Peterhouse CofE Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Peterhouse CofE Primary Academy Magdalen Square, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR31 7BY

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Outcome

Peterhouse CofE Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The head of school is Sarah Lund. This school is part of Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Oliver Burwood, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by William Crawshay. There is also an executive headteacher, Ryan Freeman, who is responsible for this school and one other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Peterhouse Primary Academy is a welcoming and happy community. Pupils and staff alike enjoy being in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn in a calm and purposeful environment. At social times, they play well together. There is mutual respect. Pupils feel safe in school. Unkind language is not something that they hear often. Pupils are confident that if they are worried, they can talk to a trusted adult. They speak highly of the school’s pastoral team.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are high expectations of pupils’ achievement. Younger pupils achieve well. They enjoy reading, write well and have a good understanding of mathematics. Children in the nursery enjoy story time and ‘funky fingers’. They are good at taking turns. Children respond well to staff’s expectations to be patient when playing games such as ‘bubble blowing’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the range of opportunities available that give them responsibility. A very large number of them attend the daily breakfast club. As part of this, they are able to enjoy chatting to their friends or participating in planned activities, such as dancing.

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

The school has a challenging curriculum that gives pupils the knowledge they need to succeed in life. There is a sharp focus on ensuring teachers deliver the curriculum effectively. In a small number of subjects, pupils do not retain as much knowledge over 5 and 6 December 2023

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time. Consequently, the published outcomes for some pupils at key stage 2 in 2023 do not reflect the current progress of the school.

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The curriculum is delivered well in almost all subjects. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They break down difficult concepts so that pupils easily understand key ideas. Teachers look carefully at what pupils know and can do. This is so that they address pupils’ misconceptions quickly. Pupils are gaining confidence with their explanations of their learning, using accurate subject vocabulary.

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There is a rigorous approach to the teaching of early reading in the school. Nursery children learn to listen closely, which helps them to learn the sounds they need to blend later on. They enjoy listening to carefully chosen rhymes and stories. Staff expertly deliver the school’s chosen phonics programme. They identify quickly when children and pupils in key stage 1 struggle with reading. A comprehensive programme of support helps struggling readers to catch up quickly. Older pupils enjoy the daily reading practice lessons. They have well-developed reading habits. The library is a focal point of the school.

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The identification of the needs of pupils is precise. Staff know pupils exceptionally well. As a result, there is effective support in place for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND engage well in lessons and access the same curriculum as their peers. There are detailed support plans in place for children in the early years. This ensures the school meets their needs effectively.

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Pupils behave well during lessons and social times. They line up quietly and walk sensibly through the school. The school has high expectations of pupils. They are polite to visitors and respond positively when staff greet them. Children in the early years pay close attention, switching on their ‘listening ears’. They learn the routines of the classroom quickly. They move around sensibly, collecting independently the equipment they need for their tasks.

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The wider curriculum that supports pupils’ development is very effective. Pupils benefit significantly. The opportunities pupils experience through their lessons are extremely well planned. This includes the opportunity to learn about different faiths and religions. The ‘life skills’ curriculum is individually tailored to year groups. It reflects well the needs of the community served by the school. The school makes good use of external speakers in areas such as road safety. Pupils feel proud of the leadership positions they hold. Prefects and school councillors play an active part in the life of the school. Older pupils enjoy volunteering in the nursery. They help to set out activities and tidy away.

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The school evaluates itself accurately. Leaders acknowledge any areas that need to improve, and these form part of their development plan. The trust provides the school with appropriate and timely support. Trustees and governors play a key role in ensuring that the school maintains high standards. This includes ensuring that safeguarding procedures are effective. Staff enjoy working at the school and feel proud to be part of the community. The school considers the workload of staff and acts on their concerns where they arise. 5 and 6 December 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the delivery of the curriculum does not always enable all pupils to retain important knowledge in the long term. Consequently, some pupils do not progress well in these subjects. The school should review the curriculum, making sure that pupils have opportunities to revisit key learning, thus enabling pupils to recall more over time.

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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 2018.

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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. 5 and 6 December 2023

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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’ 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). 5 and 6 December 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust.  The school’s leadership structure has changed since the last inspection.  The school has a Christian religious character. The school’s most recent section 48 inspection of its religious character took place in November 2016. The next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 their evaluation of the school. The inspector met with 5 and 6 December 2023

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representatives of the trust and governing body, including trustees, the chair of the trust board, the chair of governors and the chief executive officer.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, 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 met with representatives of the school’s staff well-being group.  The inspector met with pupils from different year groups to talk about their learning

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and experiences at school.  The inspector reviewed a range of documents provided by the school. These included the school improvement plan, curriculum documentation and school policies.  The inspector considered 15 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View. This included nine comments from parents in the free-text facility. The inspector also considered the 38 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Jonathan Rockey, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 5 and 6 December 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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