St Anne's Church of England Academy

Inspection of St Anne’s Church of England Academy Hollin Lane, Middleton, Manchester M24 6XN

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Inspection dates: 30 November and 1 December 2021

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 30 November and 1 December 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told inspectors that this is a happy and safe school where they can learn. Leaders and teachers share high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement. Adults care about all pupils and want the best for them. They are committed to helping all pupils to achieve well in school and in their future lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the strong culture of tolerance and respect at the school. They understand and are accepting of each other’s differences. Pupils told inspectors that bullying is rare. Staff resolve any bullying quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a varied range of activities to support their wider personal development, for example beginner’s Italian, chess and sports clubs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to learn. They concentrate on their work and are punctual to lessons. Pupils behave well during social times. They enjoy positive relationships with one another and with staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive a far better quality of education than they did in the past. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. Leaders organise curriculums carefully. However, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve consistently well. This is because some teachers do not check how well pupils have learned the curriculum to enable them to know and remember more.

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better?

Senior leadership, subject leadership and governance have been overhauled in recent years. Leaders are determined to provide all pupils, including those with SEND, a high-quality education where they can thrive. Pupils benefit from a suitably ambitious curriculum. They can choose to study a broad range of subjects.

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better?

Leaders have redefined what is taught across subject curriculums. Leaders have organised these curriculum plans well. They have thought carefully about the core knowledge that pupils need to progress through the curriculum. Leaders’ plans also include opportunities for pupils to build on what they already know. Pupils told inspectors that they are learning more than they did in the past.

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better?

In some subjects, teachers deliver the curriculum well. Teachers use assessment strategies adeptly to address pupils’ misconceptions and to help them to move onto new learning. In these subjects, pupils achieve well. They remember and apply the essential knowledge that they have been taught.

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better?

Elsewhere, however, some pupils remain stuck. In these subjects, some teachers do not check sufficiently well how pupils have learned the curriculum. Added to this, some teachers do not choose appropriate activities to remedy pupils’ missing knowledge. This hinders pupils’ achievement, including some pupils with SEND. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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Leaders ensure that pupils who have fallen behind in reading are identified and supported to catch up quickly. These pupils read competently. However, some older pupils do not read regularly or fluently. This limits how well these pupils access the wider curriculum.

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Leaders aim to improve pupils’ reading knowledge and habits, so that all pupils become prolific readers. However, their plans to strengthen the reading curriculum are at an early stage. Some staff are not equipped to support pupils to read widely and often.

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Leaders are effective at identifying the needs of pupils with SEND. Pupils, parents and carers value the support that leaders and teachers provide for pupils with SEND. However, as with their peers, the progress of some pupils with SEND is hampered by weaknesses in the delivery of the curriculum.

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Pupils behave well in lessons. This helps them to concentrate and build essential knowledge.

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Leaders take pupils’ personal development seriously. They make sure that the personal development curriculum provides pupils with the knowledge that they need to be responsible citizens. This includes age-appropriate relationships, sex and health education.

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Leaders make sure that they offer clubs and activities that inspire and interest pupils. This includes pupils with SEND.

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Leaders provide a strong careers education, information, advice and guidance programme. Pupils learn what they need to plan for their futures.

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Governance is strong. Trustees are knowledgeable and effective in supporting leaders to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. Teachers told inspectors that leaders support their well-being and workload effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure a strong culture of safeguarding. They make sure that staff are knowledgeable about the dangers that pupils may face. Staff are vigilant and alert to the signs that pupils are at risk of harm. Leaders have raised pupils’ and staff’s awareness of the risks and issues associated with peer-on-peer abuse.

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Safeguarding

Pupils told inspectors that they are confident to seek help from staff when they need it. Staff process this information in a timely manner. They quickly identify whether pupils require additional support from external agencies. Leaders ensure that pupils and their families get the help that they need. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ plans to deliver an ambitious reading curriculum for all pupils are at an early stage. For some older pupils, their ability to acquire knowledge across the curriculum is limited by missing reading knowledge and poor reading habits. Some teachers are not equipped to support these pupils well enough. Leaders should ensure that the reading curriculum is strengthened. They should also make sure that all staff are suitably trained so that they can deliver the reading curriculum effectively to enable pupils to read widely and often.  Some teachers do not successfully identify or remedy pupils’ missing knowledge. This means that some pupils, including some with SEND, do not make the progress that leaders intend. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies well to check where pupils’ knowledge is not secure. Leaders should also make sure that the activities that teachers choose are appropriate in helping

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

pupils to address their missing knowledge.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200783 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 February 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 St Anne’s Church of England Academy is part of the Diocese of Manchester. The last inspection under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 took place in November 2018.  The school joined the Cranmer Education Trust in March 2021.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders.  The lead inspector met with the chair of trustees and other members of the trust board. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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 The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the Diocese of Manchester.  Inspectors reviewed the school’s records of safeguarding checks and referrals to the local authority. Inspectors spoke with staff about how they keep pupils safe. Inspectors also asked the pupils how they learn how to keep themselves safe and what to do if they have any concerns.  Inspectors held discussions with staff and considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff.  Inspectors spoke with pupils from all year groups and considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for pupils.  Inspectors considered the views of the parents who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online parental survey. This included the free-text responses.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, history, mathematics, science and Spanish.  Inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of

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lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and looked at samples of pupils’ work from some other subjects.

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Inspection team

Stephen Ruddy, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Des Callaghan Ofsted Inspector 30 November and 1 December 2021

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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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