St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Coggeshall

Inspection of a good school: St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Coggeshall Myneer Park, Coggeshall, Colchester, Essex CO6 1YU

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Outcome

St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Coggeshall continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and enjoy their learning. They appreciate the very caring school community. In the early years, children settle quickly into school life. They grow in confidence and independence to share their learning and ‘have a go’. Older pupils discuss ideas and support one another. They respond well to teachers’ high expectations. They develop mature, positive attitudes to learning and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe. They learn about staying safe and healthy, including what makes up healthy relationships. They demonstrate tolerance and respect for others. Bullying happens rarely. Pupils are confident that teachers will stop any unkind behaviour quickly. Pupils behave well, both in lessons and on the playground.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the trips, visits and events that link to their learning. They proudly represent the school in sporting and musical events, such as the recent ‘Braintree Big Sing’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have many opportunities to take on positions of responsibility and to attend the various clubs on offer. Year 5 and 6 pupils support younger pupils’ play at breaktimes. They help to serve and cut up food for younger pupils in the dining hall.

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

In most subjects, leaders have designed a curriculum that enables pupils to develop their learning in small steps. In these subjects, teachers have the expertise to put these plans in place well. Teachers introduce new ideas and vocabulary clearly. They check pupils understanding before moving on. They provide more practice and extra help for individuals and groups who need it. Teachers check what pupils have remembered regularly, and this helps pupils remember important subject knowledge. Coggeshall 28 and 29 March 2023

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In a few subjects, leaders’ curriculum planning is less well developed. The most important knowledge and skills have not been so clearly planned out, and teachers’ assessment is not directly matched to curriculum plans. Pupils learn new facts but sometimes do not make links with what they have learned before.

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Staff teach the school’s chosen phonics programme very well. All staff are well trained and use appropriate resources to teach phonics effectively. Staff are adept at identifying and supporting pupils who are struggling to learn to read. Books chosen for pupils to read match the sounds they know. As a result, pupils get the help they need to learn to read quickly and fluently. This starts with the youngest children in the early years. Older pupils are passionate about reading and keen to share their favourite authors and titles.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) participate fully in the school community. Teachers adapt tasks and provide extra equipment when needed so that pupils with SEND get the help they need to access the same curriculum as their classmates. Where pupils need extra help to meet their specific needs, this is provided effectively. This helps pupils with SEND to make strong progress.

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Staff use a consistent, positive approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. This begins in the early years. Staff use reward strategies, such as ‘good news postcards’, effectively to promote positive attitudes to learning. Pupils behave sensibly in lessons from when they start school. They understand routines and rules and the reasons for them. Pupils value learning in their calm and focused lessons.

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Pupils’ wider development is catered for well. Pupils are kind to each other and accepting of differences. Leaders have established a personal, social and health education curriculum that helps pupils learn about mental and physical health and the importance of respect. Pupils know what makes up healthy relationships, how to look after each other and the negative effects of stereotyping. Pupils learn about other cultures. For example, they learn first-hand about cultural traditions through a long-standing partnership with a school in Uganda.

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Staff are proud to be part of the team here. Leaders consider staff members’ views and well-being when making decisions. Governors have a good understanding of what is working well and what needs to improve. This enables them to support the school improvement process effectively, hold leaders to account and know what leaders do well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils always have someone they can talk to if they are unhappy or worried. They learn how to keep safe online and when out and about.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained and regularly updated so they are aware of the signs that pupils might be at risk of harm. Leaders take appropriate actions to keep pupils safe in school. They ensure that when necessary, other agencies are involved in a timely manner to keep pupils safe. Coggeshall 28 and 29 March 2023

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Leaders’ record-keeping of safeguarding is thorough. All appropriate checks are made on adults to ensure they are suitable to work in the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, leaders have not identified precisely enough the most important knowledge and how this develops over time. In these subjects, pupils are not consistently able to make links within and across their learning because staff do not help them do so. Leaders should ensure that they identify and set out clearly the knowledge and skills to be learned in each subject and that they help staff build on pupils’ previous learning effectively in all subjects.  Assessment is less precise in some foundation subjects. This means that in these subjects, teachers do not use assessment information as well as they could to identify and address any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Leaders should ensure that teachers continue to refine their use of assessment in the wider curriculum so that they accurately identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and use this information to inform their planning.

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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 May 2017.

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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. Coggeshall 28 and 29 March 2023

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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. Coggeshall 28 and 29 March 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.stpeterscofeprimaryschoolcoggeshall. org.uk Date of previous inspection 24 May 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 As the school is designated as having a religious character, it is inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005. The last section 48 inspection of this school took place in January 2018. The school was graded ‘good’ in this inspection. The next section 48 inspection will take place within eight years.  The school currently uses two registered alternative provisions.  There is a pre-school on site, run by the school.  The school runs a breakfast club and after-school club for pupils.

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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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. The inspector also met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. Coggeshall 28 and 29 March 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: 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 samples of pupils’ work.  Meetings were held with subject leaders for geography and science and the inspector discussed the curriculum and looked at samples of pupils’ work in these subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead and other staff to discuss their work to keep pupils safe.  The inspector scrutinised a range of documentation during the inspection, including the school development plan and safeguarding records.  The inspector considered the 89 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 49 free-text comments. He also considered the 26 responses to the Ofsted

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staff survey and 89 responses to the Ofsted pupil survey.  The inspector spoke to groups of pupils about their experiences of school life and their learning in lessons to understand what it is like to be a pupil in their school. The inspector also observed the behaviour of pupils during breaktime and around the school.

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Inspection team

Stephen Cloke, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Coggeshall 28 and 29 March 2023

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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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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