St Anselm's Catholic Primary School

St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School Inspection report

p.1

101922 Unique Reference Number Ealing Local Authority 307853 Inspection number 8–9 October 2008 Inspection dates Michael Merchant Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

p.1

Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 231 School (total) 62 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Father James Crampsey Chair Mrs Ita King Headteacher 28 February 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Church Avenue School address Southall UB2 4BH 020 8574 3906 Telephone number

p.1

3–11 Age group 8–9 October 2008 Inspection dates 307853 Inspection number 020 8571 6308 Fax number

p.1

3–11 Age group 8–9 October 2008 Inspection dates 307853 Inspection number .

p.2

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.

p.3

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. 3 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.3

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

p.4

Description of the school

The school is a little smaller in size than other schools and has slightly more girls than boys. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is very high. The vast majority of pupils come from a variety of minority ethnic groups. Of these, three fifths speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils identified as having learning difficulties, mainly behavioural, emotional and social or speech and language difficulties, is much higher than is typically found. The proportion of children who join or leave the school other than at the usual times is also very high. There is one nursery and reception class in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

p.4

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 4 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.4

Grade: 3

St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary is a satisfactory and improving school. It has a number of good features. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the work of the school and have great confidence in the headteacher. As one wrote, '... my child is flourishing at St Anselm, he has never been happier.' The school is led with clarity and consistency. The headteacher has energised and empowered the many new teaching staff and there is a very real sense of team working which bodes well for the future. Staff know what is expected of them and feel confident that they are part of a successful future. Subject leaders are growing into their roles. They are beginning to contribute well to raising achievement across the curriculum through the monitoring of progress towards targets and in lesson planning. The personal development and well-being of pupils is good. They enjoy being at St Anselm, feel safe and are well informed about staying healthy. Pupils quickly learn how to get on well

p.5

Grade: 3

with each other and the adults who work with them. The school focuses on developing and nurturing every single child as an individual. Pupils' behaviour is good and they feel safe and valued. Physical education lessons and the after-school clubs effectively promote the need to keep fit and stay healthy. Pupils' knowledge of different cultures in the diverse society that we live in is strong because community cohesion is a particularly good feature of the school. All groups of pupils consistently make valuable contributions to life in school and the wider community. Many parents, however, against the very strong advice of the school, take pupils away for extended holidays in term-time, which means attendance is just below the national average. Standards attained are just below average but, in relation to their starting points, pupils' make satisfactory progress through the school. Pupils with learning difficulties are supported well

p.5

Grade: 3

and they also make satisfactory progress. In the EYFS, children settle quickly and make satisfactory progress. The school has worked tirelessly to redress the severe staffing problems that led to a decline in the national test results in Year 6 in 2007 and interrupted the school's steady improvement in standards. Good systems are now in place to monitor pupil progress which are increasingly being used by teachers to detect and redress underachievement. Teaching and learning are satisfactory and a key reason for the satisafctory achievement. Teachers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable and provide clear explanations and select appropriate examples to illustrate a point. They use the links established in the curriculum well to enable pupils to practise their writing skills in other subjects. Teachers and teaching assistants develop good relationships with the pupils. There is, however, some inconsistency in practice

p.5

Grade: 3

across the school. Assessment information, for instance, is not always used well to set tasks that provide a suitable level of challenge for all pupils. Teachers do not always encourage pupils to use their spoken language enough with the result that pupils lack confidence when speaking. The satisfactory curriculum makes good use of the local community and the wide range of after-school clubs to enhance pupils' enjoyment of school. The school recognises the need however, to devise more ways to allow pupils to develop their investigation and research skills. Management structures put in place, along with the progress recently made, show that the school has satisfactory capacity to improve further. Improvement since the previous inspection has been satisfactory. 5 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.5

Grade: 3

Across the EYFS the children's welfare is of paramount importance to the staff. Classes are well-equipped, safe and secure. Children's needs are identified before they start in the nursery so that their needs are met right from the start. Children settle in quickly in the nursery. Whilst their skills are below the expectations for their age, well-planned activities carefully matched to their needs and a lively and stimulating environment enable them to make swift gains in independence, social skills and confidence. The highly practical curriculum links learning and promotes all aspects of children's development well. This, together with good teaching, is the reason why children make good progress in the nursery. In Reception, progress and teaching are satisfactory. This is partly due to children having to work independently for too long without sufficient support from adults. As a result the children

p.6

Grade: 3

do not always develop their skills at the good rate they do in the Nursery. In both nursery and reception classes the environment is stimulating and whilst activities are carefully planned, opportunities to develop the children's language through dialogue are sometimes missed and this limits their progress. Children's knowledge of sounds and letters and their writing skills develop satisfactorily although by the age of 5 years most children are achieving just below the expected levels for their age. The EYFS is led satisfactorily. The co-ordinator has a clear view about what needs to be achieved but practice is not consistent across nursery and reception classes.

p.6

What the school should do to improve further

■ Make teaching consistently good by ensuring that assessment is used more carefully in all classes to match work more accurately to pupils' abilities and their specific needs. ■ Develop more fully pupils' speaking skills.

p.6

What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the curriculum by encouraging more research and collaborative learning.

p.6

What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before the next section 5 inspection.

p.6

Grade: 3

Pupils join the school with standards that fluctuate year on year but which are always below those expected nationally. Results in the National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6 in 2007 were significantly below average. This was a marked decline from the previous year when they had been steadily rising and were just above average. The 2008 results restored this improvement and showed a substantial rise over the previous year, especially in mathematics. Currently, standards being reached by pupils in Year 6 are just below average. Given pupils' below average standards when they join the school, particularly their language skills, they make satisfactory progress through Years 1 and 2. This satisfactory progress continues in Years 3 to 6 and pupils' achievement is satisfactory in relation to their starting points. Pupils with a variety of learning difficulties and those whose first language is other than English

p.6

Grade: 3

achieve similarly to their peers helped by the good support given by the well trained teaching assistants. 6 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.6

Grade: 2

'School is fun,' commented one pupil. This sums up the pupils' positive attitudes to school because they are happy and thrive in the school's lively and harmonious community. A new child, reflecting on starting at the school said, 'no one is mean to you when you start'. Pupils develop in confidence and maturity, enjoy school and talk with pleasure about their favourite lessons. In lessons and around the school pupils show good attitudes to learning and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good, reflecting the school's Catholic ethos. Behaviour is good and pupils feel safe at school. Pupils say that bullying incidents are rare but are dealt with promptly and effectively. They are confident that if difficulties arise their teachers will help because they are 'really good at sorting out problems'. After-school clubs and the wide range of physical activities the school offer helps pupils appreciate the importance of

p.7

Grade: 2

healthy lifestyles. Pupils make an excellent contribution to the school community as members of the school council and as they act as playground monitors. They are satisfactorily prepared for secondary school as they make good gains in their personal skills and satisfactory progress in acquiring basic skills.

p.7

Grade: 3

Pupils enjoy coming to school and demonstrate positive attitudes to their lessons, which they describe as 'interesting', and 'fun'. Lessons are typified by knowledgeable teachers, good relationships, mutual respect, humour and warmth. Teachers are good at telling pupils exactly what they are expected to do in lessons and this helps them make sense of their learning. In most lessons, pupils experience a range of approaches and this helps to sustain their interest. However, not all lessons make good enough use of the detailed information the school has on the performance of each pupil to plan activities that challenge all of them. The most effective teachers use skilful questioning to draw ideas out of pupils. However, too often teachers' questions only require brief answers and so pupils' spoken language skills are not always well enough developed.

p.7

Grade: 3

Curriculum planning is thorough. The teaching of letters and sounds (phonics) is secure and is starting to improve reading for the very youngest children. For older pupils, the 'Big Writing' scheme helping them to edit and extend their writing by using interesting words and punctuation more accurately. In mathematics, older pupils enjoy actively using their skills to solve problems. Pupils value the diversity of their community because there is an emphasis on celebrating multi-cultural and cultural aspects in school. This makes a strong contribution to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Visits and visitors significantly enhance pupils' understanding of the wider world. Work in personal, social and health education helps pupils to understand their rights and responsibilities within the community. Whilst there is some good practice developing whereby meaningful links are made between different subjects, this is not

p.7

Grade: 3

yet consistently embedded in all classes. However, insufficient opportunities are provided for pupils to investigate or research topics themselves. 7 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.7

Grade: 2

Adults working in the school are exceptionally good at building pupils' trust and confidence. Parents hold the school in high regard as one parent wrote, 'We are so happy to send our children to St Anselm's school'. Child protection procedures are rigorous. The good support for vulnerable pupils and their families helps to build strong links with parents from all the communities within the school. Potentially vulnerable pupils are quickly identified and this helps to ensure that their specific needs are met. As a result, these pupils are effectively integrated and develop positive attitudes to learning. The school's more rigorous approach to dealing with attendance issues is bringing about improvements. The recent development of a thorough assessment system is helping teachers to check more easily on pupils' progress and to gain a better understanding of what they need to learn next. This is starting to have an

p.8

Grade: 2

impact on raising rates of progress across the school. Generally, pupils understand the targets that are set for them and work hard to achieve them.

p.8

Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory and steadily improving. The school has gone through difficult times in the recent past. There has been a big turnover of teaching staff and changes to the senior team. The strong leadership of the headteacher, however is having a big impact on the school. Well supported by the governing body and recently appointed deputy, she gives clear direction to the school and has encouraged and enabled staff to take real responsibility for their respective areas. They have responded with enthusiasm and initiative. There is a very real sense of teamwork and collaboration in the school and a clear sense of direction. Leaders have created a school which is a harmonious environment, in which pupils of all races and cultures get on well together. Recent initiatives to track pupils' progress and set targets is doing much to move standards forward but these systems have yet to embed themselves fully in the routine of the school.

p.8

Grade: 3

The governing body brings a wealth of relevant experience to its deliberations. It is extremely supportive of all the school's work but does not always act as a critical friend by asking the searching questions it needs to hold the school sufficiently to account. 8 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008 .

p.8

Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.9

Inspection judgements

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

p.10

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? 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

p.10

EYFS?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 3 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

p.10

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 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

p.10

Achievement and standards

1 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. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.10

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 The extent to which 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

p.11

learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.11

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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

21 October 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School,Southall,UB2 4BH Thank you very much for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school. We greatly enjoyed meeting you. I would like to say a special thank you to the school council and those of you from Years 5 and 6 who gave up part of your lunchtime in order to meet us. At the moment, we judge that your school is a satisfactory school. We can see that it is getting better and you play an important part in that, especially through your much better attendance and good behaviour. These are the things that we think the school does well.

p.12

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You get on well with your fellow pupils and with your teachers.

p.12

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ St Anselm is a well ordered school and you look after each other very well.

p.12

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ In school, you feel safe and know there are people to whom you can turn to with worries or concerns. ■ The leaders of your school are working hard to make it an even better school for you.

p.12

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

There are a number of important things that your school needs to do to help it get better for you. We have asked your headteacher, teachers and governors to do the following:

p.12

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ ensure that all of of your lessons are as good as the best by making sure that when teachers plan work for you, it is not too easy or too hard, but just right for you ■ give you more encouragement and help to speak more confidently in class

p.12

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ make sure all subjects encourage you to do more research and investigate for yourself.

p.12

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you once again for making such a helpful contribution to the inspection. We enjoyed watching you learn. Yours sincerely Michael Merchant Lead Inspector 12 of 12 Inspection Report: St Anselm Roman Catholic Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

p.12