St Peter's Church of England Primary School

St Peter's Church School Inspection report

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113425 Unique Reference Number Devon Local Authority 311262 Inspection number 3 December 2008 Inspection date Grahame Sherfield HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 260 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Robert Charles Chair Sally Roberts Headteacher 4 July 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Moor Lane School address Budleigh Salterton EX9 6QF 01395 443167 Telephone number 01395 443929 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 3 December 2008 Inspection date 311262 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. 2 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and one Additional Inspector. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the school's judgement that progress is good the quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage and the progress made in 'remapping' the curriculum in Years 1 to 6 the quality of teaching and whether it is improving how the school contributes to community cohesion in the United Kingdom and globally. Evidence was gathered by observing lessons, scrutinising documents and pupils' work, and from discussions with governors, staff and pupils. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

St Peter's is a Church of England school that is a little larger than average and serves this seaside town in east Devon. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision includes morning and afternoon Nursery classes and a Reception class. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well below average. Although below average, the percentage with learning difficulties and/or disabilities has been increasing, with a wide range of additional needs represented. The school has an above average proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs. Most pupils are White British and speak English as their first language. A private provider operates breakfast and after-school clubs on the school site.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008

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Grade: 2

St Peter's is a good and rapidly improving school. The headteacher and her staff have created a warm and supportive community where pupils flourish and are taught well, enjoying their learning greatly within an outstanding curriculum. One parent reported she was 'delighted with the school's ethos', while another praised the 'energy devoted to organising academic, cultural, social and extra-curricular activities'. Inspectors fully agree with these views, which are representative of the large majority of parents and carers. Pupils make good progress in English, mathematics and science by the time they leave at the end of Year 6 and reach standards that are above the national averages. Good progress in mathematics is well established as effective subject leadership has helped to ensure teachers' good knowledge, skills and understanding in this subject. Progress in English has been slower. The school correctly identified the need to raise standards in writing and has worked successfully

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Grade: 2

to achieve this. As a result, progress in English has improved and is now good. In science, pupils' progress is well supported by some specialist teaching. Pupils' progress overall in Years 1 and 2 has been slower than in Years 3 to 6. Staffing changes have resulted in better teaching and acceleration in the pace of pupils' learning. Progress is now good and the school's current data indicate that pupils are likely to reach standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are above average by the end of Year 2 in 2009. The school has established good systems for setting targets and for checking pupils' progress as they move through the school. Any pupils at risk of not doing as well as they should are identified at an early stage and additional support is then provided. Pupils benefit from an excellent curriculum, which provides relevant and interesting activities. As a result, their behaviour and enjoyment of learning are outstanding. Pupils particularly value

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Grade: 2

the themed weeks, such as the design and technology week under way during the inspection, which was designed to produce items to be shared with parents and sold at the forthcoming Christmas Fayre. The school maintains a very good balance between the themed weeks and planning for the development of skills in literacy and numeracy. The range of extra-curricular activities is excellent and much appreciated by the pupils. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have a good understanding of the importance of diet and exercise. They feel very safe in school and believe 'teachers keep a close eye on you'. Pupils are confident that the very rare instances of bullying are dealt with quickly and effectively. All pupils contribute to the day-to-day running of the school in different ways. Year 6 pupils in particular value the responsibilities they are given, such as 'buddying' children in the EYFS, and the school council

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Grade: 2

is viewed as an effective channel where pupils' suggestions are taken seriously. The school is rigorous in its attention to pupils' welfare and pupils are well cared for. Partnership with outside agencies is good, particularly in helping to provide support for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The school's safeguarding and health and safety procedures are robust and effective. There are good arrangements for involving parents in understanding their children's targets and how they might be able to help. Newsletters give frequent information and the parents' forum provides a good means of seeking parents' views on a range of matters. Teaching and learning are good and improving. Typically, lessons are well planned and often contain well-designed sequences of activities to build knowledge and understanding. Objectives are clear and used to check progress during and at the end of lessons. There is good attention

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Grade: 2

to meeting the needs of pupils of all levels of attainment and pupils are often involved in assessing their own progress, although they have limited opportunities to develop more 4 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008 independence and take responsibility for their own learning. Concentration is good, supported by very good relationships between pupils and between pupils and staff. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to the quality of teaching and learning. Some outstanding teaching was observed and all lessons seen were at least good. Occasionally, some parts of lessons were given too much time and the pace of learning slowed. The headteacher has had a significant impact on the school since taking up her post in 2007. She has a very clear vision for the future and has implemented carefully designed plans to ensure the school's future development. These are based on excellent approaches to

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Grade: 2

self-evaluation that ensure that the headteacher and her staff have a clear and accurate picture of the school's strengths and areas for further development. Great success has been achieved in the EYFS and writing has improved in Years 1 and 2 and in Years 3 to 6. New structures for the staffing and senior leadership of the school are being developed. The governing body is well organised and well informed about the school's progress and individual governors are now linked with particular priorities in the improvement plan. The school's capacity to improve further is good. The school makes a good contribution to community cohesion. It is very successful in engaging its pupils and in building links with the local community. There are good links with other countries, for example through involvement in the Comenius project, but the school recognises it is less effective in developing understanding of the United Kingdom community.

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Grade: 1

Outstanding leadership of the EYFS has established an excellent climate for learning in which children thrive and feel secure. They thoroughly enjoy their learning and make great gains in their confidence and independence. As one parent correctly stated, the EYFS provides 'an excellent introduction to school'. Progress in lessons is excellent because of outstanding teaching. Activities are carefully planned to help children learn by experiencing new things and there is an excellent balance between activities where children work with an adult and those where they make discoveries for themselves. Staff are highly skilled in asking questions to enable children to explain what they are learning. The excellent curriculum meets children's needs very well. It builds on children's interests and provides particularly well for their personal, social and emotional development as well as for the development of skills in literacy and numeracy. The transition from the Nursery

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Grade: 1

class to Reception is very smooth and helps children to build on and extend what they have done before. Children join the Nursery classes with skills below expected levels. They generally reach the goals set out nationally by the end of Reception. Progress over time is good as children currently in Reception have not had the benefit of the current outstanding teaching and learning throughout their time in the EYFS. Arrangements when children enter the Nursery are excellent. The partnership with parents has improved significantly over the past year and they value the opportunities to be involved in their children's learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching to the level of the best in order to raise standards further.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Provide opportunities for pupils to develop greater independence in taking responsibility for their learning. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008

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Inspection judgements

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

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needs of learners?

Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 December 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Peter's Church School, Budleigh Salterton, EX9 6QF I would like to thank you for your involvement in the recent inspection of your school, particularly for the friendly and open way in which you talked to us in discussions, in lessons and around the school. You are rightly very pleased with what your school provides for you. St Peter's is a good school, which is improving quickly and has some outstanding features. We found some significant strengths.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your behaviour and your enjoyment of learning are outstanding.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The curriculum is outstanding, particularly the themed weeks and the extra-curricular activities.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The provision for children in the Nursery and in Reception is excellent.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You make good progress in your work, supported by good teaching.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The leadership of the headteacher, the governors and other staff is good.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The care and guidance the school provides for you are good.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have asked the school to improve two aspects.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Teaching is good, and sometimes better. We have asked the school to ensure that all teaching is of the same quality as the best that you receive in lessons. ■ You need more opportunities to develop your independence in taking responsibility for your own learning and we have asked the school to provide these. You can help by maintaining your outstanding behaviour and by taking on new opportunities to work independently with your usual enthusiasm. Thank you again for your involvement in the inspection and we wish you every success for the future. Yours faithfully Grahame Sherfield Her Majesty's Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: St Peter's Church School, 3 December 2008

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