Standish Lower Ground St Anne's CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Standish Lower Ground St Anne’s C of E Primary School Wigan Lower Road, Standish Lower Ground, Wigan, Lancashire WN6 8JP

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Outcome

Standish Lower Ground St Anne’s C of E Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at St Anne’s. Many pupils said that they enjoy school and their fun lessons. Older pupils spoke enthusiastically about their extra responsibilities. Pupils like playtimes and the clubs that take place after school. They benefit from learning about other religions and cultures. They enjoy interesting lessons and can recall the key things about what they have learned.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff know the pupils well. They treat them with care and respect. In return, the pupils are polite and well-mannered. In lessons, pupils show a dogged determination to ‘have a go’ at everything. They respect the opinions of their classmates. They listen to each other and take turns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Name-calling and bullying rarely happen in this school. Pupils said that sometimes they can be silly and excited when playing games outside but, overall, they behave well. Pupils have a good understanding of school rules and how to behave. They said that their teachers are fair. Pupils enjoy earning special treats such as extra playtime for good behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make sure that pupils have the skills to be safe while away from school. Pupils have a very good understanding of how to stay safe while using the internet and social media.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum at St Anne’s is broad and exciting. Leaders’ plans for subjects have been arranged in a logical way. Pupils remember learning from previous years. Typically, most pupils achieve as well as other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave St Anne’s. This was not true in 2019. Pupils’ achievement dipped. Leaders are taking clear action to make sure that this does not happen again. Teachers 12 September 2019

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ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do well.

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Leaders place reading at the heart of the curriculum. Children in the Reception class enjoy singing nursery rhymes. They play rhyming games as part of their learning. All staff are well trained in the teaching of phonics. Pupils who struggle receive support to help them do as well as their friends. Pupils take home a range of books that match the sounds they have been learning in class. Pupils’ vocabulary increases as they learn new words through good reading habits. Pupils enjoy a rich diet of different stories from a wide range of authors. Teachers are passionate about reading. They read to pupils each day. They encourage pupils to apply a range of reading and phonics skills to stories and challenging novels.

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Mathematics is taught well across the school. Staff have received relevant professional training in mathematics. Teachers have created a calculation policy that is applied across the school. Staff provide support to the pupils who need it most. Teachers check that pupils are understanding in lessons and use this to plan the next stage. Pupils are encouraged to try and work things out. They understand that they will learn from any mistakes. This is most effective in problem-solving activities. Pupils told us that they are well supported and know that teachers will always help them.

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Teachers plan lessons to build on pupils’ subject knowledge and understanding and link with other areas of learning. For example, in history, we observed pupils using a range of sources to ask questions and draw conclusions. Teachers successfully combined learning about electricity with learning about the Victorian period. Pupils try their best in lessons. They remain sensible when discussing and debating. Pupils spoke to us about a recent debate during which they discussed whether artefacts from Ancient Egypt should be in museums or not.

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Pupils know about the benefits of remaining fit and healthy. They understand the need to eat sensibly as part of developing a healthy lifestyle. Pupils are sensitive to the needs of others. They know that everyone is different. Pupils try their best to be resilient and caring. Leaders have taken positive steps to ensure that pupils’ attendance remains high.

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Leaders have considered staff workload and well-being. For example, assessment systems are manageable and not overly burdensome. Staff said that they are given time to complete their work. Staff overwhelmingly support the headteacher. Teachers have few opportunities to develop their subject expertise in areas beyond English and mathematics.

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Governors support the staff and leaders well. Their understanding of the wider curriculum is continuing to develop.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have received a wide range of training to help them spot signs of neglect or abuse. Staff are aware of the procedures in school for recording concerns. Along with the 12 September 2019

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learning mentor, senior leaders are vigilant in their responsibilities. They tackle problems quickly, ensuring that pupils remain safe. Leaders work with several partner agencies to ensure that families receive timely support. Leaders have created strong links with the local police.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers have received timely and appropriate levels of professional training in English and mathematics. Their expertise in the subjects that they lead is dependent on their own skills. They do not have regular opportunities to update their professional knowledge in the subjects they lead so that they can deepen their levels of expertise and deliver lessons of the highest quality.  Governors’ understanding of the curriculum beyond English and mathematics is limited. Governors do not have a full knowledge of the expectations of the national curriculum nor the standards that pupils achieve in St Anne’s. Governors should deepen their knowledge of the wider curriculum to hold leaders better to account for pupils’ performance across all subjects.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 7-8 July 2011.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 12 September 2019

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 12 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111066 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Mr Edward Austin

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 March 2016

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the school has grown from three mixed-age classes and a single Year 6 class to seven single form entry classes.  The school is a Church of England school. The most recent section 48 inspection was in January 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 During this inspection, we met with the headteacher and the senior leaders.  We held meetings with teachers, support staff and subject leaders. The lead inspector met with five members of the governing body and held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  We visited lessons in each key stage. We spoke to pupils from each key stage and viewed examples of their work. We spoke to pupils about behaviour and expectations in the school and observed behaviour around the school and in lessons.  The lead inspector heard pupils from each key stage read.  We considered the 15 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and the 11 free-text responses. We examined records in relation to safeguarding. 12 September 2019

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 As part of this inspection, we considered carefully how phonics and early reading are taught at St Anne’s. We also considered how the curriculum is planned in mathematics and history. During these activities, we met with subject leaders and visited samples of lessons. We spoke to teachers about the lessons that they had taught and pupils who had been in the lessons. We viewed examples of pupils’ books and listened to pupils read.

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Inspection team

John Donald, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Christine Howard Ofsted Inspector 12 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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