St Anne's Catholic Primary School

Overview

St Anne’s Catholic Primary School is described as a “friendly place where pupils feel safe and well supported,” with a culture rooted in its values. Leaders have driven improvements since the previous inspection, resulting in “incredibly positive” behaviour and attendance that is “above the national average.” While pupils achieve well overall, the report notes that some aspects of teaching and inclusion require further consistency to meet expected standards fully.

Strengths

• Attendance is “above the national average,” supported by “well-considered systems” and motivational strategies like dressing up as ‘Stanne the dog’.
• Behaviour is “incredibly positive,” with pupils learning in “calm, purposeful classrooms” from the moment they arrive.
• Disadvantaged pupils make “significant progress,” particularly in mathematics and reading, where their attainment is “better than their peers nationally.”
• The curriculum is “suitably broad and ambitious,” with a strong focus on securing English and mathematical knowledge from the early years.
• Staff benefit from “research-informed professional learning,” leading to “notable improvements in the delivery of the curriculum.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure a “consistent approach to developing pupils' writing and oracy across subjects and year groups.”
• The school needs to accelerate how quickly pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified and ensure support strategies are used “consistently across the school.”

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an “open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” and concerns are “actively identified, acted upon and managed.”