St Peter's Primary School

ST PETER’S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 20 th – 21 st May 2003

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ST PETER’S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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ST PETER’S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: St Peter’s Rd Hammersmith London

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 2 nd February 1998 St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 4

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Team members

2940 Deborah Zachary Registered inspector 9646 Geraldine Osment Lay inspector 18027 Sheila Mawer Team inspector

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Team members

Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DT2 9PU

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Peter’s C of E Primary School is on three sites, though these are very close together. It is of average size, with 247 pupils on roll. Fifty of these pupils are in the nursery, attending for half-day sessions. There are more girls than boys in the school, and two-thirds of the pupils are of white British heritage. No ethnic background predominates amongst the remaining pupils. They are of other white backgrounds, black Caribbean heritage, black African or other heritage, or dual heritage. Forty-three pupils speak English as an additional language, which is a high number compared to schools nationally, and eight of these pupils are at the early stages of acquiring English. Fourteen per cent of pupils receive free school meals, which is broadly average, but the pupils’ overall economic circumstances are more favourable than in the country as a whole. The pupils enter the school with a range of attainments, and there is

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

variation of attainment on entry from year to year. The current Year 3 entered with lower attainment overall, for example, than the current Year 2 or Year 1. Attainment on entry is, however, broadly above average compared to the national picture. Twenty-one per cent of pupils are identified as having special educational needs, an average figure, but above average numbers have a Statement of Special Educational Needs. More pupils than is usual start the school after Year R or leave the school before Year 6, and most of the changes take place between the end of Year 2 and Year 6. There has been a significant turnover of staff over the last two years, caused both by changes to permanent posts and by teachers covering for maternity leave. As a result only half of the teachers observed during the inspection were teaching the same year groups the previous year. This means that judgements made about teaching on this inspection cannot be fully related to the previous year’s results.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a good school that gives good value for money. At the moment it has some very good and sometimes outstanding features, such as the teaching and the curriculum for pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6. Pupils achieve 1 well as they move through the school and teaching is good overall. The inspectors found no areas to be unsatisfactory, but some aspects of what the school is doing are ‘middle of the road’ rather than better. The challenge to the school, and the task set by this report, is to raise these areas to the level of the things that are done particularly well. The governors, headteacher, senior managers and staff share a strong commitment to improvement.

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What the school does well

• The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well taught and they receive a very good breadth of curriculum. • Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout Years 1 to 6 because the pupils are taught to understand as well as simply carry out tasks. • Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures their social development very well. • The school is well managed, with very good procedures in place in a variety of areas. • Music teaching is outstanding and the overall provision for the subject is good.

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What could be improved

• The current provision for children in the foundation stage (nursery and reception) is not as strong as for older pupils, and the current provision for science in Years 3 - 6 is not as strong as for English or mathematics. • The leadership of the school is not yet as good as its management – communication with parents and the use of data analysis to fine-tune the school’s direction could be improved. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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What could be improved

1 Achievement is a measure of pupils’ long-term progress. Good achievement means pupils have moved on further than would be expected over a period of time. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 7

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in February 1998. It took appropriate action following that inspection and improved all three areas identified as key issues, including the deployment of staff. The governors’ involvement has improved particularly well and the challenge for the most able pupils has also been significantly improved. Results in Year 6 have improved at a faster rate than those nationally, and the teaching has also improved, with a much greater percentage of very good or outstanding teaching seen on this inspection. Despite changes to the school’s leadership and teaching staff in the intervening years, improvement has been good overall.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

2000 2001 2002 2002 In the top 5 % of schools A*

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Key

science A A A A well above average above average average below average well below average A B C D E

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Key

When these results are compared to 1998 Year 2 results, they show very good achievement for last year’s pupils. Standards of the current Year 6 pupils are not as high; whilst above average overall, they are average in English and science (though better in English than in science), and well above average in mathematics. The drop in standards reflects the arrival of some lower attaining pupils in Years 5 and 6. The targets for 2003 Year 6 results were devised appropriately, but the changes to the pupils in the year group since they were set mean they are likely to be missed. Achievement since Year 2 for the current Year 6 pupils is good overall; best in mathematics and weakest, though still satisfactory, in science.

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Key

Year 2 results in 2002 were average overall. They were average in reading, well above average in writing and well below average in mathematics. That group of pupils had entered the school with better mathematical skills than language and literacy skills. Their achievement in writing was very good, but they did not make enough progress in mathematics. Current standards of writing in Year 2 are well above average again, and reading and mathematics standards are much better than last year – also well above average. The current Year 2 pupils’ achievement is very good.

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Key

The children in Year R are reaching standards that are above average. The vast majority will meet or exceed expected standards before they enter Year 1. As they entered the school with above average standards, their achievement is satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils are interested and ready to learn. They listen carefully to the teacher and are very keen to be the one to answer.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils are very well behaved both in class and in the playground. The school is an orderly and friendly place. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 8 Personal development and relationships Very good. Pupils’ social skills are particularly strong and they work very well together.

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Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Satisfactory Very good Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Teachers are well aware of the needs of pupils of different attainment, and meet those needs effectively. They are ably supported by the teaching assistants, who make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning, especially through their work with the younger children and those with special needs or who speak English as an additional language. This means that pupils in a year group who are starting from different points all make progress – overall they achieve as well as each other. The quality of pupils’ learning matches the teaching in the different classes.

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Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Literacy is taught well and numeracy very well. These skills are taught and encouraged through pupils’ work in a range of subjects. Teachers show pupils that they respect their ideas, and this is particularly valuable in encouraging them to explain how they have made a calculation in mathematics. It also gives the pupils confidence so that they are quick to ask a question if they do not understand. The work on cognitive acceleration through science education (CASE) taking place in Years 1 and 3 is also very effective in involving pupils in their own learning.

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Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

In three outstanding lessons seen during the inspection the key features were that teachers set very high expectations of pupils but helped them very effectively to reach the standards demanded. They reacted extremely well to pupils’ responses, making quick decisions about what to move on to and involving everyone actively but supportively. Where teaching and learning were not as effective, the reasons varied. In the foundation stage, resources were sometimes not used well enough to enhance learning or too many activities were planned for sustained learning to take place. In two science lessons for older pupils the planned objective of the lesson was not well enough thought through, so that the pupils’ learning was not as good as it might have been.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. All statutory requirements are met and the curriculum is enhanced by a very wide range of visits and visitors. The CASE programme adds a valuable additional dimension to Year 1 and Year 3, but science standards are limited by reduced time in some other year groups.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. The school works hard to try to get resources to support these pupils. Internal documentation such as individual education plans is effective. A significant number of pupils with special educational needs arrive between Years 3 and 6.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good. Pupils who are at the early stages of acquiring English are helped to settle by the secure and caring atmosphere and are given individual support. Pupils at the later stages of English acquisition are appropriately supported by their class teachers. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 9 Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. Social development is very well promoted by activities such as shared reading between year groups and the encouragement of pupils to share ideas. Moral and cultural development are well supported. Provision for spiritual development seen was satisfactory. A full judgement of this will be made in the section 23 inspection.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Very well. Procedures to ensure child protection and health and safety are very thorough.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Good overall. The senior management team is effective, and the strategic aims document lays out the direction for development of the school very well. Management is better than leadership, though leadership is still satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Very well. The governing body is very well led and organised and is well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the school.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Good overall. Teaching is monitored very well, but the analysis of other areas such as test result data and the use of curriculum time needs further development.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good. The accommodation is well used despite its restrictions and staff are effectively deployed. Grants such as money for special educational needs are used appropriately. The school applies the principles of best value satisfactorily, but improvements could be made in its consultation of parents and the way it compares itself to other schools through the use of data.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school • The teaching is good • Behaviour is good • They feel comfortable about approaching the school • Their children are making good progress • The school expects children to work hard • The school is helping children to become mature and responsible • Extra-curricular activities • Leadership, with respect to how closely the school works with parents and how well it informs them about progress

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agreed with the strengths identified by parents. It judged that extra-curricular activities are satisfactory – typical of a school this size – but that pupils also benefit from a significant number of extra visits out and visitors in to school. The information the school gives to parents and the way it works with them are satisfactory in the context of schools nationally. Leadership is also satisfactory. However, the feeling of some dissatisfaction by a significant number of parents means that the school should make additional efforts. This is dealt with in the main inspection report under the general heading to do with leadership and communication. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 10

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The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well

taught and they receive a very good breadth of curriculum.

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The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well

1. All the lessons seen in these year groups during the inspection were at least good, and the large majority were very good or excellent. The teaching demonstrates high expectations of what the pupils can do and of their concentration levels. Importantly, these expectations are then backed up by strategies that help to keep the pupils actively involved and make their learning fun.

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The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well

2. In Year 6 the range of strategies used to support the pupils’ learning is outstanding. Lessons are very well planned, targeting what needs to be learned next for pupils of a variety of attainment levels, and learning methods are chosen to suit the target and keep interest levels high. The teaching involves the use of a wide variety of resources to present work in different ways - for example in an English lesson text was presented on a whiteboard, overhead projector screen and on paper, read out in different ways - and it blends humour with consistently searching questions, challenging pupils to find answers and think deeply about the subject. They respond with absolute concentration, and receive praise that nevertheless challenges them to do even better – for example “What a good start you have made, but I think you could make a complex sentence here, don’t you?” Year 6 at the moment has a wide range of pupils of different attainment levels. A significant

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The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well

number are working at levels expected of pupils aged 13, whilst some have special needs, needing support, for example, with reading; others are at an early stage of learning English. It is particularly impressive that all are making enormous progress. The highest attainers in English, for example, are already writing fluently in complex sentences, choosing vocabulary and structure for maximum effect. Lessons in mathematics, English and information and communication technology were seen during the inspection, and work in science was studied. The same high expectations and attention to detail and the individual were evident in all of these areas.

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The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well

3. The teachers in all of these year groups react very quickly to the responses pupils give during lessons, assessing how well they have understood and when to move them on. In a Year 2 literacy lesson there was an excellent focus on improving vocabulary and the pupils’ awareness of letter sounds and the sounds of blends of letters. The questions addressed to different pupils were varied very effectively to ensure that all made very good progress. In Year 1 during a short session from the CASE programme, the teacher was not only adept at listening to individuals and weighing what they were saying, but also drew even the quietest members of the group in, asking things like “What do we think about what (name) is saying?”. As a result of both the way they were drawn in and also the interest generated by the challenging questions they were given, the pupils began to use reasoning at an exceptional level for their age. Phrases such as “I think….because…” were standard by the

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The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well

4. The CASE programme is one example of the way the school enhances the curriculum for its pupils. Currently targeted at Years 1 and 3, its impact is wider because all staff have benefited from the related training and raising of awareness. In Year 6 the teachers’ own knowledge of the importance of pupils being enabled to learn in a variety of styles means that the presentation of the curriculum is deliberately varied. It is also particularly well integrated – presented as a whole but without diluting the academic challenge. In an information and communication technology lesson, for example, pupils were preparing a multimedia presentation of the history of their own families since 1940, to enhance their understanding of their history topic. The enhancement of literacy skills through carefully planned work in other subjects is strong in all these year groups, and indeed in the school in general. In the Year 2 lesson seen, the lesson planning also showed that all four facets of English

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The pupils in Years 1, 2 and 6 are learning particularly rapidly because they are very well

- speaking, listening, reading and writing - had been carefully identified for teaching and were targeted in the lesson in an integrated way. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 11

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Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout

Years 1 to 6 because the pupils are taught to understand as well as simply carry out tasks.

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Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout

5. Last year, mathematics results for Year 6 were among the highest five per cent of schools nationally. Two-thirds of pupils, an exceptional proportion, reached Level 5 – which means that they were two years in advance of their ages. This year’s Year 6 look unlikely to get quite such good results, but around half are still working at these advanced levels, and despite a significant number of pupils with special needs in the year group, overall standards are still well above average. Inspectors looked carefully at the progress made by pupils who had remained at the school for the four years between Year 2 and Year 6, and compared their standards now with their standards when they were in Year 2. This showed that progress has been very good,

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Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout

6. During the inspection, mathematics lessons were seen in Years 2, 5 and 6, and a sample of work was studied from all year groups. Teachers concentrate very well on making sure pupils understand the reasons that their methods work. In Year 2, for example, the teacher ensured that a pupil who was wanting to try a traditional pencil and paper method, for example in adding 26 and 36, also tried it a different way to check – by saying “20 and 30 is 50, 6 and 6 is 12, and 12 and 50 is 62”. The same strong focus on helping pupils to understand was evident in a good Year 5 lesson. Here the pupils were dealing with decimals rather than whole numbers. They were able to use their knowledge, established by the teacher earlier in the lesson, of decimals that added up to a whole, to add together numbers such as 1.6 and 4.5. Here one way of reasoning was “0.5 needs another 0.5 to make a whole, which leaves 0.1 from the 0.6. 1 and 4 make 5, plus the whole makes 6, and with

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Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout

the 0.1 left that makes 6.1”. The point of this sort of teaching throughout the school is to very effectively establish that there are different methods for calculating that get the right answer. Teachers are good at praising pupils who show they understand their own chosen method, so the pupils feel they can succeed. They demand the use of correct mathematical vocabulary so that explanations are clear.

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Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout

7. The same focus on teaching for understanding was also seen in a session taken by a teaching assistant for lower attaining pupils in Year 6. Here the pupils were working on shapes, shape names and the idea of a perimeter. The pupils were volunteering answers, not afraid to suggest ideas. The focus on method was effective – for example, a pupil at the early stages of acquiring English was encouraged to touch each side of a shape in turn as she counted squares along the perimeter, reinforcing the words with action.

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Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout

8. The activities at the start of lessons – known as the oral/mental session in the National Numeracy Strategy – were a strength in all the mathematics lessons seen. They were brisk and challenging, and showed how pupils could apply their good understanding. Year 2 pupils enjoyed using number fans (a set of oval-shaped pieces of plastic joined at the bottom, with a digit written on each one that can be shown or hidden) to show the answer to quick questions like “Show me a number with five tens in that is odd”. Year 5 pupils were able to use six given numbers in any combination with addition, subtraction, multiplication or division to make a set three-digit number – and then explain what they had done. In Year 6 work focused on what number facts we can deduce if we know the eight times table. Answers included “the 256 times table because 256 is 8 squared times 4”. The whole group then successfully chanted the 0.008 times table! In this particular lesson the teacher’s

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Mathematics results for Year 6 were outstanding last year, and the subject is strong throughout

approach was almost that of a conductor. She has the pupils absolutely involved - standing, sitting, chanting, whispering, showing numbers on fingers, writing answers on small whiteboards – and above all really reflecting on ways in which they might reach the answer.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

9. The pupils enter the school with good personal and social skills, but the school nevertheless builds well on these, and particularly well in the area of social development. The atmosphere in the nursery is very supportive, giving children a secure start to their learning. The adults talk to the children sensitively about why they do things, encouraging them to think for themselves. By the summer term in the reception class the pupils are well aware of the moral and social aspects of stories they listen to. They respond well to the teacher’s lively approach when she takes the whole-class St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 12 session, with reading and songs and questioning used to maintain interest. As the children move up the school they frequently benefit from well-organised group-work through which they are encouraged to interact to a common purpose with their peers. In a Year 3 CASE lesson pupils were

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

well challenged to solve a problem about seeds by planning together, sharing resources and organising themselves. They reacted well to this with most of the groups successfully negotiating to come to joint decisions.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

10. The ‘pupil parliament’ gives a further opportunity for elected representatives to discuss matters of interest. Though the school has yet to establish finer mechanisms such as feedback to pupils on why the parliament’s recommendations are accepted or rejected, the process of discussion and debate between pupils is very valuable. In addition to the responsibility of being in the parliament, pupils are also asked to act as library monitors and playtime monitors. They set out equipment for physical education and organise some assemblies. The assemblies seen during the inspection, though variable in the quality of the spiritual atmosphere, were particularly effective in terms of the social and moral reflection encouraged. Year 1 and 2 pupils were developing a good understanding that life can have ups and downs and that we have to develop ways of coping with both. By Year 5 and 6 the pupils were able to demonstrate their deeper understanding that however hard a decision

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

or event is, good things can come of it. The older pupils also demonstrated a good understanding of the importance of sharing through their study of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Social and moral reflection was also developed well in a Year 4 literacy lesson during the inspection. The teacher’s very clear presentation of what she wanted the pupils to learn and her good explanations gave the pupils a very clear perception of the nature of a dilemma.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

11. The school organises activities well to get over the social disadvantages of the split site. There are joint weekly assemblies, and shared reading sessions between Years 1 and 6 and Years 2 and 5 also support the integration of pupils. The pupils play well together, and the comparatively new equipment and sheltered areas in the Years 1 and 2 playground is well used.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

12. The pupils respond very well to the education they are receiving at St Peter’s. They are very interested in their lessons and some show exceptional levels of concentration and involvement in response to high quality teaching. All pupils, including those with special needs, those who are gifted and talented and those who speak English as an additional language, are enabled to learn and all have very positive attitudes as a result. They respect each other and their teachers, and try hard with their learning. These qualities in the pupils are significant factors in their success.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

The school is well managed, with very good procedures in place in a variety of areas.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

13. The school operates efficiently on a day-to-day basis. Staff are effectively deployed to classes and are supported and monitored well. The senior management team is strong, benefiting particularly from the deputy headteacher’s experience as acting head. Performance management is used well to raise standards and is linked very well to the school strategic aims document – individual targets for staff take good account of what the school is trying to work on as well as their own personal areas for development. Good use is made of support from outside the school, for example in the use of a consultant for the development of work for the gifted and talented.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

14. Much of the work on the strategic aims document has been developed by the headteacher since her appointment, and it has been a particularly effective strategy to ensure all staff and governors have an involvement and a clear understanding of where the school is going. The document itself is very well formulated and laid out, greatly supporting the clarity of understanding of those who use it. Drawn up through an analysis of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and constraints, and taking account of all staff views on a training day, it is a very useful working tool. It has detail for the short term and a broad picture for the longer term including a five-year plan for the environment/site. It is costed and has clear responsibilities and timescales. Its only weakness is to do with the mechanism for identification of priorities, where data analysis is not fully exploited. This is covered in ‘what could be improved’ below.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 13 15. The procedures for monitoring teaching are very well devised and very clearly defined. The monitoring policy is explicit about the purpose, what will be observed or tracked and how it will be done. There is good guidance for those monitoring on what to look at, which results in a shared understanding by managers and teachers. The clear frequency schedule lays down when monitoring of different types and with different focuses will take place. Through this the headteacher has ensured that the monitoring task is manageable and can be easily tracked - it is a working document for her that is annotated as monitoring takes place. The reports of monitoring that have taken place show explicit areas for improvement to feed into the strategic aims document and also refer back to how well previous targets have been met. As a result of recent science monitoring the subject has been

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

identified as needing extra time in Years 3-6, initially through a science week. This need for more depth and extra time was also identified by the inspection team.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

16. The procedures for child protection and for health and safety are very good and well documented. Risk assessments are updated termly by headteacher, with the help of the deputy head or schoolkeeper as appropriate. All are well aware of the potential hazards of the separate sites and risk is reduced, for example by the presence of the schoolkeeper at the small road that must be crossed. The school has an effective racial equality policy in place, a recent requirement, and arrangements are currently being made to monitor it.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

17. The governing body makes a major contribution to the effectiveness of the school. It is now fully involved in the development of the strategic aims document and governors are very well aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They are using performance management procedures well, linking the headteacher’s targets well to the development of the school. They manage finance and resources well. Although the actual figures for 2002-3 show a large carry forward of money, this is misleading – more than £20000 was committed and simply not yet paid out by the start of April, and a further £27000 is committed to this year’s budget. The governing body has very well thought through supporting documentation, including a comprehensive governors’ handbook and code of practice for governors making visits to the school. It also produces a termly newsletter for parents to update them on its activities, which very effectively blends the necessary information with material

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

intended to raise awareness and debate. The autumn newsletter, for example, combines information on the annual meeting and its importance with an in-depth discussion of the school’s mission statement.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

Music teaching is outstanding and the overall provision for the subject is good.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

18. The inspection team looked closely as music because it was an area queried by some parents at the meeting and in comments on questionnaires, and it was taking place on the days of the inspection. The music co-ordinator is a part-time teacher, in school only for one day each week. At the moment he works with class teachers to teach music to each class in turn, and also takes singing for larger groups and teaches recorder to classes in rotation. The school’s intention is that once class teachers have become more confident in teaching music, through their work with him, they will take over the class lessons and he will be able to develop more specialist activities such as a school orchestra and choirs.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

19. During the inspection music lessons for Year 3 and Year 6 and a singing practice for Years 3 to 6 were observed. The outstanding features of the teaching included the great depth of specialist knowledge and understanding that enabled the teacher to ensure very high levels of challenge for pupils. Backed up by a strong focus on pupils using correct musical terms, excellent relationships and a demand for rapid pace, the teaching ensured that learning during the lessons was exceptional. Year 6 pupils, for example, were encouraged to express very clear ideas and opinions about the score they were studying and by the end of the lesson they had transferred these ideas into their own interpretations. Encouraged to analyse their own and others’ performances, they demonstrated some perceptive views. The class contains a significant number of pupils who receive support for learning needs or special needs, but nevertheless almost all were reaching standards

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

that were at least at the level expected for their age, with very many reaching standards well in advance of this. The pupils in Year 3 also demonstrated high levels of attainment for their age. Even at this age they are being encouraged to develop the vocabulary to appraise music. They were St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 14 helped by a very clear introduction about what they were going to learn, and a very practical approach to teaching musical theory.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

20. Pupils also made excellent progress in the singing practice as the teacher worked very skilfully to improve phrasing and diction. A variety of exercises and a very good choice of songs, together with good use of praise, ensured that levels of enjoyment and concentration were very high. Despite the very wide age range, the teacher was able to teach theory in a very accessible way and in a musical context, drawing out features like the duration of notes and the difference between major and minor keys.

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Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good, and the school ensures

21. Although there is no orchestra, a good range of musical events extends pupils’ experiences. Pupils sing at the Lyric theatre during performing arts week, perform in a Christmas concert, perform individually to the school and to parents at the summer concert, and experience a range of music as part of other events such as the Black History workshop. They also have the opportunity to listen to music from specialists who visit the school, such as a Danish choir.

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strong as for older pupils, and the current provision for science in Years 3 - 6 is not as strong as

22. During the inspection lessons were observed in both the nursery and in the reception classes. The teaching in both classes was satisfactory, and there were some good features, but overall it did not demonstrate the outstanding features evident in a significant number of other classes in the school. In the nursery, the space is restricted, so it is very important to make the most of the accommodation. As these young children learn best through play, guided or free, they need to have a very carefully structured environment to make the most of this play. Much of the accommodation is well used but there are improvements that could be made. At the moment one of the themes is The Three Piigs, and the ‘role-play’ area lacks a wide enough variety of resources to really support the children in extending their imaginative play around the story. Similarly, the writing area lacks a wide variety of stimuli to encourage emerging writing. In reception, the learning of the children was

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strong as for older pupils, and the current provision for science in Years 3 - 6 is not as strong as

limited by the demands on the teacher’s time. Too many activities for groups were planned, or their difficulty misjudged. This meant that during the time the teacher had intended to work closely with a small group, she was too often interrupted by requests for help or had to break off to bring another group back on task. The children made progress, but less progress than they had in the session led by the teacher for the whole class.

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strong as for older pupils, and the current provision for science in Years 3 - 6 is not as strong as

23. Standards in Year 6 science were slightly lower than those in English and significantly lower than those in mathematics in 2002. As achievement was nevertheless good in science this would not be significant in a single year’s results. However, evidence from the inspection showed that the standards in science remain significantly below the very good mathematics levels in both the current Year 5 and the current Year 6. The pupils are making satisfactory progress but it is not as good as their progress in some other areas. During the inspection three science lessons were observed. One of the science lessons was unsatisfactory because the activities the pupils carried out were not challenging enough – simply measuring without enough of a demand for explanation or linking of ideas. Another science lesson was satisfactory, but limited by too much concentration on an idea that the pupils already knew and not enough focus on the new concept. In the first case the lesson

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strong as for older pupils, and the current provision for science in Years 3 - 6 is not as strong as

planning did not establish a clear enough planned outcome for the pupils and in the second case the right outcome was clearly articulated but the activities were not effective enough in ensuring that pupils understood what was planned. In the third lesson seen, planned as part of the CASE work, the teaching was good. Study of pupils’ work and discussion with pupils revealed that not all the planned work is being covered. In some year groups notes are making up for explorations or investigations. This sometimes does not affect standards, though it could affect enjoyment, but sometimes it leads to a lack of depth of understanding, particularly for middle and lower attainers. Year 3 to 5 pupils spend only five or six per cent of curriculum time on science whereas Year 6 pupils spend nine per cent, a more typical figure nationally. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 15

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The leadership of the school is not yet as good as its management – communication with

parents and the use of data analysis to fine-tune the school’s direction could be improved.

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The leadership of the school is not yet as good as its management – communication with

24. Although the headteacher is in her third year of headship, she has had two periods of maternity leave since her appointment and is in effect a comparatively new head. She and the deputy head share a vision of a school which is creative and inclusive in its approach to the curriculum, teaching and learning, and where pupils achieve very well. Since her appointment she has effectively improved documentation and procedures, such as the monitoring schedule and the strategic plan. However, she and the senior management team are not yet confidently analysing data against patterns set by other similar schools in order to add another dimension to the setting of priorities for action. The data that could be better analysed includes results of national tests and what they indicate about the progress of different groups of pupils, the percentage of time that pupils spend on lessons in relation to the standards they reach, and, less importantly, other data such as financial expenditure

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The leadership of the school is not yet as good as its management – communication with

25. Communication with parents is another area that is satisfactory but needs to be improved if the school leadership is to carry parents with it in the vision it has for the school. The parents have a lot to offer, and at the moment whilst they are positive about the school they also have a feeling that they are not involved enough. In many schools what the leadership is currently doing would be sufficient, but the fact that there is a certain amount of dissatisfaction here means that it is an area that could valuably be developed. At the moment there is no clearly understood procedure to enable parents to raise suggestions for improvements and to receive feedback on their practicality or the views of staff and governors. This means that parents anxious to help sometimes raise ideas in other forums, when adequate consideration or answers are not possible, and this leads to frustration. Reports are another aspect of communication that, though satisfactory, could be

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The leadership of the school is not yet as good as its management – communication with

improved. At the moment they record what pupils know and can do, but put much less stress on progress in the different subjects. They do not set formal targets, and not all indicate areas for improvement. Targets are set more informally with pupils, and they are not consistently reviewed and revised in the different year groups. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 16

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

26. To raise standards and achievement and the quality of provision in the school, the governing body, headteacher and staff should carry out the key actions listed below.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve provision for children in the Foundation Stage and the provision for science in Years 3 to 6, by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

a) in the foundation stage: • further reviewing the use of the restricted space to provide richer resources in the role-play area and the writing area in the nursery*; • ensuring that the group-work parts of lessons are better constructed to avoid the teacher’s time in the reception class being spread too thinly between groups;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

b) in science*: • making sure that teachers identify exactly what they want pupils to learn in a science lesson, and that they then plan activities and questions to ensure that the learning objective is achieved; • making sure that teachers spend enough time on science to fully cover the planned curriculum.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(These points are explained in paragraphs 22-23)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve the leadership of the school by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• improving the use of data analysis to identify areas for development by the headteacher and members of the senior management team*; • further developing the way the school leadership works with parents, in particular establishing a clearly understood system for parents to raise suggestions for the improvement of the school, and to receive feedback on their suggestions, and improving written reports to parents on their children’s progress.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(These points are explained in paragraphs 24-25)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

*The school has already identified the need to improve these areas of its work. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 17

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 15

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents five percentage points.

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 25 197

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/a 30

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 6

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 41

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

English as an additional language No of pupils

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 45

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 17

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 33

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 18 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 19 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) Year Boys Girls Total

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 11 18 29

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 9 10 10 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 15 18 16

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 83 (97) 97 (97) 90 (97) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 9 8 9 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 15 13 17

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 83 (97) 72 (93) 90 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6) Year Boys Girls Total

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 15 12 27

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 14 15 15 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 10 10 11

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 89 (96) 93 (81) 96 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 14 15 15 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 10 10 11

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 89 (69) 93 (81) 93 (85) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 20 Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

White – any other White background 15 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Mixed – any other mixed background 6 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 0 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 0 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black or Black British – Caribbean 11 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black or Black British – any other Black background 7 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 21 Teachers and classes Financial information

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 9 Financial year 2002-3

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21.8

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 686575

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 7 Total expenditure 653254

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 157 Expenditure per pupil 2916

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 28000

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 61321

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 25

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 6.2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 7.2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

FTE means full-time equivalent. St Peter’s C of E Primary School - 22

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 58 38 4 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 62 35 2 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 48 32 17 2 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 36 50 13 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 61 35 4 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 53 37 8 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 36 46 15 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 47 32 16 1 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 52 43 2 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 24 40 26 4 6

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Percentage of responses in each category

Additional comments on questionnaires and at the parents’ meeting showed that parents were not unhappy with the amount of homework. However, some wanted more advice or information about it, or felt that the information about it varied too much from teacher to teacher.

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