Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mr M Williams Headteacher St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School 6 Durham Street London SE11 5JA

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schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff, pupils and parents, during my visit with my colleague from the School Food Trust on 20 November 2009 to look at your work on healthier eating and school food provision.

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schools

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified within the main text.

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schools

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with parents, pupils and staff; scrutiny of school documentation including your school evaluation and school food policy; analysis of pupils’ work; and observation of one lesson, break time and school lunch.

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schools

I undertook to provide a brief written version of the main points, made in our feedback at the end of the visit, to support development in healthier eating and school meals.

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The quality of provision to promote healthy eating

The quality of provision to promote healthy eating is outstanding.

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(DCSF’s) food-based and nutrient-based standards for school food

Compliance with the DCSF’s food-based and nutrient-based standards for school food is outstanding.

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(DCSF’s) food-based and nutrient-based standards for school food

 The lunchtime provision was compliant with the food-based and 14 nutrient-based standards for lunches.  The food and drink provided at the break were fully compliant with the food-based standards for all school food other than lunches.

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The quality of the dining experience

The quality of the dining experience is outstanding.

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The quality of the dining experience

 The multi-purpose hall is transformed into a bright, clean and welcoming lunch venue. The pupils queue in an orderly manner and have help from adults and peer advisers to see their hands are sanitised and that they have time to select their food. They happily talk to their friends and most drink the water provided as it is already poured and ready for them. Catering and lunchtime supervisors have an encouraging and kind manner and help the pupils to have a stress free lunch.

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Helping pupils and parents to make healthier choices

Strategies for helping pupils and parents to make healthier choices are outstanding.

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Helping pupils and parents to make healthier choices

 Large numbers of parents volunteered to speak to us and those we met were unanimous in the view that the school promotes healthy eating exceptionally well. They receive the menus in advance and also get timely reminders about healthy packed lunches for educational trips through the excellent school newsletters. They have opportunities to attend ‘family learning’ and in recent adult literacy work the story of Handa’s Surprise promoted family fruit consumption. Parents reported that pupils often discuss healthy eating and many now prefer their vegetables cooked like the ones at school - lightly with the nutrients retained.

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Development of pupils’ knowledge and personal skills

Development of pupils’ knowledge and personal skills is outstanding.

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Development of pupils’ knowledge and personal skills

 From the nursery onwards, pupils learn about healthy food; the youngest grow tomatoes and enjoy harvesting the cherries from their tree. In older classes, they learn how to adapt snacks to make them healthier and what makes a balanced meal. The emotional aspects of eating are considered and pupils know how to avoid pressure to eat food they would rather not by saying for example, ‘thank you but I would prefer a banana’. The whole-school approach to healthier eating ensures there are plenty of eye- catching posters at pupils’ height that reinforce the messages. Pupils have learned valuable lessons from the ‘change4life’ activities and they enjoy the physical activity involved in the old-fashioned playtime games the school has reintroduced.

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Teaching about healthier eating

Teaching about healthier eating is outstanding.

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Teaching about healthier eating

 All pupils are given hands-on experience of making healthy food. These activities are exciting and demand progressively more skill. While younger pupils are taught to make fruit kebabs, Year 5 make an excellent variety of breads. Teachers use the latest information from the Government and from Lambeth’s health education link service so their teaching is topical and thought provoking. Personal, social and emotional education is of an excellent standard and the school holds an advanced healthy schools award and one for sustainability. Pupils are encouraged to make suggestions and they are conscientious when composting their snack-time waste ready for use, in due course, by the after-school gardening club.

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Planning the curriculum

Planning of the curriculum is outstanding.

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Planning the curriculum

 Curriculum planning is imaginative and offers numerous integrated activities, such as making healthy snacks to sell on ‘enterprise day’ and designing and making healthy sandwiches. Planning for pupils learning English as an additional language includes words related to healthy foods. Geography work on Jamaica captured pupils’ enthusiasm and helped them to learn more about the role of fish and fruit in the diet. The work on mental heath supports nutritional messages exceptionally well with the emphasis on the importance of hydration and steady blood-sugar levels. Older pupils grapple with how to balance food intake and energy output. There are also special theme days that are very effective in getting health messages across to everyone in a way that is fun and involves parents.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are outstanding.

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Leadership and management

 You, your senior team and governors all see eating healthily as a cornerstone for pupils’ health and the education. The kitchen team are an integral part of the school and through citizenship work the pupils see the importance of the cook to their community. The positive approach to healthy eating is promoted effectively by all involved in the school including those who draft the newsletters to parents and support them to claim any free school meal entitlement. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities have excellent support and the picture menu (available in all classrooms through the interactive whiteboard) helps teachers to work with pupils to make healthy choices from the day’s menu, including those who have limited understanding or are unfamiliar with the food served. You have built well on the school’s previous achievements in promoting healthy eating; the staff work as a coherent

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Leadership and management

team to monitor the choice and quality of the food.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include the need to:

 extend the formal monitoring of food-based standards as the current form lacks some minor details. I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop healthier eating and provision for food in the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include the need to:

As I explained during the feedback, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority and will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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