St Ann's Junior and Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching across all areas of the school in order to raise standards for all pupils, particularly those who are most able, by:
  • ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations of what pupils can do
  • moving pupils on to more demanding work in mathematics as soon as they are ready
  • making sure the teaching of phonics challenges pupils to make better progress
  • challenging pupils’ incorrect spelling of common everyday words
  • ensuring that children in the early years achieve the standards in writing of which they are capable.
• Improve the quality of leadership and management, by:
  • ensuring that leaders’ checks on teaching and learning across the school are more focused on the quality of pupils’ work
  • implementing more rigorous procedures in the early years to gain a more accurate overview of how well children are achieving
  • developing governors’ skills so that they can effectively challenge leaders about standards in teaching and learning. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders’ ambitions for pupils’ success have not been reflected in pupils’ outcomes and consistently good teaching over time. Variations in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment have contributed to variable outcomes between phases and subjects.
• Leaders are making checks on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. However, these do not focus sharply enough on the quality of pupils’ work, and therefore do not lead to much-needed improvements in teaching and pupils’ outcomes.
• There is significant expertise within the school’s leadership team but it is not used consistently to good effect. Too much time is spent on scrutinising assessment information to identify underperformance, rather than on reflecting on what pupils are learning in classrooms, or by providing guidance and support to teachers when needed.
• Teachers have access to a range of professional development opportunities to improve their practice. However, leaders do not regularly evaluate how effective these have been.
• Pupil premium funding has been spent on providing additional resources and staffing to support disadvantaged pupils. The standards that these pupils attain remain well below average in both key stage 1 and key stage 2. However, the progress disadvantaged pupils make in key stage 2 is at least similar to that of other pupils nationally.
• The funding for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is managed well. Leaders with responsibility for managing their provision ensure that the particular needs of these pupils are met in a way that helps them to achieve successfully.
• Pupils spoke highly of their learning experiences and enjoy the curriculum themes that develop real-life experiences and meaningful outcomes. Through these themes, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extended very effectively. A project on food waste drew on skills from a wide range of subjects, and resulted in pupils visiting the town centre to collect food and raise money for a food charity.
• Leaders have established a distinctive ethos where pupils show a high level of respect and courtesy. Pupils have a clear awareness of their rights and responsibilities and show consideration of the needs of others. Leaders equip pupils with a strong sense of values that prepares them well for life in modern Britain.
• The primary school physical education and sport funding is used well. Additional training for staff and the use of specialist sports coaches make physical education an enjoyable experience for pupils. Pupils have good opportunities to participate in a range of after-school sports clubs and sporting events.

Governance of the school

• Over time, governors have not paid enough attention to the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils. They have not been effective in dealing with those areas of the school that require improvement.
• Governors do not hold the school’s leaders to account well enough. Minutes of meetings shows that the questions governors ask leaders are too infrequent and too vague.
• Governors are quite rightly proud of the inclusive and accepting ethos of the school. They fully understand the challenges this brings and support school leaders in making pupils from a range of backgrounds welcome at the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders take their responsibilities for pupils’ safety very seriously and they ensure that nothing is left to chance. Leaders pursue concerns over pupils’ welfare very carefully and record this diligently.
• Safeguarding training for all staff is up to date and staff receive regular updates and briefings in matters relating to child protection. The school’s single central record of pre-employment checks meets statutory requirements.
• The culture of safeguarding is strong. Leaders work effectively with outside agencies and parents and carers to ensure that children are safe and secure. Pupils say that they feel safe, and safety messages are reinforced through the school’s curriculum.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is not yet good in every class. In some classes, teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving. Consequently, the progress that pupils are currently making is too variable across the school.
• Work set does not consistently challenge pupils well enough for them to make good progress. This is particularly noticeable for the most able pupils. In mathematics these pupils are not being challenged sufficiently because they are completing work of little value and not moving on to more demanding work when they are ready.
• The teaching of phonics enables pupils to decode and read words successfully most of the time. Teachers generally show good subject knowledge when teaching phonics. However, too often pupils are not being challenged appropriately and are therefore not achieving the standards of which they are capable, especially the most able pupils.
• Evidence in pupils’ books and displays around the school indicate that pupils are given good opportunities to apply their writing skills in different subjects. As a result, pupils in key stage 1 and key stage 2 are currently making stronger progress in writing than in other subjects. However, teachers are not routinely challenging the incorrect spelling of simple everyday words in pupils’ writing.
• Work across other areas of the curriculum shows a commitment to providing pupils with engaging learning opportunities. Through a range of interesting topics, pupils are developing good skills in subjects other than English and mathematics.
• Teaching assistants give good support for pupils who need additional help in the classroom. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, and pupils from different cultural backgrounds, receive the support they need to help them learn alongside their peers.

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 established an ethos of care and consideration that runs through all aspects of the school.
• The high numbers of pupils who join the school at different times of the year often have limited English language skills or are new to the country. These pupils are welcomed into the school community and get much-needed support.
• Pupils believe that bullying and inappropriate behaviour are rare. They are confident that if it did occur teachers and other adults would address their concerns effectively.
• The curriculum promotes responsibility and a heightened understanding of the needs of others. The curriculum project ‘What does it mean to be safe?’ provides opportunities for pupils to learn about the Holocaust and consider the rights of people affected by such events.
• Pupils say they feel safe in school and know how to keep themselves safe, such as when using a computer.
• The breakfast club provides a safe and happy place for pupils before school. This contributes to a positive start to the day for these pupils.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Around the school, and at different times of the day, pupils are polite and behave well.
• Relationships between pupils and teachers are positive, and pupils show tolerance and understanding towards each other. Pupils say they enjoy school and feel that teachers are very fair towards them. One pupil said, ‘Teachers treat us like we want to be treated.’
• The school is a calm and orderly place and inspectors observed no low-level disruption in classrooms. Just occasionally, some pupils can lose their focus during lessons and not engage fully in what they are learning.
• The high numbers of pupils who join and leave the school, and the extended period of absences by some pupils, impact negatively on overall attendance. Nevertheless, leaders are not complacent and are working hard to address this. Although overall attendance remains below average, it is showing a marked improvement.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Work in pupils’ books shows that over time too few pupils across the school make the progress they should. Too many pupils are currently working below the expectations for their age in reading, writing and mathematics.
• In 2017, the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected and higher standard at the end of key stage 2 was well below average in all subjects. This has limited how well the majority of pupils are prepared for secondary education.
• From their starting points when they enter Year 1, pupils are not making good progress. As a result, the standards that pupils attain by the time they leave Year 2 are well below average in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The most able pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Too few activities challenge pupils to extend their thinking, particularly in mathematics.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check has been well below average for several years. The high number of younger pupils starting the school with little or no formal education is a significant challenge for school leaders when trying to improve these outcomes. Nevertheless, observations of phonics teaching indicated that pupils are capable of achieving more than they currently do.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and those pupils who are new to English progress well from their low starting points due to the additional support they receive.
• Although low proportions of pupils in Year 6 reached the expected standards in 2017, they did make good progress in writing and mathematics from exceptionally low starting points.
• There are extensive differences in attainment between disadvantaged pupils in the school and other pupils nationally; the standards that disadvantaged pupils attain are considerably below average. However, disadvantaged pupils make generally good progress from low starting points, which is helping them to catch up with their peers.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Most children enter the early years at different times with skills and abilities that are well below those expected for their age. A significant minority of children have limited early years education before joining the Reception class. This affects the proportion of children who reach expected standards by the time they leave the Reception class. However, even allowing for this, the progress children make during their time in the early years is not consistently good. Consequently, a significant number of children are not as well prepared as they could be for their start in Year 1.
• The early years leader is aware of the many challenges that are limiting children’s progress. Leaders do have systems to identify children’s next steps in their learning but assessments of children’s learning are not consistently accurate. Consequently, the work set for children does not consistently challenge them or consolidate their learning.
• Teachers take advantage of opportunities to question and challenge children’s thinking most of the time. However, valuable learning is sometimes lost. Children are often inactive between learning tasks while waiting for the next instruction from an adult.
• Teaching does not routinely challenge the most able children. Too often these children are capable of achieving much more but teaching does not consistently extend their learning. This is particularly noticeable in the development of children’s writing and phonics skills.
• Disadvantaged children make progress and achieve standards that are mostly similar to those of their peers. However, standards overall are well below average for all children in the setting.
• Children enjoy being at school and their attitudes to learning are positive. They behave well, cooperate with one another and share resources sensibly. Children are also encouraged to work independently, and they show good concentration when engaged in a particular activity. They know routines well and are able to learn and play without adult support.
• Adults take good care of children and are vigilant regarding children’s welfare and safety. Children are kept safe and their welfare, health and well-being are given high priority. The site is secure, and effective policies and procedures make sure that children are kept safe from harm.
• Adults in the early years setting have positive relationships with parents. Leaders have worked hard to foster the good parental engagement that is now clearly evident.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 131415 Rotherham 10045483 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 Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 421 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Sue Mallinder Lee Rowan, Sharon Blagden (co-headteachers) Telephone number 01709 828298 Website Email address www.st-anns.rotherham.sch.uk/ saji@rotherham.school Date of previous inspection 22–23 January 2013

Information about this school

• The school is larger than an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language and the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are much higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, who are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding, is well above average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school provides a free breakfast club each morning for pupils.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes. Lessons were observed jointly with senior leaders.
• Leaders scrutinised samples of pupils’ work from all classes.
• Inspectors listened to a selection of pupils read from key stage 1 and key stage 2.
• Meetings were held with pupils, the headteachers, other staff and the chair of the governing body.
• Inspectors observed pupils moving around the school, including on the playgrounds, during breaks and in the dining hall.
• Inspectors scrutinised a number of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plans, attendance records and safeguarding information.
• Inspectors took account of the five free-text opinions from parents and the 17 online questionnaires completed by members of the school staff. Inspectors also took account of the questionnaires for pupils and parents administered by the school.
• Inspectors spoke informally with parents at the start of the school day.

Inspection team

Alan Chaffey, lead inspector Chris Cook Beverley Riddle

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector