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INSPECTION REPORT ON |
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St. Anne’s Preparatory School |
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Full Name of the School |
St. Anne’s Preparatory
School |
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DfES Number |
881/6002 |
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Address |
154
New London Road, Chelmsford, CM2 0AW |
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Telephone Number |
01245 353488 |
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Fax Number |
01245 353488 |
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Email Address |
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Name of Headteacher |
Mrs. Helen Guard |
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Proprietor |
Mrs. Sheila Robson |
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Age Range |
3-11 |
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Gender |
Co-educational |
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Inspection Dates |
May
22nd – 25th, 2006 |
This inspection report follows the framework laid down by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). The inspection was carried out under the arrangements of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Associations for the maintenance and improvement of the quality of their membership. It was also carried out under Section 162A(1)(b) of the Education Act 2002, as amended by the Education Act 2005, under the provisions of which the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has accredited ISI as the body approved for the purpose of inspecting schools belonging to ISC Associations and reporting on compliance with the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003.
The inspection does not examine the financial viability of the school or investigate its accounting procedures. The inspectors check the school’s health and safety procedures and comment on any significant hazards they encounter: they do not carry out an exhaustive health and safety examination. Their inspection of the premises is from an educational perspective and does not include in-depth examination of the structural condition of the school, its services or other physical features.
1.1
St. Anne’s
School was founded in 1925 as a day school for both boys and girls in a large
Victorian house near to the centre of Chelmsford. The house has been extensively adapted for
use as a school and the limited space is used well. The current proprietor acts as bursar and
oversees the administrative side of the school; the headmistress teaches a
three-quarter timetable in addition to running the educational side of the
school. She has been in her present post
since January 2004, though she has taught at the school since 1999. Shortly before the inspection she announced
she would be leaving the school in September 2006; by the time of the
inspection, the deputy head had been appointed to succeed her.
1.2
The school currently has a total of 134 full-time pupils, of whom 53 are
boys and 81 girls. In addition it has 18
part-time nursery pupils. Twenty-one
full-time and 18 part-time pupils are in the Foundation Stage for pupils of
five and under; thirty-nine are in Years 1 and 2, and 74 in Years 3 to 6.
1.3
The school
aims ‘to create a
happy, family environment where every child feels welcome, is cared for and
treated fairly. It aims to ensure that
pupils enjoy the excitement of learning and surprise themselves with their
progress, taking pride in the standards they achieve.’
1.4 Pupils travel from a wide area of approximately 35 miles in diameter. Parents enter their children for the school because of its success in enabling pupils to gain places at local grammar schools, and because of its size and ambience. About half the pupils win places to local grammar schools at 11 and the rest move to other local maintained schools; few move on to secondary independent schools. Pupils come from a variety of backgrounds and ethnic groups; most are from families to whom independent education is new. No pupils have English as a second language.
1.5
Most pupils join aged 3 with no selection; older pupils join after a
day’s informal assessment. The analysis
of standardised scores when pupils enter the school shows that the range of
pupils’ abilities is average, with a narrower range than is the case nationally. If pupils perform in line with their
abilities, their results will be in line with the national average for
maintained primary schools. No pupils
have statements of educational need, but seven have been identified as needing
learning support.
1.6 National Curriculum nomenclature is used throughout this report to refer to year groups in the school. The year group nomenclature used by the school and its National Curriculum (NC) equivalence are shown in the following tables.
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School |
NC name |
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Nursery |
Nursery |
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Kindergarten |
Reception |
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Year 1 |
Year 1 |
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Year 2 |
Year 2 |
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Year 3 |
Year 3 |
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Year 4 |
Year 4 |
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Year 5 |
Year 5 |
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Year 6 |
Year 6 |
The Educational Experience Provided
2.1
Pupils are
well-educated by the time they leave St. Anne’s and they are well-prepared for
secondary school. The school fulfills
its aims of offering a firm foundation, small classes and individual attention
in an environment where pupils are encouraged to perform to the best of their
ability and celebrate success at every level.
Since the last inspection, the curriculum has increased in its breadth
and balance, and science is now more practical and investigative. The new information and communications
technology (ICT) room provides greater access for research, though it is not
available all the time.
2.2
The school
provides pupils with a broad and balanced education. The curriculum contributes effectively to
pupils’ progress in all areas of learning, with due emphasis on each
subject. The Foundation Stage curriculum
adheres to national guidelines, with thorough coverage of all the early
learning goals. Good opportunities are
provided for free play and individual learning.
Throughout the school, the curriculum is enhanced by the introduction of
French, speech and drama, a variety of musical activities and by sport and
fitness. It is underpinned by very
effective provision for the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills. The more able pupils in Years 5 and 6 work in
small groups covering the curriculum but completing more demanding work. Pupils receive weekly ICT lessons, with Years
5 and 6 receiving two lessons per week.
This enables pupils to build up good skills, and care is taken to ensure
that work in ICT lessons links with that in other subjects. The ICT room is available for research on
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes and in break on Tuesdays; however, it
is not used by class teachers on a day-to-day basis, limiting the use that
pupils make of their skills.
2.3
A wide
range of extra-curricular activities broadens pupils’ experience and is much
enjoyed by them. The signing club, where
pupils learn how to communicate with the profoundly deaf, is well attended. Links with the community are fostered by visiting
local schools and businesses. A wide
programme of interesting educational visits includes trips to France and the
Isle of Wight. Visitors to the school
range from the local vicar to the Body Care Road Show. Both visits and visitors extend the curriculum
very well and broaden pupils’ horizons outside school. Pupils’ performance in plays and concerts
enriches their creative experience, and sporting events and competitions, for
both boys and girls, contribute well to their physical development.
2.4
Pupils are
prepared well for the next stage of their education, both through the firm
foundation provided by their work in class and through visiting other schools;
this gives pupils additional confidence as they look forward to the move. They also take leadership roles within the
school, such as play-leaders, prefects, librarians and house captains. The personal, social, health and citizenship
education (PSHCE) programme looks ahead effectively to the issues of
adolescence.
2.5
In all
subjects, thorough planning and schemes of work ensure that pupils’ knowledge,
skills and experience are built up in a logical and well-structured way. Assessments are used well to modify planning
in the light of experience and to promote pupils’ learning further. The timetable has a good balance of teaching
by specialist and class teachers; specialist teaching is provided in science,
French, music, drama, games and ICT to good effect. However, the number of part-time teachers
adversely affects the planning of class timetables and, as a result, some
lessons are too long, notably in English and mathematics; both staff and pupils
say they find it difficult to maintain their focus on mathematics for an hour and a half.
2.6 All pupils have equal access to the curriculum and particular care is taken to make the curriculum relevant to the school’s smaller number of boys, for example through the choice of creative writing tasks. Very effective provision is made for pupils requiring additional support, both in the classroom and individually. Their need for support is identified in Nursery and Reception, and support put in place immediately. The combination of individual help and well-integrated support from class teachers enables pupils to make very good progress, catching up their peers at an early stage. Classroom assistants and the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) play an important role in this; individual education plans contain appropriate short and long-term objectives. The school has not identified any pupils as being gifted and talented, or as needing help with English as a foreign language, at present.
2.7 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the curriculum [Standard 1].
Pupils’ Learning and Achievements
2.8
Pupils’
learning is well developed, enabling them to achieve high standards in national
tests for their abilities, and to win places at selective secondary
schools. They have an excellent
grounding in basic skills, maintained since the time of the last inspection. The school achieves its aim that pupils take
pride in the standards they achieve.
2.9
Firm
foundations are laid for literacy and numeracy in Nursery and Reception. Both oral and written skills are built up
quickly as pupils move through the school, and complemented by practical and
creative skills. In the middle of the
school, pupils begin to make confident use of charts and graphs in subjects
such as science and geography, and to understand the nature of evidence in
science and history. Although their
thinking in English is limited in places by the constraints of the published
scheme in use, older pupils show an outstanding ability to discuss complex
topics, such as strategic issues
in the history of World War II.
2.10
The school
works hard to ensure that pupils of different genders or backgrounds achieve
equally well and in this it is successful.
Pupils with special educational needs make rapid progress early in the school as a result of the support
they receive.
2.11
Pupils
results have been far above the national average for all maintained primary
schools over the past three years at ages 7 and 11, and high for their
abilities. About half the pupils in a
typical year gain places at local grammar schools, for which competition is
intense.
2.12
Outside lessons,
pupils achieve good standards in a range of other activities. Both pre-prep and prep choirs sing with
confidence and enthusiasm, the prep choir in parts. During the inspection, pupils played roles
with sensitivity in drama club and performed with panache in the school musical
Our Sound of Music. Many take speech and drama or dance
examinations and achieve a high proportion of merits or distinctions. Other pupils enter music examinations with
success. The school has done well in the
local Music and Drama Festivals.
2.13
Pupils are
highly articulate from an early age. In
Nursery, they express thoughts, ideas and opinions clearly; in Reception, they
use their verbal skills effectively, for instance, to describe aliens. Older pupils talk clearly about texts in
English or ideas in religious education.
They listen to each other and discuss emotions as well as ideas. They explain difficult ideas clearly and talk
with confidence, especially in English and history; in mathematics and science
they sometimes find it more difficult to articulate concepts in their own
words. Their written work is generally
grammatically correct and well presented.
By the time they leave the school, many pupils are beginning to produce
stylish and mature prose.
2.14
Pupils
apply mathematical ideas well. They
understand and make frequent use of graphs, for example interpreting them
accurately in science. They use
measuring apparatus and tables to record data in geography, as well as using
charts and graphs to display their results.
They use measurement skills in design and technology, for example when
making document boxes in Year 4.
2.15
Pupils
develop good skills in ICT, for example putting together presentations of high
quality in Year 6. In some areas, pupils
use these skills well: for example when visiting the ICT room at break and
lunchtime to carry out research in history.
Elsewhere, research using the internet at school is limited as are
opportunities for pupils to use their ICT skills as an integrated part of how
they work in other subjects from day-to-day.
2.16
Pupils
think clearly for themselves, as long as the context is familiar; they are less
confident when that is not the case.
They reason clearly and justify their responses in discussions, for
instance about their favourite history topics or English texts.
2.17
In some
areas, pupils are beginning to learn to carry out research of their own, for
example when carrying out a history project on the Tudors or ancient Greeks,
but elsewhere much of their work is closely directed by the teacher; older
pupils said they yearn for more opportunities to be creative, to research and
to discover for themselves. Large
amounts of practical work are carried out in science, and pupils’ practical
skills are now well developed as a result.
However, they have less well developed skills in planning their own
investigations. Pupils build up a very
thorough knowledge of scientific facts and concepts, but have limited
opportunity to use their literacy skills to write about them in their own
words, except in Years 1 and 6. Some
pupils work is copied but when pupils are allowed the freedom to make notes in
their own words, their learning is better developed.
2.18
Pupils
work well together in pairs and groups, and apply themselves well to the task
in hand. They are sensible and
productive workers whose work is well presented throughout the school. They participate very fully in
question-and-answer, and in discussion in class.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development of Pupils
2.19 Pupils demonstrate outstanding personal development, which the school has maintained and improved since the previous inspection. This fully reflects the school’s aims that pupils should develop self-confidence, self-discipline and a sense of responsibility both inside and outside the classroom.
2.20 Pupils are reflective and open minded in their approach to the spiritual dimension. They are beginning to develop an awareness of Christianity and other world faiths. Stories from various traditions are used in assembly to encourage pupils to think about aspects of the Christian faith, such as the Easter story, and pupils contribute and participate by, for example, writing prayers or celebrating achievements. A prayer is always included in assembly and pupils participate enthusiastically in the weekly signed hymn singing. Assemblies are used to explain the attitudes which are valued at school, and to encourage the very good behaviour which is evident. Pupils recognise the festivals of the Christian calendar and are beginning to explore their deeper significance as they progress through the school. For example, Year 2 pupils explained that Easter showed us that there is always hope of new life. Teachers work to ensure that, where possible, the Christian message reinforces the development of self-awareness and relationship with others. In addition, pupils showed an understanding and appreciation of a wider faith community in discussions in religious education. For example, a Year 6 lesson was enhanced by articulate contributions from pupils with Sikh and Hindu backgrounds.
2.21 Pupils have excellent moral awareness. Many subjects deal with issues of right and wrong. Year 6 pupils draw on lessons from history to see how mistakes can be avoided in future. Year 5 show a good appreciation of our responsibility towards those from other parts of the world. Pupils also show a significant understanding where moral issues relate to their own experience; for example, in a PSHE lesson pupils considered how their behaviour with new playground toys might affect others. Pupils understand the importance of positive morality, looking out for and caring for each other. In this, staff provide excellent role-models, and both staff and pupils recognise the value of knowing everyone in a relatively small community. School rules are known and perceived as fair by pupils and positive reinforcement is used to encourage caring and responsible behaviour. Pupils understand how they should behave to one another and to the staff. They are aware of their responsibility to the needs of those less fortunate than themselves; they raise significant sums for charities ranging from Children in Need to a local hospice. However, pupils did not demonstrate an equally secure awareness of citizenship, though the new school council is introducing them to the idea of representation.
2.22 Pupils’ social skills are outstanding. Senior pupils undertake a wide range of responsibilities as prefects and librarians. The play leader scheme has proved to be a popular and successful means of developing their sense of responsibility; senior pupils are given training in management techniques at a local secondary school in preparation for organising games with the younger children in the school. They do this extremely well. Staff are excellent role models for the pupils because they value the importance of caring relationships throughout the school community. Senior pupils, when asked how they would help to resolve difficulties with younger pupils were clear that they ‘would do it the way their teacher does it’. The school council enables pupils to make representations to the school about issues they consider to be serious. This works well and encourages a confidence that is of particular benefit in the transfer to senior school.
2.23 Pupils show an enthusiasm about other cultures, and teaching often draws on the diversity of cultures represented in classes. Pupils value and respect the beliefs of others, responding well when other pupils talk about their faith and culture. Work in art is closely linked to work in geography, for example when pupils study India, and important festivals in other religions are acknowledged. Pupils participate fully in music, drama and art, gaining experience of a range of cultures. Work on display around the school reflects the diversity of their experience. Pupils have excellent opportunities to benefit from trips as far afield as Paris and York, but also experience culture inside the school through performance and the visual arts.
2.24 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils [Standard 2].
The Quality of Teaching (Including Assessment)
2.25
Pupils
benefit from teaching that is very well planned and delivered by teachers who
know pupils well and create excellent classroom relationships, in accordance
with the school’s aims. A high
proportion of teaching is good and a small amount is outstanding. Teachers use a greater variety of teaching
methods than at the time of the last inspection.
2.26
Teaching
is in almost all respects very well planned and executed. Most lessons have a good pace, though some
are too long to maintain pupils’ interest throughout. The best lessons are well constructed with a
healthy balance of activities and a sharp focus for learning. For example, lessons in music and physical
education use a good sequence of activities to develop pupils’ skills
well. Some lessons have too narrow a
focus; for example, lessons in English and geography sometimes stick too
closely to a published scheme or textbook and, as a result, interesting points
which arise are not followed up. Pupils
have insufficient opportunity to develop mental mathematics strategies to
enable them to think and solve problems in their head, though this does occur
from time to time, for example at weekly tests.
2.27
Teachers
know pupils well and, in a general sense, are sensitive to their needs. They make active efforts to include all of
them in their lessons and, in particular, involve the smaller number of boys
very successfully. However, the standard
of teaching is not always consistent when teachers move to take classes other
than their own. Good use is made of
setting in mathematics in Years 5 and 6 to match work to pupils’ differing
needs, and in the best lessons across the curriculum the most able pupils are
given more challenging work to do. In
less effective lessons, more able pupils have to do large numbers of
comparatively simple examples even if the work comes easily to them. The scrutiny of work shows that pupils are
often set identical work, irrespective of their ability. Except in English and history, this does not
meet their needs appropriately.
2.28
Teachers
have good subject knowledge and resources are used well. In particular, teachers draw on pupils’ own
experience, for example asking pupils to talk about their own faith and culture
in religious education. Effective use is
made of interactive whiteboards in the rooms where they are installed, and
pupils say they add considerably to their leaning.
2.29
Pupils in
Nursery and Reception are encouraged to think for themselves, to ask questions
and to work independently. In the best
lessons for older pupils, teachers make excellent use of pupils’ own ideas and
ask questions to develop their thinking and to clarify their ideas. For example, the oldest pupils are asked
challenging questions in mathematics; work in history enables pupils to
analyse, argue and reason about historical issues. In contrast, some teaching is too teacher-led
so that pupils do not have sufficient opportunity to plan investigative work
for themselves or take responsibility for their own learning. Older pupils said they would like to have
more opportunities for this. Some good
project work does take place, but the focus is sometimes on collecting
information across a wide spectrum rather than on trying to answer a specific
and focussed question.
2.30
Teachers
manage pupils extremely well and create a warm and supportive ethos in their
classes. They maintain a balance of fun
and control, and use humour well. Pupils
are confident they will provide the help that they need.
2.31 Marking is regular and supported by a great deal of verbal feedback. Pupils feel they know how to improve their work even though this is not always indicated in writing. Teachers make use of this information and of their own weekly evaluation in their planning. Monitoring in the Foundation Stage is excellent. Careful records are kept of each pupil and these are evaluated to underpin future planning. For older pupils, the school uses a large number of regular assessments and retains a great deal of information from them, making it difficult to extract useful patterns of performance from pupils' records. It is aware of this and is simplifying and centralising record keeping to make it more effective.
2.32 The school meets the regulatory requirements for teaching [Standard 1].
3. THE QUALITY OF CARE AND RELATIONSHIPS
The Quality of Pastoral Care, and the Welfare, Health and Safety of Pupils
3.1
Pupils
benefit from high quality pastoral care, as at the time of the last
inspection. The school is very
successful in meeting its aims of providing a supportive and caring environment
which values the individual needs of each pupil and encourages all the pupils
to become confident and caring individuals.
3.2
Pupils appreciate
the high quality support and guidance they receive from the staff, their peers
and the prefects. The form tutor is the
backbone of this system. Pupils feel
this arrangement meets their day-to-day needs, but are also confident they can
approach any other member of staff if the need arises.
3.3
The very
successful pastoral arrangements, fully supported by all the staff, are managed
effectively by the head and deputy head.
Policies and procedures are well established and provide a framework for
monitoring pastoral care and ensuring consistency and continuity throughout the
school. As a result, pupil’s behaviour
is good and relationships between pupils and between pupils and staff are
strong. Furthermore, the school council,
the roles and positions of responsibilities within year groups, and the
additional opportunities in Year 6 allow pupils to have a voice; this enhances
their positive attitudes towards the school.
Consequently, pupils have a feeling of contributing to the school ethos
and recognize the benefits that school rules, their own positive behaviour and
the contribution of the staff have on their well-being and development.
3.4
The
excellent relationship between staff and pupils allows for a very productive and
respectful working environment in the classroom, exemplified in the Foundation
Stage, but experienced across the rest of the school. This is reinforced at all stages of the
school day with a disciplined, professional but warm and welcoming approach at
the ‘school gate’, in registration and in assemblies, as well as in the
classroom and extra-curricular activities.
The pastoral system works very effectively as a result of the interest
and care that the staff give to pupils and benefits from the open interaction
with parents.
3.5
The school
has a well thought out approach to managing behaviour and pupils are confident
it would deal effectively with any bullying or unpleasantness if it was to
occur; the necessary policies and procedures are in place.
3.6 The school has appropriate arrangements for medical care and first aid. Child protection procedures meet current requirements. It has taken suitable steps to reduce risk from fire and other hazards, and to develop policies and procedures for health and safety. However, one set of steps in the playground can be slippery in rain and, contrary to school policy, the door to the cellar was left unlocked during the inspection, exposing pupils to a steep set of internal stairs. Admission and attendance registers meet legal requirements.
3.7 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the welfare, health and safety of pupils [Standard 3].
The Quality of Links with Parents and the Community
3.8 As in the previous inspection strong links exist with parents, contributing much to the family ambience which the school aims to create. This strong partnership with parents contributes significantly to pupils’ achievements. The school has effective links with the local community.
3.9 Parents’ response to a questionnaire seeking their opinions of the school was overwhelmingly positive. Many parents commented on how happy their children were at school and all were pleased with the progress they made, the curriculum and the values the school inculcates. Some were critical of the opportunities parents have to discuss their children’s progress, their opportunities to be involved in the school and the way the school handles parents’ concerns. Inspectors investigated these issues and found that opportunities to discuss work are good, that the school deals appropriately with concerns and that parents are encouraged to be involved in the life of the school.
3.10 Parents have appropriate opportunities to be involved in the life of the school. They much appreciate the warm and open relationships they enjoy with staff; they are a frequent and friendly presence around the school at the start and end of the school day. Parents raise money through the parents association, and attend a range of concerts, class assemblies and other events. From time to time, they assist with school trips.
3.11 Parents are provided with thorough information about the school, and are well informed about their children’s progress. The prospectus and school magazine are informative. Reports give a clear indication of pupils’ achievements and indicate where improvements are needed. Parents’ evenings enable the child’s progress to be discussed with relevant staff. If parents have any concerns at other times of the year, they are encouraged to discuss them with staff, who make themselves readily available.
3.12 The school has appropriate policies and procedures in place should any formal complaint arise. It deals well with any concerns that parents raise.
3.13 Liaison with senior schools in the locality is strong through the Chelmsford School Partnership and the Play Leader training run by Moulsham School, which provides useful links with the next stage of pupils’ education. Visitors from the local community include the local MP and Vicar, students from Chelmsford College and work experience students from local schools and colleges, who support the work of the teachers on a regular basis. Pupils participate in local music festivals, the choir sings for charity in the local shopping centre at Christmas and pupils take part in regular and enthusiastic fund raising.
3.14 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the provision of information and the manner in which complaints are to be handled [Standards 6 and 7].
4. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
4.1
The school
benefits from the consistent commitment, clarity of purpose and clear direction
which has been provided by the proprietor over a considerable period of time,
embracing several inspections. In
particular, a good deal of the family ambience and close relationships that characterise the
school, reflect its aims and provide an environment in which pupils both enjoy
their learning and achieve much, derive from this contribution.
4.2
The
presence of a working proprietor, who fulfils both bursarial and administrative
functions, releases the head from a number of responsibilities and works well
in almost all respects. This arrangement
enables the head to be fully involved in teaching and thus to lead by example,
though the extent of this teaching commitment is too large at present. Although the proprietor plays an active and
important role in the school on a daily basis, the roles of proprietor and head
are carefully delineated and understood by all.
Communications are good on both strategic and day-to-day issues.
4.3
The
proprietor is very aware of her responsibilities; in particular she has a good
grasp of the school’s needs and meets them as far as budgetary considerations
allow. Her detailed knowledge of the
school, its staff and its pupils enable appropriate priorities to be identified
and the school to make best use of its resources. Prudent financial management has sustained
the school over a considerable length of time.
4.4
Relationships
with staff are excellent. This reflects
the support and care they receive both professionally and personally. Pupils are well known and new parents shown
round. The close links between
proprietor and school, and the clear communication between proprietor and head,
enable support, advice and challenge to be provided to both head and staff when
necessary.
The Quality of Leadership and Management
4.5
The school
benefits from clear educational direction and positive leadership, which enable
it to meet its core aims well; the school has a sharp focus on its central
purpose of preparing pupils for secondary school, but also provides a
well-rounded education and a high level of care and support. The friendly family ethos to which all
contribute reflects the school’s aims to provide an environment in which pupils
can feel welcome and enjoy their learning.
This remains as strong a feature of the school as at the time of the
last inspection.
4.6
Monitoring
of teachers’ planning and of pupils’ written work is thorough and takes place
regularly; it is used to identify priorities for further development. However, opportunities for classroom
observation are more limited, in part because of the high proportion of time
spent teaching by senior management.
Contact between senior staff is informal but frequent, and much
discussion takes place of current issues.
From time to time, the whole staff have the opportunity to contribute to
the discussion of new priorities and both head and proprietor are receptive to
their ideas. The largely effective
school development plan provides a range of issues to be pursued, but does not
express an overall strategy or take full account of a broader view of current
educational developments elsewhere.
4.7
The school
has developed a full range of policies and these are reviewed from time to
time; for example, the child protection policy is being revised following
recent staff training. Similarly, the
assessment policy is under review to reflect the new approach to centralizing
pupils’ records. Academic monitoring
provides an overview of classroom work and pastoral care sheets give the head,
amongst others, a clear view of areas of pastoral concern.
4.8
The school
recruits and retains staff easily. The
staff work well together and relationships are good, contributing much to the
commitment, hard work and sense of fun amongst them; they are a good role model
for the pupils. All staff apart from the
head are appraised and the current system works well; staff report that they
find it useful. Some training has taken
place outside school, but it is not clearly enough linked to the school
development plan or other current priorities.
Teaching ratios meet current guidelines for pupils under five and are
appropriate elsewhere; sufficient staff are employed to enable a good number of
specialists to be employed and some classes for older pupils to be split. Appropriate checks are carried out on all new
staff.
4.9
Financial
resources are managed well; although staff with responsibilities do not have
discrete budgets, in practice most of their requests for new resources are
met. Administration is efficient from
day to day and communications are good.
4.10 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the suitability of proprietors and staff and for premises and accommodation [Standards 4 and 5].
5.1
Pupils at
St. Anne’s benefit much from the caring, supportive and family ethos created by
all members of the school community.
Older pupils support and care for younger ones, teachers know, respect
and value pupils, and parents appreciate the warm welcome they receive at
school. A broad education in class is
enhanced by a wide and varied programme of extra-curricular activities and
visits, and by most effective support for pupils with special educational needs
enabling these pupils to progress rapidly.
A high proportion of good teaching enables pupils to achieve good
standards in many areas and do very well in national and entrance tests in
their final year. Pupils have a very
thorough knowledge and understanding in many areas and produce work of high
quality, but their ability to engage in independent work is sometimes less
fully developed and work for the most able is not always challenging
enough. School life is underpinned by
the commitment and day-to-day support from the proprietor, and by a clear sense
of direction from the head. However, the
limited time for leadership and management restricts opportunities for
classroom observation, the spreading of best practice within the school and the
broadening of the school’s horizons.
5.2
The school
has improved in many areas since the last inspection. The curriculum is more balanced. The teaching of science places more emphasis
on investigative and practical work. The
new ICT room provides greater access to ICT, though it is not possible for this
room to be easily used by class teachers on a day-to-day basis. Provision for pastoral care and for pupils’
personal development continues to be strong.
The school continues to benefit from a clear vision and sense of
direction, but senior management still has insufficient time to monitor and
develop teaching and learning fully.
5.3 The school meets all the regulatory requirements.
5.4
The school
has no significant weaknesses. In order
to improve further the good education it already supplies, it should:
1.
Ensure
that those responsible for the quality of teaching have sufficient time to:
·
review
areas of best practice and areas for further development in teaching and
learning;
·
create
broader opportunities to learn from experience and practice outside the school;
·
extend
opportunities for pupils to take more responsibility for their own learning;
·
develop a
good range of more challenging tasks in all classes;
·
develop
greater use of ICT by class teachers on a day-to-day basis.
5.5 No action in respect of regulatory requirements is required.
6. summary of inspection evidence
6.1 The inspection was carried out from May 22nd to 25th, 2006. The inspectors examined samples of pupils’ work, observed lessons and conducted formal interviews with pupils. They held discussions with teaching and non-teaching staff and with the proprietor, observed a sample of the extra-curricular activities that occurred during the inspection period, and attended registration sessions and assemblies. The responses of parents and pupils to pre-inspection questionnaires were analysed, and the inspectors examined a range of documentation made available by the school.
|
Ian Newton |
Reporting Inspector, Former Head, HMC School |
|
Dee Hutley |
Former Principal and current Proprietor, ISA School |
|
Ashley Martin |
Deputy Head, ISA School |
|
Ann Musgrave |
Deputy Head, IAPS School |