Annesley Primary and Nursery School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Dawn Roberts Headteacher Annesley Primary and Nursery School Forest Road Annesley Woodhouse Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG17 9BW

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 23 May 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2012.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as headteacher in September 2015, you have provided clear vision and direction that are enabling the school to improve. You put children and families at the heart of all you do, an approach that is valued by pupils, parents and staff. You have enhanced teaching, insisting on high expectations from all. You have built a team of capable staff who are determined to drive improvement. Areas identified at the last inspection as strengths have been improved. The governing body has the range of skills it needs among its members to provide strong, strategic leadership and take a central role in driving the school forward.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

A welcoming, pristine school environment radiates the core values of the school. The qualities of being ambitious, respectful, confident and honest support the school’s vision of ‘achieving together’. Learning spaces are well organised and purposeful, with interactive displays that encourage independent learning. Pupils love coming to school, saying, ‘We really want to come to school as it is a pleasure for us.’ They value the importance of their education, particularly the additional support they are given to assist them in their learning. Pupils in Year 6 are proud of their additional responsibilities, such as the running of the school newspaper and library. They appreciate the wide variety of clubs they are offered and they especially enjoyed the opportunity to watch a premier league football match. You have systematically and successfully tackled the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. You have ensured that teachers provide pupils

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

with far more opportunities for writing and that learning spaces and the curriculum are rich in language. Ambitious vocabulary is visible throughout the school and pupils’ writing has significantly improved in most year groups. Specific training, such as ‘motivating boys to write’, and greater involvement of teachers in reading and writing networks have enabled them to improve and refine their teaching skills. Innovative ideas, such as ‘the spelling boxing ring’, have motivated boys to practise their spellings and rapidly improved the accuracy of spellings in Year 2. The majority of staff responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire and overwhelmingly gave positive responses. They believe that, as individuals, they are encouraged to challenge themselves and take on new activities. They feel well supported by the school leadership in their professional development.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

The governing body is ambitious for all pupils and promotes improvement effectively. You give governors comprehensive information that enables them to understand how much progress pupils are making, as well as how well other aspects of the school are developing. The governing body performs its strategic role competently. The governors hold open and honest discussions with leaders, asking searching questions to ascertain progress towards the school’s priorities. Governors are committed and support the school with regular visits to engage with pupils and staff.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

A small minority of parents responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. The responses received, however, were overwhelmingly positive, with parents saying they believe their child is safe and praising the good communication between staff and parents. ‘The teaching and support staff have made the last six years of my daughter’s education a brilliant experience,’ wrote one parent. All the parents I spoke with in the morning of the inspection agreed that their children love school and any disagreements between pupils are resolved swiftly. All of the responses on Parent View stated that parents would recommend the school to others, which is a resounding endorsement of the school.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

You actively and regularly review your comprehensive self-evaluation of the school. You have accurately identified areas for improvement to ensure that the school is focusing on raising aspirations and achievement for all. The plan for improvement is known and understood by staff and governors, who work effectively together towards its priorities. You have a committed and effective leadership team whose members undertake extensive checks to improve the quality of learning throughout the school. Staff work together with colleagues both in and beyond the school setting, welcoming the opportunity to develop their practice. The school has not received extensive support from the local authority but you appreciated the advice given at the start of your headship.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

Pupils make good progress overall but it is not rapid enough in some areas. The restructuring of support staff has enabled disadvantaged pupils to make better progress than in previous years but this is not yet rapid enough. You have been successful in developing pupils’ reading skills but teachers do not always provide enough opportunities to develop their understanding of text. Pupils are confident in their arithmetic skills but, occasionally, teachers do not give them enough opportunities to develop their mathematical fluency through reasoning and problem- solving activities.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

There is a vigilant culture of safeguarding in school. You have ensured that staff and governors are well trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse, including areas such as extremism. Staff know how to report concerns and are attentive in following up any referrals. The single central record is well organised and indicates that all relevant checks are undertaken. Governors are active in regularly checking the record.

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Short inspection of Annesley Primary and Nursery School

Pupils I met during my visit told me that they feel safe in school. They told me that both bullying and name-calling are rare because pupils get on well together. When they do occur, they can rely on staff to quickly and effectively resolve any conflict. They also explained how staff teach them to be aware of a variety of risks, and protect themselves against them, including internet, road and fire safety.

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Inspection findings

 When children join the Nursery, their attainment is below what is typical for their age. Staff get to know the children well and make every effort to build positive relationships with families. Many children need additional support with their speech and language development, and the school has targeted additional resources to enable these children to make good progress. The creation of a language-rich environment is improving children’s communication skills. Attainment at the end of the early years is broadly in line with national expectations. Disadvantaged children, however, do not yet make fast enough progress to enable them to reach the expected national levels.  Attainment in the phonics screening check in Year 1 has been broadly in line with the national average for the past three years and disadvantaged pupils have reached the expected standard by the end of Year 2. A new approach to teaching, coupled with a more focused allocation of support staff, are bringing

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Inspection findings

rapid improvements in the understanding of phonics among all groups of pupils.  Pupils make good progress in key stage 1 and reach standards at the end of Year 2 that are above those of their peers nationally. Not all disadvantaged pupils, however, are reaching the national expectation or are being challenged to reach the highest levels. You have recognised this and have allocated resources to redress this underachievement.  In 2016, pupils leaving Year 6 made good progress from their starting points by the end of key stage 2 in writing and mathematics, but their progress in reading was not reflected in their national test results. Disadvantaged pupils did not make as much progress as other pupils nationally and you recognise that remedying this is a priority for the school.  Current pupils throughout the school are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Adults’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in other

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Inspection findings

subjects are consistently high and pupils make good or better progress.  You recognise that pupil premium funding is not having enough impact on the progress made by disadvantaged pupils and have commissioned an external review to ensure that strategies to support this group of pupils are more effective in helping them to make faster progress.  You have developed an effective reading culture in the school. The building of the library has been a major factor in increasing how often pupils read. Pupils do not always fully understand what they are reading, however, and you recognise this as an area for improvement.  Attendance policies and procedures are robust and staff work closely with families, providing additional support and motivation to improve pupils’ attendance. You are aware of why every child is not in school and are involving the Education Welfare Officer in your work to reduce persistent absenteeism.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 teachers give targeted support to disadvantaged pupils to raise their expectations, tackle their barriers to learning effectively and enable them to make accelerated progress  teachers provide extensive opportunities for pupils to read widely and often, helping them develop a deeper understanding of what they are reading as well as a genuine love of literature.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Nottinghamshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, we discussed your self-evaluation and I shared with you my key lines of enquiry for the inspection. I met with two members of staff, a group of pupils and a number of parents. I held telephone conversations with the vice-chair of the governing body and with a representative of the local authority. I considered the responses of parents to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and analysed responses from staff and pupils to Ofsted’s questionnaires. I spoke with parents as they brought their children to school. I visited all classes in the school, spending a short time in each. I looked at a wide range of pupils’ work. I viewed a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s current performance and plans for improvement. I considered evidence and records relating to safeguarding, assessment, attendance and how the pupil premium funding is spent. I examined the school’s website to check that it meets the requirements on the publication of

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