North Ferriby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

NORTH FERRIBY PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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NORTH FERRIBY 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. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School category: Church of England Voluntary Controlled

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Church Road North Ferriby

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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 J Sargieson

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 10 March 1997 North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 4

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Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

21552 P B McAlpine Registered inspector and the reporting inspector Science Information and communication technology What sort of school is it? What should the school do to improve? The school’s results and pupils’ standards? How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 11414 A Bennett Lay inspector Pupils attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 29262 N Hardy A registered inspector participating as a team inspector Mathematics Art and design Physical education How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

19774 M Docherty Team inspector English Geography History French English as an additional language Equal opportunities 15447 C Glenis Team inspector Design and technology Music Foundation Stage Special educational needs

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Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

PBM Inspection Services Ltd PO Box 524 Cheadle Staffordshire ST10 4RN

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Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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

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Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 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 pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 23

North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is located close to the centre of the village of North Ferriby. The immediate locality is predominately residential with very little social and economic disadvantage. The school occupies two sites that are separated by a main village road. The number of boys and girls on roll, 311, is above average. The school has grown in size by one class since the previous inspection. The pupils are organised into 13 classes, all but four of which have mixed year groups. Pupils in the seven-to-eleven age range are organised into teaching sets for English and mathematics based on their attainment in those subjects. Nearly all pupils are of white United Kingdom origin. Two pupils speak English as an additional language and this is fewer than is typically found; Urdu and Russian are their first languages. The proportion of pupils eligible for a free school meal, about four per cent, is very low. Virtually all pupils have participated in some form of pre-school education. The proportion of four-year-olds entering with

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

typical or better attainment for their age is larger than average, although the proportion who do particularly well in the baselines is about the same as the typical school. Standards on entry are broadly consistent from year to year. About one in ten pupils have special educational needs, which is fewer than most schools, although more than two per cent have a statement of special needs and this is double the usual proportion. The distribution of special needs is uneven and sometimes affects standards disproportionately in some years. The majority with special needs have difficulty with literacy. One child is visually impaired; two have physical difficulties. A moderate proportion of the pupils join or leave the school at other than the usual time, affecting year groups unevenly.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a successful school in the main, where the achievements of the substantial majority of pupils in English, mathematics, and science are consistent with national expectations. Standards in English are high and they are above average in mathematics and science. The teaching is consistently satisfactory or better in quality, although the amount that is better than satisfactory is less than is usually found. The aims and educational direction of the school are well established by the headteacher and this is the reason for the good standards in literacy and numeracy. The cost of educating a pupil is similar to the national average and given the good standards on entry as well as at the age of eleven, the school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards among eleven-year-old pupils are high in English and above average in mathematics and science. • The attitudes and behaviour of the pupils are very good. • Personal development and relationships are good, reflecting the good provision for moral and social development. • The teaching of literacy and numeracy in the reception year is consistently good. • The teaching and the provision for information and communication technology have improved significantly since the previous inspection. • There is a warm, welcoming ethos that values achievement. • The rate of attendance is well above average.

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What could be improved

• Standards in music throughout the school and progress in art in the seven-to-eleven age group. • The provision for special educational needs. • The amount of good and very good teaching. • Curricular planning in mixed-age classes and for the pupils that are high attaining, especially in science. • The systems for tracking the progress of pupils. • The range of responsibilities delegated to the deputy headteacher and the effectiveness of subject managers. 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 on 10 March 1997. The inspection was successful and improvement since that time has been satisfactory, although delayed initially by the absence for about a term of the headteacher and changes within the senior management team. Since the previous inspection, standards in the core subjects have risen broadly in line with the national trend. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies have been implemented effectively. The responses of senior management and the governors to the previous report have been positive. All of the issues for action identified at the previous inspection have been tackled, nearly all with complete success but a few with further improvement still necessary. Pupils’ handwriting is improved. Strategic management and the school development planning arrangements are now satisfactory and these are providing clear direction to the improvements. The induction of new teachers to the school is good. The introduction of

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

arrangements to set pupils by attainment is helping teachers to better match the work to learning needs in English and mathematics. The current organisation of pupils into classes is helping to manage appropriately the annual variations in the size of year groups. Modifications to the building have reduced the problems caused by the previous open plan design. There is now a separation of vehicle and pedestrian entrances to the school, much improving safety. The statutory requirements in respect of the North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 7 governors’ annual report to parents are met. The appointment of a new special needs coordinator has led to much improved management of special needs; the provision is being updated quickly but greater involvement of parents and increases to the general quality of individual education plans are still necessary. Teachers’ lesson planning now contains clear overall learning

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

targets although these are not always specific about the work for high or low attaining pupils or for those in the same class but different year groups.

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STANDARDS

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

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Key

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

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Key

The table relates to pupils who have transferred to secondary education. The 2001 tests had taken place but the results were not available at the time of the inspection. The standard of current work among the eleven-year-old pupils is well above average in English and above average in mathematics and science. Although not yet confirmed by the 2001 tests, the standard of current work shows that the dip in results in 2000 was not indicative of a downward trend. The eleven-year-old year group at that time was unusually small and contained a high proportion of pupils with statements of special educational needs. Records show that all of the pupils with special needs in that cohort performed well in relation to their difficulties but did not manage to attain the expected national level and this affected the results. Leaving aside the unusual circumstances in 2000, standards have improved each year since the previous inspection but only just in line with the national trend. Taking English, mathematics and science

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Key

together, the educational value added by the school is broadly satisfactory and performance, apart from 2000, is generally in line with the majority of similar schools. The achievements of almost all pupils in the tests were consistent with expectations but a small proportion of potentially high attaining pupils, mainly girls, underachieved in mathematics and science, and a few boys underachieved in writing; this is another reason why standards dipped in 2000.

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Key

The 2000 test results for seven-year-olds were average in reading, above average in writing, but below average in mathematics. The standard of their current work is well above average in reading and is above average in writing, mathematics, and science. The achievement of these pupils in relation to their attainment on entry is satisfactory and annual variations primarily reflect differences in the proportions with high attainment on entry.

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Key

Standards in information and communication technology are higher than typically found, reflecting the effective use made of the computer suite and good levels of teaching expertise. Standards in art and design are good between the ages of five and seven and satisfactory after that, though progress between the ages of seven and eleven slows because of weaknesses in planning. In design and technology, history, geography, and physical education, standards throughout are satisfactory. In music, standards throughout are not as high as they should be because the planning and the provision are underdeveloped. Religious education is inspected separately. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress in lessons and many of those without statements attain expected standards in the tests. The quality of their individual education plans is occasionally poor and this sometimes hinders the precise measurement of the progress they make in relation to the particular difficulties encountered.

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Key

Progress is satisfactory for the pupils with English as an additional language. The school is on course to exceed its literacy and numeracy targets for 2001. Targets for 2002 are lower than 2001, reflecting early projections about the attainment of pupils who are currently aged ten. Overall, the targets are not as ambitious as they could be and should be revised upwards.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. The vast majority of pupils enjoy school and work hard. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Nearly all pupils behave well in lessons and outdoors at playtime. There have been no exclusions during the reporting period. Pupils and parents report only a small amount of bullying; the responses by teachers are appropriate and effective. Personal development and relationships Personal development is good. Relationships are very good. Pupils are trustworthy and friendly. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 8 Attendance Very good. The rate of attendance is well above the national average.

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Aspect Comment

Pupils rise to the challenge of lessons well and enjoy tasks that are demanding. They are invariably keen and eager to start lessons and confident when answering questions. Behaviour in lessons and throughout the communal and play areas is consistently of a high standard. Independence and levels of initiative are good. Relationships between pupils, and with their teachers, are very strong and levels of courtesy and respect are high.

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

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

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

The quality of teaching is similar in range to that found at the previous inspection and is satisfactory overall. Standards nationally, however, have risen and there is about a third less teaching that is good or better in quality than is now typical nationally. This indicates, in broad terms, that improvements in teaching have not kept pace with the national picture and this is why the rises in standards are only just in line with the national trend. Overall, 95 per cent of the teaching is satisfactory or better, including 51 per cent that is good or better. The teaching is good in English and mathematics, including literacy and numeracy, and in information and communications technology, and history. Teaching is satisfactory in all of the other subjects except music, where it is unsatisfactory. Teaching for pupils up to the age of five, and those aged five in the reception year, is good. There is very good and excellent teaching in all year groups, reflecting the work of five teachers. The unsatisfactory

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

teaching involves four teachers, each with one unsatisfactory lesson, and is not representative of their work in general.

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

The learning needs of pupils who are broadly average in their attainment are met in all subjects except music, where the teaching is very inconsistent in quality. The learning needs of pupils whose attainment is above or below average are generally met in English and mathematics but not consistently so in other subjects. The teaching in the seven-to-eleven age group is meeting the learning needs of all pupils in literacy and numeracy through effective grouping of pupils into sets by attainment. In science, the learning needs of pupils with above or below average attainment are inconsistently met, especially in experimental and investigative science, reflecting variations in teachers’ subject expertise. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is variable but is broadly satisfactory overall, especially when they are taught English or mathematics in attainment sets. Not enough is done to identify and support the specific needs of gifted and talented pupils.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory. All subjects of the National Curriculum, religious education, and the nationally agreed areas of learning for pupils in the reception year are taught. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory overall but with areas for improvement. Assistants provide good levels of support. Individual education plans are occasionally too generalised in their targets and this is limiting the measurement of progress for these pupils. Some pupils stay too long at the same assessment stage. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good for moral and social development. Satisfactory for spiritual and cultural development. Pupils are effectively taught right from wrong and there is appropriate emphasis on reflection. There is a strong emphasis on collaboration and teamwork.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Good. Appropriate priority is given to health and safety and to the arrangements for child protection. The arrangements for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress are underdeveloped, especially those for monitoring academic progress.

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Aspect Comment

The curriculum has improved since the previous inspection through the successful implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. The arrangements for setting pupils by attainment are satisfactory in English and mathematics. Not enough thought, however, is given to ensuring continuity and progression in mixed-age classes in the curriculum overall, especially for high attaining pupils in subjects such as science. The amount of time given to English and mathematics is appropriate although too little time is given to some of the other subjects, particularly history, geography, music, and art and design. Parents, in the main, are very satisfied with the school. The range and variation of parental views, the effectiveness of links with parents, parental involvement in the work of the school, the quality of information provided for parents, and the North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 9

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Aspect Comment

contribution made by parents to children’s learning are typical of most schools. Liaison with parents whose children have special educational needs is not as good as it should be.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher has established the aims and direction of the school effectively and is placing strong emphasis on high standards in literacy and numeracy. Senior management is working well as a team. The deputy headteacher is newly appointed and enthusiastic but her current role is too narrow. Subject managers vary in effectiveness; literacy, numeracy, and information and communications technology managers are leading well by example. Not all managers write action plans for their subjects and in science, for example, this is slowing development. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Typical of most schools. Governors are committed to their role and the management of their business is well organised and appropriate. They have satisfactory oversight of the work of the school and all relevant statutory requirements are met. The school’s evaluation of

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Aspect Comment

its performance Relatively new but satisfactory overall. Basic systems for checking the performance of the teaching are now in place but the undeveloped monitoring of pupils’ progress limits the amount of data available to inform decision making. The strategic use of resources Satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

The level of staffing, together with the range of qualifications and subject specialisms is satisfactory for a school of this type and size. Accommodation is satisfactory, with good specialist areas such as the computer suite and library. The safety of pupils when they have to cross a busy minor road between the two sites is a concern, especially as there is no traffic control or pedestrian crossing for pupils to use, and all those with governance of the school should seek to improve this situation. Resources are satisfactory.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The substantial majority of parents are: • satisfied with standards overall; • pleased with the good quality of the teaching; • happy with the ethos and values of the school; • very pleased with the attitudes and behaviour of the pupils; • confident that the headteacher is very willing to listen to their suggestions and concerns and takes effective action. A few parents: • think that standards in science are not high enough; • are concerned about standards in spelling; homework; extra- curricular provision; the non-competitive nature of sports; and the lack of emphasis on art and design and on music; • are unhappy about the time it takes for special educational needs to be identified; • think that the school does not work closely with them or keep them well informed.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The findings support nearly all of the views of parents, both the positive views and the concerns. The inspectors agree with parents that standards, in the main, are satisfactory; that the ethos and values of the school are appropriate; that the pupils are eager and behave well; and that the headteacher is effective. The inspectors partly agree with parents about standards in science; although the proportion at expected levels is above average, the proportion exceeding expectations could be higher. They agree with parents that not enough emphasis is placed on art and music; that the policy for homework is underdeveloped; that not enough information is provided about the curriculum; and that several aspects of the management of special educational needs are inconsistent with the Code of Practice. Inspectors do not agree with parents that there is a lack of non-competitive sports; the range of competitive sport is similar to most schools.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 10

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Standards are high in English and above average in mathematics and science. The achievement of the pupils compared to their attainment on entry is satisfactory. The work of the eleven-year-old pupils in English, mathematics and science shows that the proportions who are attaining or exceeding the expected national level for their age are higher than average. In English, the proportion exceeding expectations is greater than typical and this, together with the proportion at expected levels, means that the overall standard of work is well above average. In mathematics and science, the proportions exceeding the expected levels are typical of most schools and when account is taken of those at the expected level, the overall standard of work in these subjects is above rather than well above average. The standard of current work at the age of seven is well above average in reading and above average in writing, mathematics, and science. Among the four-year-olds, standards are

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

above average in personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; and mathematics; nearly all of these pupils are currently attaining, or close to attaining, the first level of the National Curriculum. Standards among four-year-olds in the other nationally agreed areas of learning are average. The work of pupils with special educational needs, and their performance in lessons, shows that they generally make satisfactory progress although the occasionally poor quality of their individual education plans makes precise measurement of progress difficult in some cases. The progress of the very small number of pupils with English as an additional language is satisfactory.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. The most recent published test results for eleven-year-olds are for 2000, a cohort that contained only 35 pupils, which was much smaller than the norm for the school, and who have now transferred to secondary education. The current eleven-year- olds had taken the 2001 tests at the time of the inspection but the results had not been published. The results in 2000, when account is taken of pupils at expected levels and higher levels, were average in English and mathematics and below average in science. Until 2000, the results for this age group had been sustained at well above average standards in English, and above average in mathematics and science. Results in all these subjects fell in 2000 because of an unusually high number of eleven-year-olds, 14 per cent, with statements of special educational needs. The records show that those with statements generally made satisfactory progress over the junior years but did not manage to attain the expected national level for their

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

age. All of the other eleven-year-olds tested in 2000 attained or exceed expectations in English and science; all but two did so in mathematics. Current work shows that the school is on course to produce test results in 2001 that are considerably higher than 2000. Apart from 2000, test results have improved in line with the national trend.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The 2000 test results for seven-year-olds were average in reading, above average in writing, but below average in mathematics. Although the proportion of pupils who attained or exceeded the expected national level was larger than the typical school, the proportion exceeding expectations in reading and mathematics was small and this reduced the overall result in these two subjects. In writing, the proportion exceeding expectations was almost double the typical proportion and this boosted the overall results to above average.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Close examination of the results reveals that a moderate amount of pupil mobility, that is pupils joining or leaving the school at other than the usual time of admission and transfer, lowered standards at the age of eleven in 2000. About 25 per cent of the pupils tested in 1996 at age seven left before the age of eleven. All of these pupils scored at average or higher levels in the tests for seven-year-olds, with half exceeding expectations. They were replaced by an equal number of pupils, only a quarter of whom had scored highly in previous tests, and about a third who were low attaining, including two with statements. This level of pupil mobility is not replicated in every year group.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Leaving aside the performance of pupils with statements, the 2000 results were comparable with the majority of similar schools. When the performance of pupils with statements is included, the results were below average in mathematics and well below average in English and science. The higher standard of current work is comparable with the 2000 average for similar schools. Data from 1998 and 1999 shows that the school’s performance then was in line with the average for similar schools. Taken together, past results and current standards show that in broad terms the performance of the school has kept pace with the majority of schools with pupils from similar backgrounds.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. The achievement of the pupils, a measure of the educational value added, is satisfactory overall in English, mathematics, and science, though there are a few individual exceptions. Compared to their attainment in 1996 when aged seven, 87 per cent of the pupils tested at the age of eleven in 2000, made or exceeded the expected amount of progress in reading. Slightly more than one pupil in ten did better than expected. All of the pupils who had attained the expected national level for seven- year-olds in 1996 went on to attain the expected level for eleven-year-olds. The 13 per cent who underachieved were mainly boys who exceeded expectations in 1996 but did not do so in 2000. In mathematics, while the basic picture of achievement was similar to that in reading, the small amount of underachievement in this subject affected girls who, like the boys in reading, exceeded expectations when aged seven but did not repeat their high scoring when aged eleven. Although

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

satisfactory overall, there was slightly more underachievement in science than in reading or mathematics; as with the mathematics, it was mainly girls who had done well at seven but attained only average scores when aged eleven. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 11 7. Achievement in writing for the eleven-year-olds tested in 2000 was not as good as it should be; only 67 per cent of them made or exceeded the expected amount of progress over the four junior years. Eighteen per cent of the pupils who had attained the expected national level in 1996 when aged seven, albeit with a lower than typical score, did not manage to attain the national expectation for eleven-year-olds. All of these pupils, mainly boys, did enough in reading in 2000 to compensate for their underachievement in writing.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. At the age of seven, the results of the pupils in the tests, compared to their baseline assessments, show satisfactory achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics. The proportion at expected or higher levels in the 2000 tests for seven- year-olds was broadly the same as the proportion entering in 1997 at age four with typical or better attainment and the proportion with high attainment increased in size.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. The vast majority of eleven-year-olds are confident speakers. They listen carefully, understand the main points being discussed, and articulate their thoughts and opinions clearly, showing appropriate respect for the views of others. A high proportion exceed expectations in reading, showing the ability to respond thoughtfully to the complex issues that arise in reading matter that is at a near adult level. Writing is varied and interesting and shows good understanding of different genres. The underachievement in reading and writing among boys, noted in the 2000 tests, has been partly remedied but more needs to be done. In mathematics, mental calculations are completed quickly and accurately. Pupils can apply their knowledge well to every-day and problem solving situations; have a broad knowledge of shape, space, and measures; and satisfactory knowledge of data handling. There is a small amount of underachievement among the high attaining pupils. In

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

science, almost all eleven-year-olds have satisfactory knowledge of life processes and living things; materials and their properties; and physical processes. Their knowledge of the methods of scientific enquiry is limited and fewer pupils attain the expected level than in the other aspects of the programme of study.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. In art and design, standards are good up to the age of seven and satisfactory after that; achievement is satisfactory between the ages of five and seven but unsatisfactory among older pupils because there is insufficient priority and time given to the subject. Standards in design and technology are broadly satisfactory; making skills are generally good but planning skills are underdeveloped. In geography, the weaknesses in map reading found at the time of the previous inspection have been remedied and pupils are developing an appropriate knowledge of places and settlements. In history, overall standards are satisfactory and the pupils are developing a detailed knowledge of people, their life styles, and key events from the Tudor and Victorian periods. Information and communication technology knowledge and skills are well developed; nearly all eleven-year-olds are confident, capable users of computers, the Internet, and the programs available to them in school, and

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

have satisfactory knowledge across the full range of the National Curriculum programme of study. The provision for music is unsatisfactory. This is leading to standards throughout the school that are not as high as they should be. In physical education, standards are satisfactory across the programme of study and there is appropriate emphasis on out-door education.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. The attainment of the few pupils with special educational needs in literacy and numeracy is generally a year or more below national expectations. The progress they make in lessons is satisfactory in the main, reflecting the appropriate quality of the support they receive from assistants, and their work is mostly well matched to general learning needs. Individual education plans, however, are not always as precise as they should be and occasionally the work that these pupils are set is not sufficiently well targeted at the specific difficulties they face and this limits progress. The progress of gifted and talented pupil is not as good as it could be, reflecting the inconsistent provision of work at different levels.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils enjoy coming to school and like being challenged by hard work. When they are set a task, pupils of all ages are good at settling down to work quickly. The oldest pupils, for example, were very keen to get on with writing their own “thin” poems, and the youngest pupils quickly organised themselves to be ready and in position to start a physical education lesson in the hall. Pupils have busy lives. Many are involved in activities out of school, and those that the school provides are often over-subscribed.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. In lessons, pupils behave very well. This is because they take work seriously. Even the youngest pupils listen very well and are eager to answer their teacher’s questions. Pupils are well motivated. They concentrate well and can work both on their own and cooperatively. A group of eleven-year-old pupils, writing junior political manifestos in the week of the general election, showed that they were able to work together to extract information from the published party manifestos. These older pupils are beginning to develop good study skills, including making notes for later use.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Pupils respect their teachers, and a very good working atmosphere is created in the classrooms, derived from very good relationships. They show sensitivity to others by working quietly so that the teacher can give a separate input to another group. Friendship groupings are very important to pupils. They acknowledge that when they fall out with each other there can be some unkindness, mostly verbal. This is infrequent, however. There have been no exclusions. Pupils respect the North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 12 headteacher and know it is serious if they are sent to her for misbehaving. Pupils occupy themselves well during lunch and break times and play particularly well together during breaks when they can use the field.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Pupils behave very well during formal assemblies. They listen attentively to stories and bow their heads when asked to think and reflect. A class of five and six year olds, without adult support, took with confidence a family assembly in front of the whole school and many visitors. Each knew their words, which they spoke out clearly and without prompting. These pupils showed considerable maturity and independence and they enjoyed the applause from the rest of the school and from their families.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Pupils are trustworthy and friendly and have good social skills. Over the past year, the pupils have asked to raise funds for a charitable project. They have risen to the challenge of organising this themselves. Pupils regularly undertake routine tasks within classrooms but there are no significant whole-school responsibilities open to them. Attendance is very good, and very high compared with other schools nationally. In the last year, there were no reported absences without reason. Punctuality to school is good.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

17. The standard of teaching is good for the four-year-olds in their first year of schooling and satisfactory overall for pupils between the ages of five and eleven. The amount of satisfactory or better teaching, 95 per cent, is in line with the typical school nationally and almost identical to that found at the previous inspection. The amount of good or better teaching, 51 per cent, is on the low side compared to other schools. There is less very good and excellent teaching than at the previous inspection and, overall, the quality of teaching has not improved enough since that time. There are no significant differences in the quality of teaching between the infant and junior age groups. The teaching is good overall in English, mathematics, information and communications technology and history, and is satisfactory in all of the other subjects except music, where it is unsatisfactory. Compared to the previous inspection, the teaching has improved in mathematics and in information and

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

communications technology but has worsened in music. The excellent teaching is found in English and, paradoxically, in music, the latter highlighting wide variations in teaching effectiveness in that subject. The teaching for pupils in the four- year-old age group, the Foundation Stage, is particularly good in literacy and numeracy, in both the classes where these pupils are found, and is satisfactory in each of the other nationally agreed areas of learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

18. In excellent and very good lessons, the teacher’s extensive subject expertise is used very effectively to inspire the pupils, make them think creatively, deepen their understanding, and extend the knowledge and skills of all pupils by more than is expected within the time available. In an excellent English lesson with the high attaining Year 5 and 6 set, the teacher wanted the pupils to learn about persuasive language and made good use of election manifestos to make the tasks relevant to current experiences. The lesson included all of the main attainment targets from the programme of study. The pupils were able to extend speaking and listening skills as well as reading, research and writing skills, having to concentrate on and identify the main themes in the text as well as the subtleties of using language to persuade and influence people. The task required them to work in pairs, researching various manifestos, and discuss and agree on their findings. In a very good

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

mathematics lesson in the combined reception and Year 1 class, the teacher made excellent use of resources to extend quickly the pupils ability when adding coins to make specified amounts. Questions of varying levels of difficulty were targeted at pupils of different attainment and age, so that all were stretched and carefully steered towards new knowledge and understanding. By the end of the lesson, pupils in the four-year-old age group were confidently explaining how they would make 14p, for example, from 10p and two 2p coins and the five-year-olds were able to mentally compute 50p+4p, for instance, and record the numbers appropriately.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

19. In all lessons, the teachers share the learning objectives with the pupils and explain the purpose of the lesson carefully and this is leading to all pupils having a good understanding of what they are doing and why. Lessons in English and mathematics usually end with a plenary that helps everyone to know how well they have done. This strategy is also used in lessons in other subjects but not as consistently or as successfully as in English and mathematics. Phonics and other basic skills are well taught and there is good progress in lessons and over time in learning these skills. In all but a few lessons the pupils are very well managed and this is a strong characteristic of the teaching which is well reflected in the good relationships between pupils and teachers.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20. The small amount of unsatisfactory teaching is spread between four teachers and is not representative of their work in general. The subjects involved were science, music, and physical education. In each lesson, not enough new knowledge was gained to make the lesson worthwhile. In science, a lack of subject expertise led to work that was not pitched at a high enough level. This was largely the case with the unsatisfactory teaching in physical education and in music, where pupils spent too little time actively involved.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

21. The arrangements for organising pupils in the seven-to-eleven age range into sets for English and mathematics based on their attainment are effectively helping the teaching to challenge and meet the learning needs of pupils with different levels of knowledge. Much of the good or better teaching is found in these sets. The setting is particularly supporting the learning North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 13 of the pupils who are lower attaining but does not always support high attaining pupils in mathematics as much as it might. When pupils are taught in mixed ability and mixed-age classes, the teaching adequately meets the learning needs of the substantial majority with average levels of knowledge but is not always successful in meeting the needs of those with higher levels of attainment. This is why so much of the teaching in subjects other than English and mathematics is satisfactory but

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

is not good or very good. The effective practices found in literacy and numeracy lessons of targeting questions at different levels of attainment and providing work matched to capability are not followed as closely in the other subjects. Lesson planning in all subjects has been reduced to a minimum level in order to reduce paper work, identifying only general learning objectives and often no work is specified for particular groups, such as pupils with special educational needs, other than in the planning for English and mathematics. The subject expertise of teachers is not always sufficient to fill out this minimal planning into rich and worthwhile learning experience for all pupils and this is a contributory factor to the unsatisfactory teaching.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22. The teaching in information and communications technology is good. Consistency of teaching in the subject has improved significantly since the previous inspection. Good use is made of the computer suite, which is new; teachers’ subject knowledge and expertise is now good throughout the school.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

23. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs, together with the support provided in lessons, is satisfactory but with aspects for improvement. This is similar to the situation found at the time of the previous inspection. Targeted support for these pupils is mostly effective and staff generally have good relationships with them and show concern and care for their learning. Lesson planning, however, is inconsistent in its specification of learning objectives for those with special needs. This is not, in the main, adversely affecting their learning in literacy and numeracy in the seven-to-eleven age group because the arrangements for setting pupils by attainment are effective and the work is generally well matched to learning needs. The impact is greater in science and the other subjects, where work provided occasionally lacks relevance. Not enough is done to identify and support gifted and talented pupils. The work of pupils with statements of special need shows a narrow

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

range of worksheet exercises and some mathematical work is of a very low level even when the educational need is not because of difficulties in numeracy.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

24. Not enough use is made of assessments to inform planning and this is one reason why the work can lack relevance. Newly introduced individual target setting in literacy has the potential to improve this picture but it is too early to see any impact. The provision of homework is underdeveloped among the oldest pupils and is very inconsistent in quantity and quality, which makes it difficult for parents to support their children effectively. The school’s policy for homework is unclear, does not have regard to national guidelines, and is not implemented with thoroughness.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

25. The curriculum is suitably broad throughout and covers all the required subjects of the National Curriculum, religious education, and the nationally agreed areas of learning for pupils in the reception year. There are many worthwhile and interesting learning experiences and good use is made of educational visits. Strong priority is given to literacy and numeracy and this is appropriate. The overall quality of the curriculum is consistent with the previous inspection; the successful implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies means that curricular improvement is, in the main, satisfactory since that time. Suitable note is taken of the nationally agreed curriculum for four-year-olds except for physical development, because of poor provision of large outdoor play equipment and insufficient daily opportunities to use it.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

26. The National Literacy Strategy is influencing the teaching well and, together with the arrangements to set pupils according to their attainment, is helping to raise standards. Writing and reading skills have been improved and are now at well above average levels. The National Numeracy Strategy has been satisfactorily implemented. A good balance between the varying elements of the mathematics curriculum has been achieved with a strong aspect being the opportunities that pupils have to apply their knowledge and skills in this subject. Not enough consideration has been given to the use of the National Literacy Strategy in mixed age classes. The current organisation of pupils into mixed-age sets has the potential for some pupils, currently those aged nine, to miss at least a year of work from the Framework, and this is unsatisfactory.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

27. The various stages of planning for the year, the half-term, and the week are typical of most schools. There is a good emphasis on planning collectively in year group teams and this is helping to achieve broad consistency of learning experiences for pupils of the same age. The quality of half-term and weekly planning is mixed, however, and generally contains too little detail about provision for pupils of the same age but with different levels of attainment. This affects pupils in subjects other than English and mathematics when the teaching is mainly in groups that are mixed-age and leads at times to provision that is not always relevant to the learning needs of all the pupils. In these circumstances, especially when the subject expertise of a teacher is weak, the work can be too easy for the pupils who already have high attainment, or too hard for those whose attainment is low. It also leads to gaps in the continuity of learning, or to repetition, as in science, where

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

pupils from the age of five to nine were all experimenting with the growth of cress seeds at broadly the same level of difficulty. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 14 28. The balance of time spent on the teaching of all subjects is not sufficiently well monitored and this leads in practice to insufficient time being spent on subjects, particularly history, geography, music and art. In addition, the total time each week spent on the National Curriculum and religious education is below the recommended minimum for pupils who are aged from seven to eleven. These factors contribute to unsatisfactory standards in music and the insufficient progress being made by older pupils in art.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

29. Extra-curricular provision is typical of most schools. Sports provision for the older pupils is at a good level. They are able to experience a range of suitable competitive sports including football, netball, kwik cricket, tennis, athletics, and swimming. Inter school competition adds to pupils’ sporting prowess as well as their social and competitive experiences. A residential visit for older pupils aids their personal as well as sporting development. Extra-curricular activities other than sport are very limited, especially for younger pupils, with several being run only on a short-term basis and then stopping. This has reduced opportunities outside sport.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

30. Provision for pupils personal, social and health education is good. The school has in place a programme to enable pupils to discuss their ideas and concerns about topics such as bullying. In these sessions, they learn about their responsibilities in looking after the environment and each other. This is one of the strengths of the school. Both sex education and drugs awareness education are undertaken through planned programmes, through the science curriculum, and in a health awareness week. Currently there is no school council.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

31. The community makes a good contribution to school life. Governors and parents are supportive of the school and often provide help in classrooms. The school uses the skills of artists, potters, textile artists, and sculptors to enrich and enliven the curriculum. There are links with several local sports clubs and pupils benefit from coaching in these areas. Links with the business community are limited. There is a supportive group of parents who raise valuable additional funding for the school. Liaison with pre-school nurseries and local secondary schools is satisfactory with teacher visits to the school and opportunities for pupils to visit the school of their choice.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

32. Provision for pupils with special educational needs in the reception year is appropriate and enables them to make satisfactory progress. Elsewhere, the provision is satisfactory overall but is inconsistent in quality between classes and there are occasional shortcomings in the quality of individual education plans. Even so, improvement since the previous inspection is satisfactory. Nearly all of the support provided by assistants and specialist teachers is effective and, in these circumstances, pupils with special needs are able to make satisfactory and sometimes good progress. Pupils with statements of special educational needs are appropriately supported. Pupils with special educational needs but without statements are occasionally withdrawn from activities or lessons without sufficient consideration of what they might be missing. A ten-year-old pupil, for example, was withdrawn from the whole of a science lesson. Where necessary, pupils have additional opportunities for

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, and the teaching of braille, which are strengths of the provision. Visiting staff and classroom support assistants provide such support sensitively and discreetly, often with humour.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

33. The coordinator for special educational needs has worked hard to improve the quality of the individual education plans and has been partially successful. Occasionally, however, the broad annual targets in statements are not always sub-divided sufficiently into smaller steps to be achieved over short periods. Broad targets also feature occasionally in the plans for pupils without statements. This lack of precision is affecting the sharpness of the provision, making it difficult to measure progress and so be sure that the provision is effective.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

34. Together, the provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good, though there are individual variations between each of these aspects. The provision for spiritual development is satisfactory. Acts of collective worship meet legal requirements. Pupils say prayers reverently in some classes at the end of the day and during acts of collective worship. The school has recently introduced the study of Islam as well as the study of Judaism and, predominantly, Christianity. These enhancements to the curriculum are not yet established and need developing. Although staff express a desire that pupils’ spiritual development is taught through everything, this is not yet the case in practice.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

35. Provision for moral development is good and enhanced by the generally good behaviour management of pupils. Right from wrong is clearly taught and there is appropriate emphasis on getting pupils to think through their misdemeanours and reflect on alternative courses of action. Teachers raise pupils’ awareness of less fortunate people, for example, through supporting national charities such as ‘Comic Relief’. Issues from playground incidents are discussed in circle time at the pupils’ request. In some subjects, history for example, moral issues such as Victorian working conditions and childcare are discussed in some depth.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

36. Provision for social development is good. Curriculum provision is enriched by a range of educational visits including a residential visit to Bamburgh, visits to Filey, which help develop social skills and team work, and through links with the church and local community. Many lessons provide time for collaborative activities and for adopting roles such as team leader. Individual pupils act independently to organise and raise funds for different causes. The school and its grounds are used for village events such as the Millennium Festival. Older pupils work with younger pupils occasionally but responsibilities such as this are infrequent. Opportunities for personal, independent study or research are insufficient. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 15 37. Provision for cultural development is satisfactory overall. Pupils have frequent, good opportunities to learn about their cultural heritage; for example, through maypole dancing, a visiting sculptor, a potter, and a textile designer who work with

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

some of the children and enhance their understanding and practical skills. Representatives of organisations such as the Royal National Institute for the Blind provide further opportunities for pupils to develop greater awareness. The provision for raising awareness of the multicultural nature of society and the world is less satisfactory. There are few opportunities for pupils to increase their awareness and understanding of other cultures and traditions although the recent acquisition of a good range of multicultural books is a positive feature.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. The headteacher acts as a good role model to her staff in the way she knows and cares for individual pupils. Class teachers carry out well the day-to-day responsibility for monitoring attendance, behaviour, personal, and academic progress, with the headteacher available as support. School policy documents contain a range of suggestions for teachers to use, both to promote good behaviour, and to deal with any that may be poor. This allows teachers to use their own strategies and relationships within the class to develop. Although this could lead to a lack of consistency, it is not a problem in this school because pupils arrive with very positive attitudes and a very good understanding of how they should behave. The policies for dealing with the very small amount of bullying and oppressive behaviour are appropriate and effective.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. Parental support ensures that the level of attendance is very high. Registers, however, are not sufficiently well monitored. Too many registers fail to indicate reasons for absence and so the annual absence return, currently being completed, is assuming that all absences are authorised. Teachers have now been reminded of the need to use the absence codes correctly.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. The arrangements for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress are underdeveloped. The school has, appropriately, identified this as an aspect for improvement. Individual target setting is being introduced in literacy, and this is helping pupils to know what they must do to improve. Optional national tests for pupils between the ages of seven and eleven were introduced last year and the data is being collected but it is not being collated in a form that facilitates annual comparisons. Currently, not enough is done to measure the extent of progress made by each pupil each year or to quantify the proportion of pupils in each class and year group whose annual progress in each subject is satisfactory or better and these are significant shortcomings in the arrangements.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. Class teachers rightly make note of the early concerns they might have as part of the process of identifying pupils with special educational needs. Classroom support assistants have recently begun making notes about their work with these pupils but this practice is inconsistent. Most comments are descriptive and do not indicate what teachers and assistants need to do next to aid pupils’ learning. The stages of the Code of Practice for pupils with special educational are broadly implemented but reviews of individual education plans are not consistently well documented and there are gaps in the documentation. An overview of the progress that pupils with special educational needs are making has not been produced and it is difficult to identify from records those pupils who have remained at the same assessment stage for more than two reviews, which would indicate lack of progress. Close analysis shows that some pupils have remained too long at the same level.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. The decision to train the entire staff in first aid equips them to deal with any incidents. There is satisfactory provision for the few pupils who are injured or unwell in school. Proper procedures are followed to ensure pupils’ safety on visits and when travelling in coaches. Arrangements for child protection comply with those agreed locally. The deputy headteacher has received relevant training and has recently taken up this responsibility.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. The health and safety concerns identified at the time of the last inspection have been resolved. Governors take their health and safety responsibilities seriously and conduct regular audits of the building. The busy road remains a concern, particularly when gates are left open, or when one teacher from the annexe has to take a class across to use the accommodation on the main site alone; this should not happen.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

44. The school benefits from supportive parents who have high expectations of their children. They use out of school hours wisely and many give their children opportunities to get involved in activities after school. Some make use of the ‘kids club’ on the site, which provides pre-school and after-school play activities. Parents overwhelmingly support the school’s ethos, values and work in enabling their children to become mature and responsible, to make progress, to work hard and do their best.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

45. A quarter of parents responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire, a sixth attended the pre-inspection meeting and twenty wrote to the inspectors. Common concerns relate to two areas of communication between home and school: homework, especially for pupils in the seven-to-eleven age group, and information about the curriculum. It is these concerns, in the North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 16 main, that led to a third of respondents to the questionnaire saying that the school did not work closely with parents. Parents want their children to learn and are very eager to support them at home. Those with younger children support the home- school reading scheme very well and use the diary to enter a dialogue with the class teacher. Others, mainly parents of older pupils, find that the school’s definition of work to do at home is unclear and its occurrence a mystery. The school’s procedures for communicating with parents are typical of most schools but the curricular information provided is less than

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

other schools. Letters are written frequently to parents and there are more consultation meetings than required by legislation. Many of the letters relate to immediate events and are informative and useful. Few of the letters provide information about the curriculum or the type and amount of work expected to be done at home and this is unsatisfactory given the practice emerging in schools nationally and the statutory requirement for schools to have a clear and effective homework policy.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. Parents have termly meetings with teachers to discuss their child’s progress, and this is good provision. The annual reports are good and show that the teacher knows the child well. They are written in a very positive tone and contain targets for English and mathematics. In 2001, the school is planning to add the required information about a child’s progress in relation to National Curriculum levels, which would give parents useful comparative information. The home-school association has a clear remit and operates a social and fundraising programme to provide the extras that cannot easily be provide from the school budget.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. Liaison with parents of pupils with special educational needs is underdeveloped, especially the recording of contact, and does not fully meet the guidance in the Code of Practice. Planning and review documents do not always include parents’ comments or indicate if parents chose not to attend, or could not attend, or were not invited. Correspondence is very formal and parents are told that their child has special needs rather than being involved in the decision making process from the earliest stages. Parents meet with staff informally but these meetings are not always recorded or flagged as specifically about special needs. A number of parents expressed concern at their lack of involvement in the process and the inspection findings support their concerns. These concerns were noted at the time of the previous inspection also. Good links are maintained with support agencies.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48. The leadership and management of the headteacher, deputy headteacher, and key staff together is satisfactory but with areas for development. The aims and educational direction of the school are well established by the headteacher and these are promoting high standards in literacy and numeracy. The headteacher and her newly appointed deputy are working effectively to develop the school and do their best for the pupils. Senior management work well as a team but the deputy headteacher’s role is not yet as broad as it could be and there is room for further delegation. The subject managers have well defined roles and appropriate job descriptions. The extent to which they understand their role and have had time doing them to have brought about improvement varies, with some managers being new to their jobs. The literacy, numeracy, and information and communication managers, whose subjects have been priorities for development, are leading effectively by

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

example and helping to raise standards. Not all subject managers have written a clear action plan for their subject. In science, this is slowing the establishment of good, consistent practice.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. The arrangements for monitoring the teaching are satisfactory overall but are not as rigorous as they could be. The headteacher, together with the literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology managers, observes teachers about twice each year and this is helping to improve the teaching in these subjects. Very little monitoring of teaching in other subjects occurs. The findings from monitoring are communicated to the teachers concerned and this process is helping to raise awareness of methods that are successful. Observations take place as part of the arrangements for performance management, which are satisfactory and meet requirements, and these lead to specific targets for the teachers, which is good practice.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. The priorities in the development plan are relevant to the school’s needs and the document is sufficiently forward looking. Actions taken over the period of the previous plan have been effective and the current plan is on target for successful completion by the due date. The arrangements for monitoring the performance of the school are satisfactory but still in their infancy and need to develop greater rigour. The processes for writing the development plan involve an appropriate range of people and are adequately based on review. Not enough use, however, is made of performance data when writing the plan to check that all pupils are making the progress they should or where the strengths and weaknesses in the provision are to be found.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. The governing body fulfils its statutory responsibilities appropriately. Its business is well managed. Oversight of the school is maintained through a series of committees and through delegated responsibilities. Adequate systems are in place to keep governors informed and a programme of training has been established.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. The special educational needs coordinator is relatively new to her role. Coordination of the aspect was underdeveloped and unsatisfactory at the time of the previous inspection. The new coordinator is very keen and wants to get the systems in place correctly; much has been achieved in a short time. She is supported well by the newly appointed governor with responsibility North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 17 for this provision and they are working hard to improve the documentation, staffing, and provision. The coordinator has a full-time class teaching responsibility with very little management time away from her class for her special needs role; this is unsatisfactory. The lack of management time prevents her from monitoring the use of individual education plans, the lesson planning, or pupils’ progress to the extent that is necessary. Funding for pupils with special educational needs is used

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. More than half the teachers have been appointed since the previous inspection and staff turnover has been high until recently. The induction of newly qualified teachers and teachers new to the school is satisfactory and this is an improvement since the previous inspection. The most recently qualified teacher feels well supported, and her induction programme met requirements. Recent specialist appointments such as the special educational needs coordinator and deputy head are receiving appropriate training.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. Training needs identified in the school development plan are met. However, other training, such a first aid for all the staff, with high time commitment and a consequence for the continuity of staff meetings, is agreed without having been planned. All of the staff have access to professional development training, though this is not thoroughly evaluated afterwards.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The quality of financial planning is satisfactory. The cost of education a pupil is only marginally more than the average nationally and the pattern of expenditure is typical of most schools. The large surplus at the end of the 1999-2000 financial year has been halved during the current year. Recent improvements in the provision of new library, and information and communication technology facilities, are improving the range of educational opportunities available for pupils. These improvements are in part the result of careful financial planning by the head teacher and governors over several years following the recognition of appropriate areas for development in the schools curriculum. The budget is managed satisfactorily by the head teacher and clerical officer in conjunction with the governors. Governors are aware of and implement the principles of best value when making spending decisions but do not yet sufficiently evaluate value for money

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

in terms of educational outcomes. Identified educational priorities have been underpinned by appropriate financial planning although the school development plan does not always contain sufficient detail on costings. Specific grants are spent satisfactorily with appropriate budget spent on support for pupils with special educational needs and on training for teaching staff. The administration of the school is sound and the school runs smoothly. Efficient management systems are in place for administrative and financial routines. The number of teachers and their qualifications are sufficient for the number and age of the pupils. The accommodation is satisfactory and has been upgraded appropriately since the previous inspection. Resources are satisfactory, apart from outdoor provision for the four-year-olds.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

56. The school has been successful, in the main, since the previous inspection but could raise standards even more. To achieve this, the headteacher and her staff, with the support of the governing body, should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

q increase the amount of good and very good teaching by: • rigorously identifying, sharing, and rewarding good practice in teaching in all subjects; • extending the current programme of monitoring so that there is regular and systematic monitoring of the performance of teachers in all subjects and by supporting their professional development when monitoring shows that this is necessary; • annually setting relevant, measurable targets and reporting regularly to the governing body on progress towards the targets; (Paragraphs 17-24)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

q improve the curricular planning by: • ensuring that pupils who are taught in mixed age classes do not miss or repeat parts of the National Curriculum programmes of study or the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy Frameworks when they spend two years in the same class or when they transfer to another class; • identifying specific learning targets in the weekly planning for pupils whose attainment is higher or lower than the others in the class; • developing the roles of subject managers where this is necessary; (Paragraphs 25-28)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

q develop the systems for tracking the progress of each pupil by:* • assessing the attainment of every pupil annually in reading, writing, mathematics and science against National Curriculum levels, and sub-divided levels where possible; and eventually assessing each pupils’ attainment in other subjects as this becomes manageable; • collating the data so that annual comparisons can be made for each child, each group and each cohort and the extent of their progress can be measured; • quantifying, analysing, and using the data when planning what pupils should learn next; North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 18 • annually setting relevant, measurable targets and reporting regularly to the governing body on progress towards the targets; (Paragraph 40-41)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

q improve the provision for special educational needs by: • ensuring that parents are unequivocally involved as partners in the process of special educational needs assessment as soon as concerns about a child are raised; and that the records of all contacts with parents, together with their views, are rigorously maintained; • monitoring and improving the quality of individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs so that they contain a manageable number of specific, measurable short term targets; • improving the systems for tracking the progress of pupils on the special educational needs register so that their achievements in the long-term can be easily monitored and action taken if they remain too long at the same assessment stage; (Paragraphs 11, 23, 24, 32, 33, 41, 47 and 52)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

q raise standards in music to at least satisfactory levels (typically about 75 per cent of pupils attaining the expected national level by the age of eleven) and increase the achievement of the seven to eleven year old pupils in art by: • raising the quality of all teaching to that of the best; • increasing the quality, range and relevance of learning experiences for pupils aged seven to eleven years; • teaching the National Curriculum programme of study in full; • increasing the time given to the subject; • setting relevant, measurable targets and reporting regularly to the governors on progress towards the targets; (Paragraphs 10, 17, 20)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

q develop the role of the deputy headteacher and increase the range of responsibilities delegated to her (paragraph 48).

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

57. In addition to the key issues above, the governors should consider the following minor issues for inclusion in their action plan: q systems to monitor the effect on standards of pupil mobility (paragraph 4); q provision for gifted and talented pupils (paragraphs 11 and 23); q improve the policy for homework (paragraph 24); q daily provision for outdoor play for pupils in the reception year (paragraphs 25 and 71); q specifying and monitoring of the time allocated to subjects, especially history and geography (paragraph 28); q increase the extra-curricular provision for subjects and activities other than sport (paragraph 29); q improve the arrangements to monitor the attendance registers (paragraph 39); q improve safety for pupils when crossing the road between the two sites (paragraph 43); q detailed curricular information for parents (paragraph 45); q increase the quality and range of opportunities that four-year-olds have to handle books and browse in pursuit of their own

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Items marked with an asterisk (*) are already included in the school development plan. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 19

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 14

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 311

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 11

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 7

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 35

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 12

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 11

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 20

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 29 21 50

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 24 24 27 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 19 19 19

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 86 (93) 86 (86) 92 (93) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (82) 84 (83) 90 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 23 25 26 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 18 18 21

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 82 (86) 86 (90) 94 (83) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

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

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 17 17 17 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 10 14

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 86 (87) 75 (73) 86 (93) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 14 17 17 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 12 10 12

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 72 (87) 75 (77) 81 (93) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 79 (75)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 21

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 1 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 12 Financial year 1999-2000

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25.9

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR-Y6 Total expenditure 505568

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 11 Expenditure per pupil 1664

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 156 Balance brought forward from previous year 45154

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 53046 North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 22

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 41 49 9 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 58 38 0 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 20 43 16 19 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 19 50 16 14 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 50 39 5 3 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 43 47 6 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 24 38 22 13 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 35 41 12 4 8

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 45 53 0 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 16 15 32 34 3

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Other issues raised by parents

No issues have been raised by parents other than those included in the table in the summary. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 23

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

58. Admission to the reception year for all pupils is at the beginning of the autumn term. At the time of the inspection, there were 30 children in a single-aged reception class and a further five reception-aged children in a mixed reception and Year 1 class; it is the older reception-aged children who are placed in the mixed-age class. Reception classes are housed in good quality, spacious, well-organised accommodation on the ground floor of the school annexe. The accommodation has been significantly improved since the previous inspection. The single-age reception class has access to a recently renovated hard- surface outdoor area, which is fenced. This area, however, is too small for the adequate provision of outdoor activities and is not directly accessible to the reception pupils in the mixed-age class. All reception aged pupils have access to a spacious grassed area but this is not used daily except at break times and is not adequately fenced. Opportunities to develop skills

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

such as running, climbing and riding wheeled vehicles are too infrequent.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

59. The proportion of pupils whose attainment on entry to the reception year is typical or better for their age in literacy and numeracy is higher than the local average. Children make satisfactory progress and, by the time they reach the end of the reception year, their attainment generally exceeds the early learning goals in personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. Attainment matches the early learning goals in knowledge and understanding of the world, creative development and aspects of physical development.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

60. The quality of teaching is good in almost all lessons and very good where the whole class introduction is clear, fast-paced and shows good subject knowledge. The quality of teaching has been sustained well since the previous inspection. The balance of adult-led and independent activities is appropriate. Generally, good guidance and instructions enable children to know what they have to do. The teachers work very well with the nursery nurse and the assistant and they help children particularly well while working in groups. Children with statements of special need in the reception class are well supported by all and their allocated time is used appropriately, sensitively, and discreetly.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

61. The quality and range of learning experiences is satisfactory and the nationally agreed areas of learning and early learning goals appropriately form the basis of the curriculum. The curriculum for five-year-olds in the mixed age class is very similar to the curriculum for six-year-olds. They complete aspects of the topics that are designed for the six-year-olds, which they then repeat when they become six-year-olds the following year and miss parts of those topics covered in the single age reception class. Good provision is made for those children with statements of special need but provision for pupils with other special educational needs is less satisfactory. Individual education plans are not included in teachers’ planning; learning targets are too broad to ensure well-matched planning.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

62. Current assessment is satisfactory with some good features such as the dated samples of work taken to assess the quality of work and progress. Practices, however, are not consistent and assessments are not sufficiently used to inform the next stage of learning.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

63. Reception children cross the road to the computer suite accompanied by only one adult; this is potentially hazardous and does not comply with staffing arrangements for outdoor activities. Parents and carers are welcome in the mornings to come in from the playground into the classes with reception age pupils. There are generally good relationships between staff and the home. The reading records in both classes involve parents and carers well and the latter contribute significantly to their children’s’ reading development. There is no coordinator and the monitoring of the curriculum, planning, and teaching is not taking place at present. Reception classes are adequately resourced but there are few facilities for role-play, imaginative play, browsing and independent reading, as well as the use of the outdoor resources for both classes.

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Personal, social and emotional development

64. Children in reception classes have good attitudes to their work, adults, peers and very good attitudes in lessons where they have the opportunity to show independence and choice in their activities. They concentrate well; for example, when doing quite complicated jigsaw puzzles or clicking and matching letters while using the ‘animated alphabet’ program on the computer and work well together while role-playing in the ‘café’. Progress is good. They sit well during carpet times, settle quietly when working. They enjoy the activities and usually respond well to teaching and non-teaching staff. Children are learning to distinguish right from wrong, to have respect for each other and to form constructive relationships with peers and adults. Staff are good role models for this area of learning, and encourage and support children in their development. Children with statements of special educational needs are well integrated and included. In most activities children share

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Personal, social and emotional development

resources and take turns well or are learning to do so. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 24

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Communication, language and literacy

65. Attainment is above the local average on entry to the reception classes. Sound progress is made. Most children are able to express their thoughts and feelings clearly. They are given frequent opportunities to listen and extend their vocabulary; for example, during story telling, literacy sessions and other whole class or small group activities. The opportunities for children to initiate speaking in role and imaginative play are less frequent. Staff encourage good listening skills. Most children listen well to peers and adults. They listen to instructions and usually follow them well. Most children can express their wants and needs.

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Communication, language and literacy

66. Children are developing their knowledge of stories and books appropriately. Some know what an author and titles are, a few know what an illustrator does and are learning about speech bubbles. They distinguish print from pictures and can follow a text with adult support. Most five-year-olds can read their own ‘writing’ and simple known texts accurately and recognise a number of familiar words on sight. They understand the content and are happy and confident to read. Only one was able to talk about favourite stories or books and, apart from a book box, the opportunities for children to browse among a wide range of books is limited to library sessions; this is a weakness of the curriculum. Children have few opportunities to choose books themselves. One child is able to read print to well above average standards as well as learning to read braille successfully, staff have contributed very positively to this high standard.

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Communication, language and literacy

67. Children recognise and write their names, practise handwriting patterns and form letters legibly. They are developing good pencil control. Most children make good attempts at spelling new words or writing initial sounds or letters for common words independently; this is a strength of the curriculum. In some marking, spellings are corrected for children or focuses on handwriting rather than other aspects of early writing; this limits even better progress. There are few opportunities for children to write independently in other areas of learning; for example, in role or imaginative play.

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Communication, language and literacy

68. Overall, the teaching is particularly good. The National Literacy Strategy has been sensibly adapted to meet the needs of four-year-olds. Opportunities to extend speaking and listening skills are built into most activities, although there is too little provision of role-play opportunities.

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Mathematical Development

69. Attainment on entry to reception classes is above average overall. Pupils make satisfactory progress. Good provision is made for children to sort, match, count, order and form numbers to 10 and beyond for some children. They are learning number words and add numbers totalling 10 or 20. A minority of children in the mixed age class can add numbers to 50, can double numbers, add three numbers to 20 and are beginning to subtract numbers to 10. Most children have experience of the properties of shape and space through jigsaws, games and noting the properties of two-dimensional shapes such as triangles and circles. In both classes, children are learning to recognise and understand the value of coins. Reception children in the mixed age class can write the cost of shopping items and totals although they cannot total the amounts without adult support. They can count on to 11 but not match the coins to that amount. In one lesson, reception children could recognise

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Mathematical Development

repeating patterns involving two or three components such as different colours or shapes; most were able to form their own patterns. A weakness was that they were not able to work accurately because of an insufficient quantity of resources to make the patterns. Some written marking is too difficult for children to read. Overall, the teaching is particularly good.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

70. Children have too few opportunities to experiment with the properties of water and sand and none were observed during the inspection although one was being prepared. Attainment and progress are satisfactory. Children learn about people and places in and beyond their environment; for example, using stories and role-play in the ‘cafe’. A variety of small and large construction resources is available although not used frequently enough in both classes. Good use is made of the computer in the reception class although the program remained the same throughout the inspection. Children in the mixed age class go to the computer suite once per week but little use of computers was observed at other times. They are learning to use the mouse, click and drag using a paint program to produce a poster. No use of technology such as listening centres was observed or planned. A scrutiny of work shows that reception children have worked on a topic ‘all about me’, drawn plants,

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

and made snowflakes. Reception children in the mixed age class have completed work on themselves, old toys, forces and planting and growth of plants. They do not cover the same work in both classes. Overall, teaching is just satisfactory.

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Physical development

71. Standards are average. Children develop and make good progress in manipulative skills using equipment such as pencils, crayons, scissors, paint, brushes and glue spreaders but progress in developing awareness of their bodies through running, climbing and balancing is slower because of limited access to outdoor and indoor facilities for physical development. Reception children join in physical education lessons and have playtimes to practise skills such as running and jumping but this is insufficient. One lesson gave children the opportunity to learn how to clap rhythmically, skip and explore how movements can represent feelings such as happiness and change their movements when the music changes. They can adapt North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 25 movements to the different characters related to the topic of the ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’. This was a well-taught lesson and the attainment was above average. Children, particularly those in the mixed age class, had limited access to an outside area and

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Physical development

playtime activities do not always include those that will improve skills such as running, climbing, balancing and riding wheeled vehicles. Planning does not include outdoor activities and only very few indoor lessons in the hall. The outdoors hard-surface area is too small for the number of children and relevant activities. No use of the spacious grassed area was made during the inspection. Although the small amount of teaching seen was satisfactory, the provision overall is unsatisfactory.

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Creative development

72. Children make satisfactory progress overall and are in line to attain the early learning goals by the end of the reception class. They have opportunities to draw, colour, paint, cut, and glue. They know a good range of colours, Children are developing increasing control in using different techniques such as drawing, cutting and colouring. They are encouraged to observe colours and shapes closely. Children are developing the ability to represent the world around them and to produce recognisable drawings and paintings or models; for example, using dough. They are learning to mix paints to explore different shades of colours. Children sing rhymes and songs but very few opportunities for singing were planned during the inspection or appear in longer term planning. Most singing takes place in assemblies or hymn practice although the reception class use the hall to sing and move to whole class action songs such as ‘In and Out the Dusky Bluebells’ which

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Creative development

they did appropriately. The mixed age reception children can clap the number of beats in their names, and recognise different beat patterns and enjoy this activity. Hymn practice, though a good opportunity to practise, is not used to teach singing and this limits progress. There are few opportunities for structured and unstructured role-play to develop and stimulate children’s imaginations and creative language. Children enjoy playing in role. Teaching is satisfactory. Staff teach pupils how to use materials and tools in a safe way and most children respond to this guidance well.

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ENGLISH

73. In the tests taken by the eleven-year-olds in 2000, the pupils’ performance was in line with the national average but was low when compared with similar schools. The results that year were affected by a much higher than usual proportion of pupils with special educational needs. They were not typical of previous years and are not replicated in current work. Until 2000, the results at age eleven had improved in line with the national trend. Achievement in the subject overall is satisfactory but the 2000 results in reading were much higher than in writing and there was considerable underachievement in writing in that year among the boys. In the 2000 tests for seven-year olds, overall standards were close to the national average; standards in writing were above average, largely because more pupils exceeded expectations than in the typical school; standards in reading were below average, reflecting the smaller than typical proportion of pupils who exceeded national

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ENGLISH

expectations. In comparison with similar schools, the seven-year-olds writing standards were close to the national average while those for reading were well below average.

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ENGLISH

74. The school has worked hard to raise standards in this subject and to remedy the underachievement noted in the 2000 results at the age of eleven. Improvement since the previous inspection is satisfactory. The projected results for English in the 2001 national tests, which are consistent with the inspection findings, indicate higher than average standards of attainment in each age group. These improvements have been achieved through the effective implementation of the National Literacy Strategy’s Framework for teaching and good intervention strategies, including booster classes and intensive support for pupils whose attainment is below that expected for their age.

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ENGLISH

75. Current standards in the subject are very good overall; they are very good in speaking and listening and in reading. In writing, standards are good, with some children achieving higher than expected levels of attainment by the time they are seven and eleven. This represents satisfactory achievement from a higher than average baseline and good improvement on the achievements of pupils in 2000. Pupils with special education needs make satisfactory progress within lessons, particularly when the effective classroom assistants support them. Pupils with English as an additional language are making satisfactory progress.

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ENGLISH

76. In speaking and listening, standards are high throughout the school. Seven-year-old pupils are able to talk with confidence and express a personal point of view when discussing issues raised in their literacy work, for example, they can explain the essential characteristics of different genres. When studying instructional texts, they show awareness of the importance of sequence, explaining the problems that would arise if they start in the middle of the instructions for putting up a tent, for example. They also understand that instructions do not need to be descriptive. One child summarising this by explaining that you do not need to know whether the tent is green or brown to put it up. In another class, pupils understood the humour of the text “The Shark with no Teeth” and offered a range of possible conclusions to the story when the shark smiles at his tormentors, exposing his newly acquired false teeth. Eleven-year-olds are able to discuss issues with confidence and

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ENGLISH

demonstrate very good development of ideas. In the week of the General Election, for example, when discussing politicians’ strategies, they understood why party manifesto pledges are rarely crystal clear, so that “if they don’t do something they have promised, it will be less obvious”. They saw clear comparisons between the “will” and “might” type of promises made in North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 26 their own family life. They were also able to argue, with good judgement, for younger people having a vote, particularly on educational matters. During discussions, they demonstrate respect for each contribution, even when it differs from their own.

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ENGLISH

77. A high percentage of seven-year-olds are reading above the level expected for their age, which represents satisfactory levels of achievement from a higher than typical baseline at reception. Pupils are enthusiastic readers and have already developed a taste for particular authors; for example, in one class the work of Dick King-Smith. They also read non-fiction texts with confidence, including unfamiliar subject-specific words like “antennae” and “proboscis”. They read such words by splitting up the syllables and drawing on their good phonemic knowledge. They are also able to understand from the contexts what these words might mean. The higher attaining pupils read fluently and confidently, using text punctuation to help them achieve very good expression. By the age of eleven, nearly all of pupils achieve the expected levels of attainment in reading, with a high percentage achieving better. They read with understanding and are able to identify the main messages at the

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ENGLISH

heart of a story. In one example, a pupil understood complex issues surrounding a character’s violent reaction to bullying when she could only communicate through sign language.

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ENGLISH

78. Seven-year-olds are able to produce extended pieces of writing with good use of punctuation, including direct speech; higher attaining pupils include dialogue, using appropriate punctuation. They explore the effect of alliteration in poetic and expressive writing and make sentences more interesting with good use of connectives. The higher attaining pupils are writing accounts of outings with appropriate sequential structure and good connectives. They are able to write creatively in the mode of the traditional story, offering accounts of natural phenomena, for example why a dog barks. For lower attaining pupils spelling is weak, with no evidence of the development of a spelling strategy or an individual spelling log to help them learn the words they need to write. By the time pupils are eleven, writing standards are good and the proportion at the expected national level is above average. Pupils’ writing is varied and interesting and the pupils are developing good

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ENGLISH

understanding of the way text is organised for particular purposes and implied readers. They use vocabulary well and their stories are organised with paragraphs. In writing samples, pupils use the passive voice, for example, when they write about building a settlement on Mars, and understand the conventional formality when writing to the Prime Minister to provide the facilities for more outdoor sport in education. When collecting money for the recent earthquake in India, they demonstrated the use of highly emotive but appropriate language, for example, “we are pleading for your help”.

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ENGLISH

79. Standards in handwriting are high across the school, with pupils achieving higher than expected levels. By the time they are eleven, the vast majority of pupils are developing an individual cursive hand with well-formed letters and a free-flowing style. This allows them to focus on ideas and overall composition. The standard of spelling is low and not enough is done consistently to improve spelling. For example, one child wrote “our” as “are” in several pieces of writing over several weeks, and another misspelt “tiger” four times in one piece of writing. Strategies for marking spelling are inconsistent and too little time is set aside for pupils to correct their errors and learn from their mistakes.

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ENGLISH

80. The quality of teaching is good overall; all of the teaching is satisfactory or better, including 62 per cent that is good or better. The quality is largely consistent with the national picture and with the previous report. The amount of high quality teaching, 31 per cent, is more than is typically found. There is more good or better teaching in the five-to-seven age group than for older pupils. Teachers have implemented satisfactorily the National Literacy Strategy’s Framework for teaching to guide their planning, though the structure of the literacy hour is not always used and its essential teaching strategies like guided reading and writing are not fully exploited. The latter means that the teaching of reading and writing is not always as challenging or as in-depth as it could be.

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ENGLISH

81. All teachers have a good understanding of how to teach reading and writing and make clear the particular learning objective for each lesson. They generally engage pupils’ interest and sustain motivation through the good use of questioning. The opening plenary sessions establish a common level of understanding and then group work at different levels allows pupils to make appropriate progress, with high expectations for all. Many opportunities for discussion offer pupils a chance to elaborate or clarify ideas, and teachers often encourage them to refer to details in the text they are studying to justify their view. In most lessons, teachers encourage pupils to understand the characteristics and features of particular text types, for example in a lesson for seven-year-olds, pupils identified an author’s technique in bringing humour to his work through the choice of words and phrases, alliteration, and speech bubbles in the pictures. Many children in the class are able to predict

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ENGLISH

these common features and the teacher sometimes lists them on the whiteboard before they begin. In another lesson, children studied a poem about a snake, which is written within a snake shape. By careful analysis of the poet’s technique they wrote a similar poem about another animal, bringing in knowledge of this distinctive poetic style, for example one pupil wrote about a “fast and vast” dinosaur. Older pupils consider political party manifestos as examples of persuasive writing, and through careful guidance from the teacher were able to read, edit and identify key features of this kind of text, focusing on the literary rather than on the political aspects with good effect.

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ENGLISH

82. In most lessons, teachers revise points effectively to help pupils to reflect on what they learn, occasionally leaving space for discussion and debate, though not when it takes pupils too far away from the focus of the lesson. Literacy is supported through the teaching of other subjects, though the high levels of attainment in writing found in English work are not always achieved in topic workbooks in other subjects. This indicates a lowering of expectation by teachers outside the literacy lessons. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 27 83. Learning in lessons and over the course of the present school year is satisfactory for nearly all pupils. Work throughout the five-to-eleven age range is generally well matched to the needs of pupils, reflecting the effectiveness of teaching pupils in attainment groups before the age of seven and in attainment sets after that. The long-term underachievement of boys in

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ENGLISH

writing is being tackled and the pace and quality of learning in lessons is now satisfactory.

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ENGLISH

84. Although the teaching methods follow the guidance contained in the National Literacy Strategy, the curricular Framework that forms a fundamental part of the strategy is not used rigorously. The teachers have responded to the curricular continuity and progression issues that arise from mixed-age classes by using the guidance for one rather than both of the year groups they teach. This does not look far enough ahead to the curricular circumstances that might apply to some of the pupils in one or two years time. In a set containing pupils from the eight and the nine-year-old age group, but mainly eight-year-olds, for example, the work is derived from part of the Framework that is aimed at the younger pupils. When the current nine-year- olds transfer to their next class next year, and become ten-year-olds, some of them will follow the sections for either the ten or eleven-year-olds and will miss the work for nine-year-olds altogether. Others will continue with the nine-year-old

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ENGLISH

programme but may not progress to the eleven-year-old programme by the time they transfer to secondary education. The planning, record-keeping and assessment systems do not provide enough information to secure curriculum progression or to avoid gaps in learning in the long-term and this is unsatisfactory.

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ENGLISH

85. Notwithstanding the curricular shortcoming, subject leadership is good. The coordinator has a clear vision for the development of the subject, leads effectively by example, and has the knowledge needed to plan a more sophisticated system of assessment. Monitoring of the subject recently took place and a recommendation to reduce the number of lesson objectives has led to tighter focus in teaching and greater opportunity to achieve the identified aims for each session. Analysis of optional national tests for eight, nine, and ten-year-olds has led to teachers setting individual pupil targets, though these have not yet been aggregated to provide specific curricular targets for each cohort. Good interventions to raise overall school standards and pupils’ writing attainment beyond national expectations have been effective; these were completed after monitoring and evaluating pupil’s written work, particularly their creative and expressive writing.

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MATHEMATICS

86. Standards at the age of seven and eleven are above the national average but could be raised further in the junior age group among pupils that are more able. Although there was underachievement among high attaining pupils at the time of the previous inspection, progress since then has been satisfactory overall. In the national tests carried out in 2000, results at the age of seven were below average as fewer pupils reached the more difficult levels than was typical. The results of these pupils reflected the scores they were awarded in 1997 in the baseline assessments, indicating satisfactory achievement over time. At the age of eleven, the results in 2000 were at average levels compared to all schools nationally but were not as good as schools with pupils from similar backgrounds, reflecting a much higher than usual proportion of pupils with special educational needs. The standard of current work at both age groups is above average and the pupils are on course to improve

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MATHEMATICS

on last year’s results. Current work shows no appreciable difference between the performance of boys and girls. This is at odds with the 2000 tests where boys achieved better results. In lessons, pupils with special educational needs are usually supported well. The school recently introduced a system in the seven-to-eleven age group to teach the pupils in sets organised according to attainment. This is helping to ensure that the needs of the least able pupils are met, especially when education support staff are present.

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MATHEMATICS

87. By the age of seven, pupils have developed a good understanding of the value of numbers up to 100, and often well beyond. They are able to add and subtract numbers up to 50 quickly and accurately and understand doubling and halving. They apply their skills to the calculation of money and many can accurately give change. Pupils understand odd and even numbers and many can tell the time using five-minute intervals. They use mathematical vocabulary accurately. By the age of eleven, many pupils are able to complete mental calculations quickly and accurately. They use skills of estimation to predict answers before carrying out multiplication and division and when solving mathematical problems. Pupils’ understanding of mathematical vocabulary is good. There is a good balance between increasing pupils number skills and developing their understanding of for example, area, perimeter, and symmetry. Good links are made with some other subjects such as

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MATHEMATICS

geography, where pupils use their understanding of coordinates, and science, where they use negative numbers. Knowledge of percentages is well developed, as is understanding of angles and shape. Good opportunities are given to pupils to use and apply their knowledge and understanding in every-day and problem-solving situations. This is a strong feature of much of the teaching.

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MATHEMATICS

88. The quality of teaching and learning is good overall. All of the teaching is satisfactory or better, including 55 per cent that is good and a further 18 per cent that is very good. Although the arrangements to teach the seven-to-eleven age group in sets according to their attainment are at an early stage, the substantial majority of pupils are benefiting from work more closely matched to their needs, particularly the less able. However, there are examples where the pupils who are more able are not being sufficiently challenged, resulting in them making less progress than might be expected. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 28 89. Where teaching is good or very good, the teachers appropriately plan and lessons move with a brisk pace. Pupils are given the opportunity to explain the strategy they use for solving problems and are able to apply what they learn. Mental and oral sessions are used well to improve skills of recalling and manipulating number facts as observed in a well conducted lesson

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MATHEMATICS

for the more able seven-to-nine age group. In the best lessons, teachers are enthusiastic about the subject, have good subject knowledge, and provide clear explanations of what they require pupils to do. This ensures that the minimum amount of time is wasted, work rates are high, and concentration levels are good. In satisfactory lessons, mental and oral sessions are purposeful but the teacher does not always check on the security of previous learning and occasionally overruns the time that should be given to this aspect, leaving insufficient for independent work.

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MATHEMATICS

90. Subject management is satisfactory. The National Numeracy Strategy has been implemented satisfactorily, with aspects for improvement. Lessons are planned using the three-part lesson structure. Tasks for pupils of varying abilities are always clearly stated. A good range of mathematical language is used and the school has worked hard to improve this area. Teachers share with pupils what they are to learn during the lesson but do not always leave sufficient time at the end of the lesson to assess what pupils have learned. The level of challenge in lessons is suitable to meet the needs of most pupils but extension work for the most able pupils is not always provided. The use of information technology is not yet sufficiently used.

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MATHEMATICS

91. Regular assessment of attainment is made. Optional national tests are used with eight, nine and ten-year-olds, though insufficient analysis of the results occurs and strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum are not clearly identified. Teachers evaluate the effectiveness of their lessons but the systems for identifying where improvements are to be made by individual pupils, or to set targets for them, are inconsistent and not enough is done to share the good practice of a few teachers with the majority.

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SCIENCE

92. The current work of the eleven-year-old pupils shows that the proportion attaining or exceeding the expected national level for their age, about 90 per cent, is larger than typically found; the proportion exceeding expectations is broadly the same as most schools. This means that the overall standard of current work among eleven-year-old pupils is marginally above average and has been sustained at this level since the previous inspection. The test results for 2000, soon to be superseded by those for 2001, were below average, partly because of an unusually large proportion of pupils with statements of special educational needs and partly because not enough pupils attained a higher than expected level. A larger than typical proportion of seven-year-olds attain the expected national standard but the proportion exceeding expectations is low, especially in relation to their skills of scientific enquiry. Pupils with special educational needs generally make satisfactory

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SCIENCE

progress, particularly when the work is oral and mental in nature, but sometimes struggle with the recording. The evidence is limited in relation to the small number of pupils with English as an additional language.

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SCIENCE

93. The vast majority of eleven-year-olds have expected or higher levels of knowledge of life processes and living things; materials and their properties; and physical processes but their knowledge of scientific enquiry is not as consistently well developed, reflecting too little teaching of the subject over the course of the year. In a successful lesson in a mixed class of nine to eleven-year-olds, the oldest pupils showed good understanding of the motion of the planets around the sun. They were aware that orbits are elliptical; knew the names of the planets; knew which planets are nearest or furthest from the sun; which are nearer to the sun than the earth; which are the largest and smallest; and what the difference is between a planet and a moon. They made good use of correct terminology when discussing and explaining their ideas. The lesson included the use of books to carry out further research but this was not made rigorous through carefully framed research questions.

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SCIENCE

Practical work into the motion of bodies and into forces was not provided to deepen the second-hand knowledge gained from instruction. The pupils’ books show very little opportunity to investigate and experiment.

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SCIENCE

94. The achievement of the eleven-year-old pupils, a measure of the educational value that is added between the ages of seven and eleven, is broadly satisfactory for the current pupils and was satisfactory overall for last year’s pupils. In both cases, about four in five pupils made the expected amount of progress over the four junior years. The one-in-five who underachieved in the 2000 tests were pupils who attained a higher level than expected at the age of seven but did not make enough progress through the junior years to repeat their success at age eleven. This finding from the analysis of the data is consistent with the findings from lessons, in which the more able pupils are insufficiently challenged by the work set for them. Analysis of the 2000 tests shows that the underachievement was mainly among girls.

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SCIENCE

95. Throughout the school, the proportion of pupils attaining or exceeding the expected levels for their ages is higher than the average but not enough pupils exceed expectations. The pace and quality of learning is satisfactory overall, particularly for the low and average attaining pupils in each class, but is not always sharp enough for those with higher attainment. This reflects planning and methods that do not acknowledge sufficiently the mixed-age and mixed-ability composition of the teaching groups; and yearly and termly planning that lacks the detail necessary to support those teachers whose subject knowledge and expertise is limited. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 29 96. The teaching is satisfactory in the main but with aspects for improvement. The bulk of the teaching is satisfactory or better in quality but the proportion that is good or better, 37 per cent, is low. One lesson was unsatisfactory. Teachers’ subject

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SCIENCE

knowledge and expertise are variable and occasionally insufficient in depth to plan and teach challenging lessons. This is the main reason why so much of the teaching is satisfactory, rather than good or very good, and why some is unsatisfactory.

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SCIENCE

97. Where teaching is very good, the organisation of the pupils during the lesson, the methods, and the tasks are well matched to the age and attainment of the pupils. In a very good lesson in the combined reception and Year 1 class, their teacher guided a group of five-year-olds through an investigation into the conditions that plants need for healthy growth while the other pupils worked independently. Earlier, the pupils had sown cress seeds and controlled the conditions for some seeds but not for others. The task in the guided session was to observe the differences. Perceptive and very well managed questioning helped all of the pupils to extend their observational skills and acquire the subject-specific language necessary to express their thoughts and try to account for what they observed. This oral and mental work was extended into an appropriate recording of the findings that led to high quality writing and labelled diagrams. By the end of the lesson, all of the pupils in

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SCIENCE

the group had excelled and were attaining ahead of time the standards that are expected for seven-year-olds.

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SCIENCE

98. The good and satisfactory teaching meets the learning needs of the substantial majority of pupils, mainly those with low and average attainment for their class. Often, good use is made of resources to provide first hand experiences. A satisfactory lesson for seven-year-olds allowed the pupils to explore the variations in seeds found in a range of different fruits. Because the pupils could handle the fruit and extract the seeds for themselves, the new and exciting experiences meant that all pupils gained knowledge. A lack of emphasis on counting, measuring and classification, however, meant that the knowledge of pupils that were more able was not extended, as it should have been, into the use of these skills as part of scientific enquiry. Where the teaching is unsatisfactory, the learning objectives are unclear and not enough emphasis is placed on methods of enquiry that are appropriately scientific.

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SCIENCE

99. Leadership and management of the subject are underdeveloped. Not enough is done to identify and share good practice in teaching methods or to monitor and raise the quality of the teaching. Although the curricular planning sets out in broad terms what is to be taught in each of the year groups, it lacks precision, and this is allowing unintended repetition of work in different year groups. The very good work on plants and living things that the five-year-olds were doing with cress seed experiments was repeated in almost identical form with the seven, eight and nine-year-olds. While that particular investigation was challenging to the younger pupils it lacked relevance for the older ones, largely because the teachers’ subject knowledge was insufficient for them to sharpen the focus of their questioning and raise their expectation of what pupils could and should be learning. Given the varying depth of teacher expertise, the curricular guidance is insufficient in

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SCIENCE

quality and detail to support teachers adequately. The amount of time given to the subject varies in practice between the classes and is too little in the nine-to-eleven age group. The coordinator is not extensively involved in the monitoring of teaching, planning, or pupils’ work and this means that variations in teacher expertise or in the quality of teaching are not being detected, supported or resolved.

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SCIENCE

100. Resources are satisfactory. Instances where resources were used well were seen, for example, in the nine-to-eleven age group when a video and a model designed to show the movement of the planets around the sun were used to teach pupils about the solar system and outer space. No examples of homework were found and this aspect of teaching is underdeveloped among the older age groups.

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ART AND DESIGN

101. Standards are good among the seven-year-olds and satisfactory among eleven-year-olds, with the difference in standards between the two age groups reflecting a slowing of progress among the older pupils. Only a small number of lessons were seen but work and teachers’ planning were examined and pupils were spoken to about their work. The quality of work is very wide with examples of good and sometimes very good work seen throughout the school. Achievement is satisfactory between the ages of five and seven but slows and becomes unsatisfactory between the ages of seven and eleven, mainly because not enough time and emphasis is given to the subject in that age group. Provision and standards have risen since the last inspection in the five-to-seven age group but improvement since that time for the older pupils is unsatisfactory.

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ART AND DESIGN

102. Skills are taught well between the ages of five and seven. These pupils demonstrate good pencil control and observational skills, for example, when they produced detailed drawings of shells, and local buildings following a town walk. They understand the different hardness of pencils and can say what they are used for. Painting skills are well developed and pupils have a good understanding of colour mixing and know how to make a range of other colours using the three primary colours. They know how to use colour washes as backgrounds to their pictures and show good brush control skills. Techniques are good in pupils’ use of clay. Pupils produce clay tiles on which they draw pictures of flowers that are sometimes of very good quality. These are fired and glazed and are to be seen providing a very interesting display round the school. There is less evidence of other three dimensional work and this is an underdeveloped area. Between the ages of seven

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ART AND DESIGN

and eleven, pupils continue to develop skills and techniques but the pace slows to an unsatisfactory rate, partly because less time is devoted to the subject. Nevertheless, some good quality work is produced such as well observed water colours of North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 30 plants, the sensitively produced water colours of reflections in water and observational drawings of plants and flowers in pastels. A considerable amount of work, however, is less carefully completed. Artwork is often used to illustrate and enliven work in other subjects and is usually of a satisfactory quality. Where additional time is allowed to develop the subject as in the Caribbean project, the quality of work improves. Some use is made of computer technology for example in the design of seed packets, and the use of digital photography.

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ART AND DESIGN

103. The quality of the small amount of teaching observed was mostly satisfactory; one lesson was good. Where the quality is good, teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the subject enables pupils to receive high quality explanations that help them to develop their skills using a variety of media. This was illustrated in a good lesson with seven-year-olds, where the teacher helped the pupils to develop a clear understanding of painting and colour mixing techniques prior to attempting their own paintings. The success of the teaching and learning was clearly demonstrated in the quality of the paintings produced. Good demonstration of clay modelling was provided, producing pleasing results. Little evidence of the study of work of famous artists is available. Some work of good quality in the style of Klee and Turner was seen but it was not sufficiently developed.

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ART AND DESIGN

104. The coordinator has developed a policy and scheme of work and has broadened the opportunities for pupils to experience a range of media across the subject. The study of Africa and Caribbean art has been organised to extend the pupils artistic understanding. Pupils’ appreciation of art has also been extended by local artists, potters, and sculptors sharing their expertise. Resources are satisfactory.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

105. Standards throughout the school, and achievement over time, are broadly satisfactory. The evidence is limited. Two lessons were seen in the five-to-seven age groups and one with older pupils. These, together with a small amount of pupils’ work and displays indicate that the pupils are attaining levels that are broadly in line with the national expectations for their age. The standards found at the time of the previous inspection have been maintained and this is satisfactory. The evidence in relation to pupils with special needs is limited. There are no significant differences in attainment or learning between boys and girls or pupils from different backgrounds.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

106. By the age of seven, the pupils show that they can create ideas and act upon them; for example, when making a glove puppet, they completed a design sheet, including materials they intend to use, and show interest in the names of the materials. Pupils concentrate, behave, and work well but do not always show enough imagination in their designs and tend, at times, to copy the examples used in the introduction. Five-year-old pupils, for example, participating in an interesting project to develop a garden centre, could explain what was in their designs for a protective structure in which to grow plants while using small-scale construction appropriately to build a suitable model. A group of pupils, aided by a parent volunteer, carried out an experiment to find suitable materials, testing a range to find which ones allowed light through.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

107. The eleven-year-olds have made, for example, wind chimes where the quality of finish and attention to detail is of satisfactory quality. Pupils in the seven-to-nine age group have produced designs and writing of a satisfactory quality about clay pots and have made Tudor purses or pouches which they researched thoroughly as part of their studies of the Tudor period. In a lesson in this age group, triggered by their studies of Tudor purses, the pupils showed themselves capable of making relevant links between the design, purpose, and materials available then, and now, and how and why these change over time. They noted how the wallets and purses had altered and incorporated their findings into their designs. The designs, however, were predominately drawings, with very few making allowances for seam edges or drawstring dimensions.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

108. All of the teaching seen was satisfactory or better; one lesson was very good. In that lesson, the teacher’s calm, interesting manner enthused and motivated the pupils. The lesson was carefully planned and well-resourced. The satisfactory lessons are conducted at a brisk pace, are purposeful, and teachers are very responsive to pupils’ ideas. A weakness, however, is the lack of clear lesson objectives, which is leading to the planning aspect of design not being promoted sufficiently.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

109. The subject leadership and management are underdeveloped. The long term planning is mainly a list of aspects for each year group and gives insufficient guidance to teachers. Lessons are not planned in detail. The termly plans are used as lesson plans but the objectives in the termly planning are too broad for this purpose, with the result that knowledge is sometimes not taught to the depth that is necessary. Although the coordinator has observed lessons to see the activities taking place, there are no written comments for teachers to help them identify good practice. The coordinator is building a portfolio of samples of work but this is not yet complete. The subject is due to be a curricular focus in two years, this is too long a delay to improve the work and to raise standards in Years 5 and 6.

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GEOGRAPHY

North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 31 110. Standards are satisfactory. Throughout the school, the substantial majority of pupils, including those with special educational needs, have knowledge and skills broadly in line with the national expectations for their age. The overall standards match the findings of the previous inspection and the weaknesses in map reading found at that time have now been remedied. There are no significant differences in attainment or learning between pupils of different gender or background.

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GEOGRAPHY

111. During the infant years, pupils develop geographical skills and some awareness of their local area, including its riverside walk. By the time that they are seven, they are able to read appropriate maps and identify geographical symbols, for example along the route of a recent field study visit to a seaside town. They are able to describe similarities and differences between two types of settlement, for example, the seaside town of Filey and their own village of North Ferriby. They recognise the importance of the water sources for the development of both settlements. Pupils in the seven-to-nine age group continue developing an understanding of geographical symbols. They are able to design road signs for their own village which meet particular criteria.

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GEOGRAPHY

112. By the time that they are eleven, pupils are able to read large-scale maps with confidence, locating particular towns and cities on the route they took on their school journey to Bamburgh and the ten-year-olds took to a leisure centre in Hull. Pupils are beginning to recognise that there are a range of routes to any given destination and that journeys need to be planned carefully to meet particular requirements, for example for a speedy trip from A to B or a scenic route which would require more time. They understand that avoiding the twisting coastal routes and bypassing the cities of Ripon and York will take many miles off a very long journey to Beamish, the first stop of their school trip to Bamburgh.

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GEOGRAPHY

113. A study of the Caribbean has been carried out, involving the whole school and linking the subject with history, bringing cohesion to pupils’ learning of distant places and distant times. Pupils of different ages appropriately studied different aspects, including the geography of the islands and the sea, the volcanoes, particular places such as Jamaica, the history of slavery, and the work of William Wilberforce and other key people in the development of that part of the world. This work has been generally completed at appropriate levels for the different ages of pupils but the geography element is limited in its scope overall.

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GEOGRAPHY

114. The teaching is satisfactory. Teachers select from a model scheme of work to help them plan particular lessons, and this brings clear learning objectives to the specific lessons taught. Overall, however, curriculum planning to promote continuity and progression in learning over time is weak. Work introduced to develop particular skills and knowledge is planned without a clear understanding of what has gone before or what will follow. The whole-school curriculum plan displays a lack of understanding of how and at what age pupils begin to develop the specific skills, knowledge, and understanding of the geography programmes of study, though map work is an exception. Children move from drawing plans rather than pictures to represent buildings and roads in the local environment and then on to a considerable range of map work and this represent a progressive approach to this skill and good development since the last Inspection. In other studies, however, for

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GEOGRAPHY

example of the Caribbean, there does not appear to be any progression in learning to this study. In mixed-age classes, this is particularly noticeable since it is hard to track down the progress pupils have made from one year to the next. The teachers are beginning to produce pupil portfolios with work identified at particular National Curriculum levels but this is still in an early stage of development. Pupils’ own experience of travel is rarely drawn into the curriculum to enrich the learning.

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GEOGRAPHY

115. Coordination of the subject is underdeveloped. There is no clear identification of expected outcomes for particular cohorts in the mixed-age classes. The six half-termly topics are planned on a topic grid drawn up each year and consequently the school cannot build up resources for the planned year-on-year programme. For example, the extensive resources for a study of St Lucia cannot be used this year since half of the year group who would normally study this part of the Caribbean have already covered it. The expected continuous study of geographical topics, for example of weather and rivers, do not appear on the current curriculum grid, though the newly produced policy addresses these shortcomings.

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HISTORY

116. Standards are satisfactory at the ages of both seven and eleven. This broadly matches the finding of the previous inspection. All pupils, including those with special educational need achieve attainment in line with that expected for their age.

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HISTORY

117. By the time that they are seven, pupils are able to contrast the lifeboat service of a hundred years ago with that of today. This work comes out of a field trip to Filey, and links with geography, comparing two different United Kingdom settlements. The subject is brought alive by using good resources. Models, for example, of an old rowing lifeboat and a modern lifeboat that uses an engine; photocopies of drawings of the “Victorian gentlemen” complete with top hats, who set out to sea in open boats, contrasting this with the list of volunteers who do so today. Pupils note the difference between the services separated by a hundred years and compare and contrast conditions and events from historical sources. Their historical study develops respect for people’s chivalry. Pupils are able to recall their visit to the lifeboat station and museum on their recent trip to the Filey. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 32

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HISTORY

118. Pupils in the seven-to-nine age group, in their studies of Tudor buildings, have a particularly good knowledge of the contrasting furniture of the rich and poor, including the use of materials, for example precious metal and wood. They know about key members of the Tudor royal family, the sequence of Henry VIII’s marriages, and the dissolution of the monasteries. Eleven-year-olds have prepared well for their school journey to Bamburgh and Lindisfarne, building up extensive knowledge of St Cuthbert, the monks of Lindisfarne, and the history of Bamburgh Castle. From earlier studies, they have accumulated detailed knowledge about the use and abuse of child labour in Victorian times in preparation for a proposed visit to a Victorian mine-shaft at Beamish open-air museum. Pupils are coming to understand that working class children had to mine coal to help feed the family and that mine-owners preferred cheap child labour whose small bodies

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HISTORY

could scramble along narrow mine-shafts. While this work generally meets expected levels of attainment for the pupils’ age, the written accounts are often more of a creative writing activity than writing within an appropriate historical genre. For example, where pupils wrote in diary form as if they were a young child about to work in the mines for the first time, they wrote expressively about fear of the unknown without using the historical detail derived from their study of contemporary accounts. The higher attaining pupils mention the two main tasks that very young children were allocated, but very little else. Older pupils are using their more advanced reading skills to scan and skim photocopied materials and books, for example on the life of St Cuthbert and Lindisfarne, and are learning to interrogate the primary and secondary historical sources. This work is at an appropriate level for pupils’ age and standards achieved are good but there is no continuous

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HISTORY

119. The teaching is good overall. Teachers engage pupils’ interest with effective questioning and good use of resources to lead them to understand the learning objectives, offering differentiated support and challenge in the mixed-age classes. This is not always evident in recorded work where the quality is varied and does not always demonstrate satisfactory progression of knowledge and skills. While good links are made with other subjects, particularly geography and English, there is not a clear progression to the studies evident in every pupil’s workbook. It is not clear how the ten-year-olds, who do not accompany the eleven-year-olds on the school journey, will benefit from such an intensive study of the area if they do not have the same rich first-hand experiences. As with geography, the overall curriculum planning is weak and there is no detailed scheme of work to help pupils develop historical skills, knowledge, and understanding over time. There is no

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HISTORY

substantive assessment record, though a file of pupils’ work is being produced and levelled to help teachers report progress to parents and carers in the end-of-year school reports. Teachers use nationally prepared schemes of work and the school’s recently developed policy to plan in the work for each half term. There is no agreed scheme of work which takes account of local resources and field trip opportunities; and the topics chosen do not provide full coverage of all aspects of the programme of study, including continuity and the progression of learning.

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HISTORY

120. Leadership in the subject is underdeveloped and not enough attention is given to planning over time, a crucial requirement in any school, but particularly where there are mixed-age classes. Resources are being built up and supplemented by the local authority’s loan service but they are currently inadequate for teaching the full range of the National Curriculum programme of study.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

121. The proportion of eleven-year-old pupils who are attaining the expected level for their age is higher than is typically found and this means that standards overall are good. Similar findings apply to the seven-year-olds and to all of the other age groups. The level of consistency in standards represents a significant improvement on the findings of the previous inspection. At the heart of the improvement is the good use made by teachers of the new computer suite and the leadership shown by the coordinator, who is identifying and sharing good practice well. The pupils’ knowledge extends across the full range of the programme of study, which is good, and there are no areas of significant weakness.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

122. Nearly all of the eleven-year-olds are confident users of computers. Keyboard skills are good and they know how to use pull- down menus to select the applications and tools they need and can save, access and print the files and folders they are working on. Use by pupils of correct terminology is variable and not always as well developed as it should be. All of them are familiar with the routines for gaining access to the world-wide-web and can search the Internet purposefully for specific information. They are aware of the need to frame the search questions carefully and select appropriate key words. Having gained access, the pupils are able to view web pages and to copy sections relevant to their enquiry through cut and paste routines. Nine-year-old pupils confidently work their way through simulation programs, showing the ability to use the mouse and keyboard appropriately and to make relevant choices using menus. Seven-year-olds are beginning to use the Internet to

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

gain knowledge linked to geography and environmental topics.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

123. The consistency of standards throughout the school points to the vast majority of pupils extending their knowledge appropriately over time and to good achievement overall. Learning in lessons is quick for pupils of all levels of attainment and the technology is enabling the higher attaining pupils to extend their knowledge appropriately. There are no significant variations in attainment or progress between pupils of different gender or background, though there is a tendency for boys to dominate when mixed gender groups are used and this needs to be monitored more than happens at present. North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 33 124. The teaching is good overall and none is less than satisfactory. The computer suite is large and all pupils in a class are taught at the same time. This strategy is efficient and effective. The basic skills needed to use both computers and specific programs are well taught and the pupils have extensive opportunity to apply these skills as they explore and increase their

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

knowledge of the programs. The curriculum planning is satisfactory and covers basic requirements, especially in the use made of computers in the suite. The planning to make full use of the technology to support other subjects through use of the classroom-based machines is less developed. Good training for teachers has been provided and general levels of competence in the subject are high. The subject coordinator leads effectively by example and has a good understanding of strengths and areas for improvement. Her action plan for the subject is relevant and is being implemented effectively. Resources and specialist facilities are excellent.

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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES: FRENCH

125. The ten and eleven-year-olds, the only age groups to study the subject, have made a confident start. They are developing knowledge of French nouns and use their knowledge competently to answer questions asked in French by the teacher. The answers are more than single words, showing that many of the pupils are able to compose short phrases and sentences. The teaching is skilfully helping pupils of all abilities and prior attainment to build a useful vocabulary of French words and common phrases, such as those employed when greeting or departing. The methods used are varied and appropriate and good use is made of role-play. There is adequate progression in the learning over time. Inclusion of the subject in the curriculum is not a statutory requirement at this age. Planning is not detailed but the current provision is appropriate and subject management is satisfactory.

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MUSIC

126. Standards at the ages of seven and eleven are lower overall than they should be, reflecting the underdeveloped nature of the subject and lessons that insufficiently involve pupils in making music, either through song or instrumental work. The quality and pace of learning is generally unsatisfactory, though there are exceptions, and the standards found at the time of the previous inspection have not been adequately sustained.

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MUSIC

127. Much of the teaching does not achieve a satisfactory balance between listening to music and making music, with too few opportunities for the latter and this is why standards are low. The learning needs of most pupils, especially the more able, are not adequately met. In one brief observation, five-year-olds showed that they were able to clap the beats in some of their names but became confused when both first and surnames were included. A good lesson with seven-year-olds extended listening skills and pupils learnt the meaning of key words, including ‘tempo’, ‘dynamics’, and ‘pitch’. During this lesson, high-attaining pupils enthused about the “Rainbow Prelude”, one of them commenting that this was a “very exciting piece of music”. The teacher sensitively led all pupils to express in words what the music prompted them to imagine and, in doing so, showed that the pupils have a thirst for music and learn quickly when it is presented knowledgeably. Although a valuable

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MUSIC

listening experience, the pupils in that lesson did not have the opportunity to make music. Pupils in the seven-to-nine age group are able to listen to music, such as the Bolero, and ascribe basic attributes such as ‘happy’, ‘fast’, or ‘high’ and can name some of the instruments they hear; knowledge that is broadly in keeping with expectations. They did not, however, have the opportunity to make music that matched these attributes. There are isolated examples of pupils who sing very well but the majority of them lack confidence and show reluctance, for example, in hymn practice for junior pupils, where a mixed group is formed of those who do not go swimming, not all the pupils joined in. Those who did held the melody satisfactorily. On one occasion, a talented pupil sang very well but most pupils just watched her and did not become involved. There is little use of instruments. Seven-year-old pupils in one lesson showed that they are able to make

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MUSIC

appropriate choices of percussion instruments based on the sound they wish to make but are unable to play them with the confidence or skill expected at that age.

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MUSIC

128. Pupils’ attitudes to the subject vary and are sometimes unsatisfactory. Occasionally they are inattentive and misbehave. This reflects the limited involvement they have in making music and the over long period they often spend listening. Using singing as a timetable convenience, as when some pupils go swimming and others do not, and by allowing a few pupils to receive extra support with reading while others are singing, does not help develop positive attitudes. Such organisation undermines the value of the subject and signals a lack of priority and importance.

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MUSIC

129. The teaching is inconsistent in quality; although a small amount of good quality teaching occurs, the bulk is unsatisfactory. This is surprising given that there are several talented musicians among the staff. In most lessons, the pace and quality of learning is lower than it should be and the content is not linked sufficiently to the National Curriculum programme of study. In too many lessons, the emphasis is too much on the performance of a few individuals and not enough on the creative and constructive involvement of all pupils. Lesson planning is frequently poor. The learning objectives are the general ones to be found in the medium term planning, designed to give a long-term perspective, and not the specific ones necessary to provide the small, accumulative steps in learning each lesson, each week, which meet the needs of pupils with different levels of attainment. Pupils do not always have an opportunity to listen to music or to sing in assemblies. In some assemblies, singing

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MUSIC

North Ferriby CE Primary School - Page 34 happens only while children file out of the hall, reducing the value placed on singing and the opportunity to improve. When pupils are engaged in singing, there is exhortation to do better, or sing louder, but often no direct teaching and many missed opportunities to extend pupils’ knowledge and skills.

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MUSIC

130. Leadership and management of the subject are changing hands. Currently, the coordinator’s role is underdeveloped. The subject is not a focus for school development for two years, which is unsatisfactory, and there is no monitoring of planning, teaching, or learning. The time allocated to the subject is insufficient. Resources are satisfactory but not used well. Several of the staff are good or very good musicians but their skills are deployed insufficiently well to enable pupils to learn and progress satisfactorily. Visiting tutors supplement the curriculum for individual tuition in flute, clarinet, and violin but only for the nine-to-eleven age group. The recorder club has restarted recently. Only seven-year-olds attend this extra-curricular activity. These enhance the curriculum for those able to attend. Parents have expressed their concern about the subject and the inspection findings supports this.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

131. Standards are satisfactory throughout the school. The full range of activities set out in the National Curriculum programme of study is taught. This is similar to the last inspection. The pupils sporting experiences are suitably extended through a range of extra curricular activities, which include football, netball, athletics, and swimming. The school joins in competitive sports against other schools and this suitably extends their sporting as well as their social skills.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

132. Pupils between the ages of five and seven are enthusiastic about the subject. Teaching for this age group is satisfactory. In one of the lessons, pupils listened carefully to a musical stimulus and interpreted the mood of the music well through movement and dance. They enjoy being active and often work hard in lessons, although a few pupils do not always listen carefully to instructions, resulting in time being wasted. Standards are not sufficiently improved because teachers do not always allow time for pupils to practise required skills and sometimes fail to allow enough time for pupils to discuss the quality of their movement or benefit from demonstrations of good work from other pupils. Sometimes planning becomes over complicated and pupils become confused. This results in pupils often not achieving their full potential. Pupils understand the reasons that we need to take exercise and can describe the results of exercise on the body.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

133. Lessons in the seven-to-eleven aged group are regularly good in quality and learning is quick and effective. In this age group, pupils are active and interested in the exercises and tasks. By the age of eleven, they have acquired a good range of knowledge and skills. They are able to organise themselves well, demonstrating good independence, for example, in a good athletics lesson where they practised and improved athletics skills, evaluated their performance, and implemented good extensions to their performance over the course of the lesson. In another lesson, there was quick improvement in throwing and catching skills, which increased in accuracy as pupils progressed from learning to consistently catch to working in pairs throwing and catching as they moved. Standards in dance are satisfactory. In a lesson that extended out-door adventurous skills, the pupils learnt skills of orienteering. By the end of the lesson, pupils were able to align the map with the terrain

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

correctly and chart their way around a challenging course. A good link with English was provided in this lesson when the pupils had to solve anagrams by using letters found as they followed the trail of clues.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

134. Standards in swimming are satisfactory. Only the nine-year-olds attend swimming, and tuition is restricted to a short ten- week period. Nearly all pupils who receive tuition are able to swim the required distance of 25 metres competently with a developing style and at levels that are above average. Many of the more competent swimmers learn life saving techniques demonstrating well their skills and confidence in the water. The school competes successfully in local school swimming galas.

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