St Anne's Catholic Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the consistency and quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that they are good or better, and improve outcomes for pupils in reading, writing and mathematics by:
  • ensuring that all teachers have sufficiently high expectations of what pupils can and should achieve and set work that is accurately matched to their abilities, especially for the most able pupils
  • ensuring that all staff have a secure understanding of the teaching of reading, including phonics, and extending strategies to develop pupils’ engagement and interest in reading
  • ensuring that teachers provide more opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills and knowledge through problem solving using reasoning
  • ensuring that pupils accurately apply their developing skills in grammar, punctuation and spelling in extended, independent pieces of writing
  • developing the use of questioning by teachers and other staff to probe pupils’ understanding and to challenge them to think more deeply, including in the early years provision.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • establishing more secure systems for the leadership of provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to enable effective monitoring and evaluation and implementation of interventions that are more accurately matched to pupils’ needs
  • further developing monitoring and evaluation systems so that leaders have a fully accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement improving provision for disadvantaged pupils by implementing actions that address pupils’ specific barriers to learning.
• Improve the early years provision by:
  • ensuring that teachers and other staff develop more effective strategies for improving children’s language and communication skills
  • improving early years staff’s use of assessment information to plan and teach tasks that are better matched to children’s needs and abilities
  • establishing secure leadership to provide guidance and support to early years staff and developing a more accurate understanding of the provision’s strengths and weaknesses
  • improving the outdoor environment so that it provides a stimulating place for purposeful learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Following the school’s opening as an academy in March 2015, leaders did not take appropriate action to address weak teaching and improve outcomes for pupils. This resulted in pupils making insufficient progress as they moved through the school and standards of attainment falling to well below the national average.
• The multi-academy council recognised in early 2017 that there was an urgent need to take decisive action to strengthen leadership at all levels and to provide external support to improve the quality of teaching. They have subsequently appointed an experienced leader from within the multi-academy company as executive principal who oversees the work of the school. A head of school is now in post who leads the work of the school on a day-to-day basis. These changes are beginning to have a significant and positive impact on all areas of the school’s work. However, the effect of the actions that leaders have taken are only beginning to have an impact and, as a result, not all teaching is yet good and pupils’ outcomes remain too low.
• Leaders still have an overly positive view of the quality of some of the teaching, its impact on pupils’ learning and the school’s overall effectiveness. This hampers their efforts to fully address the weaknesses that remain. Leaders recognise that while there are detailed arrangements in place for monitoring and evaluating the school’s work, the outcomes are not always used as effectively as they could be to take the necessary actions needed to bring about improvements.
• The majority of the leadership responsibilities are held by the head of school or are provided through support from within the multi-academy company. This is particularly the case with leadership of provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Leadership arrangements for this area of the school’s work are not sufficiently well established or embedded. Leaders recognise that teachers need to have a clearer understanding of how to assess whether pupils have particular learning needs that may be hampering their progress. While professional development is planned for staff, this has not been implemented as yet. As a result, the interventions that are taking place for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are not sufficiently well planned or monitored to ensure that they are having the intended outcomes.
• Leaders have commissioned an external review of the use of the pupil premium funding that is due to take place imminently. They have started work on identifying what the barriers to learning are for the disadvantaged pupils in school. However, this work has not yet been translated into an effective plan for action that addresses the particular needs of these pupils and this is slowing efforts to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
• Senior leaders are conscious of the need to develop an extended leadership structure to accelerate the pace of improvement. Leaders of mathematics and English are now in place. These leaders have identified aspects of teaching that need developing. While they have already brought about improvements, such as in pupils’ understanding of core mathematical skills and a whole-school approach to handwriting, not all necessary actions have been implemented yet.
• The head of school has, in the relatively short time that she has been in post, demonstrated that she has high expectations for the pupils and is not prepared to make excuses for previous poor outcomes. She has set aspirational targets for attainment and is fully supported in this by the executive principal, the local academy board and the multi-academy company. The head of school has gained the trust and confidence of the parents and carers, who recognise the improvements that have already taken place. Parents appreciate that she is a highly visible presence around school who knows their children as individuals.
• Parents value the fact that the head of school and executive principal have taken effective action to ensure that safeguarding arrangements have been further strengthened and that there are high expectations of behaviour in place from all members of the school community. This has resulted in a cohesive and calm atmosphere in school where pupils feel safe and ready to learn. Capacity for further improvement is good.
• Arrangements for staff professional development have been greatly strengthened during the past year. All teachers are now partnered by an experienced colleague from another school within the multi-academy company. This is providing teachers with good opportunities to observe high-quality teaching and to discuss how their practice can be developed. All staff who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire were positive about the improvements that are being made.
• Leaders place a high emphasis on pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development and this supports them well in their preparation for life as citizens in modern Britain. Pupils learn about the faiths and beliefs of others and are clear about the need to show respect and tolerance towards others. Good opportunities are created for pupils to be reflective about their own Catholic faith and national and international issues. Pupils learn about different cultures through themed weeks and were clear when speaking to inspectors that they understood and supported the school’s mission statement of ‘respecting the uniqueness of each individual child while working in partnership with the wider community’.
• The curriculum has been revised to provide pupils with opportunities to apply their mathematical and writing skills in other subjects. Effective use is made of information and communication technology to enable pupils to carry out research linked to their learning. For example, during the inspection, pupils in Year 5 were observed using tablet computers skilfully to obtain information about both Mexican and British life in the past and to discover similarities and differences between a Mexican temple and Stonehenge. Good links between subjects are made through cross-curricular topics, such as ‘Meet the Flintstones’ and ‘Britain at Play’.
• The additional sports funding is used far more effectively now to fund specialist sports coaches who work alongside teachers to extend their skills in teaching games and physical education. More opportunities have been created for pupils to participate in lunchtime and after-school clubs, including hockey and tag-rugby.

Governance of the school

• In the past, those responsible for governance have not held leaders to account sufficiently and have not been accurate in their understanding of pupils’ progress and attainment. The changes that took place in September have greatly strengthened governance of the school. All members of the local academy committee have experience of governance at a successful school within the multi-academy company and are using this expertise to support the school’s drive for improvement.
• Members of the local academy committee now have a far clearer understanding of the priorities for the school and have established strong systems to review all aspects of the school’s work.
• Members of the local academy committee meet regularly with school leaders and receive detailed reports from members of staff. They carefully monitor the use of the additional funding available to the school and are aware of the need for more effective use of the pupil premium funding to improve outcomes for eligible pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have ensured that all staff are suitably trained in supporting vulnerable and potentially at-risk pupils. There are well-defined procedures in place for recording and reporting any concerns relating to pupils’ safety and well-being.
• Leaders have improved pupil safety by making the school site more secure and by increasing the regularity and range of training for staff. Leaders have also been tenacious in ensuring that outside agencies fulfil their responsibilities to provide appropriate support for at-risk pupils.
• Appropriate checks are in place to make sure that staff appointed to the school are suitably qualified and do not pose any risk to pupils.
• Leaders place a high emphasis on ensuring that pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. As a result, pupils are clear about the dangers that use of the internet can pose and understand the need not to give out personal information.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Over time, teaching has failed to meet the needs of pupils and, as a result, they have made insufficient progress as they have moved through the school. While action has been taken since the changes in leadership to address the previous weaknesses in teaching, there is still too much inconsistency in the quality of teaching.
• Teachers do not all have sufficiently high expectations of what pupils can achieve and, consequently, set tasks that are not accurately matched to the needs and abilities of the pupils. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils. Some of the most able pupils spoken to during the inspection commented that they often found the work too easy. While, in mathematics, teachers usually set different levels of work, it is often the case that pupils continue to undertake the same type of activities despite the fact that they have obviously mastered the concept.
• The teaching of reading requires improvement. There is not an established and systematic approach to the teaching of phonics in reading. Not all staff are accurate in their modelling of the sounds in words and this causes confusion for pupils. Guided reading sessions have been introduced for pupils to develop their understanding of what they read. Teachers focus on developing pupils’ understanding of inference and deduction. However, work is not sufficiently matched to the different abilities of the pupils in the classes. Leaders recognise that there is work to be done to develop pupils’ engagement and enjoyment in reading, including through the purchase of more books that capture pupils’ interest.
• The teaching of writing is improving and it is clear from evidence in pupils’ books that core skills in grammar, punctuation and spelling are being taught on a regular and systematic basis. However, opportunities for pupils to apply these skills in independent pieces of extended writing are not consistently in place across all classes.
• There has been a strong focus from all teachers on ensuring that pupils develop a secure understanding of core mathematical skills, such as addition and multiplication. This has been successful in filling gaps in pupils’ essential knowledge that were the result of previously weak teaching. However, opportunities for pupils to apply these skills in problem solving using reasoning are underdeveloped.
• Teachers and other staff do not use questioning consistently well. Where it is used effectively, teachers ask challenging questions, directed at particular pupils that require them to think deeply and explain their answers. This is not, however, the case across all the classes.
• Leaders have introduced a set of non-negotiables that all staff need to apply in their lessons. There has been a strong emphasis on improving the presentation of pupils’ work. As a result, the majority of pupils now write neatly and with care, employing a joined-up style of handwriting. Pupils also now set work out far more carefully in mathematics and this helps them to identify if, and where, they are making mistakes.
• There is now a commonly agreed system of assessment in place. Teachers carry out regular checks on the progress and attainment of pupils. Moderation meetings with staff from the other schools in the multi-academy company have helped to ensure that teachers’ assessments are now accurate. Teachers are held to account for the outcomes of pupils at half-termly review meetings with school leaders. This has helped to identify where there are gaps in pupils’ learning.
• There is good and effective teaching in school, especially in the upper key stage 2 classes. Teachers make good use of their subject knowledge and make clear to pupils what they are expected to achieve in lessons. Relationships between pupils and staff are strong across the school and this helps pupils to feel valued and respected.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders have worked hard and have been successful in instilling a ‘can do’ attitude in pupils. As a result, pupils now display positive attitudes to learning and are prepared to persevere when undertaking unfamiliar tasks.
• Pupils are polite, well-mannered and show consideration towards other people. They are proud of their school and speak positively of their teachers. Pupils spoken to during the inspection commented on the fact that St Anne’s Catholic Primary School is a caring school where everyone looks after each other.
• Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying and know that it is unacceptable. Pupils were confident that if bullying was to occur, they could report it to an adult who would sort out the problem.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when online. The local police community support officers are regular visitors to the school and provide clear guidance on safety issues, such as road safety. Leaders make good use of outside organisations, including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, to lead assemblies that focus on personal safety.
• The well-run before-school club provides pupils with a positive start to the school day in a safe and secure environment.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Leaders have placed a high emphasis on ensuring that pupils behave well in school and that inappropriate behaviour does not disrupt learning. This has had a positive impact on pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are confident that behaviour has improved significantly over the course of the school year. The very large majority of parents who responded to the Parent View survey also felt that behaviour in school is now managed well.
• Pupils are clear about the expectations for good behaviour that are in place. They know that there are a series of sanctions that will be applied if standards of behaviour fall. However, equally, they are aware of and value the rewards that are in place for positive attitudes.
• Attendance has been below the national average for the past two years. However, evidence gathered during the inspection shows that there has been an improvement this academic year, particularly among a small group of pupils who had previously had high levels of persistent absence. Leaders make good use of the local authority’s attendance service and support from within the multi-academy company to work closely with parents to ensure that they fulfil their responsibilities in making sure their children attend regularly and on time.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Over time, pupils have not made good progress from their starting points in school as a result of teaching that has not met their individual needs. There is evidence of improvement this year as a result of the actions that leaders have taken to address weaknesses in the quality of teaching. However, not all pupils in the school are yet making enough progress.
• For the past two years, pupils’ progress in reading and mathematics has been well below average by the time they leave school at the end of Year 6. In 2017, the progress of pupils in writing was significantly below average. School assessment information shows that this year, more pupils will achieve the expected standards of attainment by the end of Year 6 and will be appropriately prepared for their move to their next stage of education.
• Disadvantaged pupils have made the same low levels of progress as others in school. Consequently, differences in their attainment compared with other pupils nationally have not narrowed sufficiently. There is evidence of improvement for these pupils but this is not yet sufficient to ensure that they all reach the standards that are expected for their age.
• The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, have not, over time, been set work that is suitably demanding for their abilities. Consequently, far too few pupils have reached the higher levels of attainment by the end of key stages 1 and 2 in recent years. Evidence gathered during the inspection, including from scrutiny of pupils’ work in books and the school’s own assessment information, indicates that more pupils will attain the higher levels this year in the Year 2 and Year 6 assessments. However, there are still too many of the most able pupils who are not set sufficiently challenging work.
• The proportion of pupils that attained the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was below the national average in 2017. This had also been the case in 2016. The lack of a systematic approach to the teaching of reading has hampered pupils’ progress in early reading and writing. The recent changes in the teaching of guided reading are starting to have a positive impact on how pupils develop a greater understanding of what they read, but these changes are still not fully embedded successfully across all classes.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make similar progress to other pupils in school. While there are signs of improvement in the provision for these pupils, these are at the early stages of implementation. As a result, gaps in learning are not being narrowed as rapidly as they could be.
• Pupils are now making better progress in science. Leaders have increased opportunities for investigative work and this has helped pupils to develop a greater depth of understanding and to be more engaged in their learning.
• Pupils’ work across other areas of the curriculum shows that they are provided with good opportunities to apply their developing skills in writing and mathematics in other subjects, such as history and geography. Pupils make good progress in information and communication technology as a result of well-planned opportunities to use mobile devices, such as tablet computers, to support their learning.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Children start in the early years provision with skills and knowledge that are below those typical for their age. In 2017, the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development was below the national average. This was a decline from the previous year.
• Teaching in the early years provision is too inconsistent. Teachers and other adults do not place enough emphasis on developing children’s language and communication skills. Questioning is not used effectively to provide children with opportunities to answer in extended sentences. This slows the pace of children’s spoken language development.
• Teachers do not make sufficient use of the assessment information they gather to plan tasks and activities that are well matched to the interests and abilities of the children. This means that, too often, children choose an activity that does not promote learning.
• Currently, leadership of the early years is going through a period of change. Support has been provided from outstanding practitioners from other schools within the multi-academy company. This is helping teachers and teaching assistants in starting to identify how they can improve their practice. The executive principal and head of school have identified an effective plan to establish high-quality leadership within the school. However, this is not yet embedded and, consequently, the pace of improvement is not as rapid as it could be.
• The outdoor classroom is not well resourced or set up to engage children’s interest or to support specific areas of learning. As a result, time spent outside is not productive or as enjoyable for children as it should be.
• The same positive relationships between adults and children are as evident in the early years provision as they are in the rest of the school. Children are well behaved, listen carefully and respectfully when someone else is speaking and understand the need to take turns. Parents commented on how the early years staff have helped their children to settle happily and confidently at school.
• Safeguarding arrangements within the early years provision are effective. Staff are well trained and vigilant in looking out for any signs that children may be at risk of harm. All welfare requirements are fully met. Additional funding is used to provide support for disadvantaged children, including emotional and social support from outside agencies.
• Staff are appreciative of the good professional development opportunities that they are now receiving from leaders and from other schools within the multi-academy company. There is evidence that more children this year will be at a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year and will be prepared for their move to Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141747 Warwickshire 10042849 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 217 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Executive principal Telephone number Website Email address Kevin Dunnion Sinead Smith 02476 392877 www.stannesnuneaton.co.uk/ admin2035@welearn365.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• St Anne’s Catholic Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below that in most schools.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• There is one class in each year group.
• The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics for pupils in Year 6.
• The school runs a breakfast club for its pupils.
• The school is part of the Holy Spirit Catholic Multi-Academy Company Trust. The local academy committee oversees the academy’s work. The school opened as an academy on 1 March 2015. When its predecessor school, St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted in February 2014, it was judged to require improvement.
• The previous headteacher left the school in February 2017. An acting headteacher was in post for a period of several months until July 2017. The head of school took up her post in September 2017. The executive principal has overseen the work of the school since October 2017.
• The local academy committee took over from the previous board of governors in September 2017. It comprises an established group of members who already oversee the work of another school within the multi-academy company.
• There has been a considerable change in the teaching staff during the past year. The very large majority of teachers took up their posts in September 2017.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 17 lessons or parts of lessons. A number of these observations were undertaken jointly with the executive principal and the head of school.
• The inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and listened to pupils read. They met with a group of pupils. The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtimes and breaktimes, as well as in lessons.
• The inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s checks and records relating to safeguarding, child protection and attendance, records of how teaching is managed and the school improvement plans.
• Meetings were held with the executive principal, the head of school, leaders from schools within the multi-academy company who support staff at St Anne’s Catholic Primary, and two assistant headteachers. The lead inspector met with four members of the local academy committee, with four board members from the multi-academy company and with a representative from the diocese.
• Inspectors took into consideration the 14 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and six free-text comments from parents. Inspectors met parents at the start of the school day. They considered the 19 responses from staff to a questionnaire and the 73 responses to a pupil questionnaire.

Inspection team

Adam Hewett, lead inspector Catherine Draper

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector