St Anne's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Anne’s Catholic Primary School Chace Avenue, Willenhall, Coventry, West Midlands CV3 3AD

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Outcome

St Anne’s Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, people care. Leaders and staff care for pupils and families. Pupils care for each other and for the environment. Leaders say, ‘You may be small, but you can be mighty.’ Pupils know that they can make a difference. For example, they turn lights off as they leave a room, playing their small part in caring for the planet.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that teachers look after them. They understand different types of bullying. Bullying is rare, and pupils are confident that if bullying did happen, teachers would quickly spot it. Pupils value the teachers’ guidance. One said, ‘They give good advice, not just for school, but for life.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for all. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Expectations for behaviour start in Nursery, where children quickly learn routines. Throughout school, pupils are calm, polite and well-behaved.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are determined to offer all pupils a range of opportunities. For example, younger pupils visit the seaside and older pupils eat in a restaurant. Pupils have recently sung in the Royal Albert Hall. Year 6 pupils are looking forward to their residential visit.

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

Leaders want the very best for every pupil in the school. From how the curriculum is planned to the range of opportunities offered, careful thought has been given to giving pupils a really good start in life.

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

Children in early years, particularly Nursery, get off to a strong start. In Nursery, children start learning the skills they will need as they move into Reception and beyond. Leaders use the learning environment well to enhance children’s learning. This is particularly the case in the outdoor area. In Reception, children learn that letters make sounds. They learn to blend sounds together to make words. Across the school, leaders have invested in books that match the letter sounds children learn. They quickly identify pupils who may 28 and 29 June 2022

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be falling behind and put in extra support to help them catch up. However, leaders are aware that there are some inconsistencies in the way pupils learn how to read unfamiliar words, which sometimes slows their progress in learning to read fluently

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In some subjects, curriculum thinking and design are highly sophisticated. Leaders have identified precisely what they want pupils to learn, and why. This enables pupils to build on their knowledge and understanding over time. For example, in Nursery, children delight in using their ‘memory box’. This helps them to understand the past, present and future. In Year 1, pupils compare schools in Victorian times to their own school. In Year 6, pupils compare and contrast causes of the world wars, using complex language and ideas. Similarly, in mathematics, leaders have identified the ‘top 10’ key things to learn in each year group. They ensure that pupils revisit these concepts regularly, to build knowledge over time. Leaders have given careful thought to all subjects in the curriculum. However, they are aware that there is still some work to do to ensure this high level of thinking is consistent in all subjects.

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Leaders and staff have high expectations for all. Teachers support pupils in thinking about some complex issues. For example, pupils in Year 6 can explain why it is important to learn from what happened in the past. All pupils are expected to achieve well, including pupils with SEND. Leaders know pupils very well and ensure that appropriate adaptations and resources are in place so that all pupils can access the same learning and be successful.

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Leaders ensure that all pupils have access to all the opportunities on offer. For example, all clubs, from football to gardening, are free of charge. Pupils also enjoy leadership roles in school. For instance, some enjoy being collective worship leaders. Others play a role in the gift chaplaincy. These pupils take part in local outreach work, such as bag-packing in supermarkets to raise money and singing outside the local hospital.

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Relationships between pupils and staff are positive. Again, this begins in Nursery. Pupils listen carefully to their teachers in lessons and as they move around school. When it is sunny, some pupils enjoy eating their lunch outside with their friends. As a result of these positive relationships, pupils are respectful. They show tolerance for, and acceptance of, differences. Leaders foster these attitudes. For example, they have recently invested in books with a range of main characters. This means that pupils can see themselves in the books they read.

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In discussion with the headteacher, the inspector agreed that developing consistency in some aspects of phonics and continuing to develop the curriculum in order that all subjects are planned and delivered to an equally high standard may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders prioritise safeguarding. Governors are also aware of their role in keeping pupils safe. Leaders are acutely aware of local risk. They ensure that pupils are taught how to 28 and 29 June 2022

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keep themselves safe and healthy, including online. Leaders and staff know pupils and their families very well. They work closely with external agencies to offer extra support, when needed.

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All staff receive up-to-date training. They know what to do if they are concerned about a pupil. Leaders swiftly follow up these concerns.

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The necessary checks on adults in school are carried out in line with government guidance.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is some inconsistency in the way staff support pupils to read unfamiliar words. Leaders should ensure that the planned training, and subsequent monitoring and support, is tailored to enable staff to use consistent strategies to support pupils to decode unfamiliar words accurately and efficiently.  The highly sophisticated curriculum thinking that is evident in some subjects, and implemented well across all areas of the school, is not yet consistent in all subjects. Leaders should complete the work that they have begun to develop other curriculum areas, to ensure that curriculum planning and delivery are precise and highly effective across the curriculum, leading to highly ambitious outcomes for pupils.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 28 and 29 June 2022

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

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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. 28 and 29 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10205153 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 and 16 November 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is designated as having a religious character.  A section 48 inspection was carried out by the diocese in November 2017. The school was graded good.  The school offers wraparound care for pupils at the school.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this inspection under section 8 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to 28 and 29 June 2022

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teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about other subjects.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy and assistant headteachers, the special educational needs coordinator and governors.  The inspector spoke to a representative from the diocese board of education and to a representative from the local authority.  The inspector observed some pupils reading to staff. Pupils were observed at lunchtime and on the playground. The inspector spoke to groups of pupils.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead, looked at the single central record of recruitment checks, looked at safeguarding records and talked to pupils and staff.  The inspector considered the 11 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including eight free-text comments. The inspector spoke with parents at the

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school gate. The inspector took account of 21 responses to the online questionnaire for staff. The inspector also reviewed 60 responses to the pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Rachel Henrick, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 28 and 29 June 2022

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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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