Nayland Primary School

NAYLAND COUNTY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 25/01/2000 – 26/01/2000

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NAYLAND COUNTY 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.

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NAYLAND COUNTY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Nayland County Primary School - 3 10/04/00

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Bear Street Nayland Suffolk

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs M George

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 01/07/96 – 03/07/96 Nayland County Primary School - 4 10/04/00

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Team members

Fred Corbett Registered inspector David Tytler Lay inspector Carole Green Team inspector

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Team members

Norfolk Education Advisory Service Norwich Professional Development Centre Woodside Road Norwich Norfolk NR7 9QL

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Team members

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

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Team members

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Nayland County Primary School - 5 10/04/00

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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SUMMARY OF RESPONSES TO PARENTS QUESTIONNAIRES 19

Nayland County Primary School - 6 10/04/00

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Number of full time pupils: 96 Below average Pupils with English as an additional language: 0% Pupils entitled to free school meals: 6% Below national average Pupils on the register of special educational needs: 15 Below national average Average class size: 24

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Nayland Primary School is a small village school catering for boys and girls from age four to nine years of age. Of the 109 pupils on role, there are 13 in the nursery who attend for mornings only. Pupils’ attainment on entry to the school is above that found nationally. Pupils come from the surrounding area of Nayland and Leavenheath but also from surrounding villages in Suffolk and across the county border in Essex.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school was described in its last inspection as a good school, it continues to be more effective than most schools and is improving. The pupils achieve high standards in most aspects of their education. This is achieved by good teaching and by the strong leadership of the headteacher who is well supported by the governors and staff. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• The attitudes of the pupils to their work, to school and to each other are very good and are fostered and promoted by the whole school community. The children’s moral development and behaviour are excellent. • The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the national literacy strategy and by the introduction of the numeracy strategy. • The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus on continual improvement. • The governors are deeply committed to the school and contribute to the good leadership. • The quality of the learning in many lessons is very good as a result of the good teaching and broadly based curriculum, as well as the pupils’ very positive attitudes. • The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are very high. • The school provides very good care and guidance for the pupils.

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What the school does well

• The school has very good relationships with the parents and they, in turn, provide very good support for their children’s learning.

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What could be improved

• The way information and communications technology is used in lessons to support learning. • The use of a greater variety in the way pupils record and present their work. • The information parents get about the work their children are doing. • Ensuring that pupils of the same age, but in different classes, have equal access to the curriculum The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Nayland County Primary School - 7 10/04/00

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in July 1996 and the changes and developments in the school have ensured that the high standards of attainment have slightly improved and continue to be above average both nationally and when compared with similar schools. The quality of teaching has continued to improve and new members of staff have helped introduce new ideas and energy to support further improvement. The physical environment for learning has been much improved. While some of the actions required after the last inspection were slow to make an impact, the issues have been dealt with and the practice in the school improved. Resources for information and communication technology (ICT) have recently improved and pupils now reach average levels of attainment; however, there is still room for significant improvement before provision for ICT matches the pupils’ potential.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 7 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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1997 1998 1999 1999

English A* A* A* A well above average above average A B mathematics A A* A* A average below average C D science B A* A B well below average E

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A* - school results in highest 5% nationally

These results are very good. Pupils under five achieve beyond what is normally expected for their age in language and in number. By the age of seven standards are high in national tests in reading, writing and in mathematics, with results in the last two years placing the school’s results in the top 5% nationally. These standards have remained high for several years and the targets set for this year, to maintain this position, are likely to be reached. Evidence from the inspection confirms that by the time pupils leave the school they have made good progress across most aspects of the curriculum and achieve good standards for their age. The inspection focused on the standards in English, mathematics and science but the team was also impressed by the excellence of some of the work seen in art and history.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils are enthusiastic about school, they are lively and responsive and readily involve themselves in learning.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour in all parts of the school is excellent.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils’ relationships with each other and with the adults in the school are a real strength of the school. However, they are not given enough responsibility.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance This is very good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and lessons start promptly. Nayland County Primary School - 8 10/04/00

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

The lessons seen overall Very good Good Good

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

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

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

There are many strengths in the teaching seen in the school. There is generally very good teaching of the youngest pupils and the percentage of good and very good teaching has risen since the last inspection. In no lesson was the teaching less than satisfactory and in 69% of lessons the teaching was good, very good or excellent. Good and very good teaching was seen in English, mathematics and science in all parts of the school. The teaching of literacy is generally better than other subjects and the literacy and numeracy strategies are providing helpful structures for the further improvement in teaching. Teachers have developed excellent practice in introducing lessons, gaining pupils’ interest and enthusiasm and giving them the confidence to question and try ideas out. Lessons are well prepared and resources usually well used. The effective use of classroom support adds to the effectiveness of lessons. Teachers use and promote the enthusiasm and positive attitudes of the

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

pupils to engage them in effective learning. Teaching could be improved by more effective conclusions to the lessons when the learning objectives can be reinforced and mathematics lessons will continue to improve as teachers gain confidence with the content and structure of the new national strategy.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. The curriculum is broad and interesting. Religious Education and all subjects of the National Curriculum are taught. The curriculum for under–fives is very good.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. Pupils’ needs are clearly identified and they make good progress in the school. The progress they make is not always consistent between classes.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language There are currently no pupils in school where English is an additional language.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development This is impressive in the school. Moral development is excellent and underpins the calm, respectful ethos of the school. Spiritual, social and cultural development are given a high profile and are judged to be very good.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. This is given high priority and the school’s welfare and safety systems, as well as the attitudes of all the adults in the school, lead to a secure, caring environment for pupils. Nayland County Primary School - 9 10/04/00

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff This is good overall. The new headteacher is providing excellent leadership and has a strong commitment to improvement and ensuring all pupils are cared for and sufficiently challenged. This is having a positive impact on the teaching and learning in the school. The development of co-ordinators responsibilities is too recent to see any impact as yet.

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Aspect Comment

How well the appropriate authority fulfils its responsibilities The governors are effectively led and assist the headteacher and school very well. They have effective systems to understand the needs of the school and know its performance. They have a good knowledge of the school’s community.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance This is generally good but is not yet systematic enough. Systems for monitoring lessons and the curriculum are relatively newly established. It is too soon to see any impact on improving further the quality of teaching and raising attainment levels.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good use is made of all staff in the school to benefit the pupils. The school satisfactorily links its financial planning to the priorities in the school development plan and financial administration is good. The physical environment is well cared for and is used effectively to promote pride in learning.

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Aspect Comment

Value for money Children entering the school are generally achieving above average levels of attainment. The school deploys resources well to ensure a good quality of education and that the pupils are achieving high standards when they leave. Overall the school provides good value for money. The school is beginning to apply the principles of Best Value to monitor its performance.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The open approach the school has to questions and problems. • The high expectations the school has of the pupils. • The progress their children make. • The good behaviour in the school. • The good teaching. • The way the school is led and managed. • The improvements in the environment for learning. • The development of pupils’ confidence and good attitudes to sharing and caring. • The consistency of approach to, and information about, homework. • The quantity and quality of information they get about the work their children are doing and the progress they are making. • The provision of activities outside lessons.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspectors agree with the positive views the parents have of the school and have recommended that the areas for improvement should be addressed. There are difficulties in providing after-school activities but the school has already taken steps to ensure that lunchtimes are used effectively . Nayland County Primary School - 10 10/04/00

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fostered and promoted by the whole school community. The children’s moral development

1. Pupils come to school well supported by their parents and carers who have high expectations of the school to provide a good quality of education for their children. The staff of the school is very conscious of these expectations and works hard to ensure that the pupils’ positive attitudes are harnessed and developed throughout their time in the school.

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fostered and promoted by the whole school community. The children’s moral development

2. Pupils’ attitudes to the work they experience in lessons are very good. Pupils pay attention in class and respond well to the good teaching. Their positive attitudes can be seen in the high level of enthusiasm in lessons. The teachers add to this with their individual enthusiasms for different parts of the curriculum.

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fostered and promoted by the whole school community. The children’s moral development

3. Teachers try to ensure that these attitudes develop by providing a good balance of teacher- led and group activity. Pupils have a genuine excitement for many aspects of the curriculum and this is enhanced where teachers and pupils share texts and where good practical activities are set up. Where pupils are expected to work together on tasks, they do this well.

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fostered and promoted by the whole school community. The children’s moral development

4. The behaviour of the pupils in the school was a joy to observe. When they come into school there is an atmosphere of calm and purpose. They enter classrooms and start their work immediately. Their behaviour is equally good in lessons and around the school. Even where there is a high level of excitement, the pupils have good self-discipline. This was clearly shown in lessons where:- texts were being explored and different views were always listened to; science activities were carried out in good spirit, even when there was water involved; and in the assembly, which was a wonderful demonstration of teacher confidence in the pupils, and repaid by self-disciplined exuberance.

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fostered and promoted by the whole school community. The children’s moral development

5. Behaviour at lunchtime was a concern of some parents but the observations made were of pupils behaving well in a secure and disciplined way. The staff have been conscious of the lunchtime issues in the past and a more positive approach to play and organised activities is being introduced.

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fostered and promoted by the whole school community. The children’s moral development

6. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong and understand the expectations or rules of the school. Pupils and staff form very good relationships in the school. The adults provide good role models for the children in terms of respect, hard work and humour. The pupils take considerable responsibility for their own learning. However, there is no consistent approach to pupils taking responsibility around the school.

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The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the

national literacy strategy and by the introduction of the numeracy strategy.

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The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the

7. The teachers have a considerable wealth of experience to draw upon as a team. There is a good blend of long-term service to Nayland School that is complemented by the introduction of new teachers. All have quickly formed a strong team to provide good teaching for the pupils.

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The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the

8. Despite already achieving very good results in National Curriculum tests the teachers have embraced the national strategy for literacy with enthusiasm and are now introducing the numeracy strategy. Teachers are clear about the purposes of the lessons and plan well for each week’s lessons. They sometimes share the objectives with the pupils and when this happens it helps them check their progress. Teachers encourage pupils to listen to each other and ask questions. This helps pupils develop their knowledge and understanding and learn from each other. Two Year 4 boys illustrate this well – “ Miss… . If the Iron Man goes Nayland County Primary School - 11 10/04/00 under water what does it mean about his breathing?… Wouldn’t he just rust?” The response from

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The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the

across the group summed up the objective set by the teacher – “ But you have to think about this differently … this is fantasy!”

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The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the

9. In the very good lessons the teachers were better at seeing the planned structure of the lessons through to ensure that group tasks were carried out and that there was time to draw the lesson together at the end. When lessons were judged to be satisfactory, the aspects that were less well developed tended to be where the teacher’s introduction was too long and the group tasks less clear in terms of objectives. In a few cases in mathematics, the lessons did not develop well because the teachers did not have secure knowledge of the numeracy strategy or were not confident in their own approaches to mental calculation.

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The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the

10. Some marked features of the good and very good teaching were the quality of the teachers’ observation of the pupils, the extent to which teachers listened to them and the way they provided feedback to pupils about their learning. Pupils became even more involved in their learning because of timely and encouraging comments. “I’m really pleased because J. has learned 5 more words … and some are from our high frequency list” (teacher with Year R/Year 1)

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The teaching in the school is good. Its quality has been enhanced by the effective use of the

11. Classroom helpers are well managed by the teachers and they know clearly what is expected of them. Classroom assistants help in the preparation of resources and are invaluable in making group activities work well. They remind pupils of instructions, help with explanations where pupils are uncertain, give specific support for the youngest or least able within mixed- age classes and show real interest in what the pupils are learning.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

12. The headteacher has only been in post for just over one school term. She took over from a highly respected and able previous headteacher. The deputy headteacher had been asked by the governors to be acting headteacher for two of the three terms of the last academic year. The governors appointed the new headteacher with a remit to safeguard the strengths of the school but ensure that it continues to improve. She has taken to the task with relish.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

13. The staff team has quickly rallied behind the headteacher in her drive for continuous improvement. The contribution of curriculum co-ordinators has declined since the last inspection but the headteacher has now reorganised the roles and has set realistic targets for them to be more effective again. The headteacher has very good relationships with her staff, with governors and especially with the pupils. Parents are already expressing confidence in the leadership she is providing.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

14. The headteacher has a clear plan for improvement. She is keen to ensure that the school is more systematic and consistent in its approach and is currently working with the chair of governors to ensure that the next cycle of development planning involves members of the school community more effectively. The current plan is satisfactory but future plans need to be properly costed and more explicit in terms of the improvement the priorities will bring about.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

15. The headteacher knows the staff’s strengths and weaknesses. She has started to monitor classroom practice and is beginning the process of feedback and targets for improvement. This needs to be built upon. At present the headteacher has let all in the school know, and see in practice, her high expectations of all in the school community. Even in such a short time it is clear to see the impact she is having. This should soon make this school a very good school indeed.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

The governors are deeply committed to the school and contribute to the good leadership. Nayland County Primary School - 12 10/04/00 16. The governing body has a broad range of experience to call upon. It is well led by a very able and enthusiastic chair of governors whose financial expertise is an asset to the school. The governors have established an open and challenging style where individual views can be expressed but are clear that decisions are corporate.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

17. The governors have a clear vision for the school and while recognising its undoubted strengths, they are determined that “it must not become complacent”. After a period of maintenance when the school was in the care of the acting headteacher, the governors appointed a new headteacher to help make their vision a reality. They offer the headteacher and staff very good support. They have the required statutory duties in place though recognise that some of these require improvement, particularly in establishing more systematic evaluation of the curriculum, the further improvement of teaching and the establishment of new appraisal arrangements and performance management.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

18. Governors know the school, they have a good understanding of its strengths and of the areas where it needs to improve. They have a sound understanding of the development planning process and check that the priorities are being addressed. The issues from the previous inspection were eventually dealt with and the governors have promoted the development of the school environment for learning over this time. They have a close contact with the school and most governors are able to visit with sufficient frequency to know the school from first hand experience.

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The strong and purposeful leadership provided by the new headteacher is ensuring a focus

19. The school’s finances are well managed and the day to day financial administration is good. A recent auditor’s report has provided governors with a useful agenda for further improving these practices. The school has made good progress in linking financial and school improvement planning. However, with an increasing number of grants supporting the improvement priorities there is a need for more rigorous evaluation of the actions taken. The school has a reported surplus that is large for the size of school, most of this appears as payments into a renewals account. While there are agreed areas of expenditure against this fund the governors could help ensure that the headteacher has a clearer picture of the resources available for development.

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The quality of the learning in many lessons is very good as a result of the good teaching and

broadly based curriculum, as well as the pupils’ very positive attitudes.

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The quality of the learning in many lessons is very good as a result of the good teaching and

20. The school devotes a significant amount of curriculum time to literacy and numeracy but also manages to give time to important aspects of learning across the whole of the National Curriculum. Time is given for some in-depth study as demonstrated in the excellent displays of art and history work in the school. Time is efficiently used and pupils are given the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge. Science is used as an important source of first hand experience in line with the school’s professed aims. The practical aspects of this subject are good but the learning could be even better with an increase in the amount of time allocated to the subject.

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The quality of the learning in many lessons is very good as a result of the good teaching and

21. The good teaching builds on pupils’ positive attitudes to school and their enthusiasm for learning. Pupils concentrate well and even the youngest pupils persevere for quite long periods of time. The subject of the assembly was “perseverance” based on the story of Robert the Bruce. There are many pupils in this school with the same tenacity as the spider.

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The quality of the learning in many lessons is very good as a result of the good teaching and

22. Pupils are frequently encouraged to hypothesise about their work and to raise their own questions. “What would you do?” “What do you think will happen next?”… .. and “Why?” are frequently interspersed within explorations of texts, numbers or materials. The pupils respond well to the challenges given. When a teacher asked what the pupils (Year 1 and 2) thought “being curious about the voices in the forest” might mean and what the pupils thought would happen, several gave good guesses and one came up with , “.. it means she wanted to sort of investigate the voices … . I think she will and it’ll be a problem for her”.

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The quality of the learning in many lessons is very good as a result of the good teaching and

23. Pupils get involved in the work in school and several spoke about the way they share aspects Nayland County Primary School - 13 10/04/00 of it with their parents at home. This involvement is supported in the good and very good lessons. It is encouraged not only by the choice of task but by teaching which also shows that the teachers are enthusiastic about the learning going on in the classroom.

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The quality of the learning in many lessons is very good as a result of the good teaching and

24. When pupils are asked to work in groups there is a high level of co-operation and sharing. They take turns and generally have the patience to wait while one of their group explains something or is finishing a task. Some of the pupils are very able and are bursting to have their say. Teachers are good at setting an atmosphere of listening and taking your turn.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

25. The pupils achieve very high standards in the National Curriculum tests for reading, writing and mathematics. Teacher assessment for science also shows that pupils reach high standards in this subject by the end of Year 2 when the statutory assessments take place. All pupils have reached the expected level for their age in each assessed area. The results so far suggest that pupils are on target to reach the required level by the age of 11.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

26. Able pupils also achieve well. The school reaches levels well above similar schools in reading and writing and above average for mathematics. The Suffolk reading and mathematics scores also show that pupils continue to achieve well by the end of Year 4.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

27. An interesting feature of the Nayland School results is the consistently high performance of the boys in the school. Girls in the school generally perform well above average but the national trend is for boys to lag behind girls, particularly in reading. At Nayland the boys reading scores are slightly above those of the girls in both Year 2 and in Year 4.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

28. Performance across all aspects of each subject is more variable and the school recognises the need to ensure that pupils are achieving well across the whole subject and not only in those parts that are tested. This is particularly so for using and applying mathematics and shape and measures, and in science in physical processes and life processes and living things.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

29. The reason for the high level of results is a combination of well supported and encouraged children, good quality and appropriately targeted teaching and high expectations. The teachers evaluate the curriculum and the test results and ensure that pupils are properly prepared in terms of skills, knowledge and confidence.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

30. Children come to school with a broad range of abilities and aptitudes but generally higher than average levels of attainment. They get very good teaching and learn very well from their earliest experiences in the nursery and in Year R. This is built upon in Key Stage 1 when the standard of work in English, mathematics and science is good. This good standard of work in classes continues into Key Stage 2. The results the school is attaining are a good reflection of the overall standards of achievement seen across the school.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

The school provides very good care and guidance for the pupils.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

31. Improvement in child protection procedures was a key issue in the last inspection. This has been dealt with and procedures are now good.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

32. The school has good systems of care. Registration is carried out efficiently, attendance is effectively recorded and absences are checked. The school keeps records of pupils’ progress and provides detailed and informed annual reports on each pupil. Parents identified the level of care their children receive as an admirable feature of the school.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

33. The school has recently made major improvements to the safety and security procedures, including very systematic checking and supervision of pupils when getting on and off the Nayland County Primary School - 14 10/04/00 school bus. Improvements are also being introduced to make lunchtimes more interesting. Staff are constantly reviewing what is on offer to the pupils to ensure their well being.

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The results in national tests, in English and mathematics, for pupils at the end of Year 2 are

34. The school promotes achievement and seeks additional opportunities for very able pupils, such as the Local Education Authority’s mathematics “super classes”. The school aims to be inclusive and makes provision for pupils’ special educational needs.

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The school has very good relationships with the parents and they, in turn, provide very good

35. The last inspection report commented upon the good relationships between parents and school. This has been maintained and aspects strengthened particularly with the development of the nursery class.

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The school has very good relationships with the parents and they, in turn, provide very good

36. Parents are supportive of the school and are very involved in their children’s education. The detailed reports on pupils’ progress, effective news letters and the newly developed “look and share” times each half term help cement this relationship.

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The school has very good relationships with the parents and they, in turn, provide very good

37. The consultation on the home-school agreement was effectively carried out but, as yet, the agreement has not been a significant vehicle for further strengthening of the good relationships.

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The school has very good relationships with the parents and they, in turn, provide very good

38. Several parents work in the school and they are very enthusiastic about the school. This view is shared by the parent governors. Parents have confidence in the new headteacher and in the longer established members of staff. These factors combine to produce an atmosphere of mutual respect where parents and school staff provide very good support for the pupils’ learning.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The way information and communications technology is used in lessons to support learning.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

39. The standards in ICT were unsatisfactory in the last inspection. The greater access to ICT equipment afforded by the improved provision in the school and significant access in the home has helped raise standards of achievement to average levels. However, the school recognises that there is still some way to go before ICT makes as significant a contribution as it should, to the quality of learning in lessons across the curriculum.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

40. The new headteacher has skill and enthusiasm to bring to this area. This is already having a positive impact. Now that there has been the improvement in the provision of equipment through the National Grid for Learning grant the school is well placed to improve its provision. The biggest, and acknowledged, obstacle is the level of confidence of some of the staff and their understanding of how to integrate the broad range of ICT opportunities into their lessons. There is a need to ensure that teachers have the opportunity to explore the capability of existing resources and then access the New Opportunities Funded training to link ICT to learning.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

41. Teachers are now trying to use the computer in lessons more but the ICT co-ordinator will need to support them in providing more relevant activities that can serve the currently well planned curriculum. Pupils already have well developed information retrieval skills and these could be extended by their application to multi-media and Internet searches. Teachers already create good opportunities for the collection of data and the use of tables and spreadsheets could be a natural link to existing work. Pupils develop very good approaches to story and to writing, word processing can add another dimension to this work. For able pupils in the oldest age group the school could provide a range of computer controlled accessories, particularly to aid measurement.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The use of a greater variety in the way pupils record and present their work. Nayland County Primary School - 15 10/04/00 42. There is a high level of reliance in the school on worksheets or teacher-prepared recording sheets. Some of these have great value in focusing pupils on key objectives but they do not extend their ability to record their work in a variety of forms. The presentation of the work dominated by adult structures does little to communicate the quality of learning so evident in the lessons observed. This is in stark contrast to some excellent display in the corridor. The folders of worksheets do little to convey quality and because in most cases they cannot be sequenced, make it difficult for the pupils to get a sense of the progress they are making.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

43. Pupils do present work in drama, dance, painting, song, drawing and writing but greater opportunities in, for example, extended writing, data display, extended reports, photography and the use of ICT would enhance the quality of learning even more than its current levels. This could usefully form a focus within the monitoring and evaluation of classroom practice that has recently been established.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The information parents get about the work their children are doing.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

44. The relationship between parents and the school has been acknowledged as very good. However, its main weakness is in the area of parents knowing what their children are learning about and the place homework has in that learning. Communication is good about what was learnt during the term, or usually the year. Communicating what the main areas of work they are about to embark upon, and some of the key objectives, would help parents understand better what their children are doing. This would enable them to get a greater sense of the progress being made.

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curriculum

45. In general the school provides well for pupils in mixed-age classes. The school acknowledges that this sometimes puts considerable pressure on the teachers to plan and organise work to take account of the broader age range. In most cases this works well. The staff group pupils so that ability is taken into account in structuring the classes. However, the arrangements whereby pupils from two key stages have to be taught within one class puts additional pressure on the teacher. There are times, within lessons, when work is not sufficiently well targeted on one of the age groups in the class. This is most evident for the Year 3 pupils in the Year 2/3 class and the Year 2 pupils in the Year 1/2 class. The school should look again at arrangements for age grouping, particularly for the core subjects.

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curriculum

46. Some good examples of collaborative planning are in evidence in the school and the staff have organised the curriculum on two year rolling programmes of topics. This does not satisfactorily deal with ensuring equality of access to the curriculum for all pupils, especially in Years 2 and 3. The availability of a pool of very experienced part-time teachers and classroom assistants could be used to make better arrangements for these two age groups.

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The school recognises that to continue its improvement it should now:

1. Improve the quality of learning in information and communications technology. 2. Improve the range and quality of pupils’ recording and presentation of their work. 3. Improve the information parents have about the work their children are doing in class. 4. Improve the curriculum planning and provision for pupils of the same age in different classes.

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons observed 20 Nayland County Primary School - 16 10/04/00 Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 16

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

5.3% 26.3% 36.8% 31.6% 0% 0% 0% The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 13 96

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 5 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs

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Information about the school’s pupils

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 7

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 7

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Nayland County Primary School - 17 10/04/00

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 1999 8 10 18

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 8 8 8 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 10 10

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 100 (100) 100 (100) 100 (100)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

at NC level 2 or above National 82 (80) 83 (81) 87 (85)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 8 8 8 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 10 10

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 100 (100) 100 (100) 100 (95)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

at NC level 2 or above National 82 86 87 (86)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White White 0 0 Nayland County Primary School - 18 10/04/00 Any other minority ethnic group Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y 4

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 4.5 Financial year 1998/9

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21.3

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR -–Y 4 Total expenditure 182818

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3* Expenditure per pupil 1847

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 45* Balance brought forward from previous year 17311*

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 13790

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery * includes planned expenditure of £9766 in Renewals fund

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 0.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 13

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1*

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 15*

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 7 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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* Please note - These figures are pre January 2000

Nayland County Primary School - 19 10/04/00

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 69% 28 % 4 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 67% 31 % 2 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 39% 48 % 7 % 4 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 46% 44 % 9 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 72% 28 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 70% 30 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 52% 39 % 7% 2 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 65% 28 % 6 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 61% 31 % 7 %

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 19% 22 % 41 % 9 % 9 %

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Summary of parents’ and carers’ responses

The parents were very supportive of the school. The strengths they identified were in evidence during the inspection and note has already been made of the value to the school of the very good relations between the school and the parent body.

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Other issues raised by parents

Some parents expressed some concerns about inconsistent approaches to homework. This issue was also in the last inspection and it has been included in the issues to be addressed to bring about further improvement. Parents of pupils who run into difficulties with their work need to feel that there is a more consistent response from the school to their concerns, and that matters will be monitored carefully to seek ways through the difficulties. The parents biggest reservation about the school was in relation to out-of-school activities. There are several activities available to pupils, e.g. ICT club and music. The lack of other activities is not affecting the pupils learning, attitudes or attainment. The school needs to engage parents in discussion on this matter.

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