St Anne's CofE Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 28–29 May 2012 Inspection number 381320 St Anne’s CofE Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 131238 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 381320 Inspection dates 28–29 May 2012 Lead inspector Mike Capper

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 216 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Underwood Headteacher Adrian Shepherd Date of previous school inspection 12 October 2006 School address London Road Godmanchester Huntingdon PE29 2WW Telephone number 01480 375300 Fax number 01480 375301 Email address office@stannes.cambs.sch.uk 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 other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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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.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors observed 20 lessons taught by eight teachers. Discussions were held with parents and carers at the start of the school day, and with members of the governing body, staff and groups of pupils. Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at school documentation including teachers’ planning, assessment information, safeguarding policies and samples of pupils’ work. Responses to the 112 questionnaires from parents and carers, 98 from pupils and 28 from members of staff were analysed.

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Information about the school

Most pupils come to this average-sized primary school from the local community. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly average. The vast majority of the pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in two Reception classes. The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

The on-site breakfast club and after-school club are managed by the governing body. Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed and took up post in April 2010. 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 satisfactory school. Leaders have taken decisive action in response to a decline in pupils’ attainment and it is now improving. The school is not yet good because monitoring systems are not ensuring that teaching and learning are always good enough to promote consistently good achievement and behaviour in all year groups. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where attainment is rising sharply. Attainment by the end of Year 6 is broadly average, reflecting satisfactory progress over time. Pupils make the best progress in reading, because skills are taught systematically and they have good opportunities to read to adults.

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Key findings

 Although there is some good teaching across the school, too much remains satisfactory. While most teachers plan interesting activities that motivate pupils well, especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage, there are some occasions when teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 does not meet pupils’ differing needs well enough. Marking and the use of targets vary in quality, and this means that not all pupils know how to improve their work.

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Key findings

 Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. They behave sensibly most of the time and have positive attitudes towards learning but are occasionally inattentive in lessons, especially in Year 6, where behaviour is not always managed well enough.

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Key findings

 The management of performance and the leadership of teaching are satisfactory. Leaders are successfully tackling the significant areas of underachievement found when the headteacher first took up post in April 2010, and they are focusing on the right priorities to move things forward more quickly. They have already improved pupils’ learning so that those who were 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

underachieving are back on track to make at least satisfactory progress. Monitoring is thorough but not all weaknesses are followed up sufficiently rigorously to ensure rapid improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By April 2013, improve the quality of teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 from satisfactory to good by:  ensuring that teachers use assessment information to always pitch work at the right level for all pupils  ensuring that all teachers use marking and targets effectively to help pupils understand how to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By April 2013, strengthen the impact of leadership and management by:  ensuring that any weaknesses identified are followed up quickly to check that they are being tackled well enough  monitoring initiatives with greater rigour to ensure that they are embedded across the school and are being enacted consistently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By December 2012, improve pupils’ behaviour so that it is consistently good or better by:  ensuring that teachers only accept good behaviour from pupils, especially in Year 6  ensuring that pupils do not have to sit for too long at the start of lessons.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ progress in lessons is variable across the school and achievement, while improving, is satisfactory overall. Parents and carers are especially positive about the progress of children in the Reception classes but some rightly feel that not all pupils do well enough in Key Stage 2.

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Achievement of pupils

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage learn new skills quickly in lessons. Most are working at the levels expected for their age when they start school, and attainment rises to above average by the end of the Reception year. This improved attainment is now beginning to filter through to the end of Key Stage 1. In a literacy lesson in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children quickly improved their writing skills because the teacher made expectations clear and used questioning well to guide improvement. Children make good progress when they are able to explore their own ideas, showing good perseverance when, for example, counting how many cups of water it takes to fill a large container.

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Achievement of pupils

In Key Stages 1 and 2, attainment is broadly average but it is rising following implementation of recent successful strategies by the headteacher and other senior 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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Achievement of pupils

leaders to improve the quality of teaching. Pupils’ progress in lessons is sometimes good but is typically satisfactory. In a Key Stage 2 literacy lesson, pupils steadily improved their use of sentences to create an atmosphere in their writing, but not all worked quickly enough, slowing the pace of learning. In a numeracy lesson in Year 6, pupils’ understanding of how to estimate weights and solve problems improved too slowly because skills were not introduced systematically enough and not all were sufficiently challenged. Where pupils’ progress in lessons is good, work is exciting and practical. For example, in a Key Stage 1 lesson pupils enthusiastically worked outside as they explored different ways of measuring weight, distance and capacity, rapidly improving how well they could estimate.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ attainment in reading is broadly average by the end of Year 2 and rises to above average by the end of Year 6. This represents good progress. Good teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 helps pupils to develop good reading skills. In Key Stage 2, pupils read regularly at home and at school, and those who have fallen behind are given extra support that enables them to close the gap successfully with their peers by the time they leave the school.

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Achievement of pupils

Recent improvements mean that there are no longer significant differences between the progress of boys and girls, or between other groups. The progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is satisfactory and they improve their skills steadily. The best progress is made in social development due to the effectiveness of out-of-lesson support in activities such as social skills groups in the Early Years Foundation Stage and the ‘sensory integration group’.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is improving quickly, but there are still inconsistencies in its quality across the school. Most parents and carers feel that the quality of teaching is good, although some were right to raise concerns about inconsistencies in provision in Key Stage 2.

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Quality of teaching

Across the school, appropriate curriculum planning ensures that new skills are introduced systematically. Reading skills are taught especially well because progression is particularly clearly mapped out. Teaching is consistently good in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where teachers and adults plan interesting work both indoors and outdoors that is well matched to differing needs. In Key Stages 1 and 2, teachers work hard to make learning exciting. They make good use of visits and visitors to enrich the curriculum and to bring subjects alive. For example, pupils in Year 1 were keen to write because their work was linked to a visit to a local park. Teaching successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral and social and cultural development through activities such as a well-established link with a school in Uganda. Pupils who have clear targets find them helpful, but while there is some good practice it is not yet consistent across the school. There are also variations in

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Quality of teaching

the quality of teachers’ marking which means that it does not always provide enough guidance on the steps that pupils need to take to improve their work. 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

Teachers manage behaviour well most of the time, but in Year 6 their expectations are not always high enough. In the best lessons, behaviour is managed highly effectively and pupils are well motivated because there is good challenge for all. For example, in a Key Stage 2 literacy lesson where pupils were writing in the style of Betsy Byers, the teacher made clear the expectations for the different ability groups. The most able pupils were stretched, and well-considered support ensured that the least able kept up well. However, not all teachers make good use of assessment information to plan what to teach next, and so work does not always meet differing needs well enough. This is the main reason why too much teaching is satisfactory rather than good.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is satisfactory. They do well when supported in small groups but sometimes insufficient account is taken of their widely varying starting points.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

While most parents and carers, and pupils, are pleased with behaviour at the school, some are not. The inspection found that pupils are typically friendly, polite and courteous and they are kept safe. Most pupils have good attitudes to learning, working together sensibly in lessons and showing good respect for members of staff and each other. Behaviour is often good in lessons and around the school, but there are occasions, especially in Year 6, where the pace of learning slows because a few pupils do not pay enough attention to the teacher. In other year groups, a small number of pupils become fidgety when expected to sit on the carpet for too long at the start of lessons. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children are responsive, behave consistently well and are keen to talk about their work. Pupils enjoy the breakfast and after-school clubs. They play together happily at these times and are well cared for.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance is above average, reflecting pupils’ enjoyment of school. Pupils say that they like their work, with comments such as ‘It is fun’ and ‘We have lots of exciting things to do’ typically summing up their views. Most pupils, and their parents and carers, agree that they are kept safe. They say that instances of bullying of any kind are dealt with to their satisfaction. Inspection findings agreed that the school has effective procedures for discouraging and tackling all forms of bullying including internet safety and racism. Pupils with identified behavioural difficulties are supported sensitively and quickly improve their social skills, ensuing that they do not disturb the learning of others.

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Leadership and management

The leadership team has successfully demonstrated that it has the capacity to improve the school through the many initiatives already introduced to tackle the weaknesses found when the headteacher first took up post. Teamwork is strong and staff are working together well to ensure that initiatives are having a positive effect 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

on pupils’ achievement over time, especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The headteacher has greatly improved the use of performance data and this means that there is now a quicker response to any dips in pupils’ attainment. For example, leaders know from their data that not all pupils did well enough in mathematics last year. They have tackled this well by focusing more on the teaching of basic calculation skills and proving additional support to older pupils, successfully closing the attainment gap between groups of pupils.

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Leadership and management

Self-evaluation is accurate and is used successfully to ensure that development planning focuses on the most important priorities. Teachers’ performance management, as well as access to training courses, has helped to increase the amount of good teaching. The role of middle managers has been strengthened and they are now much more involved in monitoring provision than at the time of the previous inspection. Together with senior leaders they are ironing out the remaining inconsistencies in teaching, although they do not always follow up weaknesses or new initiatives with sufficient rigour to ensure consistency or enough improvement.

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Leadership and management

The school promotes equal opportunities and tackles discrimination competently. Pupils from different backgrounds get on well together and are able to take part in all activities. The school is doing the right things to eliminate remaining unevenness in learning and progress between classes.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is broad and balanced and successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils’ spiritual awareness is especially strong. Pupils enjoy taking part in assemblies and they talk very positively about the ‘power of prayer’.

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Leadership and management

The governing body is kept well informed by the headteacher and is providing increasingly good challenge and support to the school. It is very diligent in ensuring that safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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 latest 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

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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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.

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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 Anne’s CofE Primary School, Huntingdon, PE29 2WW

Thank you for being so welcoming and helpful when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you about your work and hearing some of you read. We found that your school is providing a satisfactory education. This means that it does some things well, but there are also some areas for improvement.

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Here are some of the things we liked most:

 you make good progress in the Reception class, where you are taught well  you said in discussions and in the questionnaire that you enjoy school, and we could see that you are happy and get on well together  we saw lots of good behaviour, especially at break times, but also some occasions when some of you did not listen well enough in lessons  you are kept safe and take good care of each other; all adults in school are caring, and they give you suitable help if you have worries  the school provides lots of interesting activities for you to take part in.

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Here are some of the things we liked most:

The school’s leaders are doing the right things to make it even better and are clear about what is not yet good enough. They know that there is not enough good teaching in Years 1 to 6 to ensure that your overall progress is good.

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What we have asked your school to do now:

 make sure you are always challenged well in all lessons, and help you to understand how to improve your work by making better use of marking and targets  check that where teaching could still be better this is followed up, and make sure that all the new ideas that have been introduced are applied equally well across the school  make sure your behaviour is always good by making expectations clearer and limiting the amount of time you spend on the carpet at the start of lessons. You can help with this by trying to listen more carefully when the teacher is talking.

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What we have asked your school to do now:

Mike Capper Lead inspector 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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