Walsden St Peter's CE (VC) Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 October 2023

Walsden St Peter's CE (VC) Primary School is a welcoming environment for pupils. The school emphasises to pupils the importance of resilience, being inquisitive and caring. This supports the positive relationships pupils have with each other and the staff in school. The school has high expectations for all pupils, both personally and academically. Pupils learn in a supportive and caring environment. The school gives pupils the emotional and learning support that they need to be happy and successful. For example, the school utilises its own mental health and family liaison staff effectively to support the most vulnerable pupils and families. Pupils at this school feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe, including online. Pupils show high levels of respect and tolerance for others. This means that their behaviour across the school is very positive. Pupils enjoy the responsibilities they have in school. Being on the school council or a buddy for the Reception children are roles that they value. There are many clubs that are available to all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), especially around sport.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not identified the key knowledge that pupils need to acquire and the order in which this knowledge should be taught. This prevents pupils, including pupils with SEND, from building their learning on what they already know. The school should make sure that the content of teaching in each curriculum area is carefully selected and set out in a logical order.
• The school's arrangements for checking closely on pupils' learning are not consistently implemented. Some misconceptions and errors are not addressed quickly enough. The school should ensure that teachers sharpen their use of assessment strategies so that pupils are moved on to new content when they are ready, and misconceptions are addressed swiftly.
• In some subjects, such as PE, history and design technology, the school has not checked that the curriculum is being delivered as intended. It does not know how well pupils learn in these subjects. The school needs to routinely check how well the delivery of the curriculum is enabling all pupils to learn the important knowledge that they need to know.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)