Addison Primary School

ADDISON PRIMARY SCHOOL

Addison Gardens, West Kensington W14 0DT

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ADDISON PRIMARY SCHOOL

LEA area: London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

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ADDISON PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 3 rd – 7 th April 2000

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ADDISON PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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ADDISON PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Addison Gardens Hammersmith London

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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: Mrs Karen Lantos

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 25 th – 29 th November 1996 Addison Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities Leslie Thompson Registered inspector Information and Communications Technology What sort of school is it? How high are standards? The school’s results and achievements How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? John Billiet Lay inspector How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? Susan Farnfield Team inspector science design and technology special educational needs How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? Anthony Harvey Team inspector religious education music Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development Sean Lawlor Team inspector English history geography English as an additional language How well are pupils taught?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Jan Morley Team inspector mathematics art physical education under fives equal opportunities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The inspection contractor was: Hammersmith and Fulham LEA Inspection Team Town Hall King Street Hammersmith W6 9JU

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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: The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 10

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Addison Primary School is a mixed, two form entry school in Shepherds Bush in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Pupils come from the local area and reflect the wide social, cultural and ethnic mix of the community. A small number live in owner-occupied homes, but most are from families living in council property, one fifth of the pupils are from refugee families. There are 388 pupils aged five to eleven on roll who are taught in fourteen, single age classes. A further 51 children attend the two nursery classes, all of whom are full-time. The roll is relatively stable, but on average each year about one quarter of the pupils leave and are replaced as families move away and new ones take their place. Two hundred and forty-eight pupils are entitled to free school meals, this is very high compared to the national average. Almost one half of the pupils are from families where English is not the first language and 113 pupils are at the early stages of learning English. This

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Pupils are admitted into the nursery in the term after their third birthday and transfer to the reception class in the term that they reach the age of five. At the time of the inspection, all the pupils in the reception classes were five years of age. The testing of pupils at the age of five shows that the attainment of the intake as a whole is average. There are 111 pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs, eight of whom have statements of special educational needs. The school makes provision for a small group of higher attaining Year 6 pupils, who undertake extension tasks in information and communication technology linked to their work in other subjects of the curriculum.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school aims to develop pupils to be confident and successful learners with a strong sense of self-worth and self-discipline. Its immediate priorities include: • to fully implement the National Numeracy Strategy and continue to develop implementation of the National Literacy Strategy • to revise policies and schemes of work in preparation for the introduction of the revised National Curriculum in September 2000 • to commence the New Opportunities Funded information and communications technology training programme for teachers • to implement successfully the induction programme for newly qualified teachers.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very good school. Outstanding leadership and management and the hard work and commitment of the staff result in high standards of achievement and the ability to improve on previous best. The standards attained by pupils in English, mathematics and science at the end of both key stages are above the national average and very high when compared with schools with pupils of a similar background. This is due to the consistently high expectations set by teachers and their skills. The school provides very good value for money.

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What the school does well:

• achieves its aims and targets. Outstanding leadership and management provide a clear sense of direction and set high expectations. • provides an excellent start to pupils’ education through its high quality nursery provision • raises pupils’ aspirations and self esteem and instils in them the belief that they can succeed through study and hard work • gives pupils an exceptionally good foundation in the key skills of literacy and numeracy and information technology • teaches English, mathematics and science very well throughout the school and enables pupils to achieve high standards • provides opportunities for pupils to discover and develop their musical abilities to high standards • very successfully meets the needs and assures the achievement of pupils with special educational needs and of those learning English as an additional language • uses assessment information and target setting very effectively to inform planning and teaching and raise

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What the school does well:

pupils’ achievement • uses praise and its system of rewards and sanctions well to promote good behaviour • develops teachers’ expertise through the rigorous systems it has put in place to monitor the quality of teaching and provides staff development to address weaknesses. Addison Primary School - 7

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What could be improved:

• although the existing programme for pupils’ personal social and health education is satisfactory, it is not supported by a formal policy or scheme of work • the design and technology curriculum should include more tasks and activities to extend the invention and creativity of pupils and which meet a need. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in November 1996. The key issues for action set out in the last report have been addressed very successfully. The nursery provision is now excellent. The high quality of the teaching and curriculum planning ensure that pupils make significant gains in their skills and knowledge and are well prepared for the next stage of their education. Assessment procedures throughout the school have been improved and are a strength of its practice. Standards of attainment in English, mathematics and science at the end of both key stages have improved steadily since the last inspection.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests. compared with Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

1997 1998 1999 1999 English B C B A* very high well above average A* A mathematics A A A A* above average average B C science A A A A below average well below average D E

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STANDARDS

The results achieved by eleven year-olds are very impressive, particularly as, on average, just over twenty per cent of them each year have joined the school after the age of seven, many with little or no understanding of English. Current Year 6 pupils are achieving the same high standards. By the time they leave the school, the pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language achieve very well. Results in the National Curriculum tests and assessments for seven year-olds and current standards are equally good. Almost all five year-old achieve the Desirable Learning Outcomes. Standards in information technology are above average throughout the school and in all other subjects they are at least in line with the national expectation for seven and eleven year-olds. The school consistently reaches its agreed targets for achievement in national tests and assessments at the end of both key stages.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Aspect Comment Attitudes to the school Very good. All pupils show enthusiasm in their learning and take great pride in their achievements and their school. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils are very well behaved, courteous and polite. They respect and uphold the sense of justice and fair play that is a feature of the school. Personal development and relationships Very good. The foundations for personal development and the very good relationships between all the members of the school community are established in the nursery and sustained and developed throughout the school. Pupils are very well adjusted to a multi-cultural society and show respect for others’ beliefs and values. Attendance Below average. The measures the school is taking to improve attendance are good and almost all the pupils arrive on time.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The school’s below average attendance is caused by the prolonged absence of a small number of pupils. Addison Primary School - 8

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years Lessons seen overall excellent very good good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The overall quality of teaching is very good and this is why all pupils make very good progress. Teaching is effective because assessment information about pupils’ strengths and weaknesses is used well to set improvement targets and to plan the next steps in their learning. Marking focuses on quality and high standards and helps pupils to learn from their mistakes. The excellent teaching of children under-five captures their interest and promotes secure learning and very good progress.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

All teachers reach a high standard in their teaching of numeracy and literacy. Information technology skills are taught well throughout the school and teachers use information and communications technology effectively to support teaching and learning across the curriculum. Teachers manage pupils effectively and maintain a brisk pace to learning, ensuring that children retain interest and enthusiasm for their work. They establish clear routines for pupils to follow and expect them to work hard. The teaching of pupils learning English as an additional language is excellent and this ensures that they make good progress in mastering English. Pupils with special educational needs are taught very well and are set clear targets for improvement. Support staff make a very strong contribution to teaching and learning throughout the school.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The quality of pupils’ learning throughout the school is good and this is reflected in the pupils' eagerness to learn and in the very good standards they achieve in the presentation of their work.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Aspect Comment The quality and range of the curriculum Good. A relevant and well planned range of learning opportunities is offered to pupils throughout the school. Provision for children under-five is excellent. The school has very good arrangements to ensure equality of access and opportunity. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good, the quality of the Individual Education Plans and the planning for pupils at Stage 1 on the school’s register of pupils with special educational needs is excellent. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Outstanding. Provision for pupils learning English as an additional language is effective and a model of social inclusion. The school makes very good use of the local education authority’s ethnic minority achievement service and provides an excellent induction course for newly arrived pupils with little or no English. Pupils’ home languages are highly esteemed and imaginative

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

attempts are made to include these in the life of the school. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good provision is made for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school makes effective use of the wide cultural and ethnic backgrounds of its pupils. Opportunities to promote pupils’ personal development permeate the life of the school. How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. The school is highly effective in balancing sensitive care for its pupils with the high expectations it has for their achievement

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The school makes considerable efforts to work closely with parents and carers and involve them in its work. The classes it provides for parents of pupils who are learning English as an additional language are a good example of its desire to support parents and pupils in raising achievement. Satisfactory information is provided for parents on the curriculum and their children’s progress and standard of work.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The school’s provision for instrumental music tuition is a notable strength and does much to raise the self esteem and aspirations of all pupils. Information and communications technology features strongly in the curriculum and is used very well to promote pupils’ learning and achievement.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The use of assessment and target setting is excellent throughout the school. Pupils are clear about the strengths and weaknesses in their learning and work. Older pupils make good use of the targets they are set to improve their work and raise their achievement. Addison Primary School - 9

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Aspect Comment Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Outstanding. There is clear direction for school improvement supported by well developed systems to monitor the quality of teaching, analyse strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ achievements and learning and to use this information to raise standards. All statutory requirements are met. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Very good. Governors are well informed about the school’s provision and take an active role in school improvement through their meetings and regular monitoring visits. The governing body has a clear view of future developments and complies with statutory requirements. The school applies the principles of best value in its decision making. The school’s evaluation of its performance Excellent. Senior managers are not complacent about the school’s strengths and achievements and work consistently to address weaknesses. A culture of

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

self improvement through evaluation and high expectations is at the heart of the school. The strategic use of resources Very good. The school makes very good use of its staffing accommodation and resources to raise standards of achievement. All staff are given training to improve their skills and expertise. The school makes excellent use of information and communications technology to support learning.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Staffing, accommodation and learning resources are adequate to meet the demands of the curriculum. There have been significant improvements in information and communications technology facilities since the last inspection and in the quality of the learning environment. Displays of pupils’ work provide an excellent stimulus to capture pupils’ interest and curiosity and to extend their learning. The curriculum is well supported by the provision of books, equipment and other learning materials. The good behaviour of the pupils and the sensible way they handle the equipment and materials has allowed the school to build up a good range of learning resources using their financial resources prudently and efficiently. The school applies the principles of best value effectively in reaching decisions about expenditure.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • the school expects their children to work hard and achieve their best • their children like school • the teaching is good • their children are making good progress in school • the school is well led and managed • the school is helping their children to become mature and responsible • behaviour in the school is good. • the range of activities outside lessons, particularly provision for physical education and games • the homework provision

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents strongly support the work of the school and praise the dedication of all the staff. They regard the school as an approachable institution that promotes good standards of achievement and behaviour and ensures that children make good progress. They appreciate the quality of information received from the school, particularly the opportunities to meet with teachers. The inspection team agrees with the parents on the strengths of the school, but disagrees with their concerns about homework. Provision is good, though there is a need for the school to do more to explain to parents more clearly the extent and purpose of homework for pupils of different ages. The school does its best to provide a range of clubs and activities for pupils, but provision for games and sports is restricted by the after school play centre held on the site. Addison Primary School - 10

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The school’s results and achievements

1. Addison Primary School is a very effective school. Consistently high expectations, very good teaching and well developed assessment and target setting systems result in seven and eleven year- olds achieving high standards which are often well above the national average. Pupils with special educational needs, those learning English as an additional language and higher attaining pupils, all achieve their full potential. When compared to schools with pupils with similar backgrounds, the standards attained by pupils in the 1999 national tests and assessments were very high at the end of both key stages in English and mathematics. In science they were very high at the end of Key Stage 1 and well above average at the end of Key Stage 2.

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The school’s results and achievements

2. The attainment of most children when they join the nursery classes is below the expectation for their age, but the very good teaching and well planned curriculum in the nursery enables all of them to develop a secure foundation of basic skills to support their future learning. Most children achieve the learning outcomes expected by the time they are five. Testing of their skills and knowledge in language and literacy, mathematics and personal and social skills at the age of five shows that there is a spread of attainment around the average; with about one fifth of the children, mainly those with birthdays in the autumn, attaining above the average and a similar proportion attaining below it. Children whose first language is not English and the small number with special educational needs are very well supported by the class teachers and specialist support teachers. Stimulating activities, well matched to their needs and levels of fluency, ensure that they make

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The school’s results and achievements

good progress, though language and literacy skills remain a weakness for a few of them.

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The school’s results and achievements

3. The attainment of seven year-olds in reading and writing in the 1999 national tests in English was well above the national average and very high compared to schools with pupils with similar backgrounds. What is outstanding is that almost twice the national average percentage of pupils attained one level above the national expectation in reading. This reflects the skilled teaching of reading throughout Key Stage 1 and the love of books that is instilled in pupils from the nursery onwards.

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The school’s results and achievements

4. The standards attained by eleven year-olds in English in the 1999 national tests were well above the national average and very high when compared to schools with pupils with similar backgrounds. This is a commendable achievement given that over one fifth of the eleven year-olds taking the tests in 1999 joined the school after the age of seven and many of them were learning English as an additional language. The school builds successfully on the achievements of pupils when they are seven and it has very good systems in place to cope with the turnover of pupils during Key Stage 2. The school has addressed very successfully the weaknesses in writing identified in the previous inspection. Over the last three years, the standards attained in English by seven and eleven year-old pupils have improved steadily and at a faster rate than nationally.

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The school’s results and achievements

5. Most seven and eleven year-olds are achieving standards that are in line with, and often above national expectations in reading, writing, speaking and listening. The teaching of these skills is a strength of the school’s provision. Younger pupils talk about their work and listen carefully to others; older pupils present and share their work in class and whole school assemblies confidently. Most pupils read aloud confidently and with enthusiasm. The careful teaching of advanced reading skills from the beginning of Key Stage 2, enables pupils to find information quickly and successfully in non-fiction books and computer databases. Pupils are given a wide range of writing tasks in English and other subjects, some of them involving the use of information and communications technology to draft and edit their work. The quality and range of the writing they produce is good and shows that they develop accuracy in spelling and punctuation. By Year 6,

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The school’s results and achievements

Addison Primary School - 11 most pupils can write fluently and at length in a variety of styles and with a good sense of audience.

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The school’s results and achievements

6. The standards attained by seven year-olds in mathematics in the 1999 national test were excellent. All of the pupils attained the national expectation and just over a half of them attained one level above the expectation, this is more than twice as many as nationally. The attainment of eleven year-olds in the 1999 tests was well above average. A much higher proportion than nationally exceeded the national expectation. Compared to schools with pupils with similar backgrounds, the percentage of seven and eleven year-old pupils attaining at or above the national expectation was very high, placing it in the top five per cent of similar schools nationally. The performance of pupils in national tests in mathematics has improved since the last inspection and at a rate which is better than the national figure.

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The school’s results and achievements

7. The standards being achieved by the majority of the current seven and eleven year-olds in mathematics are similar to those attained by pupils last year. Pupils make good progress and are benefiting from skilled teaching and the effective introduction of the National Numeracy Strategy by the school. They develop a good understanding of the number system and learn to use mental and written calculation strategies effectively. The short mental mathematics sessions at the start of lessons have sharpened pupils’ calculation skills and improved their ability to work quickly with numbers. They have good recall of multiplication tables. They use number, measurements and data competently in different situations and subjects across the curriculum. For example, when using money in the class shop, measuring in design and technology and when recording survey data in geography. Lower attaining pupils and those who are learning English as an additional

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The school’s results and achievements

language are well supported by the emphasis on practical activities in mathematics. They benefit from the sensitive questioning and positive feedback they receive from class teachers and specialist support teachers. The booster classes and sessions for higher attaining pupils consolidate and extend classwork very effectively and help to ensure that no pupils underachieve.

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The school’s results and achievements

8. The 1999 assessments of seven year-olds’ skills and knowledge in science showed that their attainment was above the national average and well above that of pupils with similar backgrounds in other schools. Results for eleven year-olds were well above the national average and forty-three per cent of the pupils attained level five, one level above the national expectation. These results are an improvement on those reported in the previous inspection, although the overall trend in results in the last two years has been slightly downwards from the very high levels achieved in 1997. The standards currently being achieved by seven and eleven year-olds are above the expectation for their age. Progress in the development of pupils’ skills and knowledge is good. For example, seven year-olds have a satisfactory understanding of how to carry out a fair test in an experiment and eleven year-olds apply this understanding well when planning and carrying out

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The school’s results and achievements

experiments and investigations. There is now a better match between the work set and pupils’ abilities at Key Stage 2 and the presentation of written work has improved significantly since the previous inspection.

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The school’s results and achievements

9. Over the last four years, the difference between boys and girls attainment in the school has been similar to that found nationally in English, mathematics and science at the end of both key stages, with no significant variation in performance between subjects. There was a larger difference for eleven year-olds in 1999, with girls achieving better results than boys in all three subjects, but this was unique to that particular group of pupils. There are no differences in the patterns of attainment of pupils from different ethnic minority backgrounds. Pupils learning English as an additional language make very good progress and those who enter the school in the nursery or reception class often achieve above national expectations in tests at the age of eleven. Pupils with special educational needs also make good progress. Many of them attain standards that are in line with, or close to, national expectations in the end of key stage tests. The school’s policy and

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The school’s results and achievements

practice of identifying pupils with additional learning needs early and targeting support is very effective. Addison Primary School - 12 10. Pupils’ attainment in information technology is above national expectations at the end of both key stages, maintaining the good standards noted in the last inspection. Pupils develop and use their skills to good effect as they move up through the school. Children become familiar with computers and other electronic equipment in the nursery and know how to use a mouse and the keyboard to enter text and produce pictures by the time the are five. Seven year-olds use a wide range of programs to present their work effectively. At Key Stage 2, pupils’ achievement and progress in information and communication technology are good. They learn how to access and search for information sources and have very good skills in word processing and computer graphics. Most pupils in Year 6 can use software to combine words, pictures and sound to produce interactive

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The school’s results and achievements

programs and the small number of higher attaining Year 6 pupils are producing work of very high quality in this medium.

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The school’s results and achievements

11. Standards of attainment in religious education have improved since the previous inspection and are now above the expectations of the local Agreed Syllabus at the end Key Stage 1 and satisfactory at the end of Key Stage 2. Pupils have a sound knowledge and understanding of a range of faiths and key religious figures. The subject has a secure place in the curriculum and the school’s scheme of work provides a clear framework for progression.

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The school’s results and achievements

12. Pupils’ progress in the other subjects of the curriculum is at least satisfactory and the standard of their work at the end of both key stages compares favourably with that of pupils of the same age in other schools. The variety and depth of work planned for pupils in other subjects is very good. This is reflected in the outcomes they achieve. Teachers are very good at identifying the progress pupils need to make in their skills and at exploiting opportunities to make links with the development of literacy and numeracy skills. Standards in design and technology is satisfactory at the end of both key stages. The below average standards noted in art at Key Stage 1 in the previous inspection have been raised significantly. Attainment in music is above average at the end of both key stages. The very good quality of the instrumental music tuition results in very high standards of achievement for the many pupils who participate in these extra classes. The

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The school’s results and achievements

contribution made by the many young musicians in the school to assemblies and whole school events is excellent.

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The school’s results and achievements

13. The school monitors pupils’ attainment and progress very effectively and sets challenging targets for the attainment of seven and eleven year-olds. Account is taken of the varying attainment profile of different year groups in both key stages and of the effect of pupil mobility at Key Stage 2, but the emphasis is on consistently reaching the highest possible standards each year. The school’s targets for 2000 are for ninety-four per cent of seven year-olds to achieve at least the national expectation in reading, writing and mathematics and ninety-three per cent in science. For eleven year-olds, the target is for ninety-three per cent of pupils to achieve at least the national expectation in mathematics and science and eighty seven per cent in English. Strategies, such as analysing the results of pupils to identify weaknesses and using the information to improve planning and teaching for the next year are highly effective. Booster classes, extra homework and

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The school’s results and achievements

the intensive after-school classes for Year 6 pupils have a significant positive effect on the school’s results. However, much of what the school and its pupils achieve is down to the high quality teaching and hard work of all the staff.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Children under five develop very good relationships with adults and each other, settling quickly into the school’s clear routines and expectations. They learn to co-operate and share resources and toys and take turns with using equipment. They enjoy all the activities in the nursery and reception classes and are very eager to learn and to show what they know and can do. Behaviour in the nursery and reception classes is very good. Pupils are very attentive and follow instructions from adults willingly. Their social skills develop well and they are beginning learn independently. Addison Primary School - 13 15. Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 have very good attitudes to learning and are proud of their school. They are very well motivated and keen to answer questions and make sensible guesses and suggestions. Their response to teachers’ marking and suggestions of how they can improve their work is positive and at Key Stage 2 most pupils use teacher comment and guidance well to develop

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

their own evaluation skills. They listen politely to their teacher and to each other, and show respect for others’ beliefs and opinions. For example, Year 6 pupils watched very attentively whilst a Moslem girl demonstrated in a very unselfconscious way the use of a prayer mat. Pupils are good at working in groups and are very keen to take part in discussions and questioning. They apply themselves conscientiously to their work and recognise the importance of trying to do their best.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. All pupils are well aware of the school’s high expectations for their conduct. They are very courteous and helpful and willingly take responsibility for younger pupils. For example, Year 4 pupils going out at the beginning of break time stopped to ask the teacher of a reception class if she would like help to take her pupils down the stairs from a lesson in the computer room on the first floor and showed care in guiding them back to their room. Behaviour in classrooms and around the school, in the dining hall and the playground is good and often very good. Pupils of different racial groups and gender are well integrated and work and play harmoniously together. The positive relationships between pupils and teachers and the pupils themselves are a considerable strength. Adults act as good role models and this has a very beneficial effect on the way that pupils treat each other. Bullying is not considered to be an issue by the pupils and the views of

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

parents confirm this. The rate of exclusions has fallen since the previous inspection.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Pupils respond well when they are given responsibility and the oldest are very capable of taking a lead without adult direction. These characteristics are developed from the nursery, where children are given opportunities to help to look after chicks, tadpoles and plants as well as tidying up and getting out materials. Older pupils carry out class and school duties diligently, for example as lunchtime monitors and organisers of charity events.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. Pupils are keen to come to school and enjoy being there. Very few pupils arrive late. Those who do are clear about what is expected of them and invariably apologise to their teacher. The below average rate of attendance achieved by the school is due to disproportionate effect of the prolonged absence of a small number of pupils.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Teaching is very good overall. It is excellent in the nursery, very good in Key Stage 1 and good in Key Stage 2. Teachers’ very good subject knowledge and their effective use of the structure of the literacy hour and the daily mathematics lesson ensures that pupils develop a firm foundation in the key skills of literacy and numeracy. The same well structured approach to teaching is apparent in other subjects of the curriculum. Learning objectives are shared with the children at the start of a lesson and new vocabulary identified. There is a mixture of individual, group and whole class learning and a review session at the end of the lesson is used well to help pupils assess their progress. The consistent structure to teaching is very effective in promoting achievement across the curriculum.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. The school has developed a systematic and effective approach to teachers’ planning which ensures that clear learning objectives are identified for individuals and groups of pupils within a class. These are consistently shared with the pupils so they are left in no doubt about what they are expected to learn. Teachers’ marking focuses on these key learning objectives and is of a consistently high standard across the school. Taken together, these practices ensure that pupils are aware of what is expected of them and of how well they are doing. Teachers make use of the school’s planning format to record pupils’ progress and these assessments are used very well to inform future planning. Addison Primary School - 14 21. The quality of teaching by specialist staff is very good. The very good teaching of pupils with English as an additional language makes an important contribution to the overall standards

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

achieved in the school. Withdrawal lessons for pupils with special educational needs are also very well planned and take account of pupils’ individual learning targets and the progress achieved in previous lessons. At the start of each lesson, learning objectives are discussed and at the end of the lesson pupils are enabled to evaluate their achievements. There is a strong emphasis on teaching basic literacy skills, making use of resources that reflect high expectations and develop a rich vocabulary. Pupils’ individual education plans are of high quality and the school’s process for identifying special educational needs, which takes into account a range of evidence including the views of pupils and parents, is excellent. Support staff make a valuable contribution to successful teaching and learning in the school. They work co-operatively with teachers, developing a high level of skill, and are very effective in ensuring that the pupils they work with have full access to

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Display is used effectively to set out expectations and to show pupils the standards they are achieving and what they need to do to improve. In English for example, samples of writing are displayed with a teacher’s commentary which identifies the important features of particular National Curriculum levels and shows pupils what they need to do to progress from one level to the next. Similar displays support pupils’ learning in mathematics and science.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. The effective use of homework contributes to the culture of high expectation and high achievement. Reading underpins work at home and at school, and from the early years, teachers expect that books will be taken home and read. As pupils grow older, learning tasks, such as spellings and tables are set to reinforce what is being taught at school. By Key Stage 2, pupils are expected to produce short pieces of independent writing, carry out research and complete mathematics work at home.

p.14

PUPILS?

24. The curriculum for children under five is very good. It is broad and balanced and provides stimulating and challenging activities in all the recommended areas of learning. In the reception classes, curriculum planning and provision is based on the National Curriculum with a strong emphasis on speaking and listening and on numeracy skills. This promotes effective learning and prepares pupils well for the next stage in their education.

p.14

PUPILS?

25. Since the last inspection the relevance and breadth of the curriculum has been significantly improved at Key Stages 1 and 2. The quality and range of the opportunities for learning are good and the school continues to meet the statutory requirements to teach the National Curriculum, religious education and sex education. The development of subject skills, which was identified as a weakness in the last inspection, is now good. The skills to be taught in each subject are clearly identified in teachers’ daily and weekly planning. Pupils now have well-planned opportunities to solve problems in mathematics and acquire skills of enquiry in geography, history and science. Schemes of work and curriculum mapping give good support for teachers’ planning, although some of the activities in the design and technology scheme of work do not provide good enough opportunities for pupils to develop their skills of invention and creativity. The quality of teachers’

p.14

PUPILS?

daily and weekly planning has improved since the last inspection and is now very good. Learning objectives are well defined and the curriculum is more coherent. There is greater consistency in the assessment of pupils’ work and as a result, pupils make more consistent progress.

p.14

PUPILS?

26. The national literacy and numeracy strategies have been introduced very successfully. This has been achieved through very effective monitoring and a staff development programme that Addison Primary School - 15 emphasised the sharing of good practice. This programme also made a major contribution to the improvements in planning and assessment practice.

p.14

PUPILS?

27. The school’s commitment to ensuring that all its pupils achieve their best underpins its provision for equality of access and opportunity. Expectations are high and consistent efforts are made to identify pupils who would benefit from extra support or who could do better. Booster classes are run at lunch times for Year 2 pupils and after school for Year 6 pupils who need additional support. There is also timetabled provision for higher attaining Year 6 pupils to extend their achievements across the curriculum using information and communications technology.

p.15

PUPILS?

28. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good. The school’s policy for pupils with special educational needs complies fully with the requirements of the Code of Practice. Withdrawal lessons are very well planned based on pupils, individual targets and their progress in previous lessons. Liaison between the special educational needs co-ordinator and class teachers is very good and ensures that pupils do not miss out on whole class work. There is a strong emphasis on teaching basic literacy skills using quality resources that reflect high expectations and develop a rich vocabulary. The quality of the individual education plans and the planning who are not making the progress expected of them is excellent. Effective use is made of a wide range of assessment evidence, including the views of pupils and parents. The school sets clear improvement targets that are well matched by guidance on teaching strategies and this helps class teachers to

p.15

PUPILS?

provide a curriculum tailored to pupils’ individual needs.

p.15

PUPILS?

29. Pupils learning English as an additional language make excellent progress as a result of the high quality of specialist support and the consistent approach to planning and assessment. Their needs are met well through effective individual and group support and the close collaboration between class teachers and support staff.

p.15

PUPILS?

30. The school has a well developed programme for sex education and for drugs awareness. It makes effective use of outside agencies to enrich its provision and invites parents to attend some of the sessions. For example, the annual visit by a theatre in education group to teach the pupils about the nature and dangers of drugs. Science and physical education lessons are used well to provide a focus on the need to keep healthy and maintain a balanced diet. As a result, pupils are well informed and have a good understanding of how to keep healthy. Other strands of personal, social and health education are intended to be taught through other subjects. However, the lack of a formal policy and scheme of work makes for uncertainty in the content and consistency of this provision and reduces the ability of the school to monitor effectively what it does provide.

p.15

PUPILS?

31. Adults provide good role models for pupils in the way they relate to each other and to the pupils. The high expectations that exist for pupils to show respect for others and to take responsibility for their environment and conduct permeate every aspect of school life. Pupils respond well to the responsibilities they are given, for example, in drawing up class rules, but formal opportunities for them to take a lead, such as a school council, or involving them in running their own clubs, are limited.

p.15

PUPILS?

32. Extra curricular provision for music continues to be a significant feature and strength of the school. A high proportion of pupils have instrumental music lessons and take part in school concerts and musical events and performances in the local community. The daily after-school play centre based on the school site constrains provision for extra-curricular sports and games. The school has made arrangements to address this by giving each class a turn at lunchtimes to play organised games, such as football, in one area of the playground. There are few other organised clubs or activities to enrich and extend pupils’ experience, but the broad of range of enrichment activities provided for all pupils within the curriculum makes up for much of this shortfall.

p.15

PUPILS?

33. The school has good links with the local community. A variety of educational visits enrich the curriculum, including visits to theatres, museums, historic buildings, parks, football clubs and Addison Primary School - 16 residential trips. Visitors to the school, such as a past pupil contributing to a history lesson, advisory staff from the Urban Studies Centre, local police officers talking about the dangers of drugs and local church leaders, all make valuable contributions to pupils’ learning. Curricular links with other schools are more limited than previously and the school is working to develop these further.

p.15

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

34. The school makes very good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The carefully planned themes for assemblies and religious education lessons underpin spiritual development. Acts of collective worship are held daily and statutory requirements are met. Pupils are taught about the beliefs of Christians and other faiths and encouraged to reflect on their beliefs and how these have meaning in their own lives. Teachers take full advantage of the opportunities that arise in other subjects for pupils to engage in quiet reflection, or to respond to events that give pupils’ insights into the wider meaning of life, such as nursery children’s expressions of awe and wonder at the birth of chicks and the bathing of a baby.

p.16

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

35. The school community works within a strong ethos where the difference between right and wrong is taught and reinforced effectively. Pupils respect and uphold the sense of justice and fair play that is a feature of the school. Staff act as very good role models and their clear expectations and consistent reinforcement of moral behaviour contribute greatly to the caring and supportive atmosphere of the school. Pupils are encouraged to show consideration for others and to act thoughtfully and responsibly through explicit teaching in lessons and assemblies. They are actively involved in discussing and agreeing rules of good behaviour for their own class, based on the school rules, and these are prominently displayed in all classrooms.

p.16

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

36. Provision for the social development of the pupils is very good. The school provides a secure environment where pupils respond positively to each other and to their teachers. There are opportunities for pupils to show initiative and accept responsibility, such as older pupils looking after younger ones at break and lunch times and acting as class monitors. These activities and pupils participation in fund raising for a number of charities are helping pupils to develop a wider understanding of personal responsibility and concern for others.

p.16

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

37. Pupils come from a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds and this diversity is celebrated through planned opportunities in the curriculum and visits. A focus on developing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of their own and other cultures is evident in many subjects, including history, religious education, geography and music. It is also reflected in the many good quality displays featuring pupils’ work and portraying different religions and cultures. Pupils have access to world culture through the structured programme of visits to concerts, places of worship, theatres, museums and galleries and special events such as the Royal Institution Christmas lectures. All these serve well to widen pupils’ cultural experience. The school has developed a very good range of dual language texts and music from different cultural traditions is regularly performed in assemblies. Addison Primary School - 17

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. The school policies concerned with the care and protection of its pupils are good and their influence is evident in the day to day management of the school. Child protection practice and procedures are very good and any issues arising are sensitively handled. The school provides a safe, clean, stimulating environment in which its pupils can learn and develop.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. The pastoral care of the pupils is very good, from the time they start at the school through to transfer to secondary school. The care and concern shown for pupils by the school is exemplified by the sharing of lunch by pupils about to leave the nursery with pupils in the reception class they are joining.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. The assessment of pupils’ attainment and progress has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now used consistently across the curriculum to inform planning and teaching. Teachers keep detailed records of pupils’ progress, illustrating key achievements throughout their time in the school by including examples of pupils’ work in their personal assessment portfolios. Individual target setting is used very effectively by teachers to raise pupils’ achievement. Pupils are clear about the strengths and weaknesses in their work and use the targets well to reflect on their work and to engage in self assessment. The assessment procedures set out in the special educational needs policy are very good and fully comply with the statutory requirements. The quality of the annual reviews is excellent, with thorough analysis of the evidence of progress. Individual Education Plans are concise, relevant and used consistently.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. The school’s strategies to promote good behaviour are very effective. This is evident in pupil’s conduct in class and around the school and the absence of any oppressive or racist behaviour. The positive ethos for learning makes a significant contribution to the good educational standards achieved. Pupils interviewed during the inspection were eager to come to school and learn.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. Attendance and lateness are rigorously monitored. Attendance falls below the national average because of the disproportionate effect of the prolonged absence of a small number of pupils. The school works in close partnership with the statutory agencies to take legal action to address these cases. As a result of good management and good parental co-operation, levels of unauthorised absence are low. The school’s practice of presenting reward in assemblies to classes and pupils achieving high attendance and good punctuality is valued by the pupils and has a positive effect.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

43. Parents strongly support the work of the school and it is valued and respected by them. Many parents regularly come into school to attend assemblies and some help in the classroom, where they make a valuable contribution. They also organise social and fund raising events on behalf of the school and this contributes to the strong sense of a school that is at one with its local community. Parents regard the school as an approachable institution that promotes good standards of achievement and behaviour and ensures that their children make good progress. They are satisfied with the manner in which complaints are dealt with.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

44. The school values the support of parents and does its best to help them play a full part in supporting their children. Lessons are organised for parents learning English as an additional language and classes in mathematics to encourage parental support in this subject. The school has a well established and effective home-school reading scheme and has recently introduced a well thought out Home-School Agreement which sets out how parents, pupils and the school will work together and what each can expect.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

45. The quality of documentation for parents is good. Pupils’ annual reports comply with the regulations. They are clear and contain details of pupils’ attainment and progress and how they Addison Primary School - 18 can improve. Parents appreciate the information they receive and the opportunities to meet with teachers to discuss their child’s progress at consultation evenings and informally. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are fully involved in the reviews of their individual education plans. .

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. Responses to the questionnaire about the school sent out to parents before the inspection show that twenty per cent of those who responded have concerns about the range of activities provided outside lessons. The inspection team’s view is that the school does its best to enrich the curriculum through clubs and other activities. Provision for games and sports clubs is limited by the after school play centre, which serves pupils from Addison Primary School and two other nearby primary schools. To compensate for this, the school has developed provision for organised games at lunch times and purchased extra equipment to support these. It is also pressing ahead with the refurbishment of the top floor of the main building to provide extra space for games and physical education.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

47. The school is successful because the management and leadership provided by the headteacher, his deputy and key senior managers are exemplary. They focus on raising standards and freeing teachers to concentrate on their work in the classroom. They are supported very effectively in their work by the governors, who play an active part in monitoring the achievements and shaping the direction of the school. All the staff have a clear understanding of what they have to do to enable pupils to achieve their best. The high expectations set by the headteacher and his deputy and the shared belief that all pupils can succeed through good teaching, underpin the high standards attained by pupils and the improvement of the school since the previous inspection.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48. The school is very successful in achieving its aims and its ethos is excellent. Staff show great care and concern for the welfare of the pupils, but this does not blunt their over-riding ambition for them to achieve the highest possible academic success and carry forward good basic skills to the next stage of their education. Pupils of all abilities and backgrounds are happy in the school and share its values. They appreciate the need to work hard to improve, are highly motivated and their behaviour supports learning. Pupils talk with warmth about the school and their teachers and take great pride in their achievements and in belonging to the school.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. What marks the school out from many others is the strength of its monitoring systems and the attention to detail evident in senior managers’ and teachers’ efforts to make a good school better. This is typified by the painstaking analysis of pupils’ performance in national tests and assessments and the use of the evidence of what is not taught well to improve planning and teaching for the next year so that weaknesses are eliminated and achievement is raised. It is also clear in the rigorous way that teaching is monitored by senior managers and pupils’ learning and attainment in subjects is evaluated by the curriculum co-ordinators. Where weaknesses are revealed, they are tackled decisively through the setting of improvement targets and the provision of advice and support for individual teachers, or where appropriate for the whole staff, from experienced staff or outside agencies. This approach has a clear effect on the quality of teaching

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

and standards. At the time of the last inspection, five per cent of the teaching was very good or better and sixteen per cent was unsatisfactory. In this inspection, forty-one per cent of the teaching was very good or better and only two per cent was unsatisfactory. The outstanding improvements in the quality of the school’s nursery provision and the effective development of assessment and target setting since the last inspection are other telling examples of the ability of senior managers to act on the evidence of weaknesses and drive improvement.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. The headteacher and his deputy form an experienced and committed management team who share the same vision and aspirations for the school and its pupils. They have established effective management structures that enable colleagues to develop their professional skills and share the Addison Primary School - 19 responsibility for raising standards. Delegation is effective because staff with management responsibilities know what is expected of them. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, job descriptions and targets for curriculum responsibility are reviewed and set yearly in line with the school’s well established system of appraisal and performance monitoring. Curriculum co- ordinators make effective use of the curriculum development time they are given to review pupil’s work and monitor standards in their subject. The quality of the support they give to teachers is good and co-ordinators’ reports by to the governing body are an impressive record of

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. The quality of whole school development planning is satisfactory overall. The three-year development plan sets out a manageable number of appropriate priorities and allocates funding through an action plan for each of them. Progress on the plan is evaluated annually and the outcomes are used to inform the next year’s targets and priorities and to identify the professional development needed to support the plan. However, some of the priorities are not sufficiently supported by the staged success criteria needed to monitor and evaluate progress over time. This makes the plan less useful to governors as a tool to measure and track progress.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. Governors take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that their statutory obligations are met fully. They are well informed about the performance of the school through regular reports by the headteacher and his staff and through the visits made by individual governors to monitor provision in areas where they have assigned responsibilities. The quality of the reports produced by governors following monitoring visits to the school is excellent and they provide good first hand evidence of the effect of their decisions. The finance committee takes a leading responsibility in reviewing the strategic planning and development of the school and in ensuring that educational priorities are adequately funded through the development plan. They are guided in their decisions by their own first-hand knowledge of the school, the detailed analysis by the headteacher of the issues facing the school and the advice of the local education authority link inspector.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. The financial management and day-to-day administration of the school are very good. Effective and prudent use of financial resources has enabled major improvements to the quality of the school’s provision to be carried out without reducing expenditure on other elements of budget. For example, the creation of a computer suite, improving the library and creating specialist facilities for science and design and technology. The school has built up a considerable budget surplus over recent years and most of this is earmarked for similar large scale projects, such as refurbishing the disused top floor of the school to provide more facilities for physical education and to continue the phased programme of internal redecoration.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. Governors are aware of the need to secure value for money and have procedures in place to ensure that best value is obtained. Decisions, such as the commitment of significant funds to supplement the grant received for pupils with special educational needs and to support those learning English as an additional language, are carefully evaluated in terms of the cost and the effect on pupils’ attainment and progress. As a result, provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good and for those learning English as an additional language is excellent and a strength of the school. The learning needs of these pupils are very effectively addressed. The school fully complies with all statutory requirements and takes good account of the principles of best value when making decisions. Very good use is made of information and communications technology to support administrative tasks and teaching and learning across the curriculum. The school provides

p.19

Staffing

55. The school is adequately staffed to meet the demands of the curriculum. Teachers providing support for pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language have very good specialist expertise. Additional staff who support pupils with statements are well deployed and contribute significantly to the good progress pupils make. The school’s induction procedures for newly qualified staff and teachers new to the school are very good. They Addison Primary School - 20 are well supported by very good written guidance, policies and schemes of work. All staff are given targets through the school’s procedures for monitoring their performance. This has a positive effect on the quality of teaching throughout the school. Staff development is linked closely to the school development plan priorities and this ensures that the improvement targets are met. The fact that all staff and governors attend training helps to establish a shared knowledge and

p.19

Staffing

understanding of the curriculum and management issues and the commitment and enthusiasm of staff and governors to raising standards and improving the school. The school makes a good contribution to the professional development of students in training.

p.20

Accommodation

56. Accommodation is adequate for the curriculum. There is generous accommodation for the library, science, food technology and design and technology, and for teaching pupils in small groups. All this is used well. Outside space is limited, but sufficient to meet the needs of the curriculum and to provide the space the pupils need to play at break and lunch times. There is a valuable but currently unused space at the top of the school where redundant pottery equipment previously used for adult education classes is stored. The school intends to use some of its budget surplus to bring this space back into use to provide additional space for physical education.

p.20

Accommodation

57. There have been significant improvements in the accommodation for information and communications technology since the last inspection and the external fabric of the building has been extensively renovated. The quality of the learning environment in classrooms and around the school has also improved. The displays of pupils’ work are good and provide an excellent stimulus to capture pupils’ interest and curiosity and to extend their learning. The building is in good repair and is very well maintained by the site manager and his staff.

p.20

Learning resources

58. The curriculum is well supported by the provision of books, equipment and other learning materials. There has been improvement in the resources for physical education and the provision of books in the library since the last inspection. A networked suite of computers is now in operation, complementing the machines available in all classrooms. The good behaviour of the pupils and the sensible way they handle the equipment and materials has allowed the school to build up a good range of learning resources using their financial resources prudently and efficiently.

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In the context of the school’s many strengths, the following points for improvement should be addressed in the governors’ action plan:

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) produce and implement a policy and scheme of work for personal, social and health education; (paragraphs 30, 31)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) develop the design and technology scheme of work to include more tasks and activities which extend the invention and creativity of pupils and serve a clear purpose; ( paragraphs 25, 104 ) Addison Primary School - 21

p.20

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

59. Thirty seven languages are spoken in the school, with over a quarter of pupils, many of whom are refugees, at the early stages of acquiring English. Because of the size of the additional language population and the variety of the languages spoken no one language or culture predominates. The way in which cultural diversity is acknowledged, esteemed and embraced, provides an excellent model of social inclusion.

p.21

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

60. Provision for pupils learning English as an additional language is outstanding. Over the years there has been considerable investment in a specialist English as an additional language teaching base. This is now very well resourced with a good range of support materials providing access to most of the frequently used texts in the school. Pupils’ home languages are highly esteemed and there are imaginative attempts to include these in the daily work of the school. There is a good supply of appropriate resources available, including bilingual texts. Labels for rooms include other languages in addition to English and good use is made of opportunities to acknowledge the richness and diversity of language, such as answering the register in Arabic or French. As well as boosting the esteem of those who speak more than one language, this has an impact on other pupils, who learn something about other languages. For example, that Hindi is written from right

p.21

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

to left, that the Greek alphabet contains different letters to the alphabet used for writing English and that Chinese uses a non-alphabetic writing system.

p.21

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

61. The school makes very good use of the local education authority’s Ethnic Minority Achievement Service and has the services of five specialist teachers, equivalent to 1.6 full-time teaching posts. Specialist teachers are deployed very effectively to meet the needs of the many pupils at the very early stages of acquiring English. On arrival at school, pupils with little or no English take part in an induction programme, usually for about three hours a week. This concentrates on basic vocabulary, such as parts of the body, colours and the names of animals and of familiar objects, and is taught through games and other activities which stimulate reading and writing at well as speaking and listening. The good relationships developed by specialist teachers with pupils, some of whom have witnessed traumatic events, helps to build confidence, and most pupils make good progress. Work is carefully planned in collaboration with class teachers to ensure mutual

p.21

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

reinforcement and consolidation of pupils’ learning. For example a newly arrived boy in the reception class worked alongside a specialist teacher on colour words and animal names from the whole class big book “Polar Bear”. He rejoined the class for the plenary session and presented his work to the class, naming the animals he had coloured in. His sense of achievement, and the warm reception he received from the other pupils in the class, had a positive effect on his self-esteem and his confidence as a learner. Throughout the school, as part of their systematic approach, class teachers identify subject specific and new vocabulary at the beginning of each lesson. This is helpful to all pupils, but is especially useful for those learning English as an additional language. Pupils learning English as an additional language make exceptionally good progress and their attainment compares favourably with other pupils’ and contributes to the high standards achieved

p.21

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

at the school. Addison Primary School - 22

p.21

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 20

p.22

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor 9 32 34 23 2 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 51 388

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 20 228

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1 7

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 3 111

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 192

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 73

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 72

p.22

Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

p.22

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Addison Primary School - 23

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 1999 29 30 59

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 30 30 30

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 95 (90) 97 (93) 100 (98) at NC level 2 or above National 82 (80) 83 (81) 87 (84)

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 30 30 29

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 97 (91) 100 (97) 95 (86) at NC level 2 or above National 82 (81) 86 (85) 87 (86)

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 1999 30 23 53

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 23 23 22

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 87 (75) 92 (82) 87 (96) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (65) 69 (59) 78 (69)

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 21 23 22

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 70 (75) 91 (86) 89 (93) at NC level 4 or above National 68 (65) 69 (65) 75 (72)

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Addison Primary School - 24

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 29 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 47 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 35 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 19 Financial year 1998-99

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 959,648

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 7 Expenditure per pupil 2,166

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 67 Balance brought forward from previous year 126,259

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 121,707

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2.

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25.5

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 87

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Addison Primary School - 25

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 72 27 1 1 0

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 61 33 3 0 2

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 53 31 13 2 1

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 56 35 7 1 1

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 71 24 2 0 3

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 76 20 1 1 2

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 52 35 6 2 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 70 23 1 1 6

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 57 35 2 1 6

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 44 30 14 6 7

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

• The parents present at the meeting with the registered inspector expressed concerns about the limited range of extra-curricular provision, particularly games and sports. However, many of them acknowledged that the after-school play centre, which also serves pupils from two other primary schools, restricted what could be provided. • Parents at the meeting with the registered inspector said that they found teachers’ written comments and marking of homework helpful and that it gave very clear advice on how work could be improved. Addison Primary School - 26

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

62. Provision for children under five year is a strength of the school. The improvement in the provision for under fives since the last inspection has been outstanding. Teaching in the nursery is excellent and in the reception classes it is very good and often excellent. The standard of attainment on entry to the school is below the national average. By the time children transfer to the reception classes, attainment is in line with what is expected nationally. Standards in all the nationally required desirable learning outcomes are sound. This is a considerable improvement since the last inspection.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

63. Children are admitted to the two nursery classes at the beginning of each term soon after they are three years old. They are settled in quickly and well and attend full-time as soon as they are able to do so. They all stay for lunch and this makes a positive contribution to their social development. Each term, a group of children who are nearly five transfer to the reception classes. Very good preparation is made to ensure that the transfer to reception class causes minimal disruption to their learning. The children join a reception class for part of a morning and sometimes for lunch over a period of weeks. This works very well.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

64. The two nursery teachers and the nursery nurses work very well as a team. They plan together and assess children’s attainment and progress thoroughly. As often as possible during the day the two classes spend time in the outside play space together or visit each other’s rooms to share interesting events such as watching the incubation of the eggs or seeing a baby bathed. The fact that the two rooms are in different parts of the school does not interfere with the excellent co-operation between the two classes. The two reception classes, which form the early years unit with the nursery classes, work well together but have not yet developed a close co-operation with the nursery staff in curriculum planning.

p.26

Personal and social development

65. Children are confident, relate well to each other, and are able to concentrate and persevere in their learning. They are aware of the routines of the day and follow them well. During the day there are many opportunities for them to be independent and to make choices. They have a snack when they want one and behave sensibly when they do. Children have a good sense of right and wrong and well developed understanding of fairness. Respect for the differences in language, culture, or family background is a feature of the early years classes.

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Language and literacy

66. Children listen well. They enjoy stories, songs, rhymes and poetry. In all four classes there is a lively sense of fun, particularly when children sit as a group to discuss what they have done or what they are about to do. The richness of the curriculum with its emphasis on direct experience and active and purposeful play, encourages the children to talk about what they have seen or done. Children with English as an additional language are well supported in their speaking and are given opportunities to talk to the whole class and sensitively helped to acquire new words or correct use of language. This has a significant effect on the progress they make in learning and using English. Children with special educational needs are also very well supported. They make very good progress.

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Language and literacy

67. By the time children leave the nursery they can recognise their names, most can write them and they are able to use letters to express themselves in early writing. Higher attaining children are able to write familiar words. In the reception classes, children’s writing is well developed and many are using their skills to record stories, science work or accounts of visits. Their work is well displayed under the label of “Work that makes you go WOW!” Addison Primary School - 27 68. All children handle books with care and know how they are organised. Children are beginning to understand the sounds and patterns of letters in the nursery and by the time they are established in the reception classes most have made good progress in the early stages of their reading. Higher attaining children are beginning to read simple books fluently. The skills learned in the early years in literacy provide an excellent foundation for English in the National Curriculum.

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Mathematics

69. As with language and literacy, the quality of the mathematics curriculum is rich and varied. It is based on first hand experience, often involving practical activities such as counting the eggs to be hatched, cooking pizzas, singing counting rhymes with a Humpty Dumpty box to illustrate adding and subtracting numbers one at a time, and a “number machine”. As a result, children are enthusiastic about mathematics and use their skills well in solving problems and relating what they know to every day situations. By the time they are five, children have a well developed understanding of mathematics and are well prepared for National Curriculum mathematics and, just as important, they have learned to enjoy mathematics.

p.27

Knowledge and understanding of the world

70. Provision for this area of learning is outstanding. In the two nursery classes, particularly, children are given experiences which allow them to make sense of the world around them. The hatching of eggs provided weeks of fascination and wonder as the children learned how the chicks and ducklings developed in the egg and what conditions were essential for them to grow. They compared this experience with the growth of the tadpoles, often relating the similarities and differences in the two processes. Children learning English as an additional language were motivated to learn new words such as “beak” in their enthusiasm to tell how the chicks might get out of the eggs. The appearance of the first cracks in the shells, the sound emerging from within the egg, as well as the experience of watching a wet and sticky chick hatch, engrossed the children, parents and indeed the whole school. Visits to farms, the science museum and the local area are

p.27

Knowledge and understanding of the world

used well to enrich their understanding. The good use of photographs and the recording of their experiences through early writing, drawing and painting helps them to recall what they have seen and put the events into sensible sequences.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

71. Information technology is used well to support children’s learning. They are all familiar with the keyboard and mouse and can direct the cursor well in the programmes they have available. Children use the computer with ease and competence.

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Creative development

72. Creative development is very good. The role-play areas provide very good opportunities for children to use their imagination and recreate experiences they have had in their play. There is excellent provision for painting, drawing and making models and three-dimensional constructions such as a Chinese dragon. They have opportunities to play musical instruments and to attempt to write music using their own variety of notation. The specialist music teacher works well with classes in the early years teaching skills in playing percussion instruments and introducing the children to sound musical vocabulary. They enjoy country dancing and moving to music.

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Physical development

73. Very good use is made of the two outside play spaces for the youngest children. They can climb, balance, run and jump using the equipment safely and well. Children are given good opportunities for vigorous play and for acquiring skills in judging space and distance as well as using their imagination in playing together with children in their own class or with the other nursery. Fine motor skills are well developed in using scissors, cutlery, tools, brushes and chalks and in using the keyboard of the computer. Addison Primary School - 28

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ENGLISH

74. By the age of seven, most pupils are attaining above the national expectation. Nearly all pupils reached the expected level in reading and writing in the 1999 Key Stage 1 National Curriculum tests, with more than half achieving higher levels in reading. These results are well above the national average and very high compared to schools with pupils from similar backgrounds. They show an improvement on the very good results obtained over the previous three years.

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ENGLISH

75. Pupils listen carefully to the teacher and to each other and respond appropriately. They enjoy opportunities to speak to wider audiences, for example, in assemblies, where they learn to pitch their voices to engage the interest of listeners. Nearly all pupils enjoy reading and are confident in their grasp of letter sounds and blends. They recognise common words by sight and can read with accuracy, fluency and expression. In the reception class, they learn to shape their letters clearly and to leave spaces between their words. Higher attaining pupils also understand when to use capital letters and full stops. By the age of seven, many pupils are joining their letters, writing simple stories fluently and using their knowledge of spelling rules to write common words correctly. For example, they understand how to use apostrophes to indicate missing letters in contractions such as ‘don’t’ and ‘I’ll’ and they can identify that there is a silent ‘b’ in ‘climbing’.

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ENGLISH

Pupils learning English as an additional language make especially good progress and most of those who have been in school for a year or more achieve standards that are at least as good as pupils whose home language is English. Pupils with special educational needs also make sound progress and develop their skills and confidence in writing alongside their reading skills.

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ENGLISH

76. In the 1999 tests for eleven year-olds, almost nine out of ten pupils attained the expected standard and a third of these achieved higher levels. These results are above the national average and are much better than previous years, when pupils’ performance was in line with the national average. Taken overall, the standards achieved by pupils in English show a marked improvement since the last inspection.

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ENGLISH

77. Most eleven year-olds are articulate and confident speakers. They demonstrate the ability to listen to each other and to develop a rational line of argument, using evidence to support their views. They read fluently and confidently using appropriate expression. They make good sense of unusual constructions, such as “stupid old gummy” and “toothless has been” in Anne Fine’s Crummy Mummy and Me , and have no difficulty reading nonsense words such as “zogh” in Paul Jenning’s The Spitting Rat. They can analyse the humour in Crummy Mummy a nd The Spitting Rat and explain that much of it comes from role-reversal, with the child-hero assuming parental responsibility. Most pupils read for pleasure, with girls reading especially widely. Year 6 pupils are beginning to grasp distinctions in genre and can apply these when comparing books they have read. For example, preferring Harry Potter to the Worst Witch because it is realistic and more of

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ENGLISH

a thriller than the Worst Witch, which they see as a conventional school story. They can explain how a first person narrative involves the reader directly in the story. Higher attaining pupils can convert a first person narrative into the third person, making appropriate grammatical changes, for example, changing “I don’t” to “she doesn’t” and “she” to “Mum” to avoid confusion.

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ENGLISH

78. Teaching in English is very good. In the early years and in Key Stage 1 it is never less than good. Very good subject knowledge ensures that pupils develop a firm foundation in the key literacy skills. Teachers make very good use of the structure of the literacy hour to develop pupils’ knowledge of the formal aspects of English, including grammar, spelling and punctuation. They model good practice as readers by their intonation and expression and as writers, for example, by writing a sample paragraph to illustrate the use of connectives, leaving formal elements, such as the use of punctuation, for pupils to decide. Teachers make consistent use of the technical terms of English, such as ‘phoneme’ and ‘medial vowel’ and pupils learn to use these naturally to discuss their work. For example, seven year olds can readily identify and explain compound words, such as ‘bathroom’ and ‘upstairs’. Very good planning sets out clear learning objectives for individuals

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ENGLISH

and groups of pupils within the class. These are shared with the class at the outset of every lesson Addison Primary School - 29 and evaluated at the end, so that pupils are left in no doubt about the learning in the lesson. For younger pupils, group literacy targets are set out on their desks while for older pupils’ individual targets are stapled into their exercise books. This enables pupils to say what they are concentrating on improving in their reading and writing. Pupils and teachers are thus very clear about short term objectives. Writing displays set out the range of standards being achieved in each class. These are carefully annotated to describe the National Curriculum level attained. This helps pupils understand how well they are doing and gives clear advice about what they need to do to improve. The very high quality of teachers’ marking helps to complete this planning and assessment loop. It is always succinct, positive, encouraging and accurate. Teachers have very

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ENGLISH

high expectations and pupils respond accordingly, taking equal pleasure in the high standards achieved. Homework is used effectively and makes a useful contribution to pupils’ learning.

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ENGLISH

79. The quality of teaching by specialist staff is very good. The very good teaching of pupils with English as an additional language and of those with special educational needs makes an important contribution to the overall standards achieved in English. Support staff make a valuable contribution to successful teaching and learning in English. They work co-operatively with teachers, developing a high level of skill, and are very effective in ensuring that the pupils they support have full access to the curriculum. One member of the team has taken on extra responsibility within the additional literacy strategy and is very proficient in helping targeted pupils to improve their reading and writing.

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ENGLISH

80. Pupils’ love of learning is especially marked in English. The books they read and the stories they write are a source of pleasure and pride to them. Consequently, behaviour is very good in English classes. Reading and writing not only give pupils access to a world of adventure and knowledge, but also foster their positive attitudes to the range of cultures and communities represented in the school. The presence of bilingual books in the library helps to foster an interest and engagement in other cultures as well as making them more alert to the conventions of writing. At the age of seven, pupils know that some languages, such as Hindi are written from right to left, and they are able to deduce the Hindi words for numbers by comparing the English text, because these are printed in bold in both texts.

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ENGLISH

81. The very high standards of attainment are an improvement since the last inspection. This has been achieved by providing all teachers with a clear framework for teaching and learning which makes good use of the National Literacy Strategy. The school has acted on all the areas identified for improvement in the previous inspection. The presentation of pupils’ work is of high quality across the school and their handwriting is good. Creative writing is now of a high standard and is supported by the school’s documentation, such as the excellent advice on constructing five paragraph stories contained in the guidance developed by the co-ordinator. Good use is made of drafting and redrafting to help and encourage pupils to become more critical of their work. The excellent subject leadership provided by the deputy headteacher ensures a consistency in organisation and methods and is a strength of the school’s provision.

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MATHEMATICS

82. In the 1999 national tests for seven year-olds, all the pupils attained the national expectation. This is very high in comparison with the national average and is an improvement in standards since the previous inspection. Just over a half of the pupils achieved one level above the national expectation, which is more than twice as many as nationally. Attainment was well above the national average in all aspects of mathematics. Compared to schools with pupils with similar backgrounds, performance in mathematics tests is very high. Over the last four years, pupils have performed better than the national average by a significant margin, improving year-by-year and with particularly good results in 1999. Addison Primary School - 30 83. In the 1999 National Curriculum tests for eleven year-olds, ninety-two per cent of the pupils attained the national expectation of level four or higher. This is well above the national average.

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MATHEMATICS

The percentage of pupils achieving level five or above was thirty-six per cent, which is well above the national average. When compared with schools of a similar nature and context, the pupils’ performance in mathematics tests is very high. Taking results for the four years from 1996 to 1999 together, the performance of pupils in tests in mathematics is well above the national average.

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MATHEMATICS

84. The attainment of pupils now in Year 2 is in line with national averages and is above national expectations in numeracy. Most pupils add and subtract numbers to twenty accurately using a range of appropriate strategies. They can explain how they arrived at the answers and have a very good grasp of what the digits represent in a two and often a three digit numbers. They can count and order numbers up to one hundred. Their ability to use their thorough understanding of money to help them calculate number bonds to fifty and one hundred indicates very good achievement. They are developing their understanding and knowledge of shape well. They identify and use the correct mathematical names for two and three-dimensional shapes and most pupils are able to describe the properties of these shapes.

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MATHEMATICS

85. The attainment of eleven year-olds is above national expectations. Year 6 pupils have a very good grasp of number. They are able to use a range of strategies when calculating and applying the four rules of number. All pupils are able to collect data in, for instance, an investigation on probability. They can work as a group, or indeed a whole class to transfer the data onto a line graph. They are able to express the results in fractions, percentages and decimals with accuracy and speed. Calculators are well used to check results and convert results into a similar format for inclusion into a table. Standards of numeracy are very high.

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MATHEMATICS

86. Since the last inspection, good progress has been made in improving the provision for mathematics. The school has successfully implemented the national numeracy strategy and this has contributed to the pupils’ very good levels of attainment. Teachers plan mathematics lessons well. The learning needs of all pupils are met effectively, higher attaining pupils are extended and pupils with special educational needs are set work which takes good account of their development needs, ensuring that they make good, and at times, very good progress. The more challenging programme of work for higher attaining pupils ensures that they make very good progress. Pupils with English as an additional language are very well supported and they make very good progress. Additional mathematics is available for all pupils who need extra work and parents are offered help with their own numeracy skills so that they can support their children well at home.

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MATHEMATICS

87. Teachers have a very good understanding and knowledge of the subject. The teaching of mathematics is good overall and some of it is very good or excellent in both key stages. Teachers plan well and evaluate their success in teaching regularly. Planning is successful in addressing all areas of the curriculum and there are good cross curricular links with other subjects, such as geography science and information technology. Lessons have clearly defined learning objectives which are shared with the pupils and referred to during plenary sessions to ensure that the intended learning has been understood. The individual targets given to each pupil as a result of the assessments have ensured that the progress of pupils of all levels of ability is very good. All pupils take note of their targets which are prominently displayed in their books and referred to by teachers in lessons as progress is made. The very good teaching of problem solving and applying

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MATHEMATICS

mathematics in both key stages has given pupils clear insight into all areas of mathematics making sense of the subject in practical applications. Teachers prepare pupils well for the annual testing without just practising old papers, but by referring the normal classroom work to the way it might appear on a test paper. Marking is good and effective in improving pupils’ work.

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MATHEMATICS

88. There is very high expectation of pupils’ behaviour, industry, and attainment. Pupils respond well to the standards set for them and take pride in their work. They have a positive attitude to learning Addison Primary School - 31 and take responsibility for achieving their targets, present their work well and relate very well to each other.

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MATHEMATICS

89. The role of the two co-ordinators is well developed. Their monitoring in each key stage ensures that there is consistency of practice throughout the school and that the standard of teaching planning and assessment is very good. Assessment and test results are analysed thoroughly and good use is made of the results to build a clear picture of the subject’s strengths and possible weaknesses. There is great commitment from the co-ordinators, the senior management team and all teachers and support staff to continue to raise standards of attainment. Resources are of good quality and are easily accessible. Mathematics has benefited from being a priority on the school development plan.

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SCIENCE

90. As a result of the excellent leadership of the school, good progress has been made in tackling the issues arising from the previous inspection and standards have improved. The results for seven and eleven year-olds in the 1999 national tests and assessments were above the national average and well above those of schools with pupils with similar backgrounds. The improvement for eleven year-olds has been greater than that achieved nationally over the last four years.

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SCIENCE

91. Most seven year-olds have a good foundation of knowledge and understanding across the science curriculum and have developed sound skills of scientific enquiry. They know that it is important to collect more than one result to check the accuracy of their observations and the highest attaining pupils can explain why this makes their results more reliable. For example, in an investigation to compare the distance a toy car travelled on different surfaces, pupils could identify the unreliable measurements and most were able to use their prior knowledge of forces to predict what would happen. They use scientific vocabulary correctly in writing and orally.

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SCIENCE

92. Investigative work at Key Stage 2 is carefully planned to build pupils’ knowledge and skills progressively so that they gradually learn to work with more complex factors in their experiments. This was evident in Year 3 pupils’ investigation to find out how the size of a parachute affected the time taken for it to fall and Year 5 work on series and parallel electrical circuits where they tried to find different ways of making the bulbs in a circuit shine brighter. Pupils in both classes made good use of their prior knowledge and applied their skills of predicting and fair testing effectively. All pupils recorded their planning well, using a well-structured writing frame in Year 3 and a more open format in Year 5. By the time they reach Year 6, most pupils’ scientific understanding and skills have reached a good standard. They are able to reason logically about complex ideas and correctly explain, for example, the differences in the weight of the same object on the earth and the

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SCIENCE

moon because they know that weight is the effect of gravity and is distinct from the mass of an object. There is clear evidence of the positive effect of the school’s literacy and numeracy strategies on pupils’ use of number and recording skills in Year 6 pupils’ work in science. They use line graphs correctly to present their experimental results and a wide range of appropriate recording methods, such as charts, tables, diagrams and structured accounts of investigations.

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SCIENCE

93. Teaching is good overall. All the teaching observed was at least satisfactory and some was very good. This is because teachers have good subject knowledge and know what pupils should be achieving. They plan their lessons effectively with clear learning objectives that include the particular skills to be taught, such as measuring, or using equipment correctly, and the specialist vocabulary that pupils need to learn and apply. This helps pupils to be clear about what they are learning, what they have to do in lessons and how to record their work. Teachers use the correct scientific language consistently and encourage pupils to do so. They make good and skilful use of the high quality resources and facilities available in the school to support pupils’ and develop their understanding. Assessment procedures are very good, marking is frequent and gives pupils the information they need to help them to improve. In the best lessons, teachers make good use of

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SCIENCE

Addison Primary School - 32 focussed questioning to probe pupils’ thinking and check their understanding. They respond positively to pupils’ ideas and suggestions and this encourages them to develop their skills in thinking scientifically. In some of the lessons where teaching was satisfactory, a greater emphasis on developing pupils’ enquiry skills and the testing of experiments in advance to minimise unexpected results would have resulted in more effective teaching and learning. Teaching would also be improved if pupils were given more opportunity to learn from each other and to work independently.

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SCIENCE

94. Pupils enjoy science and show a good understanding of the purpose of their work. They are very attentive, eager to answer questions and show a willingness to reassess their initial ideas and think in greater depth. For example, Year 4 pupils concluded that the holes in filter paper must still be large enough to let some solid particles go through when they noticed that the water they had filtered was not clear. Pupils work very well together, because they listen carefully to each other and contribute ideas well in discussions and practical activities, as in a Year 2 class worked very well, independently of the teacher, to take turns and record their individual measurements of the distance a toy car travelled. Pupils use equipment correctly and safely and their written work is well presented.

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SCIENCE

95. The scheme of work for science has been further developed since the last inspection and now provides very effective guidance for teachers on how to plan a coherent and relevant curriculum. Assessment procedures have been further improved by the development of a record of achievement that identifies the skills, knowledge and understanding to be assessed in each unit of work and a portfolio of examples of pupils’ work. This clear framework ensures that teachers make regular and accurate assessments and use the records well to track pupil progress. The wide range of good resources available in the school are well organised and managed by the co-ordinator. Monitoring by the co-ordinator has been effective in improving teaching and raising standards of attainment by identifying areas for development for individual teachers and at a whole school level.

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ART

96. Standards in art have improved at Key Stage 1 since the last inspection. Pupils are achieving the standards expected for children of their age at the end of both key stages. There is now greater consistency in the quality of work and standards between classes throughout the school. This is largely due to improvements in teachers’ subject knowledge and the effective use that is made of sketchbooks. Pupils are taught how to use these to plan their work and to do preliminary sketches and this is improving their drawing and observation skills. For example, the detailed sketches of buildings produced by Year 6 pupils show a concern for accuracy of detail and a developing understanding of perspective drawing techniques. Sketch books are also used well by pupils to record their impressions of artists’ work and the emotions evoked by the paintings they have studied. Pupils’ skills in art have improved since the last inspection and they show confidence in

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ART

working with a range of media, including charcoal, poster paint, acrylic, watercolour and pastel. The designs inspired by William Morris fabric patterns illustrate well older pupils’ close observation drawing skills and their ability to control line and mix colours effectively. This work was considerably enhanced by the use of good quality paper, but the quality of pupils’ work is sometimes diminished by the use of unsuitable brushes or paper. They find this frustrating and those who lack confidence are left feeling that the poor results they achieve are their fault.

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ART

97. Teaching is satisfactory in both key stages. The well constructed scheme of work supports teachers in their planning by identifying clearly the skills that must be revised and taught in each year and new media that pupils should learn to use. As a result, teachers’ confidence and knowledge of the subject have improved since the last inspection. They assess and discuss work in progress with the pupils, developing their understanding of the vocabulary of the subject and helping pupils to talk critically about their own and other artists’ work. Teachers make a point of encouraging pupils to persevere if their work does not progress as well as they might wish. In the Addison Primary School - 33 best lessons, pupils are given sufficient time to apply and practise the skills they are taught in creating their own work. This helps them to consolidate their skills and ensures good progress in their learning. However, in a very few lessons, skills are taught more as an end in themselves than

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ART

as a means of enabling creative expression and too little account is taken of what pupils can do already.

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ART

98. Pupils enjoy their art lessons. They are inventive and imaginative and respond well to suggestions from teachers and other pupils about how they can improve their work. They are confident when they look critically at their finished work. Whatever their ability, pupils have the confidence to draw and paint freely and take pride in the results of their work. They enjoy showing and talking about it to visitors. Art contributes well to pupils’ spiritual and cultural development. Pupils appreciate beauty in the natural world and in art from a wide range of cultural traditions. For example, designs based on traditional African textiles and Islamic patterns. Behaviour in most lessons is generally very good, but pupils sometimes show frustration when they do not have sufficient time to complete their work.

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ART

99. The co-ordinator has an enthusiasm for the subject and a determination to raise standards of teaching and learning. She monitors teachers’ plans and scrutinises pupils’ finished art work regularly and uses the insights gained to advise teachers on how they can improve their work. Classroom organisation and the display of pupils’ work have improved markedly since the last inspection. Teaching in art is enhanced by visits to galleries and occasionally by visiting artists.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

100. Little teaching of design and technology was seen during the inspection. Judgements are made on the basis of evidence from pupils’ previous work, displays, teachers’ plans and discussion with teachers and pupils.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

101. Seven and eleven year-olds attain standards that are in line with those expected of children of their age. Since the last inspection the policy and scheme of work have been revised to ensure a more coherent approach to the subject with a greater emphasis on actively teaching the skills pupils need to design and make products successfully. Pupils are shown how to record their plans and evaluate their work in greater depth as they move up through the school. As a result, their understanding of designing and making improves steadily. This was evident in the Year 2 projects on shopping bags and sports clothes and Year 4 pupils’ designs of pop-up Easter cards. In the former, lists of the requirements their designs would need to meet were translated into simple, functional products. The Year 4 work showed the appropriate use of research into existing cards, creativity and good making skills, to produce high quality products. For example, one card where

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

a chick emerged from an egg as the card was opened. By the time they reach Year 6, pupils, knowledge of materials and how to cut, shape and join them is good.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

102. The quality of teaching is satisfactory in both key stages. Daily and weekly planning is good and identifies clearly the skills, knowledge, understanding and vocabulary to be learnt. Good use is made of the high quality resources to support learning and encourage high standards. Pupils are managed well and given appropriate opportunities to work independently, select their own materials and tools. Skills are taught effectively, but teachers do not make enough use of examples of pupils’ work to illustrate important points and show pupils the standard they are expected to achieve.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

103. Pupils generally listen attentively and concentrate on their work. They select and use resources correctly and carefully and enjoy making activities. They work well together, for example in a Year 5 group, two boys took turns to paint complementary patterns on alternate sides of a model drum and another boy assisted a girl to complete the painting of her model steel pan. Addison Primary School - 34 104. The regular monitoring carried out by the co-ordinator is helping to raise standards of attainment by identifying weaknesses in pupils’ skills and knowledge and aspects of the subject where staff development is needed to improve provision. The scheme of work provides sound guidance for teachers. The planned range of designing and making activities is satisfactory overall and the excellent facilities for food technology bring an added dimension to pupils’ experiences in the subject and provide good opportunities for them to apply their mathematical skills in a practical

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

setting. However, the development of pupils’ subject skills is limited in some activities, such as the Year 5 musical instrument project. In others, for example where the objective is to make models of existing artefacts, insufficient demands are placed on pupils’ creativity and invention. Good though the making skills are that pupils’ demonstrate in these tasks, they miss the essential point that design and technology is about designing and making products for a purpose.

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GEOGRAPHY

105. Pupils make good progress in geography. By the age of seven, they are attaining the standards expected of them. They are able to identify similarities and differences between their local area and a rural area they have visited, recording what they have found on a fieldtrip and using evidence to formulate deductions. Younger children understand how features in a locality can be recorded symbolically on a map and can use keys and legends to create their own maps showing their route from home to school. Most eleven year-olds have acquired a broad range of geographical skills and are attaining the standards expected of them, some are exceeding these. This is an improvement since the last inspection. Pupils make use of co-ordinates to identify places on maps. They use maps and other sources of information to consider the impact of human activity on familiar and unfamiliar places. For example, they can identify the impact of tourism and the

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GEOGRAPHY

destruction of the rainforest on Guatemala. They understand how natural processes also change the features of a landscape over time by, for example, studying the impact of a river on soil erosion and recording the level of air pollution in different environments.

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GEOGRAPHY

106. Teaching in geography is often good. Teachers work hard to identify interesting local issues and create their own high quality resources such as the excellent photographs of the White City redevelopment. The high quality of open questions stimulates pupils’ responses. In encouraging pupils to reflect on the impact of a new development on local people, teachers use their good subject knowledge to deepen pupils’ understanding of how land use changes over time, how this has an impact on economic activity and transport and that there are legal constraints on what can be done in a particular area or with a particular building. For example, they explain that the old power station for the underground railway is a listed building which cannot be demolished and that a new use will be found for it as a bus station. Teachers set out the learning objectives at the start of the lesson and use a plenary session at the end to consolidate pupils’ learning. This is very

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GEOGRAPHY

effective in developing pupils’ ability to reflect on their learning.

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GEOGRAPHY

107. There is an adequate range of resources, including maps, globes and aerial photographs, available to support the subject, with the resources made by the geography co-ordinator and other teachers being of particularly good quality. Good use is made of field trips, of the local area and of local resources such as the Urban Studies Centre, to enlarge pupils’ experience. Geography also plays an important part in developing numeracy and graphicacy skills, for example in the work done on four and six figure map references and the use of pie charts to record air pollution.

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HISTORY

108. Pupils are achieving the standards expected of them at the ages of seven and eleven. The youngest pupils gain a basic understanding of chronology by reflecting on their own experience of growing up and by sorting photographs into young, grown-up and old. The use of time lines of their own lives and those of their families is extended as they progress through the school to include remoter Addison Primary School - 35 periods of the past. By the age of eleven, pupils have a good understanding of how distant we are in time from the Victorians and the Tudors, and, more remotely, from Romans, Greeks and Egyptians. Pupils learn to interrogate objects and people to develop their understanding of what it was like to live in the past. For example, in Key Stage 1, pupils use the evidence of old gas pipes to imagine what it must have been like to come to school before the discovery of electricity. They

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HISTORY

know that the way children would have dressed is different and that some of the language used has changed, for example the term “offices” for “toilet”. Pupils’ writing helps extend their understanding and develop a sense of empathy with those whose lives were very different from their own, for example in writing a letter from the viewpoint of Vesta, a country girl who has gone to live in imperial Rome, describing her new life in the city.

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HISTORY

109. Teachers have good subject knowledge in history and ensure by their approach that the subject is accessible to all. They understand the importance of providing high quality sources for pupils to investigate and help stimulate pupils’ interest by an appropriate range of visits, for example using the British Museum to support work on the Greeks and Fulham Palace for work on the Tudors. Good use is made of a range of artefacts, including shards of real Roman pottery borrowed from the British Museum, to help develop pupils’ skills of historical enquiry. However there are occasions when teachers miss opportunities for deepening pupils’ skills. For example, when looking at a photograph of an Anglo-Saxon helmet, some pupils decided it must have belonged to a soldier because soldiers wear helmets, while others thought it must belong to a king because it had a gold nose-piece. Both are appropriate initial responses, but pupils’ understanding of Anglo-

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HISTORY

Saxon society would have been increased by developing and combining these ideas. Similarly, when looking at Tudor health remedies, pupils were correct in thinking that these would probably not be very effective. However, further discussion and more information might have encouraged them to see why Tudor doctors held the beliefs they did.

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HISTORY

110. Pupils enjoy historical investigation. They are quick to respond to the sources of evidence presented to them. They work together collaboratively, for example to agree what questions they will ask to a visitor who attended the school before the second world war, or when using information technology to produce a guide to a museum they have visited.

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HISTORY

111. Good progress has been made in teaching history since the last inspection. There is now the appropriate consistency in teaching historical skills across the school. Pupils work is now well- presented and the quality of teachers’ marking is good. There are sound assessment procedures in place and teachers make good use of these to monitor pupils’ progress. The co-ordinator provides effective leadership and has successfully improved the quality of resources for the subject.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

112. The standards attained by seven and eleven year-olds are above average. They reflect the thorough teaching of subject skills and knowledge in appropriate contexts and the ability of teachers to make effective use of the good facilities provided in the new computer room.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

113. The good standards of work described in the last inspection report have been maintained. Pupils in the nursery and reception classes quickly become familiar with the functions of the keyboard and the mouse as they learn to write their names with word processing software and use painting programs to create pictures. At Key Stage 1, pupils develop their skills and knowledge quickly. They play games to improve their control of the mouse, learn to draw pictures and to cut and paste words and images to produce illustrated stories that they draft and edit on the computer. Seven year-olds know how to save and load their work and have a growing confidence in using information and communications technology as a tool to aid their learning.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

114. As they progress through the school, pupils extend their skills and learn to carry out increasingly complex tasks. By the time they leave the school, most pupils can use spreadsheets and databases Addison Primary School - 36 to record and analyse data and produce graphs and can combine text and graphics to present their work effectively. They have a good understanding of the importance of information and communications technology in the modern world and how it affects their lives. Pupils improve the appearance of their work by selecting appropriate fonts and use reference materials stored on the Internet and CD-ROMs to further their studies in other subjects. For example, in one of the lessons observed, Year 4 pupils used a range of sources to find information about the Spanish Armada for their work in history, carefully choosing and editing the text and pictures they wanted to use. Older pupils are taught how to use equipment such as scanners and digital cameras and

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

learn to incorporate the results into their work. The small group of higher attaining Year 6 pupils, who use information and communications technology to extend their work in other subjects, use the full range of equipment and software available very effectively. They have well above average skills and knowledge. The opportunity to work intensively with multi media authoring software is improving their planning and research skills significantly.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

115. Pupils of all abilities, including those with special educational needs and those who have a limited knowledge of English, make good progress in developing their information technology skills. Teachers’ close attention to their individual needs ensures that their difficulties are quickly overcome and the success they experience motivates them to tackle increasingly complex tasks. Attitudes to learning are very good. Pupils are enthusiastic about the subject and use computers and other equipment responsibly. They work well individually and in pairs, concentrating on their tasks and responding well to comments from other pupils.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

116. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and in some lessons it is very good. Teachers’ are confident in the subject. Lessons are well planned and have clearly defined learning outcomes, both in relation to the information technology skills and knowledge being taught and the subject where they are being applied. This is a strength of the teaching and a good feature of the scheme of work. Good use is made of information and communications technology to support learning in literacy, for example through activities where younger pupils reinforce their knowledge and understanding of letter sounds and blends and older pupils write extended narratives or reports. The tasks set by teachers are challenging and they make effective use of the full range of the resources available to promote learning, such as the facility to project computer screen images onto a large display. This was used well in almost every lesson seen to demonstrate skills and to review

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

examples of pupils’ work in progress. For example, in a Year 3 lesson, the pupils were shown the basic features of a multimedia program, moved on to the task quickly and were highly motivated by seeing their work displayed to the class towards the end of the lesson. Occasionally, teachers do not prepare their pupils well enough for research activities involving the Internet or CD-ROMs, as in one Year 6 lesson, where it was clear that no instruction or reminders had been given beforehand about how to define efficient searches that would yield the information the pupils needed. As a result, the pupils made little progress and the opportunity to use this as a teaching point through whole class discussion of the problems encountered was not taken, either during the lesson or in a review at the end.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

117. The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum that systematically develops pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding very effectively. The generous level of provision gives pupils much better access to computers than in most schools and there is more direct teaching of computer skills. However, teachers have yet to integrate fully the use of the networked computers in their classrooms with their use of the computer room and provide additional opportunities for pupils to practise their skills and take their work further. Management and the monitoring of standards in the subject by the two joint co-ordinators is good and ensures that weaknesses are identified and addressed. The school makes effective use of an external consultant to provide advanced teaching for the higher attaining pupils, staff training and the technical management of the school’s growing network of computers.

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MUSIC

Addison Primary School - 37 118. The standards achieved by seven and eleven year olds are above those expected of pupils of their age. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. Standards in all aspects of music are good and clear progression is evident in the accomplishments and understanding shown by pupils in lessons, workshops and assemblies. Pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language are achieving well and have equal access to the curriculum.

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MUSIC

119. Pupils of all ages sing tunefully, demonstrating a good knowledge of phrasing and dynamics. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils can play tuned and untuned percussion instruments, either solo or in groups, keeping good time and pitch. At Key Stage 2, pupils use their developing composing skills to create short pieces in response to a variety of stimuli. They are able to read and write simple musical notation and use these skills effectively to involve others in the performance of their compositions. From the beginning of Year 3, all pupils learn to play the steel pans. They quickly master the skills needed to play these instruments well because of the highly skilled and enthusiastic teaching of the specialist tutor, who also composes and arranges pieces for the pupils to play. Pupils use their listening skills well to improve their ensemble work. For example, a performance of You are the sunshine of my life, by a group of Year6 pupils, improved

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MUSIC

substantially as the result of pupils’ discussion and evaluation of their playing and learning from their mistakes.

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MUSIC

120. Pupils have good listening skills. These are developed effectively in lessons by listening to the own playing and the work of a wide range of composers. They are able to compare and discuss music from a range of cultural traditions and comment critically on features, such as how combinations of instruments are used to create atmosphere.

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MUSIC

121. Pupils respond very enthusiastically to music lessons and when given opportunities to perform and compose. Pupils of all ages are well motivated, interested and responsive. In all music lessons they demonstrate that they have learned good practice when playing and handling musical instruments.

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MUSIC

122. Teaching by the music specialist is consistently good and often very good. She has excellent subject knowledge and communicates her enthusiasm and love of the subject to the pupils. Teaching is well planned, expectations are high and the pace of lessons is brisk. Pupils appreciate the well-established routines and the teacher’s sense of humour.

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MUSIC

123. Instrumental music teaching is a strength of the school. It contributes significantly to the ethos of achievement and to the personal development and autonomy of the pupils. The considerable number of pupils who play treble, tenor and descant recorders achieve high standards. They play confidently and tunefully in parts showing a good sense of rhythm, volume and timbre. Their playing makes a positive and uplifting contribution to assemblies. Very good standards are achieved by pupils learning to play the flute and the clarinet and a number of pupils also play percussion to a good standard, both solo and with large ensembles. A significant number of pupils are entered for the Associated Board examinations every year and almost all of them achieve merit or distinction passes.

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MUSIC

124. The subject is very well managed and led by an enthusiastic co-ordinator who has developed a progressive scheme of work. Most teaching takes place in a dedicated studio. This helps to raise the profile of music in the school. The subject is richly resourced with many good quality instruments, including pianos, woodwind, percussion instruments, steel pans and digital equipment. Music makes a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, social and cultural development. There are good opportunities for the participation of very large numbers of pupils in music making and performing, in the daily assemblies, at special events during the year and in the annual leavers’ concert. Addison Primary School - 38

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

125. Standards in both key stages have been maintained since the last inspection and are what would be expected of seven and eleven year olds. The standards in swimming achieved by Year 6 pupils are satisfactory. Pupils are competent in gymnastics. They show a good awareness of space and can extend and develop their movements from floor work to apparatus. Effective teaching and well planned activities enable younger pupils to improve their balance and control. They practise a range of movements with a clear understanding that these need to be linked to produce a smooth sequence.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

126. Pupils enjoy their work and respond energetically to the demands made of them. They work well in pairs and groups to work out, for example, imaginative ways of travelling, turning, jumping and balancing. They take care to work safely and are responsible in the way they handle the equipment. Where teachers have high expectations of them, pupils persevere to improve their work. Behaviour in lessons is very good.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

127. The quality of teaching in both key stages is satisfactory overall, with some excellent teaching in Key Stage 1 Teachers’ confidence and subject expertise have improved since the last inspection.. Lessons are conscientiously prepared and planned with clear objectives that reflect teachers’ evaluations and assessments of pupils’ work. However, in a small number of lessons, pupils are not given enough opportunity to refine their movements by evaluating their performance and repeating it to adjust and improve it. Sometimes the warm up exercises at the beginning of lessons are not well planned.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

128. The scheme of work covers all aspects of the National Curriculum and is followed consistently by all teachers. The organisation of the school timetable and the need to use one of the halls to serve school dinners, limits opportunities for physical education in both key stages. However, there is sufficient time to cover the statutory curriculum. The planned refurbishment of the top floor will enable provision to be extended in the near future.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

129. The co-ordinator has excellent subject knowledge and great enthusiasm for physical education. She monitors teachers’ plans and lessons and supports her colleagues informally when they need help. Resources are good. There are additional resources for playground games and the co- ordinator runs workshops with the younger pupils so that they can play a wide range of games during break and lunch times.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

130. Standards of attainment in Religious Education have improved since the last inspection. At Key Stage 1 standards are above, and at Key Stage 2 in line with, the expectations of the local Agreed Syllabus.. Pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language make significant gains in their knowledge and understanding because teachers provide work that is well matched to their prior attainment and learning needs.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

131. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils are familiar with major faiths including Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism and know stories from the lives of key figures from each religion, such as Jesus, Muhammed and Rama and Sita. They are aware of the part played by symbolism in religion, for example that a cross represents Christianity and light means goodness. They understand that religions have special occasions and ceremonies. For example, they appreciate the importance of Easter to Christians and Eid to Moslems. Pupils know that different religions have their own special buildings and can describe the features of mosques and churches.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

132. Eleven year-olds know a range of stories from different world faiths and are aware of different religious traditions and lifestyles. For example, Year 6 pupils speculated as to whether the Addison Primary School - 39 forbidding of pork and shell fish to both Jews and Moslems was because both religions originated in hot countries. Pupils know why the Five Pillars of Faith are important to Moslems and the Bible and sacraments are important to Christians. Through their studies in religious education, pupils grow to understand that it is necessary to show respect to other religions and explore wider issues of morality, spirituality and culture.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

133. Relationships between pupils across all ethnic groups are very good and are fostered by the understanding of other cultures that is promoted through religious education. pupils listen attentively in lessons and readily contribute their knowledge and views when asked. For example, a Year 6 class watched in rapt attention whilst a Moslem girl demonstrated her way of praying. The pronounced multicultural nature of the school is used positively by teachers who encourage pupils to share their experiences.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

134. Teaching is very good in Key Stage 1 and never less than satisfactory at Key Stage 2. Planning is good, expectations are high and teachers’ marking of pupils’ work is diagnostic and helpful. Teachers have good subject knowledge and use questioning effectively to encourage discussion and make pupils think. In both key stages, teachers provide a good variety of activities and use a range of religious artefacts well to promote pupils’ learning, for example crosses, prayer mats and copies of sacred texts. Religious education is substantially enhanced by the well-planned assemblies which explore religious themes through story-telling, music and poetry. Visiting speakers and regular visits to places of worship help to raise pupils’ awareness and understanding of different faiths.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

135. Work in religious education makes a positive contribution to the school’s provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. The subject is well managed and the scheme of work meets the requirements of the local Agreed Syllabus. The regular sampling and monitoring of pupils’ work by the coordinator contributes to the good standards achieved. Resources are adequate and are being improved. Displays throughout the school celebrate its commitment to promoting a positive awareness of, and attitudes towards, religious and cultural diversity.

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