St Wilfrid's Cof E Primary School

St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 1

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ST WILFRID’S C. of E. V.A. PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 22 nd to 25 th January 2001

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ST WILFRID’S C. of E. V.A. PRIMARY SCHOOL

Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 2 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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ST WILFRID’S C. of E. V.A. 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. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Pennystone Lane Halton Lancaster Lancashire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Miss M Picker

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 13.01.97 St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 4

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

21277 Steven Hill Registered inspector Art and design Equal opportunities Information and communication technology What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements. How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 31718 Denise Shields Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 20003 Susan Metcalfe Team inspector English Foundation Stage History 25577 Bill Jefferson Team inspector Mathematics Geography Physical education 20326 Peter Clark Team inspector Science Music Design and technology Special educational needs How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Evenlode Associates Limited 6 Abbey Close Alcester Warwickshire B49 5QW

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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 that 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

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 5

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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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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 27

St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Wilfrid’s is a voluntary aided Church of England Primary School in Halton, a medium-sized village just outside Lancaster. About two-thirds of the 241 pupils come from the village, and most of the remainder come from Lancaster. There are similar numbers of boys and girls. There are very few pupils from ethnic minorities, and none with a home language other than English. Nine pupils have statements of special educational needs, which is a greater percentage than schools in Lancashire have on average. The majority of these pupils have speech and language difficulties, or moderate learning difficulties. The overall percentage of pupils with special needs (15%) is broadly average, and most of these have moderate learning difficulties. Nine per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is broadly average. Pupils’ social circumstances and their attainment on entry cover a wide range, but are both

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

average overall. Pupils start school in the September of the academic year in which they will be five. During the inspection, 37 children under the age of 6 were in the foundation stage, some in a reception class, and the others in a class of mixed reception and Year 1 pupils.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very good school. It is well managed, standards are high, and teaching is very good. It provides very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards are high in almost all subjects. • Teaching is very good. • Relationships are excellent; pupils behave very well, enjoy school and are keen to learn. • Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is excellent. • The leadership and management are very good and staff work very effectively as a team. • Provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good, and they make very good progress. • The school has very good relationships with parents, and they are successfully encouraged to be involved in supporting their children’s learning.

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What could be improved

• Standards in art are not as high as in other subjects. • More use could be made of information and communication technology to support work in other subjects. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

High standards of attainment have been maintained well, and high standards of teaching have improved further. The key issues from the last report have been addressed very well. Standards in information and communication technology have been raised and pupils are now making good progress in the subject. Standards have been raised in music, science and geography, but have declined in art, although they are still satisfactory. Effective long-term planning and schemes of work are now in place. The recording of information about pupils’ progress has been improved, although there is still some need to streamline them further. Overall, the improvement has been good.

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STANDARDS

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

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

1998 1999 2000 2000 English A B B B well above average above average A B Mathematics B A D D average below average C D Science B A B A well below average E St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 7 Over the last few years, results in national tests for 11 year olds have been generally above average, in comparison with all schools nationally, and when compared to schools with similar numbers of free school meals. The weaker results in mathematics in 2000 were caused by a small number of pupils who just failed to gain the expected level in the maths tests. This weaker result is not statistically or educationally significant.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Inspection evidence shows that standards attained by the end of Key Stage Two are above national expectations in English, mathematics, design and technology, history, and music. Standards in science and geography are well above expectations. Standards in information and communication technology are improving quickly and now meet national expectations by the time pupils are 11. Standards in art and design just meet national expectations by the time pupils are in Year 6.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Results of assessments at the end of Key Stage One have also generally been above average, although they have fluctuated from year to year, in line with the different numbers of special needs pupils in each year group. Inspection evidence shows that standards are above national expectations in English, maths, science, design and technology, information and communication technology, geography, history and music. Standards in art and design are satisfactory.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Insufficient evidence was available to securely judge standards in physical education at the end of the key stages. However, standards observed in other classes show pupils to be on line to meet expectations by the end of each key stage.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Children aged four or five, in the foundation stage , are making very good progress in all areas of learning and the majority are on target to meet the early learning goals comfortably by the end of the reception year. Progress is particularly good in pupils’ language and literacy skills, and in their personal and social development.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

In the light of their broadly average attainment when they come to the school, pupils’ achievements are good overall. On the whole, standards are improving at each key stage, particularly in information and communication technology. Standards have also improved significantly in science and music, but have declined in art and design. Pupils with special educational needs make very good progress in the light of their initial attainment.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils enjoy school, work hard and are keen to do their best.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils show good self-discipline, and their behaviour strongly supports their learning.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils make very good progress in their personal development, and their relationships are excellent.

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

Lessons seen overall Very good. Very good. Very good. 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

Teaching and learning are very good. During the inspection, all teaching observed was at least satisfactory. Eighty-seven per cent of teaching was good or better, and 52 per cent was very good or better. Eight per cent of lessons were excellent. Teaching has improved since the last inspection. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 8 A major strength of teaching is the excellent management of pupils. Expectations of behaviour are made clear and teachers are very good role models. Teachers treat pupils with care and respect, and pupils show affection and respect for their teachers in return. Pupils are keen to please and to gain their teachers’ approval. As a result, they work very hard, behave well and make good progress in their learning. A purposeful working ethos pervades all lessons and helps pupils to maintain high levels of concentration.

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

Teachers have very good subject knowledge and use this to structure lessons very effectively to take forwards pupils’ learning. The teaching of mathematics and English, including the basic skills of literacy and numeracy, is very good. Because of good quality recent training, teachers are now very secure in teaching information and communication technology, and this is supporting pupils’ rapid learning in the subject.

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

Teachers monitor pupils’ understanding well, and so address misconceptions to ensure that pupils do not waste time going down “blind alleys”. Expectations are high and are made clear to pupils who strive hard to meet them, and take a pride in their achievements when they succeed. Lessons have good pace so that pupils are kept involved and interested. Good use is made of practical activities in a range of subjects, and teachers provide many opportunities for pupils to have access to interesting and exciting artefacts and materials. This brings subjects to life for pupils, engaging their interest and enthusiasm, and ensuring they gain a secure understanding of what they learn.

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

Teachers provide well for all pupils, whatever their initial attainment. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is very good, supporting very good progress in their learning from year to year. Non- teaching staff often provide effective support to these pupils in lessons. Brighter pupils are presented with a good level of challenge, engaging their interest and enabling them to attain high standards.

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

Although teachers often make good use of the skills of non-teaching staff, at other times insufficient use is made of their skills when they spend too long watching the lesson, without being actively involved. Pupils’ work is marked conscientiously and thoroughly, but marking seldom includes detailed comment to set targets to help pupils improve their work next time.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. The curriculum is broad, rich and balanced, with the exception of art and design, which has not been given sufficient emphasis recently. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is very good, and is very well managed. Pupils are well supported, and make very good progress with respect to their initial attainment. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision for spiritual, moral and social education is excellent. High quality assemblies, and the day-to-day positive role models provided by teachers , contribute very effectively to this. Provision for cultural education is very good. How well the school cares for its pupils Day-to-day care for pupils is very good, but is not always backed up by systematic formal procedures. Very good procedures are in place for child protection and there are good systems for promoting pupils’

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Aspect Comment

welfare. Provision for promoting good behaviour is very good. Procedures for assessing pupils’ progress are good, and assessments are used well to plan and modify the curriculum. Pupils with statements of special needs are supported very well.

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Aspect Comment

The effectiveness of the links with parents is a strength of the school, maintaining the high quality observed at the previous inspection. Parent’s views of the school are very positive. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 9

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Very good. The headteacher gives clear direction to the school’s work . He is very well supported by the senior management, and by a team of teachers and other staff who work very effectively together to ensure that the school’s aims are reflected throughout its work. Subject co- ordinators give good support to colleagues.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and are strongly supportive of its work.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school analyses its work well. Effective monitoring of standards and teaching has enabled strengths to be maintained and built upon, and weaknesses to be remedied.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Learning resources are good. Staffing levels are satisfactory, although the provision of non-teaching staff is too limited. Accommodation is satisfactory. Resources are used well, and the school is good at obtaining the best value from its spending.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The teaching is good. • The school expects their children to work hard and do their best. • Behaviour in the school is good. • Their children are becoming mature and responsible at school. • Their children like school. • Some parents would like more extra-curricular activities, especially for younger pupils. • Some parents would like the school to work more closely with parents. • Some would like to be better informed about how their children are getting on. • Some parents feel the quantity of homework is not appropriate, although some would like more and others think there is too much.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with parents’ positive comments. In comparison with schools generally, the provision of extra-curricular activities is good, and links with parents are very good. Information for parents is of a better standard than is usually found, although pupils’ annual reports lack appropriate detail about progress. Homework is generally at an appropriate level, although in can be intermittent and this can make it more difficult for parents to fully support the school. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 10

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Standards in the school are high and pupils achieve well in the light of their attainment when they first come to school. This is confirmed both by inspection evidence and the overall results on national tests over several years.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Children enter the school in the September of the year in which they are five. Children’s attainment upon entry to the school is average, but this covers a wide range of pre-school experiences and abilities. Children aged four or five in the foundation stage are making good progress in all areas of learning and the majority are on target to meet the early learning goals comfortably by the end of the reception year. Progress is particularly good in pupils’ language and literacy skills, and in their personal and social development.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. Over the last few years, results in national tests at the end of Key Stage Two have been generally above average, in comparison with all schools nationally, and when compared to schools with similar numbers of free school meals. This remained true in 2000, except in mathematics, when test results were a little below average. These weaker results were caused by a small number of pupils who just failed to gain the expected level in the mathematics tests. This weaker result is not statistically or educationally significant. Results of assessments at the end of Key Stage One have also generally been above average, although they have fluctuated from year to year, in line with the different numbers of special needs pupils in each year group. The group of pupils who took these tests in 2000, for example, contained above-average numbers of pupils with special needs, and overall results, while average, were not as good as the school usually gets.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. The school’s results in national tests in English at the end of Key Stage Two are above average when compared to all schools and above in comparison with similar schools. In 2000, 80 per cent of pupils reached the expected Level 4 and above and 33 per cent reached the higher Level 5 overall. National Curriculum test results at the end of Key Stage One in 2000 show that standards were broadly average in both reading and writing. Over 81 per cent of pupils reached the expected Level 2 and above in reading and 91 per cent of pupils reached this level in writing. The percentage of pupils reaching the higher Level 3 in both reading and writing was broadly average. Inspection findings indicate that the present Year 2 pupils are performing better than this.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Generally, results in tests in mathematics have been above average. However, in 2000, pupils at the end of Key Stage Two achieved results in national tests in mathematics which were below average. Results were average at Key Stage One and below average at Key Stage Two, when compared to similar schools. In both age groups, the proportion of pupils achieving higher standards than expected was close to the national average. The present Year 3 class has a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs and this would account for last year’s Key Stage One results being relatively lower. At Key Stage Two, a significant number of pupils failed to gain the expected Level 4 by a very small margin.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. In the 2000 national tests in science , at the end of Key Stage Two, results were above the national average when compared with all schools and well above average compared with similar schools. All pupils achieved the target level for their age (Level 4) and a good proportion (42%) achieved the higher Level 5. Standards have continued to rise over the last five years. The teacher assessments of Year 2 pupils last year show that they achieved above average standards compared to schools nationally and to similar schools.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Inspection evidence shows that standards attained by the end of Key Stage Two are above national expectations in English, mathematics, design and technology, history, and music. Standards in science and geography are well above expectations. Standards in information and communication technology are improving quickly and now meet national expectations by the time pupils are 11. Standards in art and design just meet national expectations by the time pupils St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 11 are in Year 6. Standards at the end of Key Stage One are above national expectations in English, mathematics, science, design and technology, information and communication technology, geography, history and music. Standards in art and design are satisfactory.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Insufficient evidence was available to securely judge standards in physical education at the end of the key stages. However, standards observed in other classes show pupils to be on line to meet expectations by the end of each key stage.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. Pupils are generally achieving good standards in basic skills , and use these skills well to support their learning in subjects across the curriculum. They show good development of their speaking and listening skills across the school. They listen attentively to instructions and explanations from their teachers, and to each other’s contributions. They contribute thoughtfully to discussions and put forward their ideas clearly, often showing good use and understanding of subject-specific vocabulary. They develop their reading skills consistently, and the vast majority are keen and competent readers by the time they leave. Older pupils show good skills in skimming and scanning for information, and use an index competently. They are able to use these skills to gain information they need in a range of subjects, showing a good understanding of what they read. Their writing skills develop systematically, they spell accurately, and they have

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

good handwriting skills. Good use is made of these skills in a variety of other subjects, such as science. Their skills in using information technology are good, and are developing quickly. A good start has been made in using these skills to support work across the curriculum, notably in art, but they are not used to the full extent in all subjects. Pupils’ numeracy skills are good and they use them well to solve a variety of problems within mathematics lessons, as well as to support their work in other subjects such as science and history.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. In the light of their broadly average attainment when they come to the school, pupils’ achievements are good. On the whole, standards are improving at each key stage, particularly in information and communication technology. Standards have also improved significantly in science and music, but have declined in art and design. Pupils with special educational needs make very good progress in the light of their initial attainment. There are no significant differences in the achievements of boys and girls. Pupils of different ability levels do equally well in terms of the progress made. Those with special educational needs receive very good provision and most make very good progress in developing their literacy skills, which are the main focus of their individual education plans. Individual education plans are clear, concise and written in a style that is easy to follow against concise, measurable targets. Many pupils with

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

special educational needs do very well indeed.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. The school has set challenging targets for its pupils in national assessments, based on careful analysis of their capabilities. Pupils are making good progress towards these targets.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupil's attitudes, behaviour and personal development are all very good. Relationships are excellent and are a significant strength of the school. These strengths make a very positive contribution to pupils' good rates of progress and help to create an environment where pupils enjoy learning. Since the last full inspection, standards in all of these areas have been maintained.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. In the foundation stage, the development of children's personal, social and emotional skills is strong. Children in reception are well on course to exceed the standards expected of five-year- olds nationally. Their progress in this area of learning is very good. Children settle quickly into routines and develop a sense of belonging to the school community. Children work together well, share resources fairly and take turns appropriately when using equipment. They have positive attitudes to learning, concentrate hard and persevere on directed activities and when given the freedom to choose, select activities thoughtfully and work with care of and with consideration to others. Children’s behaviour is good and they have a good understanding, for their age, of what is right and wrong. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 12 14. Throughout the school, pupils' very positive attitudes to school and to learning are underpinned

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

by the excellent relationships that are a key feature of the school. Pupils are enthusiastic learners and keen to participate in all the activities offered. They take an interest in and gain obvious enjoyment from their lessons. They listen to their teachers very well and because of this they are clear about what they are to do next. Pupils concentrate very well, are patient and persevere when confronted with difficulty. They willingly answer questions, discuss their work and how they are doing it and are proud of their achievements.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. In classrooms, at lunchtime and at play pupils’ behaviour is very good. In nearly 15 per cent of lessons seen standards of behaviour were judged to be excellent. Pupils have a high degree of self-discipline and a clear respect for each other and for adults who work in the school. Pupils know the school’s expectations and try hard to live up to them. For example, during a literacy lesson for the younger pupils, one boy discreetly reminded another to face the front and listen. Pupils are polite, considerate and friendly towards visitors, keen to help and talk to them. Instances of bullying are very rare; pupils and parents express confidence that if any incidents did occur they would be dealt with promptly. No pupils were excluded in the year prior to the inspection. Parents express the view that pupils’ behaviour is very good; they appreciate this.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Relationships between teachers and pupils and among pupils are excellent. They are based on mutual trust and respect. Pupils know that all teachers who work in the school are approachable and this gives them the confidence to seek help when they need it.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Pupils respond very well to the opportunities provided for them to carry out duties, which progressively get more demanding as they grow older. From their earliest days in school each pupil is encouraged to carry out simple tasks, such as taking the register to the school office, or carrying a message to the headteacher. Year 6 pupils have a range of responsibilities, including acting as house captains; they take these responsibilities very seriously. As pupils get older they gain in confidence and self-esteem. They are confident to speak in front of an audience. For example, Year 5 pupils gave an excellent and professional performance as part of their “talk project.” Pupils are encouraged to become independent and generally respond very well to the opportunities their teachers provide. In some lessons they select their own resources. They help and support each other very well and collaborate whilst working independently of the teacher

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

during group work. Very occasionally pupils show a lack of initiative and do not seek their teachers’ support. On one occasion during an ICT lesson, some pupils spent 10 minutes patiently staring at a blank monitor screen, waiting for the computer to start working, before asking for help.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. Pupils say they enjoy attending school. Attendance rates are good and above the national average. There is no unauthorised absence. Registers are taken efficiently but many contain pencil entries and therefore do not meet government requirements. Despite the very best efforts of the school some pupils, who travel by bus from Lancaster, are sometimes late arriving in the morning. This puts pupils at a disadvantage as they miss vital teaching. The bus service is also unreliable collecting pupils after school. It is frequently late, sometimes up to 30 minutes. This is a cause for concern because the school has no means of contacting parents, who are waiting in Lancaster, to tell them their children will be late.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19. Special educational needs pupils display very good, positive attitudes towards school. Teachers and classroom assistants support them very well with sensitivity to their individual needs. Attendance for pupils with special educational needs is no different from that of other pupils.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Teaching and learning are very good. During the inspection, all teaching observed was at least satisfactory. Eighty-seven per cent of teaching was good or better, and 52 per cent was very good or better. Eight per cent of lessons were excellent. Teaching has improved from the already good standards observed at the last inspection. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 13 21. A major strength of teaching is the excellent management of pupils. Expectations of behaviour are made clear and teachers are very good role models. Teachers treat pupils with care and respect, and pupils show affection and respect for their teachers in return. Pupils are keen to please and to gain their teachers’ approval. As a result, they work very hard, behave well and make good progress in their learning. A purposeful working ethos pervades all lessons, and helps pupils to maintain high levels of concentration.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Teachers have very good subject knowledge and use this to structure lessons very effectively to take forward pupils’ learning. In all subjects the overall quality of teaching observed was at least good, and was often better. Some good use is made of teachers’ specialist skills, for example when music or geography are taught by staff with particular expertise. This impacts very positively in the lessons involved and, for example, the quality of music teaching was very good in all lessons observed during the inspection. Good use is made of such expertise indirectly to give advice and help to colleagues, such as in information and communication technology (ICT), where support from the knowledgeable co-ordinator has raised expertise to a high level across the school.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. The quality of teaching in English is very good. The National Literacy Strategy is used well to plan interesting lessons meeting the needs of all pupils. Good use is made of the final part of a lesson to extend pupils’ learning as well as to consolidate what has already been learnt.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The teaching of mathematics is also very good. The National Numeracy Strategy is very well managed. Lesson objectives are shared with the pupils so that they have a good understanding of what they are learning. The start of the lesson is consistently used effectively to develop the pupils’ mental mathematical skills. Good attention is paid to extending pupils of all abilities and also to reinforcing mathematical vocabulary.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. Because of the good quality recent training, teachers are now very secure in teaching ICT, and this is supporting pupils’ rapid learning in the subject. Teachers are covering the full range of the ICT curriculum and are making good use of pupils’ skills to support aspects of other subjects within ICT lessons. For example, in a very good lesson with pupils in Year 4, they successfully extended their knowledge of range of musical instruments, while studying how to construct a “branching key” database. However, teachers are not all yet secure in making consistent use of ICT in lessons in other subjects although a good start has been made in some areas.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Teachers monitor pupils’ understanding well, and so address misconceptions to ensure that pupils do not waste time going down “blind alleys”. Expectations are high and are made clear, and pupils strive hard to meet them, and take a pride in their achievements when they succeed. Lessons move at a good pace so that pupils are kept involved and interested. Good use is made of practical activities in a range of subjects, and teachers provide many opportunities for pupils to have access to interesting and exciting artefacts and materials. This brings the subjects to life for pupils, engaging their interest and enthusiasm, and ensuring they gain secure understanding of what they learn. This strongly supports pupils’ good skills in investigative aspects of science, for example. History and geography also benefit from this approach.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. Teachers provide well for all pupils, whatever their initial attainment. Brighter pupils are presented with a good level of challenge, engaging their interest and enabling them to attain high standards. The quality of teaching for pupils with special educational needs is very good in class and in sessions where they are withdrawn for individual support. In English and mathematics , teachers meet the needs of such pupils very well, providing appropriate activities and very good classroom support. Classroom assistants and support provided by the local education authority play an important part in ensuring pupils with special educational needs benefit from activities and make very good progress against prior learning levels. On occasion, in some lessons in other subjects, for example design and technology, pupils with special educational needs complete the same work as others when an easier task would promote better learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

28. Although teachers often make good use of the skills of non-teaching staff, at other times insufficient use is made of their skills when they spend too long watching the teacher teach, without being actively involved. This can be a particular issue at the start of literacy and St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 14 numeracy lessons. Pupils’ work is marked conscientiously and thoroughly, but marking seldom includes detailed comment to set targets to help pupils improve their work next time.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

29. Homework is used satisfactorily. The school’s policy of setting homework as and when teachers feel it supports work in class has strengths and weaknesses. It enables teachers to use homework to give good support to learning in class, and to develop pupils’ independent study skills. However, because parents are not sure when it is likely to arrive, it makes it more difficult for them to support their children with their homework.

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PUPILS?

30. The curriculum opportunities provided for pupils throughout the school are good overall. This represents an improvement since the previous inspection when there were shortcomings in the provision for ICT. Policies and schemes were in place though some, for example music, did not identify skills progression. Today the curriculum satisfies all the statutory requirements and provides a very good programme of personal, social and health education, that takes account of drugs awareness and sex education appropriately. The issue of skills progression is better addressed. The school is well on target with the implementation of Curriculum 2000 and has focused attention on this in specific subject action plans. A good range of extra-curricular activities enriches the opportunities available for pupils.

p.14

PUPILS?

31. The curriculum is broad and suitably enriched so that it is highly relevant to pupils. As well as ensuring that the literacy hour is effectively implemented throughout the school, time has been retained for specific teaching of a wide range of skills in English, such as speaking and listening. For example in Year 5 pupils are given the opportunity to talk about a specific topic that interests them. The excellent quality of oral presentation that often includes the use of an overhead projector, various models and information sheets successfully underpins the high standards observed.

p.14

PUPILS?

32. The school has also given numeracy a high priority. The implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies is good, both strategies giving effective support to teachers’ termly planning. These strategies are contributing to raising standards in English and mathematics, as improved planning enables tasks to be better matched to pupils’ previous learning. Information and communication technology is being given appropriate attention, although better use could be made of it to support work in other subjects, for example, recording data in science. Curriculum time is used well and this ensures that the balance between subjects is appropriate. Lessons start promptly and finish on time.

p.14

PUPILS?

33. The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage is very good. Planning for these young children incorporates the Early Learning Goals for children in the Foundation Stage. Lesson planning is detailed and the children have access to a wide range of suitable activities and learning experiences, which prepare them very well for starting the subjects of the National Curriculum when they are ready.

p.14

PUPILS?

34. There is very good provision for pupils with special educational needs, giving them equality of access to join in all the activities of the school. Clear procedures are in place for the early identification and assessment of these pupils. The range of information gained is used to particularly good effect in providing work in class. Individual education plans of good quality are provided for all pupils for whom these are appropriate. The plans are reviewed at regular intervals and parents are kept informed of and fully involved in these reviews. The pupils with statements of special educational needs are provided with highly effective support in line with the requirements of their statements. They have full access to all subjects taught in school.

p.14

PUPILS?

35. The good range of extra-curricular activities, including provision for visits and visitors, and very good links with the local community, makes a positive contribution to pupils’ learning. During the last year visitors have included local clergy, artists, musicians and local college St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 15 representatives. Members of staff and some parents give generously of their time, providing after school activities that include seasonal sports and a wide variety of musical opportunities, including a choir. Systems to ensure that all pupils have equal opportunity to take part are fully in place. These activities contribute very well to pupils’ personal, social and cultural development, providing rich experiences and enhancing their relationships with other children and adults.

p.14

PUPILS?

36. The provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is very good. A well-planned and structured scheme ensures this across a range of subjects, particularly in science, history, geography and religious education. Regular occasions are planned for pupils to talk about matters that concern them , and they are well supported as they increasingly consider others and their own thoughts and actions in a social context. Sex education and heightened awareness of the misuse of drugs and medicines prepare pupils well for the future.

p.15

PUPILS?

37. The school makes excellent provision for pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development. The school’s aims relating to pupils’ development in these areas are very strong and very well supported by the values which permeate the daily running of the school. This contributes very effectively to creating a climate where pupils develop as confident and enthusiastic learners.

p.15

PUPILS?

38. Spiritual development is excellent, effectively promoted by well-planned opportunities for pupils to reflect upon this dimension in their daily lives. Pupils have regular opportunities for reflecting upon significant events in the lives of famous scientists in Year 6 or upon the wonders of nature. Pupils’ creative written work, for example music, feature highly in the curriculum to successfully reflect moods of happiness or sadness. Excellent links with the local churches contribute to the high quality of worship that is an important ingredient in the planned development of pupils’ spiritual growth.

p.15

PUPILS?

39. High expectations of pupils are matched by many expressions of praise, for example the house point system with individual targets achieved displayed in the hall. The celebration of pupils’ achievements successfully develops self-esteem and impacts positively on pupils’ desire to learn and enjoy life in school. A very good example is the way pupils’ work is valued and attractively displayed in most classrooms.

p.15

PUPILS?

40. Pupils’ excellent moral development is consistently and positively fostered through the school’s approach to promoting very good, and often exemplary, behaviour. Through its aims and policies, the school places a high value upon the understanding of the differences between right and wrong, fostering awareness that an individual’s behaviour impacts on others. Through work on other countries, for example the growing of coffee, pupils are provided with rich opportunities for discussing a variety of issues that raise moral questions. A sense of fair play is encouraged in the playground and during games lessons. Pupils are involved in the agreement of their own classroom rules.

p.15

PUPILS?

41. The school promotes an excellent platform for raising and supporting social awareness. Adults provide role models of responsible, supportive relationships when working together in classrooms. Pupils in their turn provide an attitude of responsibility towards other members of the community and their school environment, for example, the taking of harvest gifts to families in need. Very good opportunities for pupils to participate in sporting and musical activities outside school provide a breadth of experience in mixing with others and responding appropriately in competitive situations. The commitment to contributing to local good causes as well as to national and world causes further develops pupils’ awareness of social responsibility.

p.15

PUPILS?

42. The school celebrates the richness of cultural difference and values all pupils as individuals. There is very good provision for pupils’ cultural development both through the taught curriculum and through extra-curricular activities, including visits and visitors. The good quality of literature used in assemblies, including poems and stories of other countries, is brought to the attention of pupils. This raises their awareness of the rich heritage of cultural achievement across the world. Through work in science, geography, history and music and the increasing focus on technology as a means of communication, for example the Internet and CD-ROM information retrieval, St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 16 pupils’ awareness is very well supported and challenged. Many classrooms display artefacts for example, Anglo-Saxon chain mail.

p.15

PUPILS?

43. Many visitors including artists, storytellers, musicians and older members of the school community enrich pupils’ awareness of their own culture and the cultural heritage of other countries. The visit from a member of the school community reliving life in the village over ninety years ago, when the only means of washing was to use a tin bath, positively enhances pupils’ local knowledge. The excellent display of clothes worn to illustrate the Chinese New Year supports a wide range of cultures readily at hand and promoted.

p.16

PUPILS?

44. The school has very good links with the community. These links enrich the curriculum and make a very positive contribution to pupils' learning and to their personal development. The immediate and wider locality is used very well for educational visits. Members of the community regularly visit the school to talk to pupils. There are good links with local primary schools and regular sporting events take place. The good liaison with the secondary schools in the area ensures the smooth transition of Year 6 pupils to the next stage of their education. The school regularly accommodates trainee teachers and pupils on work experience. There are very good links with external agencies that support a number of the pupils.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. Taken overall, this aspect of the school's provision is good, and standards since the last inspection have been maintained. Assessment arrangements have improved. The headteacher and staff know the pupils very well, they value them as individuals and provide a caring and friendly environment for them to work in. Pupils say they trust teachers and feel safe and secure in their care. Because teachers know their pupils so well and provide very good day - to - day care, pupils work confidently and grow in self-esteem; this makes a positive contribution to the standards they achieve.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. Many of the systems for ensuring pupils’ welfare are inherent in school practice, but they are not always backed up by written procedures. This can result in a lack of awareness of the need to carry out these routine procedures. Written records of health and safety audits are infrequent, for example, although the head, staff and governors review any issues regularly and conscientiously. The arrangements for child protection are very good. Teachers are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about pupils in their care. There is a good induction programme for pupils entering the reception class and this ensures they settle quickly into the new routine of school life. Good liaison with secondary schools ensures the smooth transition of pupils to their next stage of education. The medical needs of pupils are well catered for; a number of staff have received first aid training and there are good arrangements to inform parents about illness or

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

accidents at school. Fire drills are regularly carried out and pupils are aware of the routines to follow. Staff generally have a good awareness of health and safety arrangements and the need for safe practice in their day - to - day work. The headteacher is vigilant and in the main has a sound overview of health and safety in the school. Despite there being much good practice, regular health and safety inspections are not documented. There has not been a formal risk assessment of the school for a number of years. Because of this some issues are not dealt with quickly enough. For example, the hall floor is not cleaned effectively after lunch and this means that pupils take part in physical education lessons when there is still food debris on the floor; this is a cause for concern. There are adequate arrangements for the supervision of pupils at lunchtime but the mid day supervisors have not received training for their role.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. All teachers have a consistent approach to dealing with occasional incidents of inappropriate behaviour. Punishment is rarely used because self-discipline and respect for others is promoted very well as part of the school’s ethos and the excellent relationships that exist. Appropriate behaviour, effort and achievement, in all aspects of school life are regularly rewarded. Pupils understand the need for punishment to be used occasionally; they feel it is firm but fair. The school does not, however, comply with recent government requirements, because it does not formally record any incidents of inappropriate behaviour or bullying that do occur. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 17 48. Procedures to monitor and improve attendance are satisfactory. Parents are regularly reminded of the need to avoid taking holidays during term time, especially during the weeks of national tests.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

The educational welfare officer regularly reviews registers and monitors attendance patterns, but there are no formal school systems in place. The school does not follow up any unexplained absence quickly enough. Too much emphasis is placed on “word of mouth” to provide information about absent pupils in the event that parents have been unable to telephone the school.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

49. For all groups of pupils, procedures for assessing their attainment and monitoring their academic progress are now good. The headteacher and staff use screening tests as a benchmark to predict pupils’ attainment and subsequent tests are monitored against each benchmark. A suitable “baseline” assessment is made of new pupils in the reception classes. A wide range of standardised reading and mathematical tests are used annually as well as optional national assessment tests for all pupils. Records are maintained in a portfolio and pupils who require additional support are identified as well as issues requiring action. For example, the progress of pupils in writing has been identified as an area for further development. Teachers identify assessment objectives and activities for each unit of work in most subjects and record results in the form of comments or marks. All these procedures ensure teachers know their pupils’

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

achievements very well. Lessons are evaluated effectively and planning reflects this. A key issue for development after the last inspection was to refine the use of assessment and recording of pupils’ attainment and progress. This has been reduced, but would benefit from further streamlining.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

50. The special educational needs policy is good and it is clear and concise. There are clear guidelines for each stage of the Code of Practice – identification, assessment arrangements, parental involvement and the full inclusion of pupils into the whole curriculum . The policy also indicates the very good use made by the school of support services. The school is now ready to track each individual pupil’s progress to improve standards of learning for all pupils. Pupils with special educational needs are not fully involved in the regular review of their own progress against agreed targets. This is an area for improvement that the school has already recognised.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

51. Marking of pupils’ work is conscientious and consistent, but too rarely indicates targets for improvement by the pupil. Better examples of marking give appropriate praise and encouragement and suggest what a pupil needs to do to improve.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

52. The effectiveness of the links with parents is strength of the school, maintaining the high quality observed at the previous inspection. Parent’s views of the school are very positive. They say staff are approachable and everyone is made to feel welcome. A small minority of parents had some concerns over extra-curricular activities, links and information for parents, and homework. In comparison with schools generally, the provision of extra-curricular activities is good, and links with parents are very good. Information for parents is of a better standard than is usually found, although pupils’ annual reports lack appropriate detail about progress. Homework is generally at an appropriate level, although in can be intermittent and this can make it more difficult for parents to fully support the school.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

53. Parents are successfully encouraged to become involved in school life and with their children’s learning. Many parents give freely of their time, helping regularly in classrooms and with other school activities. The contribution that parents make is valued by the school and makes a significant contribution to pupils’ achievement. Throughout the school parents support the work their children do at home and at school. For example, book bags for the youngest pupils were compiled by parents and are regularly used to support their children’s learning. Older pupils also receive good support for homework projects such as preparing oral presentations for the Year 5 “talk project”. Parents help to run after school craft workshops where older pupils make items to be sold in the “secret room” at the Christmas Fair. There is a very active parents and teacher association (PTA) that organises social and fund raising events. It provides funds for additional

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 18 resources for teaching and learning. Parents also give considerable support to school events. As a result they are fully involved in school life and their children’s learning.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

54. The quality and range of information provided for parents is good. Regular, high-quality newsletters, curriculum booklets and a variety of evening meetings keep parents well-informed about day-to-day school life and what their children are learning. The governors’ annual report to parents is very well presented. The school brochure gives prospective parents a clear overview of the school and its place in the community, although not all information about test results is included. Parent’s views are regularly sought, for example, about the contents of the home/ school agreement. This clearly reflects the school’s mission statement and promotes a partnership with parents. Virtually all the finished documents have been signed and returned. All the school’s documents strongly promote a partnership between home and school. High priority is given to ensuring that any concerns raised by parents are dealt with quickly and effectively;

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

parents appreciate this. There are many opportunities, both formal and informal, for parents to consult staff about how their children are doing. Disappointingly, reports to parents about their children’s progress do not match the high quality of other written information. The available space limits the opportunity for detailed description of pupils’ progress. Reports often lack specific attainment detail, especially in subjects other than English, mathematics and science, and sometimes comments are too general and focus on pupils’ attitude to work. Because homework is set as and when teachers judge it to be valuable, no homework timetable is sent to parents, consequently they are not aware of homework expectations.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

55. Parents are closely involved throughout the process of meeting the special educational needs of their children. Individual education plans are shared with the parents of these pupils at regular, planned interviews and all parents receive a copy of the plan indicating how they can help their child’s progress. Parents are promptly informed if their child is identified as needing to be placed on the register, or if their child will need to be moved to a different stage on the register.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. The headteacher gives clear direction to the school’s work and is supported very well by the senior management and a hard working team of teachers and other staff. All staff work very effectively together to ensure that the school’s aims are reflected throughout its work. The very good leadership ensures that all teachers have a consistent approach to pupils in their high expectations of both work and behaviour. This is a major factor in the high standards in the school, both in academic and pastoral terms. As one of the parents has commented, the school is always open to new ideas and initiatives, and takes on such innovations as the national literacy strategy with energy and enthusiasm, so that pupils get maximum benefit from them. This strong, shared commitment of staff has ensured that the school has made good improvements since the last inspection, and is very well placed to continue to improve.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. Good use is made of delegation of responsibilities to staff, who fulfil them well. Subject co- ordinators have good subject knowledge, and give good support to colleagues. In each curriculum area, they have established a programme of work, which enables pupils to build on their previous learning from year to year. Co-ordinators are clear about the strengths and weaknesses within their subjects and are working effectively to bring about improvements. Where the subject has been a priority of the school, this has enabled great strides to be made in provision and in standards. The recent focus on ICT, for example, led by the co-ordinator, has resulted in major improvements in staff expertise, improved provision of resources, and rapidly improving standards from the pupils.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. Governors have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and are strongly supportive of its work. They fulfil their statutory duties well. They are satisfactorily involved in the formulation of the school development plan, and so contribute to the school’s direction. Through a committee, they maintain a good oversight of the school’s finances and take great care to ensure that money is spent wisely to support the school’s educational priorities. Because they tend to leave strategic thinking to the headteacher, and because they have, rightly, great trust in him, they are not inclined to act as critical friends to the school in questioning rigorously what it St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 19 is doing. This sometimes deprives the head of a critical “sounding board” for trying out new ideas.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. The school analyses its work well. Monitoring of standards and teaching is good and has enabled strengths to be maintained and built upon, and weaknesses to be remedied. The headteacher monitors teaching across the school, and subject co-ordinators are involved in monitoring standards, through sampling of pupils’ work, and in some cases in monitoring teaching in different classes. This is a particular strength in mathematics and English, and is developing effectively in other subjects. In ICT, a mixture of shared teaching and observations of pupils’ work, has helped the co-ordinator to get a firm grip on the strengths and weaknesses of the subject, and to support colleagues effectively in bringing about major improvements. In some subjects, in physical education and art and design for example, only informal monitoring has taken place and there has been no monitoring of teaching. This is because the school’s priorities

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

have been in other areas. Although standards in these subjects are satisfactory, they are less consistent than in other subjects. In English, science and mathematics, results of national tests have been analysed carefully and this has been used to modify the curriculum where relative weaknesses have been identified in provision. Changes have been made in the teaching of writing, for example, as a result of this analysis, and the results are already becoming evident in pupils’ improving progress.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. The provision for special educational needs is led and managed very well by the hard working and committed co-ordinators. In turn, they are well supported by class teachers, who are fully involved in the writing of individual education plans. The special support assistants, outreach workers and voluntary workers, as well as good parental involvement, also give good support. All these people are equally committed to giving pupils as much support as possible, to help them do well in school. The special needs co-ordinators ensure that the individual education plans are comprehensively documented with accurate assessments of specific needs. The daily records maintained by classroom support assistants are of high quality. Documentation is very well managed in terms of directly supporting, assessing and reviewing pupils in the classroom and this is clearly a strength of the school. The school is aware of the need to encourage greater

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

participation in monitoring the success of the special needs policy, and for governors to play a more active part in financial aspects related to the special needs budget, when fully delegated financial control by the school is implemented. All funds identified in the school budget for supporting pupils with special educational needs are used very well.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. The school’s targets for development are well thought out, and generally identify accurately the most important areas needing improvement. The school development plan sets these out clearly, as well as criteria for success, although the latter are sometimes not sufficiently detailed, and costs are not always included. The plan to develop ICT, however, which is the school’s major recent priority, is very detailed and does include costs. Discussions with the headteacher and governors show that other costs have been thought through carefully, and are reflected in the school’s budget, even when links are not explicit. Overall, the finances of the school are well managed, with the headteacher, staff, governors and the administrative staff all contributing effectively. Specific grants are used effectively to support improved standards.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. Overall staffing levels are satisfactory. Teaching staff are well qualified and have a good range of expertise. Much of the provision of educational support staff is funded directly by the local authority to work with specific pupils who have statements of special educational need. The provision of other education support staff is low, and it is a tribute to the skills and hard work of teachers that pupils, even in large classes, continue to make such good overall progress in their learning. The current educational support staff are skilled and give effective help to pupils, especially to those with special educational needs. The school has plans to increase provision as soon as funding permits.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. The school has put in place a good system of performance management, to help teachers to develop and extend their expertise, and is on line to complete this within current national guidelines. Support for teachers, who are new to the school, including those who are new to the profession, is good . Effective, formal systems for mentoring and support are in place, as well as a good range of informal help from all members of the teaching team. The school works in St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 20 partnership with a local provider for the training of new teachers. Because of the very good quality of teaching and management within the school, it provides an excellent placement for trainee teachers to learn their job effectively.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

64. The provision of accommodation is satisfactory. With larger class sizes in the junior department, space is at a premium and it is sometimes difficult for the teacher to arrange the pupils’ seating as they might wish. Outdoor accommodation for formal and informal games playing is good, but there is no designated, enclosed play area for children at the foundation stage. The Sites and Buildings committee of the governing body plays an important part in ensuring that the fabric and maintenance of the school is kept to a good standard. At the time of the inspection, work had just started to increase classroom and clerical accommodation.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

65. Learning resources are good for the teaching of the core subjects, humanities, ICT and the foundation stage, although they are relatively sparse for the art and design curriculum. Good use is made of the resources that are available, to engage pupils’ interest and enthusiasm and to take forward their learning very effectively. The use of computers and the large “smart-screen” in ICT lessons, the imaginative use of artefacts in history, and very good use of the local environment in geography all contribute well to standards of achievement.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

66. Overall, all the school’s resources, human, physical and monetary, are used well to support pupils’ education. A minor weakness is in those lessons when non-teaching staff are not actively involved in pupils’ learning, but spend too much time watching the teacher teach. Good and improving use is made of new technology, both in and out of the classroom.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

67. The school applies the principles of “best value” well. It is particularly thorough in analysing its results in comparison to other schools, and identifying and addressing any issues. It analyses aspects of its provision, and is always looking to improve; for example the current successful programme of lessons of “extended writing” is in response to an identified need which was not being met sufficiently well. Consultation is good, and there are good opportunities for staff, governors, parents and pupils to voice views about particular issues. For example, when it was decided to upgrade procedures for promoting good behaviour, the pupils in all classes were involved in contributing their ideas. Appropriate procedures are in place to ensure that what is bought provides the best value for money, rather than just being the cheapest option.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

68. Because of the consistently high standards in pupils’ achievement, their very good behaviour and excellent attitudes, and the good quality educational provision, including very good teaching, the school provides very good value for money. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 21

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In order to build upon its many current strengths, the school should:-

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve standards in art and design by :

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

a. Ensuring that the new scheme of work is implemented effectively; b. Providing time for staff to share expertise and experiences in implementing the new scheme; c. Enabling the co-ordinator to monitor the effectiveness of the new scheme in a systematic way. (Paragraph Nos. 105 – 109)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Make more use of ICT to support work in other subjects (as identified in the school development plan) by : a. Implementing the training in this area already planned for staff; b. Considering how ICT can be used more routinely for writing and drafting across a range of subjects; c. Improving software resources within specific subjects. (Paragraph Nos. 132. 133)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition, the governors may wish to consider the following minor issues for inclusion in their action plan.

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

1. Improve the quality of marking, to give pupils clearer pointers as to how they might improve their work. (Paragraph Nos. 51. 90. 94. 102)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

2. Improve the quality of formal reports to parents, by giving more details about pupils’ progress in each subject. (Paragraph Nos. 28. 54)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

3. Considering how better use might be made of the time and expertise of non-teaching staff, on those occasions (such as the start of the literacy hour) when all pupils are sitting listening to the teacher. (Paragraph Nos. 28. 90) St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 22

p.21

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons observed 48 Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 26

p.22

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor 8 46 33 13 0 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll YR – Y6 Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 241 Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 22 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs YR – Y6 Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 9 Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 36

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 13 Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 5

p.22

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence

% % School data 4.3 School data 0 National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 23

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 17 19 36

p.23

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 12 16 15 level 2 and above Girls 17 17 17 Total 29 33 32 Percentage of pupils School 81(91) 92(89) 89(94) at NC level 2 or above National 84(82) 85(83) 90(87)

p.23

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 15 14 17 level 2 and above Girls 17 17 17 Total 32 31 34 Percentage of pupils School 89(91) 86(94) 94(91) at NC level 2 or above National 84(82) 88(86) 88(87) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 16 20 36

p.23

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 12 11 16 level 4 and above Girls 17 13 20 Total 29 24 36 Percentage of pupils School 81(84) 67(84) 100(97) at NC level 4 or above National 75(70) 72(69) 85(78)

p.23

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 13 14 14 level 4 and above Girls 20 19 20 Total 33 33 34 Percentage of pupils School 92(89) 92(89) 97(100) at NC level 4 or above National 70(68) 72(69) 80(75) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 24

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0 Black – African heritage Black – African heritage 0 0 Black – other Black – other 0 0 Indian 1 Indian 0 0 Pakistani Pakistani 0 0 Bangladeshi Bangladeshi 0 0 Chinese Chinese 0 0 White 203 White 0 0 Any other minority ethnic group Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.24

Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y6

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 10.4 Financial year 1999-00

p.24

Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y6

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23.17

p.24

Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y6

Average class size 30.12 £ Total income 381957 Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 394808 Total number of education support staff 13 Expenditure per pupil 1659

p.24

Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y6

Total aggregate hours worked per week 156 Balance brought forward from previous year Balance carried forward to next year 12681 FTE means full-time equivalent. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 25

p.24

Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 63 29 4 1 3

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 55 43 1 0 1

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 38 50 9 3 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 35 49 9 4 3

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 67 29 3 1 1

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 70 26 1 1 3

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 48 45 6 1 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 70 23 5 0 3

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 60 35 1 1 3

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 35 50 7 3 5 St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 26

p.25

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

69. Children enter the school in the September of the year in which they are five. Although a majority of the children coming from the village have been to the village playgroup, those coming from Lancaster have more variable pre-school experiences. Children’s attainment upon entry to the school is average, but this covers a wide range. Older reception children join younger Year 1 pupils in a mixed-age class whose class teacher is the early years co-ordinator. Younger children are together in the reception class, with an experienced member of the school’s teaching staff covering for the reception teacher’s long-term illness. The school has planned carefully to ensure that no reception child is in a class of more than 25 pupils. This, with the skilled help of the nursery trained support assistant and two staff supporting pupils with special educational needs, ensures that for most of the day these youngest pupils are in classes with high ratio of adult

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

to pupil support. This impacts very effectively on the children’s attainment and progress. By the time the children enter Key Stage One at the end of their Foundation year , the standards they attain are good overall.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

70. The quality of teaching for reception children in their foundation year is very good. The teachers know the children well and plan a curriculum that gives them the opportunity to develop fully across the six areas of learning to achieve the Early Learning Goals 1 . Teachers have good knowledge of the expectations and curriculum for pupils in Key Stage One and ensure that all the activities planned for reception children will support and give a good foundation for future work. Teaching is focused upon children acquiring a range of basic skills that will enhance learning, not just in the reception classes but also give children skills for future work. Adults pay particular attention to children’s personal and social development and their communication skills. Although children are split between two classes the teachers plan together, ensuring that all the children have a similar range of experiences. Children are monitored through their activities and

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

information gained from looking at their work is used to plan future lessons. Teachers hold high expectations that children will behave well, think and listen as well as work hard at all they are given to do, but also enjoy their work, concentrate and persevere. The management of pupils is excellent. The high staff numbers, especially for the youngest children is particularly effective. Parent helpers are used well and briefed about the activities that they are supporting. Homework for these very young people is well planned. Before the children are officially members of the school they have the opportunity to work at home with their parents on a range of activities using a book box system, changing the box frequently. Once in school the younger pupils have access to a book bag range of activities linked to a curriculum theme appropriate to their ages. Besides these activities children also take books home to practise their reading skills. The school

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

provides a games book, a range of activities – blends practice, questions about pictures, key vocabulary, puzzles – that are linked to the school’s reading scheme, to introduce the characters of the stories and give children the opportunity to learn common words in preparation for reading the books.

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

71. Resources in the reception classes are good. The range supports all areas of the foundation curriculum, except for the provision of trikes and bikes for physical development. Unfortunately the school does not have a specific, secure outdoor area with large climbing apparatus and space for children to interact in a wider area than the confines of the classroom. Teachers are careful to plan to compensate for this lack but pupils do miss this spontaneous interaction between inside and outside with the experiences of digging, planting, climbing and exploring.

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

72. Children’s introduction to the school is carefully planned. By the time children start in the September in the year in which they are five the school is not an unknown building, the staff are familiar figures and most children are excited and positive about the experience. Planning for their entry starts in the term before with a parents’ meetings; a series of half day visits and the

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

1 Early Learning Goals are what children are expected to know, understand and be able to do in the six areas of the Foundation curriculum of Personal, Social and Emotional development; Communication, Language and Literacy; Mathematical development; Knowledge and Understanding of the World; Physical development and creative development by the age of five. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 27 opportunity to regularly join together for stories . Children also take part in activities such as sports day, a bar-b-cue and borrow ‘take home’ boxes for work at home with parents, coming into the school to change boxes regularly.

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Personal, social and emotional development

73. The development of children's personal, social and emotional skills is strong. In the reception classes this is an area of learning with a high priority. As a result, children are well on course to exceed the standards expected of five-year-olds nationally. Their progress in this area of learning is very good. Teaching and support staff create an environment where respect, understanding and the celebration of differences underpin all the work. This helps the children to settle quickly into the routines and develop a sense of belonging to the school community. All staff provide good role models and, as a result, children develop a positive self-image and recognise that every one has something special to offer. Children work together well, share resources fairly and take turns appropriately when using equipment. They have positive attitudes to learning, concentrate hard and persevere on directed activities and when given the freedom to choose, select activities

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Personal, social and emotional development

thoughtfully and work with care of and with consideration to others. Independence is encouraged with children tidying away after themselves, getting changed by themselves for physical education lessons and collecting coats and book bags at home time. The staff are courteous and polite to the children and expect children to be so in return. Children show a well-developed level of social skills, their behaviour is good and they are well aware of what is right and wrong.

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Communication, language and literacy

74. The majority of children begin their Foundation year with average skills in speaking and listening and make very good progress. By the time they enter Key Stage One, they achieve, and most will exceed, the Early Learning Goals in communication, language and literacy. Staff are sensitive in the way they ask questions in order to encourage children's confidence in oral work. Children are encouraged to build on their previous experiences and a large number speak with increasing confidence in group and class discussions. The literacy framework is used well by the reception staff to promote talk and discussion. The school’s programme of developing listening skills starts in reception with children having the opportunity to listen to taped stories and instructions. The role-play area, this term a ‘vet’s surgery’, is well used to develop communication skills. Although the children direct the ‘adventures’ within the surgery, taking on the roles of staff and

p.27

Communication, language and literacy

owners of the pets attending, an adult is always near at hand. This adult monitors the quality of language and encouraging the children with questions and the use of a more adventurous vocabulary, to develop both speaking and listening skills .

p.27

Communication, language and literacy

75. Reception children show a love of books and make a good start to reading as they listen with interest to stories and poems. When sharing the text ‘The Rainbow Fish’ they so enjoyed the story that they started to kneel up and edge forward to see more details in the illustrations and catch the teacher’s eye to answer questions and share opinions. They understand that the illustrations tell the story as well as the print. They are keen to predict what might happen next in a story and to talk about the main characters. All children in the reception class are ‘readers’. All of the children have a reading book from the school reading scheme. At present the majority are reading the adventures of characters in the ‘Village with Three Corners’ series, learning the key vocabulary and developing a range of reading strategies and skills to take them through their school life. Children in the reception classes develop a good understanding of the initial sounds

p.27

Communication, language and literacy

of words through the effective, systematic approach used by the staff and the regular opportunities provided for practice. Most children in these classes name the sounds and select them in texts. They also know the letter names. There is a well-defined, systematic approach to teaching sounds with opportunities provided to develop this work further so that children can associate patterns in words, rhymes and syllables, especially linking these sounds with letter shapes in writing patterns as pupils are starting to develop a cursive script.

p.27

Communication, language and literacy

76. Staff encourage children to ‘have a go’ at writing, and children confidently write for a variety of purposes, for instance appointments in the surgery as well as prescriptions for the ‘patients’. Staff discuss effectively the features of writing with children and demonstrate correct pencil grip and letter formation. The opportunity to identify order in story writing is given through cut and St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 28 stick sequencing activities where pupils use pictures and short sentences to retell a well-known tale. Fine motor skills practice with children manipulating pencils, crayons, scissors and glue spreaders completed the activity. Besides practising letter formation skills children also have the opportunity to see their thoughts recorded as they dictate simple sentences to a supporting adult. Children then copy the written sentence. This modelling enhances learning. Not only do children

p.27

Communication, language and literacy

see their thoughts valued and recorded, they are given an example of good practice in the correct position of capitals, stops, spacing and accuracy of spelling as well as the opportunity to see the ‘flow’ of writing leading to a rounded cursive script. Supplies of paper, pencils and crayons are easily accessible and children's work is carefully displayed and given value.

p.28

Mathematical development

77. The majority of children are making good progress in their mathematical development through the Foundation Stage and will achieve the Early Learning Goals . Many will exceed expected levels in this area of learning and be in transition to the National Curriculum by the time they enter Key Stage One. Skills are well developed. Good routines established by staff at the start of their school life ensure that children attain well. Teaching staff use a modified version of the National Numeracy project to give structure to mathematics sessions. Through regular daily practice, children understand the importance of numbers in every day life. Not only are they able to count the numbers to 9, but also put these in order, recognising when numbers are out of order and correcting appropriately. Children are moving from addition via ‘and’ to recognition of the correct symbol, the ‘+’ sign, and from ‘makes’ to the ‘=’. Thus from the class introduction of the

p.28

Mathematical development

symbols with the making up of sums using fish shapes, children moved into group activities with two groups having the opportunity to play a ‘magnetic fishing game’ whereby they used a rod with a magnet to ‘catch’ fish with paper clips attached. As each fish had a pattern of dots representing a number, children were encouraged to identify number by pattern rather than having to individually count each dot. With the teacher acting as scribe the children were encouraged to compose number stories using the focus symbols. The language of mathematics along with the symbols and addition skills were being practised. This very good teaching gave structure to the learning of skills yet make this learning fun. The very good questions asked by the staff develop children's thinking skills appropriately and help them to organise their ideas logically so that they can explain what they have done.

p.28

Mathematical development

78. Besides their direct number knowledge children know two and three - dimensional shapes such as triangles, cubes and spheres. Children enjoy the opportunities provided to learn sorting and matching skills through using games, jigsaws and puzzles. They are able to sort using negative as well as positive criteria. Not only could they identify for instance: ‘silver’ fish, but also by ‘not silver’ fish; ‘with fins’ ‘without fins’, using a big bag of soft cloth fish in different colours and with different fins, eyes, mouths and of different sizes. Children are learning about volume and capacity through their work in water and sand play activities.

p.28

Knowledge and understanding of the world

79. This aspect of learning is taught well. Children’s knowledge and understanding of the world is in line with expectations for their ages. The children have a basic knowledge of the world around them from their experiences at pre-school playgroup, their homes, holidays, books and television programmes. They recognise and name a range of animals such as the giraffe, tiger and monkey, cats and dogs. In their role-play area, they talk about the animals brought in to see the vet from their own experiences of taking their pets for treatment. They use the computer with confidence and independence and handle the mouse with increasing dexterity to select items on the screen. They know the way round the village, including how they come to school, and where the Church is as well as the doctors, the shops and the library. Using travel brochures, children located areas of ocean where fish might be found, linking their literacy and topic focus across the curriculum.

p.28

Knowledge and understanding of the world

The children talk about relationships within their families; they know that grandparents are their parents’ parents, and that they are older than mum or dad. Children know that to keep healthy they must clean their teeth, wash their hands and brush their hair. They also know how important sleep is, not only for themselves but their pets and other creatures . As they said ‘Even fish need to sleep’. Sand, water and cooking experiences give the children the opportunity to experiment with different materials and note change caused by heating and cooling. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 29

p.28

Physical development

80. Children’s physical development is in line with expectations for their ages. Children in the reception classes have a playtime with the rest of the school. They have the use of a school hall and during lessons use the space well, climbing, balancing and jumping confidently. In gymnastic work they are able to change from their clothes into their PE kit and use the space in the hall to move round the room without bumping and tripping as they make movements such as star jumps. Teaching is good and children’s co-ordination skills are being well developed. Although no specifically secure outdoor area to support physical development is available, teachers ensure that pupils work outside as often as the weather and staffing permits. Children develop their physical skills, especially fine motor control skills through other areas of their curriculum. In knowledge and understanding work for instance, having identified water areas in

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Physical development

travel brochures, the children carefully cut out pictures and stuck them into place in an imaginative ocean. When sequencing stories in language work children coloured carefully within the lines. Children have access to a wide range of equipment – pencils, pens, scissors, brushed, puzzle pieces, toys and sorting and counting materials – to develop their manipulative skills on a wide front.

p.29

Creative development

81. Children’s creative development is good. Children have the opportunity to experience a range of creative experiences: to sing and play a range of percussion instruments; to draw; paint; crayon; cut and stick as well as make models and collages both big and small. They experiment with malleable materials such as play dough. In the “vet’s surgery” they take on the roles of the vet, the receptionist, nurse and pet owners. Children sing along to taped music, especially movement and counting songs, making their voices high and low, loud and soft, enjoying listening to others joining in. They are able to use correctly instruments such as claves, drums and shakers to make loud and quiet sounds and correctly identify other instruments by sound such as the xylophone and piano. Besides painting the children experiment with printing and patterning, drawing and crayoning, using their imagination to reproduce images of animals, fish and the world around

p.29

Creative development

then such as houses and their school. Their paintings are lively and colourful and children communicate their feelings and ideas with increasing skill and confidence.

p.29

Creative development

82. The children make good progress and respond well to the many opportunities offered by the staff. Through art, music and stories, children in the foundation years develop the ability to use their imagination and observe well. Staff are adept at giving children ample scope to select materials for themselves and time to experiment, and they only intervene at appropriate times to teach key skills.

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ENGLISH

83. Standards overall in English are above average by the end of both key stages, with speaking and listening skills being particularly well developed throughout the school. This reflects the attention given to this area as support to the National Literacy Strategy. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, make good progress in their learning through Key Stage One and very good progress in learning through Key Stage Two. High standards have been maintained since the last inspection. However, because the number of pupils, whose prior attainment is low, alters year by year, results are affected and the school targets are subject to frequent review.

p.29

ENGLISH

84. The school’s results in national tests in English at the end of Key Stage Two are above average when compared to all schools and above in comparison with similar schools. Inspection evidence indicates that the 2001 results are likely to be broadly similar. National Curriculum test results at the end of Key Stage One in 2000 show that standards were broadly average in both reading and writing. Inspection findings indicate that the present Year 2 pupils are performing better than this. Standards in reading are broadly average, above average in writing and good in speaking and listening. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 30 85. By the age of seven and eleven standards in speaking and listening are above the expected level for pupils’ ages and abilities. Pupils listen attentively to teachers and other adults, answer questions and correctly follow instructions. They closely listen to their peers. Pupils’ spoken

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ENGLISH

responses are full with a good use of vocabulary, especially the using of descriptive phrases. Pupils answer questions with complete sentences, frequently developing and expanding upon their initial answers. When talking about subjects that particularly interest them, many pupils speak more extensively and with animation. A good example was seen in a history lesson where Year 2 pupils were considering Columbus and his voyage of discovery to the Caribbean. Pupils were able to picture life aboard ship as described by the teacher. In a ‘sailors and natives’ question and answer session, pupils described and expanded upon where they had come from, what they had eaten, the temperature, clothing, weapons on board the ship and why they had come. They had so absorbed the descriptive vocabulary, that their full and appropriate sentences included direct quotations of what they had heard from their teacher, each used correctly. As

p.30

ENGLISH

well as listening to teachers and each other, listening skills are developed using a tape recorder. Pupils listen to instructions and complete a set of tasks following the voice on the tape. Teachers ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to listen to correctly spoken words. The completion of taped tasks enables teachers to assess progress accurately.

p.30

ENGLISH

86. Pupils are good, competent readers by the time they leave the school. Reading is accurate and quite fluent, with the majority of pupils using punctuation to provide emphasis as they read aloud. Pupils use inference and deduction successfully. The literacy hour is having a strong impact on pupils’ acquisition of reading skills. Most pupils are learning to use a variety of strategies, such as the context of a word or the sounds contained within it, in order to read. By the end of Key Stage One, most pupils read simple texts confidently and with good expression. Pupils benefit from the school’s consistent expectation that reading books are taken home regularly for further practice. The school reading scheme, taking the best from a variety of reading schemes, is in two parts; particular books introduce new skills and vocabulary with others offering practice in a variety of stories. This gives tremendous benefit to pupils. Most pupils enjoy reading at school,

p.30

ENGLISH

have books of their own at home and read to parents and siblings. By the end of Key Stage Two the vast majority of pupils are keen on reading and are developing clear personal preferences. Because of the range of texts available, nearly all pupils are able to find reading matter that challenges skills, provides the opportunity to read books in different genres and does not leave them struggling with books that are too difficult for them. Pupils make good use of their reading skills across the curriculum when investigating and researching such as Egyptian artefacts in history. Library skills are weak, however. All pupils know that factual books have an index and context page and can locate information in a book using these. Older pupils are adept at scanning a page and skinning over a text to locate required information. Few have knowledge of how to locate a book within a library, using the Dewey colour or numbering systems. Pupils have too

p.30

ENGLISH

little experience of using their school library for independent research purposes and few are adept at using the classification system in use in most libraries.

p.30

ENGLISH

87. A good proportion of the literacy hour at both key stages is spent on writing activities. The school also timetables extra writing sessions across the school and this is impacting strongly upon standards reached and the progress pupils achieve. The literacy hour offers the teaching of skills and the writing session the opportunity to use those skills in practice. Pupils write for a range of audiences and in a variety of genres. Letters, information, instructions, poetry and stories are among the range of reasons for writing used by the school. Each piece is expected to reflect the grammar and vocabulary of the literacy lessons. By the end of Key Stage One, all pupils know that sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop. Pupils write stories showing a sound understanding of the narrative form, and punctuate them accurately. Pupils learn common spelling patterns and this is having a good impact on their writing. Pupils of all abilities form

p.30

ENGLISH

letters well and practise using a cursive script, learning how to join letter patterns together. By the end of Key Stage Two most pupils have a fluent, cursive style of writing and are well aware of a range of grammar, including parenthesis, speech and exclamation marking, paragraphing and adverbial and adjectival clauses to enhance their writing. Teachers’ expectations about handwriting and the presentation of work are high. They insist that pupils use their newly acquired skills across the whole range of their writing. Their own handwriting in pupils’ books or on the board provides a good model. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 31 88. Most pupils spell at the expected level for their age, having been taught the skills of listening carefully to the sounds, blends and patterns with in a word and using common additions including suffixes and prefixes to extend their vocabulary. Weekly spellings practised at home give good

p.30

ENGLISH

support to learning and the development of pupils’ overall literacy. Many write well-planned, detailed and extended stories using their lively imaginations. Few pupils, however, are fully competent in using the skills of planning, drafting and refining their work to create a high quality result directly on the computer.

p.31

ENGLISH

89. The quality of teaching is very good overall with some excellent teaching seen in Key Stage Two. This quality of teaching provokes a very good response from pupils in return. There were no unsatisfactory lessons in English. The structure provided by the National Literacy Strategy is used well to plan interesting lessons that meet the needs of all pupils. Care has been taken to match texts for class and group reading to another curriculum area, such as history or religious education, or to introduce pupils to a wide range of challenging and interesting literature. Pupils not only read fiction but also a range of factual information, poetry and instructional writing. Year 3 pupils, for instance, were following instructions to make an origami house while Year 6 pupils, having read a portion of the story of Rip Van Winkle, were considering what headline to use to write the story in newspaper form. Good use is made of the final part of a lesson to extend

p.31

ENGLISH

pupils’ learning as well as to consolidate what has already been learnt. Teachers’ good relationships with pupils give quieter members of a class the confidence to speak in discussions, as they know their contributions will be valued.

p.31

ENGLISH

90. Support staff are occasionally used effectively at the beginning of the literacy hour, for example, to support comprehension and aid concentration among pupils with special education needs. More often, however, these staff are relatively under-employed during this part of the lesson. Support staff are used well to support group activities. There is variation in the standard of marking by teachers. They mark pupils’ work conscientiously, but mainly give praise, correct spellings and grammar. Few teachers actually tell pupils what they have done well within their work or what they could do to improve and develop the work further.

p.31

ENGLISH

91. The co-ordinator for English, including literacy, is well qualified for her role. She uses co- ordination time to support teachers practically in their work. She teaches alongside colleagues, as necessary, and monitors the work within the school well. The co-ordinator sees samples of pupils’ work and matches these to teachers’ plans. This enables her to check the appropriateness of the schools resources to curriculum delivery. Through the school she analyses data from assessments and statutory tests and tasks to ensure that the curriculum is planned appropriately to drive learning forward. An example of this has been the work undertaken about emergent writing for the youngest pupils. Younger pupils are encouraged to record their ideas rather than stopping the flow worrying about spellings and grammar. These can be dealt with in feedback with a supporting adult later when the writing can be given a more formal structure. The co-ordinator

p.31

ENGLISH

has built up a good range of resources to support the curriculum well. The school library is appropriately stocked and catalogued to support learning.

p.31

MATHEMATICS

92. Over the last few years results in national tests have generally been above average compared to all schools and to similar schools, but with some fluctuation from year to year. In 2000, pupils in Year 2 achieved standards broadly in line with those expected for their age. In Year 6 pupils achieved standards below those expectations. Results were average at Key Stage One and below average at Key Stage Two, when compared to similar schools. In both age groups, the proportion of pupils achieving higher standards than expected was close to the national average. The present Year 3 class has a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs and this accounts for relatively lower results in last year’s Key Stage One. At Key Stage Two, several pupils failed to gain the expected Level 4 by a very small margin. At the time of the previous inspection, most pupils in each group attained standards above expectation. Inspection evidence now indicates

p.31

MATHEMATICS

that high standards have been maintained, and attainment, at both key stages, is above that expected nationally. Overall, pupils learn effectively and make good progress, including pupils with special educational needs. By the age of seven, pupils begin to understand place value. St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 32 They can perform addition and subtraction using practical apparatus as well as pencil and paper methods up to 99. They express these calculations in a good variety of ways. They have confidence in their knowledge of multiplication as a combination of ‘lots’ or ‘sets’, then formalise the process into ‘multiply’. They have a good understanding of simple fractions related to parts being equal and can calculate half of an equal number of beads or counters. They confidently solve word problems related to all of these number based sums. They have good knowledge of two and three-dimensional shapes and describe them by counting the number of

p.31

MATHEMATICS

faces, edges and corners. They estimate and measure length using metres and centimetres and compare the different weights of objects using non-standard measures.

p.32

MATHEMATICS

93. By the age of eleven, pupils generally have a good understanding of place value, which is the foundation for their ability to work confidently with the relationship of fractions, decimal fractions and percentages. They perform long multiplication and long division calculations to solve problems involving thousands, hundreds, tens and units. They can identify and measure the perimeter of a variety of polygons and use protractors to draw angles and triangles to correct scale. A particular strength of their attainment in number is the way in which they can use their knowledge to solve problems. There is little evidence of pupils generally being given opportunities to collect, represent and then interrogate data. This could deepen pupils’ understanding of graphical representation and give good opportunities to use ICT to support mathematics.

p.32

MATHEMATICS

94. Overall, the quality of teaching throughout the school is very good and this is an improvement on the previous inspection. Teaching varies from satisfactory to excellent. Classroom management is excellent and lessons have good pace. The National Numeracy Strategy is very well managed by the teachers. Lesson objectives are shared with the pupils so that they have a good understanding of what they are learning. The start of the lesson is consistently used to develop the pupils’ mental mathematical skills. During this part of the lesson, good attention is paid to extending pupils of all abilities and also to reinforcing mathematical vocabulary. Scrutiny of pupils’ workbooks and exercise books shows a general weakness in the quality of marking. Work is marked conscientiously but there is little evidence of the identification of requirements for individual pupil’ development. A strength of teaching is the involvement of all pupils in

p.32

MATHEMATICS

practical work, well planned to challenge their different abilities. This often lively teaching helps enthuse pupils about the subject and they learn well. Pupils are very well behaved, concentrate well and try hard to succeed. They are well supported by a good number of classroom assistants and parents. Pupils’ learning is assessed well during very positive discussions at the end of these lessons. This allows individual teachers to plan appropriately for the following lesson.

p.32

MATHEMATICS

95. In an excellent, junior class lesson, there was a high degree of challenge throughout the lesson. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, were solving difficult money problems using pencil and paper techniques and calculators. They were constantly being challenged by the teacher to describe the strategies being used. The less able pupils used a computer database, well to input the details of their spending and to make regular checks on their running total. They used the programme with some confidence. All pupils made excellent progress. In a lesson which was only satisfactory, the higher ability pupils spent a large part of the lesson involved with an activity that they already understood and could do. This limited their progress. This was not typical and higher ability pupils are usually challenged very effectively.

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MATHEMATICS

96. The subject is very well managed by the co-ordinator. She has a very good understanding of the subject and is a lead teacher of mathematics for the local authority. The subject is well promoted through good classroom and corridor displays that reflect that mathematics is a priority. For example, In the assembly hall, a very good quality and effective ‘Elmer the elephant’ display, invites pupils to respond to questions related to shape, number and length. It includes good, mathematical language development. In an infant class, pupils are invited to answer questions related to a very well produced pictograph of their class’s eye colours. A large area of display board in an upper junior classroom, gives pupils a good opportunity to develop their problem- solving mathematical skills publicly, with the invitation to ‘Step up and have a go’.

p.32

MATHEMATICS

97. The subject is well monitored through a developing system of lesson observations, discussion with pupils and scrutiny of teachers’ planning and pupils’ workbooks. This enables the co- St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 33 ordinator to have a good understanding of what is happening in the school and to highlight areas for development. Assessment procedures are good and the school has a good view on the progress that pupils are making. Assessment information is also used well to influence medium- term planning and to decide what areas of the curriculum will need reinforcing when they are next visited in the numeracy strategy. Statutory tests are analysed well to identify strengths and weaknesses.

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SCIENCE

98. In the 2000 statutory assessment tests for eleven-year-old pupils results were above the national average when compared with all schools and well above average compared with similar schools. All pupils achieved the target level for their age (Level 4) and a good proportion (42%) achieved the higher Level 5. Standards have continued to rise over the last five years. The teacher assessments of Year 2 pupils last year show that they achieved above average standards. Overall science standards have continued to rise in line with the national trend. This is due to the high quality of teaching, improved planning to support teachers’ subject knowledge and the use of regular checks on pupils’ progress indicating clearly what needs to be taught next. The school is committed to raising standards further and has recently adopted the national guidelines for the science curriculum and improved the provision for recording and accurate measurement that were

p.33

SCIENCE

highlighted as an area of development in the previous inspection report. Nevertheless, the planned use of information and communication technology to support data collection remains underdeveloped.

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SCIENCE

99. Inspection evidence confirms that all pupils make very good progress throughout the school in all aspects of science. Scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils indicate levels of achievement above average at the end of Year 2 and well above average at the end of Year 6. Pupils with special educational needs make very good progress and achieve appropriate levels. They receive good quality support from classroom assistants and other adults in the class. During the inspection no discernible difference in the progress of girls and boys was observed. This is also reflected in the national statutory assessment tests for eleven-year-olds.

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SCIENCE

100. A particular strength of the school is the amount of planned time given to investigative and experimental science. Pupils’ confident use of written and spoken language results in all pupils having a good understanding of how to turn ideas into a form that can be investigated. For example, in Year 6, pupils confidently refined their understanding of a ‘fair test’, enabling them to accurately record the changing state of a liquid during an experiment involving saturation. Pupils confidently make hypotheses and sound predictions about what will happen in an experiment and decide what equipment will be needed and how the evidence will be collected. Well-prepared tasks are successfully aimed at developing pupils’ understanding, knowledge and skills in this area of the curriculum. Scrutiny of pupils’ work clearly indicates detailed science investigations in all classes. For example, in Year 2 pupils explore the melting of ice by selecting

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SCIENCE

five different locations and predicting and observing which ‘ice lollies’ will melt first. The good use of ice lollies engages pupils’ interest and generates high levels of enthusiasm. Pupils quickly understand the requirements of a ‘fair test’, indicating that the lolly exposed to warm air will melt first. In Year 5 pupils observe that solid materials contain air bubbles. The use of ‘oasis’ foam clearly demonstrates that materials contain air. Pupils have a clear understanding of scientific vocabulary and talk knowledgeably about solutions, evaporation, condensation and filtering as they apply their knowledge competently to a problem set for them by a very confident class teacher. The use of photographs taken during science lessons in Year 6 clearly indicates a high level of understanding. For example, to obtain clear water pupils investigated the use of a variety of materials to find the most suitable to act as a filter when ‘clearing’ muddy water. In

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SCIENCE

discussion, pupils confidently explain how salt can be recovered from a solution by standing it in a warm place and waiting for the water to evaporate, leaving the salt behind. Pupils enjoy these practical sessions, which make a positive contribution to their knowledge, skills and understanding. Pupils have very positive attitudes to lessons, work very effectively in groups and discuss the subject with growing confidence. When given the opportunity to take responsibility for collecting their resources and planning their work, they do so very sensibly. Behaviour is St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 34 very good across the school. Pupils take pride in their work and the quality of presentation throughout the school is good.

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SCIENCE

101. The quality of teaching in science is very good, and occasionally excellent, and this is having a positive effect on pupils’ motivation and their current progress. Excellent relationships between pupils, teachers and adult support staff encourage most pupils to offer suggestions and explanations in whole class sessions. Teachers have very good knowledge and understanding of the subject and use this to ask challenging questions. For example, in a Year 5 lesson the teacher introduced the session with quick fire questions to review pupils’ previous knowledge of materials. The teaching of basic skills for investigative science and experimental work is very good throughout the school. Regular lessons reinforce pupils’ ability to predict, observe closely and record accurately findings in their own way. This is clearly illustrated in the scrutiny of pupils’ work in all year groups where written explanations, charts or graphs are used very clearly

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SCIENCE

to show the results of a particular experiment.

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SCIENCE

102. Teachers’ management of pupils is excellent, resulting in pupils working hard and responding to the challenge set in all science lessons. Teachers use a very good and effective range of techniques, creating a very good balance between explanation and practical activity. They have high expectations of pupils, and their planning is very good overall because learning targets and the range of pupils’ abilities are taken into account. Marking gives praise to individuals and the very best examples inform them how to improve their work, although this is not consistent. There are very effective ongoing checks on pupils’ progress that inform the day-to-day planning. Records are detailed, indicating what has been learnt. This information is used effectively to ensure that future learning successfully builds upon previously learnt skills including the development of pupils’ investigative skills.

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SCIENCE

103. Homework, when given, is set in the junior school in relation to extending learning tasks or to encourage pupils to try suitable scientific experiments at home and taking an interest in their discoveries. The science curriculum is broad and balanced, meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum. The very strong emphasis placed on investigation work is appropriately linked into other subjects, for example history and geography. The subject is presently managed by a ‘caretaker’ co-ordinator, the Headteacher, who has identified the subject’s strengths and weaknesses.

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SCIENCE

104. Resources are of good quality and readily accessible. Effective displays in most classrooms enhance the subject’s high profile. Visits, both locally and further afield, make a very positive contribution to pupils’ learning, and the use of the school grounds particularly in summer adds significantly to pupils’ experiences.

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ART AND DESIGN

105. Standards in art and design, while satisfactory at the end of each key stage, are not as good as in other subjects. To some extent this is as a result of a concentration on other priorities by the school in the last year or so. Although this is a decline from the high standards at the last report, the school is now giving pupils opportunities to undertake extended projects, such as the work based on the Church in Year 2, or the current design project in Year 6. This is an improvement. Work that is based on ICT, using computers, is often of a good standard, reflecting the concentration on ICT work over the last year.

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ART AND DESIGN

106. At Key Stage One, pupils have produced a reasonable range of work, of a sound standard. In Year 1 self-portraits in crayon and contributions to a frieze on habitats are satisfactory, and some good work has been done using an art program on the computer, showing good control and good use of colour. In Year 2, pupils have worked carefully to produce simple, effective collages of ships, linked to their history project. They have done some interesting work making tiles, based on designs from St. Wilfrid’s Church.

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ART AND DESIGN

107. At Key Stage Two pupils in Year 3 have produced some colourful paintings of a satisfactory standard . Year 4 pupils have done some good work using ICT to design “stained glass St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 35 windows”. Pupils in Year 5 have undertaken some useful experiments with shape and tone in their sketchbooks. Their finished work shows some subtle use of colour and shape, but only weak use of different tones in their drawings. Pupils in Year 6 have made some satisfactory sketches of moving figures in pencil, developing the quality in their sketchbooks over time. They are currently undertaking an extensive design project which involves looking carefully at a range of designs motifs from different times and cultures, before incorporating them into their own work. Little finished work was available, but their painting sketches show great care, a subtle use of colour and, in a few cases, great delicacy.

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ART AND DESIGN

108. Only two lessons were observed during the inspection. In a lesson with Year 1 pupils, they made good progress in matching shapes and colours to eyes in different scales, using careful observation. The teaching was good, with the purpose of the lesson clearly planned, good management of pupils, good use of support staff, and good monitoring of progress to ensure that pupils were concentrating on the most salient points of the lesson. In a very good lesson with Year 5 pupils, pupils learned a lot about different containers and their designs, and showed satisfactory skills in drawing what they observed. They explored resources with great enthusiasm, using books, artefacts and the computer to help them. The very good teaching reflected high levels of organisation and classroom management, and very good provision of interesting resources to enthuse and interest pupils. Pupils’ keen interest in art was evident in the

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ART AND DESIGN

lessons observed, and Year 6 pupils, in conversation, said it was their favourite subject.

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ART AND DESIGN

109. Although standards are satisfactory, given the usual very good standards of teaching in the school and pupils’ very positive attitudes to the subject, the potential is there for standards to be high. Several factors contribute to the modest standards seen. The curriculum for the subject is in a state of change. A previous scheme of work has been abandoned, and the school is introducing a scheme based on the new national guidelines. Staff are working hard to implement this, but demands from other subjects mean that little collective time has been spent on it. As yet, the school has not identified, for example, which artists and periods will be studied in different years, so it is not possible to identify whether this will give a balance over time. The knowledgeable co- ordinator is aware of this need, but because of other calls on her time, and that of her colleagues, little work has been done on developing art. Little money has been spent on the subject;

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ART AND DESIGN

resources are basic except in ICT, where progress is better. Little formal monitoring of work across the classes has taken place, so that best practice is not shared systematically.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

110. During the inspection it was only possible to observe lessons in design and technology in Years 1 and 2. Discussion with pupils, teachers and the co-ordinator, as well as looking at teachers’ planning, photographic evidence and classroom displays, indicate that attainment is above national expectations for pupils aged seven and eleven. The school has maintained the high standards in design and technology since the previous inspection. There is good evidence that pupils have experienced a range of skills including designing, making and evaluating work with a range of materials and methods. Pupils are given opportunities to make a choice of materials and methods and in Years 5 and 6 are encouraged to find their own design solutions so that their tasks remain meaningful.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

111. In Year 1 pupils study homes in detail, the building of walls and the position of doors and windows. The movement of hinges is recreated in card with pupils scoring and folding accurately. During the inspection pupils in Year 1 undertook a series of tasks relating to a range of fruit and vegetables using simple equipment to cut, squeeze and grate them safely in the preparation of food. In Year 2 photographic evidence and discussion with pupils indicates the enjoyment created during the manufacture of wheeled vehicles from a range of materials. These moving vehicles required a range of cutting and gluing techniques that produced a vehicle of high quality. The completed vehicles were given the correct registration number and an appropriate sign printed on its side indicated its use.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

112. In Year 4 pupils confidently design a range of purses, initially drawing the design, then evaluating the completed item before decorating it to a high standard requiring a range of sewing St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 36 techniques. Pupils in Year 5 design a range of musical instruments using different materials and construction techniques. A link with a local bakery provided the pupils with an opportunity to design and bake their own bread. Again at the design stage, there is evidence of pupils in Year 6 considering the design of clothes for special occasions. After looking at the design of a lightweight shoe, pupils tested different possible materials for important qualities such as insulation and strength before deciding what style would be appropriate for a child and for an adult.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

113. The pupils who were observed working in Years 1 and 2 had very good attitudes to their work and most listened carefully to their teachers’ instructions. Behaviour was very good and this promoted a hard working atmosphere. A strength of the subject is the way pupils co-operate and listen sensitively to each other’s contributions.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

114. Overall the quality of teaching is very good; the preparation of lessons is excellent as observed in the Year1 food preparation lesson. The wide range of food presented in a colourful manner had a direct impact on pupils’ enjoyment. Most teachers have an enthusiasm for the subject and good subject knowledge. All pupils are offered the same opportunities and pupils of differing ability, including pupils with special educational needs, make good progress. The excellent quality of pupil management and relationships mean that time during practical sessions is used productively. ‘Clearing away’ sessions at the end of the lesson are very well organised with all pupils being responsible for a particular task.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

115. The newly appointed co-ordinator is enthusiastic and has made a sound start. She is aware that design and technology skills need to be inter-linked with information controlled technology to ensure standards in the subject continue to rise. Resources are sufficient, although a lack of a designated area, equipped with benches, restricts some techniques such as sawing.

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GEOGRAPHY

116. During the period of inspection, no geography was taught in Key Stage One. As a result of talking to pupils, scrutiny of pupils’ work and displays around the school, standards in geography in the infants are judged to be above national expectation. In Key Stage Two, standards are well above expectation. This is an improvement when compared to the previous inspection when standards at both key stages were good.

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GEOGRAPHY

117. Year 2 pupils, under a topic heading of ‘An Island Home’, study a wide variety of aspects of life, vastly different from their own way of life. The story of Katie Morag and her life on the Island of Struay in the Western Isles of Scotland is used as a very motivating impetus. They look at the physical appearance of Struay, land use, different building and transport used and are asked to consider and list the types of job that would or would not be available on this distant island. The topic supports literacy well through a purposeful activity concerning the arrival on the island of Granny Mainland. Life on Struay is then compared with the pupils’ lives in Halton to encourage the development of a good sense of difference between how people live. Work in Key StageOne geography covers a wide range of varied and progressive topics. Good quality displays include a collage outline of Struay that gives pupils the opportunity to research its global location. A very

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GEOGRAPHY

well produced and motivating display in the assembly hall invites pupils to answer a good range of questions, related to a large number of recent holiday destinations experienced by both pupils and staff.

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GEOGRAPHY

118. Key Stage Two pupils study the topics of ‘weather’, ‘water’, ‘land use’ and a range of environmental issues, and gain a very good understanding of all of these. They look at life in Chembakoli, France, Richmond and St.Lucia and are able to make sensitive and knowledgeable comparisons with their own experiences of life near Lancaster. Pupils discuss how changes in land use may have knock-on effects involving a wide range of people, who look at these changes from different standpoints. They reach a very good understanding of how these differences can cause conflict. Pupils are successfully encouraged to recognise that children from other countries may have limited or partial views as to how life really is in England. They then explore how their St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 37 own images have been formed and gain a very good understanding of the importance of informed

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GEOGRAPHY

119. Lessons in two upper junior lessons were observed. One was very good and the other was excellent . Very good subject knowledge was presented in a most persuasive manner. Class management was excellent and mutual trust clearly existed. Close attention was given to producing excellent resources to motivate pupils. Excellent questioning techniques challenged all pupils to reflect on the subject matter. Time constraints were given to concentrate minds on the task in hand. The concept of the ‘Ciniplex’ and the support topic pack triggered pupils’ imagination because geography was brought into their lives. The response of pupils was excellent and they made excellent progress in developing questioning and thinking skills to a very good level. They discussed sensibly in class and group situations and were prepared to accept compromise to present a group opinion.

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GEOGRAPHY

120. Displays of work support the subject well. A ‘Coastline 2000’ incorporates the activities that upper junior pupils were involved in before the October half term. Schools had been asked by the Geographical Association of Great Britain to help up-date Professor Alfred Steers’ records of what the coastline of England and Wales was like in 1944. The Heysham to Morecambe coastline became the school’s responsibility and the display is evidence of the very good, detailed work covered by the pupils. A display of clear, aerial photographs, strongly support the pupils’ ability to compare their own area with a good variety of different geographical locations.

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GEOGRAPHY

121. The co-ordinator is a humanities specialist and is very committed to developing the subject strongly. He has introduced a very good scheme of work incorporating all the learning objectives of recently developed national guidance. He supports and motivates colleagues well. He teaches alongside other teachers to encourage and demonstrate best practice and to scrutinise pupils’ workbooks. Resources are good and support well the teaching of geography.

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HISTORY

122. At the time of the last inspection standards in history were above the national expectation at the end of each key stage, and these standards have been maintained. Pupils by the ages of seven and eleven achieve good standards, making good and, in half of lessons seen, very good progress in their rate of learning. This is due to the high quality of teaching across the school. Pupils are achieving highly and making at least good progress because teachers are focusing upon developing pupils’ research and investigative skills through studies of different periods of history by encouraging pupils to become ‘armchair archaeologists.’ During the inspection pupils worked from a curriculum that started with those in Reception and Year 1 looking at themselves and change and having the opportunity to listen to their teacher talk about when she was small . They watched a video about the past and talked to a 92-year-old governor about what life was like

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HISTORY

when he was a boy. Pupils in Year 2 had moved backwards in time to study explorers. Pupils joined the sailors with Columbus discovering the Caribbean Islands, thinking they had found a way through to the riches of India. By Year 3 the peoples who first invaded England and then settled here were studied using a range of reproduced artefacts, maps and videos showing recreated Viking invasions and settlements. Year 4 saw pupils using artefacts and archaeological skills to infer and then investigate the life and beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians, including using the Internet to find more about tombs, pyramids and death customs. Year 5 pupils had examined the dynasty of the Tudors and were moving forward in time to that of the Victorians while Year 6 successfully studied Ancient Greece. Other units of a published scheme of work studied over the school year provide pupils with the opportunities to fully develop a sense of chronology. Pupils

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HISTORY

practise the skills of inference and interpretation from photographic and picture evidence, examining artefacts and consider the writings of authors and historians as well as myths and legends from round the world.

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HISTORY

123. The quality of teaching is very good overall. Work in history is successful because the teachers have a clear understanding of the subject. This is shown in carefully prepared questions for discussions that challenge and sustain learning and tasks planned to support pupils’ development as historians. Pupils gain clear understanding of chronology via refining time lines from general St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 38 ‘before’ and ‘after’ to more detailed dates and graphs as they get older. Teachers do not rely on worksheets; instead they encourage pupils to be actively involved with their learning. Drama, interview, debate and empathy, as well as detailed consideration of artefacts support learning. Half of the Year 2 pupils became Columbus’ sailors thinking of life onboard ship for 37 days. They thought of life with little drinking water, weevils in the food, no water for bathing in a

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HISTORY

tropical climate and approaching an inhabited Caribbean island. The rest were the islanders watching this boat coming nearer, looking at people in different clothes, with a strange language and unknown weapons. The teacher encouraged pupils to ask questions and use researched knowledge to give answers to those questions about how each group of people would feel and what they would do. The teacher set the shipboard scene so well that as she talked about the smell, lice and fleas pupils started scratching!

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HISTORY

124. Teaching motivates and encourages pupils who respond positively to their work. Teachers have high expectations that pupils will be interested and thus behave well. By the end of lessons pupils have consolidated existing learning and acquired new knowledge and understanding because of the strategies used. Teachers plan the next lesson from an evaluation of pupils’ response to and learning from the previous lesson.

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HISTORY

125. Pupils respond very well to their lessons. They have good attitudes to their work and very good relationships with their teachers. When using artefacts they take care to handle them carefully. They share photographs and maps and take turns, supporting each other’s learning.

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HISTORY

126. History is very well led by a knowledgeable and very experienced co-ordinator. He monitors the work within classes and supports teachers with any specific needs. He has provided a curriculum that enables pupils to learn and then practise a skill and ensured that resources and artefacts are available to enable pupils to do so. The school owns a range of artefacts as well as borrows to support different areas from the local authority and parents as appropriate. Members of the local community give willingly of their time and knowledge to support pupils learning.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

127. Standards are rising quickly and now meet national expectations at the end of Key Stage Two. Standards are ahead of national expectations at the end of Key Stage One. This is a major improvement since the last inspection, when standards were not meeting expectations at either key stage. Much of this improvement has come in the last eighteen months, when developing provision in information and communications technology (ICT) has been a main priority for the school. The delay in giving significant attention to ICT was caused by a mixture of a lack of good quality equipment and a focus by the school on the national initiatives in literacy and numeracy. The recent improvements have resulted from major improvements in resources, a focus by all staff working as a team to raise standards in the subject, and very good leadership and training from a knowledgeable co-ordinator.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

128. In lessons during the inspection, pupils showed high levels of skill and confidence in using computers, and other new technology. For example, during a good lesson in Year 2, pupils were able to translate their good understanding of moving around a programmable toy, a “floor turtle”, to using Logo on the computer to move a “screen turtle” in specified ways on the screen. By the end of the lesson, most could do this with fluency and confidence, and the higher attainers (about a quarter of the class) were confident and accurate in writing a series of instructions for the “turtle” to perform a sequence of movements. By the time they are in Year 3, pupils show they have built well upon this early understanding. They are familiar with graphics and word- processing programs, and use menus to confidently move between them. They quickly and competently change font, use the basic functions of the graphics program, and can “undo” their

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

mistakes in either program. Higher attaining pupils (about a quarter) can successfully combine text and graphics.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

129. By Year 6, pupils are attaining good standards in those aspects of the curriculum that they have studied this year. However, because of lack of experience during their earlier years, their overall attainment is currently only satisfactory. Pupils lower down the school, in Year 4 for example, St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 39 are already well ahead of expectations for their age, and are clearly on line to exceed expectations by the end of the key stage, if their current very good progress is maintained.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

130. In a very good lesson during the inspection, pupils in Year 6 showed a good understanding of making a multi-media presentation, using “power-point”. They could all design a series of slides, and import pictures for these from clip art or from a file of photographs of the school. They were able to set up a “homepage”, with text in a variety of styles, including moving images and sound effects. They showed a very good understanding of the purpose of what they were doing, and of its impact on the intended audience, a group of children in China.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

131. Teaching is good overall. Because of the good quality recent training, all teachers are now very secure in teaching ICT, and this is supporting pupils’ rapid learning in the subject. Some teachers have a very good understanding and their lessons are often very good. Teachers are covering the full range of the ICT curriculum and are making good use of pupils’ skills to support aspects of other subjects within ICT lessons. For example, in a very good lesson in Year 4, pupils successfully extended their knowledge of range of musical instruments, while studying how to construct a “branching key” database. Good use is made of all the equipment in ICT lessons, including the new “smart-screen” which teachers use very effectively when giving instructions and explanations to pupils.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

132. Teachers are not all yet secure in making consistent use of ICT to support other subjects in lessons, although a good start has been made in some areas. Excellent use was made of ICT in a mathematics lesson with Year 4 pupils, for example, to enthuse and interest them in a mental arithmetic session at the start. Good use was made of ICT in a literacy lesson with Year 2 pupils, with tape recorders and computers being used effectively to support learning. Other useful examples of ICT were seen in other literacy and mathematics lessons, and in researching information in history. However, scrutiny of pupils’ work in a range of subjects indicates that opportunities are sometimes missed to use ICT routinely in a range of lessons, for example in data-handling and in writing. This means that pupils lack some opportunities to practise and use their already good skills.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

133. The subject is very well managed by the co-ordinator. She has overseen, with consistent support from her colleagues, major improvements in resources, an improvement in the breadth of the curriculum, increased subject knowledge across the staff, and corresponding rapid progress in pupils’ understanding and a rise in standards. The resources are now of good quality. The decision to buy laptops rather than expand the provision of desktop computers has been very effective in enabling classes to have access to a bank of computers on a regular basis. These laptops are used very well in ICT lessons, and occasionally in other subjects, but opportunities to use the desktops are sometimes missed. The new “smart-screen” is already providing good value for money, as it is used effectively by teachers to help explain things to the whole class together. Although some teachers are more secure with using it than others, all are developing and

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

improving their competencies rapidly. There is a need for more specific software to support subjects, such as geography and science. Some of the laptops have a “rod mouse” which makes it difficult for younger pupils to exercise appropriate control in some programs (e.g. drawing programs) and there is a need for a conventional mouse for these. The co-ordinator is well aware of needs from her monitoring of the strengths and weaknesses within the subject, and already has plans for more training to help colleagues improve provision further.

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MUSIC

134. Attainment in music is above national expectations at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. This is an improvement when compared to the findings of the previous inspection. An appropriate policy and comprehensive scheme are now in place, the purchase of additional ethnic instruments has enhanced resources and pupils are provided with good opportunities for evaluating and composing a wide range of music.

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MUSIC

135. Pupils in Year 1 select percussion instruments and can name many of them, showing familiarity with the different ways they can be played. They distinguish confidently between long and short St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 40 sounds and repeat short musical patterns using different rhythms. Some are able to respond to different types of recorded music as observed in a Year 2 physical education lesson, recognising not only the speed but also the mood of the music. Older pupils in Year 2 talk confidently about playing instruments and singing.

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MUSIC

136. Pupils in Year 4 work in groups to compose instrumental music to represent the movement of animals. They select their own instruments form a selection of tuned and untuned percussion instruments. Many show good levels of concentration, discussing and practising ideas although a minority are not very confident at playing the instrument. Class teachers use appropriate musical terms such as ‘tempo’, ‘scale’ and ‘timbre’ and are familiar to most pupils. Pupils are positively encouraged to listen to each other’s compositions and make constructive comments.

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MUSIC

137. By the end of Year 6 standards in music are above the expectations for pupils’ ages. Standards in singing are good and pupils sing with great enjoyment and enthusiasm. In the lesson observed, pupils practised and refined rhythms, identifying ways they might improve. Brighter pupils recognised musical scores and volunteer to play the notes ‘G’ and ‘E’.

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MUSIC

138. Assemblies make a positive contribution to the music curriculum and pupils listen to the music of a famous composer as an introduction to assemblies for the week. Pupils’ listening skills are very good and they sing two and three - part songs with good diction and very precise pitch.

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MUSIC

139. Extra-curricular activities and the teaching of brass, woodwind and strings by the local education authority peripatetic service strongly support the curriculum. Teachers regularly give of their own free time to teach groups of pupils how to play the recorder and to teach the school orchestra. Pupils perform well, playing brass and strings in some assemblies. The school orchestra and choir perform in a number of outside school activities as well as supporting the school production.

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MUSIC

140. The quality of teaching is very good. Lessons are well planned, offering pupils plenty of ‘hands on’ experience and, as a result, learning is very good for most pupils, including those with special educational needs. The excellent quality of pupil management and very good relationships mean that time in practical sessions is used very productively. In the lesson observed in Year 3, classroom assistants working with groups of pupils made a significant contribution to pupils’ learning.

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MUSIC

141. The subject is well managed with a number of strengths and few weaknesses. The school policy provides clear guidance for teachers. The co-ordinator has very good subject knowledge and manages the music curriculum efficiently. Never the less the school is aware of the need to incorporate elements of ICT to underpin certain areas. Involvement in the many extra-curricular musical activities makes a very valuable contribution to pupils’ social and moral development such as when pupils perform in school or take part in ‘outside’ community functions.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

142. There is insufficient inspection evidence to make secure judgements on standards at the end of either key stage, in physical education (PE). This is because a large part of the time allocated to the subject fell outside of the period of inspection. However, lessons seen with younger classes indicate that pupils are in line to meet national expectations by the end of each key stage. Scrutiny of teaching timetables indicates that sufficient time is allocated to allow full coverage of the learning objectives for PE. The previous inspection identified that attainment was in line with national expectations, and standards have been maintained.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

143. In a good lesson with reception, pupils used space confidently and move successfully into a sequence of good, controlled movements. They used benches safely to develop skills in balancing and to jump and land in a well-controlled manner. They made good progress in performing forward rolls. Reception children show very good co-ordination skills and respond well to music. In a satisfactory lesson with Year 1, pupils made sound progress during a dance lesson in constructing a sequence of movements involving stepping, turning, stretching and St Wilfrid’s C. of E. V.A. Primary School, Halton - 41 squatting when responding to both quiet and loud music. A good country-dance lesson for lower juniors started with a good, brisk, warm-up session. Pupils can describe the positive effect that exercise has on their rates of respiration and blood circulation. Pupils dance with great vigour and enthusiasm and make good progress in learning new sequences of steps and body

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

movements. Another good, lower junior lesson involved pupils in creating and performing a series of four, linked activities on the floor and on both fixed and portable apparatus. Cartwheels, forward and backward rolls, hand-balances and jumps through 360 degrees are well executed by a good number of pupils.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

144. Teaching is satisfactory overall, and is often good. Teachers are suitably dressed for physical education lessons, which are always well planned. Examples of good practice are demonstrated to the pupils but there are often insufficient opportunities for pupils to evaluate their own work. There is a lack of specific skill development in many lessons. Management of pupils is always good or very good. There are good opportunities for pupils to learn to swim with all junior classes time-tabled to swim every year. The majority of pupils are able to swim the expected 25 metres by the time they leave school. A good range of after-school activities supports the physical education programme well. During the inspection, the school hosted a visiting school’s three teams to play football. The most able team played in a manner that showed good teamwork and positional sense. Parents give their time to support these activities well. A local college also

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

supports the school well, by providing transport and student staffing for outdoor and adventurous activities. The local authority organises courses on the school site for junior pupils, in activities such as archery and orienteering.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

145. The co-ordinator has been in post for some considerable time and although not a PE specialist, has attended a five- day, practical based, local authority course for PE co-ordinators. She has no opportunity to monitor the teaching of her subject. Pupils are assessed by direct observation and progress is reported annually to parents. The scheme of work is one produced by the local authority and includes the objectives of the recently developed national guidance. Resources are generally adequate to deliver the curriculum but there is a shortage, in variety and quality, of small and large apparatus. At the time of inspection the school was awaiting delivery of apparatus, worth £1500, funded in great part by a very supportive PTFA.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

146. This subject was inspected separately under section 23 of the School Inspections Act 1996, and is reported on elsewhere.

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