St Anne's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Anne’s Catholic Primary School Lowe Street, Camp Hill, Birmingham, West Midlands B12 0ER

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 November 2024

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Outcome

St Anne’s Catholic Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and inclusive school. Many pupils and staff talk of belonging to the ‘St Anne’s family’. Everyone does their best to live by the school values: ‘equal, loved and safe’. Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly. They are happy, safe and secure.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff set high expectations for behaviour. The majority of pupils behave well. The school provides good support for those pupils who need help with behaviour. There are quiet spaces around school where pupils can go if they need to calm down and be ready to learn. The support for pupils’ well-being is a strength of the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These ambitions are realised. Pupils achieve highly. They are well prepared for the next phase in their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that all pupils have a range of wider experiences and opportunities. This includes visits to the theatre and museums. Family trips to the seaside are a firm favourite. Pupils enjoy a range of clubs such as art and chess. They contribute to school life, for example, as school councillors or by leading worship. These activities help pupils to become responsible citizens.

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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum. It includes a programme of ‘must do’ activities and experiences, such as visits to the bank or budgeting for healthy meals. This supports pupils’ wider development. 26 and 27 November 2024

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The school inspires pupils to read widely. Pupils love the school library. Books reflect the diversity of modern Britain and the wider world. Staff are skilled in teaching phonics. Pupils who find reading difficult receive effective support to help them to become confident and fluent readers. Many reach standards above those expected for their age in reading by the time they leave Year 6.

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The curriculum sets out clearly what pupils need to learn from early years through to Year 6. For example, children in Reception start to develop a love of music by singing and responding to different rhythms. They learn to control percussion instruments and recognise pitch by exploring high and low sounds. This gives them a good start for music in Year 1. However, the school lacks strong understanding of how learning in the early years links into each curriculum area. This means that expectations of what children can do when children enter Year 1 are sometimes too low.

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There are consistent opportunities for pupils to recall their learning. Pupils particularly enjoy the quick recap sessions in mathematics. This ensures that they build confidence and fluency. Staff make sure that pupils use correct technical vocabulary across all subjects. For example, in mathematics the youngest children use words such as ‘corners and sides’ as they create rectangles and triangles.

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The school regularly checks that the curriculum is delivered consistently well. It provides training and resources to support staff subject knowledge. This ensures that pupils build secure and consistent knowledge as they move through the key stages. Some subject leaders are new to post and are still developing their leadership skills. As a result, arrangements to check the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ achievement in these subjects are at early stages.

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There is a rise in the number of pupils being identified as having SEND. Staff regularly receive helpful information and expert advice about the needs of individual pupils. They use this to provide effective support. Pupils with more complex needs receive tailored support from skilled adults. Pupils with SEND achieve well. They are welcomed into every aspect of school life.

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Pupils are eager to learn. Teachers skilfully engage their interest. For example, in art, pupils are inspired by their studies of world artists, including influential street artists. Pupils enjoy discussing art movements, such as Neo-Expressionism. They are proud to share their knowledge.

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Pupils embrace the spiritual ethos of St Anne’s as a Catholic school. They understand fundamental British values, such as democracy. They have a mature understanding of world religions and freely discuss similarities between religions, such as Islam and Christianity.

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Governors are committed to the school. They receive detailed information about the school’s performance. However, they do not use this information to check the school’s actions against the targets and timescales set in plans, including the school’s pupil 26 and 27 November 2024

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premium strategy. Consequently, they cannot always hold the school to account for the effectiveness of actions and decisions taken.

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The school is considerate of staff workload and well-being. Staff appreciate this as shown by many positive comments during the inspection.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is a lack of understanding of how learning in early years links to some curriculum subject areas for older pupils. This means that expectations of what children can do when they enter Year 1 are sometimes too low. The school should strengthen understanding of how knowledge develops in early years so that expectations are suitably high in key stage 1.  The arrangements to assess the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ achievement are not secure across all subjects. This means that some gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not addressed. The school must ensure that checks on pupils’ learning are effective to help them to build consistent knowledge across all subjects.  Governors’ oversight of school development lacks precision. As a result, the school is not always held to account for the effectiveness of actions, such as reviewing the impact of pupil premium funding. Governors should strengthen their oversight further

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

to ensure that all pupils benefit from decisions made by the school.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the 26 and 27 November 2024

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date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2019.

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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). 26 and 27 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a voluntary aided school. The school received its most recent section 48 inspection in May 2024. The next inspection should take place by May 2029.  The school provides a before-school club managed by the governing body.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first 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 the evaluation of the school.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their work and looked at samples of pupils’ work with leaders. 26 and 27 November 2024

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 The inspector observed a selection of pupils reading to members of staff. Other pupils were heard to read their own work during lessons.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: checked the school’s single central record; spoke to senior leaders about safeguarding procedures; took account of the views of 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.  The inspector considered a range of documents, including leaders’ self-evaluation and plans for improvement. The inspector checked records of attendance and behaviour. The inspector also observed pupils’ behaviour at playtime and lunchtime and talked to them about behaviour, bullying and welfare.  The inspector considered the views of parents submitted via Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. She also reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s surveys

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for school staff. The inspector also met with parents at the end of the school day and gathered the views of pupils and staff on site through discussion.

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Inspection team

Marilyn Mottram, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 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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