The Queen Anne Royal Free CofE Controlled First School

Inspection of The Queen Anne Royal Free CofE Controlled First School Chaucer Close, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 3EH

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 6 and 7 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This caring school aspires for pupils to ‘enjoy, include and achieve’. Starting in the nurturing early years environment, pupils feel safe, joyful and special. Relationships across the school are warm and supportive. Pupils’ behaviour is generally positive, but the high enthusiasm for learning in early years is not always seen as pupils move up through the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Since the pandemic, there have been significant changes to staffing. During this time, the school has also introduced a range of curriculum changes. Expectations are high for all, but teaching and learning can be inconsistent across different subjects. Some pupils achieve well and produce high-quality work, but others do not. Lesson tasks do not always fulfil the ambition of the curriculum, which can stop pupils from knowing and remembering key content securely over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils participate in a rich range of opportunities beyond the school building. From sports events to shared choral performances with local schools, there is something for everyone. Pupils learn to be responsible citizens through links with charities and opportunities to care for their environment. Leadership roles encourage pupils to make a tangible difference to school life. Year 4 well-being leaders exemplify this, proudly supporting the mental and emotional health of their peers.

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

Children thrive in the impressive early years environment. Their love for reading is nurtured from the beginning. Phonics teaching helps children learn the sounds they need, with frequent opportunities to acquire and practise new vocabulary. Reading continues to be prioritised as pupils move up through the school. Pupils who struggle receive high- quality support, ensuring that nobody gets left behind. Pupils learn to read with comprehension, confidence and fluency across a diverse variety of genres and authors.

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

The school demonstrates expertise and compassion in identifying and planning help for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This ensures equity across the curriculum, with all pupils supported to access the full breadth of learning. Adult help and physical resources enable pupils with physical disabilities to succeed. The curriculum is broad and ambitious. All subjects are planned with knowledge and skill. Subjects such as history are engaging, as pupils learn about key historical events and figures linked to the local area. In music, pupils learn about the origins of Calypso music in addition to how to perform it.

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

Across the curriculum, some pupils achieve well. In mathematics, some pupils learn concepts and procedures with great success. However, teaching is not consistent across all subjects and classes. Teachers are encouraged to identify pupils’ misconceptions, but this is not always precise. Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure, yet pupils can become restless and disengaged when listening to instructions. Lesson tasks then lack the ambition of curriculum plans, with activities poorly matched to the intended learning. As a result, some pupils do not securely learn and remember knowledge across the curriculum. 6 and 7 November 2024

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Conduct around the school is calm and courteous. Pupils are proud to be celebrated for following ‘the Queen Anne’s way’. Pastoral care is impressive. Staff help pupils manage their emotions and foster a sense of understanding and respect. In early years, children are engaged and motivated by the array of meaningful learning opportunities. Adult interactions strengthen this further, and high expectations are met impressively. However, pupils’ engagement in learning across the school is more variable. Pupils can be passive and lack enthusiasm. At times, pupils talk while teachers are speaking, which can disrupt learning.

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The school’s work to improve attendance has been successful. Through a supportive approach, disadvantaged pupils’ attendance has greatly improved. Persistent absence has decreased, and pupils now attend well across the school.

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Personal development is a strength. Pupils learn about a range of faiths and cultures. They are prepared for modern Britain through carefully planned curriculum activities. Visits from experts, such as the police community support officer, enrich pupils’ understanding of modern society and fundamental British values. Pupils benefit from trips, including a residential visit. Meaningful ‘jobs’ around the school help pupils develop character, confidence and kindness. Pupils with SEND never miss out. The school ensures that everyone is fully included in clubs, outings and enrichment opportunities.

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Leaders are compassionate and dedicated. Parents and carers speak highly of the friendly ethos of the school. Governors bring a range of expertise to ensure that statutory duties are met with diligence. The school engages well with support from the local authority. Most staff, including teachers early in their careers, feel valued. However, to match the strengths of early years, more effective professional development is required to ensure high-quality education for all.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Lesson tasks are not precisely matched to the aims of the curriculum. As a result, pupils do not achieve well across subjects. The school must ensure that lesson activities fulfil the ambitions of the planned curriculum to help pupils learn and remember key content more successfully.  The changes to the school’s curriculum are not fully embedded. Teaching is not consistently effective across all lessons, which stops some pupils from achieving their best. The school must support staff with professional development to ensure that teaching is consistently effective across all subjects and classes.  Some pupils do not show enthusiasm for learning. This means pupils do not fully 6 and 7 November 2024

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engage in lessons, which can also disrupt others from learning. The school must ensure that expectations are understood by all so all pupils try their best with positive attitudes to learning.

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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.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 6 and 7 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 This school is a Church of England school in the Diocese of Oxford. The last section 48 inspection took place in July 2023, and the school is due to be inspected again by July 2028.  Since the pandemic, there have been significant changes to staffing, including recent appointments of new teachers and the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo).  The school currently uses no alternative provision.  The school offers holiday clubs and before- and after-school provision, overseen by the governing body.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given 6 and 7 November 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the early years leader, teachers, the SENDCo and support staff.  The lead inspector met with five governors, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector met representatives from the diocese and spoke by telephone with an adviser from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 The lead inspectors also visited a science lesson.  The lead inspector listened to a range of pupils read. The inspector observed catch up interventions to learn how staff provide extra support to pupils.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors spoke to a range of pupils to learn their views about the school.  Inspectors considered the responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school.  Inspectors spoke to a range of parents and took account of responses to Ofsted Parent View survey and the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Scott Reece, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lucy English His Majesty’s Inspector 6 and 7 November 2024

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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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