St Peter's Catholic Primary School

St Peter's Catholic Primary School Inspection report

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101237 Unique Reference Number Barking and Dagenham Local Authority 276475 Inspection number 16 °17 March 2006 Inspection dates Steven Hill Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Carol Canary Chair Mr Daniel Craft Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Goresbrook Road School address Dagenham RM9 6UU

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020 8270 6524 Telephone number 020 8270 6525 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 16 °17 March 2006 Inspection dates 276475 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school serves an area where social circumstances are less favourable than average. Attainment when children start school, in the Nursery or the Reception Year, is below that normally found. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is broadly average. About a half of the pupils are White British, with the rest from a variety of minority ethnic backgrounds, with the largest group being of Black African heritage. The number of bilingual pupils is above average, but very few are at early stages of learning English. At the last inspection, the school was judged to have serious weaknesses, particularly in the achievement of bright pupils. A new headteacher was appointed from September 2004.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 7 Inspection Report: St Peter's Catholic Primary School, 16 °17 March 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

* Improve provision of ICT equipment and give pupils more chance to practise their ICT skills in other subjects.

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Grade:

Good teaching throughout the school leads to good learning. This is the major factor in pupils' good achievement. In the Foundation Stage, a good balance between activities directed by the teacher and an interesting range of activities for children to do independently, ensure consistent progress. In all classes, teachers manage pupils well, making clear their expectations of hard work and good behaviour. Pupils respond positively because they respect their teachers and are keen to please them. Lessons are planned carefully to meet the needs of pupils, and often work is set that is matched closely to pupils' different abilities, particularly in English and mathematics. Pupils who struggle with their work are given good support to help them make progress, particularly through the skilled help they receive from teaching assistants. Teachers make lessons more interesting by providing practical experiences for pupils. Pupils are encouraged

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Grade:

to make good use of their literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects, but are given too few chances to use their ICT skills across the curriculum.

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Grade:

The school provides a good curriculum that motivates pupils and promotes their enjoyment of learning. Detailed and regular monitoring has led to improvements, such as better work in problem solving in mathematics. Good emphasis is placed on additional activities to enrich the curriculum. For example, the school has recently introduced an initiative whereby all pupils in Year 4 are taught 'musicianship' before learning to play a musical instrument. The school also caters well for pupils with learning difficulties. The clear and detailed individual education plans for these pupils contribute strongly to their good progress Provision for ICT has improved since the last inspection but there is still not sufficient hardware of good quality for pupils to extend their learning in other subjects. However, good use is made of the ICT suite at the local secondary school to extend the skills of the oldest pupils.

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Grade:

A good range of extra-curricular activities is organised at lunchtimes and after school, and pupils have good opportunities to develop their sporting and cultural interests. These activities 4 of 7 Inspection Report: St Peter's Catholic Primary School, 16 °17 March 2006 add much to pupils' enjoyment of learning during their time at the school. Pupils are given a good understanding of keeping safe and of healthy lifestyles through the provision for personal, social and health education.

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Grade:

The quality of care provided by the school is good. There are robust procedures for child protection and good attention is paid to health and safety. Pupils know they are looked after well and they feel secure and safe. The rare incidents of bullying are dealt with very effectively. Good supervision helps promote good behaviour outdoors, even though the playgrounds are somewhat barren and provide little stimulation. Plans are in hand to improve this. Very sensitive and effective care is given to vulnerable pupils, particularly through the innovative use of a 'circle of friends', who support individuals. The school council provides pupils with a very good forum to express their views and to have a say in the running of the school. Several positive changes have been made to provision stemming from their suggestions. Pupils' academic progress is monitored carefully and effectively. Pupils say they are well prepared for their move

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Grade:

to secondary school, especially through their weekly visits for science and ICT lessons.

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Grade:

5 of 7 Inspection Report: St Peter's Catholic Primary School, 16 °17 March 2006 .

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Grade:

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 7 Inspection Report: St Peter's Catholic Primary School, 16 °17 March 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Pupils Thank you for your warm welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed watching you at work and talking to you. This is what we found out. St Peter's is a good school. It is much better than the last time the inspectors came, because your headteacher, the governors and the other adults have worked very hard to make improvements. You have been a big help in this because you try hard with your work and your behaviour is good. You get on well with each other, and enjoy school. The adults in the school look after you well and we were impressed to see that the oldest children regularly help to look after the younger ones. You make good progress right through the school because the teachers are good at helping you learn. By the end of Year 6, pupils do well in English, maths and science. You don't do quite so well in ICT, because the school doesn't have enough good computers for you to practise on. The work that pupils in Year 6 do at the secondary school makes sure

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that they don't get left behind in ICT, and also helps them with science. You get lots of other interesting things to do, in class and in the different clubs. There is some particularly exciting work going on in music. To do even better, we think that the school needs to get more equipment for ICT and give you more chances to use it. Your teachers already have plans to do this.We hope you carry on enjoying your time at St Peters. Best wishes, Steven Hill Lead Inspector 7 of 7 Inspection Report: St Peter's Catholic Primary School, 16 °17 March 2006

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