St Anthony's Catholic Primary School

Age group 3 – 11 Inspection date(s) 23 –24 February 2012 Inspection number 3 76473 St Anthony's Catholic Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 100852 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 376473 Inspection dates 23–24 February 2012 Lead inspector Najoud Ensaff

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary Aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 390 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Maurice Lyons Headteacher Stephen Owens Date of previous school inspection 12–13 December 2006 School address Etherow Street Dulwich London SE22 0LA Telephone number 020 86936852 Fax number 020 86932958 Email address school@stanthonys.southwark.sch.uk Age group 3 – 11 Inspection date(s) 23 –24 February 2012 Inspection number 3 76473 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and

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other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Thirty one lessons or part- lessons were observed; 18 teachers were seen, supported by teaching assistants. Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, as well as members of the governing body. Inspectors observed pupils at work and play, listened to them read, and spoke to them about their experiences at school and about their learning.

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Introduction

Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, and looked at lesson planning, pupils’ books, the school’s evaluation documents, the improvement plan, local authority reports, records relating to safeguarding, the monitoring of teaching, and the tracking of different pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour. They looked at questionnaires returned by 158 parents and carers, and questionnaires completed by staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

St Anthony's Catholic Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average, as is the percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average. Of these, most relate to specific and moderate learning difficulties or behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about the school

One assistant headteacher took up her role on the leadership team in November 2011. The school is oversubscribed and the number on roll has increased since the last inspection. It is currently undergoing further expansion and building work. The school has won a number of awards, including Basic Skills Quality Mark and Healthy Schools Award. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. There is an after- school club on site which is managed by the governing body. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a good school. The school is a happy, friendly place where staff and pupils interact harmoniously and where pupils are known as individuals. It is not yet an outstanding school because teaching and the use of assessment are good, as opposed to outstanding.  Relative weaknesses in the attainment of those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those for whom English is an additional language, and disabled pupils and those with special educational needs mean that their achievement, particularly in mathematics, is less strong than that of other pupils in the school. Pupils enter the Nursery with skills above the levels expected for their age. They make good progress across the Early Years Foundation Stage and enter Key Stage 1 with skills well above expected the expected levels. Attainment is well-above average at the end of Key Stage 2, with the proportion of pupils reaching above-average levels well above the

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Key findings

norm.  Behaviour in lessons and around the school is exceptional. Pupils are extremely polite and considerate and the school’s systems for managing behaviour are good. Pupils have very few concerns about bullying because they say it is rare and is dealt with effectively.  Teaching is good, although there is some variability between and across years, and with some outstanding and satisfactory teaching; overall, pupils make good progress throughout the school. Marking is generally good and pupils are guided well, particularly in English, but some individual target setting is inconsistent and some pupils are not always fully aware of how to make improvements.  Leaders and managers monitor teaching well. They provide useful feedback to teachers, which has resulted in individual teachers’ performance improving and teaching that is good overall. Most parents, carers, and staff are very supportive of the school; most pupils are very happy to attend.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching to outstanding by  ensuring that consistently teachers match work more closely to the individual needs of pupils.  making lessons exciting and fully engaging pupils in their learning.  Refine the use of assessment and tracking procedures so that all staff have a consistent and accurate view of pupils’ progress.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities above the levels expected for their age. The children’s skills in solving problems, reasoning, and numeracy, as well as their communication, literacy and language skills, are developed well so that, during the inspection, children in the Nursery were seen counting up to 10 confidently and were able to communicate well, with those in Reception Year able to read and sound out simple words. In one Nursery lesson, children were seen participating keenly in a role play activity which fired their imaginations and helped to develop their creative skills. Children demonstrate very positive attitudes to learning and well-organised indoor and popular outdoor areas provide a positive environment for children. This helps them to develop well in their creative, personal and social skills. Children learn well in the Early Years Foundation Stage, so that they enter Key Stage 1 well above the expected levels, particularly in

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Achievement of pupils

reading, writing, and mathematics, and with very good social and creative skills upon which to build.

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Achievement of pupils

The vast majority of parents and carers believe their children are making good progress at the school. The inspection team found teaching to be good because, from their starting points on entry to the school, pupils leave with attainment in mathematics, reading, and writing that is well above average, so that achievement is good across the school. The Basic Skills award recognises the school’s success.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress in lessons for all pupils regardless of their backgrounds, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, ranges from some that is satisfactory to that which is outstanding. It is good overall. The gaps between the performance of different groups are being closed as a result of focused support from teaching assistants and teachers in lessons and growing links between the school and external agencies. Pupils are exceptionally well behaved and this makes a very strong contribution to their good learning. They respond well to tasks, demonstrating pride in their achievements and rising well to challenges. In the lessons where pupils made outstanding progress, learning was fun, so that pupils were extremely well engaged, the pace was brisk and work was matched to their needs very well. This is because teachers had the highest expectations, they showed a great deal of care and consideration, made clear the purpose of an activity and challenged learners so

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Achievement of pupils

that pupils knew exactly what it was they were learning and why and were able to Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good overall, but, at times, inconsistent. Most teaching is good, some is outstanding and a small minority only satisfactory. Some teaching in all key stages lacks sufficient challenge to promote exceptional learning, or is not tailored sufficiently well to the individual needs of learners. While teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is generally good, its quality is variable. Teachers’ high expectations enable most pupils to make good progress, with a curriculum that matches most pupils’ needs well and which is helping to stimulate their creativity well.

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Quality of teaching

The most effective teaching was seen in lessons where learning was enjoyable and resources, including information and communication technology, were used creatively, resulting in pupils who were extremely well motivated and excited about learning. For example, pupils in Year 1 were very keen to demonstrate their ability to link letters to sounds when asked to use a colourful prop to ‘splat’ sounds on an interactive white board. Year 6 pupils enjoyed discussing why door handles should or should not be made of chocolate, whilst those in Year 3 enjoyed the opportunity to take part in an activity on a computer to reinforce their science learning. These creative and interactive opportunities contribute well to pupils’ spiritual and social development. Religious education lessons and others based around languages and different countries and cultures, such as those that take place in ‘One World Week’, also help to develop pupils’ moral and cultural understanding.

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Quality of teaching

Effective and helpful support by teaching assistants for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs helps them to make progress generally in line with their peers, but inconsistencies in individual target setting mean that, sometimes, groups of learners, including those who speak English as an additional language, those eligible for free school meals, and a few with special educational needs, are not guided as effectively as possible at all times. The school is aware of these weaknesses and has sought to tackle them by amending its curriculum and increasing the diversity of its staff, as well as offering focused support to pupils in lessons. These actions are beginning to impact positively in terms of these groups’ performance so that gaps are starting to close.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils’ books are generally marked very well, with pupils being given useful suggestions about how to improve. The best marking showed teachers marking work regularly and accurately and providing pupils with the opportunity to respond to their comments, as well as pupils assessing their own and others’ learning in a productive way. Pupils have a good idea about how well they are doing and almost all believe that teachers explain to them how they can improve their work.

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Quality of teaching

The vast majority of parents and carers believe their children are taught well and that their children’s individual needs are met. Inspectors found that, over time, Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

teaching results in good progress and that, overall, teaching is good throughout the school. They also found that, whilst most pupil’s needs are met, in a few lessons, less-effective support and attention to individual needs of learners prevents some from making even better progress.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

This is a happy school where a culture of spiritual development and mutual respect is fostered. Almost all parents, carers, pupils, and staff are very positive about behaviour at the school, with many parents and carers praising the caring attitudes of individual staff and the warm, cohesive, community atmosphere at the school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are extremely well behaved in lessons and around the school. The common view is that this has long been the case. They are courteous and considerate of each other and other adults, behaving with grace and humility.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school’s systems for managing behaviour are good, with some staff demonstrating exceptional care, with very detailed class notes and records being maintained and timely, appropriate actions being taken. A very small number of parents and carers raised concerns regarding bullying. Pupils reported that they get on very well together at school, that incidences of any form of bullying are very rare and that staff deal effectively with them. Pupils also understand about different types of bullying, such as racism and name calling, and are acutely aware of how to keep safe.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Overall, pupils report that they feel very safe and their parents and carers agree. One parent wrote of her child being ‘very well looked after’; another talked of the ‘loving and caring teachers’, while another referred to her children ‘thriving’ at the school. Pupils are very punctual to school and their attendance is above average.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are good. Leaders have successfully tackled the first area for improvement from the last inspection report so that subject coordinators now evaluate and monitor subjects well and provide detailed reports to the governing body. They have also addressed the second action point from the previous inspection by installing a computer suite and timetabling information and communication technology (ICT) lessons for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils. However, whilst the curriculum offers sufficient flexibility for teachers to incorporate ICT into any of their lessons, only a few teachers do so regularly, so that most ICT skills are usually only developed in discrete lessons.

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Leadership and management

A new management structure has been put in place since the last inspection so that leadership has become more distributed and this, alongside improving achievement, better progress rates, better teaching, sustained outstanding behaviour, and Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

increased involvement of the highly skilled governing body, means that the school’s capacity for sustained improvement is good. Leaders have provided teachers with training in a number of areas, including behaviour, teaching boys and in reading, and these have contributed to sustained progress and above-average attainment in reading and improved attainment in writing for boys, as well as the exceptional behaviour shown by all pupils during the inspection. The school’s self-evaluation is accurate and leaders and managers’ monitoring of teaching is effective and evaluative. Engagement with parents and carers is generally good. A very small number of parents and carers reported that their concerns were not always listened to. Inspectors found that systems for responding to concerns are good and the vast majority of concerns are handled very well. A very few parents and carers feel that the school’s response has been less than sensitive. This has been drawn

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Leadership and management

anonymously to leaders and managers’ attention and senior managers are considering how this can be avoided in future.

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Leadership and management

The governing body has a clear view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and provides appropriate challenge to school leaders. It, along with other leaders and managers, makes adequate arrangements for safeguarding and promotes equal opportunities satisfactorily and tackles discrimination well. This is because actions taken by the school to address relative weaknesses in the attainment of a few pupils from different groups have only just started to impact on their learning and is not yet fully reflected in their attainment. Pupils report that any form of discrimination is not tolerated.

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Leadership and management

The school’s curriculum is good. A recent curriculum review is impacting well on classroom practice, with some teachers now teaching in a much more cross- curricular way, so that, for example, in a Year 3 lesson, pupils were excited to work on a carousel of activities involving reading, writing, science, and history. The curriculum also offers good creative opportunities for pupils to develop strong spiritual and social skills, with several talking highly of their annual ‘Bassistry’ experiences and others referring to exciting opportunities to take on drama roles as Victorian characters. Pupils’ social and moral development is promoted well through the curriculum, with pupils working well together in lessons and particularly in the school’s annual ‘Friendship’ week. Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of different religions and cultures and their moral and spiritual development is promoted well through religious studies lessons, assemblies, and occasions when they are

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Leadership and management

given opportunities to reflect about their place in the world and to give thanks to God.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the la test published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning. This letter is provided for the school, parents and carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, London SE22 0LA

We enjoyed coming to visit your school, watching you in lessons and talking to you. Thank you for being so polite, friendly and helpful during our visit. Your school provides you with a good education.

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Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, London SE22 0LA

These are the best things about your school.

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Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, London SE22 0LA

 You behave extremely well and this helps you to learn well.  Your school is a friendly, happy school.  You leave school with well above-average skills in reading, writing and mathematics.  Almost all of you enjoy attending school.  Many of you think learning is fun.  Teachers are committed and caring.  You enjoy good opportunities to experience new things in special curriculum weeks.

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Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, London SE22 0LA

These are the things we have asked your school to do to make it even better.

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Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, London SE22 0LA

 Make sure that teachers always give you work that is interesting and appropriate for your ability or need and that will help you to make the best possible progress.  Improve the way everyone at your school assesses and tracks your progress so that all staff have a similar and clear idea about your work.

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Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, London SE22 0LA

You can all help by talking to the teacher when you do not understand how to improve your work. We hope that these points will help you and your school to move forward.

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Inspection of St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, London SE22 0LA

Najoud Ensaff Lead inspector (on behalf of the inspection team) procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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