St Anne's CofE (Aided) Primary School

St Anne’s CofE (Aided) Primary Harrington Street, Worksop S80 1NQ

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires Improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher and staff team have worked well together to ensure that the school has improved substantially since the last inspection. New leaders have made a significant contribution to the recent improvements.  Governors are key partners in the leadership of the school. They support and systematically challenge senior leaders to make the improvements needed.  The vast majority of teaching is now good. Pupils are making good progress and they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Pupils behave well. They are attentive in lessons, so there are no interruptions to learning.  Pupils say they feel safe in school.  Children in the early years get a good start to their life at school. This is because adults know how to ensure that all children feel safe and happy. As a result, children are thriving in all aspects of their learning.  Teaching assistants make an important contribution to pupils’ learning through providing

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This is a good school

good support for those pupils who need additional help.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils enjoy opportunities to be responsible, especially through working as ‘peacemakers’ in the playground.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The improvements in teaching are not yet fully embedded across all classes.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to deepen their understanding in mathematics through solving different sorts of problems.  Sometimes work does not provide sufficient challenge for the most-able pupils.  Leaders’ evaluations do not always pinpoint exactly what is working well and precise next steps to support further improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Secure greater consistency of high-quality teaching and sustained good or better progress for pupils by: – sharing and extending the most effective teaching practice already found in the school – making sure that teachers give pupils more opportunities to develop their mathematical reasoning skills and to apply their knowledge through solving different sorts of problems – ensuring that all teachers provide more consistent levels of challenge for the most-able pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve leadership and management by ensuring that summaries from monitoring activities have more precision in their conclusions.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The leadership at all levels in the school has improved since the last inspection. As a result, St Anne’s is a good and improving school. It provides a calm, well-ordered and vibrant atmosphere where pupils and staff know they are valued. Despite the relatively high turnover of staff, there is a strong, shared determination to achieve the very best for all pupils’ learning and personal development.  The headteacher and governors have restructured and reinvigorated the leadership team. Leaders’ responsibilities are more closely linked to the needs of the school. As a result, they have improved teaching and learning substantially since the last inspection.  Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development. The school improvement plan identifies clear priorities that address the key issues facing the school.  Leaders at all levels make thorough checks of the provision in a range of areas, including the quality of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

teaching, pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour. Most of this work is very helpful in identifying the next steps. For example, a recent review of pupils’ writing highlighted very specific strengths and areas for improvement. Occasionally leaders’ findings are not as precise in pinpointing the most effective practice to be shared, and exactly what needs to be improved.  Teachers’ performance is well managed. Decisions about pay progression are appropriately based on performance, and are linked to pupils’ progress. The headteacher makes sure that all staff, and particularly those who are new to the school, have the training they need to carry out their responsibilities.  The school is providing well for the new curriculum and this is securing good progress across a wide range of subjects. Pupils say they really enjoy the topics, visits, visitors and special events because they make learning exciting. During the inspection, pupils in Year 5 were studying the Ancient Greeks and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

researched the features of mythical beasts. Pupils used their research very well to design their own beasts, and then enjoyed working with parents to make ‘Modroc’ models of the strange, hybrid creatures they had designed.  Leaders, including governors, ensure that there are rich opportunities to support pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development. Pupils say they enjoy the ‘reflection table’ in the school entrance. At playtimes and lunchtimes during the inspection, small groups of pupils clustered around the table, chatted, wrote comments and were keen to draw pictures in response to the question, ‘What will you do today to care for God’s world?’  Leaders’ work to promote equality, challenge discrimination and foster good relations is very effective. For example, all children learn sign language through a ‘sign of the week’. Pupils say they have lots of opportunities to learn about faiths, cultures and ways of life that are different from their own. Pupils are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

being well prepared for life in modern Britain because they respect diversity, and understand democracy and the rule of law.  Pupils’ cultural development is enriched through opportunities to extend their understanding and appreciation of different arts. Music is a strength of the school. From the early years, children enjoy opportunities to work with a music specialist where they learn to listen well and sing tunefully. Older pupils play a range of musical instruments in the school band. On the last day of the inspection, pupils attended the Worksop Music Festival and returned with a first place, ‘highly commended’ certificate.  The pupil premium funding is used effectively to support the learning of disadvantaged pupils so that they make the same good progress as their peers. Leaders also ensure that funds enable these pupils to participate in all aspects of school life, including music lessons and educational visits.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Sports premium funding is well used to offer a wide range of after-school clubs and competitive sporting activities. Pupils appreciate the links with Worksop Town Football Club and are proud of what they have achieved in gymnastics through working with their coach.  Most parents are very positive about the work of the school. Typical comments from parents who spoke to inspectors or responded to the online questionnaire highlighted their appreciation of the school’s nurturing ‘family feel’. They also praised the approachable and hardworking staff who are committed to ensuring that all children progress well. A small number of parents raised concerns about the changes in staff. Inspectors considered a range of evidence when looking at the impact of these changes. Inspectors are satisfied that leaders and governors have made decisions in the best interests of pupils.  Since the last inspection, the local authority has provided good support for the school, especially during

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

the period of staffing changes. They have helped leaders to establish productive links with a number of other schools in the area through the Worksop Family of Primary Schools Initiative. These links are supporting new leaders to establish their roles and also are improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.  The governance of the school – Governors have a high level of relevant knowledge and skills which bring considerable strength to the leadership of the school. As a result, they have made a very strong contribution to the improvements since the last inspection. This has included supporting the headteacher to develop a stronger staffing structure. This has been pivotal in securing improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress across all key stages. – Governors have a good understanding of pupil progress information. They know how this links to the strengths and weaker areas of teaching. As a result, governors are well equipped to challenge the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

headteacher when needed. Governors are not complacent. They know there is room for further improvement in order to embed the recent changes and secure the highest quality of teaching. – The minutes of governing body meetings and governors’ regular school visit reports show that they have good, first-hand knowledge of the school. Consequently they ask questions that help senior leaders to maintain their focus on pupils’ outcomes and to build upon recent improvement. – Governors take their statutory responsibilities seriously and make checks on safeguarding.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders maintain a strong culture of keeping pupils safe, and make rigorous checks on the suitability of all adults who work with pupils. Staff have had appropriate training and work closely with external agencies and parents to ensure that pupils are safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is much improved since the previous inspection. As a result, pupils are making good progress as they move through the school. The quality of teaching is strongest in upper key stage 2, where it leads to rapid progress because teachers have strong subject knowledge and are very clear about the next steps in pupils’ learning. Senior leaders are already working well to secure more of this very high quality of teaching throughout the school.  Teachers assess pupils’ work accurately. They have a good understanding of the expectations for each year group. They work closely with other schools to secure their judgements about standards. Although most work is well matched to pupils’ needs, teachers do not always provide sufficient challenge for the most-able pupils.  The teaching of reading and phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) is a strength of the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

This is because children get a good start in the early years, where they are systematically taught how to use sounds to read unfamiliar words. Pupils say they love reading because they have access to a wide range of high-quality books, they are motivated to read through the school’s ‘remarkable readers’ initiative and are inspired by events such as ‘World Book Day’.  The teaching of writing is improving as a result of training in this area. Teachers have a good knowledge of the technical aspects of writing and find engaging ways to encourage all pupils, and especially boys, to write. Consequently, progress in writing, especially for boys, is now good and sometimes better.  In mathematics, pupils are making good progress in developing their calculation skills and mental arithmetic. There are some very good examples, especially in upper key stage 2, of pupils being given opportunities to develop their mathematical reasoning and to apply their understanding to solve

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

problems. This is not always as effective or consistent in other parts of the school.  Teaching assistants are very capable and make an important contribution to pupils’ learning. They are well trained and have a good understanding of how to meet pupils’ needs, especially those with special educational needs or disability, or who are disadvantaged. This enables these pupils, in particular, to make good progress.  Since the last inspection, teachers have worked hard to develop a consistent whole-school approach to giving pupils precise guidance about how to improve their work. This is working well in almost all classes.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupil’s personal development and welfare is good.  Most pupils are self-motivated and have positive attitudes in lessons. They are keen to share their achievements. They are proud of their school and show respect for the environment, in their classrooms and in the school grounds.  Pupils take more pride in the presentation of their work than was evident at the time of the last inspection. Most pupils’ books are well presented and show that pupils have good attitudes to learning.  Pupils’ emotional growth and spiritual well-being is at the heart of the school’s work. Pupils are encouraged to be polite, kind, considerate, responsible and respectful to others at all times.  Pupils say that they are given responsibilities which are helping them to be good adults. For example, pupils willingly put forward applications to take on a range of jobs, including ‘school ambassadors’, who

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Personal development and welfare

show visitors around, and ‘peacemakers’, who help the youngest pupils to play well and deal with problems at playtimes.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe through anti-bullying weeks and learning about staying safe when online. Pupils know what to do if someone calls them names or they feel threatened.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. This has improved since the last inspection. Most pupils behave well in lessons. Interruptions to learning are very rare and consequently pupils’ progress is good.  Pupils understand and are motivated by the school’s reward system. They say they especially like the incentive to be ‘always always children’ who consistently behave well and do their best. Pupils say that the ‘consequence ladder’ of sanctions works well and it rarely needs to be used in classrooms. Pupils report that where lapses in behaviour occur, the issues are addressed promptly.  Pupils conduct themselves responsibly as they move around the school.  Pupils say that bullying is rare, but that they trust teachers to sort out any such incidents quickly if they were to occur.  Attendance is good. The school works well with parents to tackle any absence issues. As a result, the small number of persistent absences has been reduced.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils make good progress from their different starting points. Consequently, by the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6, their attainment is well above average in mathematics, reading, spelling, grammar and punctuation. It is just above average in writing. This is a significant improvement from pupils’ outcomes at the last inspection.  Year 6 pupils are well prepared for moving to secondary school.  The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check is above the national average.  Attainment at the end of key stage 1 is just above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  The school’s current assessment information and work in pupils’ books confirms the view that most pupils are making good progress across the school in reading, writing, mathematics and other subjects. Progress is strongest in writing, especially for boys, as this area has been a recent focus for improvement.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Senior leaders and governors have identified the key areas for improvement, particularly in mathematics, and specifically in provision for the most-able pupils. Leaders, including governors, are keeping a careful check on the progress of the most able.  Pupils with special educational needs or disability are making good progress. This is because they are supported by well-trained staff. Pupils’ progress is carefully checked and the support is then adjusted to meet their needs. There is also good communication between school staff and parents.  Leaders are committed to ensuring that the progress of the small number of disadvantaged pupils is in line with that of their peers. The school’s current assessment information and pupils’ work seen during the inspection indicates that disadvantaged pupils are making good progress from their different starting points. National figures and school records indicate that the gap between the attainment of these pupils

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Early years provision is good

 Children in the early years are getting a good start to their education. Children feel safe and secure because adults know and care for them well.  The school’s assessment information, observations in classrooms and samples of children’s work support the view that standards are rising. Children are making good progress from their different starting points and they are being well prepared for learning in Year 1.  All adults have high expectations of children’s behaviour. They help children to achieve this by modelling how to play and learn in the classroom and outdoors. Thus, children’s behaviour is good and improving.  Children take delight in their learning and show good levels of concentration and focus. This is because activities are planned to match their interests. During the inspection, children were excited about the possibility of seeing bulls and tractors on their forthcoming visit to a farm. Some children painted a huge

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Early years provision is good

bull (complete with a ring through his nose) and others designed farm vehicles. During these activities adults modelled language well, and children explored shapes and colours, counted, and used the new vocabulary with confidence. Afterwards, as children wrote labels for their pictures, most of the writing was well formed, legible and had clearly recognisable words.  Children are taught their letter sounds in a systematic way. Each child’s understanding is carefully checked to make sure that they get the help needed to make good progress in reading and writing. The classroom offers children lots of opportunities to read new and challenging words.  Adults use assessment information well to plan activities to provide just the right level of support and challenge for each child. Consequently, children, including those who are at an early stage of learning English and those who have special educational needs or disability, are making good progress.

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Early years provision is good

 Leaders have already identified the need to ensure that the most-able children make better progress and exceed the early learning goals, and are taking steps to address this. Inspection evidence supports the view that more children are on track to exceed the early learning goals than last year.  Funding to support the learning of disadvantaged children is well used, so their progress is similar to that of their classmates.  The new early years leader has an excellent understanding of how young children learn. Leadership in the early years is very good, with a clear vision for providing the very best for all children, including better challenge for the most able.  Arrangements for children starting school are effective. The school has good links with parents and other settings.  Statutory arrangements to ensure that children are safe are all in place.

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School details

Unique reference number 122794 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10009117

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School details

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

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair Matthew Smith Headteacher Clare Middleton Telephone number 01909 473223 Website www.st-annes.notts.sch.uk Email address office@st-annes.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 11–12 March 2014

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Information about this school

 St Anne’s CofE (Aided) Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is below the national average.  The school operates a breakfast club.  The school exceeds 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.  Since the last inspection, there have been a number of staff changes. Most senior and middle leaders have taken up their roles recently.  The school benefits from working closely with Prospect Hill Junior School and the Worksop Family of

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in all classes. They also made some short visits to classrooms to evaluate the quality of the curriculum. The headteacher and the deputy headteacher joined inspectors to observe some of the lessons.  A range of other school activities, including playtimes, lunchtimes, assembly and a lunchtime ‘time tables club’ were also observed.  Inspectors, together with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and mathematics leader, carried out a review of pupils’ books from across the school. This included the work of pupils of all abilities.  Inspectors sought the views of pupils through informal and pre-arranged discussions. Inspectors listened to pupils read.  Inspectors had meetings with school staff, including subject leaders and the inclusion manager. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and held a telephone conversation with a

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Information about this inspection

representative of the local authority.  Inspectors held short discussions with parents at the start and end of the school day. The view of 47 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online ’Parent View’ questionnaire were analysed. The results of a school survey of parents’ views were also considered.  Inspectors reviewed a range of information including: minutes of governing body meetings; school monitoring information; the school improvement plan; the school self-evaluation summary; the school’s website; and documentation relating to safeguarding (protecting children and making sure that they are safe).  Inspectors considered the views of staff through discussions and by analysing their responses to the inspection survey.

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Inspection team

Carol Smith, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Catherine Nash Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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