Heaton St Barnabas' CofE Aided Primary School

SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 5 – 8 November 2001

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SCHOOL

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

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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. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Infant and junior school

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Rossefield Road Heaton Bradford West Yorkshire

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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: Mr Roland Clarke

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 27 January 1997 Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 3961 Michael Raven Registered inspector Equal Opportunities English as an additional language Physical education 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? 9883 Brian Silvester 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? 14732 Enid Korn Team inspector Foundation stage Design and technology Music 23262 Philip Martin Team inspector Science Art How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? 29688 Mike Brammer Team inspector Special educational needs Information and communicatio n technology Geography History 19041 Roger Linstead Team inspector English 1407 Peter Scott Team inspector Mathematics Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 5

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

PkR Educational Consultants Ltd 6 Sherman Road Bromley Kent BR1 3JH

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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? 12

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

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 31

Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 7

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Barnabas’ Primary School is a Church of England Aided school for boys and girls aged from four to eleven. Three hundred and ninety five pupils are on roll and there are more boys than girls. Seventy five per cent of pupils come from minority ethnic groups, mostly Pakistani. For over sixty per cent of pupils English is an additional language. Just over seventeen per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is below the national average. Only nine per cent of pupils are identified as having special educational needs, which is less than half the national average. About an average proportion of pupils have statements of special educational needs. Pupils’ special needs cover a range of physical, behavioural and learning disabilities. Because so many children are learning English as an additional language, their attainment on entry to school is well below that usually found nationally at the age of four

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

in the key area of language, literacy and communication, although their social development is average. The school has been a primary school for only one full school year, having previously been a first school for pupils aged from four to nine. The reorganisation from first to primary school caused a great deal of disruption and made the work of the school very difficult. There was a major building programme, adding seven new classrooms and extending some other areas of the building. A number of staff left the school and many others transferred from other schools, in some cases from middle schools. In addition to the change of status, the school has also experienced an important change in its population since the last inspection four years ago. At that time, approximately thirty-five per cent of the pupils came from minority ethnic groups. This has more than doubled since then and the trend continues to rise. At

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

present, eighty-two per cent of children in the Reception classes come from minority ethnic backgrounds. In 1997 thirty-three per cent of pupils were learning English as an additional language. This too has almost doubled since then.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Standards in English are average by the time pupils leave the school at the age of 11. This represents very good progress, given the low starting point of many pupils. However, standards in mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT) are too low. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, but there is too little good teaching. The headteacher has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and what it needs to do to improve. She shares with the senior management team and governing body a convincing commitment to school improvement. But there is an important weakness in the management of the provision for pupils learning English as an additional language. The school offers satisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • The school does very well to get pupils to an average standard in English by the time they leave the school. • The school promotes very good relationships and harmony between all members of this ethnically diverse community. • It takes good care of its pupils and there are good procedures for child protection. • It promotes very good attitudes to school and very good personal development. • Parents’ views of the school are positive and they are encouraged to be involved in its work, to the benefit of their children. • The school provides a good range of extra-curricular activities, including music and sport.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • The standards pupils reach in mathematics, science and ICT by the age of 11. • The provision for pupils learning English as an additional language. • The curriculum for children in the Reception classes. • The amount of good quality teaching. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 8

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in 1997, when it was a first school. Improvement since then has been satisfactory. Although the standards reached by seven year olds have fallen, this is against a background of a steep rise in the number of pupils learning English as an additional language and those at an early stage of English acquisition. The key issues for action identified by the last inspection have all been successfully addressed. Most significantly, a programme for checking classroom practice has been developed and the quality of teaching has improved.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

No data are available before 2001, as this was the first year in which the school had Year 6 pupils taking national tests. The comparisons with similar schools have been adjusted to take into account not only the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals but also the very high proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those learning English as an additional language. The school made a special effort last year to promote pupils’ learning in English, particularly in Year 6 and this paid off, leading to standards in line with the national average despite the high proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language. The inspection confirms that standards in English are similar to the national average by the end of Year 6. This represents very good achievement. But it does not extend to mathematics and science, where pupils learning English as an additional language are often defeated

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STANDARDS

by the specialist language of these subjects. The inspection confirms that by the end of Year 2 standards are average in writing, but in reading they are below average and in mathematics they are well below average. Here too, for the very high proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language the demands of working in their second language present considerable difficulties. The support they receive in learning English is inconsistent in quality and quantity from class to class and overall it is inadequate. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should in writing and mathematics. Standards achieved in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 have fallen since 1997, as the proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language has risen steeply. The school sets appropriately challenging targets for pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6

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STANDARDS

and in the most recent national tests these were both exceeded. Targets have been appropriately raised for the current school year. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 9

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Aspect Comment Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils enjoy their work and many take a full part in the good range of activities offered outside lessons. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils behave well in lessons, at playtimes and around the school. There have been no exclusions in recent times. Personal development and relationships Very good. The school successfully promotes very good relationships and racial harmony. There are some very good opportunities for pupils to take responsibility, for example as members of the school council. Attendance Below average. This is because many families take extended leave abroad. The school tries very hard to encourage parents not to take their children out of school for long periods of time.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

In a community where there are sometimes tensions between different ethnic and faith groups, St Barnabas’ works very hard to promote understanding, tolerance and harmony. It balances very successfully the Christian character of the school and the multi-faith allegiances of its population.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, but there is too little teaching which is of high quality. This results in satisfactory rates of learning overall, but they could be better. As many of these pupils start from a very low base in English, they need more good teaching to get them up to scratch, especially in mathematics and science. Only about thirty-seven per cent of teaching is good or better, compared to the more than sixty per cent usually found nationally in primary schools. Teaching has however improved a lot since the last inspection, when twenty-three per cent was unsatisfactory. The proportion of unsatisfactory teaching is now about five per cent – similar to the national figure. The teaching of the basic skills of reading, writing and number is satisfactory overall. There is some very good teaching in English in Year 6, which is helping pupils learn very well and getting standards up to the national

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

average despite pupils’ very low starting point. There are weaknesses in the teaching of speaking skills because the support for pupils learning English as an additional language is poorly organised. This means that support varies from class to class with the skills of individual class teachers and support staff. Shortcomings in the provision for the learning of English as an additional language also mean that younger pupils in particular struggle with the specialist language of mathematics and science and this holds down standards. Their needs are not well enough met. Because too few pupils are identified as having special educational needs, those not identified are not getting the extra help they need to learn and make the most of their abilities. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 10

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Aspect Comment The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory overall. The school offers a good range of interesting activities outside lessons, including music and sport. The curriculum for the children in the Reception class is too dominated by the National Curriculum and the national literacy and numeracy strategies and it does not pay enough attention to national guidance on the curriculum for children at this stage. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Unsatisfactory. Too few pupils are identified as having special educational needs. The individual education plans for those who are identified are too woolly and imprecise and do not give staff enough guidance on what needs to be done. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Unsatisfactory. The provision is not well enough managed to ensure all pupils get the help they need, especially the younger ones. There is no

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

systematic checking of the quality of this work. Pupils’ learning needs and the progress they make are not carefully enough assessed and recorded. Although there is some very good support, it is inconsistent from class to class and in most classes it is inadequate. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. The provision for pupils’ social development is particularly strong and this promotes very good relationships and racial harmony.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils Good. There are good procedures for child protection and pupils’ welfare.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The school has established effective links with parents, although annual reports on pupils’ progress do not give enough information about what pupils know, understand and can do. The curriculum for ICT does not include all the required elements, such as sensing and control, and too little use is made of ICT in the teaching and learning of other subjects of the curriculum.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Aspect Comment Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides committed and effective leadership and management, closely focused on the school’s priorities for improvement. She is well supported by the senior management team. The roles of subject managers in English, mathematics, science and ICT are developing well. The management of the provision for pupils learning English as an additional language is unsatisfactory. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. The governing body has a sound understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and a convincing commitment to school improvement. The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. There is a good recently established programme for the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching. The school carefully analyses its performance in national tests and assessments to see what

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

lessons can be learned. The strategic use of resources Unsatisfactory. The money allocated to support the learning of English as an additional language is not well enough managed.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Staffing, accommodation and learning resources are good overall and make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning. However, there are too few computers and this makes it harder for teachers to raise standards in ICT. The school takes good care to secure the best value for money in obtaining goods and services, such as reprographics. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 11

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Their children like school • They feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or problems • The school expects their children to work hard and do their best • The school is helping their children to become mature and responsible. • The information they get about their children’s progress • The amount of homework • How closely the school works with parents • The range of activities outside lessons

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspection supports the parents’ positive views. Annual reports do not give parents enough information about what their children know, understand and can do and what they need to do to improve. The amount of homework is about right, taking the school as a whole. Parents are sufficiently well involved in the work of the school. The school offers a good range of interesting activities outside lessons. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 12

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. In the most recent national tests and assessments for 11 year olds standards in English were in line with the national average. They were above average when compared to similar schools. In mathematics and science they were below the national average and also below average compared to similar schools. Inspection evidence confirms that standards in English are average and that in mathematics and science they are below average. Pupils start from a very low base, with up to seventy- five per cent in some year groups learning English as an additional language. When children start school their attainment is well below that usually found nationally at this age, the most important weakness being in communication, language and literacy. The school does very well to get pupils up to the national average in English by the time they leave the school. This is achieved through the concerted efforts made to raise

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

standards. For example, there is high quality additional literacy support for the least able. Learning mentors work to raise the attainment of pupils throughout the school who are under-achieving for a variety of reasons, such as poor attendance or behavioural difficulties. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 who are identified as gifted or talented are given extra challenge in their work to help them reach their full potential. Because the support given to pupils learning English as an additional language is unsatisfactory, pupils are not well enough equipped to deal with the technical language they meet in mathematics and science and this holds down standards in these subjects.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. By the time they are 11 most pupils have legible joined-up handwriting, but their letter shapes and sizes are varied and not uniform. They know that an apostrophe is used to indicate an omission. They are able to take notes effectively, for example to record their observations in science and geography. Pupils are not sure about the use of paragraphs and they use too little punctuation in their writing.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. In mathematics, average 11 year olds know what a multiple is and can give multiples of numbers such as 50. Some pupils learning English as an additional language understand what a multiple is but they are unable to say the word. Most pupils can solve equations such as x + y = 1000 given one known factor. The most able know that we use co-ordinates to find the position of something. They know what a quadrant is and that co-ordinates are plotted on the x and y axes. They can plot co-ordinates in positive and negative quadrants on a grid.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. In the most recent national tests and assessments for seven year olds standards in reading were below the national average. In writing they were in line with the national average and in mathematics they were well below average. Teachers assessed pupils’ attainment in science as well below average. Standards in reading and writing were average compared with similar schools but they were well below average in mathematics. Comparative figures for similar schools are not available for standards in science. Inspection evidence confirms average standards in writing, below average standards in reading and well below average standards in mathematics and science. Standards in writing have risen this year from below average last year and well below average the year before. Standards in reading have remained below average for three years now and in mathematics they have remained well below average over the same

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

period of time. Since the last inspection the trend in standards in all three subjects has been downwards, the decline coinciding with the steep rise in the proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language. Standards in reading, mathematics and Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 13 science remain too low because these pupils are not consistently supported well enough in lessons and so experience particular difficulty with the specialist language of mathematics and science. The school sets appropriately challenging targets for pupils to reach in English and mathematics and these were both exceeded last year.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. By the age of seven, most pupils form their letters legibly. They generally use capital letters and full stops correctly and consistently. They are starting to make use of punctuation such as question marks, inverted commas and exclamation marks. Their spelling, when not correct, is phonetically plausible, so for example they write “fowened” for “found” and “sqoshed” for “squashed”. In mathematics most seven year olds can count down mentally in tens from a given number. They know that “subtract” is synonymous with “take away” and “difference between”. A real problem is pupils who are learning English as an additional language being unable to express their (correct) thinking processes to explain how they arrive at an answer.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Standards in art are similar to those usually found nationally at the ages of seven and 11. This is true also of geography and physical education. In music standards are similar to those usually found at the age of 11, but there is too little evidence to make a judgement about standards at the age of seven. In design and technology standards are below average by the end of Year 6, although they are satisfactory at the age of seven. In history standards are better by the age of 11 than they are at the age of seven, when they are below average. In ICT standards are below average both at the end of Year 2 and when pupils go on to high school at the end of Year 6. This is partly because the school’s ICT suite was not in use for the whole of last year due to building work. There are still not enough computers to meet the needs of 395 pupils.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

7. Pupils are keen to attend school and play a full part in its life, including the good range of extra-curricular activities. They have very good attitudes to their work. Most pupils listen carefully to their teachers, concentrate on the task given and persevere with their work. They are keen to contribute to the lesson and are quick to answer questions. Pupils enjoy what they do and take a pride in their work.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

8. The behaviour of the pupils, in class and around the school, is good. Parents are generally happy with the standard of behaviour achieved in the school. Pupils are helpful, courteous and thoughtful. They care for the property, values and beliefs of others. There is no evidence of graffiti or excessive litter around the school or its grounds. In the last school year, there were no exclusions from the school. At the time of the previous inspection there had been two fixed-term exclusions.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. Relationships, between pupils and between pupils and adults, are very good. The different ethnic groups in the school generally work and play together well. They are willing to share and take turns and to listen to each other. Parents are pleased with how all pupils are welcomed and included into school life. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 14 10. The personal development of the pupils is very good. Pupils are keen to accept the opportunities offered for taking responsibility. A pupils’ council has been recently formed and this gives them additional opportunities to take responsibility. Pupils elected two representatives from each year group in the juniors to serve on the council. Pupils carry out tasks in their classrooms, assist in assemblies, act as monitors and older pupils hear the younger ones read. They show initiative by raising money for charitable appeals like Blue Peter and Comic Relief.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Attendance in 1999/2000 was 94.2 per cent, which is below the national average. Unauthorised absence in the same year was 1.2 per cent, which is worse than the national average. The level of attendance and unauthorised absence has improved slightly since the previous inspection in 1997. The main reasons for absence are illness, extended holidays on the Indian sub-continent, a higher than normal turnover of pupils during the school year and some absences condoned by parents. Most pupils are punctual but a substantial minority arrive late. On the second day of the inspection, 36 pupils, almost 10 per cent of the school, were recorded arriving late. The unsatisfactory attendance and punctuality of a minority of pupils has a detrimental impact on their learning and attainment.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

12. There has been a good improvement in the quality of teaching since the last inspection. At that time 23 per cent of the teaching was unsatisfactory overall, 40 per cent for the pupils aged from seven to nine. Teaching is now satisfactory overall and only five per cent is unsatisfactory. However, there is not enough teaching which is of high quality. Only 38 per cent of teaching is good or better and only five per cent is very good. This compares with over sixty per cent of good or better teaching found nationally when primary schools are inspected. There needs to be more good teaching in order to raise standards, particularly in mathematics, science and ICT. The most important weakness in teaching is that there is too little good quality support for pupils learning English as an additional language, although there are some examples of good practice, for example as a bilingual learning support assistant works with English language

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

learners in Year 2. Pupils with special educational needs are supported satisfactorily by teachers and learning support assistants, but pupils’ individual education plans do not set out clear, concrete targets for them to reach, so that the help they receive is not as closely focused as it should be. The school underestimates the proportion of pupils having special needs. Those not identified are not receiving the help they need.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

13. Teachers’ subject knowledge is satisfactory taking the school as a whole. The teachers teaching the youngest children in the Reception classes have a sound understanding of the new Foundation Stage curriculum for children of this age but it is not fully implemented. There is too much emphasis on the national literacy and numeracy strategies and on the National Curriculum, and not enough on the development of children’s communication skills through structured play. In the rest of the school teachers generally have a sound understanding of the subjects they teach. Good subject knowledge is found for example in English, where in a Year 2 lesson on poetry the teacher’s good understanding enabled her to explain clearly what rhyming couplets are, so that pupils’ learning was good and they quickly understood. Good subject knowledge was also seen in mathematics, where in a Year 6 lesson the teacher’s good understanding of the subject enabled him to explain and demonstrate

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

clearly the use of positive and negative co-ordinates in four quadrants. This meant that pupils easily understood, so that their learning in the lesson was very good. There are some weaknesses in teachers’ knowledge in science. For example, in a Year 2 lesson Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 15 on differences between plants and animals the teacher was unclear about some of those differences. This meant that pupils were misled and confused, so that the quality of their learning was unsatisfactory. The school makes some good use of teachers’ specialist subject knowledge. For example, much of the teaching of ICT is done by the specialist subject manager.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

14. The teaching of the basic skills of reading, writing and number is unsatisfactory in the Reception classes. This is because of the heavy emphasis on following national guidance on literacy and numeracy at the expense of the more appropriate communication, language and literacy and mathematical areas of learning for children of this age. These are more usually found in Reception classes nationally and are based on national guidance for the Foundation Stage. The inappropriateness of the curriculum means that children do not learn the basic skills as well as they should. This weakness is particularly significant because over half the children are learning English as an additional language and therefore need to spend more time picking up the language through structured play, such as role play in which adults play an important part in promoting language development. The teaching of the basic skills to

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

the older pupils is satisfactory. The national literacy and numeracy strategies appropriately underpin the teaching of basic skills to the pupils in Years 1 to 6.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

15. Teachers generally spell out what it is pupils are to do and what they are expected to learn, although they do not always explain these learning intentions clearly to pupils at the start of lessons and so miss opportunities to help pupils understand what they are to learn. Teachers’ planning for lessons in English, mathematics and science is helpfully monitored by subject managers, who check for full curriculum coverage and the smooth progression of pupils’ learning as they move up through the school. Planning is not at present monitored in the other subjects.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. There are high expectations of what the older pupils can achieve in English, particularly in Years 5 and 6 and these, together with the good quality additional literacy support pupils receive, are leading to better standards – now in line with the national average and higher than those found in similar schools. But too often expectations are too low, so that pupils do not do as well as they could. Some lessons lack a sense of urgency and pupils drift along, not achieving all they could. This was seen, for example, in a Year 2 history lesson on Florence Nightingale, where pupils were not pressed to achieve as much as they could. Teachers do not know how much to expect of pupils who are learning English as an additional language because their levels of fluency in English are not accurately assessed and careful records of their progress are not kept.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. Teachers use a range of appropriate teaching methods to help pupils learn. They generally make much good use of whole class teaching, especially to introduce the purposes and main content of the lesson. A good balance is achieved between whole class introductions, individual or group tasks and whole class discussion at the end. This is especially the case in literacy and numeracy lessons, where teachers follow national guidance well to structure their lessons into three distinct parts. What is sometimes missing is an appropriate consolidation at the end of what has been learned, at the end. So, in an otherwise sound Year 4 mathematics lesson on money, too little time was spent at the end of the lesson discussing and thereby re- inforcingwhat had been done. Many good opportunities to work with a partner or in small groups are found in most lessons and these make an important contribution to

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

pupils’ social development, as they learn to share, co-operate and get along with others. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 16 18. Teachers manage pupils well. This makes an important contribution to the behaviour found throughout the school, which is good. The school has an appropriate behaviour management policy and teachers generally follow this well, although one or two instances were observed where teachers did not follow the behaviour policy, and these resulted in unsatisfactory behaviour. This was seen, for example, in a Year 3 mathematics lesson. The teacher told the pupils they must not talk as they shared out the cards for a game of number snap. He threatened to take away stars from any who talked, but many did so anyway and nothing was done. Because the behaviour was not managed well enough in this lesson too little got done and pupils did not learn much.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Time is generally used satisfactorily for teaching and learning. There are some examples of the very good use of time. This was seen, for example, in one of the best lessons observed which was a mathematics lesson in Year 6. The stimulating pace and enthusiasm of the teacher encouraged pupils to try hard and do their best, so that they learned at a very good rate. Support staff are skilled and they work very hard. They give very good support to pupils, particularly in additional literacy lessons for the older pupils. However, the support they give to pupils learning English as an additional language, particularly those aged from four to seven, varies a lot in quality and quantity from class to class. Overall, support for these pupils is unsatisfactory because it is not sufficiently closely targeted to meet their particular and changing needs. Teachers and support staff cannot meet their needs appropriately because the school does too little

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

to assess these needs and keep a check on their progress. Because information about their attainment and progress is patchy it cannot be used consistently to help these pupils overcome their difficulties.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Parents and carers are not very happy about the amount of homework being set. The inspection finds that about the right amount of work is given and that this supports the work being done in school. Even the youngest children are encouraged to take home books to read and discuss with their parents and carers. The demands of homework appropriately increase as pupils move up through the school.

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PUPILS?

21. As at the time of the previous inspection, the curriculum provided by the school covers all the required subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. There is a coherent whole school plan for the curriculum, representing a sound improvement since the previous inspection. Enough time is devoted to subjects, with an appropriate emphasis on English. The school has successfully introduced the national initiatives for teaching literacy and numeracy. Literacy and numeracy hours take place as required in all infant and junior classes. These help pupils to reach the expected standards in English by the time they are eleven years of age, although standards are not yet at this level in mathematics. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 17 22. Both boys and girls and those who have been identified as having special educational needs have good access to the formal curriculum and to all activities offered outside

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PUPILS?

lessons. However, those who have special needs which have not yet been identified do not get the help they need to take a full part in all lessons and this adversely affects their learning. Pupils for whom English is an additional language do not all have full access to the curriculum because their learning needs are not clearly enough identified. For example, many of these pupils struggle with the language of mathematics and science and so do not understand as well as they should what they are taught in these lessons.

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PUPILS?

23. The school has recently adopted government recommended guidelines for teaching in the other National Curriculum subjects and has thoughtfully planned where these are to be taught. As a result of this, and joint planning between teachers in the same year group, pupils’ learning builds on what they already know and those in different classes in the same year have similar learning experiences. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. However, some aspects of ICT have been missed out, with the result that standards in this subject are below those expected of pupils at the ages of seven and eleven. Although enough time is devoted to science for both infants and juniors, a number of teachers do not pay enough attention to teaching skills of scientific enquiry. Consequently, pupils do not learn enough about this important area. This is a key factor in pupils’ below average attainment in science by the time they leave the

p.17

PUPILS?

school. The curriculum is enriched by opportunities for pupils to begin to learn French, German and Spanish.

p.17

PUPILS?

24. There is good provision for personal, social and health education and appropriate sex education is included in the curriculum according to the governors’ policy. Pupils also learn about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs abuse. This aspect of education also usefully covers elements of citizenship. The recent formation of a school council helped pupils to understand the procedures and practices involved in elections.

p.17

PUPILS?

25. Overall, the provision for pupils with special educational needs is unsatisfactory. Good support and guidance is provided for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Pupils with medical problems receive very good support. Individual education plans are not sufficiently focused to provide guidance for teachers on what needs to be done to help these pupils most effectively.

p.17

PUPILS?

26. The school provides a good range of clubs and activities outside normal lesson time. These activities include some sport, including football, orienteering and athletics. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. The provision for extra-curricular music is also good. Pupils have good opportunities to learn to play musical instruments and sing in the choir. In Years 5 and 6, pupils have the opportunity to take part in an annual residential visit. These visits and clubs make a very useful contribution to the personal and social development of those pupils who take part.

p.17

PUPILS?

27. There are sound links with the local community. Pupils visit the local church on a regular basis, and the vicar, who is also a school governor, leads assemblies every week. These assemblies make a useful contribution to pupils’ spiritual and moral development. There are good links with local secondary schools that are of benefit to pupils. For example, a nearby secondary school has helped with facilities for ICT and sport. The school produces a community newspaper that is delivered to all houses in the neighbourhood. This helps pupils to appreciate and understand their role in society.

p.17

PUPILS?

28. The school’s provision for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its pupils is good. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 18 29. The provision for spiritual development is good. The school takes many opportunities during assemblies to help pupils to reflect on their own lives and those of others. The assembly theme during inspection week was based around ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and pupils were encouraged to think about the meaning behind the words of the prayer.

p.17

PUPILS?

30. Provision for pupils’ moral development is good. Positively phrased rules for behaviour in the classroom and playground are displayed in each classroom. Pupils understand these rules and teachers work hard but unobtrusively to ensure they are followed. They learn the difference between right and wrong during everyday life in the school through the good guidance and advice provided by teachers.

p.18

PUPILS?

31. The provision for pupils’ social development is very good. They work together well in lessons when required. Many pupils take part in the sporting activities offered, sometimes with other schools in the area, and this makes a good contribution to their awareness of their place in the community. The annual residential visit for pupils in Years 5 and 6 gives pupils a very good opportunity to work, play and live together and understand how to co-operate. In a number of lessons, such as science, mathematics and ICT, pupils work well together in small groups. This also helps them to develop a range of social skills. Another useful social activity is the current initiative, involving some Year 4 pupils and their parents, to develop an area of the school’s grounds into a garden. Pupils learn about the choices that they can make and the impact of those choices in personal, social and health education.

p.18

PUPILS?

32. The provision of pupils’ cultural development is good. Pupils learn something of the values and traditions of a range of different cultures through their work on world religions. The school celebrates the major Christian festivals. Displays show that pupils have been finding out about the Hindu festival of Diwali and about the customs and practices observed by Muslims during the month of Ramadan. The wide range of musical activities also makes a positive contribution to pupils’ cultural development. There have been a number of visitors to the school, including European and Asian ensembles and an African Drummer. Visits to the theatre to see performances such as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” and Indian dance enhance pupils’ understanding of their own and other cultures to be found in this country. Visiting artists also make a positive contribution to cultural understanding and pupils’

p.18

PUPILS?

visits to a nearby art gallery make an important contribution to their cultural development.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

33. The steps taken to ensure the pupils’ welfare, health and safety are good. The teachers know their pupils well, recognise their needs and give them good support and guidance. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 19 34. The school has a suitable health and safety policy. The headteacher and the caretaker carry out half-termly inspections of the buildings and grounds. Any concerns are reported to the governing body and action is taken where possible. Fire drills are held termly and all the moveable equipment is checked annually for safety. A number of specialist professionals regularly visit the school, including the school nurse. She visits weekly, carries out health checks, gives talks and helps with the sex education programme. The school is involved in the local Health Action Zone through an arts project. A ‘before and after school club’ is helpfully available to parents on a fee-paying

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

basis. The school has an appropriate policy for personal, social and health education.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. The school has a good child protection policy. The deputy headteacher is responsible for its implementation and has received the necessary training. All staff, teaching and non-teaching, are given training on child protection procedures. The school has a good relationship with the local Social Services department.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

36. The school’s procedures for monitoring and supporting the pupils’ personal development are satisfactory. Personal development is recorded for pupils who have special educational needs and those in the Reception classes but it is not formally recorded in other year groups. Reference is helpfully made to the pupils’ personal development in the annual reports to parents.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

37. The school’s procedures for monitoring and improving attendance are good. Attendance is monitored by the headteacher, the home school liaison officer and class teachers. The education social worker visits every two weeks and pursues any concerns. She also speaks to parents to emphasise the importance of good attendance for their child’s education. The home school liaison officer contacts parents on the first day of absence if their child is absent without any known reason. The school has set a target to improve the level of attendance to 94 per cent by 2002. The importance of attendance is emphasised in assemblies, and some class and individual presentations for good attendance are made. The school is concerned about the increasing amount of absence due to extended holidays abroad. Parents are strongly discouraged from taking such holidays in term-time. If they do, they are warned that their child will lose their place in the school if they do not return by an agreed date.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

Increased holiday absences have resulted in an increase in the school’s unauthorised absence rate.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. As part of the Excellence in Cities initiative, strategies are being developed to identify and target pupils who are under-achieving due to absences, misbehaviour or poor attitudes. Learning mentors assist these pupils to improve in these areas. The school collects data on the correlation between poor attendance and/or persistent lateness and attainment.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. The school’s procedures for monitoring and promoting good behaviour and eliminating oppressive behaviour are good. There is a suitable behaviour policy, which contains an appropriate range of rewards and sanctions to encourage good behaviour. The pupils were involved in the compilation of the various school policies relating to discipline and behaviour and they know the rules well. Incidents of bullying or racial name-calling are infrequent but, when they do occur, they are dealt with in accordance with the school’s appropriate anti-bullying and anti-racism policies. The pupils concerned are interviewed and parents are involved.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. Procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress are satisfactory overall. They have improved satisfactorily since the last inspection. In English procedures are good and have led recently to improving results in national tests. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 20 41. Pupils in the Reception classes are assessed upon entry to the school to find out what skills they have in key areas, such as personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy. The results are closely analysed and evaluation shows clearly the increasing number of pupils who are not reaching national expectations because of poor English language skills. Over half the pupils in the current Reception classes are learning English as an additional language. Some good use is made of the information obtained; for example, pupils with the same educational needs are set group targets for achievement.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. The monitoring of pupils’ progress continues as they move up through the school, with the emphasis on the achievement of individual pupils towards meeting national levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. There is too little systematic assessment and recording of pupils’ stages of development and progress in learning the English language. Because their learning needs are not clearly enough identified, the teaching of these pupils is unsatisfactory.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. At present the monitoring of pupils’ attainment and progress in curriculum subjects other than English, mathematics and science is at an early stage of development. Computerised tracking is soon to be introduced to help this development.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. The national expectations for levels of attainment in the core subjects form the basis for individual targets for pupils. The targets contain language which many pupils do not easily understand, they are too broad and they do not give indications of when the target should be met and how success can be recognised.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. The school is increasingly using national and optional national tests to monitor pupils’ progress and analyse strengths and weaknesses in teaching and learning. For example, analysis of pupils’ answers to questions set on national test papers has yielded useful information on the difficulties pupils face when trying to understand the requirements of the question. Evaluation of the progress of different groups of pupils takes place and some appropriate action is taken. For example, the school is careful to analyse any differences in performance between boys and girls and gifted and talented pupils. However, the needs of those who find learning more difficult are not identified clearly enough. The learning needs and progress of pupils who have statements of special educational needs are satisfactorily checked and recorded.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. The school has established a satisfactory working partnership with parents and carers. It is similar to that reported at the time of the last inspection. Parents are supportive of the school and the links between the school and parents have a positive impact on pupils’ learning. A useful half-termly newsletter is sent out and good use is made of the school notice board to communicate with parents. There is a facility to translate information for those parents who require it, although information for parents is not routinely translated into the main community languages. Those pupils working with learning mentors as part of the Excellence in Cities initiative produce an interesting newsletter for the school and the local community.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. A significant proportion of parents feel that they are not well enough informed about how their children are getting on in school. The inspection supports this view, although the parents of pupils who have special educational needs are kept well informed. This was also a problem at the time of the last inspection. Although pupils’ annual reports in the infants tell parents what their child knows, understands and can do, they do not set Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 21 targets for improvement. The juniors’ reports tell parents what their child’s class has studied but do not tell them what their child knows, understands and can do and they too do not set targets for improvement. There are three appropriate opportunities a year for parents to discuss their child’s progress with the class teacher.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. The home-school association works hard and is very active organising fund raising events. Parents are very supportive of these functions. The money raised is used to purchase resources like computers and books for the pupils. Parents are encouraged to help in the school and a number take up this opportunity. Some classes for parents, in subjects like computer skills, are held in the school. Parents are invited to special events like class assemblies, sports days and the celebration of festivals. The school is involved with the ‘Parents as Partners’ scheme and through this some helpful surveys of parents’ opinions on topics like the home/school agreement, have taken place. Information meetings are held for parents on curriculum matters but these are not well attended.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. Leadership and management by the headteacher and key staff are satisfactory overall. There are strengths in the clear vision which the headteacher has for school improvement, in her understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and in her commitment to continuing improvement. Her vision and commitment are shared by the deputy headteacher, the senior teacher and other key members of staff on the senior and middle management teams, who carry out their delegated responsibilities soundly. The weaknesses in leadership and management are most significantly in the co-ordination of the provision for pupils learning English as an additional language. There is also a weakness in the lack of a dedicated manager for the Foundation Stage, the management of which is subsumed within the management of the infants as a whole. A weakness in the management of provision for pupils who have special

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

educational needs is that not all such pupils are identified for help and support. The individual education plans for those who are on the special educational needs register are too vague and imprecise.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. The manager for English as an additional language in the infants has overall responsibility for this work. There is a new manager for the juniors, but she had only been in post one week at the time of the inspection and was still in a period of induction. Because the provision for pupils learning English as an additional language is weak, these pupils do not learn as well as they might. The support they receive varies from class to class. It is sometimes very good, but not always. Pupils’ language competency and changing needs are not sufficiently well assessed and recorded. Too little is done to check on this work.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. The headteacher and senior staff have guided the school securely through a period of great disruption, as the school was reorganised from a first school to a primary school. The reorganisation resulted in many staff changes and necessitated a major building programme, which added seven new classrooms and extended some areas of the accommodation, such as the dining hall. It is a credit to the head and senior management team that, despite the disruption, they did not lose sight of the main priorities for school improvement and standards have risen this year in writing in Year 2 and English in Year 6.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. The headteacher’s clear vision for school improvement is reflected in the school improvement plan. This plan details a number of appropriate priorities for school Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 22 improvement, including raising standards in literacy, numeracy and science, and improving attendance.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. At the time of the last inspection there was too little checking on the standard of teaching. An effect of this was the very high proportion of unsatisfactory teaching. There was little monitoring of teaching, planning or standards last year, due to the prolonged absence of the headteacher and the strains put on staff by reorganisation. There is now a good programme for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching, based on a good new policy. This is carried out by the headteacher, deputy head and senior teacher. The focus at present is appropriately on the quality of teaching in literacy, numeracy and science. There is no systematic monitoring of the provision for pupils learning English as an additional language and the result is that this provision is unsatisfactory. All teachers have helpfully been trained in monitoring techniques. Subject managers in English, mathematics and science check teachers’

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

planning to ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum and to see that national guidelines are being followed and that pupils’ learning progresses smoothly as they go up through the school. The managers of the other subjects do not yet have this role. The headteacher has carried out a careful analysis of pupils’ performance in recent national tests and assessments in English, mathematics and science. This has shown the school that pupils learning English as an additional language have difficulty with the specialist language of mathematics and science – a fact which is borne out by inspection evidence and is not being helped by inadequate support for these pupils.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. The day-to-day administration of the school and its budget is effective and appropriate use is made of ICT in running the school. There are regular monthly updates for the headteacher and all subject managers on the state of the budget and the spending of monies allocated to subjects. The governing body is also kept well informed about the budget. The governing body and headteacher take care to secure good value for money in obtaining goods and services, for example through competitive tendering. Funds allocated for the education of pupils having special educational needs are used well to support them, mainly through the provision of support staff. The monies allocated for pupils learning English as an additional language are not used well enough, as this support is poorly organised, inconsistent between classes and does not meet all pupils’ needs.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The role of the governing body is satisfactory. There are many new and active, committed governors, although there remain some vacancies. The headteacher keeps them well informed about the work of the school through her formal reports to meetings of the governing body. In addition, several governors have links with subjects and subject managers, for instance in literacy, numeracy and special educational needs. Members have benefited from some recent governor training, for example in performance management, which helps them understand the work of the school and some of the challenges it faces. The governing body considers and discusses the school improvement plan put together by the head and staff. Governors have taken part in helpful training on the school improvement planning process, together with the school’s staff. The finance committee of the governing body carefully considers a number of alternative budget plans put forward by the headteacher and advises the

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

school and full governing body on how the budget should be spent.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. There is a good match of suitably qualified and experienced teachers and support staff to the demands of the curriculum and the needs of pupils. There are enough teachers to enable the school to provide teaching in ability groups in English and mathematics at certain times of the day. There is a good number of support staff who support pupils well, for example in English. Teachers new to the school are given very good guidance Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 23 to help them settle into their role. They quickly adapt to the routines and values of the school. Each year, the school usually accommodates a number of students who are training to become teachers and provides them with useful experience.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The school’s accommodation is good. Recent developments have helped to provide light and spacious classrooms that have a positive impact on the learning environment and thus on pupils’ learning. There is a good-sized hall and a separate dining area, which means that the hall can be used for activities such as physical education throughout the day. This is particularly useful in view of the split dinner hour. The computer suite is a useful resource but there are too few computers for a whole class. There is also a school library, but this is not yet equipped or resourced in a way that makes it a useful base for independent learning or research.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The school has adequate learning resources for the lessons that are taught and the range of pupils, although there are too few books in the main community languages and bilingual books to help those who are learning English as an additional language. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 24

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In order to improve the quality of education offered and raise standards, the governing body, headteacher and staff should now:

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

59. Increase the proportion of high quality teaching, especially for those pupils learning English as an additional language, so as to raise standards in mathematics, science and ICT by the time pupils leave the school at the age of 11. (Paragraphs 12, 19).

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

60. Improve the management of the provision for pupils learning English as an additional language, to ensure that good records are kept of pupils’ learning needs and the progress they make and that the quality of the provision is regularly monitored and evaluated. (Paragraphs 19, 42, 49, 50, 53, 64).

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

61. Adopt a curriculum for the Reception classes which is more closely based on national guidance for the Foundation Stage and is not dominated by the National Curriculum. (Paragraphs 13, 14, 73, 81, 92).

p.24

Minor weaknesses

The school should also attend to the following minor weaknesses:

p.24

Minor weaknesses

• Ensure that all those pupils who have special educational needs are identified for support. (Paragraphs 22, 25). • Ensure that annual reports to parents give clear information on what pupils know, understand and can do and on what they need to do to improve. (Paragraph 47).

p.24

PROVISION FOR PUPILS FOR WHOM ENGLISH IS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

62. The school includes pupils from a number of different ethnic and language speaking groups, including Punjabi, Urdu and Gujurati speakers. Most pupils are of Pakistani heritage and their main home language is Punjabi. In all, just over 60 per cent of pupils are learning English as an additional language.

p.24

How high are standards?

63. The standards reached by pupils learning English as an additional language are too low. They are not as good as those of their classmates and are well below national averages in English, mathematics and science. Analysis of the school’s most recent national test results shows that the standards achieved by pupils learning English as an additional language are considerably lower than those of English speaking pupils. In English, 65 per cent of pupils aged 11 reached the expected level in national tests, compared to 78 per cent of the total number of pupils taking the tests. In mathematics, 50 per cent of English language learners reached expected levels, compared to 62 per cent of pupils overall. In science only 61 per cent of these pupils reached the expected level, compared to 80 per cent of pupils overall.

p.24

How well are pupils taught?

64. The quality of teaching for pupils with English as an additional language varies. It is unsatisfactory overall, because pupils do not receive consistent levels and quality of support across the school, and because support for the youngest pupils is unsatisfactory. Some good support was seen, for example that given by a bilingual support assistant to pupils in a Year 2 literacy lesson, which was particularly helpful to Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 25 pupils at an early stage of English acquisition. But in too many classes, particularly for the youngest pupils, teachers’ planning for subjects which make high literacy demands does not sufficiently provide for the needs of pupils with English as an additional language, with the result that these pupils make less progress than they should. There is only limited specialist teaching for pupils in the infants and there was none in the

p.24

How well are pupils taught?

juniors at the time of the inspection, because the teacher for this age range had only just taken up her post and was in a period of observation and induction.

p.25

How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

65. The school has a range of curriculum resources which represent the main cultures of pupils with English as an additional language. The school supports the achievement of pupils with English as an additional language through displays and notices which value their knowledge of their home language. There is some labelling around the school in the main languages of pupils, but more could be done. For example, labelling in the library could be provided in the main home languages to help pupils locate books, particularly those at an early stage of English acquisition. There are some books in the pupils’ home languages and bilingual texts.

p.25

How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

66. Pupils with English as an additional language make good progress in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development because the school ensures that they encounter positive responses to the knowledge and experience they bring to the school. This is seen, for example, in religious education as pupils learn about some of the beliefs and customs of world faiths, such as Islam.

p.25

How well does the school care for its pupils?

67. The school identifies pupils who are at the early stages of learning English as an additional language on entry to the school but the assessment and recording of their progress has weaknesses. Overall, the methods of recording and reviewing pupils’ progress are unsatisfactory. This is because of ineffective whole school co-ordination. There is too little detailed analysis of pupils’ language competency and needs and of the progress they make, especially in speaking and listening, reading and writing. Because assessment and record keeping is poor, teachers and support staff are not all aware of the language needs of English learners in their classes and so they are not able to meet these needs properly.

p.25

How well does the school work with parents?

68. The school has an effective home-school liaison worker who maintains good links with the parents of pupils learning English as an additional language. She is helpfully deployed explaining the British education system to those parents new to it and, for example, helping them to understand the reasons for not taking their children out of school for extended periods of leave abroad. The school does not routinely translate key documents and information about their children into the parents’ home language and has not yet identified sources of community support that could enable the school to have a pool of volunteers to provide translation and interpretation. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 26

p.25

How well is the provision led and managed?

69. At the time of the inspection the co-ordinator for English as an additional language in the infants had overall responsibility for this work. A newly-appointed co-ordinator for the juniors was in post but was at the stage of observation and information gathering only. The present system of co-ordination is not effective in ensuring consistently high standards of support for pupils’ learning in all age groups and in all subjects. Although the co-ordinator has attended courses concerning the teaching of English as an additional language, and has considerable experience in this work, there is too little expertise in the school currently to meet pupils’ needs and there is an urgent need for more training. There are too few opportunities for teachers and support staff to visit schools identified as having outstanding provision for supporting pupils learning English as an additional language. Not enough training has taken place for all staff on how to

p.26

How well is the provision led and managed?

incorporate appropriately engaging and challenging learning tasks for pupils learning English as an additional language in their lesson planning.

p.26

How well is the provision led and managed?

70. The school receives almost £112,000 under the ethnic minorities achievement grant and spends this on staffing support. There is no whole-school base for supporting pupils learning English as an additional language and this holds back the development of a more consistent whole school approach, including the use of ICT to produce resources, and develop and maintain more consistent whole school recording, targeting and progress tracking. The library and classroom book stocks do not provide well enough for pupils who are at the early stages of learning English, particularly in providing different language versions of key texts and dictionaries in pupils’ home languages. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 27

p.26

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 31

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) N/a 395

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/a 69

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs N/a 6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register N/a 36

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 239

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 30

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.27

Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5 Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 28 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 29

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 12 40 52

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 6 4 5 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 36 34 33

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 81 (80) 73 (73) 73 (78) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 5 6 8 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 34 32 35

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 75 (80) 73 (87) 83 (77) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

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

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 29 26 55

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 21 17 25 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 22 17 19

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 78 (n/a) 62 (n/a) 80 (n/a) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 17 19 23 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 20 17 19

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 67 (n/a) 65 (n/a) 76 (n/a) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

p.29

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 30

p.29

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 2 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 1 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 3 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 18 Financial year 2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20.8

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 739880

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 17 Total expenditure 680132

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 436 Expenditure per pupil 1753

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year -16469

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 43279

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 4.1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 9.6

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0 Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 31 FTE means full-time equivalent. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 32

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 37 50 8 2 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 42 49 5 1 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 40 36 16 7 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 35 40 17 7 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 55 34 5 4 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 50 38 4 2 6

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 34 45 12 3 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 39 38 8 3 13

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 43 40 7 1 9

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 38 39 10 2 11 Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 33

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

71. The nature of the intake into the two Reception classes has changed considerably since the previous inspection. Over 80 per cent of children come from minority ethnic groups, compared to around 30 per cent in 1997, when the last inspection took place. Assessments on entry to the Reception year show a steady decline in attainment over the past four years, particularly in the children’s familiarity with English. Most children have poorly developed skills, particularly in speaking and listening, mathematical awareness and in creative development. Their social skills are better, but still below the average. Children are now entering at a younger age - many are only just over four. New arrangements give parents a choice and few choose to enrol their children in January instead of earlier entry in the previous September.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

72. Partially as a consequence of the changed intake, standards have declined considerably since the previous inspection. At that time many children were achieving the desirable learning goals before the end of the Reception year. The quality of the teaching has declined since the previous inspection from good to satisfactory and the impact of teaching on learning is not as good as it was. There are now unsatisfactory elements in the teaching of basic skills and in the impact of assessment. Consequently, children do not consistently make appropriate progress. The majority of children are unlikely to achieve the learning outcomes for communication, language and literacy, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. They leave the Reception classes with well below average attainment in these areas of learning. The majority of children do achieve the early

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

learning goals for personal, social and emotional development and physical development, because the teaching of these areas is often good.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

73. Development of the Foundation Stage has not featured as a school priority recently and staff have received little appropriate training for the new curriculum. The planned curriculum formerly identified as good now has weaknesses. There is a lack of breadth and balance, with too great an emphasis on the formal aspects of literacy and numeracy as set out in national guidance. Consequently, time devoted to developing children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and to their creative development is restricted. The planned curriculum is not as well matched as it was to the needs of the children. Currently not enough emphasis is given to teaching the basic skills of spoken language, to exploration and to learning through play.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

74. In the current Reception year 82 per cent of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and 55 per cent are identified as having English as an additional language. The spoken language of these children is not assessed on entry nor is their progress in the English language monitored. The new induction programme is satisfactory for the social settling of children but does not provide information from parents on children’s learning, such as their use of language in the home. Consequently, children do not make as much progress as they should.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

75. Those children who are identified with special educational needs make satisfactory progress. But not all who have these needs are identified. Those with identified learning needs are given additional support in learning things such as letter sounds and Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 34 their progress in this and in number recognition is appropriately monitored. Children with special medical needs are fully included and their needs are carefully considered.

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Personal, social and emotional development

76. When they enter the Reception classes, children’s personal, social and emotional development is below expectations. Teaching for social development is good and the children currently in Reception have made significant progress since they entered the school. Most achieve the early learning goals for this area by the end of their Reception year.

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Personal, social and emotional development

77. Routines are well established and these enable the children to feel secure, confident and independent. They concentrate well, knowing that they need to take turns and wait for others. They move quickly and willingly to their group tasks and they concentrate on their work for extended periods. They often work with enthusiasm alongside each other, sharing equipment well. However, teachers do not give the children opportunities to make their own choices and select their own work. This is detrimental to their developing independence.

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Personal, social and emotional development

78. In less structured situations, such as with construction toys, few children work together in pairs. They mainly work alongside each other engrossed in their play but not communicating with others. At these times a minority of boys find it difficult to share and to accommodate others. Teachers plan these group situations carefully but they rarely intervene in order to extend children’s co-operative play and to encourage other children to join in.

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Personal, social and emotional development

79. Teachers set clear and appropriately high standards of behaviour. These are consistent between the two classes and are shared by all the staff. They enable children to develop a sense of security and a good knowledge of right and wrong.

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Personal, social and emotional development

80. There is consistency in the manner in which staff speak to children, giving praise and encouragement, and this helps the children to form good relationships with each other and with adults. This is reflected in the role play where children work in pairs and occasionally as a group, speaking to each other in a polite manner and listening to each others’ needs.

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Communication, language and literacy

81. Children enter the Reception year with levels of spoken English well below those expected of their age group and this has an impact on their learning in all areas of the curriculum. Teachers do not plan specifically for the development of skills in spoken English. The assessment of children’s spoken language is not satisfactory and teachers are not keeping effective records of children’s progress. Consequently, children do not make the progress they should. With the exception of the minority who enter with a satisfactory level of spoken language, children are unlikely to achieve the learning goals for this aspect of their learning. Teachers in the Foundation Stage feel under great pressure to focus on the skills of reading and writing too soon and they mistakenly do so to the detriment of spoken language. Most of the children are well below the nationally expected attainment in spoken language. A large minority of

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Communication, language and literacy

children for whom English is an additional language answer questions with little more than a nod or a single word.

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Communication, language and literacy

82. Teachers provide facilities, such as role play, for developing spoken language, giving children opportunities to practise their language for communication and for thinking but Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 35 there are too few opportunities for children to participate. At these times some children begin to use more complex sentences but teachers rarely intervene to extend their vocabulary and grammar.

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Communication, language and literacy

83. At times language teaching is good, but these occasions are too few. Examples of good practice are when nursery nurses work with a small group of children on purposeful tasks, relevant to the children. During the inspection they were making currant buns. The language model they provided and the conversation they generated were good opportunities for language learning. This activity supported all children well and particularly children at the first stages of acquiring English. These children responded well, nodding, smiling, answering and commenting in short phrases.

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Communication, language and literacy

84. Shared reading times are generally well taught. At these times children are interested and listen to each other, and the learning is good. From these teaching sessions children know how books work. They know that we read from left to right in English and from the front of the book to the back. They are learning to use the pictures to help them understand the story and are developing an enjoyment of books. Children have memorised the stories in their reading books, but only the most able readers can identify individual words. Teachers involve parents well with their children’s reading and give parents good guidance on how to work in partnership with the school in order to develop this essential skill.

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Communication, language and literacy

85. Teachers do not provide a broad enough approach to reading. For example, at no time during the inspection were children seen listening to tapes of stories, nor, except before registration, do children sit and browse through books or tell each other stories. Children listen with enjoyment to stories and those with little English try hard to follow the illustrations. These sessions tend to be for whole class groups, with too few opportunities for discussion.

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Communication, language and literacy

86. The elements of the National Literacy Strategy are all covered but for most children this teaching is at too advanced a level. For example, children were encouraged to participate as a class group in composing sentences for a story before many of them could speak in sentences. Teachers do not always have suitable resources such as big books to share with children and they do not use models and real objects to help children’s understanding. Listening skills are generally well taught to lower attaining children, who respond well. Learning at these times is good. Teachers introduce children to letter sounds and many children are able to recognise the initial sound in a word. The more able children can link these to the letter shape.

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Communication, language and literacy

87. Letter formation is taught individually and this develops good habits. There is some opportunity for children to model writing, such as in the appointments book at the role play ‘health centre’, but generally there are insufficient recording opportunities when teachers help children to express their ideas and activities.

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Mathematical development

88. Many children enter the Reception year with very low levels of mathematical development and records show that many leave the Reception year without attaining the early learning goals. Teachers’ planning for mathematics lacks sufficient opportunity for children to choose or to be involved in problem solving activities. Therefore, opportunities for developing mathematical experiences and language are limited. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 36 89. At the time of the inspection, the more able children could count to ten, but frequently did not recognise the numerals. Some very able children, still four, could count with cubes to above twenty identifying each one carefully.

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Mathematical development

90. Class teaching of mathematics is generally satisfactory. Teachers are following the philosophy of the National Numeracy Strategy, counting with numbers to ten. They help children to learn through clapping and through modelling activities such as shopping. They use number rhymes well and action songs to support number activities.

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Mathematical development

91. The group activities are frequently too formal. Teachers group the children according to initial assessments but these are not sufficiently specific and frequently activities set do not match the needs of the children. Consequently, children with low attainment who are at the first stages of number recognition are sometimes given tasks that are too difficult and high achievers who are ready for addition and subtraction are insufficiently challenged. This mismatch limits children’s progress.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

92. Many children enter the Reception year with restricted general knowledge. Overall, children are not given sufficient opportunities for exploratory play such as investigating and sorting objects and materials, and to make collections. During the inspection period no cutting, gluing or recording of previous events was seen. Much of the planning is inappropriately based upon the initial stages of the science curriculum. Consequently, although there are some good learning experiences children do not have enough of these on a regular basis to enable them to make good progress. As a result many children do not attain the early learning goals for knowledge and understanding of the world by the time they go up to Year 1.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

93. Teachers recognise that many children have limited experiences and take them for walks to the shops so that children begin to develop an understanding of the features of the locality. These walks are linked with mathematics based shopping activities but are not extended into role play situations to enable children to recall and reflect on their experiences.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

94. Children have considered external features of the human body and more able children can identify external features and their likes and dislikes. Highest attaining children can talk confidently about past events in their lives and the habits of their pets, but these children are a small minority.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

95. As part of their topic on ‘people who help us’ teachers invite in visitors such as the school nurse. These visits are stimulating experiences and the children recall these with clarity and enthusiasm.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

96. Good learning takes place when children work with nursery nurses making currant buns. At these times, children are given opportunity to observe how materials mix and change and to discuss their observations. Children respond well, observing carefully and showing curiosity.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

97. Children piece construction toys together and they can manipulate a mouse for the computer, but they do not undertake these activities with a purpose in mind. Teachers provide a range of tools for rolling dough and painting. Children undertake these tasks with good concentration and are keen to observe. They know the purpose of their tools, but their learning is not extended by teachers intervening sufficiently helping them to control their tools or focus their observations. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 37

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Physical development

98. Children’s physical development is slightly below expectations when they enter the Reception year. Most are on course to achieve the early learning goals by the end of the year.

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Physical development

99. Teachers provide satisfactory opportunities to develop small muscle control through drawing and manipulating play-dough. They provide individual attention to ensure children hold a pencil correctly. Consequently, many children control a pencil satisfactorily.

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Physical development

100. There is no specific outdoor area for Reception children. During breaks they move around the playground showing appropriate control and co-ordination for their age, but no adult intervenes to extend their physical development. Within the confines of the classroom children move freely and they negotiate spaces well. During the inspection little teaching was seen which developed children’s control and balance of their body but this aspect of physical development is planned for.

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Creative development

101. Children start school with well below the expected levels of creative development. Some of the teaching of this area of the curriculum is unsatisfactory and therefore children do not progress as well as they might. By the end of the Reception year few will achieve the early learning goals. Insufficient time is devoted to creative development, which remains on the timetable under National Curriculum subjects.

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Creative development

102. Little creative artistic activity was seen during the inspection. There was little free choice activity when children could explore materials or paint. Structured activities led by staff are satisfactory but these experiences are too few.

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Creative development

103. Some good creative activity takes place during role play in the classroom when children wear helmets as firemen or take dolls to the ‘health centre’. At these times children are starting to construct an imaginary world. But too few opportunities are provided for imaginative play such as with cars, dolls houses and animals. In the larger space of the hall children are asked to enact familiar activities but this is too advanced for them and they do not respond well.

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Creative development

104. Music is taught as a whole class and teachers use commercial tapes of action songs. In the lesson seen no direction was given to the children to help them move in time to the music or to recognise musical qualities and their attainment was very low. By the end of the lesson only a very small minority of children moved their bodies in response to the music or sang the song at the correct pace. Sometimes, such as when waiting for lunch, familiar action songs are sung well and in tune, and some children are skilled at leaving out words at their teachers’ request.

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ENGLISH

105. Standards in writing at the end of the infants are like those in most schools, as they were at the time of the last inspection. In reading they are lower than in most schools, and lower than when last inspected. Pupils’ results in the national tests for seven-year- olds in 2001 tell the same story. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 38 106. The main reason for the change since the last inspection is that just over half the pupils in the infants now speak English as their second language. When most start school their standards of English are therefore very low. Standards in speaking by the end of year 2 are still well below those expected for seven-year-olds. Pupils take longer than other children to learn their letters and new words. Standards have been low since 1999, but have improved steadily in the last two years. This is because the quality of teaching has improved. For example, there is now no unsatisfactory teaching. Pupils

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ENGLISH

are doing better in English than in mathematics and science for this reason.

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ENGLISH

107. Writing standards are higher than those in reading because teachers gave top priority to improving them last year. Most pupils now reach the level expected for seven-year- olds. This is a good achievement. However, less than a quarter reach the higher levels of the National Curriculum.

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ENGLISH

108. Standards in reading and writing at the end of the juniors are like those in most primary schools. Standards of speech are lower. This is because the school does not map out how to develop it. Teachers and pupils have done well to keep up the standards in reading and writing found at the last inspection. It was not easy. A third of pupils left the school and a third joined during their junior years. At the same time the number of junior pupils for whom English is an additional language more than doubled. The national test results for 11-year olds in 2001 confirm that standards are none-the-less like those in most schools. Over three quarters of pupils reached the level expected for 11-year-olds and over a third the higher level. Girls did much better than boys, following a national pattern. Pupils’ results went well beyond the targets the school had set. This was because of teachers’ determination to make a big improvement on the low

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ENGLISH

standards at the end of Year 4. Support for pupils for whom English was a second language was well targeted. The school provided extra teachers and skilled support staff. There was a very effective booster group with pupils moving in and out according to need.

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ENGLISH

109. Since the re-organisation teachers have worked hard to raise standards. Their efforts have started to produce results, particularly in reading and writing in the juniors. Standards are also beginning to rise in the infants though they are not yet high enough in reading. Standards of speech are too low at both key stages. Several strategies to raise standards are now working, in particular:

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ENGLISH

- the quality of teaching has improved and is now satisfactory overall, with some good and very good teaching;

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ENGLISH

- there are now satisfactory procedures for assessing and monitoring pupils’ progress;

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ENGLISH

- teachers’ skills and confidence in teaching the national strategy for literacy continue to improve;

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ENGLISH

- teachers have a good understanding of the National Curriculum levels and how to move pupils on from one level to the next;

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ENGLISH

- teachers provide challenging work for pupils of different backgrounds, for example those for whom English in an additional language, those with special educational needs, very bright pupils and those who make slow progress in English;

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ENGLISH

- small support groups led by well trained staff in each of the junior years help pupils who have fallen behind to catch up. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 39 110. Pupils listen attentively to teachers reading, describing and questioning, and to each other’s answers and comments. However, teachers do not plan enough opportunities for pupils to speak in pairs and groups, or to use drama, role-play and discussion. So although pupils’ use and knowledge of words grow as they get older, these are not as wide as they could be by the time they reach the age of 11. At times, therefore, they struggle to find the words to express themselves when discussing or following new lines of enquiry or when recording new learning. Teachers also have to spend more time explaining new learning. At the beginning of literacy lessons, teachers are not making the most of opportunities to improve speech. For example they do not give

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ENGLISH

enough time for pupils to read with or after them, recite or to talk in pairs to share ideas.

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ENGLISH

111. On the other hand, teachers do appreciate the importance of pupils learning key subject words, for example in mathematics, science and geography. They are making particular efforts now to ensure that pupils in the infants for whom English is an additional language fully understand the meaning of mathematical language. Analysis of their national test answers showed that this lack of understanding was a barrier to learning. Teachers also make good use of singing to improve pupils’ confidence in speech. For example, a Year 1 lesson ended with the class singing “Five Little Men”, a song in the story they were reading. Songs in the weekly modern language lesson for upper juniors are similarly effective. Because most pupils spell words as they say them, such improvements in speech have a spin off in improving their writing. This is particularly important for the growing number of pupils whose mother tongue is not

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ENGLISH

112. Teachers use a good range of approaches to improve pupils’ reading skills and enjoyment of books. Most pupils value opportunities to read to adults and are keen to talk about their favourite stores, books and authors. The Better Reading Partnership and additional literacy groups are effectively improving reading skills, confidence and the attitude of pupils whose progress has slowed down. Older pupils are expected by themselves to read books, encyclopaedias and information from computers. As a result, most reach the standard expected for their age by the end of Year 6. A good feature of the teaching of reading is the way both staff and parents continue to support individual reading well. For example, pupils read regularly at home to adults, using story books which match their reading standards. However, library skills are below average. This is because the school does not have a scheme to develop them. Pupils

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ENGLISH

know how to find topic sections in the library but have to thumb through a lot of books to find a particular title. The library does not use book numbers to make it easier to find books, which are sometimes too high for pupils to reach. As a result pupils read less information text than in most schools.

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ENGLISH

113. The youngest pupils read to teachers and other adults several times a week. They also have at least one session a week when they read with the teacher in their literacy group. By the time they are seven most therefore reach the standard expected for their age. Pupils tackle reading scheme books by themselves. They describe the stories they like and remember the plot in detail. Those making slow progress still read one word at a time because they are not sure about letter sounds. They often continue to follow text with their fingers. As a result, their reading does not flow and often lacks expression.

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ENGLISH

114. One of the strengths of teaching in the infant classes is that teachers place a great deal of emphasis on teaching the sounds of letters. Consequently, when pupils see words they cannot read, such as accidentally and bedroom , they sound out the letters. Teachers all use the same new method to ensure pupils learn their letters well. It is Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 40 now beginning to improve pupils’ reading. The same successful strategy is not used with pupils in the younger junior classes. This prevents pupils from making quick enough progress with their reading and spelling. As a result, reading standards in Years 3 and 4 are still below those expected for pupils’ ages.

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ENGLISH

115. The school has a satisfactory range of books for older pupils, and teachers encourage junior pupils to continue to read by themselves. Consequently, abler and average pupils read good quality children’s novels fluently, with expression and understanding. Pupils understand terms such as suspense and setting. The most able pupils compare books, authors and characters in detail. For example, Year 6 pupils studying life stories researched a head teacher’s account of the writer as a boy. They then cited evidence to show how and why his views differed from those of his friends. Pupils making slower progress read accurately, but sometimes with limited expression and understanding. A few lose interest because they find reading hard and are two or more years behind by the end of Year 6.

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ENGLISH

116. The school’s analysis of national test results highlighted low writing standards. To put this right, teachers changed the timetable to give more time for pupils to write at greater length and with more expression. This is paying dividends. Teachers’ enthusiasm sparks off pupils’ interest, and they make good use of their imagination. Average seven-year-olds and those making slower progress now go into more detail, for example in describing their summer holidays or the story of Rumplestiltskin. Pupils making quicker progress use realistic dialogue in their writing to match the events in their stories. All junior pupils now experience a good range of writing styles. For example they write film scripts, classified advertisements, put Shakespeare sentences into modern English, or retell the Christmas story from the innkeeper’s point of view. They edit and re-write, but do not always improve accuracy. Pupils are not using

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ENGLISH

computers enough to polish writing skills

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ENGLISH

117. However, standards of spelling, handwriting and punctuation are not high enough. St Barnabas’ pupils, like those in other primary schools, begin by writing words as they sound. Junior pupils at the school are taking too long to move off this stage. This is because English is not the mother tongue of most pupils and the school does not give enough attention to improving the accuracy and clarity of speech. They continue to write what they hear and so get too used to inaccurate spelling. For example in Year 3 pupils wrote: sude, strabbery , fowened and sow for sudden, strawberry, found and saw. Teachers are also not giving enough attention to spelling in the junior classes. Many pupils do not therefore keep up in routine writing the good standards they reach in spelling tests.

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ENGLISH

118. One of the weaknesses in the teaching of handwriting is that pupils do not properly learn the curves, lines and patterns basic to letter shapes. There is not enough practice. Consequently, by the time they are seven, pupils’ handwriting is poor because many letters are incorrectly formed or positioned on the line. This is made worse when teachers do not give enough attention to correcting poorly formed letters, or ensure that pupils hold their pencils properly. In the junior classes handwriting therefore often suffers when pupils switch from print to joined-up writing. As a result too many pupils lose both form and fluency in their ordinary work. They then pick up poor writing habits, which are hard to unlearn. Older pupils write neatly in handwriting books but often fail to put the same amount of effort into other writing. Their books show work that is printed or rushed. These weaknesses in the development of this

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ENGLISH

basic skill lead to slow writing rates. They also make it harder for pupils both to check and learn from their own writing. Improvement is increasingly urgent as the numbers of pupils regularly learning both Urdu and Arabic letter forms out of school increase. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 41 119. The literacy hour has improved pupils’ understanding and use of grammar. It is beginning to improve written expression. However, after a sound start in the infants, punctuation does not develop enough in the juniors. By the age of seven, most pupils punctuate their simple sentences with capital letters and full stops. Junior pupils learn how and when to use commas, speech and question marks and paragraphs. However they do not use this knowledge nearly enough in their stories and accounts. Lack of punctuation reduces the clarity of written work and contributes to below average standards of presentation. These weaknesses often come about because some

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ENGLISH

teachers do not expect higher standards. For example, they do not remind pupils enough to use these skills, say how much pupils are to write or tell them how much time they have for writing.

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ENGLISH

120. As a result of the satisfactory help and support they get from teachers and classroom assistants, pupils identified as having special educational needs make steady progress towards the language targets in their individual education plans, although these targets are not always precise enough. Classroom assistants also play an important part in helping pupils who find it difficult to learn English. Their time and talents are put to good use in working with small groups and individuals. They give good support to pupils who are new to the school and sometimes come with little or no English. Their management of pupils is consistently good, so that pupils develop a positive attitude to learning.

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ENGLISH

121. The leadership and management of the subject are good. The co-ordinators have a clear view of strengths and weaknesses and what therefore needs to be done to improve standards further. They know the importance of continuing to develop teachers’ skills and knowledge, for example of grammar and the needs of pupils for whom English is an additional language. Effective management has already begun to improve the teaching of reading in the infants, the quality of teaching and learning in both infants and juniors and standards by the end of the juniors. As a result of improved assessment of each pupil’s progress, challenging but achievable targets have been set, linked to national standards. The school is now in a good position to ensure that pupils continue to be ready for the language demands of secondary school work when they leave St Barnabas’.

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MATHEMATICS

122. Standards in mathematics for seven-year-old pupils have declined over the past four years since the last inspection, during which time the school has undergone significant changes in its intake and character. The standards reached in national tests this summer, when compared with pupils of the same age nationally and in similar schools were too low. In the Year 2001 national tests, eleven-year-old pupils reached standards which were below the national average. Standards were also below those of eleven- year-old pupils in similar schools. There was no significant difference in the standards reached by eleven-year-old girls and boys. However, the small number of seven-year- old boys, most with English as an additional language and half of whom had special educational needs, performed in the tests at a level that was significantly lower than that of the girls. The difference in performance between seven-year-old boys and girls

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MATHEMATICS

has continued to widen over the past three years. This is due to the indifferent attitudes towards learning on the part of a small minority of boys and increasing differences between boys and girls in the understanding and use of language. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 42 123. Pupils enter the school with knowledge and understanding of numbers which is well below that expected at the age of four. Most infant pupils make slow progress, in particular those with English as an additional language, because limitations in the acquisition, understanding and use of language restrict effective learning in mathematics. Understanding of mathematical ideas and subject language is weak amongst the youngest least able pupils and those with English as an additional language. The pace of lessons for the infants is slow because teachers have to constantly check understanding and need to use repetition, recapitulation and

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MATHEMATICS

consolidation regularly in their teaching. By the age of eight in Year 3, pupils’ confidence in English is improving and, aided by good teaching, pupils’ progress in mathematics improves to satisfactory levels. In Year 6, pupils are making good progress. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress where their learning targets are clear and specific, but not enough pupils who have special needs have been identified for help and too many learning targets are too vague.

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MATHEMATICS

124. In Year 1, pupils recognise numbers and count on and back in steps of ten. They suggest numbers that together make ten and can place numbers with similar properties in sets. They understand odd and even numbers and can recognise numbers that are larger or smaller than other numbers. Learning is helped by lessons that have variety including class, group and individual activities, mental exercises and checking understanding. These serve to maintain interest, assist concentration and help retention. By the age of seven, pupils know the names of common two and three- dimensional shapes and their properties. Pupils’ observational skills are good but too many find difficulties in expressing their thinking because their language skills are poor. Too many pupils, whose exposure to English at home is limited, read without always understanding, reverse some numbers, lay out their work without close attention to the

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MATHEMATICS

necessity for correct presentation and have difficulties in articulating answers to questions. These and other similar weaknesses in the uses of the English language combine to restrict progress in mathematics for most pupils in their first two years of compulsory schooling. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 43 125. By the age of 11, most pupils have made good progress in overcoming these impediments to learning. They have developed sufficient skills, understanding and knowledge in all areas of mathematics (number, algebra, space, shape, measures and data handling) to have confidence in their mathematical capabilities. However, a significant minority of pupils with special educational needs and least able pupils continue to have difficulties with their learning because their language development is below expectations.

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MATHEMATICS

126. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. It is good in the juniors because teachers use a wide range of effective teaching methods and resources. However, opportunities to use the computer to help learning, particularly to develop the use of language in mathematics, are rarely provided. Appropriate homework is set regularly for the older pupils. Teachers plan their work effectively and their classroom management skills are usually good. However, in one unsatisfactory lesson in Year 3 weak control by the teacher meant that pupils’ learning was disrupted by their poor application when given set tasks. Teachers respond appropriately to what their assessments tell them about pupils’ learning needs. For example, in a Year 3 class following a mental activity, the teacher quickly realised that the pupils had a secure understanding of multiplication and division by 5 and 10. Using a calculator projected on to the whiteboard, she extended

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MATHEMATICS

the pupils’ learning through a barrage of well directed questions based upon many appropriate examples which made the pupils think. Answers were given with increased speed and accuracy as all pupils sought to join in the activity. Motivation was high and learning was fun for both the pupils and the teacher. Effective learning takes place when teachers recognise and exploit the pupils’ natural competitive instincts. In a very good Year 6 lesson, the teacher used controlled competition successfully to stimulate pupils into giving the greatest number of factors within a number. The pupils enjoyed the activity and they learned effectively from the answers of others. Teachers have been trained in the requirements of the National Numeracy Strategy and national guidance is followed closely in subject planning at all levels. The three-part lesson structure is closely followed although in a few lessons insufficient time remains at the

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MATHEMATICS

end of the lesson to ensure that the final discussion is fully effective in consolidating the work of the lesson. In most lessons the work to be undertaken is shared with pupils and reference is usually made to it as the lesson progresses. Mathematical vocabulary is used as appropriate but it is not always understood by those learning English as an additional language. However once they understand, pupils are keen to use technical language correctly. They are readily stimulated by oral and mental activities which they enjoy and which foster interest in subsequent work. Surprisingly, the teachers, who usually teach the same pupils for other subjects, do not help pupils transfer their mathematical knowledge and skills into other areas of the curriculum. Teachers monitor the progress of pupils and in Years 3 to 6 set targets for progress. The targets based on national levels of expectation are too broad and are described in professional

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MATHEMATICS

language, which is beyond the understanding of most pupils.

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MATHEMATICS

127. The teaching places a strong emphasis on the knowledge and recall of number. This means that by the age of seven pupils are satisfactorily competent in the use and understanding of processes involving numbers and number bonds. These pupils show good mental skills when handling numbers but language difficulties frustrate most from expressing themselves orally and in writing. Infant pupils have a secure grasp of ideas which involve space and shape.

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MATHEMATICS

128. Pupils above the age of seven increasingly handle measurement of time, length, mass and angles correctly and competently. They collect data and draw, explain and interpret graphs, diagrams, tables and charts. These junior pupils make predictions and by the age of 11 are able to think and reason with improved logic to solve Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 44 problems. Pupils have confidence in the use of calculators at levels appropriate to their age. They are given few opportunities to develop skills in information and communication technology. Schemes of work do not show planned opportunities to use and apply numeracy in new situations. This results in number work being used infrequently outside the mathematics curriculum, although in Year 5 pupils had classified solids, liquids and gases using Venn diagrams and in Year 2 in geography, tally charts had been used to record how pupils come to school.

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MATHEMATICS

129. Mathematics is managed effectively. The subject manager appreciates the effort required in raising standards as the re-organised school develops and has written a well-conceived subject development plan to plot the direction the teaching and learning should take in the immediate future .

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SCIENCE

130. By the time pupils are seven years of age, standards of attainment in science are well below national standards. This finding from the Year 2001 national assessments is confirmed by inspection evidence. When they leave school at the age of eleven, standards are below those achieved nationally. In the National Curriculum tests in Year 6, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level for eleven year olds was below the national average in summer 2001. Inspection findings confirm this picture. This represents a fall in standards since the last inspection. Standards of attainment were judged to be about the same as those found nationally at seven years of age and pupils leaving the school at the end of Year 4 were on target to reach the expected level. This is in part because there are more pupils for whom English is an additional language and because teaching does not cover scientific investigation consistently well enough.

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SCIENCE

However, the proportion of pupils at the end of Year 6 reaching higher levels is about the same as that found nationally. This is an improvement since the previous inspection when more able junior aged pupils did not reach high enough standards. In comparison with schools with similar intakes, standards at the end of Year 6 are also below average. Pupils learning English as an additional language do not do as well as other pupils. This is because they have trouble with the technical language of science and they are not well enough supported in mastering this. In the most recent national tests for 11 year olds only 61 per cent of pupils learning English as an additional language reached the expected level, compared with 80 per cent in the school as a whole. There is little difference between the levels of attainment of boys and girls and this is borne out by the school’s analysis of the 2001 national tests results.

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SCIENCE

131. By the end of Year 2, standards are well below average. Pupils learn that there are differences between animals and plants but the teachers’ definitions are too imprecise. For example, the teacher accepted the definitions that all animals have legs and teeth. Although pupils make and record observations, there is not enough work on cause and effect to enable pupils to reach higher levels. For example, Year 2 pupils describe the changes they notice as a result of exercise, but do not begin to explain reasons for these changes. By the time pupils reach Year 6, they have made some progress, but not enough to enable the majority to reach the appropriate level for pupils of this age. They construct simple electrical circuits with batteries, bulbs, wires, motors and buzzers and a few systematically analyse why some circuits do not appear to work. Pupils know that materials can exist as solids, liquids and gases and that the properties

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SCIENCE

of these depend on the arrangements of particles within them. The main factor in pupils’ below average attainment is their lack of understanding of methods of scientific enquiry. Many do not have the opportunity to ask their own questions or find ways of answering them. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 45 132. Although the quality of teaching is sound overall, there are some inconsistencies. Consequently, the quality of pupils’ learning, although satisfactory overall, is not good enough to raise standards to the expected level by the time pupils leave the school. Some teachers of both infants and juniors do not have enough knowledge of science to allow them to be sufficiently rigorous and precise in the work they prepare, teach and mark. One teacher said that wires send the power source around a circuit and another marked as correct the statement that “the feamer (sic) helps move lower part of your

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SCIENCE

body”. There is some lack of clarity in teaching scientific enquiry. A teacher in the younger half of the juniors demonstrated the differences between solids and liquids without giving pupils enough opportunities to ask questions and find out the answers. In an older class, the teacher’s knowledge of electricity and circuits was at full stretch and she was unable to guide more able pupils towards the solutions to the questions they had. The quality of learning for a significant number of pupils is undermined by some teachers’ unsatisfactory knowledge in teaching science and the lack of rigour and precision. However, some pupils experience a better quality of learning because of satisfactory teaching. Year 6 pupils investigate the effect of different lengths and thickness of wire on the brightness of bulbs in a circuit. They select their own equipment and record their findings in an appropriate way. As a result of good

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SCIENCE

teaching, Year 5 pupils learn why it is a good idea to repeat experiments. They carried out an investigation they had done earlier that week and looked for similarities and differences in their results.

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SCIENCE

133. The quality of learning is similar in classes for different groups of pupils. Those with special educational needs make similar progress to their classmates with the help of the teacher or other adult support. Pupils for whom English is an additional language receive too little extra support and sometimes struggle to keep up, for example when considering the differences between plants and animals.

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SCIENCE

134. Although there is often a requirement for pupils to write about their work and explain ideas, for example the similarities and differences between human and dog skeletons, this work is not sufficiently developed or discussed. Similarly, there is not enough use of numerical information, for example different measurements in science. There are some useful examples however. Year 4 pupils prepare a frequency chart representing the heights of pupils in the class. In general, measurements rely too much on individuals’ opinions, for example when comparing the brightness of bulbs or audibility of sounds from differently insulated sources. Information and communication technology is underused in science for recording or finding and testing.

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SCIENCE

135. Science is soundly managed. The subject coordinator has prepared a useful action plan that has identified the major hindrances to improved achievement and proposed sensible action to remove these. These involve improving teachers’ understanding of scientific investigation and how to teach it, and to monitor and evaluate the work that pupils do in relation to the requirements of the National Curriculum. Science assessment is in the early stages of development. Teachers have begun to assess what levels pupils have reached. In some cases, these results are used to inform pupils what they need to do to reach the next level. However, such targets are too general to be of use in planning work for individuals or groups of pupils, and are couched in inaccessible language.

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ART AND DESIGN

136. By the time pupils are seven and eleven years of age, they reach standards in art that are about the same as those expected for pupils at those ages. This is the similar to the judgements made at the last inspection. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 46 137. Younger pupils look carefully at pictures and objects, including themselves and use different techniques and media such as paint, brushes, chalk and pencils to produce their own work. These show a developing understanding of simple elements of art such as proportion and sequencing. However, a significant number of pupils are not able to select the right type of equipment or taught how to use it appropriately.

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ART AND DESIGN

138. Pupils in the juniors continue to look carefully at elements of artists’ work, for example, still life. They carefully consider how the artist has composed the picture and the individual features of the pictures. Year 5 pupils recognise that the foreground of a still life picture might be executed in more vibrant colours to make it stand out. One pupil remarked that the background might be darker and less clear because that was how the artist was feeling when he painted it. Year 6 pupils look at images and consider how these show action and movement and reproduce this successfully in their own work.

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ART AND DESIGN

139. The quality of teaching and learning is sound with some good elements. Pupils start Year 1 with unsatisfactory skills and understanding. Teachers plan well according to the government recommended guidelines, prepare well-resourced lessons and focus on appropriate teaching ideas. A teacher in Year 1, through demonstration and example, encouraged pupils to plan their self-portraits. As a result, their own initial sketches were reasonably well proportioned and a good basis for further work. A Year 2 teacher developed the idea of looking carefully at pictures with the use of viewfinders so pupils began to recognise that a picture is built up of different elements. In the juniors, pupils continue to develop their understanding of art through a series of lessons in which teachers encourage them to look at the composition and construction of images. In Year 3, a good lesson helped pupils to learn how to produce different tints

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ART AND DESIGN

and tones of the same colour and this helped pupils to understand how they could achieve different effects. Older pupils in Year 6 learn how to incorporate action and movement into their work through a series of soundly planned and taught lessons. However, pupils do not always make enough progress in mastering tools and techniques with different media, for example, using an appropriate brush for a particular type of paint, or holding a brush for greater control. This was a feature noted in the previous inspection, so there has not been enough of an improvement in this area. Information and communication technology is underused in teaching and learning about art.

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ART AND DESIGN

140. All pupils learn at much the same rate, including those for whom English is an additional language. In one or two cases, particularly in Years 1 to 3, some of these pupils are not completely sure what they need to do following the teacher’s introduction. However, teachers soon pick up the fact that pupils have not fully understood and put them back on track through individual help and guidance.

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ART AND DESIGN

141. The management of art is satisfactory. The subject manager has planned where each of the units from the national guidance should be taught so that pupils’ learning is built on what they already know and pupils in different classes in the same year are taught similar lessons. As yet, the school has not begun to find out what individual pupils know, understand and can do, but there are firm plans to develop this. Visits from artists and to a nearby art gallery enrich the curriculum and the subject makes a satisfactory contribution to cultural education, although this area could be developed further.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 47 142. Standards are as expected nationally at the end of Year 2 and remain similar to those found at the time of the previous inspection. Standards dip in Year 3 and by the time pupils are in Year 6 standards are below those expected nationally. The school has not addressed the weaknesses related to design and evaluation identified at the time of the previous inspection and these remain areas for improvement. The school has rectified the deficiencies in the range of tools available for its older pupils. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported and involved in the lessons. Children with little English are fully involved with the practical tasks but are not always incorporated into the social groups.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

143. In the lessons seen, teachers of junior aged pupils were not with their own class and had no records of previous achievement. This makes it difficult for them to ensure that all pupils are working to the best of their ability and also to anticipate pupils’ needs. This was evident in all the lessons seen. Teaching of the planned skills was satisfactory but teachers were assuming, often erroneously, that other skills had been developed previously. Consequently teachers were not always fully prepared and opportunities to expand pupils’ horizons and raise their attainment were lost. Classes are well managed and organised and skills such as sawing and sanding wood are taught in an orderly manner with a careful regard to pupils’ safety. Mechanisms such as cams are well displayed. However the full design process is not well taught and therefore pupils do not use measurements sufficiently, select materials for appropriate

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

reasons or refer back to their design in order to check and modify their work as it progresses.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

144. The teaching seen in Year 2 was good. At the time of this inspection pupils in this year were very involved in completing the designing process by testing model vehicles. Teachers’ planning focused on the complete design process. Each pupil had made a vehicle following their own design and had evaluated it for appearance. Pupils were now evaluating movement and were concerned to find out whether a fixed or a movable axle was more efficient. Most pupils were able to discuss these mechanisms with confidence using technical terms because their teachers use these terms. Although their testing methods were not rigorous, they were sufficiently appropriate and enabled pupils to achieve an answer to their design question. Good teaching, achieved through the teacher’s good subject knowledge and questioning skills within a well planned sequence of lessons, led to good learning. In the discussion following the testing

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

teachers enabled the pupils to analyse their own work and make suggestions for improvements in a most mature manner. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 48 145. The subject is well planned to cover the curriculum and to incorporate a broad range of skills. In reality these skills are not as consistently taught as they might be. The new subject manager is knowledgeable and enthusiastic but his impact is not yet felt. There is no systematic monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning.

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GEOGRAPHY

146. At the ages of seven and eleven pupils attain standards which are in line with those expected nationally. This includes those pupils who have special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language. This maintains the position of the last inspection and represents satisfactory progress.

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GEOGRAPHY

147. During the inspection only one lesson was seen, in the infants. Good teaching contributed to pupils’ learning. The teacher maintained a brisk pace which demanded concentration. Pupils responded well as they provided details of the route from the classroom to the school office as part of their work on plans. They then drew their route to school. Pupils with special educational needs received good support as they worked on a simplified plan.

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GEOGRAPHY

148. Pupils in Year 6 are confident in their use of vocabulary as they talk about the course of a river. Responding to a demonstration by the teacher, they talk about a channel appearing and surface run off. Pupils are also doing a project at home about a particular river and some have used the Internet and the local library to find information.

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GEOGRAPHY

149. The subject manager is new to the role. Her action plan reveals a clear grasp of the priorities to raise standards. Some use is made of the local area and of a residential field trip to extend pupils’ learning, but too little use is made of ICT to support pupils’ learning.

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HISTORY

150. At the age of seven pupils attain standards which are below those expected nationally. Standards at this stage are held down by the poor skills which pupils have in written and spoken English. Standards were in line with expectations at the time of the last inspection. By the age of eleven, pupils’ standards are in line with national expectations. This includes pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language. Progress is unsatisfactory up to Year 2, but it gets better as pupils go up through the school and it is satisfactory in Year 6.

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HISTORY

151. During the inspection in one lesson seen, in Year 2, the teacher told the story of Florence Nightingale well. By the end of the lesson, pupils knew why she is famous and could explain it clearly. The teacher used her voice well to hold the pupils’ attention and to extend their learning. She had secure subject knowledge. However, too little was expected of pupils, so that they did not learn as much as they could.

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HISTORY

152. Pupils in Year 6 do their own research about education in Ancient Greece. They know that ideas about democracy stem from Athens. Teachers have good subject knowledge and appropriately warn pupils about making generalisations. Pupils describe the life of the poor in Victorian times. When questioned by the teacher, they explain why Sundays followed a different routine. Younger pupils aged eight and nine show their knowledge of Ancient Egypt as they recount what they know about slaves, pyramids, mummification, the gods and the Nile. Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 49 153. In lessons seen, teaching was satisfactory overall. The best teaching promotes good attitudes to learning and pupils are encouraged to find things out for themselves, for example by doing research on the Internet. Overall, however, teachers make too little use of ICT to support pupils’ learning.

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HISTORY

154. The subject manager is new to the role. She has a satisfactory understanding of the priorities for development in the subject. At present she does not check teachers’ planning or observe them teaching and in this her role is under-developed. The subject manager has arranged several helpful visits by a theatre company to enrich the curriculum.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

155. At the ages of seven and eleven pupils attain standards which are below those expected nationally. This includes pupils who have special educational needs and pupils with English as an additional language. At the last inspection standards were judged to be too low. Improvement has been unsatisfactory. Pupils do not make satisfactory progress in acquiring skills, knowledge and understanding during their time in school. This is because elements of the National Curriculum for ICT are missing. Although the school has purchased new computers and established a computer suite, this could not be used at all last year owing to building works.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

156. Confident teaching of pupils aged six and seven and clear explanations help pupils to extend their learning. They recall previous work when they have entered text and used the return key to produce a new line. They readily use the backspace key to delete unwanted words. Inadequate literacy skills then impede progress as pupils do not appreciate that this creates the need for full stops and capital letters. Pupils aged five and six type in their names and are asked to select colours for the letters. Only above average pupils are able to control the mouse well enough to do this without help.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

157. Pupils aged ten to eleven listen to a competent demonstration on an interactive whiteboard. A number have prepared work at home and one pupil saved hers to disk and brought it with her. In a class of nine to ten year olds, only above average pupils can retrieve work unaided, whereas it is expected that most pupils of this age should be able to do so confidently. Pupils aged eight and nine are shown how to use ‘find and replace’ to replace proper nouns with pronouns in a prepared text.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

158. The teaching in lessons seen was satisfactory overall. The school makes considerable use of specialist teaching. Many teachers who do not take this role lack competence and confidence and consequently do not use computers in their own classrooms. Skills learned in the suite are not practised further and ICT is not used nearly enough in other subjects.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

159. Management of the subject is satisfactory. The subject manager is aware that there are gaps in what is taught - sensing and control technology. The school now has a scheme which ensures that these missing elements will be covered in future. He also knows of the importance of staff training and the need to keep a check on the ICT work which colleagues are doing in their own classrooms. Gifted and talented pupils have received good support through effective links with local secondary schools. A parents’ class uses the suite on a weekly basis.

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MUSIC

Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 50 160. No music teaching was seen in the infants during the inspection. No instrumental playing and very little singing took place in the infant assembly and consequently no judgement can be made on standards for pupils aged five to seven.

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MUSIC

161. In the juniors standards are above national expectations overall. The curriculum is well planned with a good mix of composing, appraising and singing. Music from many cultures is studied and as part of the process pupils attend performances by visiting musicians. The tuition by visiting teachers in violin, clarinet and guitar and the school clubs for recorder and brass instruments are a strength of the school and enhance the provision for junior pupils. This enables the more able pupils to achieve well. These pupils have a good understanding of musical structures and are able to read music. The standard of the school’s choir is good and they have the opportunity to perform for the school and the wider community. These standards are not transferred to the music lessons where singing in Year 6 is average.

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MUSIC

162. The quality of teaching and learning in the junior years is usually good. The school is fortunate to have specialist music teachers on the staff and in their lessons teaching is very good and on occasions excellent. This leads to good attainment by the pupils. Non specialist teachers make good use of a commercial scheme and their teaching is satisfactory but they do not have the technical competence to discuss and develop specific skills, such as phrasing, when teaching singing, and therefore to raise attainment.

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MUSIC

163. In Year 6 pupils sing different styles of music and reflect on the relationship between lyrics and melody. In Years 5 and 4, where attainment is good, the pupils work hard. In Year 5 pupils listen to South Asian music and with support from their teacher they identify eight beat and the six beat rhythms. In Year 4 pupils act as composers using tuned percussion instruments. At these times, through skilful teaching, pupils aged eight are familiarised with a pentatonic scale. The teacher encourages them to play and then name the notes in their musical phrases and then records these. Pupils make very good progress and by the end of the lesson they have the confidence and the pleasure of playing their own composition from a musical score.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

164. Standards in physical education are as expected by the end of Year 2 and when pupils leave the school at the age of 11. They are better at the age of seven than they were at the time of the last inspection. There were no 11 year olds at the school at that time. There is no difference in standards between boys and girls, or between different ethnic groups.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

165. Pupils in Year 1 work enthusiastically in gymnastics. They behave well and try hard, enjoying refining and improving their movement sequences, varying their speed, level and direction as they travel around the hall. They respond well to the teacher’s good class control and clear instructions. Teachers take pains to emphasise the beneficial effects of exercise on the body. They understand this well and explain it clearly to pupils, so that their learning is good. Teachers make good use of pupils to demonstrate their movements to the class, so encouraging the others to try harder and improve what they do. A good, positive and encouraging manner gives pupils confidence and encourages them to be more adventurous in trying out new travelling sequences. Pupils are able to travel imaginatively at a variety of different speeds and levels, showing body control and co-ordination which is average for their age.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Heaton St Barnabas CE (VA) Primary School - 51 166. By the age of seven, pupils in gymnastics lessons travel and balance using two or three different body parts, working on the floor and then on the apparatus. Most pupils are keen to get on and learn. They warm-up sensibly and go on to develop their balancing and travelling sequences with enthusiasm.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

167. By the time they are in Year 6, pupils enjoy dance lessons and they produce work of a standard which is better than that usually found nationally at this age. The teaching is good, because the teacher has specialist knowledge and expertise and this is reflected in pupils’ attainment. This enables him to give pupils good advice on what to do to improve their performance. Pupils listen carefully, so that they understand from the outset what the purpose of the lesson will be and what they are to do and learn. Support staff are deployed well to help and encourage those who find movement more difficult and this gives the pupils more confidence. Pupils are helpfully encouraged to positively evaluate one another’s performance and this encourages pupils to do their best and reach for high standards.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

168. Pupils in Year 5 learn to swim at a local pool. Only about half of all pupils are able to swim the expected length of 25 metres by the time they leave the school at 11.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

169. The subject manager is a physical education specialist and he sets a good example of good teaching. However, he does not have a formal role in monitoring and evaluating the teaching of his colleagues in order to raise standards, and not enough is made of his expertise, for example through specialist teaching or staff training.

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