St Anne's RC Primary School Crumpsall Manchester

ST ANNE’S RC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 7 th – 10 th October 2002

p.1

ST ANNE’S RC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

p.1

ST ANNE’S RC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 3

p.2

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Moss Bank Crumpsall Manchester

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Fr John Mackie

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: April 1998 St Annes’ RC Primary School - 4

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

p.4

INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

23158 Margot D’Arcy Registered Inspector Music Educational inclusion What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well pupils are taught How well the school is led and managed What should the school do to improve? 11096 Margaret Davie Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well the school cares for pupils The school’s partnership with parents 12112 Gill Carter Team inspector English History Special educational needs The quality of learning experiences

p.4

INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

11528 Mike Wainwright Team inspector Mathematics Design and technology Geography Information and communication technology Physical education 16971 Sue Russam Team inspector Foundation Stage Science Art and design

p.4

INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Wessex Education 2 Riverside Athelhampton Dorchester Dorset DT2 7LG

p.4

INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

p.4

INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

p.4

INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Annes’ RC Primary School - 5

p.4

PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

p.5

HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 10

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

p.5

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This is an average sized primary school catering for 236 boys and girls aged between three and 11. All pupils attend full-time, including the 30 children in the nursery. Most pupils are of White British heritage; the few that speak English as an additional language are also fluent English speakers. The majority of pupils are taught in classes containing others of the same age, but there is one mixed Year 1 and 2 class. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs, including statements of special need, is below the national average; most of these pupils have moderate learning difficulties. Twenty-three per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is broadly average. Most pupils remain at this school throughout their seven years of primary education. When children begin school in the reception class their attainment is above that which is expected for their age.

p.6

HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school is reasonably effective, but there are weaknesses in the way it is led and managed. Children’s above average standards on entry are generally maintained so that pupils attain above average standards by the end of Year 6. Overall, pupils make satisfactory progress in most subjects in response to teaching that is mainly satisfactory. However, teaching and learning are good in Years 1 and 2, resulting in pupils achieving standards that are often well above average by the end of Year 2. Overall, the school provides satisfactory value for money.

p.6

HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Teaching and learning in Years 1 and 2 are good, resulting in pupils achieving well above average standards in English, mathematics and science. • Pupils make good progress in design and technology (DT) and standards are above average. • Support staff are effective and make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. • Pupils have good attitudes to school, work hard and behave well. • Parents value the school. They are keen for their children to do well and give them good support.

p.6

HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Standards and progress in information and communication technology (ICT) and junior pupils’ standards and progress in art and design. • The way the school is led and managed. • The promotion of pupils’ spiritual and cultural development. • Systems for assessing pupils’ standards and tracking their progress. • Opportunities for pupils to show initiative or responsibility in learning. • Poor accommodation and weaknesses in curriculum planning limit the quality of learning experiences for nursery and reception children. • The accommodation and some school procedures pose a number of health and safety issues. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

p.6

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Improvement since the last inspection in June 1998 has not been satisfactory. Standards in ICT have remained below average, as have junior pupils’ standards in art and design. Standards in DT have improved and junior pupils’ standards in geography are better; in all other subjects, standards remain similar to those found by the last inspection. While the school has improved its planning of what pupils in different year groups should learn in different subjects, not all teachers follow these plans. Checks by the headteacher and subject co-ordinators on standards, teaching and learning still lack rigour. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 7 Resources have improved in some subjects, but there are still major shortages in ICT. Pupils are still not given enough opportunities to show responsibility and initiative in their learning. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 8

p.6

STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

p.8

STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

p.8

STANDARDS

English A D B A very high well above average above average A* A B Mathematics A* B B A average below average C D Science B E B A* well below average E

p.8

STANDARDS

English and science test results in 2002 have recovered from the significant fall in 2001. Overall, junior pupils make satisfactory progress to achieve results that are above the national average in all three of the above subjects. This year, they have done very well in relation to pupils in similar schools 1 , with science results being in the top five per cent nationally. Over time, Year 6 pupils’ test results have improved at a similar rate to schools nationally, but given the very high results regularly achieved by pupils at the end of Year 2, Years 6 results could be higher. The school sets satisfactory targets for Year 6 pupils to achieve in the national tests and these are generally met.

p.8

STANDARDS

Pupils in Years 1 and 2 achieve well and have, over many years, attained very good results (usually well above the national average and often in the top five per cent nationally), in the reading, writing and mathematics tests taken at the end of Year 2. Teacher assessments of their skills in science at this time are also high. Inspection evidence confirms the test and assessment results for both Year 6 and Year 2 pupils. In most other subjects, standards by the end of Years 2 and 6 are broadly average, although they are above in DT. By Year 6, pupils have good knowledge of historical events and significant people in history, but their skills in researching history are not well developed; library skills are also weak. Standards in ICT are below average throughout the school and in art and design, junior pupils do not achieve the standards expected for their age.

p.8

STANDARDS

Nursery and reception children make satisfactory progress. By the end of the reception year, most children achieve the expected standards in all areas of learning 2 and many achieve beyond this in communication, language, literacy and mathematics.

p.8

PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils listen well to teachers and work hard.

p.8

PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. This makes a strong contribution to pupils’ learning and the friendly atmosphere in many lessons and aspects of school life.

p.8

PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Satisfactory. Most pupils get on well with each other and like and respect the adults who work with them. Pupils are keen to take on responsibility and show initiative.

p.8

PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

1 Based on the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals. 2 Personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical development; and creative development. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 9 Attendance Satisfactory. In line with the national average. Punctuality is good.

p.8

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

p.9

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Quality of teaching Satisfactory Good Satisfactory Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

p.9

TEACHING AND LEARNING

While there is good and better teaching in a few junior classes, overall, teaching in Years 1 and 2 is more consistent in promoting continuously good learning. The range of strategies used by many junior teachers is narrow and these do not give pupils enough opportunities to work collaboratively or show initiative. The same variation exists in the teaching of basic literacy and numeracy skills. Overall, these are promoted effectively in English and mathematics lessons, but are not always developed as effectively as they could be in other subjects. Throughout the school, there are strengths in the teaching of DT and in the promotion of pupils’ speaking and listening skills; scientific skills are taught particularly well in Years 1 and 2. However, many teachers do not make enough use of ICT to support learning in this subject or others. In art, junior pupils do not learn enough about artists and designers or build well

p.9

TEACHING AND LEARNING

enough on the skills learned in this subject in the infants. Teachers manage pupils well and most have good relationships with them. Overall, teaching meets pupils’ needs satisfactorily, but not all teachers adapt work to challenge higher attainers or make learning more accessible to those with learning difficulties. Junior pupils are not given enough information about how well they are learning or how they can improve.

p.9

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Nursery and reception teachers try hard to provide the range of learning experiences necessary, but have not yet received sufficient training on how to plan and implement the recommended curriculum for children this age. Poor accommodation also limits the quality of learning experiences for these children. The staff are to be commended for the efforts they have made to enhance the teaching and learning environment in which they and the children have to work.

p.9

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory overall, but learning experiences in ICT are irregular. The poor accommodation limits the range and quality of learning experiences for children in the Foundation Stage. There is a good curriculum for design and technology. There is no structured programme to promote pupils’ personal, social and health education.

p.9

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good overall. Pupils have good individual education plans (IEP’s) The school’s support staff and visiting specialist make a particularly good contribution. Class teachers do not always adapt work to suit pupils’ needs and occasionally this results in unsatisfactory learning.

p.9

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language The few pupils who speak English as an additional language do not need additional support to help them understand or take part in lessons. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 10 Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Unsatisfactory overall, with weaknesses in the promotion of spiritual 3 and cultural development. Moral development is promoted well, however, and social development satisfactorily.

p.9

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

3 Religious education was not inspected by this inspection. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 11 How well the school cares for its pupils Unsatisfactory. While many staff show a good level of care for pupils, there are some significant health and safety issues that need to be addressed. Systems for assessing pupils and tracking their progress are unsatisfactory in a number of subjects.

p.10

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The school’s partnership with parents is satisfactory.

p.11

HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Unsatisfactory. Not enough is done to check on standards, teaching and learning or to evaluate how well the school is performing. Since the last inspection, the headteacher has not provided the school with a clear direction for improvement.

p.11

HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Unsatisfactory. Governors are committed and give generously of their time. However, in a number of key areas, they have not ensured that their policies are put into practice. The prospectus and governors’ annual report to parents are missing some of the required information.

p.11

HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance Unsatisfactory. The headteacher and governors do not have a clear view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, which leads them to think that the school is performing better than it actually is.

p.11

HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources Satisfactory overall. Support staff are used effectively and money from specific grants is used for its intended purpose. Governors have accrued a large surplus budget to improve the building and maintain teaching levels despite the numbers of pupils falling quite markedly each year. However, the maintenance of such a high surplus is unsatisfactory when there are significant shortages of learning resources.

p.11

HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The number of teachers and support staff is generous, but the accommodation is poor. Resources are satisfactory overall but in addition to ICT, there are shortages in art and design and some aspects of history. Satisfactory steps are taken to ensure that the best value for money is achieved in spending decisions.

p.11

PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Their children like school, behave well and are expected to work hard. • The teaching is good and children make good progress. • The amount of homework is just right. • Teachers are approachable and they are given good information about their children’s progress. • The school is well led and managed. • The school helps children to become mature and responsible. • The accommodation for nursery and reception children. • A minority feel that their children are not made sufficiently aware of cultures that are different to their own. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 12 Inspectors are in agreement with the concerns raised by parents. Inspectors support some of parents’ positive views, but not all; teaching, for example, was found to be satisfactory rather than good. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 13

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Children come to school with a good range of social experiences and general knowledge. They communicate well and have good speaking and listening skills; their basic understanding of mathematics is also good. The assessments that are made of children when they begin the reception year show that standards are high for their age. In reading and mathematics, for example, many are working competently at the lower level of the National Curriculum. Progress during the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. However, weaknesses in the accommodation and curriculum planning prevent children from making better progress. By the end of the reception year, most children are achieving the expected standards in all areas of learning and many achieve beyond this, particularly in communication, language, literacy and mathematics.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. The results of national tests taken by Year 2 pupils in 2002 were well above the national average in reading and mathematics and above in writing. In relation to similar schools, these results were very high (in the top five per cent nationally) in reading and well above average in writing and mathematics. Teacher assessments of pupils’ standards in science, speaking and listening were also well above average. Over time, there is no significant difference between boys’ and girls’ results. The high standards attained in the tests are maintained each year and are supported by inspection evidence, which shows that pupils make good progress and achieve well during Years 1 and 2.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The results of national tests taken by Year 6 pupils in 2002 were above the national average in English, mathematics and science. When compared with similar schools, these results were well above average in English and mathematics and very high in science. In English and science, the 2002 results show notable improvement on those achieved in 2001, when results fell significantly in all three subjects. The school is not able to provide any reason for this fall or to explain the apparently poor progress made by this group of pupils (as depicted by data) in relation to their attainment at the end of Year 2. Records of pupils’ progress between the infants and juniors or of those who left or joined the school after Year 2 have not been adequately maintained and were not readily available for the inspection team to check. While national test results for Year 2 pupils remain consistently high, those achieved by Year 6 pupils over the last

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

four years have fluctuated sharply despite the school having a fairly low rate of pupil mobility 4 . Given this, standards by the end of Year 6 should be higher. Inspection evidence supports the above average standards shown in the 2002 test results, but finds that progress during Years 3 to 6 is not as consistently good as in Years 1 and 2. This is due to inconsistencies in the quality of teaching in the juniors. However, pupils are given lots of practise tests and exercises to prepare them for the national tests and this helps them to achieve good results. Over time, Year 6 test results are broadly in line with the national trend. There are no significant gender differences in test results.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Overall, pupils with special educational needs make good progress. However, progress often varies significantly in different contexts. Specifically, when pupils are withdrawn from class to be taught by visiting specialists or the school’s experienced support staff, they make good progress working on tasks that help them achieve the targets in their individual education plans (IEP’s). However, in class lessons, teachers

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4 The movement of pupils into and out of the school other than at the usual times of admission and transfer. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 14 do not always modify work sufficiently. In some instances, progress in this context is unsatisfactory because the work pupils are given is too difficult.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are broadly in line with what is expected of pupils’ age in geography, history, music and PE. Standards in art and design are broadly average by the end of Year 2, but below by the end of Year 6. Standards in DT are generally above average by the ends of Years 2 and 6 and have improved since the last inspection. Most of the teaching in this subject is good and pupils receive a wide range of experiences to support the development of good knowledge and skills. Since the last inspection, junior pupils’ standards in geography have improved. However, there has been some decline in PE standards and in history; junior pupils’ skills of historical enquiry are weak. Indeed, overall, there are weaknesses in junior pupils’ library and research skills. Since the last inspection, there has not been any significant improvement to standards in ICT, which remain below average by the end

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

of Years 2 and 6. Similarly, improvement in junior pupils’ standards in art and design has not been satisfactory.

p.14

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

6. As at the time of the last inspection, pupils have good attitudes to learning, which makes a positive contribution to their achievements. However, no significant progress has been made in relation to addressing the last inspection’s recommendations about providing pupils with more opportunities to show initiative and take greater responsibility for their learning

p.14

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

7. In lessons, most pupils listen to teachers carefully. They show particularly good motivation when teachers plan interesting work. For example, in a Year 2 mathematics lesson, number skills were promoted well as pupils took part enthusiastically in a game of ‘odd and even bingo’. Pupils were so eager to know if they had done their work correctly that you could hear a pin drop when the teacher was checking their answers. Similarly in a Year 6 DT lesson, pupils were interested and engrossed in their tasks and responded enthusiastically to the brisk teaching pace. They took great care in measuring, marking and cutting the materials for the shelters that they were making. The care and enjoyment showed by pupils as they worked resulted in them learning at a very good rate.

p.14

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

8. Behaviour around the school and in most lessons is very good and makes a strong contribution to learning. Pupils have gained a good reputation for behaving well on visits; for example, they were commended for being polite and attentive when some visited Bramall Hall last year. During the inspection, behaviour was extremely good as pupils visited the church to attend mass. The few pupils with specific behaviour difficulties usually participate fully in the range of opportunities provided because they get good help from classroom assistants. Girls and boys of all ages play well in the playground, despite the limited space and poor condition of some areas. They are polite and kind to each other at lunchtime, never complaining about where they are asked to sit and obviously enjoying each other’s company. Pupils are friendly and a pleasure to talk to; they happily discuss their work and interests. Pupils do not really

p.14

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

see bullying as a feature of their school and parents say that any incidents are dealt with quickly and effectively. There have been no recent exclusions. In a small number of lessons, pupils’ behaviour is not as good as it should be and their attitudes to learning are not positive. However, in such circumstances, the fall in standards is always as a result of unsatisfactory classroom management. Either the teacher does not deal with inappropriate behaviour or expectations of good behaviour are too low. In St Annes’ RC Primary School - 15 these instances, pupils do not apply themselves with any real enthusiasm or effort and their work suffers.

p.14

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. Relationships between pupils and adults, and amongst the pupils themselves, are usually good. Pupils with special educational needs are accepted well and play a full part in school life. They are keen to participate and to be involved in everything and are valued by their classmates. Most teachers give pupils with special educational needs the encouragement they need, but on occasions teachers use sarcasm or ‘put downs’. This sort of approach does not help pupils to develop autonomy or self- confidence and is unacceptable.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. Pupils show maturity when working in pairs or groups, although in too many lessons there is little expectation that they do so. In a Year 3 geography lesson, pupils showed how well they could collaborate, finding and marking countries and cities on a map of the United Kingdom. After marking a dot for Manchester one pupils’ neighbour accurately commented, “I think your dot is far too close to Scotland”. This was taken in good spirit, resulting in the pupil taking a closer look at the work and correcting it. Pupils willingly help with daily routines such as delivering registers or acting as monitors in classrooms. Given their very good behaviour and capacity to act responsibly, expectations of what they might do are not high enough; too few opportunities are provided for them to develop independent learning and enquiry skills.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Attendance is satisfactory, remaining at about the national average level since the last inspection. Most pupils are punctual and therefore make a good start to the day.

p.15

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

12. The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. However, there is considerable variation across the school. In Years 1 and 2, teaching and learning are good and in Years 3 and 6 they are satisfactory overall, but with significant strengths and weaknesses between classes.

p.15

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

13. Teaching in Years 1 and 2 is good in 50 per cent of lessons, very good in a further 25 and satisfactory in the remainder. In Years 3 to 6, teaching ranges from very good to poor. Eighty-seven per cent of teaching is satisfactory or better, with 15 per cent being good and 21 per cent very good. However, all of the good and very good teaching in the juniors is attributable to three class teachers (in Years 3, 5 and 6) and visiting specialist teachers of music. Elsewhere in the juniors teaching is satisfactory at best, with all of the unsatisfactory or worse teaching seen in this department (amounting to 13 per cent of teaching seen in the juniors). These inconsistencies (noted in both lessons and pupils’ work) result in different rates of progress for pupils in different classes and even within the same year group.

p.15

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

14. Throughout the school, there are strengths in the way teachers manage pupils, with most engendering positive and supportive relationships. However, in all other aspects of teaching, the previously mentioned variation in teaching and learning exists. So, for example, overall teachers in Years 1 and 2 exhibit high expectations; show good subject knowledge, particularly of how to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills; and use a wider range of methods to capture and maintain pupils’ interest. These teachers also make satisfactory use of ongoing assessment, such as questioning, to help them plan future work to match pupils’ needs. The result is that pupils accomplish quite a lot in lessons and acquire knowledge and skills at a faster rate than their junior counterparts. Year 1 and 2 pupils also have a better insight into their learning than do junior pupils because they are given better quality feedback (mostly verbal) from

p.15

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

St Annes’ RC Primary School - 16 teachers. In the juniors, these positive aspects of teaching and learning are seen in only a few classes.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

15. Overall, most junior pupils are not aware of how well they are learning or on what they must concentrate to improve. Marking does not give pupils enough information about their strengths and weaknesses. Although the school’s target setting policy says that pupils are involved in negotiating their own targets for improvement and making decisions about their learning, in practice this does not occur. The same policy states that teachers take account of pupils’ targets when planning their work, but there is little evidence of teachers planning or providing different work to suit pupils’ individual needs, particularly in junior classes. While pupils have literacy targets, they do not have personal learning targets in numeracy as stated in the school’s monitoring and evaluation policy.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. Teachers’ planning in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory overall. However, in this aspect too, school policy is not evident in practice. For instance, the curriculum policy says that learning objectives are identified for each session, but there is much inconsistency in this practice. Similarly, it claims that teaching strategies are identified, but minimal evidence of this was found in teachers’ plans. Indeed, the range of strategies adopted by many junior teachers is narrow and prescriptive. As at the last inspection, many junior teachers are still heavily reliant on textbooks and commercial schemes that have not been adapted to meet pupils’ needs. This type of teaching approach has not helped to improve pupils’ independent learning skills.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. Overall, the learning of pupils with special educational needs is good. However, in class lessons, they frequently complete exactly the same tasks as others. Often they are given extra help from teachers or classroom assistants, but if this is not available they often struggle to cope. However, the number of these pupils is few and is offset to a good degree by effective teaching from visiting specialists and the school’s support staff. Whilst the range of attainment in a number of classes is not particularly wide, there are instances, mostly in the juniors, where higher attainers are not challenged enough. Overall, teachers do not place enough emphasis upon assessing, recording and tracking pupils’ achievements to identify those that need extra help or more challenging work.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. Literacy and numeracy skills are taught satisfactorily in junior English and mathematics lessons, but in other subjects they are not consistently well promoted, although some teachers do build in opportunities. In Years 1 and 2, teaching is more effective in promoting these skills across the curriculum. There are weaknesses in the teaching of ICT; most teachers do not make effective use of the limited resources that they have to support learning in this subject or others.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Staff care for the children and manage them well. Adults are clear about their roles and responsibilities and work well together. Teachers are keen and committed and try hard to provide children with the range of learning experiences necessary. However, they lack some training in how to implement the recommended curriculum for children this age. This, along with the constraints of the accommodation, limits teachers’ effectiveness. Teachers are supported very well by competent and dedicated nursery nurses who make a significant contribution to the quality of teaching and learning.

p.16

PUPILS?

St Annes’ RC Primary School - 17 20. The curriculum for pupils in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory overall, but there are weaknesses in ICT for all pupils and in art and design for junior pupils. There are weaknesses in the planning of learning experiences for children in the Foundation Stage. The quality of lesson and longer-term planning does not adequately reflect the guidance provided for children in this phase. Since the last inspection, policies and schemes of work have been produced for all subjects. However, in the case of ICT, art and design and PE, these are not implemented as stated. An overall curriculum map gives guidance to teachers about when and what they should be teaching and a curriculum policy gives an outline of planning strategies to be used for the development of key skills. In practice, however, neither is consistently adhered to; the curriculum policy does not fulfil its purpose as a description of what the school does.

p.17

PUPILS?

The school’s promotion of literacy and numeracy skills is satisfactory. However, the headteacher’s claim that the national literacy strategy is being implemented without modification is not reflected in some junior classes. Consequently, pupils in different classes are receiving different learning experiences. This situation is also evident in science, where the commercial scheme used is being implemented very differently between classes containing pupils of the same age.

p.17

PUPILS?

21. There is a limited range of extra-curricular activities, mainly sport, and these generally operate only seasonally. Personal, social and health education (PHSE) is not structured or planned for and occurs only incidentally. However, visits from outside agencies such as the police and emergency services make a valuable contribution to drugs education, which is an aspect that has improved since the last inspection. Although the school has decided not to teach sex education, the school nurse provides older pupils with information about puberty. The requirement for a daily act of collective worship is met through classroom prayers, assemblies and weekly masses. Satisfactory links exist with the local high school to which most pupils transfer at the end of Year 6 and with nurseries and play groups from which a few children transfer.

p.17

PUPILS?

22. The few pupils with special educational needs take part in the full range of learning experiences and activities offered. Liaison with visiting specialists from the local education authority (LEA) results in good work programmes being drawn up for these pupils, with clear targets for them to achieve.

p.17

PUPILS?

23. Provision for pupils’ spiritual development is unsatisfactory. Although there are frequent opportunities for pupils to participate in prayers, an atmosphere of reverence is not always achieved and there are few planned opportunities for pupils to reflect on spiritual issues either in assemblies or lessons. A few staff do not respect or value pupils’ differences and thereby do not provide good role models in promoting values of compassion and concern for others. Whilst there are some exceptions, overall, teaching does not inspire excitement in pupils or awe at the wonders of creativity, the mystery of existence or the courage of the human spirit.

p.17

PUPILS?

24. Provision for moral development is good and supports pupils’ good standards in this aspect. The school has a clear framework for how pupils are expected to behave. Any misbehaviour or inappropriate interactions between pupils are dealt with consistently and fairly. Moral messages are conveyed satisfactorily in assemblies and some lessons, although there is scope to capitalise more on the potential of these contexts. For example, discussion of moral issues in stories or historical incidents, and allowing pupils more independence to develop personal responsibility and concern for each other and for the environment.

p.17

PUPILS?

25. Provision for social development is satisfactory. Teaching is often rather formal, with most pupil activity consisting of individual tasks set by the teacher rather than working St Annes’ RC Primary School - 18 collaboratively on problem solving or on independent research. There is no provision for residential visits where pupils can learn to live and work together in at atmosphere of co-operation and tolerance. However, pupils do visit local nurseries and old people’s homes at Christmas, which brings them into contact with the wider world. Whilst there is some opportunity for pupils to carry out day-to-day responsibilities within school, there are no wider-reaching structures, such as a school council, to give pupils the chance to collate, consider and represent the views of others.

p.17

PUPILS?

26. Provision for cultural development is unsatisfactory. A satisfactory range of events and visitors enriches the curriculum. These include visiting drama companies, book fairs and visits to museums, historic houses and places of worship such as the mosque or synagogue. However, there is very little evidence of art from around the world and music is not regularly used in assemblies to introduce pupils to sounds from their own or other cultures. Given that the school is placed in a culturally diverse setting, there is little evidence, for instance, of other languages, literature, customs or artefacts. Opportunities are missed to promote pupils’ understanding of cultural diversity and develop their willingness to accept ideas different to their own.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

27. Staff remain committed to pupils’ welfare and know them and their families well. There are, however, significant weaknesses in the steps the school takes to ensure pupils’ safety. This represents a decline in the standards of care since the last inspection. Specifically:

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• The site presents a number of health and safety risks, particularly to the youngest children: their play area is unevenly paved; the steps to their classrooms are rusty and worn; and there are no safety guards on the heaters.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• The perimeter fence of the whole school is in a poor state of repair and is missing in an area adjacent to the railway line close to where the infants play.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• The gate adjacent to the main road is often left wide open while pupils are in the playground

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• Registers are not always called at the beginning of the morning and afternoon sessions, creating a health and safety risk in the case of an emergency evacuation.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• Evacuation procedures are not posted in many of the classrooms.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• Fire extinguishers have not been serviced within the last year as is required.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• The governors have no clear system for carrying out the annual health and safety risk assessment required by their policy.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

28. Behaviour is managed well in most lessons, making an effective contribution to pupils’ learning. Most teachers apply the school’s rules, sanctions and rewards consistently and fairly and use stickers and team or merit points well to encourage pupils to work hard. However, in a small number of lessons pupils’ efforts and hard work are not always appropriately valued and occasionally the loss of merit points is applied over zealously. This demoralises pupils and results in a lack of self-discipline amongst some who are confused about how to behave. Lunchtime supervisors usually interact well with pupils, sometimes skipping or playing rounders with them, which pupils really value and enjoy. However, here too, some do not always speak appropriately to pupils. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 19 29. The learning mentor gives a good level of additional support to a few pupils with specific behaviour problems through initiatives such as the ‘circle of friends’, which is

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

a form of pupils counselling each other. A senior teacher is designated responsible for child protection issues and ensures that all staff are aware of their responsibilities and up to date with the required procedures.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

30. Assessment procedures are unsatisfactory and have not shown any significant improvement since the last inspection. Indeed, measures recognised as effective at that time, such as maintaining samples of work in different subjects to ensure consistency of assessment between teachers have not been sustained. There are systems to monitor what pupils know and are able to do in English and mathematics; in these subjects teachers are able to make use of assessment information to help them plan what they intend pupils will learn next. However, even in these subjects, procedures are not well established. The result is inconsistency between teachers in planning and recording pupils’ achievements and tracking their progress. Consequently, even though test results are favourable, not enough information is retained about whether each child is making as much progress as s/he could. In other subjects, the school is in the same position as it was four years ago when the last

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

inspection described assessment systems as ‘in the early stages of development’.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

31. There are few established assessment procedures for subjects other than English and mathematics. Some that have recently been introduced have not had time to influence the quality of teachers’ planning as they do not include precise information about what pupils do well and what they need to do next. Overall, assessment information is incomplete, inconsistent and, consequently, unhelpful. The school has recently begun to use assessment to track the achievements of boys and girls. However, there are no procedures to track the attainment of minority groups, who, from time to time, are represented in the school; for example, pupils who speak English as an additional language.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

32. While teachers know pupils very well and report annually to parents about how their child is developing personally, there are limited formal systems or records that note how pupils are demonstrating qualities such as persistence, application, self- confidence and co-operation.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

33. Visiting professionals from agencies and teachers from the LEA’s support services regularly assess pupils with special educational needs. Pupils’ progress toward their targets is reviewed and monitored each term. Those with statements of special need have a regular annual review, which is carried out with the full participation of all the professionals involved.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

34. As at the time of the last inspection, the school’s partnership with parents is satisfactory. Most parents have very positive views of the school. Some are rightly concerned about the accommodation for the nursery and reception children.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

35. The quality of information for parents is satisfactory overall, with some strengths, but some significant shortcomings. Newsletters are regular and nicely presented, informing parents of what is happening in school. Each year there are two formal parent/teacher consultations and an open-day in the summer for parents to view their children’s work. However, information about what children will be learning varies between different classes and a number of parents say they do not feel informed St Annes’ RC Primary School - 20 enough about what is taught. Teachers are available in the playground in the morning so that parents can have a quick word if necessary. Although parents are happy with annual written reports on their children’s progress, these are unsatisfactory. Their quality is inconsistent between year groups and many are vague about the progress pupils have made over the year and what they need to do to improve. A minority

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

contain inappropriate comments; there is no reporting against pupils’ individual improvement targets as stated in the schools’ target setting policy. The prospectus is out of date (giving incorrect information about class organisation). It is missing statutory information about the test results of Year 2 pupils and national test results so that parents can make comparisons between these and the school’s results. The governors’ annual report is missing quite a lot of required information, such as details about the implementation of the governing body’s policy on pupils with special educational needs and the arrangements for admitting and supporting pupils who are disabled.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

36. Parents of pupils with statements of special need are invited to their child’s annual review. Parents of pupils without statements are invited to discuss their children’s termly learning programme. In both cases, however, there is no written record of parents’ participation at these meetings and IEP’s are unsigned.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

37. Parents are highly supportive of their children’s learning at school and at home. There is a high turnout for parent consultation meetings and any curriculum workshops that are held. Parents show very good commitment in supporting the sacramental programme in Year 3, which is carried out in conjunction with the parish church. Sports afternoons and school productions are always very well attended. The ‘Friends of St. Anne’s School’ organise many successful social functions to raise funds for the school. They have recently purchased new audiovisual equipment.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

38. The school is not being led and managed effectively. Weaknesses identified by the last inspection remain; most significantly in relation to standards in ICT throughout the school and junior pupils’ standards in art and design, which have not improved. While resources have improved in some subjects, they remain unsatisfactory in others, including ICT, art and design and for children in the Foundation Stage. There are also some shortages of artefacts for history. The school’s systems for assessing pupils and tracking their progress are much the same as they were in 1998 when they were identified as in need of improvement. Similarly, subject co-ordinators are still not involved enough in monitoring and evaluating standards or the quality of provision. There has been no noticeable improvement in providing pupils with opportunities to show responsibility and independence in their learning. Schemes of work (guidance on

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

planning) have been produced but are not adhered to by all teachers, resulting in pupils of the same age in different classes receiving different learning experiences.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

39. The headteacher and governors do not have a clear view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Other than the obvious improvements that are needed to the accommodation, neither the headteacher nor governors are able to think of much more that the school needs to do to improve. Their evaluation of the school’s performance is clouded by the above average results being achieved at the ends of Years 2 and 6. The headteacher and governors intuitively attribute this to teaching, which they incorrectly see as one of the school’s main strengths. There is no rigorous monitoring of teaching and learning or analysis of the progress pupils make, for example, between the end of reception and Year 2 or from Year 2 to the end of Year 6, to support this view. While standards are above average at the end of Year 6, in St Annes’ RC Primary School - 21 comparison with the very high standards that are consistently achieved by Year 2

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

pupils, there is scope for them to be better. The different rate of progress between junior and infant (Years 1 and 2) pupils has not been detected and addressed.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

40. The school’s development plan is not a useful document to support improvement or the management of change. Its priorities reflect the leadership’s view that the school is already very effective; there are minimal references to raising standards. The school’s policies in a number of important areas do not reflect its practice. These include those on target setting; the curriculum; monitoring; health and safety; and PE. Systems for accessing key information are not effectively organised.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

41. The special needs co-ordinator (SENCO) left last term so the headteacher has temporarily taken over the role. Documentation is poorly organised; there is no central store for resources; and teachers lack guidance to advise on teaching strategies and how to modify work for pupils. The special needs governor is interested and visits the school regularly, but is not involved in decisions about the purchase of resources and does not ensure that all parents are informed of their children’s special educational needs.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

42. There is a sufficient number of teachers, many of whom have lengthy experience in the school. They are provided with good support from a generous supply of well- trained classroom assistants who understand their roles, know the pupils well and have a positive impact on their learning.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

43. The accommodation is unsatisfactory. A fire, experienced soon after the last inspection, meant that the weaknesses identified at that time became even worse. All pupils are now on the same site, but the portable classrooms used by reception and nursery children for the past four years are in poor condition and unsuitable for teaching the required range of activities. There is no secure outdoor accommodation for them and the area that is used is not maintained well. Some of the toilets are still in poor condition, with a good deal of the sanitary-ware broken. The lack of a playing field limits games experiences and the lack of a library limits the development of research and independent learning skills. Teachers do, however, try to make the best of their classrooms, by creating interesting displays that stimulate pupils and celebrate their work. The hall displays are very well chosen to help heighten pupils’ enthusiasm for

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

reading and writing. The outside of the building is not well maintained. The governors have explained that the slow process of addressing the damage caused by the fire is the result of bureaucracy at various levels, which has held up their plans for improvement.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

44. Since the last inspection, governors have forged curriculum links that have made them more aware of the school’s work. They are very supportive of the school but still not involved enough in challenging it to improve. However, the quality of information they are given through the headteacher’s reports is inadequate. It is understandable that governors would assume that the policies presented to them for ratification were being implemented. It is similarly understandable that governors wanted to use the significant surplus funds accumulated to improve the building and maintain teaching levels despite the numbers of pupils falling quite markedly each year. However, the maintenance of such a high surplus is unsatisfactory when there are significant shortages of learning resources. Other aspects of financial planning are satisfactory. Funds allocated for pupils with special educational needs are used for their intended

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

purpose and satisfactory steps are taken to ensure that the best value for money is achieved in spending decisions, for example, in relation to the forthcoming building St Annes’ RC Primary School - 22 work. The school secretary provides a welcoming first contact for parents and visitors and good support for day-to-day administration.

p.21

the juniors by:

Information and communication technology • Improving resources, so that the ratio of computers to pupils is at least in line with national averages. • Providing more opportunities for pupils to use ICT across the curriculum. • Ensuring the potential of classroom computers is maximised in all lessons. • Providing training to increase teachers’ confidence and competence in using and teaching ICT. • Devising an assessment system to identify pupils’ achievements and track their progress.

p.22

the juniors by:

Art and design • Providing more opportunities for pupils to study, in depth, the work of known artists, craftspeople and designers from a range of cultures. • Devising an assessment system to identify pupils’ achievements and track their progress and to ensure that junior pupils’ learning builds on what has already been achieved in the infants. • Provide opportunities for the co-ordinator to monitor the quality of teaching and learning to ensuring consistency of practice between classes, for example, in the use of sketchbooks. • Improve resources to allow the full range of art and design work to be covered.

p.22

the juniors by:

(Main paragraphs 83-88) St Annes’ RC Primary School - 23

p.22

(2) Improve the quality of leadership and management by:

• Ensuring that rigorous systems to regularly monitor teaching and learning are implemented by the headteacher and co-ordinators, including thorough analyses of work in pupils’ books. • Making more effective use of performance data to detect the ‘value added’ to pupils’ progress (i.e. from the Foundation Stage to the beginning of Year 1; from Year 1 to the end on Year 2; and from Year 2 to the end of Year 6). • Producing a school development/improvement plan that specifically identifies where and how standards will be raised; the timescales involved; and the individuals responsible. The success criteria should be easily measurable and progress toward these should be reviewed regularly, including by the governing body. • Ensuring that all of the school’s policies are reflected in its practice. • Improving management systems for special educational needs. • Improving the quality of the headteacher’s reports to governors.

p.23

(3) Make better provision for pupils’ spiritual and cultural development by:

• Improving the quality of assemblies so that they provide a clear spiritual focus, time for reflection, and make better use of music and artefacts to create a spiritual atmosphere. • Raising staff awareness of how to plan for and promote spiritual development in lessons. • Ensuring that all staff provide pupils with good role models for respecting pupils’ differences. • Exploiting more fully the potential of subjects such as art and design and music to promote pupils’ cultural awareness, particularly that of non- western cultures, and of the multicultural nature of society.

p.23

(4) Improve assessment by:

• Implementing effective assessment systems in all subjects that allow teachers to plan work for all pupils that builds on what they already know. • Ensuring consistency of practice between teachers in planning and recording pupils’ achievements and tracking their progress in English and mathematics. • Using assessment information to evaluate the progress of different groups of pupils in relation to others. • Devising a system to assess pupils’ personal development.

p.23

(4) Improve assessment by:

(Main paragraphs 30-32) St Annes’ RC Primary School - 24

p.23

reception children by:

• Providing training for teachers. • Improving teachers’ planning. • Making improvements to the accommodation.

p.24

(7) Make improvements to the accommodation and some school

procedures to address the identified health and safety issues.

p.24

(7) Make improvements to the accommodation and some school

In addition to the key issues above, governors should consider the following, less important, issues for inclusion in their action plan:

p.24

(7) Make improvements to the accommodation and some school

Improve annual written reports to parents about their children’s progress (35) Improve junior pupils’ enquiry skills in history (5,99) Improve junior pupils’ library and research skills (5, 68) Ensure that the school’s prospectus and governors’ annual report are up-to-date and contain all the required information (35) St Annes’ RC Primary School - 25

p.24

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 33

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than one percentage point.

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 30 206

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 64

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 2

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 2 18

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 5

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 12

p.25

Attendance

School data 5.7 School data 0.3 St Annes’ RC Primary School - 26 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

p.25

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 27

p.26

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 20 23 43

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 19 15 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 23 20 23

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 98 (97) 81 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 19 19 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 23 23 23

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 98 (100) 98 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 22 21 43

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 16 16 19 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 17 17 17

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 77 (73) 77 (76) 84 (93) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 16 17 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 18 17 18

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 79 (73) 79 (73) 84 (85) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 28

p.27

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 2 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 4 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 1 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 4 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 2 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 12.5 Financial year 2001/02

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 16.5

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 714,939

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 7.5 Total expenditure 711,496

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 172.5 Expenditure per pupil 2,515

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 100,940

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 104,383

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 30

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 37.5 St Annes’ RC Primary School - 29 Number of pupils per FTE adult 15

p.28

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 1

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 78 20 2 0 0

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 69 29 2 0 1

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 65 26 7 0 3

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 76 21 2 0 1

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 84 15 1 0 0

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 83 15 1 0 1

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 68 28 4 0 0

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 80 20 0 0 0 St Annes’ RC Primary School - 30 The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 79 21 0 0 0

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 47 39 8 2 4 St Annes’ RC Primary School - 31

p.30

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

46. At the time of the inspection there were 37 children in the Foundation Stage (30 in the nursery and seven in reception) all of who were attending full-time. Small groups of nursery children, who are due to transfer to the reception class in January, spend one day a week in this class. Joint planning by the nursery and reception teachers provides some continuity for the children who spend time in both classes. However, the overall quality of curriculum planning is unsatisfactory, taking insufficient account of the recommended curriculum for children in this phase. The poor standard of accommodation, including the lack of a suitable outdoor play environment, limits opportunities for staff to provide enough readily accessible and independent learning experiences. This affects children’s progress most markedly in the creative, physical, and personal, social and emotional areas of learning.

p.31

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

47. In all areas of learning, the overall quality of teaching and learning is mostly satisfactory. The staff know children well and undertake some assessments of their progress and development, but these are not sufficiently detailed. The information gained about children’s attainment on entry to the reception class is not used effectively; for example, to plan the next stages of learning and to draw comparisons between the school’s baseline results and those found nationally.

p.31

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

48. At the time of the inspection, no member of staff had overall responsibility for co- ordinating the Foundation Stage and there is a lack of expertise amongst the staff to undertake such a role without additional training. The accommodation for both nursery and reception children is unsuitable. The staff are to be commended for the efforts they have made to enhance the teaching and learning environment in which they and the children have to work.

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

49. Nursery children are beginning to demonstrate confidence and an awareness of school routines. Children in the reception class learn to share and take turns; they work and play well together in pairs and groups. Staff provide good role models and work well together to create a calm and happy atmosphere. They have good relationships with the children and manage them well. When playing outdoors, most nursery children are happy to share toys and take turns in using large pieces of equipment; they respond well to the praise and encouragement they are given. Most are able to put on hats, coats and gloves independently. Snack time provides children with an important social activity to which they adapt well. However, better use could be made of this time to monitor and record children’s personal achievements.

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

50. In the reception class, early morning and registration activities are successfully used to emphasise the importance of friendship. In discussion sessions, children are keen to answer questions and are good at listening to one another. In free-choice activities they demonstrate initiative and independence when finding and selecting resources. During the inspection, the children were observed behaving very well when taken to church. They showed a good understanding of the occasion and were respectful and reverent. They joined in with some of the simpler prayers and knew the tunes, if not all the words, of familiar hymns. Children are thoughtful, kind, show awareness of the needs of others and are happy following established routines. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 32

p.31

Communication, language and literacy

51. Most nursery children have good speaking skills. These develop steadily through activities such as pretend play in the ‘house corner’ and discussions about what they have made from construction materials or when using sand, water and paint. When they arrive in the morning, both nursery and reception children are encouraged to talk and share experiences. They respond well to these opportunities and are keen to tell their news to the adults and other children. Storytime sessions are successful in introducing children to the excitement of books. Sharing of the story, ‘Kipper’s Birthday’ created great interest and enthusiasm and several children were able to give good explanations of their own birthday party experiences. Similarly, during a discussion activity, a group of reception children talked enthusiastically about how they would plan and prepare for a party in class. They were familiar with the need to organise

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

invitations, food, games and decorations.

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

52. Nursery children understand that books give them information or provide them with stories. Children in both nursery and reception really enjoy listening to poems, songs and rhymes and join in with familiar, well-known traditional pieces, performing actions with confidence and enthusiasm. Most nursery children identify a number of letter sounds. During the inspection, they were keen to find words that had the same beginning letter as their own names. Reception children know most letter sounds. The are encouraged to write their names on every piece of work and nearly all do so accurately from memory. Many children write simple words and phrases to create their own short stories and news. They know that a capital letter starts a sentence. Their letter formation is accurate and they are beginning to understand the importance of keeping letter size the same. Children are increasingly confident when reading, and

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

higher attainers read with some expression. One child particularly enjoyed reading ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and did so very well.

p.32

Mathematical development

53. Staff give the children a satisfactory range of opportunities to count and become used to numbers and other mathematical ideas. When playing outside, nursery children know which wheeled vehicles are bigger and smaller and count the number of steps on the slide and into the classroom. They count various sets of objects and arrange them into groups, for example, based on size. They know the shape and names of some numerals and place these in correct sequence order to five and ten. Water play includes the use of measuring jugs, and sand play involves children in moulding different shapes, all of which supports their growing understanding of shape and measure. During registration, children sometimes take turns to count how many are in school that day and how many are absent.

p.32

Mathematical development

54. In the reception class, children begin to gain a more formal understanding of number. Most count confidently to at least ten and many count well beyond this. Some higher attainers identify two numbers that add up to ten and a few go beyond this, for example, adding three numbers to make totals up to 20. Most children sort objects by different criteria, such as big, small, tall or short, and put them into different groups on the basis of colour, shape or size. Children recognise and name a number of two- dimensional shapes, such as a circle and a square. They show a satisfactory understanding of terms like ‘more than’, ‘less than’, ‘longer’ and ‘shorter’. When performing number rhymes such as ‘ Ten Cheeky Monkeys’ they confidently sequence numbers forwards and backwards between one and ten. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 33

p.32

Knowledge and understanding of the world

55. Staff give nursery children a satisfactory range of opportunities to learn about the world in which they live. For example, they are encouraged to discuss places they have visited and recall their experiences of going on holiday or day trips with their families. They have some knowledge and understanding of distance, for example they know that it takes longer to get to a holiday destination than to visit nearby relations. Staff plan and organise occasional visits to enrich the children’s experiences, such as to Crumpsall Park where they collect items such as conkers, ash and sycamore seeds for the nature table. At lunchtime, the children are fascinated by the different colours, textures and smells of food, especially those that are unfamiliar. Some understand that eating fruit is a healthier option than sweets or biscuits. Children use the computer to play simple games, which familiarise them with the keyboard and mouse. Some

p.33

Knowledge and understanding of the world

effective use is made of photography as a means of recording children’s work and experiences, such as their visit to a nearby allotment where they were able to see a family of newborn hedgehogs.

p.33

Knowledge and understanding of the world

56. In the reception class, children learn about themselves and the importance of keeping healthy. In their work about teeth, they find out why it is beneficial to eat some foods and not others. In discussion, children could name several fruits and vegetables as being good for their teeth and knew that sugar, sweets and chocolate were not. They also knew that cleaning their teeth after eating sweet things is helpful. Children have learned about the seasons and the resulting changes in the weather. They are familiar with weather symbols and recall appropriate representations for the sun, rain, wind and cloud. Through other environmental work, children have learned about sounds they hear about them and know that they hear sounds with their ears. Most are confident in using computers and control the mouse well to move objects around the screen; they correctly name some key pieces of hardware. They use ICT programs

p.33

Knowledge and understanding of the world

such as ‘Dressing Teddy’ independently and well. Children are also confident in operating other ICT equipment found in the classroom, such as listening centres. Throughout the Foundation Stage the children demonstrate an increasing and refreshing curiosity about the world around them.

p.33

Physical development

57. Nursery children build models out of commercial construction materials such Lego and Duplo , finding effective and creative ways of fixing them together. They demonstrate good manipulative skills when using malleable materials such as play- dough and wet sand. Outdoors, there is a very limited range of toys to support children’s physical skills. For example, to help them pedal and manoeuvre bicycles and cars or to climb and balance. However, staff try hard to compensate for this and, as a result, children develop confidence when using apparatus such as slides and steps and gain skills in throwing and catching a variety of balls and beanbags. In one lesson, the children used their imagination well in dance, music and drama activities, moving with confidence as angry giants and happy butterflies. The children enjoyed taking turns and watching each other perform. They utilised the space in the school

p.33

Physical development

hall well and demonstrated good contrasting movements.

p.33

Physical development

58. Sound progress continues in the reception class where children’s skills in holding and controlling pencils, scissors and other tools, increases. Outdoors, the children kick balls to one another with increasing accuracy. They explore equipment, crawling through tunnels and weaving in and out of obstacles without knocking them down. By the end of the year, the children move with confidence, imagination and in safety whilst demonstrating appropriate levels of control and co-ordination. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 34

p.33

Creative development

59. The constant availability of painting activities results in nursery children’s uninhibited exploration of their creativity in this aspect. They use bright colours boldly, correctly naming a range of colours and showing keenness in explaining their work. The opportunities and encouragement for children to use their fingers to paint and to engage in drawing activities sustains their interest, as do collage activities, in which they show some creativity in the arrangement of different materials. Pretend play occurs both in and outdoors. Children enjoy the opportunity to take responsibility as the person in charge of ‘the school crossing’ or by being the police officer who organises car parking. Similarly, children enjoy undertaking tasks at ‘St. Anne’s Garage’, serving petrol and sorting out repairs.

p.34

Creative development

60. Music lessons, shared by nursery and reception children, are well planned. In these, children make very good progress in response to the teacher’s secure subject knowledge and high expectations. Reception children are able to recognise high and low sounds and clap along or play their instruments well to a rhythm. They join in enthusiastically when singing familiar songs. Although these sessions are of high quality, they are quite short. Opportunities for children to engage in spontaneous musical activities throughout the course of each day are less well planned. Too few instruments are readily available for children to explore and children’s musical talents are not promoted effectively enough in other areas of learning. For instance, during class prayers, opportunities are missed for singing together or listening to some quiet reflective music.

p.34

Creative development

61. Because of the restrictions imposed by the lack of space in the reception class, it is not possible for children to have ready access to an adequate range of activities that promote good learning in this area. There are planned opportunities for children to use paints and collage materials, for example when making invitations and decorations for ‘Meg’s Party’ and there is a small area dedicated to role-play; currently ‘St. Anne’s Opticians’. However, limited space restricts children from creating large-scale pieces of work. Their natural enthusiasm for lively pretend play often has to be quelled because it causes a distraction for others engaged in more subdued activities.

p.34

ENGLISH

62. Standards by the end of Year 2 are well above average. By the end of Year 6 they are above average. Progress is satisfactory overall, although it is good during Years 1 and 2 where the quality of teaching and learning is of a more consistently high standard than in the juniors.

p.34

ENGLISH

63. By the end of year 2, pupils talk clearly and with enthusiasm about things that they have done such as their visit to the art gallery. They listen carefully to each other and teachers, and respond thoughtfully, showing good understanding of the need to alter their speech according to their audience. Pupils become fluent readers, enjoying long and quite complex books and finding plenty to say about the contents; for example, confidently retelling the plot or talking about the characters. When they get stuck on a word, they make good use of strategies such as blending letter sounds to help them. They are developing good skills in understanding what they read and most are very clear in expressing their likes and dislikes in reading material. Particularly good progress is made in writing. Stories are well constructed with ideas being logically sequenced and good use made of vocabulary to describe characters and settings.

p.34

ENGLISH

Writing becomes increasingly longer and more detailed as pupils progress through St Annes’ RC Primary School - 35 Years 1 and 2. There is confident and often correct use of punctuation. Almost all pupils form letters correctly. Although handwriting is not joined at this stage, work is well presented. Spelling shows good application of pupils’ knowledge of spelling patterns and letter sounds; for instance, they make good approximations of unfamiliar or irregularly spelt words. Many common words are spelt correctly.

p.34

ENGLISH

64. Year 6 pupils listen well and are confident and adept at expressing opinions or engaging effectively in discussions. Most become fluent readers and enjoy fiction, showing good knowledge of a range of authors. However, many have weak library and information retrieval skills; for example most have no idea of how to find either fiction or non-fiction books in libraries. Pupils benefit from the range of opportunities provided to write for a range of audiences and purposes. These include play-scripts, letters, newspaper accounts and descriptions. Higher attainers write fluently and with confidence, changing their style according to the context and showing that they can use language effectively to set a scene or create atmosphere. Average and lower attainers write accurately, but with less creative use of vocabulary.

p.35

ENGLISH

65. Teaching in Years 1 and 2 is mostly good. Teachers plan lessons thoroughly and make good use of resources and different teaching methods. The recent introduction of target setting helps to clarify what pupils have already achieved and what needs to be tackled next to take their learning forward. Classrooms are interesting and stimulating, with useful reference materials that help pupils with their work. Good attention is paid to promoting pupils’ understanding and use of letter sounds, which supports their good progress in both reading and writing.

p.35

ENGLISH

66. Teaching quality varies in the juniors, with teachers using many different styles and approaches. During the inspection, quite a lot of junior literacy lessons focused for the full hour on only one element, such as spelling or grammar. Some of these lessons were successful, but in others the range of work was too narrow and unchallenging. This led to pupils becoming bored and not learning enough. Teachers’ planning and pupils’ books suggest that lessons of this type are the norm in some classes so pupils do not appear to get the full range of work identified within the national literacy strategy’s framework 5 . Similarly, in many classes, both teaching and planning are heavily dependent on published schemes, with little adaptation to meet pupils’ needs. These weaknesses prevent pupils from building on what they have already learned and therefore sustaining the good progress made during Years 1 and 2.

p.35

ENGLISH

67. Pupils with special educational needs that warrant the support of an outside agency are well catered for. They have structured learning plans and receive good support in lessons from skilled and well-trained assistants. Otherwise, even though in some classes the range of attainment is not particularly wide, work is not always modified enough to provide additional challenge for higher attainers or meet the needs of those who work more slowly.

p.35

ENGLISH

68. In the most effective junior lessons, teachers provide motivating work. This happened in a Year 3 class where the teacher engaged pupils in writing a conversation between two famous fairytale characters, Cinderella and The Big Bad Wolf . This gave pupils the opportunity to create a dialogue between characters that they already knew, resulting in them coming up with creative and lively ideas. English skills are promoted well in some other subjects, such as history, where extended and different forms of written work often developed well. For example, Year 5 pupils used bullet points to plan letters that they would write to emulate the type of correspondence indicative of 17 th

p.35

ENGLISH

5 This identifies what pupils in each year group will learn in each term. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 36 century. Speaking and listening skills are well promoted throughout the school. Teachers use and promote subject-specific vocabulary well, for example in mathematics, science, and DT. However, opportunities for pupils to develop independent or collaborative research skills are rare, particularly in the juniors. While resources are adequate overall, the lack of a library limits opportunities for pupils to acquire necessary research skills. Pupils’ weak standards in this area show that teachers have not compensated sufficiently for the lack of this key resource. Similarly, the lack of computers, combined with the few opportunities pupils are given to use them, for instance, to draft and edit work or research information, does not support learning in either this subject or ICT. Homework is used satisfactorily to support

p.35

ENGLISH

69. The subject co-ordinators monitor test results, which helps them to prioritise areas for improvement and this has led to the current focus on writing. However, in the juniors checks on colleagues’ planning and on the quality of teaching and learning are not rigorous enough to detect and eradicate the inconsistencies and weaknesses that exist.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

70. By the end of Year 2, standards are well above average. By the end of Year 6 they are above average. Standards seen at the last inspection have been maintained satisfactorily, but inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and learning between Year 1 and 2 pupils and those in Years 3 to 6 have not been identified and dealt with. Consequently, the good progress made in the infants is not consistently maintained throughout the juniors.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

71. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 achieve well. This reflects the consistently good teaching and enthusiasm for learning in these classes. By the end of Year 2, many pupils understand and can order numbers to 1000. They apply their good grasp of number to problems such as, 'If I double x, what number did I start with?' They organise their recorded work well, using and interpreting symbols correctly when solving problems. By the end of Year 6, about a quarter of pupils are working below the level expected, but at least a third are above. Most pupils use their good knowledge of times-tables to multiply large numbers. They apply their calculation skills effectively when solving problems of length and capacity. Occasionally pupils show written explanations of their methods of operating and give reasons for their findings, but overall, they have insufficient opportunities to do so. Higher attainers use co-ordinates to specify

p.36

MATHEMATICS

locations in both positive and negative areas of a grid in the four quadrants; they measure and classify angles correctly. Pupils make some effective use of ICT to construct and interpret graphs. However, when pupils draw their own graphs, many omit the heading or do not label the axes, even in Year 6.

p.36

MATHEMATICS

72. The quality of teaching and learning in the juniors is variable, although usually satisfactory. Not all teachers have high enough expectations of pupils. For example, higher attainers in Year 3 correctly record their addition calculations of three sets of numbers such as 745 + 129 + 115, but then complete many pages of easier rote calculations correctly before moving on to more challenging tasks. Work of pupils in Years 3 and 4 shows little evidence of investigations, which stifles pupils’ progress in using and applying mathematical knowledge and skills. However, pupils in Year 5 and some in Year 6 are challenged well, learning different strategies, such as alternative methods of recording multiplication tasks and investigating range, median and mode. Most teachers effectively emphasise pupils' use and understanding of specific mathematical vocabulary, but in some classes, pupils’ constant misspellings of key

p.36

MATHEMATICS

St Annes’ RC Primary School - 37 mathematical words are not corrected. Overall, the way that teachers mark pupils’ work commends and encourages them, but provides little information to tell them how to improve.

p.37

MATHEMATICS

73. Some high quality teaching was seen. For example, Year 2 pupils were excited and enthusiastic in a lesson where they sought their 'hidden number partners'. The work motivated pupils and made them see mathematics as fun. The recording tasks that followed were matched well to pupils' attainment, resulting in some very good learning. Similarly, a Year 3 teacher provided good challenge in getting pupils to think about patterns of two-dimensional shapes. As the patterns became more intricate a boy murmured, "This is interesting". The best lessons begin with a lively oral 'warm-up' in which all pupils are involved. This was seen in a Year 6 class where the teacher required pupils to read a series of large numbers. All pupils were included and given challenging questions and tasks that were matched to their attainment. Some teachers share the lesson objectives with pupils and this helps them to gain an

p.37

MATHEMATICS

understanding of how well they are learning. However, this practice is not consistent. Regular homework is set which is marked and discussed.

p.37

MATHEMATICS

74. Most pupils enjoy the subject, particularly when the teacher makes learning fun and sets tasks that cause pupils to think hard. Pupils listen attentively, make good efforts to answer questions and behave well. In most lessons, pupils with special educational needs are fully involved and generally make similar progress to their classmates. The good help and encouragement these pupils are given by learning support assistants often results in them making good progress.

p.37

MATHEMATICS

75. Numeracy skills are promoted satisfactorily within other subjects. For instance, pupils are required to measure accurately and construct cubes from nets in DT and they use timelines in history lessons to identify dates and calculate time between events. Some data handling experience occurs in specific ICT lessons, but classroom computers are not used enough in mathematics or other lessons to reinforce numeracy skills. The subject co-ordinators have no opportunities to monitor teaching and learning and are therefore unaware of the inconsistencies that exist.

p.37

SCIENCE

76. By the end of Year 2 standards are well above average. By the end of Year 6 they are above. This reflects a similar picture to that found by the last inspection.

p.37

SCIENCE

77. Some effective teaching and learning occurs during Years 1 and 2, with a varying range of stimulating and innovative experiences supporting pupils’ good progress. By Year 2, most pupils have a good understanding of the principles of scientific investigation. For instance, they explain that for a test to be fair, things must be ‘the same’. In preparing an investigation into the most effective methods for removing stains from clothes, the pupils elaborated by describing how the size and shape of the mark they made on the back of the different shirts had to be the same. They also knew that for the test to be fair, the same marker had to be used and that all the shirts had to be made of the same material and be the same colour. Pupils’ knowledge of different areas of science is good. They correctly identify a range of natural and made materials, including wood, plastic, wool and paper, and talk about their uses. They

p.37

SCIENCE

have a satisfactory understanding of the benefits and dangers of electricity. Pupils enjoy practical work and the good attention given to this aspect of science underpins their good progress. In the best lessons, work is modified well to support pupils of different attainment, with good challenge for higher attainers. For example, Year 2 pupils sorted objects according to whether they were manufactured or natural, but St Annes’ RC Primary School - 38 higher attainers were also able to say that some natural materials are the basis for manufactured items such as wooden furniture.

p.37

SCIENCE

78. Progress varies during Years 3 to 6, but is satisfactory overall. However, some pupils, mostly higher attainers, are capable of achieving better than they do. They have high personal aspirations and want to do well, but they are not made to work hard enough in every class. Some pupils make good progress in experimental and investigative work. This is evident from the level of detail that they include in recorded work. For example, pupils in Year 5 clearly annotated their findings when conducting experiments to test types of sound and conditions that affect clarity and volume. In their work about evaporation and condensation they could predict the effect of varying temperatures upon the speed at which a solution would change. They exemplify their arguments effectively by applying them to everyday situations, such as boiling a kettle and using a washing line or radiator to dry laundry. However, many pupils in Years 3 and 4 do not

p.38

SCIENCE

do enough of this type of work. By Year 6, pupils have good knowledge and skills and use scientific vocabulary. This was apparent in their explanations of the wider reaching implications of, for example, the water cycle and changes brought about through global warming, or the impact of space travel upon humankind’s knowledge and understanding of the universe.

p.38

SCIENCE

79. Teaching in the juniors is satisfactory overall and good in some classes. In general, Year 5 pupils and some in Year 6 are taught better than those in Years 3 and 4, although there is some good teaching in one Year 3 class. Teachers’ own confidence and subject knowledge are helped by the use they make of a commercial scheme to guide planning. However, pupils’ work shows that, despite using this scheme, pupils of the same age in different classes are not always taught the same things.

p.38

SCIENCE

80. Overall, in spite of pupils being well behaved and self motivated, they are not given enough opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning, for example, by undertaking their own research or devising investigative tasks. In discussion, Year 6 pupils clearly explain basic features such as fair testing, but they are not sufficiently experienced or familiar with devising and carrying out their own experiments and investigations, rather they follow those initiated by the teacher. Pupils write satisfactory accounts of their work. They make the best progress in recording what they have learned where they use labelled diagrams and graphs to interpret and communicate data.

p.38

SCIENCE

81. Teachers mark pupils’ work, but many do not provide comments that tell pupils what they do well or need to improve. Some effective opportunities are provided for pupils to use numeracy skills, for instance, when recording work using bar graphs and tally charts. However, little use is made of ICT to support learning.

p.38

SCIENCE

82. Procedures to assess pupils’ standards and progress are unsatisfactory, as is the use teachers make of any available assessment information. Teachers do not keep adequate information about the development of pupils’ skills and few records are kept to help them plan what to do next. Checks on teaching and learning are not rigorous enough to identify the inconsistencies in quality in the juniors.

p.38

ART AND DESIGN

83. By the end of Year 2, pupils achieve average standards but by the end of Year 6, standards are below those that are expected. This is the same situation as was found by the last inspection. Progress in the juniors is unsatisfactory. The skills learned in St Annes’ RC Primary School - 39 the infants are not built upon effectively enough and pupils are not taught an adequate range of new skills. In part, this is because only basic resources are provided for pupils to use in lessons, but also because art is frequently only used as a means to enhance work in other subjects and pupils have very few opportunities to evaluate and improve their work.

p.38

ART AND DESIGN

84. By the end of Year 2, pupils mix colours successfully, for instance to illustrate the biblical stories of Jonah, Noah and Joseph. They produce satisfactory observational drawings of objects from nature such as snails, flowers and trees. Pupils recognise that by mixing paints, or by using pencils of a different thickness, they can produce different effects. In connection with their work in science, they use chalks, pastels, charcoal and simple painting techniques to produce illustrations of trees through the seasons. Pupils discussed their visit to Salford Art Gallery and recalled some information about the work of L. S. Lowry, for instance, his choice of subject matter and some distinctive features such as ‘matchstick’ people. Overall, however, pupils’ knowledge of the work of famous artists is weak.

p.39

ART AND DESIGN

85. By the end of Year 6, pupils use pencil and crayon to produce a limited range of observational drawings of objects and still life arrangements, including books, glass jars, bottles and plants. Not all have sketchbooks to practise skills or to use as a reference when completing work. They show a satisfactory appreciation of colour as they create colour palettes and examine the use of colour in Victorian art. However, pupils do not have enough opportunities to study, in depth, the work of various artists, craftspeople and designers, or to adapt their styles for use in their own work. In discussion, pupils could not recall having studied any artist other than L. S. Lowry and their knowledge of well-known works of art was very insecure.

p.39

ART AND DESIGN

86. Pupils enjoy lessons and generally behave very well in them; they are always ready to share resources and to help one another. Some put a good deal of effort into their work and are keen to discuss it with visitors. For example, in a Year 4 lesson, linked to history work on Ancient Egypt, pupils enthusiastically explained how they were producing mosaic headdresses, clay tiles and amulets, incorporating hieroglyphic decorations.

p.39

ART AND DESIGN

87. In the two lessons seen, teaching was satisfactory. However, weaknesses in the way the curriculum is planned and implemented do not support consistently effective teaching and learning; this is particularly evident in junior pupils’ work. Shortcomings in the curriculum also mean that the potential of the subject to promote pupils’ personal development is not realised. For example, pupils do they have many opportunities to evaluate art from different cultures. Teachers do not have a good enough range of resources at their disposal to teach the required range of skills and techniques. For example, there are no resources for activities such as batik or silk-screen printing. The effectiveness of learning is also reduced because not all pupils have sketchbooks to experiment with media or effects and there are not enough planned opportunities for them to develop creativity through the design process.

p.39

ART AND DESIGN

88. The co-ordinator has been responsible for the subject for many years, but has not been given time or opportunity to monitor or evaluate provision or to ensure that the unsatisfactory attainment noted by the last inspection has been addressed. There is no formal system for assessing pupils’ knowledge and skills or tracking their progress. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 40

p.39

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (DT)

89. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are above average. This reflects good improvement since the last inspection. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well.

p.40

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (DT)

90. Teaching is good. Pupils’ high standards and good achievement are underpinned by teachers’ good subject knowledge. This leads to them setting challenging work for pupils that addresses key knowledge, skills and understanding in the subject. For example, when Year 1 pupils planned to make a fruit salad they were required to identify for whom they were making it, which influenced their selection of fruits. In deciding which tools they would use, the pupils were promoted to think about whether the fruits they had chosen were soft and juicy or crunchy. With some guidance, pupils set out clear plans, including a drawing of how they wanted their salad to look; the designs of some higher attainers showed a good sense of order and pattern.

p.40

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (DT)

91. Junior pupils investigate well. For example, in Year 3 they disassemble packaging then reconstruct it. The knowledge they gain about the nets of three-dimensional shapes helps them to draw and construct their own nets of cubes. The subject is approached in a logical way; pupils set out their objectives, with a clear view of the intended use, and plan accordingly. Some highly effective teaching was seen in Year 6 where the teacher’s very good subject knowledge and high expectations of pupils led to very good learning. Pupils’ plans were thorough, with good attention to detail such as function, appearance and the suitability of materials. Prototype models of shelters were constructed first, with tools being used sensibly and safely, and thought given to how materials would be joined.

p.40

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (DT)

92. Pupils enjoy the subject and take great pride and pleasure in their work. They work well together, helping each other and making suggestions about how the end products could be improved. In one of the lessons, a pupil with special educational needs was very effectively included and was given good help and support by pupils as well as the learning support assistant.

p.40

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (DT)

93. The curriculum provides for a wide range of experiences. However, there is no system of assessment to track pupils' acquisition of skills. So, for example, while pupils' designs are good in some classes, this skill is not being taught well everywhere so progress is not consistent. Some good links with other subjects are made, such as history in Year 5 where pupils reinforce their learning of the Great Plague by designing and concocting 'cures'. However, little use is made of ICT to support learning.

p.40

GEOGRAPHY

94. Standards are average at the end of Years 2 and Year 6. This is an improvement since the last inspection when Year 6 pupils’ knowledge and understanding of rivers and settlements was weak.

p.40

GEOGRAPHY

95. By the end of Year 2, pupils compare their local area with other places. They identify the main features of a city, a town, and the country, and know about the services that are needed and provided. Pupils draw simple plans of their journeys to school and write reports on their visit to a farm. Following the exploits of ‘Barnaby Bear’, pupils find out about different countries, gaining knowledge of aspects such as climate, money and activities. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 41 96. By the end of Year 6, pupils have a secure understanding of the nature of geography; for instance, the relationship between the physical and human aspects. They carry out field studies, explaining what they did and found out, for example, measuring river depth and varying rates of flow. Recording includes drawing a cross-section of the river and graphs of the different minibeasts collected. Pupils list the physical features

p.40

GEOGRAPHY

seen and show awareness of erosion. Previous work shows some good learning of other aspects of physical geography. For example, pupils write about the construction of the Earth and the effects of the movement of its plates. They have good knowledge of geographical vocabulary, explaining about the core and mantle of the Earth's crust, and dormant and extinct volcanoes.

p.41

GEOGRAPHY

97. Standards of teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, but vary from good to poor in the juniors. Sometimes, teacher expectations are low and pupils are not managed well; both factors limit learning. In one lesson, for example, some older juniors wasted considerable time colouring maps and completing copying tasks. However, there is some good use of resources to support learning, such as in Year 5, where pupils compared Crumpsall and Eyam. Here, the provision of a range of photographs, aerial views and maps supplemented the teacher’s good explanations and promoted effective learning.

p.41

GEOGRAPHY

98. The subject co-ordinator has only recently been appointed and therefore has not had sufficient time to have any significant impact. She has ensured that a curriculum plan is in place so that work is not repeated, as happened, to some extent, previously. However, no formal assessments are conducted to track pupils' acquisition of basic skills.

p.41

HISTORY

99. Standards and provision remain much as they were in the last inspection. By the end of Years 2 and 6, pupils reach average levels. While Year 6 pupils’ knowledge and understanding of different periods of history is good, their skills of historical enquiry are weak. For instance, they do not demonstrate the expected skills in researching a topic independently and coming to their own conclusions about aspects of the past.

p.41

HISTORY

100. By the end of Year 2, pupils have acquired sound knowledge about significant characters from history. They sequence and describe simple events chronologically and talk knowledgeably about the similarities and differences between their own lives and those of children in Victorian times. Their enthusiasm for the subject was particularly stirred by a visit to Salford Museum. Afterwards, they enjoyed telling inspectors about what they saw, including the Victorian classroom and the artefacts it contained. By the end of Year 6, pupils have increased their knowledge of Victorian history gaining good knowledge of the working conditions of children and understanding the effect of the Factory Acts. However, they have little knowledge of how they might carry out their own research into this period of history by, for example, using sources such as books, photographs or observations of local buildings and artefacts. One or two pupils are able to discuss the difference between fact and

p.41

HISTORY

opinion but, overall, pupils are not familiar with the idea of considering how interpretations of history might differ or the significance of primary and secondary sources of evidence.

p.41

HISTORY

101. Teaching is satisfactory overall, although there are strengths in Years 1 and 2 where teachers’ good use of artefacts, such as Braille print and Victorian kitchen utensils, inspires pupils and gives them a real interest in and ‘feel’ for history. Some very effective teaching was seen in Year 3 where the teacher engaged pupils in lively St Annes’ RC Primary School - 42 discussion about why the building of Roman roads was such an important feature of the occupation. In this lesson, pupils were highly motivated and learning was very good. However, in other junior classes, textbooks are often over-used and pupils are required to find out answers to questions from limited and uninspiring sources. The lack of teaching of the skills of historical enquiry and research was a weakness in nearly all the lessons seen in the juniors and prevents standards from being higher.

p.41

HISTORY

102. Since the last inspection, a policy and scheme of work has been produced, but there is little guidance for teachers about how to plan lessons that promote the development of historical skills as well as knowledge. Assessment is still not in place and no records of pupils’ progress are kept. Some teachers have made good personal collections of artefacts, but there is no central resource base for teachers to access and books are in short supply in some classes.

p.42

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

103. Standards in the subject are below average by the end of Years 2 and 6; this reflects broadly the situation as was found by the last inspection. Improvement has not been adequate. It is only in the last 12 months that pupils have benefited from learning experiences provided at the City Learning Centre (CLC). Specifically, last year all pupils in Years 3 to 6 spent five weekly sessions there and this year, the opportunities have been extended to include Year 2. Prior to this, some sessions at a local high school were provided for junior pupils. The sessions held at the CLC are well taught by the instructors and pupils derive much benefit from them. However, the school does not have enough resources to support learning in the subject and pupils do not have sufficient time or opportunity to acquire and practise skills. Each classroom has a computer but in many lessons, opportunities are missed to support learning by using

p.42

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

them; sometimes computers are not even switched on. Teachers do not make enough use of ICT to support learning in other subjects. During the inspection, only occasional use was made of classroom computers in such contexts and there was insufficient evidence in pupils’ work of ICT being used across the curriculum. One good example was where a pupil with special educational needs used a computer program to reinforce basic skills in a Year 6 mathematics lesson. However, when pupils use the classroom computers, most work slowly due to weak keyboard skills.

p.42

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

104. Pupils in Year 2 are competent in aspects of handling and communicating information. They have acquired basic keyboard skills for typing and amending their work; they change fonts and highlight words; higher attainers centre headings and create borders to enhance the appearance of their work. All are able to save and print it. Using data referring to a visit to Bramhall Hall, Year 5 pupils have produced spreadsheets and a range of graphs.

p.42

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

105. Only one lesson was seen in school. Here Year 1 pupils learned to identify the monitor, screen and printer, but most had no opportunity to use the computer. Insufficient teaching was seen to make a secure judgement on its quality, but most teachers lack confidence and feel that the training they received was not good. To compensate somewhat, the school organised some training sessions for teachers at the CLC. The specialist teacher at the CLC plans with teachers at the school to support pupils’ lessons at the centre. The sessions are organised well to ensure that pupils will, ultimately, experience all facets of the ICT curriculum. At the CLC, a session involving Year 2 pupils resulted in very good progress. The pupils were required to type and edit a list of instructions that they had prepared previously. This was related to other work that they were completing in school, based on the story of Red Riding Hood. The

p.42

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

pupils were very interested in the task, listened attentively and behaved very well. Very St Annes’ RC Primary School - 43 good questioning from the instructor resulted in pupils giving good explanations about what they had understood.

p.42

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

106. While the sessions at the CLC are a very useful source of learning experiences, inadequate provision at the school means that pupils are not receiving a satisfactory education in this subject. Plans for a computer suite to be part of the new building have been in place for some time, but resources have remained weak for too long and have had a negative effect on standards and progress. This, together with the weaknesses in teaching and the lack of any formal assessment to track pupils’ acquisition of skills, are key factors in the below average standards and the lack of improvement since the last inspection. The subject has not been led and managed satisfactorily.

p.43

MUSIC

107. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are broadly in line with what is expected, although Year 2 pupils achieve good standards in singing. Overall, standards are similar to those found by the last inspection.

p.43

MUSIC

108. During the inspection, it was not possible to see any class lessons. Those observed in the infants were taught by the co-ordinator; in the juniors, lessons seen were taught by visiting specialists to small groups. In all cases, standards of teaching and learning were good or better. The new co-ordinator is enthusiastic and has very good subject knowledge. This is paying off in terms of the progress that infant pupils are making in the sessions she leads. Currently, the co-ordinator does not teach music in the juniors, although there are plans for this.

p.43

MUSIC

109. By the end of Year 2, pupils have learned the words and tunes to a good range of songs. They control their voices well when, for instance, singing some parts slowly and others quickly, and depicting softness and vigour as required by the words. They have learned to clap and use instruments to maintain rhythm and pulse and to communicate different sound patterns. In assemblies, most junior pupils join in well with hymns and songs showing their enjoyment by means of accompanying actions. They maintain the tune well and show awareness of the need to sing in time with each other. Groups receiving instrumental tuition make good progress. For example, a group of four pupils at the early stages of learning the violin made good progress in learning how to hold the instrument; the correct names for its various parts; and developed control in the skill of plucking the strings in time with each other and the

p.43

MUSIC

110. In the lessons seen, teaching was brisk and kept pupils’ alert. Teachers’ secure subject knowledge came through strongly in their high expectations of pupils and good promotion of subject-specific vocabulary. Teachers’ good rapport with pupils clearly supported their enjoyment of lessons, firing their enthusiasm and making them keen to learn.

p.43

MUSIC

111. The new co-ordinator has already provided teachers with a questionnaire to determine their strengths, views and training needs. She has purchased a commercial scheme of work to ensure that all teachers will be working from planning that builds, each year, on what pupils have already learned. This scheme incorporates useful lessons plans to support non-specialists and should add significantly to resources in terms of extending the range of music to which pupils can listen, including music from different times, traditions and cultures. St Annes’ RC Primary School - 44 112. The co-ordinator plans to reintroduce the choir as an extra-curricular option for pupils. Although there are currently no procedures to formally assess pupils’ skills, this, too, is an area that the co-ordinator has already done some preliminary work on and hopes to introduce. Some musical workshops and visits from performers such as African

p.43

MUSIC

drummers and the local authority music service have enhanced pupils’ learning experiences and enjoyment of music. Very little use is made of ICT to support learning.

p.44

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

113. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are broadly average, which represents some decline since the last inspection when they were above. However, in dance, standards remain above average at the end of Year 6. Based on the school’s records, standards in swimming are average. Pupils receive swimming instruction in Years 3 and 4; of the current Year 5 group, most have achieved the minimum 25 metres expected by the end of Year 6. However, records are unclear and there is no provision to ensure that all pupils leave the school at the level set out in the National Curriculum.

p.44

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

114. Teaching overall is satisfactory. However, there are weaknesses in the teaching of junior games because teachers do not pay sufficient attention to developing pupils’ basic skills. Pupils are rarely asked to observe others and identify why they are successful. Despite the very poor outside accommodation, outdoor lessons are lively and pupils enjoy the vigorous activity. Teachers lead by example and pupils respond well to this. By Year 6, pupils' hockey skills are good, whilst those of throwing and receiving large balls are average. Pupils’ ability to participate sensibly in small-sided games is not good unless they are closely supervised. However, dance and gymnastics lessons are well managed and more successful.

p.44

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

115. In a Years 1 and 2 lesson, pupils imitated frogs, snakes and monkeys as they moved to music. They enjoyed the lesson and responded well to the encouragement and practical example of the teacher. The teacher showed good awareness of all pupils and ensured each participated fully. Pupils used the space well and, as the lesson progressed, they showed greater control over their movements and executed them more in time with the music. When they produced a complete performance, they included realistic and contrasting movements of good quality. A very good dance lesson was seen in Year 6 where pupils showed good skills in their use of expressive movement. This stemmed from the teacher’s good subject knowledge, high expectations of pupils and personal involvement. Consequently, pupils applied themselves well to the task, creating and holding spiky shapes, at different levels. They were invited to contribute ideas for different ways of moving and did so willingly. Many

p.44

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

demonstrated examples to their classmates, including a pupil with special educational needs who took a full part in the lesson. Pupils are turned out well for lessons, dressed suitably for indoor or outdoor activities.

p.44

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

116. With no time or opportunity to monitor standards, the co-ordinator is insufficiently involved and has little direct influence on the subject. No assessment records are maintained to track standards. The outdoor facilities are totally unsatisfactory and teachers do well to provide satisfactory lessons in the circumstances.

p.44