St Anne’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Anne's Catholic Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and inclusive school. Many pupils and staff talk of belonging to the 'St Anne's family'. Everyone does their best to live by the school values: 'equal, loved and safe'.

Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly. They are happy, safe and secure.

Staff set high expectations for behaviour.

The majority of pupils behave well. The school provides good support for those pupils who need help with behaviour. There are quiet spaces around school where pupils can go if they need to calm down a...nd be ready to learn.

The support for pupils' well-being is a strength of the school.

The school is ambitious for all, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These ambitions are realised.

Pupils achieve highly. They are well prepared for the next phase in their education.

The school ensures that all pupils have a range of wider experiences and opportunities.

This includes visits to the theatre and museums. Family trips to the seaside are a firm favourite. Pupils enjoy a range of clubs such as art and chess.

They contribute to school life, for example, as school councillors or by leading worship. These activities help pupils to become responsible citizens.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum.

It includes a programme of 'must do' activities and experiences, such as visits to the bank or budgeting for healthy meals. This supports pupils' wider development.

The school inspires pupils to read widely.

Pupils love the school library. Books reflect the diversity of modern Britain and the wider world. Staff are skilled in teaching phonics.

Pupils who find reading difficult receive effective support to help them to become confident and fluent readers. Many reach standards above those expected for their age in reading by the time they leave Year 6.

The curriculum sets out clearly what pupils need to learn from early years through to Year 6.

For example, children in Reception start to develop a love of music by singing and responding to different rhythms. They learn to control percussion instruments and recognise pitch by exploring high and low sounds. This gives them a good start for music in Year 1.

However, the school lacks strong understanding of how learning in the early years links into each curriculum area. This means that expectations of what children can do when children enter Year 1 are sometimes too low.

There are consistent opportunities for pupils to recall their learning.

Pupils particularly enjoy the quick recap sessions in mathematics. This ensures that they build confidence and fluency. Staff make sure that pupils use correct technical vocabulary across all subjects.

For example, in mathematics the youngest children use words such as 'corners and sides' as they create rectangles and triangles.

The school regularly checks that the curriculum is delivered consistently well. It provides training and resources to support staff subject knowledge.

This ensures that pupils build secure and consistent knowledge as they move through the key stages. Some subject leaders are new to post and are still developing their leadership skills. As a result, arrangements to check the impact of the curriculum on pupils' achievement in these subjects are at early stages.

There is a rise in the number of pupils being identified as having SEND. Staff regularly receive helpful information and expert advice about the needs of individual pupils. They use this to provide effective support.

Pupils with more complex needs receive tailored support from skilled adults. Pupils with SEND achieve well. They are welcomed into every aspect of school life.

Pupils are eager to learn. Teachers skilfully engage their interest. For example, in art, pupils are inspired by their studies of world artists, including influential street artists.

Pupils enjoy discussing art movements, such as Neo-Expressionism. They are proud to share their knowledge.

Pupils embrace the spiritual ethos of St Anne's as a Catholic school.

They understand fundamental British values, such as democracy. They have a mature understanding of world religions and freely discuss similarities between religions, such as Islam and Christianity.

Governors are committed to the school.

They receive detailed information about the school's performance. However, they do not use this information to check the school's actions against the targets and timescales set in plans, including the school's pupil premium strategy. Consequently, they cannot always hold the school to account for the effectiveness of actions and decisions taken.

The school is considerate of staff workload and well-being. Staff appreciate this as shown by many positive comments during the inspection.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is a lack of understanding of how learning in early years links to some curriculum subject areas for older pupils. This means that expectations of what children can do when they enter Year 1 are sometimes too low. The school should strengthen understanding of how knowledge develops in early years so that expectations are suitably high in key stage 1.

• The arrangements to assess the impact of the curriculum on pupils' achievement are not secure across all subjects. This means that some gaps in pupils' knowledge are not addressed. The school must ensure that checks on pupils' learning are effective to help them to build consistent knowledge across all subjects.

• Governors' oversight of school development lacks precision. As a result, the school is not always held to account for the effectiveness of actions, such as reviewing the impact of pupil premium funding. Governors should strengthen their oversight further to ensure that all pupils benefit from decisions made by the school.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2019.