St Anne's Catholic Primary School

School report St Anne’s Catholic Primary School Court Road, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 2PH

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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 Good 2 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 and make good progress. Attainment is securely above average by the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics.  Good teaching ensures that pupils improve their skills and knowledge quickly.  Teachers make learning exciting. Their enthusiasm means that pupils are well motivated.  Pupils behave well and feel safe. They leave school as well-adjusted, happy and confident individuals. They are proud of their school and are keen to do their best.  Strong leadership and management have ensured that the school has continued to improve since the previous inspection. There is more good teaching and pupils’ attainment is rising.  The headteacher is well supported by other leaders and by the governing body. They have a good understanding of what is going well and what still needs improving.  Activities such as ‘special weeks’ as well as numerous visit and clubs enrich learning and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

provide pupils with many memorable experiences.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 In Key Stage 2, girls do not make as rapid progress as boys in mathematics. Teachers do not always check girls’ understanding well enough because they sometimes allow boys to dominate discussion in numeracy lessons.  There are a few occasions when teachers give pupils work that is too hard or too easy.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 16 lessons, of which around half were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made some short visits to lessons.  Discussions were held with pupils, members of the governing body, members of staff and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the views of 115 parents and carers who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View. The inspectors also read letters from parents and carers and talked to some at the start of the school day.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, heard some pupils read, and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information about pupils’ learning and progress, planning and monitoring documents, the school development plan, records relating to behaviour and attendance, safeguarding information and health and safety documentation.  The inspectors analysed 37 questionnaires from staff.

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Inspection team

Mike Capper, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Matthew Klimcke Additional Inspector Kanwaljit Singh Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported through school action is broadly average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also broadly average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is much lower than that found in most schools. This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after.  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?

 Improve girls’ progress in mathematics in Key Stage 2 by ensuring that teachers do not allow boys to overly dominate discussions so that they can check more closely girls’ understanding and respond more quickly if they need support.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the amount of outstanding teaching by ensuring that work is never too hard or too easy for pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress across the school and attainment is consistently above average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. When children start school most are working at levels typical for their age. They make good progress in the Reception Year, especially in learning about phonics (letters and the sounds they make).  Pupils continue to make good progress in Key Stages 1 and 2, although girls do slightly less well than boys in mathematics. While all the girls spoken to during the inspection were very clear that they enjoyed mathematics, in Key Stage 2, they lack confidence and their numeracy skills improve more slowly than those of boys.  Across the school, pupils read widely for a range of purposes. They use their good spoken vocabulary to make their writing interesting, using increasingly complex spelling and punctuation as they get older.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school successfully promotes equality of opportunity most of the time, although just occasionally work is too hard or too easy for pupils, slowing progress. Nonetheless nearly half of the current Year 6 is already working at the higher Levels 5 and 6 in reading, writing and mathematics, reflecting the good progress of more-able pupils over time.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. They are given well-targeted support which helps them to learn quickly.  The number of pupils known to be eligible for additional government funding is too small to comment on their attainment without identifying them. Support for these pupils includes good quality additional help both in and out of lessons. Eligible pupils make consistently good or better progress, ensuring that the gap between their attainment and that of their classmates closes quickly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers get on well with their pupils and have good expectations of their behaviour. Consequently, time is used well and pupils are able to work without fear of failure. As one commented, ‘Sometimes we learn by making mistakes.’  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children are taught well. Work is planned carefully to develop new skills, with teachers taking good account of what children already know. Children are given good support, with adults intervening at just the right time to move their learning on when they are working in small groups or by themselves.  Early phonics skills are taught skilfully in the Reception classes and teaching in Key Stage 1 builds on this well. Teachers help pupils to learn new sounds quickly and then give them frequent opportunities to practise and reinforce them in a variety of interesting ways such as going outside to ‘chalk-write’ new words on the playground.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Across Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils improve skills quickly most of the time because teachers have high expectations of what they should achieve. Teachers challenge pupils to think deeply about what they are learning, for example through questioning, and they use their responses to correct errors and to introduce new ideas. However, in some numeracy lessons teachers allow boys to dominate discussions. As a result, teachers do not always pick up on girls’ misconceptions as soon as they arise so that they can be put right quickly and girls helped to build their confidence.  Well-targeted support is given to pupils who have been identified as needing extra help including disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning especially when working with groups in or out of lessons.  Recent work on improving the quality of feedback given to pupils has been highly successful,

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The quality of teaching is good

especially in English. Teachers give pupils very clear guidance about what they are doing well and the next steps in their learning. The good impact of this can be seen in the way that pupils take account of feedback in their next piece of work to improve it.  Teaching is not outstanding because there are a few occasions when work is too hard or too easy for pupils. When this happens, less-able pupils find it hard to complete their work and the more-able are not challenged well enough.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils, parents, carers and staff agree that behaviour is typically good and this is confirmed by school records which show that misbehaviour is very rare.  Pupils are proud of their school and have good attitudes towards learning. They concentrate well and frequently become engrossed in their work so that there is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in lessons. They try hard most of the time although just occasionally they do not take enough care to present their work neatly. In lessons, pupils support each other well, sharing ideas and celebrating each other’s successes.  The school promotes good relationships and tackles discrimination robustly. Pupils from different backgrounds get on together well. When moving around school, pupils are polite and courteous. They happily talk to visitors and help each other when they have a worry.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that very occasional bullying

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

or falling out is tackled quickly by teachers or other adults. Pupils have a good awareness of the different forms that bullying can take. For example, pupils are knowledgeable about how they can avoid danger when using the internet.  Activities such as cycling proficiency training and visits from outside groups ensure that pupils learn how to stay safe in the local community.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good leadership is ensuring that the school continues to improve quickly. The headteacher and senior leaders communicate their high expectations clearly to staff.  Leaders check provision carefully. Planning for improvement is based on a good understanding of the main priorities although this is not always reflected clearly in written development planning. This does not always show in enough detail how success in meeting targets is to be measured.  The school has a good track record for improving teaching. Leaders are doing the right things to iron out the few remaining inconsistencies. Teachers in charge of subjects or with responsibility for different year groups play a good part in this process. They are knowledgeable and skilled and provide good support to colleagues. In areas such as developing the quality of feedback given to pupils they have been instrumental in ensuring rapid improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The topics and subjects taught promote good progress in basic skills. Clubs and visits as well as ‘special weeks’ enrich learning. They are greatly enjoyed by pupils and make a good contribution to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They happily raise funds for those less fortunate than themselves and develop a good awareness of different cultures.  The school focuses well on encouraging healthy lifestyles and promoting pupils’ well-being. Pupils participate keenly in physical activity. Additional funding from the government to support school sports is used to employ a specialist teacher who works alongside class teachers. The impact of this is monitored carefully, and it is already increasing participation rates among pupils and improving the skills of teachers.  Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. The vetting of staff is very thorough.  The governance of the school:

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The leadership and management are good

 The well-trained governing body provides good support and challenge to other leaders. Governors are kept well informed by the headteacher but also have good arrangements to check things for themselves. For example, they regularly visit school to talk to staff, drop-in on lessons and to look in detail at data about pupils’ attainment and progress. This means that governors are clear about how well the school is performing in comparison with others and what still needs to be improved. They know how the school is improving teaching and support the headteacher well in tackling any underperformance. They ensure that only good teaching is rewarded financially. Governors check carefully how additional government funding is being used to ensure that the gap between the attainment of eligible pupils and others closes quickly.

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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 125219 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 444203

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 387 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Rowles Headteacher Chris Donovan Date of previous school inspection 1–2 July 2010 Telephone number 01737 350012 Fax number 01737 373589 Email address info@stannes-banstead.surrey.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 and 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

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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