St Anne's CofE Primary School

St Anne's CofE Primary School Inspection report

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101041 Unique Reference Number Wandsworth Local Authority 285951 Inspection number 10 °11 September 2007 Inspection dates Sue Rogers Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 213 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Louisa Lawson Chair Mrs Yvonne Norman Headteacher 4 March 2002 Date of previous school inspection 208 St Ann's Hill School address London SW18 2RU 020 8874 1863 Telephone number 020 8875 0617 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 10 °11 September 2007 Inspection dates 285951 Inspection number .

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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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

St Anne's is a one-form-entry primary school with an intake that has changed considerably since the last inspection in 2002. It now has an overall profile of deprivation that is greater than average. Families move in and out of the area more frequently than is usual. The number of pupils who take free school meals is above average and so too is the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. This is a diverse multicultural community and the number of pupils of minority ethnic origin is therefore much higher than the national average. Cohorts vary significantly in ability on entry to the school, but around a third of the pupils require extra support with English when they arrive because they are more proficient in other languages. The headteacher has been in post for four years and during this time there has been a high level of staff turnover. A significant proportion of school managers are relatively new to their

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Description of the school

posts. The school holds the Active Mark for PE.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good education for its pupils. Those parents who offered views overwhelmingly support this judgement and a typical comment was, and;quot;Keep doing what you are doing, the school is great and we, as parents, are proud of itand;quot;. Parents, pupils and governors all value the strong sense of community and good relationships. As a result, pupils' personal development is good and they reach above average standards when they leave the school. The school was not easy to manage when the head first took up her post, because of the considerable staff turnover. There was also some weak teaching to address. Consequently, school improvement was slow at this time. However, the headteacher is astute and her evaluation of the school is rigorous. She has made a good, accurate assessment of the school's strengths and weaknesses. She is over-modest in several of her judgements but this is due to her very

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Grade: 2

high expectations. Over time, she has built a very effective team and together they have tackled these weaknesses with increasing robustness. The last two years have seen a significant improvement in what pupils can do. The changing profile of the pupils has meant that teachers have had to adopt different methods to support pupils with a variety of learning needs. They have also had to learn to deal with more challenging behaviour. They have succeeded in both these areas. Children in the Foundation Stage settle quickly and make good progress in all areas of their learning, especially personal development. Teaching was previously inconsistent in some year groups, but it is now good overall. This effective teaching ensures that the pupils' initial learning continues to be well consolidated and the pupils make good progress throughout the school. Teaching is generally thoughtful and well planned. However, at times learners are not given clear enough information

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Grade: 2

about what is expected of them when they are working independently. Pupils with additional needs of all kinds, including those requiring extra help with English, are very well supported. All are given good guidance and as a result most achieve very challenging targets by the time they leave the school. They do particularly well in reading, but standards in writing are relatively weaker, especially at the end of Key Stage 1. The school's work on a new behaviour management policy has underpinned good improvements in pupils' behaviour and although some are demanding, there is no disruption to learning. The pupils are very well cared for and their personal development is a priority, so they achieve well in learning about health and safety. A strong curriculum ensures that learning is well planned and interesting. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher's collection and analysis of the school's

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Grade: 2

assessment results has ensured that teachers are better informed about individual pupils' needs and has led to rapid recent improvement in standards. This has helped the school to set and attain challenging pupil performance targets over the last two years and has been especially useful in improving reading. There has been less impact, so far, on writing, as the school is still supporting teachers in working on developing precise curricular targets. School leaders' recent record in securing improvement across the school demonstrates that there is good capacity to improve still further. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Grade: 2

The children's skills and knowledge when they enter the school vary considerably from year to year but they are generally below average when compared with expectations for their age. Their personal development and writing skills are especially weak. Children make good progress because both the Reception and Nursery classes are very well organised and provide a lively, vibrant atmosphere for them to begin their education. Children particularly enjoy learning in the colourful outdoor areas. Much careful thought has been put into making most efficient use of a cramped space. There are a variety of opportunities for them all to develop speaking and listening skills through well-planned role-play and good adult support. This is especially useful in helping those children who do not speak English to learn quickly. There is even a tiny track for children to drive cars. Planned activities like these are the reason that they make notable progress in their physical development.

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Grade: 2

Progress is good because teaching is consistently good. The staff work well together and receive effective support from the Foundation Stage manager. They ensure that the needs of all the children are met though very careful, detailed assessment.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Make better use of assessment information to accelerate pupils' progress in writing.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that pupils get clear guidance about what they need to do to succeed when working independently.

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Grade: 2

Progress is now consistently good throughout the school, due to improvements in teaching. Standards are high by the time learners leave school. Every pupil achieved the expected level in both mathematics and English in Year 6 tests taken last term. Pupils who are more able did well in English and relatively less well than expected in mathematics. However, pupils' current work and school assessment information indicates that pupils are doing as well as they should be in mathematics. Reading is the strongest subject for most pupils, whilst writing is relatively weaker. The school has been working hard to improve progress in writing, with some recent success. This is because teachers are beginning to analyse the weaknesses in writing more rigorously. Pupils from ethnic minorities and those with learning difficulties do well because of very effectively targeted support from teachers and class assistants.

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Grade: 2

Pupils say they love coming to school. They remarked, and;quot;School is fun. I enjoy meeting my friends and learningand;quot;. Induction procedures are good, so new pupils settle in quickly. Foundation Stage children were playing happily together on their first day in school. Relationships at all levels are good and friendships across racial groups are strong, demonstrating racial harmony. Good management of behaviour by all staff ensures that pupils behave well around the school and in lessons. Occasionally they become disengaged when they do not have clear enough instructions about what to do when working independently. Although attendance 5 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007 is below the national average, the school's figures match those of similar schools and staff work hard to ensure that parents know the importance of sending their children to school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils feel safe at school and say that any bullying is effectively addressed. They make good progress in physical education and enjoy making healthy choices when eating their school lunches. Pupils attain good standards in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. They enjoy contributing to school through participating in the School Council and they are good at discharging their responsibilities as playground monitors. Their consistently good standards in literacy and numeracy mean that they are well prepared for the next stages in their education.

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Grade: 2

Teaching has improved because of rigorous monitoring and good support from school leaders, combined with effective professional development. All teaching is at least satisfactory and there are also examples of outstanding teaching. Teachers are making better use of assessment information to track pupils' progress. This enables teachers to plan lessons carefully, ensuring that work is sufficiently challenging for all pupils. Teaching is generally lively and pupils succeed because of encouragement, good use of paired discussion and questioning, and good teacher knowledge. At times pupils do not get as much from their tasks as they should do, because the teacher's expectations have not been demonstrated clearly enough.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum in all key stages is interesting and is well planned to meet the needs of pupils of all abilities. The school is developing opportunities for pupils to learn about literacy, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT) in other subjects. ICT resources have been significantly improved since the last inspection. Teachers are beginning to make good use of interactive whiteboards, but the pupils do not yet spend enough time working on computers in lessons other than ICT. The curriculum is enriched well by interesting activities such as visits to London museums, galleries and parks and a wide range of clubs.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are well cared for and benefit a great deal from the good example given by all the adults around them. The school places a very strong emphasis on personal development and this is well planned and delivered. The after-school club and breakfast club assist parents in ensuring that pupils are well cared for. Vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties and disabilities are well supported through effective personal guidance and good quality planning. The school's good links with other providers in the authority ensures that staff receive the advice and support to help these pupils do as well as they can. Pupils achieve challenging targets by the time they leave Year 6 because of good guidance. The school has recently improved marking. Although teachers set individual curriculum targets 6 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007 for pupils to help them know what they need to do next, they recognise that this curriculum

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Grade: 2

target setting is not yet as consistent as it could be.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher works very well with the deputy headteacher and together they have built an effective leadership team. Although some leaders are new in post, they have a good understanding of what is required. The Foundation Stage, the core subjects of English, mathematics and science and the drive to include all pupils in all activities are all well managed. The school improvement plan already includes actions to address weakness identified in the inspection. This document is slightly over-complex and because of this the school has tried, at times, to address too many issues at once. Nevertheless, good teamwork ensures that everyone shares the same vision. The work of the governors is satisfactory. They support and challenge the school but are not sufficiently involved in rigorous monitoring and self-evaluation. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 September 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Anne's CofE Primary School,London,SW18 2RU Thank you for making us feel so welcome and helping us when we visited your school this week. You were really polite and friendly. We enjoyed talking to you and hearing you tell us how much you enjoy school. It was good to see that you all get on together so well. We think that your school is a good school. Your headteacher does a good job and you have good teachers. You work hard and do well in your tests, although we think that you could do still better with your writing than you do now. To help your school become even better we have asked your teachers to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that you all do as well in writing as you do in other subjects.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that you are very clear about what you have to do when you work in groups or on your own. You can play your part by making sure that all try really hard to come to school every day. Then you will all do as well as you possibly can. Best wishes Sue RogersLead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: St Anne's CofE Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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