St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School

School report St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School Hylton Road, Pennywell, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR4 9AA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Achievement is good in all subjects and it is outstanding in English. Pupils make excellent progress in reading and writing so that by the time they reach the end of Year 6 their attainment is above average. Standards in English and mathematics have improved since the last inspection.  Pupils are exceptionally well-behaved in lessons and around the school. They are polite and cooperative towards each other and adults. They enjoy school and are very proud of their recent anti-bullying award. Pupils feel safe and are safe.  Teaching is good with some that is outstanding. Literacy is particularly well taught because teachers use their excellent subject knowledge to plan interesting activities and consistently challenge all pupils to produce work of a high standard.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher are a dynamic team who have high expectations. Their drive and enthusiasm are shared by

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

other leaders and governors and pervade the school. There are excellent systems in place to check the quality of teaching so that it has improved rapidly since the last inspection.  The school carefully tracks the progress of all pupils in English and mathematics. The information from this system is used extremely well to identify any pupils who may be underachieving and provide additional teaching so that all pupils make good progress.  The curriculum is interesting and vibrant with frequent enrichment opportunities. It makes an excellent contribution to the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching is more often good than it is outstanding. Learning activities are not always inspiring or open enough to allow pupils to investigate and solve problems for themselves.  Whilst achievement is outstanding in English, it is good in other subjects. This is because pupils are not always moved on to higher levels of work quickly enough so that they can make even more rapid progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons taught by nine teachers as well as making shorter visits to lessons to look at pupils’ work. Some of these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Inspectors listened to pupils in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6 read.  There were insufficient responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) so that no results were available. An inspector spoke to a number of parents at the start of the school day and took the school’s own recent survey of parents’ views into account.  Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The school’s improvement plan and records of achievement, teaching, behaviour and safeguarding were examined.  Inspectors observed behaviour in and out of lessons and discussed behaviour, bullying and teaching with groups of pupils.  Eighteen staff submitted their views via a questionnaire and inspectors took these into account.

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Inspection team

Christine Cottam, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Barbara Redhead Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St. Anne’s is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is higher than average.  The school meets the current floor standards, which set the government’s minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has recently gained the Anti-Bullying Gold Chartermark. It also holds the Investors in People and Basic Skills awards.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that the majority is outstanding by:  planning more learning activities that inspire and motivate pupils  providing open-ended tasks that allow pupils to investigate and solve problems in order to further develop their ability to learn independently  ensuring teachers ask questions that expect pupils to think more deeply and explain their reasoning  involving more pupils in answering questions during whole-class discussions.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards so that pupils’ progress in other subjects is as rapid as it is in English by:  providing more challenge for higher-ability pupils so that they make even better progress, in particular by moving pupils on more quickly in mathematics lessons  ensuring pupils have opportunities to respond to teachers’ marking in subjects such as geography, history and science  planning learning activities, in particular in science, history and geography, that are better matched to the differing needs and abilities of pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Learning and progress in lessons is good. Teachers have high expectations and inspire pupils to produce work of a good standard for their age. This is particularly the case in the vast majority of English lessons.  Children start school in Nursery with skills and abilities below those usually found for their age. They make good progress throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage, particularly in their language and literacy skills.  Achievement in English is outstanding. Attainment has risen since the last inspection so that the vast majority of pupils have reached expected standards by the time they leave at the end of Year 6 and almost half have reached higher than average levels.  Pupils read widely and have a good knowledge of books and authors. Their enthusiasm is fired by excellent enrichment activities such as authors visiting the school and visits to the theatre.  The quality of pupils’ writing is excellent. Pupils are able to organise their writing well, write for a

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The achievement of pupils is good

range of different purposes using interesting vocabulary, and spell and punctuate their work correctly. For example, pupils in Year 6 have researched famous people from the 1960s, written a comprehensive biography and then redrafted this into an autobiography by changing the grammatical structure and improving the vocabulary used.  Handwriting is taught regularly so that presentation is of a high standard.  Achievement in mathematics is good. Standards have improved since the last inspection and are now broadly average and continuing to improve. Pupils are developing a good mathematical understanding because they are given regular opportunities to apply their skills in other subjects.  Higher-ability pupils make excellent progress in reading and writing but are not always challenged enough in other subjects. In mathematics they are sometimes not moved on to more difficult work quickly enough.  In subjects such as science, geography and history, work is not always matched well enough to

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The achievement of pupils is good

the different abilities of pupils so that they can reach even higher standards.  Pupils who are eligible for free school meals are making excellent progress, although their attainment remains below those who are not eligible. This gap in attainment is closing rapidly. This is because the school is making good use of pupil premium funding to provide additional support to eligible pupils.  The achievement of pupils who are supported at school action, school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is good because their needs are clearly identified and staff support them well in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved since the last inspection and is good, with some that is outstanding. In the best examples teachers have high expectations, know exactly what they want to achieve in lessons and make sure that learning tasks are interesting and challenging.  Literacy teaching is particularly effective. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and plan activities that ensure pupils make rapid progress, particularly in their writing skills. For example, pupils in a Year 3 class received a letter from a famous author whose books they have been reading. They were excited by the prospect of writing their own replies and were able to use imaginative vocabulary to compose interesting letters.  Teachers accurately assess pupils’ work in English and use this information to plan activities that are matched well to the different needs of pupils so that all, including the most able, make at least good progress. Whilst planning in mathematics is good, sometimes pupils are not moved

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The quality of teaching is good

on quickly enough within lessons when it becomes apparent that they can already do the work. In other subjects the work set is sometimes the same, regardless of ability, so that pupils are not always able to reach higher standards.  Teachers mark all pupils’ work meticulously so that pupils know what they are expected to do to improve. English and mathematics books contain excellent examples of pupils making progress as a result of correcting their work in response to this marking. This does not happen quite as consistently in other subjects.  In the best lessons teachers ask questions to probe understanding so that the pace of learning can be accelerated as soon as pupils are ready. Sometimes the questions used are too simple and not enough pupils are involved in providing answers.  Pupils who are supported at school action, school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs make good progress because teachers plan work to match their needs and

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The quality of teaching is good

teaching assistants provide good in-class support.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils behave well in lessons because there is a purposeful atmosphere where they work hard to live up to their teachers’ high expectations. Pupils are kind, polite and thoughtful.  There are well-established and purposeful routines in the Early Years Foundation Stage so that children quickly develop their social skills and confidence. They thrive within an atmosphere of respect, care and trust.  Clear messages about the value of individuals, faith, friends and learning pervade the whole school and are at the heart of it. This makes an outstanding contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to their work. They take pride in the high quality of the work they produce in their books because their teachers expect them to do their very best.  Pupils are very proud of their work in gaining a gold anti-bullying award earlier this year. As a

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

result, they have an excellent knowledge of different forms of bullying and say that no bullying or racism is tolerated. Minor misbehaviour is dealt with effectively by pupils who are ‘playground pals’ or by staff. Parents are very happy with behaviour at the school and confirm that all staff are approachable.  Attendance is average. The school has good systems to deal with absence and, as a result, has significantly reduced the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent.  There are excellent systems in place to ensure the safety of pupils. Pupils have a good knowledge of how to stay safe, for example on the internet. They say they feel safe and are safe.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have high expectations and work exceptionally well as an enthusiastic team. They are well supported by other leaders and governors, who share their ambition to provide the very best education possible for all pupils. They have raised standards since the last inspection, demonstrating an excellent capacity to continue to improve.  There are excellent procedures in place to check the quality of teaching. Teachers are given regular and precise feedback so that they know exactly what they need to do to improve their performance and they are given good support to help them to do so. This has helped to improve the quality of teaching substantially since the last inspection.  The school has an accurate knowledge of its strengths and clear action plans in place to tackle any weaknesses. Leaders are relentless in their approach to driving improvements. For example,

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The leadership and management are outstanding

pupils now make excellent progress in writing as a result of the effectiveness of the school’s improvement actions.  The curriculum is well organised with excellent opportunities for pupils to apply their literacy and numeracy skills across subjects. There are a wide range of activities that make the curriculum more meaningful and many of these help pupils to develop an excellent understanding of other cultures; for example, recent work on ‘we are the children of the world’ links to all the major world faiths. Planning in subjects other than English and mathematics is not always matched well enough to the different abilities of pupils.  There are excellent relationships with parents and the wider community. Parents say they are kept very well informed and this is enhanced by a detailed and up-to-date website.  The school takes the safety of pupils seriously and has good systems in place that meet all

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The leadership and management are outstanding

safeguarding requirements.  There are effective partnerships with other schools and the local authority and this has been particularly effective in helping to develop the skills of subject leaders.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is highly supportive and discharges its duties well. All governors have a subject responsibility and meet regularly with individual leaders in the school to challenge achievement. Governors have set targets which expect all pupils to make good progress, regardless of their ability, and have made good use of funding, including the pupil premium, to achieve this. This, together with an absence of bullying or racism, demonstrates the governors’ commitment to promoting equality and tackling discrimination. Governors have set rigorous targets for the headteacher and use information about the quality of teaching to inform their decisions about pay rises for staff.

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 108843 Local authority Sunderland Inspection number 401018

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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 aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 223 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lawrence Brown Headteacher Christine Lynch Date of previous school inspection 2 December 2009 Telephone number 0191 5536860 Fax number 0191 5538682 Email address st.annes.primary@schools.sunderland.gov.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, please

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School details

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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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