Walsden St Peter's CE (VC) Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Walsden St Peter’s CE (VC) Primary School Rochdale Road, Walsden, Todmorden, West Yorkshire OL14 6RN

p.1

Inspection dates: 11 and 12 October 2023

p.1

Outcome

Walsden St Peter’s CE (VC) Primary School continues to be a good school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Walsden St Peter’s CE (VC) Primary School is a welcoming environment for pupils. The school emphasises to pupils the importance of resilience, being inquisitive and caring. This supports the positive relationships pupils have with each other and the staff in school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils, both personally and academically. Pupils learn in a supportive and caring environment. The school gives pupils the emotional and learning support that they need to be happy and successful. For example, the school utilises its own mental health and family liaison staff effectively to support the most vulnerable pupils and families.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe, including online. Pupils show high levels of respect and tolerance for others. This means that their behaviour across the school is very positive.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the responsibilities they have in school. Being on the school council or a buddy for the Reception children are roles that they value. There are many clubs that are available to all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), especially around sport.

p.1

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

In most subjects, the school has designed an ambitious and well-organised curriculum through which pupils, including pupils with SEND, learn well. However, in a few subjects, such as design technology, physical education (PE) and history, the school has not identified the precise knowledge that it wants pupils to know and recall. In addition, pupils do not revisit their learning as often as they should to ensure that they remember what they have been taught. This is a barrier to pupils achieving as well as they could in these subjects. 11 and 12 October 2023

p.1

2

The school prioritises reading across the whole school. The design of the early reading programme is well structured and ambitious. Staff have received appropriate training to ensure they have the required knowledge to deliver the programme well. They ensure pupils read books that are well matched to their stage of development. Staff keep a close eye on pupils’ progress. If pupils begin to fall behind, staff put support programmes in place to help them catch up quickly. Pupils have access to a wide range of fiction and non-fiction reading books. They enjoy the well-thought-out daily story times. The support that pupils receive helps them to become fluent, proficient and confident readers.

p.2

2

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. In general, they plan activities effectively to enable pupils to meet the school’s longer-term learning aims. However, teachers sometimes do not use assessment strategies well in lessons to check that pupils’ understanding is secure. This means that some misconceptions are not addressed effectively or swiftly. On occasion, some pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not achieve as well as they could.

p.2

2

Pupils follow a planned programme of personal development that teaches them essential knowledge, such as about healthy relationships. Staff plan activities that develop pupils’ confidence and resilience. Staff provide high-quality pastoral care for pupils to help them to thrive at the school. The school is improving the provision for pupils’ outdoor learning to ensure that it contributes fully to pupils’ mental and physical well-being. Pupils have a number of valuable opportunities to take responsibility and serve others.

p.2

2

The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND promptly and carefully. It works effectively with external agencies, parents and carers to support pupils with SEND. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to the delivery of their lessons to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. This means these pupils can access the same curriculum as their peers.

p.2

2

Children in the early years make a positive start at the school. Staff take opportunities to teach children how to behave appropriately. This is noticeable in the consideration that children show to each other. Children sustain concentration during activities and enjoy their rich and varied learning. Staff make use of well-chosen questions to strengthen children’s knowledge.

p.2

2

Mostly, the school, including governors, knows what the school does well and where further work is required. However, the school does not make sure that subject leadership is equally well developed in each subject. This means that the school has a variable understanding of the subject-specific changes needed to improve the curriculum further.

p.2

2

The school ensures that staff are supported well to manage their workload and well- being. It has developed a culture of high expectation, trust and support in the school.

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 11 and 12 October 2023

p.2

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school has not identified the key knowledge that pupils need to acquire and the order in which this knowledge should be taught. This prevents pupils, including pupils with SEND, from building their learning on what they already know. The school should make sure that the content of teaching in each curriculum area is carefully selected and set out in a logical order.  The school’s arrangements for checking closely on pupils’ learning are not consistently implemented. Some misconceptions and errors are not addressed quickly enough. The school should ensure that teachers sharpen their use of assessment strategies so that pupils are moved on to new content when they are ready, and misconceptions are addressed swiftly.  In some subjects, such as PE, history and design technology, the school has not checked that the curriculum is being delivered as intended. It does not know how well

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

pupils learn in these subjects. The school needs to routinely check how well the delivery of the curriculum is enabling all pupils to learn the important knowledge that they need to know.

p.3

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.

p.3

Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2018.

p.3

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.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

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

p.3

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 11 and 12 October 2023

p.3

4

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 11 and 12 October 2023

p.4

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.5

School details

Headteacher Emma Crowther and Esther Logue (co-headteachers) Website www.walsden.calderdale.sch.uk

p.5

School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 May 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.  Both headteachers were in post at the last inspection.  As the school is designated as having a religious character, it is inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005. The most recent inspection was in June 2016.

p.5

Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

p.5

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 the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with subject leaders, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, the leader responsible for early years, and staff responsible for attendance and safeguarding. 11 and 12 October 2023

p.5

6

 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also looked at curriculum plans in other subjects, including art and design, history, design technology and Spanish.  The inspector spoke with leaders about how the curriculum supports pupils’ personal development. He spoke to pupils about personal, social and health education.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, he spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The inspector listened to six pupils read to an adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders,

p.6

6

staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and also took the staff survey into consideration.

p.6

Inspection team

Andy Hunt, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 October 2023

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

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

p.7