St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery Church Street, Carbrooke, Thetford, Norfolk IP25 6SW

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 January 2025

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Outcome

St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Hannah Wheeler. This school is part of the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Oliver Burwood, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Beverly Tilman.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils start each day with enthusiasm and a smile. They are greeted by ‘Pete the Punctuality Penguin’. Pete provides some well-earned punctuality stickers. Pupils are eager to receive these. Staff, with Willow, the school dog, are also on hand to provide support. They help anyone who has a worry to feel settled. Staff know pupils very well. They form caring relationships with them. This supports pupils to feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations for achievement are high. Pupils get lots of enriching experiences, such as learning in the woods and residential trips. These help to raise confidence and self-belief. Children in early years develop communication skills and understanding of the world through play. Pupils get lots of support so they can learn to read well. They study an interesting curriculum and develop important knowledge and skills, such as how to conduct science experiments. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve well, especially in reading and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave very well. They play games together, such as skipping, and interact pleasantly. They know all about the ‘Carbrooke Golden Rules’. These promote traits such as being kind, polite, helpful and aware of others’ feelings. Pupils regularly show and demonstrate these because staff place great importance on them. 14 and 15 January 2025

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has continued to do an extensive amount of work to build relationships with the local community. This means that pupils now have access to a much richer set of wider experiences. These enhance the whole curriculum. For example, the school uses the local Millennium Green for outdoor learning and the village hall for performances. Parents and carers regularly come into school for events, and the school has become embedded at the heart of the local community.

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

The school has worked with the trust to develop a curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge across a broad range of subjects well. This starts in early years, where the impact of this work is clear in how well the outdoor areas have been developed to support learning. Staff have tailored these to the development needs of children in the Nursery and Reception classes. For example, in Nursery, children have lots of toys and materials to develop skills in turn-taking, communication and sharing. In Reception, children role play in a shop and use a mini café to practise important skills, such as writing, by creating imaginative lists.

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

Pupils build on these foundations in Year 1. The school’s approach to teaching phonics is well understood by staff. Staff skilfully support pupils to decode and blend words, so pupils have a firm foundation for reading confidently. Pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those with language and communication needs, get tailored support. This includes access to a speech and language therapist for pupils for whom this is a significant barrier. All of this means that pupils learn to communicate and read with confidence. Pupils have strong ideas for their writing. However, sometimes, their use of grammar, punctuation and spelling, and the quality of their handwriting, is not of high enough standard.

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

Staff set clear expectations for behaviour and support pupils to deal with their feelings. For example, when Nursery children are upset, they are comforted with warmth and compassion. This helps them to settle back into learning quickly. Where pupils need it, there is a lot of additional support for well-being, such as counselling, play therapy and even a chance to stroke Willow. All of this means pupils are engaged, settled and have positive attitudes to learning.

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

The school promotes a vast range of personal development opportunities. It makes sure everyone can access these. Pupils develop moral and social understanding through learning important lifesaving skills, such as CPR and first aid. Pupils develop cultural understanding through visits to Norwich Cathedral and London. They experience awe and wonder through visiting the circus. These experiences also deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding. For example, pupils visited a heritage centre as part of their history unit on crime and punishment.

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

The trust works with the school to offer a range of training and development opportunities for staff. The trust also provides effective challenge and support, such as with developing the capacity of local governance. The school has maintained the quality of education since the last inspection and moved some areas, such as community 14 and 15 January 2025

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engagement, forward significantly. Staff feel supported by the school. They value fun and engaging development opportunities, such as the recent dance and ninja workshops that pupils also participated in. The combination of these factors keeps morale high.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, staff do not give pupils the support they need to develop their grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting consistently well. This means that the quality of some pupils’ writing is not of a high enough standard. The school needs to ensure that staff enable pupils to produce high-quality handwriting and to use their knowledge of grammar, punctation and spelling consistently well.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in October 2019.

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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 14 and 15 January 2025

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when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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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’ 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). 14 and 15 January 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  This is a Church of England school. The school’s most recent inspection of its denominational education and collective worship, under section 48 of the Education Act 2005, was in July 2019.  The school runs a nursery provision on site. This includes provision for two-year-old children.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 14 and 15 January 2025

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 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 representatives from the local governing body and trust board. This included the chair of the local governing body.  The inspector met with the CEO, the deputy CEO, the academies group executive principal, the headteacher and the deputy headteacher.  The inspector conducted further meetings with staff regarding safeguarding, special educational needs provision, behaviour, attendance, and pupils’ personal development.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around school and at social times.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single

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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 considered responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and Ofsted’s staff survey. They considered responses to the confidential online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.

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Inspection team

James Chester, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 January 2025

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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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