Creating a "buzz of excitement" around school lessons has paid off for St Anne’s Infant School in Brislington as their Ofsted inspection found the school to be ‘good’ up from ‘requires improvement’ in 2019. Headteacher Anna Sutherland said the entire school community was “absolutely thrilled” with the latest Ofsted findings, which rated all areas of the curriculum as ‘good’.
The 2019 inspection found five areas requiring improvement, with only ‘personal development, behaviour and welfare’ being found as good. It also found that pupils with special needs or disabilities (SEND) did not make enough progress in reading, writing and mathematics - but inspectors found that improvements have been made since then.
Mrs Sutherland said: “There’s been a huge amount of work, it was always going to be a difficult journey and throwing Covid into that, we are absolutely thrilled.” She added that the whole school community got behind improving the school, adding: “the children have done brilliantly well, they have reached for the stars.”
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To reach the required improvements, the school implemented its vision 'we reach for the stars and shine' which the Ofsted report said was “a central part of the school”. The report, based on an inspection in January, also highlighted that “adults in the school have high expectations of all pupils, including those with special needs and disabilities (SEND)".
It added: “Pupils respond well to this, they are polite, respectful and welcoming. Classrooms are purposeful and productive." The report also highlighted the important role of reading and instilling a love of reading, with children in Reception year “talking confidently about animals that are ‘nocturnal’".
Mrs Sutherland said: "Reading is paramount and we focus on not only being able to read, but having a love of reading.” She said this was not only to enhance children’s understanding of the curriculum but also for the pleasure of reading, adding: “We have had some incredible outcomes, not only in reading but also in writing.
“We want our children to come home buzzing with excitement about what they’ve done each day. The school community is also interactive and instead of teaching history or science, we encourage the children to become historians or scientists, it becomes enormously more purposeful,” she said.
The Ofsted report also found the mathematics curriculum was “well thought out”, which included pupils with SEND who had access to the same curriculum as the work had been adapted to suit their needs. The report added that in some wider curriculum subjects, the curriculum was not well designed or sequenced with pupils unable to explain the key concepts.
Ofsted inspectors also found that there was a wide range of opportunities for pupils’ personal development, including a good understanding of a healthy body and mind and standing up for what they believe in. The safeguarding arrangements were also found to be effective.
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