St Anne's CofE Primary School

Inspection of St Anne’s CofE Primary School London Road, Godmanchester, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE29 2WW

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 3 and 4 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school encourages pupils and staff to ‘do everything in love’ and this is what happens. Pupils are happy at this warm and welcoming school. Staff work together to provide a nurturing environment. They take time to get to know their pupils and provide support that meets pupils’ individual needs. Pupils keenly attend each day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour are typically high. Pupils try hard to meet these throughout the day. Behaviour in class is calm and orderly. Learning proceeds with little disruption. Pupils are keen to succeed, and they typically achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils play enthusiastically at lunchtimes. They benefit from the wide range of activities on offer. Older pupils take ownership of these by planning, organising and running lunchtime clubs. These give the pupil leaders a sense of responsibility, while younger pupils revel in the chance to take part in activities such as tennis, chess and crafts.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Exciting trips and visits support pupils to develop their knowledge of the wider world. Pupils learn to respect differences through, for example, visiting different places of worship. Residential trips enable pupils to develop their independence and try new and adventurous activities.

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

The school has designed a thoughtful curriculum that is ambitious for what pupils can achieve at this school. This starts in the early years with a clear focus on key learning foundations, such as early communication and number. Children sing and recite rhymes to develop their spoken language and complete exciting counting activities, securing early number skills. Staff support learning by interacting with children in a meaningful way. As a result, children typically make a strong start in the early years.

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

Pupils begin learning to read as soon as they start in Reception. Trained staff deliver the phonics programme consistently. Pupils sound out letters using their phonics skills. This helps them to start reading books that match the sounds they have learned. The school checks regularly how well pupils can read. Those who need extra help are given planned support to help them keep up with their peers. As pupils progress through the school, they develop a wide range of reading skills and demonstrate a love of reading.

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

The school’s early writing curriculum is not as well developed. In early years and key stage 1, the expectations of how pupils construct and present their work are not clear. Basic spelling and grammatical errors are sometimes not addressed. As a result, some pupils are not able to write with accuracy and fluency. This can hamper their progress as they move through the school.

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

Across the school, the curriculum is generally taught well. The school has identified the key knowledge that pupils need to learn. This supports teachers to revisit key prior learning and build on this over time. New content is introduced clearly, and pupils complete activities that help them to develop their knowledge securely. On occasions, 3 and 4 June 2025

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teachers do not check carefully what pupils know and can do. This means that sometimes mistakes are not picked up and pupils are not moved on to new learning in a timely way.

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The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is strong. Clear systems ensure that these pupils’ needs are quickly and accurately identified. Staff pinpoint the support that will help them learn. Staff adapt tasks in lessons to help pupils with SEND to learn successfully alongside their peers.

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Staff model the school’s behaviour expectations clearly. They guide pupils successfully to make the right choices by using the well-understood school values. Strong systems to monitor and improve attendance are now in place. These work well. The school offers support to families and adjusts provision, when necessary, for pupils to attend whenever they can. Having not done so in the past, pupils now attend well.

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The school’s well-thought-through personal, social, health and economic programme supports pupils’ wider development. Pupils are well informed and are respectful of different cultures and beliefs. They learn about keeping themselves healthy and safe, including how to look after their mental well-being. As a result, pupils are well prepared to become responsible citizens of the future.

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Those responsible for governance are well informed. They share the same high ambition as school leaders. Governors hold leaders to account to make positive improvements at the school. Staff value the professional learning and coaching they receive. They appreciate how leaders listen and consider their well-being when making any changes.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasions, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding systematically in lessons. This means misconceptions or chances to move pupils’ learning on can be missed. The school needs to support teachers to respond and adapt their teaching in lessons.  In the early writing curriculum, the school does not set consistent expectations of how pupils should write. Basic grammatical and spelling errors can go unchecked. As a result, pupils do not consistently write accurately and fluently. The school should set clear expectations about how pupils should write and present their work across the early years and key stage 1. 3 and 4 June 2025

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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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Vicki Wienand and Joe Gilbert (co-chairs)

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 June 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  There is breakfast and after-school club provision, which is run by the school.  This is a Church of England school within the Diocese of Ely. The last section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in January 2025. The next is due to take place within seven years.

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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 an overall effectiveness grade. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, assistant headteachers, subject leaders, staff, members of the governing body, and representatives from the local authority and diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, modern foreign languages and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to pupils read with a familiar member of staff.  Inspectors also considered curriculum documentation and spoke to pupils about their

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learning in geography. They also considered writing evidence from across the curriculum.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 reviewed a range of documents, including behaviour logs, attendance records, pupil records, records of governing body meetings, school development plans and external quality assurance.  The inspection team considered the views of parents through responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and parents spoken to during the inspection.  Inspectors gathered the views of pupils and staff through Ofsted’s pupil and staff surveys, as well as discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Jonny Wallace, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Marcus Cooper Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 2025

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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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