SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School

Inspection Report SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School

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124375 Unique Reference Number Staffordshire LEA 281705 Inspection number 9 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 Inspection dates David Driscoll AI Reporting inspector

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

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Dimbles Hill School address Primary Type of school Lichfield Voluntary aided School category Staffordshire WS13 7NH 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01543 510748 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01543 510748 Fax number 123 Number on roll Father Michael Sharkey Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Joanne Simons Headteacher 22 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281705 9 May 2006 - 4 to 11 9 May 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

SS Peter and Paul is a small primary school that serves an area that is similar to the national average in most respects. The proportion eligible for free school meals is average, as is the proportion with learning difficulties and disabilities. However, very few pupils come from a minority ethnic background. Standards on entry to the school are average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, 9 May 2006 to 9 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good education. The school’s evaluation of its own performance agrees with that of inspectors, and this is supported by the positive views of parents. Pupils make good progress as a result of teaching that meets the needs of pupils well and leave with above average standards. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Pupils arrive with standards that are average for their age, and leave with average standards. Pupils make good progress in number work, but too little emphasis has been placed upon the teaching of phonics early in the year, so pupils’ knowledge of the sounds that letters make is below average. The school has identified this weakness and plans to improve the provision next year. The school puts its Catholic ethos into practice, so pupils’ personal development is as good as their academic progress. Pupils are well cared for and safe in the school. There is a good range of enrichment activities, but opportunities to reinforce standards of

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Grade: 2

literacy and numeracy in other lessons are often missed as there is not enough emphasis on integrating subjects. Assessments of pupils’ performance are accurate, but are collated and tracked too infrequently. The school is well led and managed. The headteacher has a clear understanding of its performance and how to improve it. The school’s managers have already identified the areas for improvement noted below. Nevertheless, the school does not yet have a complete picture of trends in performance in the long term, because the data is not collated in such a way as to make such trends clear. The school has had financial difficulties in the past, but these are now being dealt with successfully so the school provides satisfactory value for money. Good progress has been made since the last inspection and the school is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Improve the progress made by pupils in the Reception class by placing greater emphasis on the teaching of phonics earlier in the year. •Improve the curriculum by taking opportunities to reinforce literacy and numeracy skills in lessons. •Gain a better understanding of longer-term trends in pupils’ performance by collating the results from assessments more frequently and presenting them in a way that gives a clear picture of the way standards change as a pupil moves through the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress, regardless of their background or ability. Children join the Reception class with standards that are average for their age. They make satisfactory progress and leave with broadly average standards. Their understanding of numbers is good for their age. Their knowledge of how to link letters and sounds is below average, because they have not had enough practice in this type 2 Inspection Report: SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, 9 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 of work. Progress in Years 1 to 6 is good, so pupils leave the school with above average standards. Progress is equally good in English, mathematics and science. The school sets targets for each child that would be appropriate given their standards on joining the school. The majority of pupils exceed their targets.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. The school’s strong Catholic ethos impacts well on pupils’ lives. One girl pointed out, when asked about friends, that ‘Everyone has a friend in God’. Pupils come eagerly to school and are polite, helpful and well behaved. Attendance is good. Personal development of children in the Foundation Stage has lagged slightly behind development in other areas but it is now improving as pupils respond positively to higher expectations and increased opportunities to take responsibility for their own actions. The school seeks pupils’ views on a range of issues and they do not hesitate in expressing these. Such opportunities are not formalised, however, so pupils could be playing a greater part in the community. The school recognises this and intends to set up a school council in the near future. As they grow older, pupils develop mature behaviour and concern for others. Attitudes

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Grade: 2

are good and are reflected in pupils’ enthusiasm in classrooms and their good relations with one another. Older pupils display good social skills when taking responsibility for looking after the welfare of younger ones. All have a good understanding of how to stay safe. Pupils have good knowledge of why physical activity and an appropriate diet should keep them healthy. By the end of Year 6, good competence in numeracy and literacy skills, well-developed social skills and experience working on projects supported effectively by industrial links prepare them well for their future working lives.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good, so pupils make good progress in their learning. Lessons are well planned to provide different activities for groups within a class, so all are set work that is demanding at their own level. Those with learning difficulties or disabilities are particularly well supported by teaching assistants. The mix of activities ensures that pupils enjoy their lessons. The pace of lessons is usually good, but where the teacher sets time limits for the pupils to complete their tasks, pupils work harder and get on much quicker. In the very best lessons, teachers integrate different subjects into one topic, such as the art lesson that combined science, literacy and history. Here, every opportunity was taken to find out what pupils already knew about rainbows and the Second World War, so their existing knowledge could be extended. In other lessons, 3 Inspection Report: SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, 9 May 2006 to 9 May 2006

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Grade: 2

however, such opportunities are missed, even, for example, to improve speaking skills when discussing a topic. Marking is clear and accurate. The teachers’ comments explain to pupils what they have done wrong, although there are not enough checks to ensure that corrections that are demanded are actually carried out. Assessments of longer term progress are accurate, but are not collated frequently enough to give a detailed picture of an individual’s progress.

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Grade: 3

The satisfactory curriculum ensures that pupils are taught all the required subjects. However, opportunities are often missed to link subjects or reinforce literacy and numeracy in other lessons. There is not enough teaching of phonics in the Reception class, so pupils do not make as much progress in linking sounds and letters as they do in other areas of their development. The school has identified these shortcomings and plans are in place to improve things. Pupils enjoy their education because lessons are generally interesting and there is plenty to do after lessons. The school provides a good range of clubs and extra activities, especially for pupils to participate in a range of sports. An annual residential visit for Year 6 pupils significantly contributes to their social development.

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Grade: 2

The school takes good care of pupils and makes sure that they are safe. Child protection procedures are robust. Effective guidance helps pupils make informed choices about lifestyles. Pupils know that adults care for them and are kind to them. Older pupils in Year 6 are encouraged to look after younger pupils at playtimes and lunchtimes. Attendance procedures are good and this is reflected in the above average attendance levels. Academic support is generally good. The school has good systems in place for measuring pupils’ progress and setting targets. However, there are inconsistencies in this practice throughout the school. Where targets are set and fully discussed with pupils and effective guidance given as to how these might be achieved, they are making a significant contribution to successful learning.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has an accurate understanding of the school’s performance, including its strengths and weaknesses, which is firmly based on an analysis of data and the views of parents. Weaknesses in performance are analysed well. Actions taken by managers to secure improvement are proving successful and resulting in the school making good progress. Boys now make the same good 4 Inspection Report: SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, 9 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 progress as girls in their writing, for example, as a result of a whole-school initiative to raise standards. The Foundation Stage, whilst not yet up to the same standard as the rest of the school, is showing clear signs of improvement. Nevertheless, the way that the school collates results of assessment makes it difficult to identify factors that may affect performance in the longer term. Major assessments are only collated for

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Grade: 2

one year at a time, so it is difficult to identify trends over several years. There have been problems with the finances in the recent past, leading to the school overspending. However, the budget is now under control and the school is on target to eliminate the deficit within the next two years. 5 Inspection Report: SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, 9 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, 9 May 2006 to 9 May 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know, some inspectors came to see you at work recently and check on how well you are doing. We thought you were very polite and well behaved. Many of you told us that you liked coming to school, and we are not surprised. The grown-ups take good care of you and make sure that you are safe in school. You like solving problems and doing work that is quite hard. You also like the extra clubs and activities. You work hard and do well in your lessons, although we have asked the teachers to let you do more reading, writing and maths when you are learning other subjects such as geography and history. We really enjoyed listening to the youngest ones learning their letters, and have asked the school to do more of this. The grown-ups who run the school get a good idea of how well you do in a year, but we have asked them to get a better picture of how well you have done since you started at the school. Thank you for helping us with our work and for being so kind to us.

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