Express & Star

Wolverhampton school praised by Ofsted

A school which has made “rapid progress” to tackle “inconsistent” learning has been praised by the education watchdog.

Published
Headteacher Jenny Byrne, Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre and pupils celebrate SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary Academy’s Good rating.

SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary Academy, Horden Road in Wolverhampton, was rated “requires improvement” by Ofsted in 2017.

Inspectors found teachers were failing to give pupils challenging tasks – which resulted in some pupils’ progression slowing.

But now the school has been rated “good” for the first time in its history after an inspection in June this year.

Headteacher Jenny Byrne said: “This inspection marks a new beginning for SS Peter and Paul and we are delighted to put historic underperformance well into the past.

“This is a great school and I am very proud of the report. Steady and sustained improvements show we are getting it right for our children and these young people deserve the very best.”

In full:

Leadership and management, along with personal development of pupils were both found to be “outstanding”.

Inspectors found senior leaders had “high aspirations” for students, with praise going to Ms Byrne for leading a “committed team with a shared vision” at the school.

Ann Shorthouse, chair of governors, added: “I am delighted that the hard work and dedication of all our staff under the leadership of Mrs Byrne has been recognised in this very well-deserved Ofsted report.”

But Ofsted also found teachers in Key Stage 1 did do not always provide pupils with a greater challenge in reading, writing and mathematics. And there needed to be improvements to the outdoor learning area in a bid to help pupils make more progress.

Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for education and skills, said: “I would like to pass on my congratulations to everyone at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary Academy.

“This is an excellent report in which the passion, commitment and high aspirations of Jenny Byrne and all her team really shines through. It is also wonderful to read how outstandingly well behaved the children are, which reflects how much they love being at their school.”

To find out more about education in Wolverhampton, visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/education.

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