St Anne's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School

St Anne's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington Sandy Lane, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 2AN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Since the previous inspection, pupils’ progress has not been consistently good and pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 has been below average.  Teaching over time has not been consistently good enough.  In mathematics, pupils lack opportunities to use their number skills well.  Some of the work that pupils are asked to do is not sufficiently challenging, especially for the most able pupils.  Marking is inconsistent and does not provide pupils with clear guidance about how to improve.  Teachers do not always deploy teaching assistants well enough.  Subject leaders are not effective in ensuring that teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility are of a good quality.

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The school has the following strengths

 Despite staffing disruptions, morale is high and the headteacher has taken steps to tackle areas of weakness, with clear signs of improvement emerging. However, the full impact of the actions taken has yet to be seen.  Children in the Reception classes make good progress and achieve well.  Pupils behave well and their above-average attendance shows that they enjoy school. They say they feel safe in school.  There is a good range of extra-curricular activities.  Governors have benefited from additional training and do challenge, as well as support, leaders in what they are doing. Inspection report: St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Accrington, 27–28 January 2015 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in all year groups. They also observed group work and listened to pupils reading. They observed pupils as they arrived for school and at breaks and lunchtimes.  The inspectors carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ work.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, staff and members of the governing body, and with a representative from the local authority.  A wide range of documentation was considered, including systems for tracking pupils’ progress, safeguarding arrangements, policies, a record of the leaders’ and managers’ lesson observations and pupils’ work in their books.  Pupils’ views of the school were gathered through informal discussions with individual pupils in lessons and at breaks and lunchtimes. Discussions were also held with representative groups of pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 and with parents.  Inspectors considered 39 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and responses to the staff

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Inspection team

Geoffrey Yates, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Williams Additional Inspector Inspection report: St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Accrington, 27–28 January 2015 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than most primary schools.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those supported through the pupil premium, is above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The Reception classes provide full-time early years education.  There have been disruptions in staffing since the previous inspection, including unavoidable absence of

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that all pupils make good progress and attain well by making sure that:  the work pupils are asked to do is set at the right level and is not too easy, especially for the most able pupils  pupils are given plenty of challenging opportunities to use their number skills well in solving mathematical problems  marking is effective in helping pupils to know what they need to do to improve their work and teachers make sure that pupils take notice of the comments made  teachers make the best possible use of teaching assistants in helping pupils to make good or better progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of subject leaders in making sure that the quality of what is taught and the quality of pupils’ learning in their curriculum areas of responsibility are both good or better throughout the school. Inspection report: St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Accrington, 27–28 January 2015 4 of 9

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher has a good understanding of what needs to be done to take the school back to being a good school and has taken action to tackle weaknesses, but the full impact of these actions has yet to be seen.  While staffing disruption has been a factor, subject leaders have not ensured that teaching and pupils’ achievement have continued to be good as identified at the last inspection.  Curriculum leadership requires improvement. Not enough has been done by middle leaders in making sure that pupils make good progress and teaching is consistently of a good quality in their areas of responsibility.  Systems and checks are in place to monitor pupils’ progress and are more rigorous in the current academic year than previously. They are beginning to have an impact in tackling underachievement.  The school ensures that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development helps to create a

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The leadership and management requires improvement

welcoming environment for pupils to learn in. It also helps them to understand the importance of good behaviour. Staff are very positive about the school and morale is high, despite changes in staffing.  The pupils have a strong sense of community; they show pride in their school as well as pride in their wider community. Staff work hard and effectively to develop pupils’ understanding of life in modern Britain and to foster good relations.  There are systems in place for managing teachers’ performance. The current year’s objectives for staff are linked closely to the school improvement plan and to national Teachers’ Standards. However, the impact of performance management is not yet fully evident in ensuring consistently good teaching and learning.  The school checks how well the additional pupil premium funding is being used. Through improvements in levels of support, the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school

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The leadership and management requires improvement

is narrowing.  The school promotes equality of opportunity well and does all it can to eliminate any type of discrimination.  The curriculum has been devised to stimulate and enthuse pupils and does capture pupils’ enthusiasm for learning. Activities such as French day in Year 3 allow pupils to enjoy learning and to develop a range of skills. However, there are too few opportunities for pupils to use their numeracy skills well in problem- solving activities.  The primary school sport funding is utilised to good effect. Through the funding more pupils are now taking part in a good range of sporting activities, including younger pupils, and staff have benefited from additional training.  The school meets statutory safeguarding requirements and arrangements are effective in keeping pupils safe.  The local authority has provided valuable support to the school, for example, additional staffing to help

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The leadership and management requires improvement

minimise the impact of staffing disruption. It is positive about the steps the school is now taking to address weaknesses.  The governance of the school:  The governing body carries out its duties effectively. It recognised that it needed to be more involved in leading and managing the school and governors have undergone additional training. As a result, governors are now more involved in holding the school to account as well as supporting what it does. For example, the standards committee is very aware of data about pupils’ performance and asks challenging questions about what is being done to improve pupils’ progress, how well the pupil premium funding is being used and how good the quality of teaching is across the school. Governors ensure that the systems to check the performance of teachers are thorough and understand what is done to both reward good teaching and tackle underperformance. The governing body has a good knowledge of how

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The leadership and management requires improvement

additional funding is used for the benefit of pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  In lessons, pupils mostly behave well and show positive attitudes to learning. Pupils say they like school and their teachers. The quality of singing and the effort put into it in a school act of worship demonstrated Inspection report: St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Accrington, 27–28 January 2015 5 of 9

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Behaviour

pupils’ enjoyment of school.  Pupils from different backgrounds get on well with each other. As one pupil of minority ethnic heritage said, ‘Everyone here is nice to each other.’  Pupils behave well around the school and in the playground. Occasionally, there are some incidents of inappropriate behaviour but these are dealt with swiftly.  Pupils are very polite and friendly and are willing to share their experiences about school. For example, one pupil said she felt ‘over the moon’ to be chosen as a school chaplain. There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to take on extra responsibilities.  Parents are mostly positive about pupils’ behaviour.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Record keeping and follow-ups with parents about safety issues, including minor bumps, are effective.  Pupils take great care of one another and try to ensure everyone is included at play. Pupils say that bullying does not take place and they have a good understanding of all forms it can take. Pupils are also aware of the potential dangers on the internet.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it is not good enough to ensure that pupils make good progress from their starting points. In the last two years, pupils have not made the progress they were capable of making and, in some age groups, this remains the case.  Sometimes the work pupils are asked to do is too easy, especially for the most able pupils.  Weaknesses in teaching, which still continue in some classes, have also included expectations not being high enough and missed opportunities to use marking well in order to help pupils to improve. Where some good marking comments are provided, teachers do not always make sure that pupils actually use the suggestions to improve the quality of the work they are doing.  Where teaching assistants are deployed well across the school, they make a valuable contribution to pupils’ learning. However, in some classes, teachers do not use the skills of teaching assistants effectively.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Inspection evidence, including the school’s own records, points to improvements this year in the quality of teaching, as a result of more effective monitoring by the headteacher. Actions taken in response to the monitoring mean that inadequate teaching has been eliminated and that there are examples of good teaching in all parts of the school. This is resulting in pupils making better progress.  In Year 6, for example, the most able pupils use their mathematical skills well and are working towards a level in mathematics normally found in secondary schools. However, missed opportunities remain in some teaching of mathematics for pupils to use their numeracy skills well in problem-solving activities.  Teachers have very good relationships with their pupils and high expectations of their behaviour.  Reading skills are taught well and pupils have opportunities to use their skills. For example, older pupils

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

talked about what they had found out about Macbeth and younger pupils talked about how much they enjoyed reading traditional fairy tales.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress pupils have made in reading, writing and mathematics between Year 2 and Year 6 has been too slow in the last two years. Results of national assessments show standards overall at the end of Year 6 have not kept pace with improvements nationally and are below average. Teachers do not always build well on pupils’ skills as they leave the early years.  The school has begun to address these weaknesses; there are clear signs that pupils’ progress this year is improving and attainment in reading, mathematics and writing is likely to be closer to what is expected nationally by the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6.  The headteacher now ensures that progress information on all pupils is checked more regularly. Class teachers are now fully aware of the pupils who need additional help in order to make good progress. However, there are still examples of pupils finding work too easy in Years 1 to 5. As a result, current

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

progress across the school requires improvement.  The outcomes for the phonics screening check in Year 1 were above the national average in 2013 and 2014 because phonics skills (letters and the sounds they make) are taught successfully. Pupils enjoy reading and this is reflected in the good achievement at the end of Year 2; however, at the end of Year 6, Inspection report: St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Accrington, 27–28 January 2015 6 of 9

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

standards are below average.  In mathematics, pupils’ achievement requires improvement because pupils are not able to use their knowledge about adding, subtracting and multiplying with sufficient skill to solve problems. Pupils across the school are not given enough opportunities to use their numeracy skills well.  While there are clear signs this year that the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of non-disadvantaged pupils is now starting to close, it widened last year. In national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2014, disadvantaged pupils were about one year behind others in school in reading, mathematics and writing. When compared with other pupils nationally, they were 18 months behind in all three subjects.  Although the most able pupils have increasingly good opportunities to extend their learning, their progress over time is similar to that of other pupils and requires improvement. Tasks are not always sufficiently

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

challenging, although the proportion of pupils working at the higher levels is increasing.  Pupils with disabilities and special educational needs are given the support they need but their progress also requires improvement.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make the same progress as other pupils.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress and achieve well in the Reception Year as a result of teaching that is consistently good over time. The overall good quality of teaching is the key reason for the early years provision being good, as compared with the quality of teaching in the rest of the school, which requires improvement.  Children are very well cared for; staff ensure that they are safe and their behaviour is good. School rules are understood well by the children, with one child stating, ‘We are kind and helpful.’  During the inspection, parents commented about how well the needs of their children are met.  Most children start school with skills that are below those typical for their age. Children are keen to work together and highly enthusiastic about the work they are asked to do. For example, children are looking forward to celebrating Chinese New Year.  Early reading skills are taught well and, during the inspection, children were bursting with enthusiasm to

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The early years provision is good

tell an inspector, correctly, what sound was produced when you blend ‘a’ and ‘i’.  By the end of their Reception Year, a higher percentage of children than is found nationally achieve a good level of development and are ready to start the Year 1 curriculum. This is because, in all prime and specific areas of learning, the proportion of children achieving at least the expected levels is higher than that found nationally and has been so for two years.  The progress children make is checked carefully to see if any children need additional support and to build on the learning from earlier lessons.  Work seen in children’s books shows that children have moved from mark making to forming recognisable letters, with some writing simple sentences. When questioned, they show a good understanding of simple addition.  The early years provision is led and managed well. The leader has an accurate view of how well children

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The early years provision is good

are doing and what needs to be done to improve further. The staff work well together to ensure children make good progress. Inspection report: St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Accrington, 27–28 January 2015 7 of 9

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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. Inspection report: St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Accrington, 27–28 January 2015 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 119656 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 456176

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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 312 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Bernard Holden Headteacher Felicity Watson Date of previous school inspection 17 October 2011 Telephone number 01254 233019 Fax number 01254 301688 Email address head@sasj.lancs.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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