St Anne's Catholic Primary School

Inspection Report St Anne's Catholic Primary School

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111347 Unique Reference Number Cheshire LEA 278666 Inspection number 20 March 2006 to 21 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Jeffery Plumb CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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

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Wellington Road School address Primary Type of school Nantwich Voluntary aided School category Cheshire CW5 7DA 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01270 625100 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01270 620651 Fax number 164 Number on roll Mr E Smith Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs S Fau-Goodwin Headteacher 13 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278666 20 March 2006 - 4 to 11 21 March 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

St Anne's Catholic Primary School provides education for children living in the parish of St Anne's in Nantwich and rural villages beyond. This is a smaller than average size primary school, but numbers are rising. A significant number of children in the current Year 6 did not start their education in the school. The number of children eligible for free school meals is below the national average. On entering Year 1, most children have the skills expected for children of their age. The number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD) is below the national average. The proportion of minority ethnic children is above average, but none are at an early stage of learning to speak English. The school has achieved the 'Healthy Schools Award'.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Anne's Catholic Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 21 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The inspection agrees with the school that it is good, although it also has a number of outstanding features. Children in Reception make good progress, but the lack of a suitable outdoor play area limits the opportunities for them to learn through physical activities. All pupils make good progress throughout the school and by Year 6 reach standards above the national average in English, mathematics and science. Progress in art and design and physical education is very good and standards are very high in these subjects. Since the last inspection there has been a significant improvement in the provision for information and communication technology (ICT); pupils make good progress in this subject. Pupils greatly enjoy school; they find their lessons to be fun and challenging. Teaching is consistently good throughout the school. Attitudes to learning and behaviour are outstanding, as is pupils' personal development. The

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Grade: 2

curriculum is rich and promotes enjoyment and excellence in learning. The quality of care is excellent. Pupils' progress is tracked rigorously and pupils are crystal clear about what they need to do to improve their work. The school is effectively led and managed; it provides good value for money. Subject leaders are effective overall, but they do not yet consistently monitor the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. The leadership of the headteacher is outstanding and successfully promotes the distinctive Catholic character of the school. She knows how well the school is doing and how to improve it further. The capacity for improvement is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the outdoor play area for the under fives to more effectively promote their learning through physical and creative play activities. • Develop the role of subject leaders to include the monitoring of teaching and learning.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good, a judgement better than the school's evaluation. This is because the school was too hard on itself. Almost all children in Reception reach the expectations for their age and the highest attaining children exceed these; this demonstrates good progress. Throughout Years 1 and 2 pupils make good progress with their reading, writing, mathematics and science and, by the end of the key stage, reach above average standards in 2005. Pupils continue to make good progress throughout Key Stage 2. National test results for 11 year olds in 2005 were above the national average in English, mathematics and science; these results were better than those in 2004. Meticulous tracking of progress by the school shows that the current Year 6 pupils are on target to reach even higher standards. Standards are rising year on year. Progress is good in ICT throughout the school and Year 6 pupils meet national expectations. In

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: St Anne's Catholic Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 21 March 2006 art and design and physical education pupils make very good progress and standards are very high in these subjects. Because of targeted one to one support, pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress in reading and the development of important life skills, such as telling the time. Minority ethnic pupils achieve well. Gifted and talented pupils reach high standards because their thinking is stretched in lessons. Furthermore, specialist teaching in subjects such as ICT, provided by teachers from the neighbouring high school, enables them to 'fly', as evidenced in their high quality PowerPoint presentations. Their thinking and problem solving skills are particularly well developed.

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Grade: 1

The school's evaluation of this area as good is modest. The inspection team judge it as outstanding. Pupils enjoy school and this is reflected in their well above average attendance. Their attitude to learning is overwhelmingly positive and their behaviour is exemplary. Teachers quickly sort out extremely rare instances of bullying. Pupils said, 'There are never any fights and we rarely squabble'. Social development is outstanding. Pupils' views are heard and acted upon through a vibrant school council. They speak with excitement about their involvement in the planning to improve the playground. A group of older children care for younger children during break times, ensuring they have friends to play with. Their economic awareness is raised through fundraising activities for charity. Spiritual, moral and cultural development is excellent. There is a strong emphasis on raising pupils' awareness of cultural diversity.

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Grade: 1

The school has successfully encouraged pupils to embrace a healthy and safe lifestyle. Pupils are encouraged to eat healthy food and outstanding provision is made for physical exercise. Excellent work is done on promoting pupils' safety: it includes teaching about road safety and the harmful effects of drug misuse.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good throughout the school. Because of excellent relationships, pupils are confident to ask questions of their teachers and this 3 Inspection Report: St Anne's Catholic Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 21 March 2006 makes a valuable contribution to their learning. Teachers plan effectively to meet the needs of all pupils. Interesting activities are at the heart of all lessons and pupils are motivated to learn because of the focus on enjoyment and fun, as seen in the game played as part of a Year 1 literacy lesson. Pupils are keen to learn and so achieve well. Teachers give clear instructions and check carefully that pupils are clear about what is expected of them. A punchy pace in the teaching keeps pupils motivated, and what they have learnt is skilfully checked at the end of lessons. Pupils are given plenty of opportunities to develop their thinking and problem solving skills. Teachers' good

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Grade: 2

subject knowledge and use of questions are employed effectively to increase pupils' knowledge, as seen in a good Year 6 lesson on the moods expressed in war poems. Pupils are challenged in lessons; a view shared by parents. Effective deployment of teaching assistants ensures that pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities good progress. Although teaching of the under fives is good overall, children are not always given sufficient opportunities to initiate their own learning through play. Pupils' work is marked meticulously and they are told clearly what they need to do to improve their work. In English and mathematics pupils are set clear targets to raise their achievement.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good; some features are outstanding. Planned well, it meets the needs of all pupils and successfully promotes enjoyment in learning. Statutory requirements are met. Since the last inspection there has been a significant improvement in the provision for ICT; it is now good. Provision for personal, social and health education and citizenship is outstanding. The arts and sports provision are strong and contribute effectively to pupils' excitement in learning. Excellent links with the feeder high school enrich the curriculum: pupils and their parents particularly appreciate the provision made for French and design and technology. The national literacy and numeracy strategies are implemented well. Personalised programmes for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities contribute to their good progress in reading and mathematics. Although the curriculum for children under five is good overall, the lack of a suitable outdoor play space limits their opportunities

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Grade: 2

to learn through physical activities. Excellent use is made of visitors and visits to enrich the curriculum. The after school clubs are described by the pupils as, 'fantastic and brill!' These clubs make a valuable contribution to pupils learning new skills through drama, dance and sporting activities.

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Grade: 1

The quality of care is exceptionally good. The needs of every child are known and catered for. Parents are delighted with the care their children receive. Teachers track pupils' progress rigorously and use assessment data to set them challenging targets. As necessary, extra support is provided to ensure pupils meet the challenges set for 4 Inspection Report: St Anne's Catholic Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 21 March 2006 them. Pupils' pastoral needs are sensitively met; help and support for the most vulnerable pupils is outstanding. Children under five are supported well as they settle into school. Year 6 pupils are well prepared to move on to the high school. Children say, quite emphatically, that they feel safe at school and they are confident to tell staff about any troubles they may have. All essential risk assessments are carried out thoroughly. The school ensures the suitability of all adults who work with children.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. All staff share the headteacher's vision and commitment to provide the highest possible achievement and care for all pupils, within a Catholic context. She has managed the school effectively without a deputy throughout the last year by re-structuring the senior team, developing the skills of all staff, and deploying them effectively. The temporary arrangement of two assistant headteachers and the development of a teaching assistant to become a higher-level teaching assistant have had a positive effect on raising achievement. Subject leaders have quality time during the school day to develop their subjects and focus on raising pupils' achievement. However, they do not yet consistently monitor the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. Teachers and teaching assistants work as an effective team, bouncing ideas off one another, and encouraging each other. This teamwork creates a positive

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Grade: 2

working environment and promotes effective learning for all pupils. The school has effective systems for checking how well it is doing and for taking action to improve its performance. Consultation with pupils and parents or carers is good, and their views are taken on board in planning for further improvement. The school improvement plan is focused on the priorities required to raise achievement and is successful in enabling the school to bring about improvement. Financial planning is good. Governors give good challenge and support. They know the school well, ask tough questions when necessary, and meet their statutory responsibilities including ensuring the distinctive Catholic character of the school. 5 Inspection Report: St Anne's Catholic Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 21 March 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Anne's Catholic Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 21 March 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 1 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your polite and friendly welcome to us as visitors to your school. We greatly appreciated the lovely welcome cards you made for us. You were so keen to tell us what you enjoy about school and how you are getting on with your work. We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent in your school. What we most like about your school: - the good progress you make and the above average standards you reach in English, mathematics and science - your positive attitude to learning and outstanding behaviour - the consistently good teaching throughout your school - the outstanding support and care you receive from your teachers and teaching assistants - the excellent clubs which make learning fun and exciting - the distinctive Catholic character of your school - the outstanding leadership of your headteacher - the school's staff work as a team to ensure that you keep healthy and fit. What we have asked your school to do now:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

- improve the outdoor play area for children under five - ensure your teachers check consistently on the quality of your lessons in the subjects for which they are responsible. Please keep up your hard work and support your good school to become even better.

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