St Anne’s Church of England Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told inspectors that this is a happy and safe school where they can learn. Leaders and teachers share high expectations of pupils' behaviour and achievement. Adults care about all pupils and want the best for them.

They are committed to helping all pupils to achieve well in school and in their future lives.

Pupils benefit from the strong culture of tolerance and respect at the school. They understand and are accepting of each other's differences.

Pupils told inspectors that bullying is rare. Staff resolve any bullying quickly and effectively.

Pupils enjoy a varied range of activities to support their wider personal development, for example beg...inner's Italian, chess and sports clubs.

Pupils are keen to learn. They concentrate on their work and are punctual to lessons. Pupils behave well during social times.

They enjoy positive relationships with one another and with staff.

Pupils receive a far better quality of education than they did in the past. Teachers have strong subject knowledge.

Leaders organise curriculums carefully. However, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve consistently well. This is because some teachers do not check how well pupils have learned the curriculum to enable them to know and remember more.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Senior leadership, subject leadership and governance have been overhauled in recent years. Leaders are determined to provide all pupils, including those with SEND, a high-quality education where they can thrive. Pupils benefit from a suitably ambitious curriculum.

They can choose to study a broad range of subjects.

Leaders have redefined what is taught across subject curriculums. Leaders have organised these curriculum plans well.

They have thought carefully about the core knowledge that pupils need to progress through the curriculum. Leaders' plans also include opportunities for pupils to build on what they already know. Pupils told inspectors that they are learning more than they did in the past.

In some subjects, teachers deliver the curriculum well. Teachers use assessment strategies adeptly to address pupils' misconceptions and to help them to move onto new learning. In these subjects, pupils achieve well.

They remember and apply the essential knowledge that they have been taught.

Elsewhere, however, some pupils remain stuck. In these subjects, some teachers do not check sufficiently well how pupils have learned the curriculum.

Added to this, some teachers do not choose appropriate activities to remedy pupils' missing knowledge. This hinders pupils' achievement, including some pupils with SEND.

Leaders ensure that pupils who have fallen behind in reading are identified and supported to catch up quickly.

These pupils read competently. However, some older pupils do not read regularly or fluently. This limits how well these pupils access the wider curriculum.

Leaders aim to improve pupils' reading knowledge and habits, so that all pupils become prolific readers. However, their plans to strengthen the reading curriculum are at an early stage. Some staff are not equipped to support pupils to read widely and often.

Leaders are effective at identifying the needs of pupils with SEND. Pupils, parents and carers value the support that leaders and teachers provide for pupils with SEND. However, as with their peers, the progress of some pupils with SEND is hampered by weaknesses in the delivery of the curriculum.

Pupils behave well in lessons. This helps them to concentrate and build essential knowledge.

Leaders take pupils' personal development seriously.

They make sure that the personal development curriculum provides pupils with the knowledge that they need to be responsible citizens. This includes age-appropriate relationships, sex and health education.

Leaders make sure that they offer clubs and activities that inspire and interest pupils.

This includes pupils with SEND.

Leaders provide a strong careers education, information, advice and guidance programme. Pupils learn what they need to plan for their futures.

Governance is strong. Trustees are knowledgeable and effective in supporting leaders to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. Teachers told inspectors that leaders support their well-being and workload effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure a strong culture of safeguarding. They make sure that staff are knowledgeable about the dangers that pupils may face.

Staff are vigilant and alert to the signs that pupils are at risk of harm. Leaders have raised pupils' and staff's awareness of the risks and issues associated with peer-on-peer abuse.

Pupils told inspectors that they are confident to seek help from staff when they need it.

Staff process this information in a timely manner. They quickly identify whether pupils require additional support from external agencies. Leaders ensure that pupils and their families get the help that they need.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders' plans to deliver an ambitious reading curriculum for all pupils are at an early stage. For some older pupils, their ability to acquire knowledge across the curriculum is limited by missing reading knowledge and poor reading habits. Some teachers are not equipped to support these pupils well enough.

Leaders should ensure that the reading curriculum is strengthened. They should also make sure that all staff are suitably trained so that they can deliver the reading curriculum effectively to enable pupils to read widely and often. ? Some teachers do not successfully identify or remedy pupils' missing knowledge.

This means that some pupils, including some with SEND, do not make the progress that leaders intend. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies well to check where pupils' knowledge is not secure. Leaders should also make sure that the activities that teachers choose are appropriate in helping pupils to address their missing knowledge.