Jericho Primary School

Jericho Primary School

Unique Reference Number: 112175 Inspection Number: 187824

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Jericho Primary School

Dates of inspection: 15 th to 18 th November 1999

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Jericho Primary School

Inspection carried out under Section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 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. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school.

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Jericho Primary School

Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the appropriate authority must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. Every registered parent of a registered pupil at the school should receive a free copy of the summary of the report within ten working days of receipt of the summary by the appropriate authority. A charge not exceeding the cost of supply may be made by the appropriate authority for any other copies of the report and/or its summary provided to any person who asks for one. The appropriate authority should make a copy of the report and the summary available for inspection by members of the public at such times and at such a place as may be reasonable Any enquiries about this legislation should be addressed to the OFSTED Compliance Helpline Tel. 0171421 6567 Jericho Primary School -3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Windsor Court Whitehaven Cumbria CA28 6UX

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr S Johnston

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: April 1996 Jericho Primary School -4

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Mr J D Eadie, Registered Inspector Mathematics Information technology Physical education Attainment and progress Teaching

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Mr J Arscott, Lay Inspector Attitudes, behaviour and personal development Attendance Support, guidance and pupils’ welfare Partnership with parents and the community The efficiency of the school Mrs F Mackenzie Under fives Geography History Leadership and management

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Mrs B Magson Special educational needs Equal opportunities Science Art Design and technology Curriculum and assessment

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Mr J Stirrup English Religious education Music Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Staffing, accommodation and learning resources

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Higherland Bridge 49 West Street Gargrave Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 3RJ

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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

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What the school does well

• .The school has a very positive ethos and there are very good relationships at all levels in the school. • .The pupils’ good behaviour and their good attitudes to their work contribute significantly to the progress that they make. • .The pupils with special educational needs are well integrated into all aspects of school life and good provision is made for pupils with statements of special educational needs. • .The school has good management structures and is efficiently run. The leadership is strong and effective. • .Planning is effective, both from subject leaders and teams of teachers. • .The non teaching staff and other adults make a significant contribution to the progress that pupils make at Key Stage 1, and the welfare and safety of all pupils. • .The school has good links with parents and the community and these links provide many worthwhile opportunities for the pupils. • .The support and guidance available for the pupils is caring and effective and ensures their safety and well

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What the school does well

· Where the school has weaknesses I.In a number of lessons the teachers do not provide suitable work for pupils of all abilities, especially the potentially higher attaining pupils. II.The assessment procedures do not yet provide sufficiently clear records to chart individual pupils’ progress so that the teachers can plan for the next stage in their learning. III.There are not enough support staff for pupils with special educational needs at Key Stage 2. IV.The good horizontal and vertical management structures are insufficiently integrated. This results in occasional inconsistencies between the two structures. V.The library is under stocked and is not a stimulating environment for pupils to use for personal research. This was identified as a weakness at the time of the last inspection. VI.There is not enough non contact time formally timetabled for some staff to fulfil their management roles.

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The weaknesses are outweighed by what the school does well, but they will form the basis of the

governors’ action plan, which will be sent to all parents and guardians of pupils at the school. ·

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The weaknesses are outweighed by what the school does well, but they will form the basis of the

· How the school has improved since the last inspection

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The weaknesses are outweighed by what the school does well, but they will form the basis of the

The school has made satisfactory progress since the last inspection. The governors produced a clear action plan and have addressed all the issues raised in that report, mostly successfully. The school now has a policy for higher attaining pupils and is beginning to address the provision for the highest attainers; the proportion of higher levels in the National Curriculum tests having risen this year. The school has formulated an early years policy and a sex education policy. Although the library stock has been improved, it is still inadequate. Development planning has been strengthened and evaluation is built in to the school development plan. All staff now have job descriptions although these do not yet contain targets for future developments. Although appraisal is in abeyance, staff have annual formal development interviews and there is a systematic approach to staff development. The school has a clear development plan and has set challenging targets for improving

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The weaknesses are outweighed by what the school does well, but they will form the basis of the

standards. Bearing in mind the clear direction given by management, the strong unit and subject coordination teams and the commitment of all staff and governors, the school has a very good capacity for improvement. Jericho Primary School -9 · Standards in subjects

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The weaknesses are outweighed by what the school does well, but they will form the basis of the

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds in 1999 based on average scores in the National Curriculum tests:

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similar schools

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

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similar schools

Standards have fallen this year at Key Stage 2 after an upward trend for the last three years. However, there are a number of factors to explain this. Over one third of this year group joined the school, mostly from other local schools, during the course of Key Stage 2. There was also a significant number of individual pupils who were affected by external factors such as long term illness. A further factor which affects the relative standards in English is the high proportion of boys in the school. Despite the drop in standards, the proportion of higher levels has risen in mathematics and science this year. Evidence from the inspection is that standards in these subjects are now improving and are in line with national expectations in English and mathematics. Standards at Key Stage 1 have been rather more static in recent years, rising only slightly in writing and mathematics in relation to national averages since 1996. They show no great improvement this year, the proportion of pupils

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similar schools

achieving the expected levels being in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Standards in information technology are in line with national expectations and those in religious education are in line with the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus at the end of Key Stage 2. Good work was seen in art in both key stages during the inspection.

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Teaching in: Under 5 5 – 7 years 7 – 11 years

English Good Good Good Mathematics Satisfactory Good Good Science Satisfactory Good Information technology Insufficient evidence Good Religious education Insufficient evidence Insufficient evidence Other subjects Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory

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Teaching in: Under 5 5 – 7 years 7 – 11 years

The teaching is good overall throughout the school. In all but one lesson observed, the quality of teaching was satisfactory or better with 48 per cent being good and a further five per cent very good. Insufficient teaching was seen during the inspection in information technology at Key Stage 1 and in religious education to make a valid judgement.

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Teaching in: Under 5 5 – 7 years 7 – 11 years

Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that strengths outweigh any weaknesses. Jericho Primary School -10 · Other aspects of the school

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour Good. There are good systems in place to promote good behaviour. Attendance Good. Ethos* The school has a very positive ethos; good relationships and the pupils’ attitudes to their work promote the progress that they make. Leadership and management The headteacher provides strong leadership and clear educational direction for the school. He is ably supported by an involved governing body and an enthusiastic and committed staff. Curriculum The curriculum is sufficiently broad and balanced and the school successfully ensures that all pupils have equal access to the curriculum. Formal systems of assessment are in place, but assessment is not used well enough to provide clear records of how the pupils are progressing nor for the teachers to plan for the next stage in the pupils’ learning. Pupils with special educational needs Good provision is made for the pupils with special education needs, this is

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Aspect Comment

particularly good for the pupils with statements of special educational needs. The pupils at Key Stage 1 with special educational needs make good progress in relation to their prior attainment, and those at Key Stage 2 make satisfactory progress. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision for the moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is good. It is satisfactory for their spiritual development. Staffing, resources and accommodation The school is staffed by a suitable number of teachers who together have a good range of experience and qualifications. There is a good number of support staff and other adults at Key Stage 1, but this provision is unsatisfactory at Key Stage 2. The accommodation and learning resources are satisfactory overall, though the library is under stocked and is not a stimulating environment for pupils to use for research. Value for money Satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

* Ethos is the climate for learning: attitudes to work, relationships and the commitment to high standards. · · The parents’ views of the school

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

VII.The school enables their children to achieve a good standard of work. VIII.Parents are encouraged to play an active part in the life of the school. IX.Their children like school. X.The school is approachable if they have questions or complaints. XI.The school achieves high standards of behaviour. XII.There is no school uniform and that they have not been properly consulted about this issue.

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

The parents at the parents’ meeting, in the questionnaires and those spoken to during the inspection, were almost unanimously enthusiastic in their support of the school, reflecting the openness of the school and the efforts the school puts in to involving parents. The judgements of the inspection team confirmed all the views in the table above. Jericho Primary School -11 · KEY ISSUES FOR ACTION

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

In order to continue to raise standards, the governors, headteacher and staff should:

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

1. ensure that teachers in all lessons provide appropriate work for pupils of different abilities that will challenge them and lead to faster progress, and particularly for those pupils of higher potential attainment; (paragraphs 16, 21, 32, 38, 97, 106, 114)

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

2. continue to develop the present systems of assessment in order that clear records can be built up of each pupils progress and attainment, so that teachers can use them to plan for the next stage in their learning; (paragraphs 43, 50, 62, 77, 78, 79, 107, 140)

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

3. provide further classroom support at Key Stage 2, to assist those pupils with special educational needs; (paragraphs 23, 35, 39, 67)

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

In addition to the key issues above, the governors should also consider the following weaknesses for inclusion in their action plan:

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

4. the library is under stocked and is not a stimulating environment that can be used by the pupils for personal research. This was a weakness identified at the time of the last inspection; (paragraphs 26, 69, 72)

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

5. the present vertical and horizontal management structures for units and subjects within the school are sometimes inefficient as they are insufficiently integrated; (paragraph 72)

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

6. some staff with management responsibilities do not have sufficient non contact time to fulfil their management roles. (paragraphs 61, 71)

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What most parents like about the school What some parents are not happy about

7. all legal requirements are not fully met. (paragraphs 55, 60)

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INTRODUCTION

1 Jericho Primary School is situated on the edge of the town of Whitehaven on the coast of Cumbria. It serves a large mixed private and council estate, though a few pupils come from other areas of the town. Unemployment is not an issue in the locality, as the nuclear processing plant at Seascale is a major employer as well as providing other economic benefits to the area. There are 283 pupils aged from 4 to 11, though boys outnumber girls significantly, particularly at Key Stage 2 and in the reception. Pupils are admitted to the reception each September. At the time of the inspection 35 children in the reception were under the age of five. There is a wide range of levels of attainment on entry to the school, but overall attainment is generally about average.

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INTRODUCTION

2 Pupils come from a wide socio economic spectrum. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals (14) is well below the average proportion that is found nationally. There are seven pupils with statements of special educational needs, which is above average, but the number of pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs (29) is below average. There are four pupils from ethnic minorities.

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INTRODUCTION

3 The school has a charter, which includes general aims, and a specific statement of curriculum aims. The charter sets out a clear framework within which are promoted the needs of each child for a caring environment and broad education. The curriculum aims stress the need for a relevant education and necessary skills being taught alongside the development of each pupil as an individual. Challenging targets have been set for improvement to the year 2002. Jericho Primary School -12 3 Key indicators

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1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 Year Boys Girls Total For latest reporting year: 1999 18 12 30 Jericho Primary School -13 3 National Curriculum Test/Task

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Results

Number of pupils Boys 15 13 14 at NC Level 2 or Girls 12 12 12 Above Total 27 25 26 Percentage at NC School 90 (86) 83 (79) 87 (91) Level 2 or above National 82 (80) 83 (81) 87 (84)

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Results

3 Teacher Assessments Reading Mathematics Science Number of pupils Boys 15 13 14 at NC Level 2 or Girls 12 12 12 Above Total 27 25 26 Percentage at NC School 90 (91) 83 (93) 87 (86) Level 2 or above National 82 (81) 86 (85) 87 (86)

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Results

......................................... Percentages in parentheses refer to the year before the latest reporting year Jericho Primary School -14

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2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 Year Boys Girls Total For latest reporting year: 1999 26 18 44

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Number of pupils Boys 11 16 18 at NC Level 4 or Girls 16 15 17 Above Total 27 31 35 Percentage at NC School 61 (78) 70 (78) 80 (78) Level 4 or above National 70 (65) 69 (59) 78 (69)

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3 Teacher Assessments English Mathematics Science Number of pupils Boys 12 16 17 at NC Level 4 or Girls 16 14 16 Above Total 28 30 33 Percentage at NC School 64 (68) 68 (87) 75 (81) Level 4 or above National 68 (65) 69 (65) 75 (72)

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Percentage of half days (sessions) missed % Through absence for the latest complete Authorised School 4.9 Reporting year: Absence National comparative data 5.7 Unauthorised School 0.4 Absence National comparative data 0.5

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Number of exclusions of pupils (of statutory school age) during Number the previous year: Fixed period 0 Permanent 0

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Percentage of teaching observed which is: % Very good or better 4.9 Satisfactory or better 98.4 Less than satisfactory 1.6

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......................................... Percentages in parentheses refer to the year before the latest reporting year Jericho Primary School -15 3 PART A: ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

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3 Educational standards achieved by pupils at the school

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Results

1 Results in the 1999 National Curriculum tests for eleven year olds showed that performance was in line with the national average in mathematics, but below average in English and science. In mathematics and science the proportion of higher levels gained was below what would be expected, although in English the proportion of these levels gained was average. These results reverse an upward trend that has been noted in all three subjects in recent years, although there has been an increase in the proportion of higher levels gained this year in mathematics and science. There are a number of factors that help to explain this decline in standards, which the school was expecting from its own analysis of individual pupil’s likely performance. Firstly, over one third of the cohort had joined the school at Key Stage 2, mostly from other local schools. Secondly, a significant number of individual children were affected by external factors such

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Results

as long term illness. In recent years there has been no significant difference between the performance of boys and girls in the tests until 1999 when girls outperformed boys significantly in all three subjects. Evidence from the inspection could find no good reason for this gender imbalance.

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Results

2 Compared with “similar schools” results were well below average in all three subjects. However, they were better in English and mathematics in 1998. The school has set challenging targets to redress this situation and to raise standards in the future.

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3 In the National Curriculum tests, attainment of pupils by the age of seven was in line with the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils gaining the higher levels in the tests was well above average in reading and close to the proportion found in most schools in writing and mathematics. As at Key Stage 2 there has been an increase in the proportion of higher levels gained in the tests this year. Standards in reading have remained relatively static over the last three years compared to the national average, and those in writing and mathematics are now rather higher than they were in 1996 compared to national averages.

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Results

4 Compared with the levels gained in similar schools the average levels scored by pupils in the tests at age seven are average in reading, but well below average in writing and mathematics.

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5 The teachers’ assessments for pupils aged seven in 1999 were very accurate in reading, writing and mathematics. The teachers’ assessments for science at this age put pupils’ performance below average in national terms.

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Results

6 On admission to the reception classes the overall levels of attainment for children under five are in line with those found nationally. The children’s attainment is in line to meet the Desirable Learning Outcomes for children by the age of five, when they begin to study the subjects of the National Curriculum. Standards are satisfactory in all areas of learning for children under five and they make satisfactory progress.

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Results

7 The children under five are taught the value of listening carefully, and they listen to stories well and respond clearly when asked questions. Most speak confidently, usually answering questions with a sentence, but some have limited vocabulary. Some of the children can recognise a few words and they try hard to write their names. In mathematics, their skills are developing as they sort, match and count, and a number of children can recognise and count numbers to ten and beyond.

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Results

8 By the age of seven, standards of attainment seen during the inspection are in line with the national average in English, mathematics and information technology, but below average in science. They are at Jericho Primary School -16 the level expected in the Local Agreed Syllabus in religious education. They are in line with what is normally expected of pupils of this age in all other subjects. In the last inspection report, standards were described as generally meeting the national expectations in almost all subjects. Standards have therefore been maintained since that time. Overall, the pupils’ attainment across the range of subjects at the end of Key Stage 1 is satisfactory.

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Results

9 Standards of attainment in speaking and listening are satisfactory for the pupils aged seven. They listen carefully and show understanding by being able to follow instructions. The pupils speak confidently and their range of vocabulary is as wide as the average found in pupils of this age. Standards of reading are also in line with the average at this age. The pupils’ skills of word recognition and word building are satisfactory and they are beginning to read with expression. Standards of writing are satisfactory at age seven. The pupils know how to present work neatly, most using a joined hand, and their spelling, punctuation and grammar are average for pupils of this age. They are able to write about events in their own lives and about the stories read to them in class. The pupils make satisfactory progress in English overall at Key Stage 1.

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Results

10 In mathematics at Key Stage 1, the pupils are reaching the expected standards in numeracy. Most can count groups of objects accurately and many can recall their addition and subtraction facts to 10 and beyond. Their ability to apply this knowledge to problems is satisfactory but they are not given sufficient opportunities to practise this skill. The pupils can measure using non standard units and put objects in order of size. Evidence from the inspection is that most pupils are making satisfactory progress in mathematics at this key stage.

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11 The pupils are not reaching expected standards in science at Key Stage 1. Attainment in experimental and investigative science is satisfactory as by the end of the key stage the pupils can choose their own equipment and participate in testing. Attainment in life processes and living things is also satisfactory and the pupils understand growth and the needs of plants and animals. Although the pupils can recognise some properties of materials by the end of the key stage, their knowledge and understanding of this aspect is generally unsatisfactory. It is also unsatisfactory in physical processes. Pupils are making satisfactory progress in science at Key Stage 1.

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12 Overall the pupils’ progress at Key Stage 1 is satisfactory. Progress in art and design and technology is good at this key stage. However, some higher attaining pupils are not being given sufficient opportunities to progress at the pace of which they are capable.

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Results

13 Standards overall at the end of Key Stage 2 at the time of the inspection are satisfactory. They have improved since the national tests in the Summer, and by the age of 11, standards of attainment are average in English, mathematics and information technology, but below the national average in science. In religious education, standards are in line with the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus. Attainment is in line with what is expected of pupils of this age in all other subjects of the curriculum. The last inspection reported standards as being rarely below national expectations and often above. Standards have therefore generally been maintained.

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Results

14 In English at Key Stage 2, standards of speaking and listening, reading and writing are in line with the national expectations. Standards in listening are often good and the pupils respond satisfactorily when asked questions. There are well planned opportunities to extend their skills in speaking and listening. Most of the pupils read fluently and accurately but not many have reading ages above their chronological age. Opportunities are planned to provide a range of experiences to include extended writing and writing for a range of purposes directed to a specific audience. The implementation of the literacy hour has had a positive impact and pupils are making satisfactory progress in English overall at Key Stage 2.

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15 In mathematics at Key Stage 2, the pupils’ ability to calculate is satisfactory and they are usually quick and accurate. However, there are insufficient opportunities to extend these skills in brisk mental sessions at the start of lessons. Their ability to use their knowledge in new situations is also satisfactory as is their Jericho Primary School -17 ability to identify the correct mathematics to use in a given situation. The teachers often ask the pupils to explain their working and to find a variety of methods to solve a problem, which increases the pupils’ understanding of the processes involved. The pupils’ knowledge of shapes, space and measure and data handling are satisfactory, their understanding of data handling being enhanced by the use of information technology. The school has satisfactorily introduced the National Numeracy Strategy and pupils’ progress in mathematics is satisfactory at Key Stage 2 overall.

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Results

16 At Key Stage 2, the pupils’ attainment in science is unsatisfactory but progress in science is satisfactory at Key Stage 2 overall. The pupils have satisfactory knowledge and understanding of life processes and living things. They realise the importance of healthy living and keeping fit, and know which habitats suit various animals. The pupils’ ability in experimental science is unsatisfactory as although they can undertake a fair test, they do not evaluate and refine their methods and test results. The pupils’ knowledge of materials and physical processes is also unsatisfactory. They do not have sufficient depth of knowledge of materials and are insufficiently challenged in the topics of physical processes.

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Results

17 The general progress of pupils at Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, though a number of higher attaining pupils are not being given sufficient challenges in lessons. In information technology the pupils’ progress is good. They are rapidly getting used to the environment and equipment available in the new technology suite and are developing skills quickly. The pupils’ progress is also good in art at this key stage.

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18 The baseline assessment tests carried out by the school show that pupils entering the school have average ability overall .

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Results

19 The pupils with special educational needs make good progress in the early years and at Key Stage 1, towards the targets in their individual education plans. Effective support from the class teachers and classroom assistants enables them to progress at a similar rate to other pupils in everyday classroom activities. At Key Stage 2, the pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress. Within this key stage the pupils’ progress is less effective due to the limited opportunities for additional adult support.

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23 Attitudes, behaviour and personal development

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1 The pupils’ attitudes towards learning are good in all age groups in the school, and have been maintained since the previous inspection. The parents confirm that the school is very friendly and welcoming and this encourages their children to want to learn and to become part of the school. They very quickly learn the routines of the school and what is expected of them. They behave well, listen attentively and apply themselves well. The school is keen to establish positive learning attitudes and good behaviour and discipline as early as possible.

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2 The children under five make good progress in their personal and social development, and by the age of five attain standards in line with those expected of their age. The reception children are confident and interact well with adults and their peers. They are becoming more independent and are starting to take responsibility for their personal conduct. Their behaviour is good and they have been well trained to adapt to school routines, by the caring teachers and support staff. The children are encouraged to develop appropriate social skills, and are polite and friendly. The children are well supported in all aspects of pastoral care. The favourable staffing arrangements, which, in addition to teachers, include nursery nurses, classroom assistants and parent helpers, enables group work to be effectively matched to the children’s different needs. The induction arrangements are indicative of the school’s caring policy and

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practice, and the good ‘Home to School’ booklet informs parents how they can help in this important transition process.

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3 Most pupils at both key stages clearly enjoy their lessons and respond well to the teachers’ instructions. Interviews with pupils confirm that their attitudes are very positive and they enjoy their lessons. Most pupils are keen to participate in lessons by answering and asking questions. In years 5 and 6 many pupils Jericho Primary School -18 are both confident and articulate. There are, however, insufficient opportunities for pupils to exercise their independent study skills. Concentration is mostly good. Pupils concentrate and keep working despite the noise and distractions from adjacent classes in the open plan environment. However, a very small number of pupils have a shorter attention span and are more easily diverted by these distractions. Over enthusiasm is the main cause of noise, although good pupil management strategies allow the teachers to remain fully in control at all times.

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Results

4 Behaviour and discipline is good in all classes and in the playgrounds, except for a very small number of pupils who are well known to the staff. This is a continuation of the good behaviour reported in the previous inspection and is confirmed by the absence of exclusions. In the dining rooms the pupils wait patiently in queues, collect their food and eat sensibly. In classrooms the pupils are courteous and polite to each other, to staff and to visitors. The pupils settle down easily allowing a prompt start to lessons. The pupils move around the school in a very orderly fashion, for example, they return to their classrooms after assembly unsupervised by teachers. They observe the simple school rules with few reminders from the teachers. Incidents of bullying or anti social behaviour are very rare. The school has a good reputation with parents and in the neighbourhood. This standard of good behaviour allows the teachers to

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concentrate on teaching and the pupils to concentrate on learning.

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5 Throughout the school relationships amongst pupils and between staff and pupils are very good. The staff provide good role models for the pupils. In class the pupils listen respectfully to the contributions of others and often show their appreciation with spontaneous applause for work well done. For the older pupils team spirit is well developed and contributes to the success of the school sports teams in competitions. Group working is a frequent feature in most classes, during which the pupils collaborate constructively, work well together and share resources and experiences. The respect, trust and friendship that exist between pupils and teachers and with other support staff are a very good aspect of the school. This respect extends to the property of the school, which can be clearly seen in the good condition of the furnishings and fittings and the way the pupils handle resources with such care.

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6 The personal development of all pupils is satisfactory. Although there is no structured programme of personal development, this element is effectively delivered in morning assemblies and as a subtle background component in many other lessons. A week long concentrated ‘Life Education’ programme covering all year groups supplements this. These reinforce the basic elements, which most pupils receive at home. The pupils in all year groups are willing to accept responsibilities, such as taking the registers to the main office. Older pupils have many more opportunities to take on responsibilities and to demonstrate initiative, such as tree planting and litter picking. A Year 6 pupil, for example, on his own initiative befriended a partially disabled younger pupil to help her with reading. The school also encourages pupils to actively support charities and to take part in fund raising events.

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Results

1 Attendance at the school is good and has been consistently maintained since the last inspection. The current level of 94.7 per cent is almost one per cent better than the national average. The level of authorised absences is also better than the national average. Unauthorised absences are very low. The parent questionnaires almost unanimously confirmed that these children like school. Registers are completed briskly and efficiently morning and afternoon. The number of people on the premises is centrally coordinated by the secretary who also analyses weekly and monthly attendance trends. Lateness is rare.

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Results

30 Teaching Jericho Primary School -19 1 The quality of teaching is good overall. During the last inspection, the teaching was described as almost always sound or better and good or better in nearly two thirds of lessons. This situation has been maintained with all but one lesson observed during the inspection being satisfactory or better. Nearly one in two lessons seen was good and a further one lesson in 20 very good. The quality of teaching was similar for all age groups in the school.

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2 Throughout the school, the teachers manage their pupils well and maintain an ordered environment in their classrooms in which pupils can learn. The teachers have good subject knowledge and are therefore confident in their delivery. They plan their lessons well and this planning is clearly linked to longer term planning. There are, however, a number of lessons where all the pupils are expected to do the same work. The result of this is that in these lessons some pupils, particularly those of high potential attainment, are not making the progress of which they are capable.

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3 The teachers of the under fives manage the children well and maintain a well organised environment in which the children feel secure and ready to learn. The planning for the core subjects of English and mathematics takes due note of the requirements of the nationally agreed Desirable Outcomes for Learning and the teachers often plan a good range of activities. The teachers of the children under five generally know the capabilities of their children well. They also make good use of the support staff and of parents in their children’s learning, involving them as much as is practicable.

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4 The teaching of literacy and numeracy is satisfactory in the school. The teachers have had training in the presentation of both the literacy hour and the Numeracy Strategy that is improving the pupils’ rate of progress.

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5 There is a good whole school approach to meeting the special educational needs of the pupils. Most teachers are well aware of their role and responsibilities in identifying, assessing, and providing for the pupils with special educational needs. The teachers are committed to ensuring that the pupils’ needs are met as far as is possible by providing additional help and structured activities whenever the timetable allows. However, when there is no additional support for these pupils, the class teachers have difficulty ensuring that their needs are met unless they spend a disproportionate amount of time with them. The targets on individual education plans are appropriate, but often wide, so that the pupils have difficulty in realising any degree of success. Although most targets are literacy or numeracy based, good efforts are made to incorporate these targets into all curriculum subjects. The support of outside agencies is valuable

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in assisting the teachers to provide the best possible learning environment for the pupils in their class.

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6 The marking of work is generally satisfactory, and often contains comments that will help the pupils to improve or set targets for themselves. Homework makes a satisfactory contribution to the pupils’ learning, and there is increased provision in later years to prepare pupils effectively for secondary education. The pupils take home reading and some weekly spelling and mathematics and as they reach the upper years other work is also set.

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1 The school provides a curriculum that is generally broad, balanced and relevant to the ages and interests of the pupils. It includes all the subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education, and complies with all statutory requirements. The religious education curriculum is planned to meet the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus. The previous inspection identified the need for a curriculum policy statement, detailed subject guidance, and the development of procedures for monitoring and evaluation. These issues have all been addressed, but remain a priority of the school. Curriculum policies are in place for all subjects, including health, sex and drug education. However, the policy for early years does not address the Desirable Learning Outcomes for children under five. The National Literacy Strategy and National Numeracy Strategy have been introduced successfully, with more time given to

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these subjects. The school is at the beginning of a two year cycle for all other subjects. There is some discrepancy between the nationally intended teaching time and school time allocations for some subjects Jericho Primary School -20 of the National Curriculum. This is most significant in English at Key Stage 1, where the school’s teaching time is below recommended levels.

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2 There has been good improvement in planning of the National Curriculum since the last inspection. Curriculum and unit teams plan effectively. Long, medium and short term plans are all produced, giving clear direction for pupils’ learning. However, plans are insufficiently matched to the level descriptors of the National Curriculum. Lesson objectives are evaluated informally after many lessons, although evaluations are not yet used to develop curriculum planning. In good lessons, planned tasks are matched to the wide range of pupils’ abilities and individual needs. In other lessons, there is insufficient challenge, especially of the potentially higher attaining pupils. Opportunities for individual, personal research are occasionally provided. A satisfactory process of curriculum monitoring is in place for each subject within each year group team. There is little formalised monitoring of the curriculum across the

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whole school. As a result the curriculum lacks consistency in its approach to planning.

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3 All pupils, at both key stages, have good access and opportunity within the curriculum. Access and opportunity to the curriculum for children under five is satisfactory. Pupils with special educational needs are integrated effectively in the school. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good in reception and at Key Stage 1, and satisfactory at Key Stage 2, where there is a lack of additional support staff available. The school fully meets the statutory requirements for pupils with special educational needs through implementing the Code of Practice. The objectives of individual educational plans and statements of educational need are reviewed regularly with the full involvement of parents whenever possible. Most targets identified in pupils’ individual plans are fully realised, but are sometimes too broad and long term for pupils to be aware of their achievements. The needs of pupils are identified through

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tests and teachers’ assessments. Withdrawal and in class support is provided as best suits the needs of each pupil.

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4 A good range of extra curricular activities is available to boys and girls. These are well supported, provide good reinforcement of pupils’ skills and often further enrich the curriculum. For example, during the inspection, a play was performed in assembly by the French club giving good links to several subjects, as well as encouraging the pupils involved in this extra curricular club. The teachers make good use of the local environment. Particularly valuable are the regular visits to the Yottenfews environmental garden at BNFL where good quality first hand workshop activities are available in science and geography, as well as the Rosehill Theatre at Moresby, which offers a wide range of support through drama and is received enthusiastically by the pupils.

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1 The school effectively implements the local education authority’s assessment of children, when they enter the reception class. This provides a good bank of information about children’s relationships, confidence, and independence, skills in speaking and listening, reading, writing, number and mathematical language. These assessments are analysed centrally by the local education authority and comparisons are made with other schools in the local area. However the school does not yet use this information to project and target children’s progress, but is aware of the need to do so.

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2 Procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress in both key stages are satisfactory overall. Regular assessments take place throughout the school during the year, although there is no consistency between year group units in recording procedures. Tests take place at the end of each topic and more frequently in English, mathematics and science subjects. This year the school has introduced the national assessment tests in each year group at Key Stage 2. They are beginning to analyse the results to give better direction to teaching and learning.

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3 Across the whole school the use of formal and informal assessments to plan future lessons and to decide teaching points in need of revision is unsatisfactory. Predictions of progress by individuals and in year groups are in the very early stages of development. These weaknesses in the school assessment procedures result in teachers preparing work which is not always well matched to what pupils already know. This affects their learning. The school is aware of the need to improve systems for assessment and this is to be addressed as a priority in the school development plan. Jericho Primary School -21 4 Satisfactory systems are in place for recording and monitoring pupils’ progress in reading. Teachers mark work regularly and provide positive encouragement within their marking. Effective displays of pupils’ work also give good encouragement to learning. Homework is undertaken by all pupils and is

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consistently monitored by teachers. Good parental and school links for homework are having a positive impact on raising attainment.

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44 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

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5 The school makes good provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which plays an important part in the life of the school.

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6 Spiritual development is satisfactory and is linked to the overall ethos of the school, with much of the provision for its delivery being provided in the collective act of worship within assemblies and the religious education lessons. The pupils are provided with the opportunity to contribute actively to assemblies, both as a whole school and within individual unit assemblies. Opportunities are provided for the pupils to reflect on the spiritual and moral concerns within the issues being presented to them. The school fulfils statutory requirements for a daily act of collective worship. Whilst a sense of awe and wonder was observed in some information technology, history and music lessons, there is little planned provision for spiritual development in individual subjects in the curriculum.

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7 Provision for pupils’ moral development is good. A sense of morality underpins the aims and ethos of the school with the pupils having a strong sense of right and wrong. This has a positive impact on the good behaviour displayed by pupils both in classrooms and around the school. The pupils are aware of the responsibility they have for their own actions, and a concern for the well being of others. All this is reinforced by the rewards and sanctions systems organised by the individual units.

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8 Social development is well developed as the pupils gain good social skills as they move through the school. All staff, including both teaching and non teaching staff provide good role models for pupils. The pupils recognise the high demands the headteacher and staff place on them in terms of their behaviour, and they respond in a positive manner. The pupils actively wish to please their teachers. The pupils move around the school in a safe and sensible manner, display good manners during lunchtimes, and are courteous to visitors. The pupils respect and listen to each other’s opinions, and good relationships exist between the sexes. Good relationships, based upon mutual respect, also exist between children and all adults in the school. The pupils develop good cooperative skills and an understanding of the need to work together, through regular involvement in a range of timetabled and extra curricular sporting activities.

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All the pupils are involved in an annual ‘Life Education’ week provided by the Life Centre in Cumbria, whilst the pupils in Year 5 and 6 are provided with the opportunity to take part in residential trips, which promote good social skills. The pupils with special educational needs are well integrated in the school’s caring and supportive environment.

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9 The quality of provision for the pupils’ cultural development is good. Most pupils share a common cultural background. The pupils are provided with the opportunity to appreciate their local heritage through an exploration of the area in which they live and how it has changed over a period of time. Geography provides the pupils with the opportunity to learn about alternative life styles and cultures. History provides the pupils with the opportunity to examine the changing nature of their own cultures as well as exploring the historical cultures of other civilisations, such as the Romans, the Greeks and the Egyptians. In English, the pupils are able to explore their literary heritage with pupils producing good work based on pre-twentieth century poets, authors and playwrights, including Browning, Dickens and Shakespeare. In music, pupils explore the works of recognised great composers, whilst in art the pupils

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consider the work of Monet, Van Gogh and William Morris, and use this experience as a stimulus for their own work. The pupils are also provided with the opportunity to explore art from other cultures with pupils producing some imaginative aboriginal paintings. The pupils’ work in religious education helps them to come to an understanding of world faiths and the multicultural society they live in. The pupils’ Jericho Primary School -22 extend their cultural development through regular visits to theatres and places of cultural interest. The school regularly hosts visiting theatre companies and musicians. All these activities make a positive contribution to the pupils’ cultural development.

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49 Support, guidance and pupils’ welfare

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10 The overall support and guidance provided by the school is good. The school is a very happy environment where each and every pupil is known and valued by the staff. The example set by the staff is reflected in the care and friendship that the pupils show towards each other. The pastoral care provided for the pupils is good. The pupils feel safe and secure at school and know who to turn to if they have problems. The school has high expectations in terms of behaviour, discipline, personal confidence and responsibility to which the pupils respond well. The teachers have a good knowledge of each individual pupil but the monitoring of their academic progress and personal development is variable. The practice is not systematic or consistent across all year groups.

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11 Pupils with special educational needs have clearly defined individual educational plans. They are reviewed regularly and parents are invited to attend. Families receive good personal support from the school.

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12 The way the school promotes and monitors good behaviour and discipline is good. Each of the three units in the school has devised its own rewards system for good work and good behaviour, in line with the whole school behaviour policy. In most classes there is a subtle blend of self discipline by the pupils and good management by the teachers. In the event of anti social behaviour or bullying the school responds sensitively and purposefully. Mostly the incidents are of a minor nature and are dealt with promptly. Only in serious cases or frequent repetition does the school involve the parents of the pupils to resolve the issue. The key element in the school’s anti bullying strategy is convincing the pupils that there is no stigma attached to reporting these incidents.

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13 The current attendance monitoring procedures are good and rarely require the services of the Education Welfare Officer. The school has identified a rising trend in parents taking their children on holiday during term time, and for longer periods. In the new home/school agreement parents are encouraged to maximise their children’s attendance and to exercise restraint in taking these holidays.

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14 The procedures for ensuring personal safety and the well being of the pupils are good. The comprehensive Child Protection procedures are very good and their effectiveness has been put to the test in the past. All staff including newly qualified teachers are made aware of these procedures. Liaison between the school and outside agencies such as Social Services, the educational psychologist, the speech therapist and the school nurse is very effective. Health and safety practice is good throughout the school. A very thorough risk assessment has been carried out and is reviewed regularly. All teachers have received first aid training. The NSPCC, police and fire service all provide training to help pupils cope with hazards and danger. The pupils are also made aware of drugs through a structured health education programme. Fire precautions are displayed in every room and there are appropriate appliances in place.

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Electrical and fire appliance checks are conducted at appropriate intervals.

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54 Partnership with parents and the community

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1 The information provided by the school for the parents is good. A new home/school agreement is in place. There are frequent, high quality newsletters and the recently redesigned prospectus is informative and helpful. The parents are given advance information on the coming topics being studied. The school is aware that the Governors Annual Report to parents and the prospectus do not fully comply with statutory requirements. The parents confirm that the school provides good information about the literacy hour and the National Numeracy Strategy. The annual reports for parents are good. They describe what pupils know and can do and the progress made in all subjects. These reports also have a section on personal development as well as notes about attendance and general health. Attainment in each subject Jericho Primary School -23 gives National Curriculum levels at the end of key stages where national test results are included together

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with comparative national statistics. There is also space on the reports for the pupils to make comments about targets they would like to achieve next. The parents’ evening to discuss these reports is well attended. A significant minority of parents has expressed a wish for the school to adopt a uniform. Some parents are also concerned that parents’ views are not being canvassed on this subject.

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1 The school works hard to involve the parents of pupils with special educational needs in reviews and progress reports. However the information for parents in the prospectus and annual report is brief and restricts parental understanding of procedures and practices.

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2 Parents’ involvement in the work of their children is good and is vigorously encouraged by the school. Reading books are regularly taken home and parents are encouraged to help their children with reading and learning multiplication tables. A very large number of parents help directly in the classroom on a regular basis, particularly at Key Stage 1. Some parents, at the instigation of the school, have acquired appropriate qualifications to further improve the help they can offer. Their efforts are well directed and integrated into the lesson plans and the one to one support they give makes a valuable contribution to the pupils’ progress. Many parents assist the school by supporting fund raising events organised by the Parent Teacher Association. Strong parental support has been maintained and improved since the previous inspection.

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3 The school organises an extensive schedule of outside visits for all year groups as well as hosting a varied selection of interesting visitors to the school. Most of these directly support pupils’ work, such as field trips to the Yottenfews wildlife and environmental resource centre run by a local industry. The school also organises a residential trip for older pupils to stimulate their social development and to enhance topic studies across many subjects. After school clubs, such as Le Club Francais, and sports are also very well supported. The pupils are encouraged to take part in support of charities. Links with the community, local industry and the Teacher Training College are particularly good and have a significant impact on pupils’ learning. For example, the ‘CREDITS’ scheme provides the school and the community with a very high quality computer suite. The information technology instructors not only serve the community

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but also provide good tuition for the pupils. The school has long established links with the local secondary schools who have well established procedures to smooth the transition of Year 6 pupils to secondary education. These visits and contacts with the wider community make a good contribution to pupils’ learning, extend their social and personal development, and broaden their knowledge and understanding of the world. Jericho Primary School -24 58 The management and efficiency of the school

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1 The overall quality of leadership and management in the school is good. The headteacher is a strong and effective leader who, with the support of his senior management team, curriculum coordinator trios, and a committed group of governors, provides the school with a clear educational direction. There is a close professional relationship between those responsible for all levels of management, which has a very positive effect on the school’s forward momentum. The headteacher works cooperatively with the conscientious chair of governors, who gives up much time for informal and formal school related activities. The teaching staff are very hardworking and willing to share responsibilities. They are supported in their work by caring classroom assistants and special educational needs assistants, whose impact is most evident at Key Stage 1. The climate of close cooperation is a real strength of the school

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and engenders a positive ethos which benefits the pupils.

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2 The role of the governors is clearly defined and they fulfil their responsibilities well. Statutory requirements are largely met, although there are some omissions from the prospectus and the Governors’ Annual Report to Parents. The governing body meets regularly and has been involved in recent curricular developments, such as literacy and numeracy development work, and has conducted audits within the school. There is also a governor who has specific responsibility for ensuring aspects of the provision for pupils with special educational needs are in place, and the contribution made by these governors is significant. They participate in ongoing training as required, and have been involved with the formulation of the school’s development plan, and target setting activities. The chair of governors meets regularly with parents on an informal basis and acts as a conduit for parental opinion.

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3 The support and monitoring of the curriculum have improved since the last inspection and the current development plan priorities, formulated following a review, indicate that the management team have clear focus. The management plan indicates in detail the steps that the school has taken to undertake internal targets set, and there is substantial evidence within the curriculum framework structure document, and within planning structures generally, to indicate that the headteacher is in a position to monitor closely what is being taught. The curriculum coordinator trios, guided by good advice provided by the school management, also play an important part in the development and evaluation of their subject responsibilities. Since the last inspection job descriptions have been drafted for all staff, and the appraisal system was reintroduced. Due to national developments, this is currently in abeyance, though all staff

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have annual formal development interviews. While the headteacher does take steps, on a regular basis, to support colleagues by providing time for them to undertake their tasks, this is not formally timetabled and some staff with several responsibilities do not have enough time to fulfil them all. An informative staff handbook provides good guidance for all members of the staff.

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4 The implementation of the school’s aims, values and policies is good. Since the last inspection, curriculum planning in all subjects has been a focus of development. This structure is very effective, and provides full entitlement and equality of opportunity for all pupils. Policies exist for all subjects, and in many cases these have been drafted recently, which indicates that the school’s determination to keep abreast of curriculum change. Policy and practice in religious education is currently being developed. The management of both the literacy hour and Numeracy Strategy has been successful, and pupils benefit on a daily basis from participating in these sessions. Whilst the curriculum planning structures are good, and allow all teachers to maintain good teaching records, the record keeping in relation to individual pupils, so that each individual pupil’s progress can be charted effectively as they move through the school,

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5 The governors and headteacher provide effective support for the provision of special educational needs. Due regard is given to the Code of Practice and the responsible governor is well informed of developments. The overall provision is managed very well by the appropriate coordinator. Jericho Primary School -25 6 Development planning and evaluation of provision are good. The priorities have been defined through a process of review and consultation with the staff and the governing body. The development plan, while providing a focus for the educational provision in the school, also informs longer term strategic financial planning. The management plan details targets, tasks, personnel, costs, in terms of resources and personnel, timescales for implementation and evaluation procedures, and guides school development activities. The school takes appropriate steps to train non teaching members of staff, who make a

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valuable contribution to the life of the school.

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7 The school management has fostered a very positive ethos. Good relationships are sustained throughout the parental community, and the parents are encouraged to come into school, where they make a significant contribution to the pupils’ progress. Good relationships throughout the school community are well nurtured by the headteacher, governing body and staff. These impact upon the pupils of the school, who thrive in a caring, supportive environment.

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65 Staffing, accommodation and learning resources

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8 There is a satisfactory level of staffing, with teachers’ qualifications and experience matching the needs of the school and the requirements of the National Curriculum. There is a good balance between well established staff, new, but experienced teachers, and newly qualified teachers. There is a subject coordinator for each subject within each unit, with a number of staff having responsibility for areas of management within the school. Close relationships exist between the teachers in each of the three units. All staff have job descriptions. Whilst reference is made to subject responsibility, they do not contain targets for future developments. Although appraisal is in abeyance, staff have annual formal developmental interviews and there is a systematic approach to staff development. All newly qualified teachers receive good support from both the local education authority and the school. Newly qualified

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teachers have a mentor, and receive oral and written information about lessons. The school has a good range of documentation and strategies to support staff in their first year of teaching. Four special needs support assistants work effectively with pupils with special educational needs. They provide valuable help for teachers and pupils and have a significant impact on the progress of the pupils with special educational needs.

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9 There are a good number of qualified classroom and support assistants at Key Stage 1, though there are none at Key Stage 2. A significant number of parent helpers visit the school to support pupils at Key Stage 1. All non teaching staff, including the school secretary and cleaning staff make a valuable contribution to the good organisation of the school.

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10 Accommodation in the school is generally satisfactory, although cloakrooms in unit 1 are too small, and there is no provision for water in some class areas at Key Stage 2, which affects some art lessons. The organisation of accommodation into three units provides staff with opportunities to operate in a collegiate manner, and to engage in team teaching where it is deemed appropriate. There are occasions when the normal working noise detracts from teaching and learning, simply because teachers and pupils cannot hear what is being said. The school has a well used hall, a library and a computer room. A recently completed community room will also provide useful additional accommodation for learning. Unit 1 also contains a shared area for practical activities. The school has two hard surface areas, marked out for a range of games, and its own playing fields. The school is fenced in and provides a secure environment for

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pupils and staff. The fabric of the building is well maintained, and the caretaker and his assistant provide a clean and healthy environment. The inside of the school contains a good range of displayed work, predominantly by pupils, which makes for a stimulating environment in which learning can take place.

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11 Resources for curriculum subjects, except physical education, are satisfactory. Capitation for resources is devolved to each unit, with each unit deciding how best it is to be spent. As in the last inspection report, the library is unsatisfactory, with the number, range and condition of books being poor. The library itself is not a stimulating area, and does not promote reading for pleasure and information. The pupils are provided with good opportunities to visit museums, theatres and other places of interest, whilst all pupils in years 5 and 6 are provided with the opportunity to take part in residential visits. All these, along with a Jericho Primary School -26 good range of visitors to the school, make a valuable contribution to learning resources in the school.

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12 Financial planning is good and effectively contributes towards helping the school meet its aims and priorities. Long term financial plans covering three years are in place. These are reviewed in the light of strategic developments such as dramatic changes in the roll. The headteacher in consultation with the unit management teams prepares a budget which meet the priorities detailed in the School Development Plan and presents this to the governors for approval. The finance committee of the governing body is very well informed and is clear about their strategic role and their responsibilities in monitoring the school’s finances with due care and prudence. The governors are acutely aware of the effect of changes in the roll and supported a considerable deficit budget at the time of the previous inspection during a period of declining roll. This has now been turned around to a current small surplus and marks a positive

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improvement. Other items in the school budget are broadly in line with national levels. There is no clear procedure to measure value for money, but in practice the school achieves this on several fronts, such as expenditure on information technology and administrative charges.

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13 The overall use of teaching and support staff is satisfactory. The teaching staff are deployed effectively to meet the needs of the curriculum and the strategic objective of lower class numbers. Learning support assistants, student teachers, non teaching staff and volunteers are also used very effectively and make a significant contribution to pupils’ progress. However, there is no timetabled provision for non contact time for the coordinator for special educational needs, and insufficient provision of non contact time for those teachers with mentoring, monitoring and reporting responsibilities for student teachers. Despite this, these tasks are covered well but the staff involved are in danger of becoming overloaded.

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14 The overall use of learning resources and the accommodation is satisfactory. The school uses most of its resources effectively and has been successful in attracting funding for an initiative to improve the provision of information technology, which is very well used by the school and the local community. Budget expenditure on resources is devolved to the three units in the school and sometimes leads to duplication, as the subject coordinator trios are not sufficiently involved in these decisions. No time is wasted in lessons, but the use of common areas as dining space sometimes leads to lessons ending early as lunchtime approaches. Classroom space and common areas in the open plan layout are used well, but the main hall is under utilised. The space now allocated to the library is not a stimulating environment to encourage independent study skills and is poorly stocked.

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15 Day to day financial control and administration is good. The school secretary keeps very good accounts, which the governors monitor regularly. All grants available are targeted well and tightly controlled. The recent auditors report confirms that the financial records are well maintained.

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16 The school provides satisfactory value for money based on setting the higher than average unit costs against the satisfactory standards of attainment and progress, good attitudes and behaviour, and good quality teaching. Jericho Primary School -27 74 PART B: CURRICULUM AREAS AND SUBJECTS

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74 Areas of learning for children under five

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1 Children start school in the September before they are five, in accordance with the Cumbria education service general admissions’ policy. At the time of the inspection there were 35 children aged four and they are mainly taught with the other 10 reception children and pupils in Year 1 and 2, in the five classes in Unit 1 with pupils of mixed age groups. Shortly after admission to the school, the children are assessed using the Durham Baseline assessment tests and the results show that their attainment on entry is in line with that expected of four year olds. The children are taught the appropriate areas of learning for the under fives. They make satisfactory progress in most areas of their development and good progress in their knowledge and understanding of the world and their creative development. By the age of five, most children attain the nationally agreed Desirable Learning Outcomes in all areas of learning, and are

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starting to make progress into the first level of the National Curriculum.

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2 The quality of teaching overall for the children under five is good. Only one unsatisfactory lesson was observed. The teaching staff in Unit 1 work very cooperatively, engaging in weekly planning sessions to ensure appropriate curriculum balance, coverage, deployment of support staff and parent helpers and provision of resources for the children. The quality of support given by classroom assistants, special educational needs support assistants and nursery nurses is also good. All staff engaged in teaching literacy and numeracy have undertaken appropriate training.

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3 The curriculum for children under five is generally satisfactory, and in some cases it is good. The curriculum planning procedures, which are part of whole school policy are sound, and the coordination of certain areas of learning is good. The literacy and numeracy hours have been implemented effectively. Provision for the other areas of learning is satisfactory. The organisation of the teaching of the literacy and numeracy hours does not give equality of provision for all reception children, as although one group of reception children is taught as a distinct group, the other is in a mixed age class with Year 1 pupils. The teaching of this latter group is not always focussed on their needs. The ‘Early Years’ policy document does not include the curriculum advice regarding the Desirable Learning Outcomes. The newly appointed early years coordinator is just starting to take on responsibilities associated with this position.

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The assessment procedures are generally satisfactory. However, formal recording procedures of individual pupils’ progress in core curriculum areas do not always ensure that each pupil’s progress is charted satisfactorily. Assessment information is not used satisfactorily for reporting purposes and to inform the next phases of learning.

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Language and Literacy

4 The daily language and literacy hour is an important focus of the school, and all staff involved in the reception children’s teaching have been appropriately trained. By the time children are five years of age pupils achieve the Desirable Learning Outcomes and are progressing to the first level of the National Curriculum. The children make satisfactory progress in this area of their development. They benefit from the structured literacy hour, which is well taught. Their reading is encouraged by a wide range of teaching strategies, including the use of ‘Big Books’, daily individual reading and the teaching of key words. Internally produced ‘home/school’ booklets chart daily reading activities. Children enjoy reading and this activity is generally well resourced. However, there is no standardised colour coding arrangement for books, which would make the organisation more comprehensible to new staff or children

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Language and Literacy

wishing to use books in different class bases. Children are provided with a variety of activities to support writing development, such as writing patterns, letter formation, sand trays, and textured letters. Most children are making good progress with writing skills, getting to know the alphabet, and writing their own name. Thoughtfully produced booklets for parents explain the early years strategies for reading and writing, and involve them in supporting their child’s learning. The teachers provide a range of suitable activities to promote speaking and listening, including story reading, the use of rhymes and jingles, questioning, discussions, structured play activities. The current theme is a recording studio. The children Jericho Primary School -28 are encouraged to express themselves and are confident in speaking. They listen well in class activities. The assessment procedures in reading do keep track of an individual child’s progress in reading, and

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Language and Literacy

inform report writing in this area. However, records of individual pupils’ progress in other key aspects of literacy do not support report writing and are not useful information as pupils move to a new teacher. Jericho Primary School -29

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Mathematics

5 By the age of five most children attain the Desirable Learning Outcomes in mathematics. The children benefit from participating in the numeracy hour on a daily basis and work through a range of different mathematical activities. This activity is well planned and most of the teaching seen was good. The children progress satisfactorily and benefit from the attention given by support staff. They are engaged in number work, such as one more than, or one less than, recognising pairs, and counting, concept and number recognition from 0 to 5. They are also learning about three dimensional shapes. The teachers ensure that children are given the correct mathematical language, and encourage a wide variety of strategies in recording and mental calculations. Information technology is used to support and consolidate children’s learning. Whilst assessment information in the form of lesson evaluation is used to

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Mathematics

inform future teaching plans, assessment information about individual pupils’ progress does not sufficiently inform the systematic development of skills.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

6 By the age of five children attain the levels described in the Desirable Learning Outcomes. They make good progress in their knowledge and understanding of the world, and the good teaching, and the provision of opportunities to visit places in the locality encourage this. There is a wide range of work provided to promote and stimulate children’s interest in the world about them. Artefacts and visitors are brought into school, and good use is made of the local study centre at Yottenfews, to study plants, animals and seasons. A number of other educational visits are made. The children develop an understanding of chronology and growth and are able to complete time lines. In the current topic on sound the children are able to discriminate between different musical instrument sounds. Information technology is used to support this area of learning. A sound planning structure underpins the teaching of topics at this stage,

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

and the curriculum coverage is appropriate. The attractive displays provide a stimulating environment for the learning to take place.

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Physical development

7 Children’s physical development is satisfactory and they are making satisfactory progress in this area. Good provision is made to develop the children’s physical skills. Children attain the Desirable Learning Outcomes by the age of five. Fine motor skills are improved when children write, draw, paint, cut with scissors, or use construction toys. Children are able to play on the large central indoor apparatus on a regular basis, and have physical education sessions twice a week. On the occasions when they have physical education lessons with the pupils from years 1 and 2 they are provided with a different activity. In the lesson seen, ball handling skills were being developed, and the children participated well. Playground games are also provided outside for the younger children, and they showed obvious enjoyment in these activities.

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Creative development

8 By the age of five children attain the Desirable Learning Outcomes in creative development. Their progress is good. The children are increasingly familiar with a variety of stories and rhymes. They participate in singing activities with enjoyment. Reception children participate in a daily session of creative activity, singing and using instruments. Their response is enthusiastic, and they show a sense of tune and rhythm. They develop their imaginations in role play. They enjoy using paint and glue, doing jigsaws and table games, and making objects from scrap materials. They enjoy baking activities. The quality of teaching and classroom support is good. Children are well supported in all activities and encouraged to improve the quality of their work. Jericho Primary School -30 82 English, mathematics and science

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Creative development

9 The pupils’ attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 as reflected in the 1999 National Curriculum tests, is below average and well below average when compared with similar schools. The proportion of higher levels gained was also below the national average. However, over one third of this year group have joined the school, mostly from other local schools during the course of Key Stage 2. Also, following the national trend in English, girls continue to perform better than boys in the English tests. The high proportion of boys in the school, therefore, tends to depress the English National Curriculum test results overall. With the exception of the 1999 Key Stage 2 tests English test results have remained constant since the last inspection. Evidence from the inspection is that attainment has improved since the tests last term and is now in line with national expectations.

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Creative development

10 The pupils at Key Stage 2 make satisfactory progress in their speaking and listening skills. The pupils listen quietly to teachers and are keen to answer their questions. The pupils talk regularly with speaking and listening being taught as a separate attainment target throughout the key stage. The pupils in years 5 and 6 were observed presenting a talk to their friends about an interest or hobby, whilst pupils were provided with the opportunity to engage in interviews in pairs about the aftermath of a burglary or accident. By the end of the key stage, the majority of pupils demonstrate satisfactory speaking skills though a number of pupils still lack confidence when speaking in a formal situation.

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Creative development

11 The pupils make satisfactory progress in their reading skills. As well as guided reading the pupils are provided with opportunities to engage in silent reading outside the literacy hour. The pupils display sound reading habits, with many of them being members of local public libraries. The pupils develop satisfactory reference and research skills, using these to prepare their individual talks to the class.

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12 By the end of the key stage, two thirds of the pupils at Key Stage 2 have a reading age appropriate to their chronological age. The majority of pupils read with clarity, fluency and interest. The pupils are able to read a good range of books including pre twentieth century poetry, prose and drama including the works of Browning, Dickens and Shakespeare, and use these experiences as a stimulus for their own written work.

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13 The pupils make satisfactory progress in their writing as they move though Key Stage 2. They make good progress in their grammar, punctuation and spelling and are able to use them in a good range of imaginative and factual pieces of work. By the end of the key stage the pupils are able to write imaginative, creative stories, comprehension responses, diary entries, newspaper and film reports. Pupils write for information and instruction and express their opinions through writing on a number of issues.

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14 Good written work was observed during the period of the inspection in Year 5, with pupils exploring the written instructions for the planting of bulbs. After exploring the material in terms of its purpose, structure and language, the pupils wrote a piece of instructional writing of their own. The pupils in years 5 and 6 were also observed investigating newspaper reports of sporting activities before going on to plan the structure of a piece of report writing of their own.

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Creative development

15 Whilst the pupils engage in occasional drafting activities it rarely moves beyond a rough to best approach, with little change in content style and structure. Opportunities to support the lower attaining pupils and to extend the higher attainers by redrafting are lost. The retention of these finished pieces of work would also provide real opportunities to gauge progress across years and key stages. By the end of the key stage pupils are able to write for a number of purposes, and to a range of audiences. Handwriting and presentation is variable, though satisfactory overall. A significant number of pupils continue to write in pencil on a regular basis in Year 6 when ink pens would be more appropriate. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress. Jericho Primary School -31 16 The pupils’ attainment in the 1999 Key Stage 1 National Curriculum reading tests is average in relation

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Creative development

to national averages and in relation to similar schools. A well above average proportion of pupils in national terms, however, goes on to achieve above average grades in their reading. The pupils’ attainment in writing in the 1999 Key Stage 1 tests is average when compared with national averages, though well below average in comparison to similar schools. Whilst there have been some inconsistencies, pupils attainment in reading and writing has remained broadly the same since the last inspection.

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Creative development

17 The pupils’ attainment upon entry into Key Stage 1 is average and they make satisfactory progress. The pupils are provided with regular opportunities to speak in the literacy hour. The pupils generally listen quietly to teachers’ reading of big books, and are eager to respond to their questions. The pupils slowly become more confident in their ability to make an active oral contribution to lessons. By the end of the key stage most pupils speak confidently to both their friends and adults.

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Creative development

18 The pupils make satisfactory progress in their reading as they move through the key stage. The school does not use a commercial reading scheme, preferring instead to use a system of graded books. Reading is well taught, with pupils and teachers using a range of appropriate strategies. The pupils identified as having special educational needs are well supported by teachers and classroom assistants. The staff at Key Stage 1 do not engage in guided reading activities preferring instead to listen to pupils on an individual basis, and to give individual support. The home/school reading links make a valuable contribution to pupils’ progress in reading. By the end of the key stage the majority of pupils have an appropriate reading age, with pupils reading in a fluent and confident manner.

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Creative development

19 The pupils make satisfactory progress in writing. For example, in Year 2, where following on from examining a humorous poem ‘Hard to Please’ both as a piece of poetry, and for its rhyming scheme pupils shared in a whole class writing activity as they composed their own ‘Hard to Please’ poem. The pupils make sound progress in their word and sentence building skills. They develop a sound range of punctuation, spelling and grammar skills.

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Creative development

20 By the end of the key stage the majority of pupils are able to write about events in their daily lives, and produce their own interpretations of the stories read to them in class. The large majority of pupils are writing in a cursive script by the time they reach the end of the key stage.

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21 The pupils with special educational needs make good progress throughout the key stage.

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22 The pupils at both key stages have a positive attitude towards their work. They listen quietly to teachers, and to each other. They enjoy making an active contribution to lessons. During group activities the pupils soon settle down to work and are prepared to give it their full attention. The pupils are capable of working in an independent manner, yet give support to each other. The pupils enjoy showing their work to the rest of the class during plenary sessions. The pupils’ behaviour is always good, with a good working environment being evident in the large majority of lessons.

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Creative development

23 The quality of teaching at both key stages is good. The teachers have responded well to the demands of the National Literacy Strategy and teach it in an effective manner. Lessons at both stages are well planned, with clear learning objectives, though these are not always made known to the pupils. The teachers use good open ended questioning skills to extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding and to assess what they know. The teachers have good classroom control and management skills and good relationships exist between teachers and their pupils. The teachers generally provide a good range of group activities though there are occasions at Key Stage 2 when group activities are inappropriate and do not challenge the higher attaining pupils in the class.

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Creative development

24 Those lessons judged to be good or better came about where the teacher used the poem or story being used Jericho Primary School -32 in class to develop an appreciation of literature, as well as a resource for the development of basic English skills. Good teaching also came about where teachers matched group activities to pupils’ abilities, where they clearly supported lower attaining pupils and extended the higher attaining.

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Creative development

25 The large majority of lessons are teacher directed, with limited opportunities for pupils to contribute to their own learning, and to develop independent learning skills.

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Creative development

26 The school is using the National Literacy Strategy as a scheme of work but has not yet adapted it to make it specific to the school. There are some good, detailed medium term plans in place. If those for the spring and summer terms are of the same quality, they will constitute a good scheme of work. The comparatively new and forward thinking trio of English coordinators have already identified some of the areas for development, and are beginning to address them. An area for development is the library which is under stocked and is not an environment which promotes personal study. The school fulfils all the requirements of the National Curriculum for English and is in a strong position to move forward.

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Creative development

27 The percentage of pupils at Key Stage 2 reaching the expected level in the National Curriculum tests in 1999 was in line with the national average. The proportion achieving the higher level was also in line with the national average. This represents a decline from the previous three years when standards had risen consistently in mathematics in the tests. There are a number of factors to explain this decline. Firstly, over one third of the year group had joined the school at Key Stage 2, mostly from other local schools. This was disruptive, not only to those pupils joining, but also to the classes they joined. Secondly, a significant number of pupils suffered external factors which affected their performance, for example, long term illness. And thirdly, although the girls in the school performed significantly better than girls nationally, the cohort of boys was not strong and brought down the average scores. This also

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Creative development

goes against the trends at the school over recent years when there has been no significant difference between the performance of girls and boys in the tests. In comparison with similar schools the performance of pupils was well below average.

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Creative development

28 The judgement of the inspection is that the pupils, including those with special educational needs, are making satisfactory progress overall through Key Stage 2 and that by the end of the key stage they are achieving satisfactory standards. This represents a maintaining of standards since the last inspection where standards were described as sound with some more able pupils underachieving. By the end of the key stage the pupils have a ready facility with number. They are able to calculate quickly and accurately in their heads and in their books. For example, most of the pupils in a Year 6 set were able to add consecutive numbers such as 53, 54 and 55 quickly in their heads using a variety of methods. However, not all lessons start with this quick mental session so in these lessons the pupils’ progress in mental arithmetic is unsatisfactory. On paper, the pupils calculate accurately, for example, being able to

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Creative development

calculate percentages of amounts and do ‘long multiplication’ by the end of the key stage. Their knowledge of shapes is satisfactory with many able to measure accurately the angles of triangles, for example, and a number showing some understanding of supplementary and adjacent angles. The pupils also have satisfactory understanding of data handling, being able to produce a variety of graphs to display information and read inferences from these graphs. This understanding is reinforced by the use of information technology.

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Creative development

29 Attainment in the national tests for seven year olds in 1999 was in line with the national average, as was the proportion of pupils achieving the higher level in the tests. The proportion of pupils gaining the higher levels shows an increase since 1998. After an improvement in 1997, the proportion of pupils attaining the expected levels has remained roughly static since the time of the last inspection. There has been no significant difference between the performance of boys and girls in recent years.

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Creative development

30 Evidence from the inspection is that the pupils, including those with special educational needs, are making satisfactory progress and that standards are satisfactory by the end of Key Stage 1. Once again Jericho Primary School -33 this indicates that standards have been maintained since the last inspection when standards were described as sound. The pupils can follow number patterns and know the difference between even and odd numbers. They are able to count on and back in twos to 100, and some can count on in tens from any two digit number. They have sound knowledge of two and three dimensional shapes and are able to describe some of their properties. Most of the teachers are good at asking pupils to explain their working and asking if there are other methods of working out a problem, so the pupils are developing the ability to apply what they have learnt to new situations satisfactorily.

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Creative development

31 The pupils enjoy their lessons and show good levels of concentration. A strength in their response is the way that they settle very quickly to group work even if they are not being directly supervised. They also work well together when appropriate, cooperating effectively in their work. The pupils treat resources with respect and relationships are very good in the classrooms. The good quality of the pupils’ attitudes to their work has been maintained since the last inspection and has a positive effect on the progress that they make.

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Creative development

32 The quality of teaching in mathematics observed during the inspection was good overall with little difference between the key stages. Not all teachers yet incorporate a short oral mental arithmetic session at the start of each lesson, some using this time to reinforce previous work. In the classes where there is a brisk mental session at the start, the pupils are more involved in the session as a whole. The teachers are planning in line with the National Numeracy Strategy and their short term plans show a clear link to the Strategy. The teachers manage their classes well and create an ordered environment in which the pupils find it easy to learn, despite the occasional disturbance because of the open plan nature of the school. The teachers have good subject knowledge which enables them to be confident in their delivery of the lessons. However, there are a number of lessons in which the work is not appropriate for the abilities of the pupils

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Creative development

in the class. In these lessons it is either set at too low a level generally, the same work is set for all, or the potentially higher attaining pupils are not being sufficiently challenged. This has an adverse effect on the progress that the pupils make in these lessons.

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Creative development

33 The curriculum for the subject meets statutory requirements, is well planned, and the trio of coordinators work well together in this planning. A further strength of the planning is the unit teams who work very closely together. Assessment has been done using formal standardised tests and the school is starting to track pupils’ progress using them. There is also some good practice with regard to using the results of short term assessments in the teachers’ planning for future lessons. However, this practice is not universal. Monitoring of the subject is still being developed and opportunities for monitoring teaching of the subject are limited, though curriculum planning is well evaluated. There is also no useful system of recording and using the results of assessments of individual pupils’ progress for the teachers to use to plan for pupils’ future learning.

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Creative development

34 The proportion of pupils reaching the expected level in the National Curriculum tests is in line with the national average. However, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher levels is below average, and so on the basis of average points scored, attainment overall in science is below national averages by the time pupils are 11 years of age. Trends in these test results since the last inspection indicate a slow but steady improvement. This gradual improvement has been maintained in the recently published National Curriculum results for 1999. However, when these results are compared nationally the school remains below average and in comparison with results with similar schools well below average. An analysis of the results of boys and girls between 1996 and 1998 show that there has been a significant improvement in the standards of girls in science over the three year period, whilst the results of boys are erratic with steep

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Creative development

swings in their scores over the same period. It is not yet possible to determine if these trends in test results by boys and girls have changed in 1999.

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Creative development

35 Inspection findings show standards below national expectations. The introduction of a new scheme of work, as well as a start made on monitoring the curriculum, and the introduction of assessment systems, have had a positive effect, but have had too little time to raise standards. There are no significant Jericho Primary School -34 variations in the progress of pupils with different attainment and all are making satisfactory progress at Key Stage 2.

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Creative development

36 By the end of Key Stage 2 pupils have satisfactory knowledge of life processes. Through experimentation they extend their knowledge and understanding of the human body. Pupils can label the parts of the eye and the ear, and use directional arrows to describe the passage of light and sound waves to the brain. They understand about healthy lifestyles and realise the relevance of inappropriate actions on the human body.

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Creative development

37 Pupils know the difference between natural and man made materials. They can describe the properties of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials, and can undertake experiments to determine the strength and amount of absorption on certain materials. In their work on light pupils know that light travels in a straight line and that light bounces off reflective materials at the same angle of strike. They understand why shadows form. By the age of 11 years pupils have an increasingly accurate scientific vocabulary and apply these terms accurately. They carry out fair tests, discuss their findings, and record observations using a satisfactory range of diagrams and graphs. Few pupils are able to refine their experiments to produce more accurate results.

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Creative development

38 The 1999 statutory teacher assessments at the end of Key Stage 1, indicate that the majority of pupils who are attaining standards expected for their age is below national averages at Level 2, but that they show a significant improvement at the higher Level 3. Comparing the combined Level 2 and Level 3 results for 1998 and 1999, standards have remained consistent over the two year period and are in line with national averages. These results are similar to the findings of the previous inspection. Findings from this inspection show pupil attainment below expectations at the end of the key stage. Recent emphasis on literacy and numeracy is partly creating this below average attainment. The school also believes that children have below average attainment in this area of learning on entry to the school. However, progress of pupils of all levels of ability is satisfactory at this key stage.

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Creative development

39 By the end of Key Stage 1, most pupils know some key facts about electricity and light, of the way objects move, and of conditions which enable plants to grow. They understand the need for a fair test and are able to make predictions and evaluate their results. Some pupils measure accurately. Most understand tabular forms of recording; some can make charts and tabulations independently. They have a satisfactory understanding of scientific vocabulary and are beginning to use scientific words appropriately in their discussions. Some pupils are able to transfer their learning to a new situation. For example during the inspection in a design and technology lesson making musical instruments, most pupils could identify natural and man made materials and some pupils could then explain the differences in resonance of sounds made by the musical instruments.

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Creative development

40 As at the previous inspection, pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress at both key stages. Progress is being improved by recent initiatives in planning, which ensures greater consistency. However as assessment objectives are wide and lack focus, there is some evidence at both key stages that there is a lack of challenge and this limits progress especially of the higher attaining pupils. Progress in knowledge of scientific principles is developed from the reception class throughout school to year 6 by a range of first hand experiences, which are then reinforced by direct teaching and personal study. For example, during the inspection, children in the reception class undertook a sound walk to identify sounds, and at Key Stage 1 they learnt how sound waves are made in musical instruments, and then classified sounds for quality and depth. Progress continues at Key Stage 2, where

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Creative development

older pupils in Year 6 plot the pathway of sound through the outer ear, ear channel and middle ear until it reaches the brain. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress. They learn the same scientific concepts as other pupils being effectively supported by additional support staff at Key Stage 1, and by class teachers at Key Stage 2.

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Creative development

41 The pupils’ response to science is good. They are well behaved and polite, listening well to each other. They concentrate for long periods of time and try to do their best work. They are excited by opportunities to investigate and are fascinated by their results. They are particularly involved in first hand experiences, Jericho Primary School -35 ask sensible questions, and discuss their findings with clarity and integrity. In written work pupils understand the need to record the observations accurately, but many are happy to accept minimum standards in quality and quantity.

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Creative development

42 The teaching of science is satisfactory at Key Stage 1 and good at Key Stage 2. Teachers generally have a secure understanding of what they teach. The yearly curriculum map provides a sound foundation for teachers’ planning. Medium and short term planning are at least satisfactory and at Key Stage 2 are often good. Science tasks are satisfactorily matched to pupil abilities. However during the inspection teachers often gave too much direction to pupils in their learning with insufficient opportunity to be independent. This has an adverse effect on attainment and progress, especially of the higher attaining pupils. Satisfactory systems are in place for assessment at the end of each topic, although the match of response to precise targets and statements of improvement for different abilities are at an early stage of development and this is unsatisfactory at present.

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Creative development

43 Science makes a good contribution to the provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Visits out of school are used to enrich the curriculum, for example to a drama of “Robin and the Withering Wood” at the Rosehill Theatre in Moresby where the pupils learnt about issues of conservation as well as scientific principles of photosynthesis and plant life. Good opportunities are provided for personal, social education and citizenship during visits to the Yottenfews environmental centre where pupils learn by practice and discussion about land reclamation and growth. Statutory requirements are met in this subject.

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Creative development

44 The pupils at Key Stage 2 are achieving standards in line with national expectations in information technology. A recently completed, well equipped room, combined with specialist teaching and a new scheme of work are together ensuring that the pupils, including those with special educational needs, are making good progress. During the inspection pupils in Years 5 and 6 were seen creating a multimedia presentation for a holiday. They were combining word processing and a range of graphics, including their own pictures using a drawing program, to create a very pleasing end result. Scrutiny of their previous work and discussion with pupils showed that they have also had a range of other experiences, for example using a database to input and present data in graphical form, and using a control program to create patterns. Although they have not yet done any monitoring, the school is aware of the need to

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Creative development

include this aspect. In Years 3 and 4, the pupils are able to use a word processing program to create a good variety of effects by changing the font, size, colour or style.

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Creative development

45 Standards of attainment, at Key Stage 1, are also in line with national expectations. The pupils at this key stage use computers in their own classes and there is a well planned programme of activities which ensures their satisfactory progress. The pupils with special educational needs are well supported at this key stage and also make satisfactory progress. During the inspection pupils were using the computers to support work in English and mathematics. Some pupils were using a word processing program and were able to write their stories effectively with correct punctuation. They were also able to print out the end results. Other pupils were using specific programs to support their work in mathematics, using them to practise their multiplication tables or to reinforce their number bonds. Scrutiny of previous work also showed that pupils have opportunities to use a drawing and painting program to create effective pictures,

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Creative development

in the style of Jackson Pollock for example. A program to support work in music was less successful as it was not suitable for the age of the pupils using it.

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Creative development

46 The pupils are very keen and enthusiastic when they are given opportunities to use the computers. Despite this enthusiasm, they react very sensibly and are keen to produce good results. They are very ready to help each other if difficulties arise and if they are working in pairs they take turns well. Jericho Primary School -36 Relationships, both between pupils, and between pupils and the adults instructing them, are very good and this helps the progress that the pupils make.

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Creative development

47 No direct teaching was seen at Key Stage 1, but the teaching observed at Key Stage 2 was always good. The information technology resources manager has responsibility for teaching at this key stage and has benefited from recent training. She is therefore knowledgeable about what she wishes the pupils to achieve and plans well for their learning. A strength of her teaching is the way she leads children on to the next level of skill by careful questioning and guidance. She is also good at challenging children to constantly be looking to improve their end results.

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Creative development

48 The curriculum is well planned, although it does not yet include any use of computers to monitor events or processes, so does not fully meet statutory requirements. There is, as yet, no formal assessment taking place, although records are kept of which pupils have had which experiences. The information technology resources manager has plans for good skills based assessments which include some pupil self assessment. The coordinators are enthusiastic in their leadership of the subject and work well together.

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Creative development

49 The school is fortunate to have gained funding from the Cumbria based ‘CREDITS’ scheme. The computer suite is a good facility and the links with the community which are necessary as part of the funding have also benefited the school. For example, the information technology resources manager and an assistant who runs computer clubs in the school have both been trained as part of this scheme. The hardware available at Key Stage 1 is also good, with two up to date computers in each class area.

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Creative development

50 During the inspection it was not possible to observe any religious education lessons due to the school’s timetable. A close scrutiny of a limited amount of written work in pupils religious education books, work on display in classrooms, assemblies and teachers’ planning all indicate that the pupils are achieving levels of attainment in line with the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus used by the school at both key stages.

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Creative development

51 Evidence indicated that the pupils are provided with a range of activities which enables them to make satisfactory progress through both key stages. At Key Stage 1, the pupils learn about the creation, and are provided with opportunities to appreciate the natural world around them. They are introduced to bible stories and are told about the life of Jesus. They listen to the parables in the New Testament, and consider the need to care for each other. The pupils are introduced briefly to the religions of Judaism and Islam, and consider the concept of the family both at home, and as members of the family of man.

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Creative development

52 At Key Stage 2, the pupils are provided with the opportunity to extend their knowledge of Christianity, and make meaningful comparisons with other world religions. The pupils consider the role of religious leaders and prophets, and explore the themes that run through different faiths. The pupils compare religious celebrations and festivals, and the great books which influence religious beliefs. The pupils study people who have professed their beliefs through the way in which they have lived their lives, and the pupils consider how best to live their own lives. The pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress through both key stages.

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Creative development

53 It is not possible to make a judgement about the pupils’ attitude and response towards religious education or make a secure comment about the quality of teaching. The standard of work in the pupils’ books along with teacher comments, and the good displayed work around the school indicates that the quality of teaching is at least satisfactory.

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Creative development

54 There are detailed medium term plans for the current term. If medium term plans are created for the spring and summer terms of 2000 in line with those presently being used, these will constitute a good whole school scheme of work. The subject makes a significant contribution to the pupils’ spiritual Jericho Primary School -37 development as well as making a valuable contribution to their moral, social and cultural development. Although there is a range of resources, including books and artefacts, the coordinators do not consider them adequate.

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Art

55 Throughout the school the progress of pupils in art is good. This is an improvement on the findings of the last inspection. During the inspection, it was possible to see only a limited number of lessons. Additional evidence was obtained by examining pupils’ previous work, the range of artwork in displays, looking at teachers’ planning and talking to pupils about their work. The evidence indicates that art is now a strength of the school and makes an important contribution to its cultural life.

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Art

56 Good progress is made by all pupils in colour mixing. In reception classes, pupils learn to mix colour, whilst older pupils at Key Stage 1 begin to observe the range of colours around them in plants, landscapes and in portrait work. The pupils, in Years 3 and 4, improve their skill of refining colour shading in their paint mixing. They also show good progress in giving a more accurate interpretation of colour, for example when copying a pattern design around the neck of a Victorian jug in a close observational drawing activity. By the age of 11 years, the pupils are skilled in achieving good accuracy in depth of shading whilst using pastels, oils, or paints, for example to create a William Morris design or produce good quality Aboriginal art.

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Art

57 By studying famous artists pupils learn techniques and develop an understanding of a wide range of relevant vocabulary. Pupils look at shade, texture and perspective in pictures of Van Gogh or Monet to improve their own skill. Many pupils then make good progress in depicting light, shade and texture in their own still life drawings. At Key Stage 2, pupils understand the importance of preliminary drawings when composing a picture, and learn good techniques of “building up” a picture working towards a finished product. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress at both key stages in art. They work well alongside other class members and through skilful management and some support from adults are able to produce work of good quality and presentation.

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Art

58 Pupils have positive attitudes to art. They take a keen interest in the subject and listen attentively during instruction. They settle to tasks with interest. Most work carefully and quietly and share materials and resources appropriately. Behaviour is consistently good in all lessons. There are many examples of pupils evaluating their own work and offering praise for the achievement of others.

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Art

59 In the few lessons seen, the quality of teaching was good. Lessons are carefully planned and structured so that time is used effectively. Teachers use available resources well. The subject knowledge of teachers is good. They provide effective demonstration of skills and techniques. Good links are made between the subjects of the National Curriculum to promote art. For example, at Key Stage 1, pupils study the work of Jackson Pollock and then create their own copies of his designs in the computer program “Paintspa”. At Key Stage 2, the pupils use collage skills to create a mural design of natural and artificial light in science work. Very good use is made of pupils’ work around the school. Displays on number, care of the environment, sound work in science, or visit to a penfriend school, and many more are all created using pupils’ own work, giving good levels of ownership and additional interest to the curriculum concepts

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Art

being developed. Since the last inspection sketchbooks have been introduced at Key Stage 2. However, there is insufficient use of pupils’ work in sketchbooks and portfolios to inform assessment, or to provide an accurate record of achievement and progress.

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Art

60 Art makes a significant contribution to the school’s environment and to cultural awareness. There are numerous displays of good quality artwork. The genuine enthusiasm that many teachers and support staff have for the subject is having a positive effect on raising the profile of this subject in school and is used effectively to enhance other areas of the curriculum

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Design and technology

Jericho Primary School -38 61 By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils’ progress in design technology is satisfactory overall. Although lessons take place each term as prescribed in the topic cycle, limitations in time allocation, accommodation, and storage has an adverse effect on progress as there are few opportunities for extensive and sustained development. Better progress is made when curriculum links take place which give more opportunities for progress. For example, in unit three the pupils combined art, design technology and science topics to design and make a lampshade for a young child. All pupils work from a simple design problem and use materials and equipment to complete a model, often within a blocked timetable workshop session. There is little evidence of sustained development in recording skills over the topic cycle. Clear instructions, labelling of diagrams, written instructions, and evaluations are at present poorly developed skills.

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Design and technology

62 By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils’ progress in design and technology is good. The youngest children designed and made a giant’s hat considering shape and colour and improving their skills of cutting and sticking as they worked with adult helpers to complete the chosen design. Older pupils are able to work independently to make a musical instrument, which will shake, pluck or bang. During the inspection good progress was observed as they designed their instruments, chose junk materials, with appropriate strength and shape and used glue, scissors and other equipment to create some very imaginative designs. Particularly valuable was their evaluation and refinement of their finished product both independently during the lesson and in class discussions at the end of the activity. This is an improvement since the last inspection at this key stage. By Year 2, literacy and numeracy skills are being incorporated successfully

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Design and technology

as they measure accurately, or discuss sensibly their finished models using relevant vocabulary in their explanations. During food technology lessons, pupils recognise that health and safety issues are important in the making process.

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Design and technology

63 Pupils with special educational needs make good progress in reception and at Key Stage 1, where with appropriate support and guidance, they are able to work at their own pace to participate in model making often with good results. Progress of pupils with special educational needs at Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, limited by lack of adult support but benefiting from good teacher and peer group encouragement and help. Pupils with special educational needs are well integrated in these lessons.

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Design and technology

64 In all lessons seen across all age groups pupils have a very positive attitude to the subject and take great pleasure in the practical work. They show a high level of involvement in the task and work with great concentration. At Key Stage 2, pupils have a good ability to work in teams.

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Design and technology

65 The number of design and technology lessons observed in the inspection was small, although several lessons combining subjects were observed. Judgements on teaching are also based on discussions with the coordinator team, class teachers, and pupils and from the work sample. The overall quality of teaching is good at Key Stage 1 and satisfactory at Key Stage 2 where the subject is not taught progressively and consistently. All teachers have good subject knowledge and high expectations. Opportunities to practise the “design, make, and evaluate” process are provided consistently and have a positive impact on standards and progress.

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Design and technology

66 The design and technology policy and subject guidance is used effectively within each unit of the school. Planning is thorough with good attention given to safety. However, the present system of planning inhibits the consideration of progression across all year groups in knowledge and skills. An informal system of assessment records coverage and understanding but does not identify the specific needs of pupils, especially the higher attainers. As a result, the challenge in the work of each pupil is not always sufficient.

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Geography

67 It was not possible to make judgements about the pupils’ attainment and progress on the basis of classroom observations, because this subject was not being taught at the time of the inspection. However, on the basis of the effective coordination of the subject, with reference to the curriculum planning structure, and other information provided, the pupils’ attainment and progress is at least satisfactory at Jericho Primary School -39 both key stages. The pupils with special educational needs also make satisfactory progress at both key stages.

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Geography

68 At Key stage 1 pupils study a range of topics. Through these topics pupils are investigating how people and places are linked and how they themselves relate to the wider world. They are also learning how their environment influences people. During this key stage the pupils are starting to develop geographical enquiry skills, and understanding some geographical terms.

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Geography

69 At Key Stage 2, in Years 3 and 4 the pupils study ‘Homes’, which involves an investigation of the local area and environment, and the pupils in Years 5 and 6 undertake a study of ‘Pica’, a settlement in a contrasting locality. During the course of these studies, the pupils build upon earlier enquiry skills gained, and develop fieldwork and information technology and mapping skills. They are learning to explain the human and physical characteristics of places, and their similarities and differences. They are getting to know the location of key places in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world, and are beginning to recognise how people can affect their environment.

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Geography

70 The curriculum framework for geography has been revised appropriately in the light of the 1998 requirements, and the school has decided to continue to use the local environment as an important resource. This factor is a strength in the teaching of the subject, and the school makes very good use of the local study centre at Yottenfews, in the context of environmental land use and map reading skills. The school also organises residential trips to such places as Winmarleigh Hall, to develop environmental skills, and Edinburgh, so that the pupils can study city life. The school has also built up links with a school in Tanzania.

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Geography

71 The curriculum coordination of the subject is very effective and recent policies exist which relate to the National Curriculum. A very good whole school planning structure has been introduced, which incorporates an annual curriculum overview, and detailed schemes of work for each topic, defining learning opportunities for pupils, activities to be undertaken, resources to be used, and assessment procedures. The coordinators have identified a number of resources, which are needed to support the teaching. The assessment procedures are sound, and comprise observation of the pupils’ responses, and end of topic assessment. The coordinators have themselves identified development priorities for this subject, which include the need to revise the whole school policy and to list the resources required for each topic.

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History

72 There was insufficient evidence available during the inspection to enable a secure judgement to be made on the progress and attainment of pupils at Key Stage 1, because no history was being taught at the time of the inspection. However, during a topic lesson it was observed that pupils understood the concepts of growth and change in relation to human beings, and how these changes affected the choices that humans make.

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History

73 At Key Stage 2, the pupils’ attainment was satisfactory, as shown in the work scrutinised and lessons observed, and they are making satisfactory progress. The pupils with special educational needs also make satisfactory progress. There was limited teaching of history at the time of the inspection, but from the lessons observed in Years 3 and 4 the teaching of “Britain since 1930” is sound and underpinned by a very good planning structure. Within the lessons observed the pace and timing were good, teachers had well researched subject knowledge and were able to sustain the interest of pupils throughout. Good progress was achieved and the pupils’ knowledge and understanding had been extended. However, there is insufficient use of appropriate work sheets or the provision of extended writing opportunities for the higher attaining pupils.

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History

74 The school plans indicate that topics are taught in a two year cycle. In unit 1, one unit of history is taught in each half termly topic. In unit 2 three topics are taught, and in unit 3 two topics are taught. At Jericho Primary School -40 Key Stage 1 the pupils’ topics include “Timelines”, “Sounds”, “Bears”, and “Seaside holidays in the past”. At Key Stage 2 the pupils study topics such as “Britain since 1930”, “Ancient beliefs”, and “Ancient Egypt”. This curriculum is in line with the changes recommended by the Government in 1998.

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History

75 At Key Stage 1, pupils begin to distinguish between aspects of their own everyday lives and lives of people in the past. They identify some ways in which the past is represented. At Key Stage 2, in the course of the topic teaching, the pupils are able to describe the contribution made by people and events in the more recent history of Britain. They are able to make links between that period and the present time. They are able to find out about the past by asking and answering questions from a range of sources of information, including artefacts, pictures, photographs, newspaper articles and other source materials. The school makes very good use of the local environment within the teaching of topics, and visitors are used as a valuable resource. The school visits such places as Hadrian’s Wall, Beamish, Granada Studios, and Eden Camp. Professional actors, taking the role of people in the past have also contributed to the

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History

76 The coordination of this subject, undertaken by the coordinator trio, representing each unit, is very good. They have implemented a good planning structure, which incorporates a curriculum overview, and schemes of work which detail learning opportunities, activities, resources and opportunities for assessment. The links with other subjects have been explored well. The assessment procedures are satisfactory. Assessment is undertaken by observation of pupils’ work and responses, gauging the knowledge and understanding gained. The provision of resources is well organised into topic packs. The coordinators have themselves identified the development needs within this subject, which are to build up original source materials and to investigate further places for Key Stage 1 pupils to visit.

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Music

77 Observations of a limited number of lessons, examination of subject documentation and discussions with staff and pupils indicate that standards of attainment in music at the end of both key stages are broadly in line with those expected of pupils of a similar age.

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Music

78 The pupils at Key Stage 1 show an understanding of pitch, rhythm and beat. They sing in harmony, and combine an understanding of dynamics and musical vocabulary by following a teacher conducting them through the use of flashcards, with the words crescendo and diminuendo written on them. The pupils use a simple range of untuned percussion instruments to accompany their singing.

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Music

79 The pupils at Key Stage 2 extend their knowledge of musical elements, pitch, duration, tempo and timbre. and can identify a range of musical instruments played individually or in combination. The pupils demonstrate satisfactory composing and performing skills as they explore a poem, ‘The Song of the Train’ and consider how it can be interpreted through the uses of percussion instruments.

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Music

80 The pupils’ progress in music is satisfactory. They are provided with regular opportunities to compose and perform their own music, usually linked to poetry and stories. They listen to and appreciate a range of contemporary and classical music, and can write in a meaningful manner about the qualities of individual pieces of music. This can be seen in past work in pupils’ books, with pupils comparing the qualities of ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ by Saint Saens with ‘The Four Seasons’ by Vivaldi. Pupils make sound progress in their singing skills through weekly hymn practice and the singing of popular songs.

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Music

81 Pupils with special educational needs have equal access to the music curriculum, and make satisfactory progress in the subject.

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Music

82 The pupils’ response to their music lessons is good. They listen to teacher’s instructions and are keen to respond to their questions. The pupils take real pleasure in playing musical instruments, when provided Jericho Primary School -41 with the opportunity to do so. When involved in group activities, they share instruments in a democratic manner, and listen to and respect other people’s opinions as they work towards a finished piece of work.

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Music

83 The quality of teaching is always at least satisfactory. The teachers plan their lessons well, and provide a satisfactory range of musical activities within a single lesson. The pupils are provides with the opportunity to show and celebrate their work.

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Music

84 Whilst the pupils at Key Stage 1 generally have their music lessons in the hall, most of the music lessons at Key Stage 2 take place in the individual units. Whilst teachers try to alleviate the problem of noise by timetabling their music lessons at the same time, over 70 pupils playing musical instruments at the same time does cause somewhat of a problem, with limited opportunities for pupils to listen to and reflect on the quality of the music they have composed.

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Music

85 At the moment, the school is using a commercial scheme of work for music. Whilst this is perfectly adequate it has not been adapted to fit the needs of the school. The subject makes a valuable contribution to pupils’ cultural development.

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Physical education

86 The pupils, including those with special educational needs, are making satisfactory progress in physical education at Key Stage 2. Standards of attainment in this subject, at Key Stage 2, are in line with those that one would expect of pupils of this age. Standards in swimming are good, as the school makes every effort to ensure that all pupils can swim before they leave and the extra tuition arranged has a positive impact on progress for all pupils. By the end of the key stage, pupils have appropriate games skills, having mastered a variety of netball and hockey passes. They also have good awareness of the requirement to play as a team. Younger pupils at the key stage have satisfactory awareness of space in dance and are able to use their bodies effectively to represent aspects of a story.

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Physical education

87 At Key Stage 1, all pupils are making satisfactory progress. Those pupils with special educational needs are well supported and so are also able to make satisfactory progress. The pupils show they understand the need for a warm up and that they need to cool down after exercise. In dance lessons, the pupils are well coordinated and they move effectively in response to either music or stories although they do not always make best use of the available space. When controlling a ball with their feet the control is satisfactory for most pupils. They also know the principle of throwing and catching a bean bag, although the practice is not so good.

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Physical education

88 The pupils enjoy their physical education and rarely let the greater freedom of the environment and lesson affect their behaviour. Particularly notable was the exemplary behaviour at the swimming pool. During these lessons, and in fact most physical education lessons, the pupils listen carefully to instruction and are keen to try to improve their performance. Good relationships are displayed, exemplified by the occasional spontaneous applause when other pupils are demonstrating their attempts. The good attitudes that the pupils have to their learning have a positive impact on the progress that they make in this subject.

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Physical education

89 The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. In the lessons observed, it was never less than satisfactory and was often good. When it was not good this was sometimes because of a lack of suitable resources at Key Stage 2, and the teacher had not planned accordingly. Generally, the teachers manage their classes well and use encouragement well to challenge the pupils’ performance. Planning is sound and the teachers are very aware of health and safety issues. There are occasions when the warm up is not long enough to be effective due to the short time that is available for some lessons and the natural anxiety of the teacher to meet learning objectives.

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Physical education

90 The curriculum for physical education is suitably balanced and includes all the necessary elements. There Jericho Primary School -42 are a number of strengths in curricular provision, particularly the provision made for swimming. A further strength is the provision of after school games clubs. These are well attended and provide the pupils with opportunities to represent the school in tournaments and inter school matches. The school is very successful in these tournaments. The pupils also benefit from trips out of school. The pupils in Year 2 go on a day trip to an adventure centre where they take part in a number of problem solving and team activities. Pupils in Year 6 go on an annual residential trip to an activity centre. These opportunities are a significant benefit to the pupils in the school.

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Physical education

91 One weakness in the subject is the lack of resources for some of the aspects of the subject, particularly games. Lessons were seen where the progress that the pupils made was impeded by this shortfall. Swimming, on the other hand, is well resourced, the pool being good for the purpose and well equipped with a variety of floats and other equipment to aid the pupils’ learning.

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Physical education

The inspection of this school included a focussed view of swimming which is reported below.

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Physical education

92 All pupils have opportunities to go swimming at Key Stage 1, and then those who are still uncertain swimmers have continued lessons through lower Key Stage 2. This means that by the time all pupils have further swimming lessons in Years 5 and 6, very few are non swimmers and all can benefit from a programme of swimming skills and water safety. Jericho Primary School -43 166 PART C: INSPECTION DATA

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Physical education

1 The school was inspected in the week beginning 15 th November 1999 by a team of five inspectors, one of whom was a lay inspector, and was in the school for a total of 20 inspector days. The main evidence considered by the inspection team for the report was gathered from: Jericho Primary School -44 • 53.3 hours of direct observation of teaching and learning which included 66 lessons or parts of lessons covering children under five in the reception and all classes at Key Stages 1 and 2, including pupils identified as having Special Educational Needs; • assemblies and a number of both morning and afternoon registration sessions; • listening to at least three pupils from each year group read and checking pre-reading and reading skills of children under five in the reception; • 6.8 hours of scrutiny of a wide range of previous and current samples of pupils’ work from each year group; • discussions with pupils to establish levels of knowledge and understanding;

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Physical education

• discussions with the headteacher, staff, governors, parents and a number of other adults; • a scrutiny of a full range of documentation including the School Development Plans over four years, policy documents, curriculum planning, the previous inspection report and action plan and other school documents; • an examination of attendance records, budget statements, teachers’ planning, records of pupils’ attainment and reports to parents; • a meeting held by the registered inspector and attended by 16 parents shortly before the inspection. The team also considered the responses made by parents in 52 questionnaires and letters and comments that accompanied these questionnaires and letters received separately. Jericho Primary School -45 · Data and indicators

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Physical education

· Pupil data Number of pupils on roll (full-time equivalent) Number of pupils with statements of SEN Number of pupils on school’s register of SEN Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals YR - Y6 283 7 29 14 Nursery Unit/School N/a N/a N/a N/a

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Physical education

· Qualified teachers (YR - Y6) Total number of qualified teachers (full-time equivalent): 12 Number of pupils per qualified teacher: 23.6

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Physical education

· Education support staff (YR - Y6) Total number of education support staff: 9 Total aggregate hours worked each week: 155

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Financial data

£ Total Income 432 518.00 Total Expenditure 424 892.00 Expenditure per pupil 1 609.44 Balance brought forward from previous year (16 329.00) Balance carried forward to next year (8 703.00) Jericho Primary School -46

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PARENTAL SURVEY

Number of questionnaires sent out: 283 Number of questionnaires returned: 52

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PARENTAL SURVEY

Responses (percentage of answers in each category):

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PARENTAL SURVEY

Strongly agree Agree Neither Disagree Strongly disagree I feel the school encourages parents to play an active part in the life of the school 44 48 6 2

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PARENTAL SURVEY

I would find it easy to approach the school with questions or problems to do with my child(ren) 59 29 6 4 2

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The school handles complaints from parents well 31 40 23 4 2

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The school gives me a clear understanding of what is taught 32 56 8 4

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The school keeps me well informed about my child(ren)’s progress 36 46 6 12

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The school enables my child(ren) to achieve a good standard of work 49 47 4

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The school encourages children to get involved in more than just their daily lessons 33 44 21 2

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PARENTAL SURVEY

I am satisfied with the work that my child(ren) is/are expected to do at home 37 47 10 4 2

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The school’s values and attitudes have a positive effect on my child(ren) 52 36 8 4

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The school achieves high standards of good behaviour 50 40 6 4

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PARENTAL SURVEY

My child(ren) like(s) school 40 50 4 4 2

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PARENTAL SURVEY

The responses of the parents in the questionnaires, at the parents’ meeting and from those spoken to during the course of the inspection were overwhelmingly positive. The only negative issue raised by a significant number of parents was the lack of a school uniform. These parents said that not only would they like a uniform, but that they felt that they had not been properly consulted on this issue.

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