St Anne's Church Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 May 2022

St Anne's Church Academy is a happy and welcoming school. The school's ethos, 'learning without limits', is woven through everything that the school does. Pupils are wonderful ambassadors for the school. They are polite and respectful and behave exceptionally well. Pupils understand routines, and there is a buzz of purposeful activity wherever you go. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and are keen to succeed. Staff have consistently high expectations of pupils. As a result, pupils listen carefully and work hard. Pupils chat enthusiastically about exciting learning experiences, such as the trip to the SS Great Britain. Pupils enjoy learning about differences between their lives and those of their friends in the Traveller community. Staff know pupils and their families well. Adults care deeply about pupils and want the best for them. Staff are sensitive to pupils' needs and form friendly and supportive relationships with them. Pupils feel safe because they trust adults to look after them. Pupils confirm that bullying is rare. They say there is always someone to turn to if they are worried. The overwhelming majority of parents are very pleased with the school. Typical comments include, 'I could not be happier with the school,' and 'Our children thrive here.'

What the school should improve

• The school currently uses a mixed approach to the teaching of phonics. This is because leaders are in the process of adopting a new phonics programme. As a result, pupils' reading books are not closely matched to what they are learning in phonics. This limits the extent to which pupils are able to practise, develop and consolidate their reading skills. Leaders must implement and embed the new phonics programme, and check its impact, so they can assure themselves that phonics teaching is consistently strong.
• Leaders are still improving the curriculum in a small number of subjects. In these subjects, leaders have not yet precisely identified what they want pupils to learn, and by when. As a result, pupils have some gaps in their knowledge. Leaders must develop well-planned sequences of lessons, which consistently help pupils to build on what they have already learned, so that they know and remember more.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)