Glowing report for school with ‘high expectations’ for all pupils

A school which has ‘high expectations for pupils to achieve academically and personally’ has been praised by Ofsted.

Inspectors visited SS Peter & Paul Catholic Primary Academy and Nursery for an ungraded inspection recently and found it continues to deliver a quality education to the children in their care.

In her report, Lead Inspector Cathy Young described SS Peter & Paul being ‘a school at the heart of the community’ where ‘pupils feel happy and safe and valued’ and every child ‘is cherished and supported well to dream big’.

The way the school goes about developing pupils’ character is ‘exceptional’, and pupils work hard in lessons and treat each other with the utmost of respect. Relationships between staff, pupils, parents and carers are described as 'very strong', while the school itself is ‘reflective and is always striving to improve further’.

Other strengths highlighted in the report include the suitability of the school’s ambitious curriculum, its approach to communication and language development, pupils getting off to the strongest start in early years where ‘every interaction is a learning opportunity’ and exceptional personal development.

Attendance is good ‘because pupils enjoy coming to school’ and ‘do not want to miss out on any of the exciting opportunities that they are provided with’.

A ‘real strength’ of the school is how it ensures that all pupils have the support they need to achieve well across all aspects of school life, including pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) who have their needs identified at the earliest opportunity.

Pupils have a ‘strong understanding’ of being healthy, both physically and mentally, with many effective systems in place that support their pastoral needs.

The school also works collaboratively with the St Francis and St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Company to ensure that any changes made are ‘well considered and always in the best interests of pupils’.

Principal Jenny Byrne said: “The entire report beautifully captures the culture of our school so well. I encourage everyone to read it in full to gain a true sense of what it's like to attend and work at our school and be part of the SS Peter & Paul community."

Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “This inspection celebrates the wonderful achievements of staff, pupils, and leaders at SS Peter & Paul who have taken effective action to maintain the good and outstanding standards identified at the previous inspection.

“I’d like to congratulate the Principal Jenny Byrne and the whole school community on their continuing success.”

Celebrating SS Peter & Paul Catholic Primary Academy and Nursery's Ofsted success are early years pupils with, left to right, Early Years Lead Sue Murphy and Principal Jenny Byrne.