St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham

Inspection Report St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham

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120522 Unique Reference Number LINCOLNSHIRE Local Authority 291768 Inspection number 9 °10 October 2006 Inspection dates David Speakman 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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Harrowby Road School address Primary Type of school Grantham Voluntary controlled School category Lincolnshire NG31 9ED 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01476 564505 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01476 591419 Fax number 202 Number on roll (school) Mrs Sue Henson Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Malcolm Shore Headteacher 30 April 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 291768 9 °10 October 2006 4°11 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is an average sized primary school. It draws almost all its pupils from the surrounding area, in which there is some social disadvantage. The take up of free school meals is below average, although the school's information indicates that a higher proportion of families are entitled to claim. The percentages of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and with a statement of special educational needs are above average. The proportion of pupils with English as an additional language is below average but most of these pupils are at an early stage of acquiring English. The school has a small number of children from traveller communities. The level of pupil mobility is higher than the national average. Attainment on entry is below average. The school is part of the Grantham Excellence Cluster, which helps the school support children in challenging circumstances.

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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's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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Grade: 3

The inspection team agrees with the school that its effectiveness is satisfactory. The school has successfully taken steps to halt the recent fall in standards. Consequently pupils' attainment and achievement is satisfactory, although test results are better in English than in mathematics. Children in the Foundation Stage achieve well. Pupils' literacy, numeracy and social skills prepare them satisfactorily for the next stage of school and later life. Pupils' positive attitudes towards school, and their good behaviour, create a calm environment ensuring that the school is a safe place for pupils and that they enjoy being there. This is reflected in their good attendance. Pupils accept responsibility well and through initiatives such as the school council, and opportunities to support children in need of help at break times, make a positive contribution to the school community and the well-being and safety of their fellow pupils. Teaching and

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Grade: 3

learning are satisfactory. The school has successfully brought about improvements to provision and its plans to enable pupils to be more involved in the learning process and to develop their thinking skills are appropriate. The curriculum is good. The school has embarked on an exciting initiative to develop interesting links between subjects so that learning experiences are more meaningful and provide a curriculum which is rich in creative experience. A good start has been made and pupils already comment on their increased enjoyment in being active participants in learning. The school has very useful links with other schools in the area and through its involvement in the Grantham Excellence Cluster is able to make extra provision in important areas such as helping gifted and talented pupils, personal and emotional support for pupils through a learning mentor, and developing teaching and learning styles. This adds significantly

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Grade: 3

to the quality of education provided. Care, guidance and support for pupils are good. The school has a high level of commitment to providing equality of opportunity for all pupils. Pupils with learning difficulties are well supported. Travellers' children receive good levels of support for their particular needs. Pupils with English as an additional language do not always receive the specialist support they need, but the school does use its own resources to give these pupils the best available guidance it can. The school has identified a number of pupils who have special gifts and talents and has put in place opportunities to challenge them further through a range of innovative learning experiences Leadership and management are satisfactory but the headteacher, deputy and assistant heads are particularly effective in setting a clear direction for school improvement. They carefully monitor pupils' achievement and this is especially effective

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Grade: 3

in supporting pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. The school rightly recognises that this could usefully be extended to involve staff at all levels of responsibility. Governance is satisfactory. Recent training is enabling governors to fulfil their role better in relation to monitoring and evaluating the school's performance. There is a determination to extend this aspect of their work and to become even more challenging and supportive. The school provides satisfactory value for money and has a good capacity to improve. 2 Inspection Report: St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

- Improve achievement at Key Stage 2, especially in mathematics. - Ensure that recent initiatives in teaching and learning are implemented fully to raise standards. - Leaders at all levels to use the outcomes of monitoring and evaluation to ensure pupils meet challenging targets fully. - Governors to extend their role in monitoring and evaluation so as to be more challenging in holding the school to account for its performance.

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Grade: 3

Children start the Foundation Stage with attainment that is below that expected for their age especially in communication, in number skills and in their personal, social and emotional development. They achieve well in the Reception class and by the time they enter Year 1, attainment is broadly average. The latest test results at the end of Years 2 and 6 were broadly average and pupils achieved satisfactorily. Results in reading and mathematics for Year 2 pupils this year were above average. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities achieve well against the targets set for them in their individual education plans and make good progress in their work. Those with English as an additional language soon acquire enough English to access learning and make the same overall progress as other pupils. School assessment data shows a promising upward movement in pupils' achievement with about a half of the current Year 5 and

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Grade: 3

Year 6 pupils making better than expected progress in reading and writing. Progress made in mathematics is not as promising, but the school has identified this as an area for improvement.

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Grade: 2

Pupils show good attitudes to school and learning through good behaviour and caring relationships with others. Older pupils and those on the school council help playtimes to run smoothly and the 'Buddy Wall' ensures that no-one is left without a friend. These are good opportunities for pupils to take responsibility and make a contribution to school life. Pupils are involved with the local community through links with the local church, presenting plays in the town and raising money for charities. They know what is needed to keep fit and healthy, but do not yet show sufficient awareness of healthy eating. The pupils' spiritual, moral and social development is good. They have a good understanding of the cultures represented in school, but the school recognises that more could be done to further broaden pupils' awareness of a range of cultures. 3 Inspection Report: St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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Grade: 3

The impact of teaching on learning and on pupils' achievement is satisfactory. Teachers like activities to be challenging, but occasionally they are too hard for some of the pupils who find it difficult to learn independently. Conversely, in a few lessons some pupils capable of harder work could cope with more challenge. Effective teaching is supported through well-planned and targeted questions, which at the beginning and end of lessons are very effective in including a wide range of pupils with varying learning needs. Teaching assistants make significant contribution to the effectiveness of lessons in supporting pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, pupils with English as an additional language, and in general support of targeted groups of pupils.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good range of activities to help children learn and is currently introducing strategies to make learning even more creative and exciting. The Foundation Stage provides a wide range of interesting learning activities which capture children's imagination. Within the school's curriculum there is a strong emphasis on promoting pupils' personal and social development and citizenship, which is helping pupils to think more clearly and to ask questions. The curriculum is rich in providing opportunities for creativity and there are visits and visitors to school such as theatre groups, musicians and a residential trip to add interest to learning. A good range of out-of-school activities including sports clubs, art and drama provide further support. These attract many pupils and make a strong contribution to their learning and enjoyment.

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Grade: 2

Procedures for health and safety and for risk assessments are secure, and child protection procedures are known and followed by all staff. Pupils know that should they have a problem there is always someone they can go to. The learning mentor provides good support for those pupils who need this and the good links that the school has with outside agencies mean that support can quickly be called on if any pupil is experiencing learning or emotional difficulties. The school has developed good procedures to assess and monitor children's academic progress. Outcomes are used well to identify pupils with learning difficulties as early as possible and to set class and individual targets so that pupils know what they need to learn next. Nevertheless, teachers are not fully engaged in this process thus restricting the rate of school improvement. The vast majority of parents who returned the parents' questionnaire

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Grade: 2

agree that their children enjoy school and they feel their children are safe in school, valued and well cared for. 4 Inspection Report: St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management is satisfactory overall. The headteacher, deputy and assistant heads provide strong and purposeful leadership. Between them they manage key areas of the school, including leading English, mathematics, science and assessment. Under their guidance the school has successfully reversed the recent downward trend in pupils' achievement. They united the school in setting about finding ways to ensure that teaching would be more effective in raising standards. Although the school has introduced careful tracking of pupils' progress, not all staff are using this information effectively enough yet. There is a clear direction set for improvement. Strategies to involve key staff and governors in the monitoring and evaluation of the school's strengths and weaknesses are currently in place but are too recent to have made a significant impact on standards and achievement. The school has plans to involve

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Grade: 3

pupils more in their own learning and to create useful links between subjects but these have not yet been fully implemented. 5 Inspection Report: St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006 .

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Grade: 3

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's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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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? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 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 behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 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. 7 Inspection Report: St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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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 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets 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? 8 Inspection Report: St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 October 2006 Dear Pupils St Anne's CE Primary School, Harrowby Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 9ED Thank you for welcoming us into your school. We found our two days in school very interesting and enjoyed meeting you and your teachers and talking with you about life in school. The staff look after you well and we found all adults to be caring in the way they support you, both in your personal development and in your learning Your teachers work hard to make learning interesting and fun for you and you commented how much you like 'hands on' learning. You clearly enjoy going to school. We like the way in which teachers try to make sure as many of you as possible are involved in lessons and the positive way in which you volunteer answers to their questions. Your headteacher and other staff have some exciting plans to make your school an even more interesting and enjoyable place for you to be. You can help them do this by continuing to behave well and showing enjoyment in lessons. We

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

have recognised that the school is improving and we have asked the headteacher, staff and governors to continue the improvement by: - helping pupils in Years 3 to 6 to make better progress, especially in mathematics - making lessons even more interesting by providing you with different ways to learn - making sure that all teachers carefully watch your progress against the targets they set for you - getting the governors to look carefully at what happens in school. We wish you well in the future Yours truly, David Speakman (Lead inspector) 9 Inspection Report: St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham, 9 °10 October 2006

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