St Anne’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

St Anne's Catholic Primary is a welcoming and inclusive school. Pupils live up to the school's values stating, 'these will help get you further in life and not give up'. They are happy and enthusiastic ambassadors of their school.

They demonstrate high levels of respect for each other and adults.

Pupils meet the school's high expectations by behaving well and working hard. They conduct themselves exceptionally well in class.

Pupils participate in lessons enthusiastically and want to do their best. They consistently act in a kind way towards each other. When moving around the school and during break times, pupils show great self-discipline.

Pupils are... supportive of each other, and proud to take on responsibilities such as peer mentoring. They enjoy contributing to school life and supporting wider community projects, including raising funds for causes that are important to them. Pupils' learning is enhanced by carefully planned visits, such as to the Milestone Museum and Watt Gallery.

Every pupil is encouraged to pursue their interests and find their own talents in clubs such as Spanish, art and choir.

Parents are effusive in their praise for the school. One summing up the views of many stated, 'children are encouraged to learn and flourish'.

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

Leaders' carefully considered approach to personal development helps pupils to develop a strong moral code. Pupils understand the importance of rules. They value the opportunity for reflective, restorative conversations that helps them make better decisions in the future.

Pupils understand and champion the importance of individual liberty, freedom of voice and equality. The well-considered curriculum ensures they learn how to be a good friend, and the importance of kindness, listening and acceptance. Pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep safe when working or playing online.

They learn about a range of careers, including barristers and cardiologists, and this develops how pupils value education and the opportunities it provides them.

The school's curriculum is ambitious, and pupils achieve well across most subjects. The carefully sequenced curriculum starts in the early years, where children get off to a strong start.

Teachers know precisely what to teach, building carefully on pupils' prior learning. The identification of pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is both accurate and timely. Leaders work well with teachers to ensure pupils with SEND get the support they need to access the curriculum alongside their peers.

During lessons, teachers explain key information clearly, and pupils have opportunities to go over what they have learned before. There is a focus on vocabulary and classrooms are language-rich environments. Adults engage meaningfully and purposefully with children.

They use non-verbal cues successfully to support communication. Across the school, teachers ensure pupils revisit content so that they can build on what they already know. In English and mathematics, assessment is used well to track pupils' progress and identify where extra help is needed.

However, in a small number of other subjects where the curriculum is less established, teachers do not always accurately check what pupils understand. As a result, gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always identified and addressed in these subjects.

There is a strong culture of reading in this school.

Phonics is taught well, and pupils learn to read proficiently. Children in the early years begin learning to read as soon as they start school. In their play, children use this knowledge to read and write words with growing confidence.

Throughout the school, pupils who fall behind get the help they need to become accurate readers. Pupils enjoy the enthusiasm with which teachers read to them. Older pupils retain their passion for reading.

They proudly enjoy showing off their library and recalling the books they have read recently.

Close links between the governing body and the trust mean there is strong oversight of the school. Governors understand their role to support and challenge the school effectively.

School leaders ensure that all staff are supported. They listen to staff views when making changes. This ensures that staff workload is manageable while ensuring that changes benefit pupils.

In turn, teachers are highly appreciative of the guidance and training they receive. They are proud of their school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, teaching does not identify and address misconceptions in pupils' knowledge. This leads to gaps in pupils' understanding. The school should ensure that pupils' understanding is checked consistently well across all subjects, so that any misconceptions can be addressed swiftly, and pupils are well supported in building their knowledge consistently over time.

Also at this postcode