St Anne's Roman Catholic High School, Stockport Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve progress in mathematics, particularly in key stage 4 by:
  • giving greater focus to the teaching of problem solving, reasoning and fluency.
• Continue to improve the quality of teaching by:
  • expanding the breadth of assessment so that teaching consistently meets pupils’ needs
  • ensuring that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are consistently well supported in lessons.
• Continue to improve behaviour and attendance by:
  • ensuring that pupils demonstrate consistently strong attitudes to learning
  • using pupil premium funding more incisively to improve attendance.
• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • continuing to adapt the curriculum so that more pupils study modern foreign languages and ensuring that there is a much greater provision of extra-curricular activities at lunchtimes
  • ensuring that school policies reflect practice.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders, managers and governors are ambitious for the school. Their capacity for further improvement is demonstrated by the improvement in teaching, outcomes, behaviour and leadership since the previous inspection.
• Self-evaluation is accurate and there is a clear and effective plan for improvement.
• The leadership and management of teaching have been strengthened by employing external expertise to create a culture of coaching and continuous improvement.
• There has been much continual professional development, which has resulted in tangible improvements to teaching and outcomes.
• Pupils carry out charitable work and fundraise to help those who are less fortunate. They receive a curriculum addressing fundamental British Values and social, moral, spiritual and cultural education. However, there are missed opportunities to enhance and develop this aspect of school life to better equip pupils for life in modern Britain.
• Funding for disadvantaged pupils, Year 7 catch-up funding and funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities have had an impact. Pupils are catching up quickly in English and mathematics in Year 7. However, other funding has been spread too broadly and not monitored closely enough, so the impact is diluted.
• Over the past three years, there has been a plethora of school-to-school support and several interim headteachers. Overall, this has resulted in a positive discernible impact. However, some support, in the early stages of special measures, was not monitored closely enough, so governors, the local authority and the diocese were given the impression that more improvements had been made than was the case.
• Historically, the curriculum has restricted pupils’ abilities to make good progress across a range of subjects. This has resulted in higher than average proportions of pupils who are not in education, employment or training. Now there are more appropriate pathways, for example in science, which allow the most able pupils to make good progress. However, only a very small minority of pupils study modern foreign languages to GCSE level, which potentially restricts their choices for further study or employment.

Governance of the school

• Minutes of governors’ meetings show that they have challenged senior leaders over the standards that pupils achieve. In the past, they have sometimes been given a more favourable picture of the school’s progress than was the case. There is now a much more robust approach to holding the entire senior team to account, rather than just the headteacher. Teachers reported that they welcome greater accountability at all levels.
• A significant budget deficit has been reduced. Governors have been decisive in making cost savings. The number of pupils coming to the school is increasing year on year, leading to greater stability in staffing.
• Practice is stronger than policy. Some key policies have not been reviewed regularly enough and therefore do not reflect current practice.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The single central record meets requirements. Appropriate procedures are in place for child protection. There is a simple system for staff to report concerns about a pupil.
• Leaders and managers enlist the support of external agencies to help to support pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. Staff are appropriately trained in child protection. The vast majority of parents feel that their child is safe in school and that bullying is dealt with effectively.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching varies both in and between subjects. In English, pupils make good progress due to consistently high expectations and well-taught lessons.
• In other subjects such as mathematics, music, history, science, religious education and physical education, inspectors observed pupils making good progress.
• In contrast, inspectors observed missed opportunities to promote good progress because pupils were insufficiently challenged by their learning, or expectations were too low.
• Scrutiny of pupils’ books shows that the quality of teaching remains too variable, leading to inconsistencies in outcomes.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are making better progress than at the time of the previous inspection. However, the quality of support that they receive in lessons varies too much and, when support is less effective, progress is limited.
• In the recent past, much store has been set on pupils passing tests, in order to make a judgement about their progress. Not enough focus is given to what pupils can typically and independently do, to give a more accurate picture of their achievements. This has led to over-generous predictions about pupils’ outcomes.
• Leaders and managers are now addressing this with a much more sophisticated approach to assessment, but there is still work to do.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• The vast majority of pupils show that they know how to be successful learners. However, there is a small minority who do not respect their education in the same way and contribute to low-level interruptions in class, such as talking over the teacher and distracting others.
• A small minority of pupils and a few parents were concerned about bullying. Incidents of bullying are logged and followed up. Senior leaders are aware that procedures for dealing with bullying need to be tightened up.
• Careers information, advice and guidance is effective. Year 11 pupils have a good understanding of their options for the next stage of their education, employment or training.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• There remains low-level disruption in a small minority of classes when teaching fails to engage pupils’ interest or the work is not challenging enough.
• Pupils typically behave well at well-supervised social times. However, there are pockets of boisterous behaviour, particularly from older pupils. Pupils said that there is a lack of lunchtime activities, particularly on the Year 7 yard.
• One parent commented: ‘My child has been made to feel very much part of the school. She has blossomed and made lots of new friends.’
• Attendance is below the national average. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils has improved but also remains below the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils arrive at school with abilities typical for their age. Progress is not yet consistently good in mathematics or for disadvantaged pupils.
• The overall Progress 8 score for 2017 was broadly in line with the national average. Progress, particularly in English, science, history and religious education, has improved across the school, but, in mathematics, outcomes in key stage 4 remain well below national averages.
• Observation of progress in lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work and current assessment data shows that pupils’ progress in mathematics is improving, particularly in key stage 3. Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are improving but they are not yet good.
• The most able pupils were observed making better progress in lessons due to greater challenge in their learning. One parent commented: ‘As the parent of a high-attaining pupil, it is nice to see that he is being challenged academically.’
• Some pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress, particularly in key stage 4.
• The few pupils who access alternative provisions attend regularly and are well supported to develop the broader social and employability skills that will enable them to find employment or further training when they leave. The vast majority of pupils continue to further education, employment or training when they leave school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 106144 Stockport 10038690 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 596 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Kathryn August Rachel Quesnel 01614 328162 www.st-annes.stockport.sch.uk headteacher@st-annes.stockport.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8─ 9 October 2014

Information about this school

• There have been three temporary headteachers since the previous inspection. A substantive headteacher has been in post since May 2017.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the curriculum, provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and governors’ attendance at meetings.
• The school meets the current government floor standards.
• Two pupils currently attend off-site alternative provision.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching across the school and carried out an extensive scrutiny of pupils’ work, including that of disadvantaged pupils, alongside their tracking information.
• Inspectors had a telephone conversation with the chair of governors and met with other members of the governing body. Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders.
• Inspectors spoke with a range of pupils both formally and at social times.
• Inspectors scrutinised school policies and records relating to safeguarding, self-evaluation information and a range of other documentation.
• There were 29 responses to the staff questionnaire. There were 16 responses to the pupil questionnaire.
• There were 38 responses to Parent View to be considered and 33 free-text responses.

Inspection team

Sally Kenyon, lead inspector Osama Abdul Rahim Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Jonathan Jones Her Majesty’s Inspector