St Anne’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to the school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection.

However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. Inspectors are recommending the next inspection to be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud representatives of the school's values of 'respect, kindness, growth and nurture'.

Pupils listen carefully to teachers and take pride in their work. However, pupils' achievement varies. This is because pupils' teachers have yet to receive guidance about how best to teach the knowledge,... vocabulary and skills that pupils need to know.

Pupils behave kindly, helping others to concentrate on their learning or to enjoy their play. They learn to do this in the early years, being introduced to clear rules and routines that set the expectations well. Pupils say that bullying is rare.

However, if bullying does happen, adults across school take swift action to stop it. Pupils know that staff are always there for them, listening to and resolving any worries. This helps pupils to feel safe.

Taking on responsibility contributes towards successfully enhancing pupils' personal development. Pupils enjoy raising money for charity and taking part in acts of worship, which are often led by their peers.

Pupils like how staff nurture their understanding of the world.

They learn to respect one another regardless of difference. They broaden their experiences of society through visits to different places of worship and places of historical significance, such as a local castle.

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

Leaders prioritise reading.

They have introduced a new phonics programme that carefully builds pupils' knowledge of the sounds that letters make. This includes pupils receiving books that match the sounds they learn. This means that most pupils read their books fluently and confidently.

Teachers give considerable time to reading within the school day.Pupils read as part of a class activity and listen to the class teacher read from a list of set books. As a result, pupils achieve well in reading and develop a love of literature.

Elsewhere, the success of the curriculum varies. Issues with staffing are hindering leaders' ability to finish developing and then checking their curriculum changes. Leaders are putting in place a well-planned curriculum that breaks down learning step by step.

This, in turn, supports teachers where it identifies what pupils need to know so that teachers can check this against what pupils do know to inform future teaching. However, where much of the curriculum is new, some older pupils did not learn what the curriculum specifies they should have learned when they were younger. Teachers do not always account for this well in their explanations and the activities they arrange for pupils.

This means that pupils' lack of understanding persists, gaps develop and pupils struggle to keep up with learning what they need to learn.

In some subjects, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not have activities appropriately adapted to help them to succeed. There is insufficient time set aside for leaders and teachers to engage with parents as partners in their child's learning.

As a result, pupils with SEND sometimes find it hard to learn and they rely too greatly on adult support. This limits pupils in developing their independence and they do not achieve as well as they could.

There is a consistent approach to managing behaviour.

Expectations of how pupils behave are high. Pupils understand the difference between right and wrong. This results in little disruption to learning throughout the school.

Generally, pupils' wider development is effective. Leaders and staff support pupils to become polite and respectful. Leaders have developed a curriculum that helps to develop pupils' character.

Pupils work well individually and in small groups. They mostly show resilience when working on activities that are challenging or require a lot of concentration. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, pupils had access to a wide range of sports and other extra-curricular clubs.

These are being reintroduced, such as football, netball and choir.

Governors share the aspirations of school leaders. They know the school well.

Governors make regular visits to check on the safety of pupils and to meet with subject leaders to see how well learning is going. Governors ensure that the well-being of staff and pupils is a priority within the school. Staff's workload is regularly considered and adaptions have been made to policies accordingly.

Governors have an accurate view of the schools' strengths and weaknesses. Working with school leaders, governors have contributed towards bringing about recent improvements.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders' checks on the suitability of staff to work with children are thorough. Governors, leaders and staff know how to raise any concerns about pupils' welfare. They understand and carry out their safeguarding duties effectively.

Staff have regular and up-to-date training.Leaders take appropriate, timely actions to ensure that pupils and families get the support they need. There are named staff who support the development of links between home and school well.

Pupils learn how to keep safe, including online. They know what to do and who to go to if they have a worry.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum in some subjects is less well developed than in others.

Some curriculum implementation has been slow, so while plans are in place and are generally well considered, they are at different stages of being embedded. Where this is the case, pupils' learning does not build sufficiently well on their prior knowledge. This means that pupils do not know and remember all the key knowledge that has been identified in the curriculum plan.

Leaders should continue to embed the newly introduced curriculum plans so that pupils build up the knowledge and skills required to be ready for the next stage in their education. ? In some subjects, activities are not adapted appropriately for pupils with SEND. Consequently, this hinders pupils in developing their knowledge as they should.

Leaders should ensure that staff receive training on how to make appropriate adaptations so pupils with SEND can successfully access the curriculum. Leaders should also strengthen their systems for setting and reviewing additional support for pupils with SEND in consultation with parents so that parents are confident that the support their child receives is helping them to achieve their best.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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 in April 2014.

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