St Anselm’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where everyone is valued. Pupils are incredibly kind and polite towards each other.

Pupils have been taught the importance of respect and 'learning together' which is interwoven throughout all aspects of school life.

Pupils feel safe here. They have identified five adults who will listen and help them if they have a worry.

Relationships between staff and pupils are positive and nurturing across the school. Pupils feel happy here because adults make learning fun.

Pupils' behaviour across the school is exemplary.

Staff have high expectations for all pupils. Pupils achieve highly across a range of subjects. Attendance remains a... priority for the school.

Leaders are taking appropriate action to ensure that attendance remains high.

There are a number of opportunities for pupils to take on roles of responsibility. For example, lunchtime monitors help pupils in the dining hall.

Pupils are proud of their roles because they understand the value of helping others.

Pupils speak positively about the range of enrichment activities on offer. Pupils in the choir were given the opportunity to visit Cambridge University and will be performing at St Paul's Cathedral.

These experiences help pupils to develop their talents and pursue their interests.

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

The school has a meticulously well-planned curriculum in place. Leaders have identified the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember from Reception to Year 6.

Teachers expertly explain new content and emphasise important vocabulary that pupils need to know. For example, pupils in Year 4 confidently describe a science investigation using vocabulary such as, 'vibration', 'decibels' and 'volume'. Teachers check that pupils have understood new content before moving on.

This means that pupils build detailed knowledge across a range of subjects.

The reading curriculum is given priority here. Pupils have regular opportunities to visit the school library.

Carefully chosen authors share their books with pupils through assemblies and pupils are read aloud to daily. Pupils read widely and often because leaders prioritise reading for pleasure which starts in the early years. For example, children in Reception listen attentively to familiar stories, such as 'Jack and the beanstalk' which are delivered with enthusiasm.

The children are very curious to learn all about Jack and the giant.Teachers and other adults are experts at teaching early reading. They have received effective training so that the phonics programme is taught consistently.

Children in Reception are taught to read right from the start of the Reception Year. The school wants all pupils to read fluently and without delay. Pupils regularly revisit previously taught letters and sounds, which they recall securely.

Effective support is in place for those pupils who need help to keep up. Books are carefully matched to the sounds that pupils have been taught. As a result, pupils read with developing fluency.

Leaders are extremely ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND are effectively and accurately identified as early as possible.

These pupils achieve well because leaders and teachers understand their needs and make appropriate adaptations to teaching.Pupils across the school are highly motivated and show excellent attitudes to their learning. Pupils are well-behaved during lessons and social times.

Routines are firmly established, starting from the early years. Learning is not interrupted by inappropriate behaviour.The personal, social, health and economic education curriculum is very well structured.

Pupils show high levels of respect for people who may be different from themselves. This is because pupils learn about the lives of others from different backgrounds. For example, pupils in Year 6 explained how proud they are to learn about an engineer from Malawi who built a wind turbine to help the people of his country.

Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to debate and consider the views of others. For example, pupils discuss whether possessions are more important than people. They also debate, according to science and religion, how creation occurred.

These experiences help pupils to develop their own ideas and share their opinions.Pupils have been taught that families may look different. They also learn about protected characteristics and consent in an age-appropriate manner.

Pupils are taught about the possible risks they may encounter both within and beyond the school. They know how to stay safe online, for example, not to share personal information when online.Governors know what the school does well.

They have effective processes in place to ensure pupils achieve well and 'learn and grow together through prayer, belief and love'. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the actions leaders take to consider their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.