High praise for St Peter’s Primary

A Bury primary school has attracted high praise across the board from education watchdog Ofsted.

St Peter’s CE had previously been rated “satisfactory” but is now classified as “good” for all aspects, from teaching and leadership to pupil achievement, behaviour and safety.

Inspectors described the school as “welcoming and caring”, where teachers made learning fun with exciting topics. Pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and maths was good, and standards in
all year groups had risen well since the last inspection “because teaching is good and at times outstanding”.

Ofsted said pupils were caring, respectful and polite, with “exemplary” relationships between them and adults. Staff set high expectations of how to behave, and consequently pupils’ behaviour was good and at times outstanding, which had a strong influence on how well they achieved.

Pupils were proud of their school and relished the opportunities they had to take responsibility, added Ofsted. They had above average levels of attendance and punctuality, and benefitted from a wide range of after-school clubs and activities.

Pupils said they felt safe and well supported at school, and parents agreed. The curriculum promoted their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development extremely well.

Ofsted cited the clear vision and well-planned actions of the school’s leaders. In partnership with the local authority, they had worked tirelessly to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement; and this showed that the school’s capacity to improve further was good.

Steve Wedgeworth, the school’s head teacher, said: “Everyone at St Peter’s is absolutely delighted with this report from Ofsted. It’s a testament to the hard work put in by the school’s staff, governors and pupils, with the support of parents. This is a happy school where high standards are being achieved, and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that this success continues.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 2 May 2014.