St Anne's Fulshaw C of E Primary School

St Anne's Fulshaw C of E Primary School Nursery Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5JQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils achieve well. Most pupils make good progress as they move through the school. The more able pupils do particularly well.  The school is exceptionally well led by a headteacher who knows her school well and who is committed to providing the best possible educational experience for the pupils in her care.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. This supports their personal development.  The governing body has an accurate view of how well the school is doing. They are well informed and are well placed to challenge the school in order to secure continued improvement.  The quality of teaching is good overall, which supports the good progress pupils make.  Pupils behave very well. They feel very safe in the school with its warm and caring family environment. The strong emphasis on inclusion means that pupils’ emotional and learning needs are met extremely well.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school provides very high levels of care and support, which enables pupils to overcome any difficulties they have and make good progress. The strong commitment to every child’s development ensures that additional support is well targeted.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers with responsibility for leading subjects are not developing their areas of responsibility with enough urgency. They are not monitoring quality sufficiently rigorously to enable them to support improvement.  Although the quality of teaching is good overall, there are some inconsistencies in how well lessons are planned, which inhibits pupils’ learning.  Teachers do not always check that pupils have acted on the advice they have been given when books are marked. As a result, errors do re-occur.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed all six teachers in the school. In total, nine lessons were observed, including phonics (the sounds that letters make) sessions. An assembly was also observed, as well as an intervention session where pupils were developing their speaking and listening skills. Three of these lessons were joint observations with the headteacher, who was also observed reporting back to teachers on the quality of their teaching and learning.  The inspector spoke to teachers as well as members of the governing body. He also heard some pupils read and talked to them about their reading habits. In addition, formal and informal discussions were held with pupils.  A telephone discussion was held with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector observed the work of the school and looked at a range of evidence, including pupils’ work. A range of documents was scrutinised, including information relating to the

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Information about this inspection

school’s pupil premium (additional government funding), teachers’ performance, safeguarding procedures, minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s improvement plan, monitoring and evaluation records and the data tracking pupils’ progress.  The inspector analysed the 39 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) completed by parents and carers. The inspector also took account of the school’s analysis of information gathered through their own survey of parents and carers. The questionnaires completed by nine members of staff were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Leszek Iwaskow, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average size primary school. There are more girls than boys in most year groups.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  About three quarters of the pupils live locally, some of the others travel considerable distances to get to school.  The percentage of pupils known to be entitled to pupil premium (additional government funding in local authority care, those from services families and those known to be eligible for free school meals) is close to the national average.  Approximately five percent of pupils are in the early stages of learning English.  The proportion of pupils with specific learning difficulties has increased and is now above the national average.  Unusually high numbers of pupils join the school after the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is partly due to short-term employment locally and the school’s reputation for working with vulnerable families and pupils. The profile of the intake is also changing and several pupils

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Information about this school

have multiple needs.  The number of pupils in some year groups is very small.  There is an after-school club run by the school.  The school has gained the Eco-schools silver award, the Inclusion Quality mark, the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark and the National School Games silver kitemark. In addition, the school is a Royal Horticultural Society Partner school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently good or better by:  making sure that all lessons are well planned and that the activities are clear and build on pupils’ learning  following up and checking that pupils have corrected their mistakes and acted on the advice offered by their teachers, so that errors are not repeated.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of subject leadership by:  ensuring that subject leaders monitor the quality of the work in their area of responsibility to enable them to identify what is being taught well and where improvement is necessary  making use of the training and advice offered by the various subject associations to maintain and enhance their own expertise and thereby enable them to offer good advice to their colleagues about how to improve further their classroom planning and practice.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 This is a complex school. It educates and cares for a very broad range of pupils. A minority of children start in the Reception class with a range of skills and knowledge in line with those expected for their age, a majority are further behind in their development with some well below. This varies from year to year because of the small cohort size.  Whatever their starting points, children in the Reception class make good progress and the majority reach at least expected levels by the end of the year. A few reach above average levels in some aspects of their learning. Children find great enjoyment in learning though the wide range of interesting and often practical activities provided.  Pupils continue to make good progress, in most of their subjects, as they move through the school with results at the end of Key Stage 1 usually above those nationally.  At Key Stage 2, results are variable and depend very much on the composition of the cohort.

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The achievement of pupils is good

They have shown a decline over the last few years but generally remain above or close to the national average. This reflects good progress for the majority of pupils since an increasing number have complex emotional or personal issues which have interrupted their education or they have joined the school more recently. The more able pupils do particularly well and reach higher levels.  The school has identified that a small number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals and who also have specific learning needs make less progress than their peers. Targeted support and effective use of funding provided through the pupil premium initiative has started to address this issue. The school’s monitoring clearly shows that most of these pupils and other vulnerable pupils are now making much stronger progress than previously.  Pupils’ reading skills are often weak when they start school. As a result, the school continues

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The achievement of pupils is good

phonics teaching right through the school. Younger pupils use their knowledge of letters and the sounds they make to help them recognise new words. In the recent national test at the end of Year 1, they did well and attained results in line with the national average.  Booster sessions and ‘Talking Partners’ strategies are used to promote reading and encourage speaking and listening for those pupils who need support or have special educational needs. These are having a positive impact on improving pupils’ reading and communication skills, which is encouraging them to participate more actively in lessons.  The school’s accurate monitoring of pupils’ progress also shows that improved learning and good progress is being maintained. These checks also initiate targeted help to those who need it most. This reflects the school’s strong commitment to inclusion and providing equal opportunities for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good overall. During the inspection, the majority of the teaching observed was good or outstanding. However, in a minority of lessons the teaching is less than good. High quality writing and other work was seen in books where lessons were well planned and delivered.  The good and outstanding lessons had a well-defined structure with the teacher clear about the activities pupils were expected to complete. These were well matched to the abilities of the pupils and had an element of challenge which motivated the more able pupils but also stretched the less able without discouraging their participation. Most of all, the character, energy and enthusiasm of the teacher shone through and engaged the pupils and motivated them into wanting to learn.  In one outstanding lesson in the lower school, the teacher was very aware that her pupils, many of whom were summer born, were still uncomfortable with more formal teaching. As a

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The quality of teaching is good

result, she ensured that her introduction to the lesson was short and sharp and linked to singing, which retained their interest and engagement. Afterwards, she was able to work with the least able group while other pupils were involved in several more linked activities. While some pupils worked on their own, others were well supported by teaching assistants, as appropriate.  In another outstanding lesson, pupils were planning a creative writing exercise. They first acted out a scene, stimulated by their reading of ‘Goodnight, Mr Tom’ and their recent history work on life during the Blitz. After a couple of minutes, the teacher stopped the lesson, identifying that the pupils were holding back and not putting their ‘heart and soul’ into the activity. She exemplified a scene in an energetic and animated way, which clarified the task for the pupils who approached it with renewed zeal and vigour. The teacher’s timely intervention stimulated

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The quality of teaching is good

and invigorated the resultant activity and helped the pupils produce some high quality writing.  Where teaching is sometimes less effective, teachers’ planning does not state clearly enough what pupils are going to learn and what activities they will complete. As a result, these lessons lack cohesion and pupils are either unclear about what they are meant to do or are restless as the teacher overcompensates with too much teacher talk.  In most lessons, support staff play an effective role in supporting individuals or groups of pupils. Where teaching is most effective, teachers plan and ensure that support staff are clear about their role and are well prepared in developing pupils’ learning. Support staff are particularly effective at supporting pupils who need additional help.  Pupils’ work is marked regularly. It is most detailed in literacy and mathematics books where pupils have clearly defined targets and points for improvement. However, this is not consistent

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The quality of teaching is good

for every piece of work. Also, pupils do not always act on the advice provided. For example, spelling mistakes may be corrected by the teacher, but pupils do not automatically learn from their mistakes as the same errors may appear in later work.  Pupils particularly enjoy lessons when they can develop their practical skills alongside their academic learning. In the vibrant lessons, pupils enjoy getting involved in a range of collaborative activities, which develop their creative and social skills well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school is a warm and caring place in which the children are welcomed and nurtured. There are very close links with St Anne’s Church, which is adjacent to the school and which pupils regularly attend every week for worship taken by one of the members of the church or a member of staff. Special services are prepared by the children for Harvest, Christmas, Easter and the end of year leavers’ service.  Pupils are polite and courteous. They get on well with each other and the adults who care for them. They are keen to learn. Teachers and teaching assistants establish very good relationships with their classes.  Pupils feel very safe in the school. They have a clear understanding of the different forms bullying can take. They are adamant that it rarely occurs and when it does it usually involves pupils new to the school who come with different values from their own. On these rare occasions, it is dealt with quickly and effectively. Safeguarding requirements are very secure.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance is well above the average and pupils are punctual. Pupils enjoy coming to the school because they are well looked after. Everyone is made to feel special and part of a small family. This was reflected in the playground where pupils mixed, played and enjoyed each other’s company. As one parent remarked, ‘The social interaction between pupils from different year groups at playtime is an unexpected, yet very positive attribute of the school. This has helped my child enjoy an active playtime more than if they were confined to their own year group. It made them feel part of the St Anne’s community from the beginning’.  Parents are almost unanimously positive about the school and consider St Anne’s to be, ‘a very special place’. The care and support for all pupils, especially for those with learning difficulties or special educational needs is exemplary.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is exceptionally well led by a headteacher who is determined to provide the best educational experience and care for all of the pupils in her charge. She knows her school and each individual pupil very well. The monitoring of pupils’ progress is detailed and extensive and clearly identifies those pupils who are doing well and those who need support to reach their full potential.  She regularly checks the quality of teaching. This enables her to manage teachers’ performance well, providing training and development as necessary to fit with the school’s priorities. For example, pay progression is clearly linked to the need to ensure that those small groups of vulnerable pupils succeed and do not fall behind in their work.  The local authority provides light touch support, although the school does utilise the training on offer when it has been identified as a need.  Self-evaluation is very accurate and has provided clear evidence for the need to improve

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The leadership and management are good

certain aspects of provision in order for the school to become outstanding. For example, the school development plan identifies the need to review the quality of subjects as part of a rolling programme of improvement as well as the need to follow up marking and check that pupils have acted on the advice offered.  This is a small school and not everything can be tackled at once. The school has prioritised what is important to improve the quality of education provided for the pupils. Effective monitoring and intervention systems are now in place and pupils are benefitting from these. Attention is now being focussed on the role of subject leaders to ensure they become more accountable for monitoring and improving their areas of responsibility.  The creative curriculum provides some high quality experiences for pupils. For example, using a central theme, such as the Second World War, across different subjects has provided a rich

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The leadership and management are good

mix of out of school experiences linked to practical work and research in the classroom. This has stimulated some exceptional work notably across literacy and history. However, some units of work are not of the same high quality. Currently, subject leaders do not provide sufficient guidance to ensure there is progression across the school in learning in subjects other than literacy and mathematics.  Pupils’ learning is enriched by visits to places linked to their learning in lessons. Visits to Chester, the Bollin Valley, the Lowry Theatre and museums in Manchester have provided a rich tapestry of experiences, which pupils have enjoyed and benefited from. The link with a school in Manchester where all pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds has encouraged and developed pupils’ appreciation of different cultures. As yet, the school has not established links with a school abroad. Pupils also have good opportunities to play musical instruments and to

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The leadership and management are good

learn German, with teaching provided by the local high school.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is also promoted well through these visits and outside school experiences. For example, when visiting the Imperial War Museum (North) the school encouraged grandparents and older residents to come on the visit rather than parents so that they could share their own first-hand experiences directly with the pupils. Equally, a visit to the air-raid shelters in Stockport and their study of evacuees and rationing enabled them to begin to understand about hardship and the impact of conflict on the lives of people and children like themselves.  The governance of the school:  There have been significant changes to the governing body in recent years. The influx of new governors has provided a fresh vibrancy and sense of purpose. Governors have a much higher profile and are seen regularly around the school. Recently, each one has been

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The leadership and management are good

allocated a specific responsibility for a subject and aspect of the school’s work. They are kept well informed by the headteacher of the work of the school and the priorities for improvement. As a result, they are able to support and challenge the school in order to secure continued improvement. They are kept informed about the outcomes of staff performance management and have monitored the performance of the headteacher. They approved the decision to increase the additional teaching assistant support provided through the pupil premium funding and through their monitoring they are aware that this is having a positive impact on raising achievement. The after-school club is managed well and provides a safe and stimulating environment for those pupils who attend. The governors ensure they are fully up to date on training and financial and other statutory duties. For instance, safeguarding requirements are fully met.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 111287 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 403144

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 131 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Karen Dickinson Headteacher Clare Daniel Date of previous school inspection 10 January 2008 Telephone number 01625 523536 Fax number 01625 522837 Email address head@stannesfulshawce.cheshire.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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,

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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