems for checking that staff have the training they need to take the right action to keep pupils safe. Leaders keep secure records of concerns which arise. They seek additional support or advice where needed to help families and pupils. Recruitment checks are stringent and well organised.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe and understand how to keep themselves safe. They talk confidently about staying safe online, on the road or if there is a fire. 22 and 23 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers lack the subject knowledge they need to teach the curriculum successfully in some subjects. They do not check how well pupils remember what they have learnt. This means that pupils do not achieve equally well in all subjects. Leaders should ensure that staff have the skills they need to deliver all subjects effectively and that they check how well pupils retain the information taught.  The lowest attaining pupils are not supported adequately or given the right resources to help master the skills needed in reading. They are not catching up quickly enough to become successful and confident readers. Leaders should ensure that pupils have the right books and receive the support they need to achieve at an age-appropriate level.  Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of fundamental British values, and cultures and beliefs which are different to their own, is at an early stage. Consequently, pupils are not as fully prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders should ensure that pupils understand and appreciate different faiths and cultures.  Too many pupils, particularly vulnerable pupils, are persistently absent. This means they miss vital learning in school. Leaders should continue to work with parents to instil the importance of regular attendance.

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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. 22 and 23 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241840 Type of school First

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 May 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is one of seventeen schools within Our Lady of the Magnificat MAC. It was formed on 1 September 2021 and is an amalgamation of Our Lady of Lourdes and Holy Family multi academies. The MAC sits within the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham Education Services (BDES).  The school’s last section 48 inspection was in March 2017. Section 48 inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They restarted in September 2021. The school has been informed that its next section 48 inspection will take place no later than 31 August 2025.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 22 and 23 November 2022

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and the office manager. Meetings were also held with two members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and four directors from Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi Academy, including the chair of the board and the catholic senior executive leader. The lead inspector also spoke by telephone with the Deputy Director for Education and Standards of BDES.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, English, mathematics, music and modern foreign languages. Inspection activities in these subjects included: lesson visits, discussion with staff and pupils, meeting with subject leaders, and work scrutiny. The lead inspector also observed pupils reading.  The inspectors considered a range of documents, including the school’s self- evaluation and plans for improvement. Minutes of governor meetings and reviews conducted by the MAC school improvement team were also scrutinised.

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Inspectors also looked at records of behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school and talked to them informally about behaviour, bullying and welfare.  The inspectors talked to parents at the start of the school day and considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and their free-text responses. They also reviewed the responses to the staff survey and gathered the views of staff and pupils on site through discussion with these groups.

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Inspection team

Heather Simpson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Maneer Samad Ofsted inspector 22 and 23 November 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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