Since the last IQM review, the school has gone through many changes, including a new Headteacher in September 2023. With a strong background in inclusion, he is passionate about his belief that all children can flourish and thrive.
Due to the continuing falling roll in the borough, St. Anne’s has moved from a two-form to a one-form entry school, with currently 220 pupils on roll, which includes the nursery.
The percentage of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium (PP), pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and those who speak English as an Additional Language (EAL) are all well above the national average.
The inclusive culture at St. Anne’s Primary School is very much rooted in their Catholic faith and values.
The Catholic Schools’ Inspectorate Report in July 2023 recognised the school’s inclusive ethos: “The Catholic Life and mission of St. Anne’s ensure a real sense of belonging to a truly inclusive community, which is valued by all school leaders who know the school’s strengths.” This was clearly evident during the review day.
All stakeholders spoke proudly about the strong sense of community at St. Anne’s, and as one teacher said, “children are at the heart of everything we do. We know and invest in them.”.
The school received visits from Ofsted and the Catholic Schools’ Inspectorate last summer and both reports recognised the need for improvement. Through examples of commitment, courage, tenacity, smart work and a truly collegiate approach, the school is rising to the challenge. The school is clear on its priorities and areas to develop and has become outwardly focused.
There are now more opportunities for staff to share and learn from excellent practice. They are working with a range of consultants and partners to help support and drive their improvement and to make sure that their offer is the very best that it can be.
The school has recognised the need to consistently implement their intended curriculum and therefore introduced new schemes of work. An investment in the Kapow Primary Curriculum has provided long-term plans, progression of knowledge and skills and other curriculum resources for each of the foundation subjects.
Essential Writing from Herts for Learning has supported teachers with the subject knowledge, tools and resources to effectively teach children how to write, focusing on writing for specific purposes and authentic audiences. Teachers spoke about the impact this has had on pupils’ writing outcomes and this was evident during the review of pupils’ books and work displayed. In Year 5, for example, pupils were writing a letter to the Headteacher and local council about global warming.
These schemes are now being used consistently across the school and leaders recognise the next steps are to adapt the schemes to meet the interests and needs of the pupils.
After two previous phonics schemes, the school has now settled on the Little Wandle. This comes with its own suite of training videos and the school has also received support from one of the Little Wandle local advisors.
She has monitored and evaluated the effectiveness of the phonics sessions, shared feedback with staff and, where needed, given further training. TAs found this a supportive process and spoke positively about the impact this has had on their own subject knowledge and ability to deliver catch-up and keep-up interventions for pupils who need them. There is now a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics and reading in KS1, resulting in improved progress.
The Deputy Headteacher and SENCo lead research-based training and Continued Professional Development (CPD) has been key to the improvements in teaching and learning this year. Staff are more confident in adapting learning to support and challenge the learning of all pupils. Strategies are in place to check and recap prior learning and pupils enjoy using mini whiteboards to show what they have learned.
Pupils spoke about the scaffolds that are in place to support their learning, including phonics boards to help with spelling, working walls, talk partners and word banks. Formative assessment and IEP targets are used to inform in-the-moment interventions with TAs to plug learning gaps. One TA told me, “We communicate well with the class teacher and will take a small group that didn’t achieve the learning objective. This makes them ready for the new learning.” Pre-teaching interventions are used to introduce math vocabulary and spelling.
The extra-curriculum and enrichment the school offers are becoming a strength and are being recognised by staff, pupils and parents. The school takes full advantage of the benefits of being in London and the new map wall in the main corridor demonstrates how trips match the curriculum and encourages the community to use its local area. There are strong links with the nearby Oval Cricket Ground and with local artists. Pupils have visited the Black Cultural Archives, the Florence Nightingale Museum and the National History Museum, among many others, and Year 6 is looking forward to their upcoming residential. Everyone I spoke to told me about the recent Steam Day and the popular annual International Day, where the community comes together to share food, learn songs and learn about one another’s cultures. As one parent said, “it’s the best day of the year!”
Being a school undergoing improvement, leaders make sure staff wellbeing and workload are priorities. Directed time is used to complete tasks including annual report writing and IEP target reviews and the feedback policy has been revised to limit after-school marking. Teachers appreciate the planning time given to subject leaders. This has helped to raise the profile of the role and they now have regular release time from class to monitor their subject through learning walks, pupil voice activities and book looks. SLT completes a staff voice exercise once a term and staff told me that they feel comfortable approaching the team. Feedback from teachers and TAs was overwhelmingly positive and staff morale is high. They are aware of the need to change and buy into, and feel energised by, the new initiatives and projects that have been put into place to drive improvement. They told me that everyone is committed to the school; “we come in every day and do the best for the children.”
Pupil wellbeing and support for Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs continue to be a priority at St. Anne’s. I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of pupils during the visit.
They told IQM –
- Behaviour is good at St. Anne’s because our school motto, ‘Let the light of Christ shine in our school’, motivates us.
- Our Headteacher tells us to be happy every day.
- Everybody helps each other and we work in harmony.
- We are all friendly on the playground and I always have a friend to play with.
Targeted SEMH support is in place for those who need it. Structured movement breaks with visual prompts have been introduced and activities ensure elements of ‘warm up’ and ‘cool down’ to support pupils in return to learning. Zones of regulation and worry boxes are being used in some classrooms. Pupils appreciate the Friendship Stop in the playground, as it makes them feel included and happy. The introduction of the Pastoral Lead/Behaviour Mentor and the work planned to develop a more therapeutic approach to behaviour will no doubt strengthen this provision even further.
The analogy that the seeds that have been planted have begun to grow was used on the day and staff are confident that the school will go from strength to strength. It was a very positive and powerful experience to see and hear how much is being achieved in St. Anne’s due to the drive, passion and expertise of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the relentless commitment of the school staff. This school improvement has been verified by external advisors, including a SEND reviewer, a Hearts for Learning consultant and the School Improvement Advisor. As things move forward, the ability to adapt and think flexibly, as well as reflect on and learn from experience, will lead to continued success. There are exciting times ahead. The school has many plans for the near future and it will be very interesting to watch their journey continue.
