Comber Grove School

COMBER GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 3 rd April – 6 th April 2000

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COMBER GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Comber Grove Primary School - 2 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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COMBER GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Comber Grove Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Comber Grove Camberwell London

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: February 1996 Comber Grove Primary School - 4

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Aspect responsibilities

Theresa Mullane Registered inspector Art, Music How high are standards? How well are pupils taught? How well is the school managed? Caroline Marden Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to the pupils? How well is the school managed? Margaret Hart Team inspector Areas of Learning for children under- five, Science, Special educational needs, Equal opportunities How well is the school managed?

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Aspect responsibilities

Nick Mitchell Team inspector Mathematics, Physical education Carol Worthington Team inspector Information technology, Design technology, Geography How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to the pupils? How well does the school care for its pupils? Kanwaljit Singh Team inspector English, History, Religious Education, English as an additional language

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Aspect responsibilities

Capital Inspections Chaucer Building Canterbury Road Morden Surrey SM4 6PX

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Aspect responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Aspect responsibilities

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Comber Grove Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6 - 9

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 10

The school’s results and achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Comber Grove Primary School is a large primary school in the London Borough of Southwark. There are 390 pupils on the school roll. The school has a nursery that provides part-time education for 52 children. The children’s attainment on entry to the school is below average. Most pupils enter the school in the nursery or reception classes and leave at the time of transfer to the secondary school at age 11. Whilst the school receives pupils from a range of social backgrounds, overall socio-economic circumstances are below average. The school is funded additionally to support pupils with special educational needs. Just over 15 per cent of pupils are identified as having special educational needs which is lower than average and only 3 pupils (0.8 percent) have statements of special educational needs which is below average. Over 73 percent of pupils come from ethnic minorities and the predominant countries of origin are in Africa.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Over 17 per cent of pupils are learning English as an additional language. The main languages that are spoken other than English are: Bengali, Chinese, Tamil, Turkish, Urdu and Yoruba. The school receives additional funding to support pupils learning English as an additional language and no pupil is at an early stage of learning English.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils attain average standards in all subjects except English and information technology. The results from the Key Stage 2 national tests have shown sustained improvement between 1996-1998 and whilst there was a sharp decline in the results in 1999 they are set to rise again in 2000 in all subjects. Overall, pupils’ attitudes are very good and teaching is satisfactory. The leadership and management of the school is satisfactory. However, some staff with management responsibilities do not systematically monitor the areas where they lead and this affects the extent to which there is a shared view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The day to day financial management of the school is good. Pupils make satisfactory progress by the time they leave at the age of eleven. Overall the school is providing satisfactory value for

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What the school does well

• The school promotes very good attitudes in its pupils and their behaviour is good. • The school makes very good provision for pupils’ moral, social and cultural development. • In the nursery and reception classes teaching is good. • Pupils achieve high standards in art and have above average skills in music and geography. • Pupils with special educational needs make good progress.

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What could be improved

• The school does not have systematic procedures for monitoring and evaluating teaching and learning. • Although the school has implemented new arrangements for developing literacy, the proportion of pupils attaining average standards in English by the age of eleven is just below average. • Despite improving provision for information technology pupils’ attainment in this subject is still below average at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. • Information from its assessments and tests could be used more effectively to track pupils’ progress. • The management role of senior and middle managers needs to be developed systematically. • The management role of the governors needs to be developed further so that they monitor and evaluate standards in the school. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made broadly satisfactory progress since its inspection in 1996. The main area of improvement is in the quality of teaching. However, progress with the key issues is more varied. The school has improved standards in design technology and religious education. Schemes of work have been developed for all subjects but some provide more effective support to teachers than others. Provision of hard and software for the teaching of information technology has improved but pupils still attain standards that are below average and overall provision still needs to be improved. The school’s arrangements for monitoring teaching, learning and standards are still unsatisfactory. Comber Grove Primary School - 7

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

English B B E C well above average above average A B Mathematics C A D B Average below average C D Science C A E C well below average E

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Key

At Key Stage 1 results in reading are close to the national average but above average in writing. However, the school’s results are well above average when compared to similar schools. Although the school has achieved above average results in reading and writing over the past four years, overall standards achieved in the national tests have been declining steadily during this period. During the inspection, pupils were seen to be achieving average standards in both reading and writing. In 1999 the results from the mathematics tests were well below average. The results in mathematics have declined from above average in 1997 to well below average in 1999. During the inspection, pupils in Key Stage 1 were seen to be just attaining at the bottom end of the average levels for their age.

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Key

At Key Stage 2 results fluctuate. In English and science results rose steadily between 1996 and 1998 but dropped sharply in 1999. In mathematics, results are similar in 1996, 1997 and 1999 but they rose sharply in 1998. In 1999 the school had a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs. The school missed its target for English and mathematics in 1999 but is on course to achieve them in 2000 and 2001. During the inspection, pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 were seen to be attaining average levels in mathematics and science but their attainment in English was just below average.

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Key

Overall, standards are marginally lower at Key Stage 1 than they were at the time of the previous inspection. Standards at Key Stage 2 are close to what they were observed to be during the school’s previous inspection. Children make good progress in the nursery and reception classes from below average starting points. At Key Stage 1 pupils attain above average standards in art, geography and music but in information technology their standards are below average. In all other subjects they achieve average standards by the age of seven . At Key Stage 2, pupils’ standards meet the national expectation in mathematics, science, design technology, history, religious education and physical education. In English and information technology pupils’ standards are below average but they are above average in art, geography and music.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Very good attitudes are reflected in the pupils’ cheerfulness and interest in their work.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is good in the classrooms but there is a lot of running around on the stairways. Pupils are courteous and show respect for adults and one another.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships The pupils’ personal development is good. Pupils have good relationships with one another and adults.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Attendance is good. Unauthorised absence is low. Punctuality is unsatisfactory.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development are areas of particular strength within the school. There is a culture of learning in the school and pupils work hard. Comber Grove Primary School - 8

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Teaching of pupils: Aged up to 5 years Aged 5-7 years Aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall Good Satisfactory Satisfactory Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: Aged up to 5 years Aged 5-7 years Aged 7-11 years

The quality of teaching has improved significantly since the school’s previous inspection. For children in the nursery and reception classes the quality of teaching is good. In English, teaching is satisfactory at Key Stages 1 and 2; in two out of every five lessons, teaching is good. In the nursery and reception classes the teaching of language and literacy is good. In mathematics the quality of teaching is satisfactory at each Key Stage 1. Whilst teaching in mathematics is satisfactory overall at Key Stage 2, in 20 per cent of lessons it was observed as being unsatisfactory. Teaching is good in science and art. The main strength in teaching is the teachers’ effective management of pupils and this creates a calm working environment in all classrooms. Teachers use support staff and resources well although time is not always used efficiently and there are frequent interruptions in lessons. Teachers use particularly effective methods in teaching the

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Teaching of pupils: Aged up to 5 years Aged 5-7 years Aged 7-11 years

under-fives and in subjects such as art and geography and this resulted in the pupils achieving high standards in their work. Teaching for pupils with special educational needs is always at least satisfactory and often good. In some English and mathematics lessons it was observed that higher attaining pupils were not challenged sufficiently although their needs were met satisfactorily in science lessons. In subjects such as art, music and geography able pupils are challenged appropriately and this promotes high standards.

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Teaching of pupils: Aged up to 5 years Aged 5-7 years Aged 7-11 years

Pupils are genuinely interested in their work. In most lessons they work with sustained effort and concentration and have the confidence to work independently.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum is broad and meets statutory requirements. The school emphasises the teaching of music and this creates some imbalance within the curriculum. This can result in pupils having less time to learn subjects such as science or geography.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs This is good. Pupils are given appropriate targets and effective support. This ensures that pupils make good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language This is satisfactory. The support provided is satisfactory but there are no targets set for pupils who are not on the special educational needs register; this makes it difficult for teachers to monitor pupils’ progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development The pupils’ social, moral and cultural development is very good. The school has identified many ways to develop these aspects across the curriculum. The pupils’ spiritual and personal development is good.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school cares for its pupils well and deals with allegations of bullying promptly and effectively. There are satisfactory procedures for assessing pupils’ progress but the current use of this information to monitor pupils’ progress is unsatisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

The school effectively involves parents in their children’s education. Parents are very supportive of the school and find the headteacher and staff very approachable. The school provides parents with satisfactory information about the life of the school. However, parents do not receive sufficient information about what their children will be studying. Comber Grove Primary School - 9

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff This is satisfactory overall. The headteacher enjoys the respect of staff, pupils, parents and governors. The day to day management of the school is efficient. The management role of some key staff is underdeveloped.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body is developing its role and has an appropriate structure of committees. Currently their role is underdeveloped.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school does not evaluate its performance with sufficient rigour.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Financial management is good. The school deploys its learning resources well and uses additional grants effectively with an increased awareness of best value.

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Aspect Comment

The headteacher has worked hard to establish a strong team of committed, hardworking and dedicated staff. However, the role of staff with management responsibilities has not been developed sufficiently well so that they focus on the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The school has good levels of staffing and there are good procedures for the induction of new staff. Appraisal arrangements are up to date and the school’s arrangements for staff development are satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

The accommodation is spacious and a pleasant environment is created by displays of pupils’ work. However, the school has a large number of defective windows that cannot be opened; this affects the quality of air in the school. Resources are satisfactory but good in mathematics, art, history and music. The school is at an early stage of applying the principles of best value.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children are happy at school. • Their children make good progress. • The school promotes good behaviour and attitudes in their children. • Parents find the school very approachable. • The teaching is good. • Provision for homework. • More information about what their children are learning. • The range of activities provided outside lessons.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with many parents’ positive views about the school. Pupils are friendly and display mature and responsible attitudes to their work and one another. There is a significant amount of good teaching. The inspection team agrees that parents should receive more information about what their children are being taught and the school has already recognised that more needs to be done here. The parents’ views are not always in agreement with one another. The school has many good arrangements in place for providing pupils with homework although the practice in some classes of allowing pupils time during the school day to complete their homework defeats the purpose of giving it. The school provides a reasonable range of activities outside lesson times that enhances the pupils’ learning. Comber Grove Primary School - 10

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The school’s results and achievements

1. Standards in English are average at Key Stage 1 and just below average at Key Stage 2. In mathematics and science the school achieves average standards at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

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The school’s results and achievements

2. Results from the 1999 Key Stage 1 national tests for English show that pupils’ attainment was close to the national average for reading and above average for writing. The school’s results for reading and writing are above average when they are compared to those being achieved by similar schools. However, the school’s average point score in the reading tests is below average. This is because a high proportion of pupils who attained the expected level for their age did so at the lower end of this level. The school’s point score for writing is above average because pupils mainly attained higher grades of the average level. The proportion of pupils reaching the average level for their age in the mathematics tests was close to the national average. Again, many pupils attained at the lower grades at the average level, which meant that when the school’s average point score is calculated, the school’s results are well below the national average. The mathematics results are also below

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The school’s results and achievements

average when they are compared to those being achieved by similar schools. The statutory teacher assessment for science showed that pupils’ results were broadly in line with those achieved nationally and with those achieved by similar schools. At Key Stage 2, the results from the 1999 English and science tests were well below the national average but average when compared with similar schools. Whilst the results from the mathematics test were below the national average they were above the results achieved by similar schools.

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The school’s results and achievements

3. Most children enter the nursery with levels of attainment that are below average. This is reflected in the information from the baseline assessments that are carried out as the children approach five years of age. The children make good progress towards the nationally recommended outcomes. By the age of five, most children in the current reception classes will reach the expected levels for their age in all the areas of learning. The children are on course to attain average standards in language and literacy, mathematics, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative development and physical development. They will attain above average levels in social development.

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The school’s results and achievements

4. At Key Stage 1, whilst standards in writing have remained above the national average and standards in reading are still close to the national average, there has been a steady decline in results achieved in reading, writing and mathematics tests over the past four years. Standards in mathematics have gone from being above average to well below the national average. At Key Stage 2, results in English and science rose steadily between 1996 and 1998 but dropped sharply in 1999. In mathematics, results are similar in 1996, 1997 and 1999 but rise sharply in 1998. Overall, the school’s results at Key Stage 2 are broadly in line with the national trend.

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The school’s results and achievements

5. Pupils’ standards in English at Key Stage 1 are similar to those seen during the school’s last inspection in 1996. During this inspection, pupils at this key stage were seen to attain above average standards in speaking and listening and average standards in reading and writing. This judgement reflects the outcomes of the Key Stage 1 tests and assessments. At Key Stage 2 standards are slightly lower than they were at the time of the last inspection. In 1996, standards in English were judged to be broadly average with standards in speaking and listening being considered good. During this inspection, the majority of pupils were observed again attaining above average standards in speaking and listening but their standards in reading and writing were considered to be just below average. This judgement does not fully reflect the outcomes from last year’s national tests. In those tests, a lower proportion of pupils attained the average levels for their age. By the end of the key stage,

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The school’s results and achievements

pupils can read accurately and with a reasonable degree of fluency. They can describe character and plot but they are insufficiently skilled in detecting nuances and subtleties in the texts that they read. In their writing, pupils write for a range of different purposes but only higher attaining pupils use a wide vocabulary and most pupils do not join their handwriting.

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The school’s results and achievements

6. Pupils’ attainments in mathematics are broadly average at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. The standards observed are similar to those seen at the time of the previous inspection. The inspection judgement reflects the results at Key Stage1 but varies with the outcomes of tests at Key Stage 2. During the inspection a large proportion of Key Stage 1 pupils were seen to attain at the bottom end of the average level for their age; this reflects the outcomes of the mathematics tests last year. Whilst seven year old pupils show skills in adding and subtracting one and two digit numbers and recognising sequences of odd and even numbers, they show less confidence in choosing the appropriate operation when solving addition and subtraction problems. At Key Stage 2, standards in mathematics were judged to be average but the results from the 1999 tests show that the proportion of pupils attaining the expected level for their age was below average. This was because there was a high proportion of

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The school’s results and achievements

Comber Grove Primary School - 11 pupils in Year 6 with special educational needs in 1999 and this led to lower overall results in all subjects in the national tests.

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The school’s results and achievements

7. At Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, standards in science are average. This judgement reflects the outcomes of statutory teacher assessment in 1999 which showed that pupils’ attainment in science was broadly average. When the school’s results are compared to those achieved by similar schools, they are well above average. At Key Stage 2 standards in science were observed as being average during the inspection. This judgement differs from the 1999 test results, which were well below average. Again this reflects the results of a year group with a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs. At both key stages pupils are achieving at similar levels to those seen at the time of the previous inspection.

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The school’s results and achievements

8. Attainment in information technology is below the national expectation at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Similar standards were observed when the school was inspected in 1996 although provision of hardware and software has been improved. At Key Stage 1, pupils learn basic skills such as using the mouse and keypad but little control or graphics work is undertaken. At Key Stage 2, pupils learn to change fonts and save their work but their desk-top publishing skills are limited and there was little evidence to show how pupils develop skills in control and modelling. In religious education, pupils broadly meet the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. Standards in religious education have improved at Key Stage 1 since the previous inspection and the standards observed at Key Stage 2 have been maintained.

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The school’s results and achievements

9. During the last inspection the quality of pupils’ learning was good in all subjects except information technology, design technology, physical education and religious education where it was considered sound. In all subjects except design technology, information technology and religious education pupils were judged to be making at least satisfactory progress. During the present inspection pupils were seen to make satisfactory progress in all subjects except art, geography, information technology and music. In art, geography and music pupils make good progress but in information technology pupils’ progress is unsatisfactory.

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The school’s results and achievements

10. Overall standards in reading and mathematics should be higher at Key Stage 1. Whilst many pupils attain average levels by the age of seven, they are at the lower end of the range. A higher proportion of average and higher attaining pupils should achieve at the higher levels expected of seven year olds. At Key Stage 2 standards should be higher in reading and writing. At both key stages standards in information technology need to be improved. The school did not meet its 1999 targets for English and mathematics at Key Stage 2. The proportions of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the national tests was lower than the agreed targets for the school. However, the school is on course to meet its targets in the English and mathematics tests for 2000 but this will still be below the national average. Targets for the year 2000 are appropriately demanding for the school.

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The school’s results and achievements

11. The results of the national tests are analysed by gender and girls’ overall attainment is marginally higher than boys at both key stages. Test results over the three years from 1996 to 1999 indicate that the differences in results for boys and girls have been small, and that girls have generally achieved well. However, the data is not evaluated with sufficient rigour to see whether trends are emerging. Last year only half the girls achieved an average level at the end of Key Stage 2. This year, the ability groupings for mathematics show that three times as many boys as girls are in the top group. Whilst the school has used outcomes of tests to decide these groupings, it has not identified the reason for this disparity in performance. It is also not aware that a downward trend in girls’ performance in mathematics is possibly emerging.

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The school’s results and achievements

12. At both key stages, pupils with special educational needs make good progress in English, art and music. In all other subjects they make at least satisfactory progress. Appropriate targets are set for pupils in their individual education plans and they make good progress towards them. Pupils with English as an additional language make satisfactory progress in all subjects including English. No pupils are at an early stage of learning English. Where pupils learning English have special educational needs they have specific targets for learning the language. However, specific targets are not provided for pupils learning English who do not have special educational needs. This makes it more difficult for teachers to monitor the progress these pupils are making in acquiring the language. Higher attaining pupils make satisfactory progress overall. In the national tests the proportion of Key Stage 1

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The school’s results and achievements

pupils attaining at the higher levels in writing was above the national average but in reading and mathematics it was well below average. At Key Stage 2, the proportion of pupils attaining at the higher levels in mathematics was close to average but it was well below average for English and below average for science.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. This area remains a strength of the school. Pupils have very good attitudes to school. They come in happy in the morning and are ready to work. There is a culture of learning in the school and pupils work hard. They listen well to instructions from their teachers and try their best to follow them. During lessons pupils work independently to Comber Grove Primary School - 12 complete their tasks even when teachers are not directly supervising them. Pupils are very interested in their work and are keen to answer teachers’ questions and to show what they know.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Pupils’ behaviour is good and often very good in most aspects of school life. Behaviour in class is good with a few exceptions that are usually related to the special educational needs of these pupils. Pupils from Year 3 showed exemplary behaviour walking to the local swimming pool on a very cold wet day. They showed great restraint in not jumping in any puddles as well as taking care when crossing roads. However, there is some running and unsatisfactory behaviour on the school stairs. There have been no exclusions in the school for the last three years.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Attendance is very good and is well above the national average at 96.4 percent and unauthorised absence is below the national average. Punctuality is unsatisfactory. Many pupils arrive a few minutes late on a regular basis.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. The personal development of pupils is good. They show respect for each other’s views listening carefully to what their classmates have to say in discussions. When pupils work together in pairs or small groups they can discuss differences of opinions and come to sensible compromises. Pupils play well together in the playground and there is a very high degree of racial harmony.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. In the nursery and reception classes the quality of teaching is good. It is satisfactory in the other key stages. 96 per cent of teaching is satisfactory or better and 55 percent of teaching is good or better. Unsatisfactory teaching has declined from about 20 percent to only 4 percent since the last inspection. During this inspection, 10 percent of teaching was very good whereas no teaching in this category was observed during the school’s previous inspection.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. The quality of teaching in basic skills is satisfactory. Teachers use the school’s schemes of work for literacy and numeracy effectively. The teaching of language and literacy is good in the nursery and reception classes. At Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, whilst teaching in English is satisfactory overall, in two out of every five lessons it is good. In mathematics, teaching is satisfactory at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed in mathematics at Key Stage 1. At Key Stage 2, teaching in 20 percent of lessons was unsatisfactory. Teaching is consistently good in art and good overall in science. In all other subjects where teaching was observed it was satisfactory overall.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. The main strength of teaching is the effective management of pupils. In the nursery, reception, and Key Stage 1 classes, pupils are managed very well and this helps to promote their concentration and develop their sense of co- operation. At Key Stage 2, pupils are managed effectively in most classes and this helps to create a calm working environment and sense of purpose in most classes. However, in a small number of lessons the management of pupils was not effective and this led to pupils having a less positive attitude to their learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Teachers’ subject knowledge is satisfactory overall. In the nursery and reception classes teachers have a good understanding of the subjects they teach and use this effectively to promote the children’s learning. Teachers’ subject knowledge in the majority of subjects including English and mathematics is satisfactory. In art and music, teachers’ subject knowledge is mainly good and this leads to pupils making good progress in these subjects. In teaching art and music teachers use subject vocabulary very effectively as they explain work or discuss it with pupils. This helps pupils to understand what the terms mean and use them in their own discussions about their work. A good example of this was in a Year 5 class where pupils were learning about perspective and had been introduced to the idea of a ‘vanishing point’ in their pictures. In discussing their pictures, pupils could talk about

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

the horizon and where the vanishing point was. However, in information technology teachers’ subject knowledge is unsatisfactory and this limits the progress pupils make in this subject. There were also instances in a small number of science lessons where teachers’ understanding of the process of science investigation was not complete and this led to some confusion for the pupils in parts of the lesson.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. Teachers’ planning is good in the nursery and reception classes and is satisfactory at Key Stages 1 and 2. In some subjects, including science and art, teachers’ planning ensures that tasks are matched carefully to the range of abilities within their classes. This enables pupils to effectively develop knowledge and skills in these subjects. In mathematics, long and medium-term planning consistently sets out objectives for the year or term. The quality of short-term planning is more variable. In some classes, planning consists of lists of activities that pupils will complete. In other classes, teachers’ planning shows a clear link between what pupils are expected to learn and the activities they are given. This planning is more effective, as it ensures that tasks are matched to more closely to pupils’ abilities. In a small number of mathematics lessons short-term planning was less effective. In these

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

lessons pupils were all given the same tasks to complete irrespective of their abilities. Whilst lower attaining Comber Grove Primary School - 13 pupils were adequately supported, higher attaining pupils were not sufficiently challenged. This limited the progress that higher attaining pupils made. In all classes, teachers plan effectively for pupils with special educational needs and this ensures that they make good progress in their learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Teaching methods are used effectively in the nursery and reception classes and satisfactorily in Key Stages 1 and 2. In two-thirds of mathematics lessons, effective questioning and explanations in oral sessions helped to develop pupils’ mental calculation skills well. However, in a third of lessons, pupils were asked a limited range of questions at an undemanding pace, which did not promote the pupils’ mental calculation skills effectively. In science at both key stages teachers showed skill in their questioning of pupils and this led older pupils, in particular, towards drawing conclusions about what they had learnt. In art lessons, teachers reviewed pupils’ work regularly throughout the lesson and this enabled them to reinforce the main teaching points very effectively.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Teachers use support staff and resources well. Support staff, both teachers and assistants, are used well with the under-fives and pupils with special educational needs. This helps under-five pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills in particular. The support given to pupils with special educational needs helps them achieve their targets and to have access to the National Curriculum. Where teachers were available to provided support for pupils for whom English is an additional language it always made an effective contribution to these pupils’ learning. In a significant number of lessons time is not always used effectively for part of the lesson. In mathematics lessons in some classes, the oral work at the start of the lesson was slow. In some science and English lessons the pace of work slowed in the middle of the lesson, this usually occurred where pupils were engaged in undemanding tasks resulting in a loss of momentum. In art lessons, the pace of work was consistently

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

good. The school’s own organisation sometimes leads to time in lessons being used inefficiently. There were instances where teachers had to re-teach aspects of a lesson because a sizeable number of pupils returned from music activities part of the way through a lesson. In some lessons, pupils are given time to complete their homework, which means that lesson time is not used effectively for teaching purposes.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. Teachers have satisfactory expectations of their pupils. In the nursery and reception classes, pupils are challenged effectively in all the areas of learning. In Key Stage 1 and 2, teachers’ expectations of their pupils are satisfactory overall. In a significant number of lessons where teaching was good or very good, teachers consistently had high expectations of their pupils. In lessons where teaching was unsatisfactory, pupils were given work that was insufficiently challenging.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. Assessment is used effectively in the nursery and reception classes. Teachers use the information to build on children’s existing abilities and this ensures that they make good progress. In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 teachers use information from teachers’ on-going assessments satisfactorily. Whilst there were instances of good practice in English, it was not a consistent feature of teaching across the two key stages. Where teachers’ on-going assessments were not effective, it led to pupils being given tasks that were not well matched to their abilities.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. The provision for homework is good in many classes and is often used effectively. Children from the nursery onwards take home reading books and older pupils have tasks that help them to develop skills in English, mathematics and science. In some classes, however, pupils are given time during lessons to complete their homework which defeats the purpose of setting homework.

p.13

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

27. The school provides an appropriately broad curriculum. All subjects of the National Curriculum are covered adequately. In addition, pupils in Year 5 study French for half an hour each week, and all pupils have good opportunities to widen their experience in music. However, the extra time devoted to choir, recorders and guitar is in school time rather than outside the curriculum. This causes a lack of balance because pupils miss some of their curriculum subjects and do not always make up lost work. Provision for art and geography is a strength; all over the school, high quality art work is abundant, enhancing all areas of the curriculum, for example illustrations completed in a previous academic year of all kinds of music from The Beatles ‘Yellow Submarine’ to Britten’s ‘Sea Interludes.’

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

28. The school provides satisfactorily for literacy despite not implementing the Literacy Hour. There is particularly good use of literacy in all areas of the curriculum enabling a wide variety of reading and writing to be covered in all subjects. The school decided not to adopt the National Literacy Strategy and the National Numeracy Strategy. Overall provision for literacy is more effective than the provision for numeracy. Currently, mental and oral work is not developing well in all classes and this is unsatisfactory. Provision for information technology is unsatisfactory, especially in Key Stage 2. Although the school has enough hardware and software to cover the requirements of the curriculum there are other difficulties. Teachers’ expertise is limited and this is reflected in the Comber Grove Primary School - 14 expectations they have of their pupils. The time allowed for teaching the subjects is sometimes too limited for

p.13

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

pupils to complete their work successfully. The computer suite was only seen in use once during the inspection.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

29. Curriculum planning is satisfactory but there is still no overall curriculum map, which causes difficulty in checking the whole curriculum for each year. Teachers plan their own timetables, which leads to discrepancies between parallel classes. Although certain topics are allocated to each year, teachers are free to choose the contexts they teach them in. Where this is done well, work is imaginatively suited to the pupils in a particular class and most relevant to them. However, some teachers are not so skilled and provision is less successful. Generally, timetables have too much time that is unallocated or allocated as ‘finishing off time’, there is also time identified for pupils to complete their homework.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

30. All statutory requirements relating to the curriculum are now met. Since the last inspection, satisfactory improvement has been made in the provision of religious education and design and technology. The governors have produced a very specific policy for sex education, and good personal and social education includes learning about the dangers of drugs misuse.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

31. The equality of opportunity and access to the curriculum for pupils of all ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and those with special needs, is satisfactory overall. The school has a particularly inclusive ethos which allows a number of pupils who have experienced significant behaviour difficulties, to succeed and maintain their mainstream school place. Pupils who have a statement of special educational needs receive good support and most make very good progress. There is a well-considered balance between support given within the classroom and that which is given to small groups that are withdrawal from their classes. Whenever possible, the work done in withdrawal groups is in the same curriculum area as the lesson from which the pupil is withdrawn. However, there are strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ equal access to the curriculum. Equal access to the curriculum is not maintained when pupils attend instrumental music lessons and miss other lessons. However,

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

the setting arrangements for mathematics in Years 5 and 6 provide the opportunity to match work more closely to pupils’ capability. This arrangement for mathematics appears to result in a significant amount of time being taken as pupils travel from one floor to another between lessons.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

32. The main extra-curricular activity is music, which leads to good provision being made for the performance aspects of this subject. Other options include football, netball, drama, art and gardening club devoted to growing, making the playground look more attractive and giving children a spiritual sense of awe as they watch seeds grow. Occasionally, the timetable is suspended for wider themes, such as a poetry week or a technology workshop, for all the pupils to take part in with enthusiasm and produce a wide range of work.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

33. The school has developed an satisfactory partnership with Goldsmith’s College for the training of teachers. This link has been effective in facilitating the appointment of good quality new teachers. The school uses the local facilities appropriately to support the curriculum including the swimming pool, library and science centre. Local artists and sculptors come into school and work with pupils. In addition, pupils interview people from the local community to support their history project on World War Two. The local Baptist Minister holds an assembly once a month.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

34. Provision for spiritual development is good. It is developed well through music, art, drama and the wonder of new life in science. Mathematics displays capture and exhibit the wonder of number patterns. Art is used to express feelings, for example to illustrate the pupils’ book reviews. In their illustrations they make good use of tone and colour. Good use is made of assembly themes which often incorporate religious stories. For example, one had the Year 2 children dramatising the story of Noah very well. Their teacher then showed the whole school pictures of the Mozambique floods, which moved them to audible gasps followed by thoughtful reflection. In religious education, pupils reflect on the values and beliefs of the major world religions. This is further aided by the use of the pupils themselves, for example, a Year 6 pupil was seen giving a well considered ten-minute talk on her own

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

religion, illustrated by artefacts and food.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

35. Provision for moral development is very good. The school’s behaviour policy is good, with effectively graded sanctions and rewards. The headteacher believes firmly in his own involvement in shaping the behaviour of the pupils in the school. He always discusses issues with those who are sent to him. Teachers are good role models and emphasise right and wrong in their daily dealings with their classes. The whole ethos is one of comfortable living together in a society governed by appropriate rules. The few pupils with behaviour problems do not disrupt classes, and are dealt with by teachers straight away. Pupils behave well at lunchtime but do tend to be rather noisy whilst they line up for their food. Pupils discuss behaviour in class and do not like their diligent work interrupted by others. There have been no exclusions from the school since the last inspection and before, despite the school accepting children with problems from other schools.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

Comber Grove Primary School - 15 36. Provision for social development is very good. Racial harmony in the school is exemplary. Pupils and staff all get on well with each other. In most lessons, pupils work well in groups assigned by teachers. Pupils show a caring attitude when others are injured in the playground. They show responsible attitudes in physical education and despite the cramped conditions they take care when moving about. Older pupils are encouraged to help in the nursery they assist with reading or play activities. They also show a good sense of responsibility in the way they undertake paired reading with younger classes. Although there is no school council, pupils feel free to make suggestions about activities to their teachers and to the headteacher.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

37. Provision for cultural education is very good, which is a significant improvement since the last inspection. The cultures of pupils and staff are celebrated, particularly in music, drama, and art. Pupils and staff collect artefacts from places they visit, for example St. Lucia, which brings study of these areas alive. Time given to French conversation in Year 5 helps pupils understand European culture a little. Aborigine and African art is studied as well as that of European artists. There is also particular importance attached to the development of scientific and technological culture, for example how television was invented, and a wonderful museum display of technology, including radios, vacuum cleaners, and an anaesthetic inhaler.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. The school has maintained its good procedures for ensuring that pupils are well looked after. Child protection procedures are clear and understood by staff. The school effectively promotes good behaviour and the behaviour policy has improved since the last inspection.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. Most teachers know and understand their pupils very well. This in addition to the good relationships that most teachers have with their pupils is particularly effective in promoting good behaviour. Teachers monitor attendance closely and inform the headteacher of any concerns. The school follows up all unauthorised absences and pupils with poor punctuality. Pupils are encouraged to attend punctually and regularly by the issuing of 100% certificates.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. The special needs register is correctly maintained and the school’s practice conform to the recommendations of the Code of Practice at all stages. The school has an inclusive ethos. This enables many pupils to do well including those that have had serious difficulties in another school. There is good identification and assessment of pupils with special needs and the school provides early intervention, leading to good progress. The quality of targets in Individual Education Plans is generally good. The plans are well used by class teachers and promote good progress.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. The headteacher is fully committed to dealing with any allegations of bullying swiftly and firmly. Both parents and pupils support this view. They are confident that any such incidents would be appropriately dealt with.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. Supervision at break-times, the Key Stage 1 and early years playground at lunchtime is satisfactory. In the Key Stage 2 playground lunchtime supervision is unsatisfactory. This is because supervisors tend to bunch together talking rather than interacting with the pupils.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. The governors are taking an increasingly active role in the area of risk assessment. They have a clear idea of the procedures and are now beginning to implement them. A concern over a health and safety issue brought to the headteacher’s attention during the inspection was resolved during the week.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. There are satisfactory procedures for assessment. All teachers keep effective markbooks in which they record the results of day to day assessments and the yearly more formal assessments in the core subjects. Children in the under-five class are assessed just before they start the Reception class. Others are given reading tests every year in both key stages and teachers keep formal reading records in which they note strengths and weaknesses. Samples of pupils’ work are satisfactorily kept as they go up the school and that in the core subjects is given a National Curriculum level to give a good idea of children’s attainment. Most co-ordinators keep samples of work showing standards of work that have been achieved in previous years. Assessment in subjects other than English, mathematics and science is not so rigorously done. Teachers make enough notes to be able to report satisfactorily to parents. Occasionally, the whole school is given a writing task, for example an imaginative

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

explanation of the origins of a visiting ginger cat, which enables progress to be seen and monitored in the display of work presented. Comber Grove Primary School - 16 45. The school does not always use its information from tests and assessments effectively, however. In the under- fives curriculum assessment is used well to plan the next stage of the curriculum. It is also used to form sets for mathematics in Years 5 and 6, and to identify potential high achievers. However, it not always being used well enough to identify pupils who are underachieving and to plan their work accordingly with suitable matching of tasks and support particularly through Key Stage 2. The school does not evaluate information from its data, in order to monitor trends within the school, for example in 1999 only half the girls in Year 6 attained average levels in mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2. This year only a quarter of the pupils in the top set for mathematics in

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

Years 5 and 6 are girls. This means that the school is not well placed to know whether or not there are issues relating to girls’ attainment in mathematics that it needs to address. In 1999, there were significant differences between the proportion of pupils attaining at Level 3 in the teacher assessments and those who attained this level in the Key Stage 1 tests for mathematics and writing. The 1999 Key Stage 1 results have not been analysed in sufficient depth to enable the school to start to address the weaknesses in the current Year 3 and to provide additional support for these pupils. Computers are not used effectively to analyse results and show trends in progress from under-fives to Year 6.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. The school has a high reputation in the local area and is heavily oversubscribed. Parents are very supportive of the school. They feel that the quality of teaching is good and that consequently their children make good progress. Parents are very complimentary about the leadership of the headteacher. They find him very approachable and are confident that he will pick up any concerns they have and deal with them. The findings of the inspection confirm that the headteacher and staff are very approachable for parents and pupils. The quality of teaching is judged to be satisfactory overall but a significant amount of good teaching was seen during the inspection. Pupils were observed to be making satisfactory progress overall.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. The quality of information that the school provides parents with is satisfactory overall. The school keeps parents informed about their children’s attainment and progress through two parent consultation evenings each year and the annual report. The annual report provides good information about what pupils can do and understand in English and mathematics. Teachers also identify areas for pupils and parents to work on in these subjects. In other subjects there is much less detail. It is not always clear how much progress pupils have made in the foundation subjects. In addition to these formal mechanisms, the headteacher and teachers are always willing to talk to parents about their children’s progress. The school also holds an exhibition every year of work in the hall that both parents and visitors see.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. Newsletters provide parents with satisfactory information about the life of the school. Parents have expressed a desire to have more information about the curriculum. The school has responded to this by displaying curriculum plans outside classrooms. This is partially effective in Key Stage 1 where parents regularly come into the building but is less so for Key Stage 2. At present the school is not succeeding in providing information for all parents about what the pupils are studying.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

49. The school effectively involves parents in their children’s education and this has a positive impact on the progress pupils make. They welcome the support of parents and invite them to a number of events including musical concerts, poetry week and the summer show. There is appropriate consultation and sharing of information with the parents of pupils with special needs. These parents are fully involved in the annual review of the statement of special educational needs. Parents help with school visits and swimming. Parents are supportive of the PACT reading scheme and many pupils report that they read to their parents or carers daily.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. The leadership and management of Comber Grove Primary school are satisfactory overall but there are some significant weaknesses. The headteacher has developed a team of committed, hardworking and dedicated staff and he enjoys the respect of staff, pupils, parents and governors. The day to day management of the school is efficient. The headteacher is mainly successful in realising his vision of ‘Children moving on as balanced and interesting people with a commitment to learning.’ The school provides a broad curriculum with particularly high standards being attained in art and music and pupils have very good attitudes to work. The ethos of the school is good.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. Overall the management role of key staff is unsatisfactory. The roles of the senior management team are not clearly defined or sufficiently focused and these staff do not have a clear day to day role in the management of the school. There is not, for example, a clear programme of senior management team meetings because these are only arranged when there is a need to discuss a major new initiative. Staff with co-ordination responsibilities monitor teachers’ planning, pupils’ learning and standards, but whilst some staff do this effectively others do not. Other Comber Grove Primary School - 17 people with managerial responsibilities, such as the governing body and the deputy headteacher, are focusing on developing interview techniques to enable them to appoint a new headteacher when the need arises. In addition, they aim to maintain the present standards. Whilst the school has been successful in promoting good standards,

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

and two years ago was second in the Southwark league tables, the current analysis of the school’s results in the national tests show that more needs to be done if the school is to regain its former standards. Currently, the school monitors its performance data but does not evaluate it rigorously in order to identify strengths and weaknesses so that it can improve the overall quality of education offered to the pupils.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. Overall the arrangements for monitoring teaching and learning are unsatisfactory. Some monitoring of the curriculum takes place. Pupils’ work is regularly monitored by co-ordinators and the headteacher examines samples of work twice a year. Whilst this has been effective in ensuring that pupils make satisfactory progress, it has not helped the school to identify that there are variations in provision in subjects such as mathematics and religious education. It has not enabled the school to recognise that there is also a slow decline in standards at Key Stage 1. There is no formal programme of monitoring teaching by the headteacher or the senior management team. The headteacher monitors new teachers informally but does not see the need to monitor established teachers so much as he has confidence in the quality of their teaching. However, some of the most effective practice in the school is not being shared and developed across the school, resulting in some areas of weaker

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. The role of the governing body is developing but as yet it does not carry out its role satisfactorily. The governors meet regularly and have established an appropriate structure of committees. Whilst this enables governors to have a satisfactory overview of the school there is little monitoring of the school’s work. However, governors are planning to sample pupils’ work to enable them to monitor standards within the school at first hand. The governors have been effective in drawing up a risk assessment policy. Governors rely heavily on the headteacher for information and advice. They are not involved in the appointment of class teachers without management responsibilities. In recent years the headteacher has appointed new teachers from student teachers that have had teaching practice at the school without the school advertising the post. The school's procedures for making teaching appointments do not always have due regard to the principles of equality of opportunity. The

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

annual governors’ report to parents and the prospectus do not fully meet the statutory requirements. Governors’ minutes are not kept in school and therefore parents would find it difficult to see them.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. The school development plan has appropriate priorities that are linked to the national initiatives of numeracy, literacy and information and communication technology. However, it does not include details of how the school intends to address its declining standards in the national tests at Key Stage 1. The headteacher takes appropriate account of educational priorities when he draws up the budget ensuring that they are appropriately resourced. Monitoring of the school development plan tends to be a matter of ticking off aspects as they are completed rather than focussing on how initiatives have improved the quality of education in the school. There is no indication from the governors’ minutes or from the school development plan itself that an analysis of the effectiveness of any previous plan has been undertaken. However, the headteacher expects curriculum co-ordinators to contribute to the overall evaluation of the plan.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The school did not achieve its targets for English and mathematics in 1999 but the school did have a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs in its Year 6 cohort. Currently, the school is on course to meet its targets for 2000 and 2001. The targets the school has set for each of these years are suitably challenging.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. The special needs department is well managed and support staff for special needs receive good guidance from the special needs co-ordinator. The school maintains good relationships with outside professionals working with special needs pupils and makes effective use of the time allocated by the visiting educational psychologist. Special needs support staff have regular meetings for briefing and training with the special needs co-ordinator and play an increasingly effective role in supporting pupils with special needs. Staff also have good expertise in writing targets on pupils’ Individual Education Plans and in helping pupils to progress towards them.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The school has a stable and well qualified team of teachers and their numbers are sufficient to enable the school to have relatively small classes. There is suitable expertise in all subject areas but current arrangements do not ensure that subject teaching is effectively monitored and this leads to some unevenness of quality and practice. There is generally good expertise in science, art and music. The school employs sufficient nursery and classroom support assistants for the needs of the pupils. There are also adequate levels of support, through the special needs co-ordinator, part-time additional teachers and support staff, for pupils with special needs at all stages of the special needs register. There are also suitable levels of support for pupils for whom English is an additional language.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The school administration officer provides good quality secretarial support for the school. The school also employs a part-time financial assistant to reconcile accounts. However, this support is not sufficient to free the Comber Grove Primary School - 18 headteacher from the burdens of using the computerised systems to monitor the school’s finances. The full-time premises manager lives on site and provides good support to the school. He is responsible, with the team of cleaners, for maintaining a pleasant learning environment in a large, old building.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. Staff have suitable opportunities for professional development and the use of the budgets for in-service training is soundly linked to the needs of the school and the School Development Plan.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. Although no new teachers have been appointed recently, there is a clear system for allocating an induction tutor to newly appointed staff. General classroom assistants, when new to the school, work with a more experienced member of the support staff. Appraisal arrangements are satisfactory and were in operation until one year ago. Currently they are in abeyance pending the introduction of the new national arrangements.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. The accommodation is spacious and has specialist areas for art and information technology; it also has a number of areas where music may be taught, a viewing room for films and videos, and three halls. It benefits from a number of small rooms on mezzanine floors for individual and small group work. Although generally a pleasant environment, well decorated by displays of pupils’ work, there are problems with ventilation as a result of defective windows which cannot be opened and this has a negative effect on the quality of air. Practical science activities are rendered difficult by the absence of running water in many classrooms. Resources are satisfactory overall and they are good in mathematics, art, history and music.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. The school makes satisfactory strategic use of its finances and resources. Decisions on the spending of the budget are closely linked to educational priorities. The school development plan is carefully costed. The governors and headteacher have a knowledgeable overview of the finances and are clear where spending will be best for the pupils. The school uses its ethnic minority achievement grant appropriately towards paying a teacher to support pupils with English as an additional language. The school is at an early stage of applying the principles of best value but does always obtain three quotations when taking on contractors.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. Financial management of the school is good. The headteacher manages the finances of the school well and monitors the budget regularly. Governors receive regular budget monitoring statements that show variations in spending compared with the original budget. The school had its last audit of financial management shortly before the inspection and the school had not yet received the report. It is understood that there were no major issues to be addressed.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

64. The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory. The unit costs per pupil are high but pupils enter the school with below average attainment and make broadly satisfactory progress by the time they leave at eleven. Pupils have very good attitudes to work. The leadership and management is satisfactory overall and the school has made broadly satisfactory progress since its previous inspection. Overall, the school is providing satisfactory value for money.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

65. The school has already identified a range of appropriate goals that are expressed in the school development plan. The inspection judgements support these but the school should now:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Put in place more effective monitoring procedures to ensure that: - strengths in teaching are disseminated across the school; - standards are raised at Key Stage 1; - weaknesses in teaching and provision in mathematics are addressed; - variations in provision are identified and addressed; - all subject co-ordinators have similar strategies for monitoring provision in their areas of responsibilities.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Ensure that standards of literacy are improved in Key Stage 2 so that pupils: - develop a wider range of literary skills so that they can evaluate texts fully; - improve the structure and style of their writing; - develop a handwriting style that is joined and legible.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Improve standards in information technology by: - improving teachers’ subject knowledge; - ensuring that sufficient time is given to the subject; - continuing to improve hardware and software; Comber Grove Primary School - 19 - improving cross curricular links with other subjects.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) Analyse assessment and test data and evaluate the information in order to: - plan teaching and learning; - evaluate the school’s provision; - identify emerging trends that raise issues of concern; - track individual pupils’ progress.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(5) Review the management structure of the school so that: - there are clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the senior management team; - there are similar expectations of subject co-ordinators to contribute to the school’s monitoring and evaluation strategy. - (6) Develop the role of governors further by: - ensuring that all statutory requirements are met; - involving them more fully in the school’s overall monitoring and evaluation strategy.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

66. In addition to the issues for action above, the following less important issues should be considered for inclusion in the action plan:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) To review the way the school uses taught time in order to ensure that it is utilised as efficiently as possible. Comber Grove Primary School - 20

p.19

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 37

p.20

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.20

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR-Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 26 338

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 0 124

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 4

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 59

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 50

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 6

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 3

p.20

Attendance

National comparative data 94.1 National comparative data 0.5

p.20

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Comber Grove Primary School - 21

p.20

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 1999 22 25 47

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 17 20 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 23 24 23

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 85 (96) 94 (98) 87 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 82 (81) 83 (85) 87 (86)

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 18 18 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 23 24 25

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 87 89 91 at NC level 2 or above National 82 (81) 86 (85) 87 (86)

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 1999 26 16 42

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 13 17 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 9 8 9

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 52 60 60 at NC level 4 or above National 70 (65) 69 (65) 78 (72)

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 15 14 19 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 10 8 7

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 60 55 62 at NC level 4 or above National 68 (65) 69 (65) 75 (72)

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Comber Grove Primary School - 22

p.21

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 26 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.22

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 138 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 283 Other minority ethnic groups

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 14.8 Financial year 1998 - 1999

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23:1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 710, 096

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 10 Expenditure per pupil 2,005.92

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 257.75 Balance brought forward from previous year 183

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 7,093

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 26:1

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 32.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Comber Grove Primary School - 23

p.22

Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

p.23

Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 69 30 0 0 0

p.23

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 61 35 2 0 1

p.23

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 42 41 12 3 2

p.23

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 53 38 7 1 0

p.23

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 72 25 1 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 68 30 1 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 50 41 6 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 67 30 1 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 59 37 0 0 3

p.23

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 40 30 14 4 12 Comber Grove Primary School - 24

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

67. The school has a nursery class which pupils attend for either the mornings or the afternoon session. Not all pupils from the nursery gain a place in the reception classes as the school is over-subscribed. From the nursery, children who have a place at the school proceed to two parallel reception classes. Under-fives in the reception classes have not all had the same pre-school experience. The knowledge and skills of many children on entry to the nursery classes is lower than might be expected of children of a similar age. This is confirmed by the baseline assessment carried out as children approach five years.

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Language and Literacy

68. Children’s attainment in language and literacy by age five meets the levels expected of them nationally. In the nursery they make good progress in speaking and listening; classroom routines quickly establish basic skills such as taking turns and listening to other people, greeting and thanking people and telling bits of news. In all activities opportunities are taken to develop vocabulary as staff talk to children about what they are doing and the materials they are using. Children develop fine motor skills through manipulation of pencils and tools, which helps them to develop pre-writing skills. They listen to stories, handle books and learn to recognise letters, copy them and say their sounds. Many children recognise their own name and some have a small reading vocabulary of familiar words. Books are sent home from the nursery on a two-week cycle and many, although not all, parents

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Language and Literacy

share books with their children. In the reception classes skills continue to progress well; more able children can give a clear and accurate account of what the class did in a science lesson, while even those children who still have immaturities of language are confident in speaking to adults and other children. As they reach five years old most children are well on the way to becoming readers and a few higher attaining children can read simple texts fluently and with understanding. Books go home regularly for parents to share with their children and a dialogue between home and school takes place in many reading record books.

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Mathematics

69. Children make satisfactory progress in mathematics in the nursery and reception classes and meet the levels expected of them nationally. They sing number songs and recite number rhymes. There are many opportunities for learning to recognise, match and order shapes and numbers, integrated into different activities, such as, counting the number of pieces of chocolate in cooking and identifying their shape, progressing to higher numbers as more cakes are made. They begin to internalise numbers as they are encouraged to count silently as part of the classroom routine. In the reception classes, children continue to make satisfactory progress; they develop their concepts of size as they make bowls for the three bears and Goldilocks and use words such as bigger or smaller correctly. They consolidate their recognition of written numbers and their ordering and counting and matching skills. Through songs and rhymes, such “5 little speckled frogs” they practise counting backwards from five.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

70. Attainment in knowledge and understanding of the world meets the expectations of the early learning goals by age five. Children make good progress in the nursery in this area. In the playground they can watch seeds grow and are encouraged to watch for birds. They become confident in using the computer for a “dress the Teddy” game, and they learn about solids melting and becoming solid again as they cook with chocolate. They have access to pets and know they must be cared for. In the reception classes children learn to make accurate observations, for example, of how plants look as they grow. They develop the ability to describe materials as they work with playdough and plasticine and talk about its shape and texture. They understand how cooking alters the texture of substances, like pizza dough, and they continue to use the computer for shape and number games and can use the mouse and the keyboard to select letters and make words.

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Physical development

71. Attainment in physical development is satisfactory by age five and meets national early learning goals. In the nursery children make good progress in developing fine movements, for example, manipulating spaghetti with chopsticks as well as the usual cutting and drawing activities. In the playground they learn to climb, balance, roll, slide and hide using the apparatus available. Many are tentative when they first try climbing frames, but they gain in confidence because of the good staff support and become more independent. In the reception class Comber Grove Primary School - 25 children continue to develop skills – sewing on canvas, assembling construction kits and moving rhythmically to music.

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Creative development

72. Children’s attainment by age five in creative development is in line with national early learning goals. In the nursery children make satisfactory progress, developing knowledge of colour and applying paint to paper in a number of ways, including fingers, brushes and printing. They dress up and play pretend games, listen to music, sing in tune and make musical sounds with improvised instruments. In the reception classes pupils continue to make satisfactory progress; they make their own books, based on stories they have read together and they act out roles with each other. Their drawings begin to express their thoughts and imagination and they choose their colours for particular effect. They play with miniature cars and roadways and make appropriate noises for their game.

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Personal and social development

73. Children’s attainment in personal and social development exceeds the standards expected of them nationally by the age of five. In the nursery children settle well and enjoy their nursery experience. They quickly adapt to the routines of the day, make friends with other children and show confidence in the staff. They behave very well and show interest in all the activities offered them; they learn to make choices. In the playground they acknowledge and invoke the rules about how many children may be in the “house” at one time. They develop helpful behaviour towards each other, showing concern when other children are upset and helping each other with putting on coats. They will help put things away when invited to do so. They show appropriate care to pets and growing plants. In the reception classes, children are responsive to a slightly more formal lesson structure and respond well to requests for quiet working. Children are able to work well in pairs when required.

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Personal and social development

74. Teaching in all under-fives classes is good overall. It is good in language and literacy and personal and social development, and satisfactory in all other areas. Opportunities are usually well taken to develop children’s social skills, language and mathematical skills through the whole range of activities. Occasionally teachers miss opportunities to encourage children to reply with more than one word to questions and in mathematics activities in the reception classes pupils sometimes appear to be doing things which are a little too easy for them. The curriculum is well planned in both the nursery and the reception classes. All teachers base their planning appropriately on the areas of learning for children under-five. In the reception classes there is good progression in the planning towards the National Curriculum, with a well judged balance of play, experience and learning. Lesson planning and records are good, as is assessment. There is a short and relevant assessment of the

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Personal and social development

children’s skills on entry to the nursery which is done in co-operation with the parents and carers. There are also daily observations by the teacher and the nursery assistant that are recorded in children’s files under the headings of the areas of learning. Staff know the children very well indeed. In the reception classes there is baseline assessment, samples of pupils’ work are kept to show their progress in drawing and writing, and the children’s social and emotional as well as educational progress, is closely monitored and effectively recorded. These features of good teaching promote secure learning and good progress, confidence and good behaviour. Pupils who have special needs or who have English as an additional language have full access to the curriculum opportunities and make good progress. Relationships with parents are good. Some of the accommodation for children under-five is rather cramped and this restricts some activities.

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ENGLISH

75. Standards in English are average at Key Stage 1 and slightly below average at Key Stage 2. In the 1999 tests, the proportion of seven year olds reaching the expected levels was close to the national average in reading, but very few attained at the higher level. In writing, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level and the higher level was above the national average. However, there has been a steady decline in the results since 1996. The school attributes this to a combination of various factors such as slightly smaller cohort of pupils taking the test and slightly more pupils with special educational needs entering the school. However, the school management has not systematically monitored this decline nor established reasons for it.

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ENGLISH

76. When compared with the results of similar intakes nationally, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected levels at the end of Key Stage 1 was well above the national average in both reading and writing. The school’s average score in the reading tests was slightly below average and in writing they were above the national averages. Teacher assessments reflected these results overall, but indicated that the school expected more pupils to attain at the higher levels in writing. Comber Grove Primary School - 26 77. The proportions of eleven year-olds reaching expected levels and higher levels in the 1999 tests, and the school’s average points score were all well below the expected national averages. In comparison with the results of similar intakes nationally, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected levels at the end of Key Stage 2 were in line with the national average. There has been a marked decline from the 1998 results. The target that was set by the local

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ENGLISH

education authority for the cohort was 60 per cent at Level 4 and above but this was not achieved. This was because there was a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs in that particular cohort. The current Year 6 pupils’ attainment indicates that their results for 2000 may fall slightly below the national averages, but are likely to be better than those achieved in 1999 and are expected to meet the school’s targets.

p.26

ENGLISH

78. The full range of inspection evidence shows that by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, the attainment of most pupils is above average in speaking and listening. Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to develop their confidence in speaking and listening, and they make good progress in this aspect of the subject. Pupils ask and answer questions in classrooms, explain their work eloquently and engage in public speaking in assemblies and in performances for peers and parents at the end of the year. Pupils’ listening skills are very good. They listen attentively to teachers in all class lessons and to each other when they explain their views or debate an issue.

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ENGLISH

79. Standards of reading and writing at the end of Key Stage 1 are in line with the national average, and pupils make satisfactory progress. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress and pupils who have English as an additional language make satisfactory progress. Most pupils are keen readers and higher ability pupils can read fluently and accurately, with expression, and they use a wide range of clues, including phonics, pictures and predictions about the story. They enjoy and are able to retell the stories they have read. The majority of pupils know the sounds of most of the letters of the alphabet and are able to use this knowledge to build unfamiliar words. The home-school and paired reading systems make a good contribution to the development of reading.

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ENGLISH

80. Attainment in reading at the end of Key Stage 2 is slightly below average. However, attainment in reading in Years 4 and 5 is on course to meet the national expectation by the end of the key stage. By the end of Key Stage 2 pupils are making broadly satisfactory progress. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress and pupils who have English as an additional language make satisfactory progress. The higher ability pupils read fluently, expressively and with confidence. A majority of pupils in Years 6 and 5 can recount the main features of their books and can describe the characters and the plot, indicating their preferences for the characters. They readily offer their opinion about the author. However, their ability to detect nuances and subtleties in texts is not well developed. The stock of fiction and non-fiction available for pupils in the school or class libraries is barely

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ENGLISH

adequate and this does not help to challenge and extend their reading skills. Pupils know the purpose of contents, index and glossaries in books and can use them effectively. Currently, pupils do not have an access to the school library.

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ENGLISH

81. Attainment in writing at the end of Key Stage 1 is at nationally expected levels and pupils make satisfactory progress. Pupils produce a good volume of written work, which is always neatly presented. They write for different purposes and higher attaining pupils can write stories using capital letters, full stops and are beginning to use speech marks. The vocabulary used is often imaginative. Pupils’ writing is legible and letters are well formed, but letters are not joined and this slows the writing process.

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ENGLISH

82. Inspectors judged that attainment in writing is just below nationally expected levels at the end of Key Stage 2. All pupils generally produce a good quantity of work, which is always presented neatly and legibly. Higher attaining pupils write long stories that are well structured and use a wide vocabulary but these are not consistent features of average pupils’ writing. In Year 6 lessons, pupils were learning the use of similes, and adjectives to describe events more effectively. Their spelling is generally accurate and they write in a variety of genres, producing book reviews, play scripts and reportage. They have learned to plan their work carefully and draft and redraft their writing to produce the final version.

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ENGLISH

83. Pupils’ handwriting is neat and legible, but letters are not joined and this slows the writing process. The majority of pupils still write in pencil. Currently, the school has no policy on developing joined script style handwriting, but regards this as a priority.

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ENGLISH

84. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. Most show interest and enjoyment and work with sustained concentration individually or in whole class sessions. Skills in literacy are well developed in other subjects. For example, pupils write about their science experiments, and describe historical events, relate scripture stories and geographical descriptions. They are encouraged to speak and listen well in all subjects. Comber Grove Primary School - 27 85. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress and their individual education plans have appropriate targets for English. Some pupils receive additional support because as well as having special educational needs they are learning English as an additional language. These pupils also have appropriate targets for learning English in their individual education plans. However, some pupils receive additional support because they are

p.26

ENGLISH

learning English as an additional language. There are no individual targets set for these pupils so that it is more difficult for teachers to monitor the progress that is being made in acquiring skills in English. Pupils who are learning English as an additional language make satisfactory progress. The support provided for these pupils either within the classrooms or in withdrawal groups is satisfactory.

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ENGLISH

86. The teaching of English is satisfactory overall and in almost 40 percent of lessons it was good. In good lessons, relationships are very good, and teachers are very skilled in the management of their pupils’ behaviour. They have high expectations and pupils respond very well. Their questions are often thoughtfully phrased in order to encourage pupils to think carefully. Teachers work well with the support staff, and they generally make an effective contribution to pupils’ progress. The pace of work is generally good and the quantity of pupils’ written work in the lessons is good. However, where teaching was less good whilst still satisfactory overall, the pace of the lesson was slower and pupils achieved less as a result. Information technology is not used frequently in lessons to extend pupils’ learning further.

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ENGLISH

87. Day-to-day assessment is generally sound and it is used to plan the next steps in learning for the majority of pupils. Teachers choose tasks to match the learning needs of their pupils, and provide good support for individual and group work. Average and below average ability pupils are well challenged and they make satisfactory and sometimes good progress. However, in most classes, higher attaining pupils start by undertaking work that has been targeted at average pupils. Once this work has been completed they are offered work of a more challenging nature. This often means that they have little time left to complete the more difficult level tasks that have been provided for them. This leads to higher attaining pupils not always making appropriate progress in their English work.

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ENGLISH

88. There are sound procedures in place for assessing pupils’ progress. Pupils’ work is marked regularly and sometimes comments are written to tell pupils what is good about their work and how to improve it further. The school uses a commercially produced reading test throughout both key stages to ascertain progress and attainment. The Qualification and Curriculum Authority’s optional tests in Key Stage 2 for years 3, 4, and 5 are also used to track individual pupils’ progress. However, the school does not evaluate the information from these tests with sufficient rigour so that it is clear about the strengths and weaknesses of different cohorts nor does it plan provision in the light of this information. The school has set targets for 60 percent of Year 6 pupils to achieve at Level 4 and above in 2000. In 2001 it expects 80 per cent of pupils to achieve Level 4 and above. Considering the achievement of the current Years 6 and 5, these targets are realistic, and school is likely to achieve

p.27

ENGLISH

89. The school has adapted the National Literacy Strategy framework to suit its own requirements. All classes follow the school’s scheme of work which is based on the National Literacy Strategy. The school has decided not to follow the structure of the Literacy Hour, but generous time is given to the teaching of English and all National Curriculum requirements are met.

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ENGLISH

90. The management and leadership of the curriculum are satisfactory. The co-ordinator, monitors teachers’ planning and samples of work are collected to monitor learning. However, monitoring of teaching is only on an informal basis and outcomes are not used to improve teaching or share good practice within the school. The school has identified the need to improve resources and implement a handwriting policy. The quality of resources is being improved and continues to be a priority for the next year as well. The school has identified that provision for pupils to develop their library and research skills is inadequate.

p.27

ENGLISH

91. Since the previous inspection the school has made satisfactory progress with developing its provision for the subject. The school has developed assessment procedures to identify and support pupils with reading difficulties. These pupils are supported effectively in groups and within classes by the teachers or support staff. Standards of attainment during the previous inspection were judged to be broadly in line with the national averages. During this inspection standards were judged to be average at Key Stage 1 and slightly below average at Key Stage 2.

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MATHEMATICS

Comber Grove Primary School - 28 92. Standards in mathematics are average at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The results of the Key Stage 1 national tests for 1999 show that the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level for their age was average but proportion who attained at the higher levels was well below average. This also meant that the school’s overall results are well below the national average and below average when compared with similar schools. Trends in the mathematics results at Key Stage 1 show a decline over the last three years and there is a difference in performance between boys and girls. Whilst boys’ results were below average, girls scored close to the national average.

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MATHEMATICS

93. Results from the 1999 national tests in mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2 show that the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level for their age was below the national average. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels, Level 5 and above, was close to the national average. When compared with similar schools, pupils’ performance was above average . Over the last three years results in the mathematics tests have remained at about the same level, apart from a big rise in 1998. The performance of girls and boys has been similar over the last three years. However, in the 1999 tests, 65 percent of boys and 50 percent of girls attained average levels in this subject.

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MATHEMATICS

94. The findings of the inspection confirm the outcomes of the national tests at Key Stage 1. Evidence drawn from lesson observations and an analysis of pupils’ work shows that pupils are on course to achieve at the lowest grade of the average level by the end of Key Stage 1. The scrutiny of work also showed that higher attaining pupils were not achieving at the higher levels normally expected at the end of Key Stage 1. Standards in numeracy are broadly average. By the age of 7, pupils can add single digits to 2 digit numbers and can round numbers to the nearest ten. They can write numbers to 100 in a hundred square and can recognise sequences such as odd and even numbers and five and ten times tables. In their mental maths they can count on in tens from different starting numbers and can count in fives starting at five. However, pupils show less confidence in choosing the appropriate operation when solving simple addition and subtraction problems and this limits their

p.28

MATHEMATICS

progress. Many pupils are able to read the times o’clock and half past and know the names of the months and the seasons of the year. They can weigh objects in a balance using non-standard units and put them in order of weight and they can identify halves of different shapes.

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MATHEMATICS

95. The findings of the inspection also confirm the outcomes of the national test at Key Stage 2. By the age of 11, the proportion of pupils attaining the national expectation of level 4 is below average, while the proportion attaining at above national expectations, level 5 and above, is average. One possible reason for the better performance of the higher attaining pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 is the grouping by ability in Years 5 and 6. A scrutiny of previous work shows that higher attaining pupils are extended and offered more challenging work such as using Pythagoras’ theorem and algebra to solve problems. Higher attaining pupils calculate fractional and percentage parts of quantities then use this information to construct pie charts accurately. They perform calculations involving addition, subtraction and multiplication involving numbers with up to 4 decimal places and multiply and

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MATHEMATICS

divide whole numbers and decimals by 10, 100 and 1000. They explore and describe number patterns and relationships including multiple and factor and continue sequences involving negative numbers. They plot co- ordinates in four quadrants and calculate volumes of cuboids.

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MATHEMATICS

96. Higher attaining pupils are not extended or offered suitably challenging work in all classes in Key Stage 2. An analysis of previous work shows that in Years 3 and 4 there is a lot of consolidation of number skills at Level 2 but higher attaining pupils are not working consistently at a higher level. There is also little evidence that they are working beyond Level 2 in shape, space and measures and data handling. In three out of four of the lessons observed in Years 3 and 4 pupils’ attainment was judged to be below average.

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MATHEMATICS

97. The setting in Years 5 and 6 provides support for the lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs can be targeted more effectively so that they make good progress. These pupils can perform calculations involving addition to thousands and multiplication of 2 digit numbers by numbers less than 10. When working with money most can subtract whole numbers of pence from pounds and pence using decomposition.

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MATHEMATICS

98. Most pupils measure angles to the nearest 5 degrees and describe them correctly as acute, obtuse or reflex. They know that a turn of 180 degrees makes a straight line and use this to check the accuracy of their measuring. They are beginning to work with numbers to two decimal places, converting fractions to decimals and identifying numbers between 0 and 1 on a number line, but their understanding is not yet secure. Pupils complete a substantial amount of work in their books, particularly number work although there is insufficient evidence of pupils using and applying mathematics in practical tasks and real-life problems. There are some examples of data handling work in books and in wall displays where pupils have constructed tally charts and graphs and have calculated the mean, median and mode, although there is little evidence of pupils interpreting the data and using it to draw conclusions.

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MATHEMATICS

Comber Grove Primary School - 29 99. Overall pupils make satisfactory progress across both key stages. However, in many lessons expectations are too low and learning objectives are focussed on the middle of the attainment range. Higher attaining pupils who finish the work quickly are given more of the same level work rather than being extended with more demanding work.

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MATHEMATICS

100. The quality of teaching in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is satisfactory. At Key Stage 1 33 per cent of teaching is good and 66 percent of teaching is satisfactory. At Key Stage 2 there is a greater degree of variation in the quality of teaching with 20 per cent of teaching being good or better, 60 percent of teaching being satisfactory but 20 per cent being unsatisfactory. The quality of mathematics teaching overall is similar to that observed at the last inspection. However, during the current inspection there were more examples of very good teaching. There is considerable variation in the approach to teaching across the school reflecting the extent to which individual teachers are incorporating ideas from the National Numeracy Strategy and this is unsatisfactory. About two- thirds of lessons seen started with a whole class oral session focussing on mental calculation. The best of these

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MATHEMATICS

involved the use of appropriate visual aids, maintained a brisk pace, kept all the pupils involved and interested, and developed pupils’ thinking through very effective questioning. A particularly good example of this was seen in one Year 5/6 set where the teacher skilfully used a large 100 square and number line to provide many different challenges in quick succession involving mental calculations related to money, such as making jumps of 5, 20 and by giving pupils time to think before targeting individuals, all pupils were involved. In one Year 3 lesson, effective use was made of digit cards to involve all the pupils in making number sentences. The pupils were then asked to change positions and decide if the number sentence was still correct. Wrong answers were used effectively to assess understanding and to keep everyone thinking by asking who agreed before settling on the correct answer. In a third of lessons, oral work was not so effective. In these lessons, a limited range of

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MATHEMATICS

questions was used at an undemanding pace. Pupils were not asked to explain how they came to an answer and incorrect answers were not used as teaching points. This meant that opportunities to extend pupils’ understanding were missed.

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MATHEMATICS

101. The way in which new ideas are introduced and explained is another good feature of teaching in successful lessons. Some teachers use stimulating visual aids to inspire their pupils and extend their understanding through skilful questioning. For example in a reception class an egg box and coloured eggs were used effectively to develop pupils’ concept of 6. In one Year 5/6 group a large café menu was used to stimulate pupils thinking about money and to make the problems more meaningful. In a Year 5 class, the teacher drew pictures on a flipchart to record pupils’ responses as she extended their understanding through carefully structured questioning. In some lessons, however, when pupils are simply following an example in a text book, or they are not engaged through the use of appropriate questions, they do not make such good progress in their learning. In one Year 5/6 set, for example, writing hundredths as decimals was introduced by following the example in a book. Pupils were not

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MATHEMATICS

challenged to use their understanding of place value to work out how hundredths might be recorded or what the second decimal place might represent. In this case, pupils were able to complete other similar exercises successfully, but questioning showed that they were not necessarily developing their mathematical understanding.

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MATHEMATICS

102. There is now a more consistent approach to long and medium-term planning. The objectives from the yearly teaching programmes in the National Numeracy Strategy are used as the school’s long-term plan. Objectives for each term are summarised in the overview section of teachers’ planning books and objectives are ticked off as they are covered. The quality of short-term planning, however, is variable. In some classes short term planning consists of a list of activities for different groups. In other classes specific objectives are identified for each group and teachers are able to provide activities that are more closely matched to pupils’ needs. Where planning is less detailed work is not so well matched to pupils’ abilities. In these lessons, all pupils complete the same tasks. This means that higher attaining pupils worked at the same level as average pupils, rather than moving on

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MATHEMATICS

103. In most lessons, teachers manage pupils well and insist on high standards of behaviour. Consequently pupils respond well to the teaching of mathematics at both key stages and in behaviour is normally good and, in some instances, very good. Pupils listen well and sustain concentration for long periods. They follow well-established classroom routines moving quickly between activities and settling immediately to their tasks. Pupils work well in small groups discussing their work appropriately. They generally work at a good pace and take care in the presentation of their work.

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MATHEMATICS

104. Pupils’ work is marked regularly and evaluative comments and reward stickers are used to encourage and guide them. In some lessons, teachers check pupils’ work and correct misunderstandings as they arise. Homework is Comber Grove Primary School - 30 given to extend or consolidate learning in Years 5 and 6. The impact on pupils starting homework during class time defeats the purpose of setting homework.

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MATHEMATICS

105. Both the quality and quantity of resources are good. The co-ordinator has built up a wide range of practical equipment as well as commercially produced textbooks and consumable workbooks. The school’s provision for mathematics meets the requirements of the National Curriculum and the opportunities for developing number and computational skills in particular are good. However, few opportunities for using and applying mathematics were observed in dedicated mathematics lessons or in other curriculum areas. Similarly more opportunities for handling data in relevant contexts where pupils can interpret the data and use it to draw conclusions should be provided. The use of information technology to support learning is not well developed and was observed in only two lessons. The mathematics curriculum provides broadly satisfactory access and opportunity for all pupils but the school is not evaluating girls’ performance in this subject with sufficient rigour and is therefore not aware of a

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MATHEMATICS

possible trend in their performance. In last year’s Key Stage 2 tests, only half the girls attained average levels in the subject and this year only a quarter of the pupils in the top Year 5/6 group are girls.

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MATHEMATICS

106. Whilst the management of mathematics is satisfactory overall there are some significant weaknesses. The school is still at a very early stage of implementing a consistent approach to teaching Numeracy. It is beginning to develop a vision of how it intends to raise standards in numeracy to meet its very challenging targets. The mathematics co-ordinator and two other members of staff have attended the Numeracy training organised by the local education authority. The co-ordinator has also run two in-service training days in the school. Elements of the National Numeracy Strategy have been incorporated into mathematics planning but the school has not yet agreed which aspects of the Strategy it wishes to adopt and how these will be implemented and this is unsatisfactory. The monitoring of teaching is only on an informal basis and the outcomes are not used to improve teaching or to share good practice across the school. Consequently strategies for raising standards in

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MATHEMATICS

numeracy vary between classes. For example, not all classes have a dedicated daily mathematics lesson and time devoted to the subject is not monitored. Lesson observations indicate that where individual teachers have started to use parts of the Numeracy Strategy well, such as oral mental sessions, pupils’ numeracy skills are improving.

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MATHEMATICS

107. While the school has made some progress in starting to monitor pupils’ performance in mathematics through the use of the optional SATs for Years 3, 4 and 5, this is still at a very early stage and the data is not analysed to diagnose strengths and weaknesses or emerging trends. The school does not monitor the teaching of mathematics systematically. Currently, strategies are not in place to ensure that the good practise in teaching this subject is shared and extended across the school and that the curriculum more closely matches the needs of all pupils.

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SCIENCE

108. Attainment in science both at age 7 and at age 11, as judged by lesson observations and analysis of pupils’ work, is in line with national expectations. This reflects the average standards obtained in the 1999 Statutory Teacher Assessments at Key Stage 1. When the school’s Key Stage 1 results are compared with similar schools they are well above average. Results from the 1999 Key Stage 2 science tests were well below national expectations at age 11, although average when compared to the results of similar schools. This may have been due in part at least to the high proportion of pupils with special educational needs in the group of pupils tested. The standards observed during the current inspection are more consistent with higher standards attained at Key Stage 2 in 1997 and 1998 than with those achieved last year. However, where teaching is good pupils attain higher standards than where it satisfactory. Sometimes this means that pupils in parallel classes achieve different standards.

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SCIENCE

Throughout the school, pupils who have special needs are well supported and make good progress and pupils who have English as an additional language make satisfactory progress.

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SCIENCE

109. Throughout Key Stage 1 pupils make at least satisfactory progress and often progress is good. By the age of seven, pupils understand that water can be a liquid, a solid or a gas and have witnessed and understood the changes between these states that occur through heating and cooling. They can make simple predictions and are able to describe what they see accurately. They are developing a scientific vocabulary and are able to describe the properties of different materials. They understand pushing and pulling forces and have a basic understanding Comber Grove Primary School - 31 of electrical circuits and the uses and dangers of electricity. Sometimes they record their results as simple frequency charts. By the age of eleven, pupils can talk about factors which make a scientific test ‘fair’, can follow instructions to carry out investigations and record their results on prepared charts. They know about sound and

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SCIENCE

how it is perceived through the sense of hearing, and about light and the structure of the eye. They have extended their knowledge of electricity to include materials that conduct or insulate and to circuit diagrams with appropriate symbols. Their knowledge of forces now includes friction, air resistance and centrifugal force. In general, however, pupils are not able to construct their own tests and make them fair, or design their own format for recording and analysing results. They do not make sufficient use of information technology in their science work, nor do they sufficiently link their work in science and mathematics. The standard of pupils’ presentation of their work is often very high, especially in classes for older pupils.

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SCIENCE

110. The previous inspection report indicated similar standards to those seen in the present inspection, although pupils appear to have become less independent in planning investigations. There has been little progress in the use of information technology. The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection, when it was judged sound with some good features. During this inspection teaching was judged to be good.

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SCIENCE

111. Teaching in Key Stage 1 is good overall, and at its best it is excellent. There is no unsatisfactory teaching. Subject knowledge is good, planning effective and marking and assessment satisfactory. Relationships are very good and the management of pupils’ behaviour is good. In the lessons where the best practice is seen the teacher builds carefully on pupils’ knowledge so that they are secure in taking the next steps and able to use imagination and curiosity in their investigations. Teachers’ expectations are very high and justified by the pupils’ learning and behaviour. Questioning is skilled and elicits the information from the pupils, rather than their being given the information by the teacher. Pupils understand what they are doing and maintain their interest, concentration and enthusiasm throughout lessons, resulting in excellent behaviour, very good progress and, often, real excitement about science. Excellent and dramatic use is made of very simple apparatus, as in a lesson

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SCIENCE

on the evaporation and condensation of water, when condensation of steam from an electric kettle on to a steel bowl brought gasps of wonder from the pupils. In some lessons, whilst teaching was still satisfactory or good, there were areas for development. In these lessons, teachers did not always realise that pupils may have learned the mechanics but not necessarily the principle. For example, they can construct a circuit, but do not really understand that electricity will not flow at all unless the circuit is complete. The concepts need consolidating further.

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SCIENCE

112. Teaching in Key Stage 2 is good or better in just under 60 per cent of lessons and in 40 percent of lessons it was satisfactory. This means that pupils make at least satisfactory progress and often progress is good. Subject knowledge is usually good and planning effective. Assessment is generally accurate; there are satisfactory systems in place although there is inconsistency in how well they are used. While no lessons were seen where teaching was unsatisfactory overall, there are elements of unsatisfactory teaching in some lessons. In some lessons weaknesses relate to individual teacher’s incomplete understanding of scientific investigation. There were instances when tests set up by the teacher were not ‘fair’ and this caused some confusion for the pupils. There was also a tendency to do too much planning for pupils rather than teaching them how to plan for themselves and this limited their overall achievement. Another unsatisfactory feature of some lessons was that at

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SCIENCE

times, the pace of work became slow. Generally, insufficient links are made with mathematics and information technology. All these factors limit pupils’ progress. In the most successful lessons planning is good, presentation lively, with good, memorable illustrations and explanations. Questioning is skilled and leads pupils towards discovery and towards drawing conclusions from what they have learned or observed. Tasks are well matched to ability and pupils’ independence encouraged. A good example of this was when the teacher said “If you’re having a really tough time, tell me and I’ll give you some words to help you”, rather than giving the class all the clues at the outset. Relationships are generally good.

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SCIENCE

113. Teachers throughout the school are aware of the risks associated with science activities and are careful to maintain safe practice for themselves and pupils. However, practice would be improved if the planning included a brief risk assessment for each science activity.

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SCIENCE

114. The co-ordinator (currently absent on long-term leave) has successfully established a suitable scheme of work for both key stages and there is some sharing of planning. In this respect progress has been made since the last inspection. There has not, however, been effective monitoring of science teaching and this has allowed variations in the quality of science teaching to arise. There is excellent and very good practice in the school, and successful strategies and techniques are not being shared with colleagues so that effective practice is being extended to all classes. Comber Grove Primary School - 32 115. Although the time allowed for science on the timetable is satisfactory, it is frequently encroached upon by music activities, during which significant numbers of pupils are absent from the lesson. On some occasions this means that a teacher has to teach the lesson again when pupils return to class after their music lesson. This causes

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SCIENCE

inconvenience to teachers and disrupts the flow of the lesson. It also impacts on standards and denies pupils their full curriculum entitlement. The curriculum is enhanced by visits to museums, wildlife centres and local places of scientific and environmental interest.

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SCIENCE

116. While resources for science are generally adequate, the accommodation presents difficulties for practical work. Some rooms do not have a sink or running water and pupils are apt to spill water, which sometimes spoils their books and papers. Electric plugs are not always conveniently sited. In a school building which has good additional spaces, thought might be given to providing a specialist science area.

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ART

117. By the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, pupils’ achievements are better than those achieved by pupils of a similar age. This judgement is based on a range of evidence including the skills pupils demonstrated in their lessons, discussions with pupils, evidence from progress over time that came from an analysis of pupils’ work and extensive displays of work around the school. At both key stages pupils make good progress in both their two and three-dimensional work. They learn an increasing number of techniques and use a wider range of media as they move through the school. Pupils are taught a wide range of skills in art and are given good opportunities to use them creatively to develop their own ideas. This promotes the pupils’ progress effectively. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported in this subject and make good progress. Pupils have opportunities to learn about western artists and craftspeople from other parts of the world and this effectively promotes the

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ART

118. During Key Stage 1, pupils experience a range of different approaches and techniques. They record experiences from observation and imagination, by using pencil, charcoal, pastels, paint, plasticine and clay. By the age of seven, pupils are developing an understanding of texture, pattern and shape and line and tone. Their observational skills are well developed. They mix and use colour well in their paintings and sketches and show good skills in modelling what they observe in plasticine and clay.

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ART

119. During Key Stage 2, pupils develop their skills and techniques further and work in a wider range of media. They study the work of impressionist artists and this leads them to explore colour in their paintings or pastel drawings. In sketching portraits, they use pencils of varying lead densities and they explore line and tone as well as shading. In still life work pupils come to understand that they will have a different perspective of an object if they sketch it from different positions.

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ART

120. At the time of the last inspection, standards in art were judged to be above average. Teaching was considered to be sound with some good features. During this inspection, similar high standards were observed but teaching was consistently good and often very good.

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ART

121. Four lessons were observed during the inspection, one at Key Stage 1 and three at Key Stage 2. Half the teaching was good and the remainder was very good. Lessons were well planned and organised. This meant that pupils were clear about what they were to do and enabled them to settle to their work quickly. Teachers’ very good subject knowledge meant that their explanations and demonstrations were particularly skilled. This helped pupils to learn and develop the skills that they needed to tackle particular tasks. Time was used well and teachers made sure that pupils reviewed and refined their work as it developed and this promoted high standards as well.

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ART

122. Pupils’ attitudes to art are good. They behave well in lessons and settle to their work quickly and try hard to produce work of a high standard. Their behaviour is good, they work co-operatively and enjoy the tasks they are given. They work with sustained concentration and effort, which enables them to produce work of a good quality. Pupils share resources co-operatively and are able to appraise one another’s work in a critical but supportive way. For example, Year 4 pupils discussed the portraits they were drawing with the person they were sitting next to in order to improve the shading in their pictures. Pupils often discuss their work enthusiastically and Year 6 pupils confidently discussed how perspectives changed when an object was observed from a different position. Comber Grove Primary School - 33 123. The subject co-ordinator ensures that a good range of materials is available to support the teaching of art.

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ART

Resources are well organised and accessible. There is a well-structured scheme of work that covers the National Curriculum programmes of study. Currently, the co-ordinator checks teachers’ medium-term plans to ensure appropriate coverage of the schemes of work. She is also developing procedures to systematically monitor teachers’ planning and the standards that pupils are achieving.

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ART

124. The school has an art club that is held outside school hours. The school also takes part in schemes that provide an artist in residence for a period of time. The school has successfully taken part in a number of competitions involving the submission of pupils’ art work or posters. All these activities contribute effectively to the provision of art in the school.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

125. Attainment is broadly average and is similar to that found in many schools, and because of the school’s high standards of art, design work is often above average. Pupils aged eleven, learning about commercial influences on the packaging of consumer goods, produced satisfactory evaluations of existing products, such as soft drink containers. They have also done good surveys of other pupils’ likes and dislikes from an aesthetic point of view. Most produced satisfactory designs for the packaging of a product of their own choosing, for example egg boxes. There were some good ideas which were neatly executed showing views of the product from above, the side and below. The best plans showed accurate drawing and neat labelling with coloured shading. They show good finishing skills when designing Greek masks, these three-dimensional art products were extended into design and technology by the use of specific design briefs, a set of clear making instructions with materials list, and an

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

evaluation of how well the finished product fitted the brief.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

126. Pupils aged seven show average sewing skills for their age in the making of hand puppets, and they are beginning to evaluate the finish regarding neatness and the appropriateness of the design. In their work on shadow puppets, they are satisfactorily learning to use design sheets depicting the organisation of their work. Pupils in reception show satisfactory manipulative skills when cutting out shapes to make a model of the very hungry caterpillar. Good attention to art skills are already notable at this stage with accurate colouring in of the stages in the life cycle of a butterfly when making a rotating display book.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

127. Design and technology has improved considerably since the last inspection when it did not meet statutory requirements. There is now a subject co-ordinator who has good vision for the subject’s development and has already written a scheme of work for the revised National Curriculum. This incorporates good ideas from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority scheme thereby ensuring coverage of the programmes of study.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

128. Teachers have had a good deal of in-service training, which has given them confidence to plan right from the nursery to Year 6. In Key Stages 1 and 2, there are three topics each year. Children in the reception classes have good access to construction kits, and do much manipulative work to develop their skills.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

129. The amount of design and technology on the timetable does depend on the individual teacher’s wishes, but the co-ordinator checks to make sure all classes are covering the specified curriculum for their year group. There are a good variety of projects and many make effective links across the curriculum. Younger pupils in Key Stage 2, have investigated the design and construction of music stands, class globes and stools in order to find out how free standing objects remain upright. They have successfully incorporated these ideas in photograph frames, showing particularly good evaluation of different methods of making card stiffer. The Year 4 project which is focusing on planning and designing a quiet area for the school playground. This project shows relevant links with geography and science. Although teachers are confident with design work which is realised in paper, card and wood, they are not so well versed in using control technology. Whilst next term’s Year 6 plans contain a

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

project for controllable fairground equipment the use of control technology is not sufficiently included in design and technology work. The displays in the school museum provide inspiration for pupils, particularly displays on the origins of invention, such as television and the wheel, which illustrates the stages in development between the modern wheel in its evolution from logs. Teachers keep samples of work but formal assessment is not well developed. The co-ordinator encourages teachers to keep photographs of work for assessment. She is aware that expertise varies between teachers and has planned a workshop for Key Stage 2 pupils and their teachers to improve their knowledge of the use of glue guns and joining wood using them.

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GEOGRAPHY

130. Standards in geography are above average. Despite the fact that lessons were not seen in all years, ample evidence in books and displays in classrooms and in public areas substantiates this judgement. Pupils aged eleven have good knowledge of the importance of location in understanding places, as shown by their ability to recognise and describe physical and human processes which are important when comparing their own locality Comber Grove Primary School - 34 with that of the South American rain forests. They identify significant similarities and differences between the lives of their own families and the Brazilians, and describe in good detail how the rain forest is being damaged by outside influence. They understand the environmental changes brought about, and relate them well to their own very different environment.

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GEOGRAPHY

131. By the age of seven, pupils show a mature understanding of the way in which their a local park has developed since the war. They study photographs of the area that show the developments that have taken place during the last hundred years. Teachers help the pupils to work out the changes that have taken place, particularly after the wartime bombing when the area was devastated. Pupils imagine living during this time, and write letters to imaginary relatives relating the changes they see taking place in the area, and activities like this help to develop good cross-curricular links with history and literacy. Further links are made with design and technology as children make a model of parts of the current playing field, showing good skill in modelling people in active poses, for example playing football.

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GEOGRAPHY

132. Of the five lessons seen, teaching was satisfactory in three lessons and in two lessons it was good. Work seen in books and on display showed that pupils’ progress is good, commensurate with consistently good teaching. Geography is taught in blocks of lessons, alternating with history, successfully allowing teachers to develop their themes more fully, often by integration with other subjects. The National Curriculum programme of study is covered, and teachers enhance it well by making use of the rich cultural mix of their pupils, who often have relatives in other places in the world. Teachers have good subject knowledge and teach the specific geographical skills well, for example map-reading, use of photographs and documents. A particular strength is the importance given to literacy and this helps to develop the language of geography well. Teachers make good use of pupils’ above average skills in art, for example a wonderful display of impressions of life in Chembakoli by a Year 5 class.

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GEOGRAPHY

Teachers also make use of their own experience of other lands, for example a display of artefacts from St. Lucia. All through the school, teachers make especially good use the local area; the many cross-curricular projects challenge pupils and help to deepen their understanding of how places have changed as a result of population shifts, economic changes and landscape alteration. Good links are made with schools in Hampshire and Devon which enables pupils to compare school life in rural areas with that in their own urban environment. Year 6 pupils make a trip to County Durham for a field study, and this helps to develop their environmental knowledge well. All pupils, including those with special needs and those with English as an additional language, learn equally well because of the wide variety of teaching methods teachers use. These include the effective use of videos, model making, writing, and the judicious use of support staff.

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GEOGRAPHY

133. Teachers use the school’s good range of resources well, and have planned their own projects individually. They are not always engaged in the same work, but over the year they cover their curriculum allocation which is overseen well by the co-ordinator. However, not enough use is made of information technology, despite the resources being available on CD-ROM. Teachers keep adequate samples of work of each child, but assessment is still at an early stage of development. The co-ordinator is very experienced and has very good vision for the subject. She has already produced a scheme of work for September, based on the revised National Curriculum. She is imaginative in making links in topic work. A good example of this is the work on volcanoes makes very good use of geographical and scientific understanding as well as promoting some very good art work. The pupils enjoyed it very much. The co-ordinator monitors the curriculum adequately through sampling books and plans,

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GEOGRAPHY

and has had some non-contact time allocated to carry this out work. She occasionally visits other classes, especially when she has a student in her own class. She regularly improves her own and other teachers’ knowledge by attending courses. Provision for geography has remained strong since the last inspection.

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HISTORY

134. Standards of attainment in history are in line with those expected nationally in both Key Stages 1 and 2. Owing to the way in which history was time-tabled, no lessons were observed in Key Stage 1 classes and only four lessons were observed in Key Stage 2 classes. The evidence is gathered from scrutiny of pupils’ work in their books and on displays, discussion with staff, teachers’ planning, and the school’s schemes of work. On the basis of this evidence, seven year olds make satisfactory progress and achieve standards that meet the national expectation for their age. During the inspection week, no history was observed in Year 6 classes. The lesson observations in Years 3, 4 and 5 classes, and other evidence gathered indicate that standards attained in Key Stage 2 classes are in line with national expectations and pupils are making satisfactory and, in some classes, good progress. Comber Grove Primary School - 35

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HISTORY

135. Pupils develop a sense of chronology from the topic on ‘Homes’ and changes in themselves from nursery to Year 2. They learn about the similarities and differences between the past and present. They use correct vocabulary such as new, long ago, olden times and our times. They make observations about the past and the present from artefacts, photographs, pictures and stories.

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HISTORY

136. At Key Stage 2, pupils acquire a wide range of knowledge and understanding about people and societies in the past such as Vikings, Victorians, Egyptians, and Britain at the time of the Second World War. Pupils are able to describe the main features of these societies and write accounts and stories about the life of poor children in Victorian times, the importance of preparation for after life for Egyptians and the sailing ability of Vikings. They have a good understanding of the importance of use of primary and secondary sources to gain evidence.

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HISTORY

137. Pupils have very good attitudes to learning the subject. In one class, in relation to the study of the Second World War, they had discussed the need for young children to leave London and find homes with people in the countryside. They had interviewed two adults who described their accounts of evacuation. In the lesson observed, pupils were observant, keen and almost mystified when they looked at the contents of a ‘suitcase of an evacuee’, which belonged to a boy of a similar age to their own. They looked at the ration card, comic, pen, torch, glasses and replicas of socks and vest. They made good progress in the understanding of historical change and the effects of these changes in the daily lives of people after the war.

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HISTORY

138. From the evidence available, the quality of teaching is generally satisfactory in Key Stage 1 and is at least satisfactory and sometimes good in Key Stage 2. The teachers make good use of the artefacts and resources available, particularly the school museum. They know their subject well and use all key elements in the programmes of study to develop pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills. However, skills in the interpretation of history to evaluate different points of view before making a judgement are not as well developed as the other key skills. In one English lesson, pupils were learning how facts can be coloured by people’s personal views. However, type of activity is not the norm.

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HISTORY

139. The school has a very good collection of artefacts in its own ‘Comber Grove Museum’, which is used to improve pupils’ historical understanding. There are sufficient books, photographs, maps and other resources to extend understanding in history. Displays of pupils’ work, visitors invited to the school, visits to museums are used to extend learning. Pupils’ experiences are further enriched through establishing cross-curricular link with subjects such as literacy, art and geography.

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HISTORY

140. The co-ordinator took up responsibility only a little over a month ago and has made satisfactory contribution to the development of history curriculum within the school. She has audited the resources, and has started to monitor planning and supporting colleagues. She keeps samples of pupils’ work to be used as exemplars. There has been yet no monitoring of teaching and learning to improve standards. The school has a written policy and has adopted the schemes of work recommended by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority. This guidance is used effectively to cover the broad range of requirements of the National Curriculum, and to maintain progression and continuity in pupils’ learning.

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HISTORY

141. The school is beginning to develop assessment and recording procedures. Teachers use day-to-day assessments to plan the curriculum for pupils of different abilities, setting activities that have appropriate challenges. The work is regularly marked and some teachers write comments as to what is good about the work and how it can be improved further, but this practice is not consistent throughout the school. The information contained in the end of year reports to parents satisfactorily highlights attainment and progress.

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HISTORY

142. The school has made satisfactory progress in developing provision for history since the previous inspection. The schemes of work recommended by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority are used effectively for planning for progression and continuity in pupils’ learning. The quality of teaching has improved and now is mostly satisfactory and some of it is good. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

143. Standards in information technology are below average. Very little information technology was seen during the inspection. Pupils aged eleven use a word processor to change fonts, sizes, and colours, and save and find their work. However, they are not all competent enough to use it for drafting and re-drafting their work in English. Although there are plans for a newspaper next term, there was no evidence of satisfactory desk-top publishing on the discs presented during discussions with Year 6 pupils, nor any evidence of their work with angles nor data analysis in mathematics. There was no use of sensors for monitoring experiments in science.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

144. Overall, teachers’ knowledge and understanding of this subject is unsatisfactory, especially in Key Stage 2 where their expectations are limited to pupils using a word processor to make a neat copy of their work. Key Stage 1 Comber Grove Primary School - 36 pupils are given satisfactory grounding in basic skills, such as using the mouse and keyboard. They type their names and make captions for their work, some have drawn bar charts for simple data analysis with the help of their teachers. However, there is little control work or graphics done at present.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

145. The last inspection identified that provision in information technology needed to be improved. Since the last inspection, the school has improved the provision of hardware and software, so that and there is a computer in each classroom which is capable of delivering the full curriculum requirement. Teachers are currently struggling with an out-of-date system involving saving onto floppy discs, which are potentially prone to viruses. Most teachers have received little training and pupils generally make unsatisfactory progress in this subject. Overall, the improvement in the provision for information technology is unsatisfactory.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

146. The co-ordinator took over responsibility for the subject after the last inspection. Whilst she has a good vision for the development of the subject, she is continually hampered by lack of funding. The co-ordinator and the headteacher are the only people on the staff capable of keeping the computers running and the school has no other technical support available.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

147. There was only one lesson in the computer suite and the timetable showed that it was planned for a half an hour. This was insufficient time for 24 pupils to complete their work. Some computers did not work properly and two pupils were sent to work on one outside the door, which was not a satisfactory arrangement. The work the class was doing was a satisfactory extension to their literacy work as they were looking at the format of a newspaper with a view to producing one themselves. However, they did not make much progress with this task because their skills were below average. Some pupils loaded the wrong software and most were very slow with their typing. A number of pupils did not produce titles and subtitles with an adequate size of font. Before going to the computer suite the teacher explained the work clearly to the pupils so they knew what they had to do. However, the teacher

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

did not pre-arrange the pupils’ working partners and this led to some loss of time in the suite. The teacher gave good instructions to the pupils about saving their work, but most did not have time to do this during the lesson, so the teacher saved the pupils’ work after the lesson during her lunchtime. Some discs were corrupted so that the pupils could not save their work on their own specific disc but had to put it on a disc belonging to someone else. Pupils interviewed in Year 6 confirmed that they frequently experienced difficulties in saving their work on disc.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

148. The school has only one internet compatible computer which was unfortunately under repair at the time of the inspection. The school has received most of its funding from the National Grid for Learning and this money was used to purchase the newer computers in the school. There are also some resources suitable to help children with special needs to develop their phonic knowledge.

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MUSIC

149. Pupils in Key Stage 1 make good progress in music and attain standards in performing that are above average. Pupils enjoy singing in choir and assemblies. They sing with a good sense of pitch and clear diction although sometimes they tend to sing too loudly and this spoils their intonation. They can sing simple two-part songs and maintain a steady beat whilst playing instruments to accompany their songs. Insufficient evidence was available to make a judgement about pupils’ progress in appraisal and composition of music.

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MUSIC

150. In Key Stage 2, pupils make good progress and attain standards in performing that are above average. Pupils sing songs with good diction and are able to maintain a melody in two parts without any support from adults. All pupils learn to play the recorder and to read music during Key Stage 2 and by Year 6 the majority of pupils recognise notes from the music stave confidently and can interpret them on a musical instrument. Many pupils learn to play guitar and a good number learn to play violin and brass instruments. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils play these instruments confidently and perform in groups with mixed combinations of instruments. They perform arrangements of well known songs often making up their own arrangements, for example pupils had written an arrangement for ‘Over The Sea To Skye’ for recorder, glockenspiel and guitar.

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MUSIC

151. At the time of the last inspection, standards in performance in music were judged to be good in relation to pupils’ ages and abilities in both key stages. Music was seen as a strength of the school. This is still the case. The high standards of performance have been maintained. Comber Grove Primary School - 37 152. At both key stages, pupils have good attitudes to their music. They enjoy playing their instruments and singing and are enthusiastic about new work. They work with concentration and perform with confidence. They work co-operatively, listening to one another play and joining in at appropriate times.

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MUSIC

153. One music lesson was observed at Key Stage 1 and a recorder lesson was observed at Key Stage 2. However, music was observed in a number of different ways including assemblies, choirs and year group recorder sessions. In these activities teachers demonstrated a good range of teaching strategies. They have high expectations of pupils’ playing and singing and this promotes concentration and confidence in the pupils. Musical vocabulary is used well and this develops pupils’ understanding of the subject. Where it was appropriate, teachers gave pupils feedback on their performance together with the opportunity to repeat and refine their singing or playing. This enabled the pupils to develop and consolidate new skills effectively. Teachers have good relationships with their pupils and this makes the pupils confident in trying to play or sing new work because even if a mistake is made it

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MUSIC

is used positively as a teaching opportunity.

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MUSIC

154. The school’s provision for music is good. The school offers instrumental tuition in recorder, guitar, violin and brass instruments. Members of staff teach recorder and the headteacher teaches guitar. Peripatetic teachers provide teaching in violin and brass. There are also two choirs, one for infant pupils and the other for those in the junior school. The school also puts on shows that give the pupils good opportunities to perform to an audience. Whilst the school’s provision for performance is very good, less provision is made to develop the appraisal and composition aspects of the music programmes of study. The scheme of work makes reference to these elements of work but it is not entirely clear how they are covered outside the instrumental and vocal work that the pupils undertake. The school has very good resources for teaching music.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

155. Only one gymnastics lesson was seen at Key Stage 1 so it was not possible to determine pupils’ overall standards in this subjects. In the lesson observed, pupils in a reception class were familiar with the need to warm up and are able to move into space and work safely. They were able to practise jumping and landing with the majority paying attention to techniques demonstrated by the teacher.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

156. At Key Stage 2 pupils attain standards that are in line with expectations for pupils of a similar age. By the age of eleven pupils are able to work safely as a class to practise, improve and refine their dance routines. They are able to express appropriate emotions through postures taken in response to the music. In swimming, the majority of pupils are on course to be able to swim 5 metres unaided by the end of Year 3. Pupils in Year 5 are able to apply dodging, jumping and throwing skills appropriate for their age in games and show a developing sense of tactical awareness. Year 4 pupils know how to hold a hockey stick and most are able to guide a ball in and out of obstacles. In the lesson observed at Key Stage 1 the quality of teaching is very good. Very high expectations of behaviour and very good control and management of the pupils lead to efficient use of time in explaining, putting

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

out equipment and moving between activities. Consequently pupils cover a considerable amount of work. The teacher showed good knowledge of the key techniques in jumping and landing and gave clear explanations and demonstration. A well-structured lesson with very clear objectives enabled pupils to make good progress in practising and improving their jumping. A varied and interesting warm up set a brisk pace that was maintained throughout the lesson. The teacher assessed pupils’ performance during the lesson and used pupils effectively to demonstrate learning.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

157. The quality of teaching and also of swimming instruction at Key Stage 2 is good. In lessons where teaching is good or very good, teachers have very high expectations of behaviour and manage pupils well. Lessons are well structured with clear objectives and appropriate activities. Teachers are able to demonstrate clearly how pupils should improve their work. In some lessons the pace of work was slow. This was a feature of some lessons that were judged to be satisfactory overall. However slow pace and a lack of enthusiasm for the subject were features of unsatisfactory teaching.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

158. Behaviour in physical education is good and often very good. Pupils respond well to the range of opportunities provided and have positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy this area of the curriculum and engage enthusiastically but sensibly in all activities. They listen well to teachers are respectful of other pupils’ efforts and celebrate each other’s achievements.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

159. The last inspection identified a need for a curriculum framework and a scheme of work based on National Curriculum requirements to be developed. Two co-ordinators, one from each key stage, were appointed two years ago and have made good progress in improving the overall management of physical education. Having identified staff needs, they arranged an in-service training day run by Southwark Sports Development Team to introduce a range of new equipment and teaching strategies to develop skills. They have developed a school policy based on the local education authority’s guidelines that also takes account of the early learning goals for physical Comber Grove Primary School - 38 development.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

160. Through the monitoring of teachers’ plans and informal discussions, teachers’ knowledge of skills has improved, resulting in better lesson structure and the provision of a wider variety of learning opportunities. A scheme of work has been developed, although not fully implemented, which incorporates a range of award schemes to improve the monitoring of pupils’ progress. The range of opportunities for pupils has been extended through buying in coaches from the Southwark Sports Development Team for dance, tennis, volleyball, basketball and cricket. The coaches are used to develop skills during lessons as well as in extra-curricular clubs. The premises manager runs a football team which has had some notable successes. This has further enhanced extra-curricular provision. The range and quality of resources is good and effective systems for accessing and maintaining them have been established. The playground is marked out in grids to facilitate skills practice and small team games.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

However, the surface is uneven and contains drains and other obstacles. Nearby parks are also used occasionally for athletics and orienteering activities. Provision is further enhanced through an annual school trip for pupils in Years 5 and 6 to experience outdoor and adventurous activities. The school’s provision for physical education meets the requirements of the National Curriculum.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

161. During the course of the inspection, four religious education lessons were observed. Judgements are based on scrutiny of pupils’ work in their books and on displays, discussion with teachers and pupils, teachers’ planning. Overall, pupils in both key stages broadly achieve the expectations set out in the locally agreed syllabus. Standards in Key Stage 1 have improved since the last inspection. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils have some knowledge of important religious festivals and celebrations, such as Easter, Diwali, Christmas and Chinese New Year and are able to see the significance of special occasions in their own lives and in other people’s lives and faiths.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

162. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils have some understanding of the major world faiths, particularly of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. For example, they know the stories about the life of Jesus Christ and Muhammad and the importance of Lent and Eid for Christians and Muslims respectively. In the lessons observed, pupils were learning about and learning from Christianity and Islam by relating the principles of fasting and relating to their own lives such as ‘how would they feel about giving up the things that are most important to them’. All pupils make satisfactory progress and enjoy the subject.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

163. Lesson observations indicate that pupils’ knowledge of the main personalities, events and basic principles has improved since the last inspection. For example, pupils knew the importance of washing for Muslims before they visit the mosque, pray or touch the Quran. However, the teaching of religious education that systematically follows the locally agreed syllabus is in its early stages. There have not been enough opportunities for pupils to develop a detailed understanding of the principles of the five main religions required by the agreed syllabus.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

164. When all factors are taken into account, including planning and teachers’ knowledge about the main religions, the quality of teaching is satisfactory. In the small number of lessons seen, teaching was satisfactory and in some good and one lesson was very good. In this very good lesson, the teacher had helped a pupil to prepare a presentation about her religion to the whole class. The pupil made a very good use of the artefacts, pictures, charts and food to explain the principles, symbols and events relating to the life of Muhammad. The pupils listened carefully and then asked relevant and appropriate questions with sensitivity and respect. The strong ethos of the school, fosters respect and care for others, and enables pupils to appreciate and respect different traditions and beliefs. Teaching in the Year 6 classes is variable. In one class, pupils had very little opportunities

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

to study any religion in detail, while in the parallel class they had studied Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

165. Since the last inspection, the co-ordinator has produced a topic plan for covering all the requirements of the agreed syllabus and has purchased resources and artefacts that are used effectively to improve the quality of religious education teaching across the school. The co-ordinator monitors teachers’ plans, but has yet not monitored teaching. All teachers are not completely secure in their knowledge of the subject. The school has not made provision for in-service training for teachers or provided opportunities to improve staff confidence and skills by sharing good practice within the school. Comber Grove Primary School - 39

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