St Anne Line Catholic Junior School

Inspection Report St Anne Line Catholic Junior School

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115156 Unique Reference Number ESSEX LEA LEA 279528 Inspection number 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Michael Milton LI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Wickhay School address Junior Type of school SS15 5AF Voluntary aided School category 7 to 11 Age range of pupils 01268 470444 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01268 524710 Fax number 257 Number on roll Mrs.Julie Gallagher Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr. Martin Larrett Headteacher 11 October 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279528 15 May 2006 - 7 to 11 16 May 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

St Anne Line Catholic Junior School is of average size. Pupils' attainment on entry is broadly average, with some weaknesses in writing. Although most pupils are from White British backgrounds, there are pupils from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds. There are average proportions of pupils whose first language is not English or who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The proportion known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The school has received the Sports Active Mark, the FA Charter Mark, the Basic Skills Charter Mark and awards for Healthy Schools, Essex Schools and Investors in People.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Anne Line Catholic Junior School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The inspectors agree with the school's evaluation that it provides a good education for its pupils and good value for money. Pupils' standards are above national averages. Although pupils make good progress overall, there are some inconsistencies in their rates of progress because of variations in the quality of teaching. Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. The quality of teaching and learning is good and the quality of lessons ranges from satisfactory to outstanding. Assessment is good and the target setting in English is helping to improve pupils' achievement. The good curriculum is enhanced by a wide range of extra-curricular activities. There are good arrangements for the transfer of pupils from the main feeder infant school, although there are insufficient curriculum links between the two schools. Pupils receive an outstanding level of care, guidance and support. The school ensures that all pupils

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Grade: 2

benefit from its good provision. The parents' views about the school are extremely positive. The governing body works well. The headteacher leads by example. He is committed to continuing to improve the school and is fully involved in all aspects of its life. The well structured improvement plan is effective. The school's self-evaluation is accurate and informed by good systems for monitoring and evaluating its provision and pupils' learning. There are weaknesses in the provision of books in the library and classrooms. The school has made good progress since the previous inspection as it has maintained above average standards and successfully addressed the key issues for improvement. The improvements to information and communication technology (ICT) are very good. The school has good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Continue to improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is at least consistently good throughout the school. - Continue to improve the curriculum links with the main feeder infant school so that pupils experience consistency in their learning of key skills. - Improve the quality and quantity of fiction and information books so that pupils are stimulated to read and to carry out research with books.

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Grade: 2

The standards of the current Year 6 pupils are above average in reading, mathematics and science and average in writing. Boys and girls attain similar standards. Many develop good mathematical understanding and skills, and more able pupils in Year 4 make very good progress. In science, pupils achieve well in scientific enquiry although they do not make enough use of their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings. Some pupils are not adventurous enough in their use of vocabulary in their writing. In 2005, when the Year 6 pupils' standards were average in English, mathematics and science, the school's targets for its test results gave sufficient challenge and were exceeded. The targets for 2006 are much more challenging. Overall pupils make good progress and achieve well from a broadly average 2 Inspection Report: St Anne Line Catholic Junior School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

level of knowledge when they enter the school. However, pupils' progress is not consistently good for every subject in each year group because of variations in the quality of teaching. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress as do those from other groups within the school such as pupils with English as an additional language and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development is outstanding. Pupils are proud of their school. They have exceedingly positive attitudes to learning and enjoy school. This is reflected in their above average attendance rates. Relationships between staff and pupils are very good, and help to produce a very strong and positive learning culture. Pupils are polite and courteous. They feel safe and secure. Pupils' assess themselves against the school's code of behaviour and values, the St Anne Line Way; consequently, their behaviour is very good. Pupils take their responsibilities as student council members, house captains and sports captains very seriously. The 'playground buddies' and 'friendship stop' at playtimes help pupils to care for others. Pupils contribute extremely well to the local community, for example, by initiating fundraising for good causes and singing at the parish church. Pupils adopt safe and healthy lifestyles exceptionally effectively, eating

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Grade: 1

wholesome food at lunchtimes and taking full advantage of the many sporting activities available. As a result of their outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, pupils respect the views, values and beliefs of others. They develop a good range of basic skills and very sensible attitudes that prepare them well for their future working lives and to become valuable citizens.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good and the quality of individual lessons ranges from satisfactory to outstanding. Common strengths of the teaching are very good relationships, and learning activities that are well planned and structured with clear learning objectives. In some lessons, pupils have good structured opportunities to apply their speaking and listening skills as, for example, when a pupil answered questions about her work from the rest of the class. Work is well matched to pupils' differing learning needs in most lessons. In less effective teaching there are instances when class management does not foster good progress. The concluding sessions at the ends of lessons do not always add to the learning of all pupils. In a lesson where pupils made outstanding progress, the brisk teaching was concise and clear, the pupils enjoyed the challenges they faced and the opportunities to assess their own work and

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Grade: 2

the work of their partners. Marking is regular and thorough, although pupils do not always respond to teachers' comments. There are good systems for tracking the progress of individual pupils and identifying any at risk of underachievement. The setting of 3 Inspection Report: St Anne Line Catholic Junior School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 short-term challenging targets is effective in English but at an early stage of development in mathematics.

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Grade: 2

The good curriculum covers a broad range of learning experiences which are well tailored to the varied learning needs and interests of the pupils. The strong emphasis on writing ensures that weaknesses in pupils' written work are being successfully improved. The planning for ICT is very good and is well linked to other subjects. The school is developing more work that encourages pupils to think for themselves and stimulates their curiosity. For example, pupils use a wide range of evidence in history including artefacts they collect on the foreshore of the Thames. There are many visits to places of interest and many visitors to the school. Although improving, curricular links with the neighbouring infant school are not well established, leading to some inconsistency in the teaching of basic skills such as handwriting. Many pupils attend the very wide range of activities provided after school and at lunchtimes.

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Grade: 1

The care, guidance and support of pupils are outstanding. There is an extremely caring and supportive environment in which pupils feel happy and safe. Incidents of bullying and racism are very rare and there are good procedures to deal with any, should they occur. Thorough child protection procedures are firmly in place. Pupils know that adults will listen to any concerns they might have. Health and safety checks are made regularly. The school works very successfully with outside agencies to help pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities or other particular needs, such as English as an additional language. Pupils are very well prepared as they join the school and as they leave for secondary schools. Procedures for setting pupils challenging end-of-year targets and then tracking their achievements work very well, ensuring that all teachers know their pupils' capabilities and how to move their learning forward.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher sets a very clear direction for the improvement of the pupils' education. He leads by example and provides a visible and reassuring presence around the school. A strong sense of teamwork and common purpose motivate staff to get the best out of pupils. The staff work hard to ensure that all pupils benefit from the education provided by the school. The roles of subject coordinators are being developed so that they are able to take increasing leadership responsibility for pupils' achievement in their subjects. The school's self-evaluation is accurate, effective and is used well to ensure that its priorities for improvement are the right ones. There is a good track record of improvement. For example, issues from the last inspection have been addressed successfully, and there 4 Inspection Report: St Anne Line Catholic Junior School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

has also been sustained improvement in pupils' achievement over the last three years. Consequently, the school has good capacity to improve. Rigorous monitoring of pupils' performance, including that of different groups, results in challenging targets for improvement. There are good links with parents and their views contribute to the school's improvement planning. Resources are used well although the library is too small to help develop pupils' research skills and many of the fiction books in the classrooms are outdated. Governors work well in partnership with the school. They are well informed and have a good oversight of the quality of education and pupils' standards. 5 Inspection Report: St Anne Line Catholic Junior School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Anne Line Catholic Junior School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We really enjoyed meeting you and the staff when we visited your school. Thank you for welcoming us and being so polite and helpful. We learnt a lot about the school from you. For example, it was good to hear that you are so proud of your school and that you enjoy your lessons. We wished that we too had been able to collect historical artefacts from the foreshore of the River Thames as your Year 6 pupils did. You do well with your work because the teaching is usually good, and Mr Larrett and the staff look after you really well. The targets you are set in English are helping you to improve your work. You have lots of opportunities to join clubs at lunchtime and after school, and you visit some interesting places including the Isle of Wight. When you moved up from the infant school, you had buddies in the junior school who helped you quickly to settle into your new school. You are well prepared to move onto secondary

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

schools. Mr Larrett and the staff know what needs to be done to make your school even better. The main things are to: - carry on making improvements to teaching so that you learn as much as possible - carry on improving links with the infant school about what you learn in both schools - improve the books and the way they are displayed in the library and your classrooms, so that you can choose from a wider range of interesting books and carry out more research using books. You can help with these improvements by continuing to behave well and work hard, by thinking carefully about your targets in English and mathematics, and by taking notice of teachers' comments in your books. With best wishes for the future.

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