Carlton Colville Primary School

CARLTON COLVILLE 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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CARLTON COLVILLE 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. Carlton Colville Primary School - 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

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CARLTON COLVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Type of school: Infant and Junior School

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CARLTON COLVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

School address: Hall Road Carlton Colville Lowestoft Suffolk Postcode: NR33 8AX

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CARLTON COLVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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CARLTON COLVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs Josie Dixon

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CARLTON COLVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 24 February 1997 Carlton Colville Primary School - 4 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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responsibilities

15477 John Messer Registered inspector Art What sort of school is it? How high are standards? a) The school's results and achievements. How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 19496 Susie Messer Lay inspector How high are standards? b) 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? 23482 Diana Mackie Team inspector English Design and technology Music Foundation stage How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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responsibilities

Susan Metcalfe Team inspector Science Information and communication technology Physical education Carlton Colville Primary School - 5 3588 Kuldip Rai Team inspector Mathematics Geography History Religious education Equal opportunities Special educational needs English as an additional language The inspection contractor was:

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Demeter House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2RS

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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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The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Carlton Colville Primary School - 6 REPORT CONTENTS

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

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS? 16 - 17

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS? 17 - 18

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS? 18 - 19

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 19 - 21

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 21 - 22

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 23 - 26

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PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 27 - 43 Carlton Colville Primary School - 7

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

This community first school has 295 pupils on roll and is bigger than most other primary schools and slightly larger than at the time of the last inspection. Pupils are taught in eleven classes, including the nursery unit where 52 children are taught on a part-time basis, either in the morning or afternoon sessions. Children are admitted to the nursery two terms before they are due to transfer into the school’s reception classes. The school admits children to reception classes three times a year, usually at the beginning of the term in which their fifth birthday falls. Pupils leave the school at the age of nine when they transfer to middle schools. Within the school there are more boys than girls, especially in Year 3. Almost all the pupils are from white English speaking backgrounds; one pupil speaks English as an additional language. One pupil has a statement of special educational need and a further 33 pupils are entered on the school’s register of special educational needs because they

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

require extra learning support. This is a lower number than in most schools. Around nine per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals which is below average. On entry to the nursery children’s attainment is typical of four-year-olds.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

This is an effective school. Pupils make steady progress through the school so that by the age of seven and nine they attain standards that are in line with those expected for their ages in all subjects, except design and technology where standards exceed expectations of seven and nine-year-olds. The headteacher, senior managers and subject co-ordinators work closely with the governing body to provide satisfactory leadership and management. Financial management and control are good. Teaching is mostly good though there are inconsistencies in its quality and in Years 1 and 2 it is less effective than in the other year groups. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• Teachers and support staff are conscientious and hardworking and promote high standards in design and technology, speaking and listening and singing. In art and design a wide range of techniques are taught. • Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. It contributes to their good achievement. • Teaching in the nursery and reception classes and in the classes for seven to nine-year-olds is good and pupils in these classes make good progress. • A good range of learning opportunities is provided which helps pupils to develop in a balanced and a well-rounded way. • Strong support from parents and governors makes a good contribution to pupils’ learning.

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What could be improved

• The quality and consistency of teaching especially in the classes for five to seven-year-olds. • The amount and quality of work that pupils produce in lessons. • The standard of writing and the presentation of work, particularly in Year 1. • The use of time; lessons are often too long and pupils spend too long sitting and listening. Time is wasted during the school day and teaching time is less that the recommended minimum. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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What could be improved

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION Carlton Colville Primary School - 8 Since the last inspection in February 1997, standards in most subjects have been maintained and they have improved in design and technology across the school and in information and communication technology in the classes for seven to nine-year- olds. The quality of teaching has improved significantly; there is now a higher proportion of very good teaching and a lower proportion of unsatisfactory teaching. The key issues from the last inspection have been tackled and one particular success has been the improvement in resources and the standards attained in information and communication technology. The management team has been strengthened and finances are now used efficiently to support teaching and learning. The curriculum is now broad and well balanced. There have been significant improvements in the accommodation and grounds since 1997. The

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What could be improved

nursery has been developed and the good provision for the youngest pupils that has now been established ensures that good foundations are laid for children’s future learning. STANDARDS

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What could be improved

The table shows the standards achieved by 7 year olds based on National Curriculum test results.

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Key

reading C C E E well above average above average A B

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Key

writing D B D E average below average C D mathematics C C E E well below average E

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Key

The school’s performance, as measured by National Curriculum test results, was poorer in 2000 than in previous years because the group of pupils taking the tests last year had an abnormally high proportion of pupils with special educational needs and a high proportion of pupils who were in the youngest third of the age group and had, therefore, been attending school for a shorter period than the others. Also in mathematics, the school identified that insufficient emphasis had been given to teaching the strand of the subject that involves using and applying mathematics. This depressed attainment. The results of the tests and assessments in 2001 were much better in reading, mathematics and science and were comparable with the results of 1999. They were better in writing but not to the same degree. There are as yet no national comparisons available for 2001. Inspection findings show that, by the age of seven, pupils attain standards in reading, mathematics and science that

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Key

are in line with national expectations though standards in writing are below the level expected. The standards attained in all other subjects are typical of seven-year-olds except in design and technology where standards are higher than national expectations.

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Key

By the time pupils are ready to leave the school at the age of nine, most attain standards that are in line with national expectations in all subjects except in design and technology where, again, standards exceed expectations. Throughout the Carlton Colville Primary School - 9 school pupils make satisfactory progress and their achievement is sound. Pupils speak confidently, sing well in unison and have developed an exceptionally wide range of techniques in art and design.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Satisfactory. Pupils have positive attitudes to the school and are keen to learn.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Pupils’ behaviour is generally satisfactory in and around the school.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Good relationships have a positive effect upon the learning of pupils. Pupils mix well together and take the responsibilities given to them seriously.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Attendance is satisfactory; pupils enjoy coming to school.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour is mostly good but deteriorates in class when activities fail to capture pupils’ imagination. In a small minority of lessons behaviour is unsatisfactory. Attendance is satisfactory but many parents take pupils out of school during school time for family holidays. Generally pupils work and play happily together. Carlton Colville Primary School - 10 TEACHING AND LEARNING

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aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall good satisfactory good

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aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

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

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aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Overall, the quality of teaching is good. During the inspection, 96 per cent of teaching was at least satisfactory, 35 per cent was satisfactory, 43 per cent good, 16 per cent very good, 1 per cent excellent and 4 per cent unsatisfactory. Overall the teaching of English and mathematics is good. The skills of literacy and numeracy are taught effectively, though basic writing skills are not taught systematically in Years 1 and 2. Because the foundations in pupils’ learning are not always secure in Years 1 and 2 the good teaching in Years 3 and 4 does is not always reflected in pupils’ achievement or the standards they attain. In a minority of lessons in most year groups teachers’ expectations of the quantity and quality of work that pupils can produce are too low. The teaching for pupils with special educational needs is good and pupils achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. Teaching for higher

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aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

attaining pupils is mostly satisfactory except in writing in Years 1 and 2 where too little is expected of them. The needs of higher attaining pupils are largely provided for satisfactorily in class by grouping pupils according to their varying stages of development. Across the school pupils learn effectively in most subjects, make sound progress and achieve satisfactorily.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. The good variety of activities provided are relevant to pupils’ learning needs.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. Classroom assistants make a strong contribution to the quality of the provision for these pupils and help them to achieve well.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. Facilities to meet the needs of the pupil with limited English speaking skills are in place and are designed to promote good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. Provision for social and moral development is good and it is satisfactory for spiritual and cultural development. Strong emphasis is placed on encouraging pupils to support each other, to be straightforward, honest and responsible.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Good. A caring ethos and a secure learning environment have been created. Procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress are good. Carlton Colville Primary School - 11 The school is supported well by parents and the effective partnership that has been developed makes a good contribution to pupils’ learning. A satisfactory range of activities outside the classroom enriches learning opportunities. Good levels of care are maintained. The curriculum complies fully with statutory requirements.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher, his deputy and other key staff work well together to provide satisfactory leadership and management but areas identified as in need of development are not always tackled successfully. Carlton Colville Primary School - 12 How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body fulfils its responsibilities well; governors have a very good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. Appropriate priorities are established as a result of the school’s analysis of its strengths and weaknesses. The evaluation of teaching is not as effective as it might be because areas for improvement are not always identified.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good. All allocations of money are used wisely in order to ensure maximum benefit and resources are used well to support pupils’ learning. The governing body have been prudent in accumulating a financial surplus to offset the effects of a fall in income due to a falling roll.

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Aspect Comment

The governing body have been successful in ensuring that staffing, accommodation and resources are adequate to support teaching and learning. The recruitment of teachers is difficult in this area but the headteacher and governors have, through imaginative deployment of staff, managed to provide a teacher for each class. Financial management is especially good; money is used carefully to gain maximum benefit and governors ensure that the principles of best value are applied to spending. They have used good foresight in accumulating an under-spend to deal with the budget deficit expected in 2003-2004.

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Aspect Comment

PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

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improved

• Their children like school and make good progress. • Behaviour is good. • Homework is appropriate. • Teaching is good. • They would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. • The school expects children to work hard and to do their best. • The school works closely with parents. • The school is well led and managed. • The school helps children to become mature and responsible. • Information about how their children are getting on. • Activities outside lessons.

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improved

The inspection team largely agrees with the views of parents though inspection findings indicate that behaviour is generally satisfactory, rather than good, and activities outside lessons are satisfactory. Carlton Colville Primary School - 13

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PART B: COMMENTARY

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

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PART B: COMMENTARY

1. Children’s attainment on entry to the nursery is broadly average. By the end of the reception year children attain the expected goals in all the areas of learning described in national guidance. By the end of Year 2 and again by the end of Year 4, pupils attain standards that meet national expectations of seven and nine-year-olds in most subjects. The standards that seven and nine-year-olds attain in speaking and listening and design and technology are higher than would be usually be expected but the standards attained by seven- year-olds in writing are not as high as they should be. Pupils make good progress and achieve well in the nursery and reception classes. Progress falters and is more uneven in Years 1 and 2 where achievement is less consistent, partly because teachers’ expectations of the quantity and quantity of work they should produce are too low. In Years 3 and 4, pupils make better

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PART B: COMMENTARY

progress but their achievement is limited in a minority of lessons where expectations of the work they should produce are not high enough. Achievement is also constrained by the inefficient use of time. Lessons fail to start on time and time during lessons is not always used to best effect. Standards are much the same as they were at the time of the last inspection; they are better in design and technology across the school and, by the age of nine, in information and communication technology but for seven-year-olds they are not as good as they were in science.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

2. Inspection findings are at variance with the National Curriculum test and assessment results for seven-year-olds in 2000. The school’s performance in the tests was well below average both when compared with all schools and when compared with similar schools in reading, mathematics and science. In writing, it was below average when compared with all schools and well below average when compared with similar schools. The group that took the tests in 2000 was not typical. There were a higher proportion of younger pupils in the group, over a half of whom had spent less time in school, only one term in the reception classes, than the others. There were also a higher proportion of pupils with special educational needs than usual. This year’s results are significantly better than last year’s and are much closer to those of 1999. In 2001, most pupils attained the national target in reading, writing and

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PART B: COMMENTARY

mathematics and in reading and mathematics well over a quarter attained the higher standard. In writing, however, only one pupil exceeded the national target whereas nationally around one in ten pupils attain the higher standard. This confirms inspection findings that, though standards for most pupils are as high as might reasonably be expected, higher attaining pupils in Years 1 and 2 are not always sufficiently stretched in writing. Since the last inspection in February 1997, standards in most subjects have been maintained and they have improved in design and technology across the school and in information and communication technology in the classes for seven to nine-year-olds.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

3. By the age of seven pupils have learned to speak with confidence and most express themselves well. Standards in speaking and listening exceed national expectations. Pupils have ample opportunities in class to practise their listening skills. Most pupils read for pleasure and several have a good Carlton Colville Primary School - 14 knowledge of children’s literature. Standards in reading are typical of those attained by most seven-year-olds. Pupils write for a good variety of purposes but produce little creative writing, especially in Year 1. Most spell accurately but standards of handwriting are not as high as they should be and work is not always neatly presented. Pupils have a sound command of number and can recall simple number facts, such as those associated with multiples of two, five and ten, rapidly. They calculate with increasing confidence and enjoy mathematics. In science, pupils have a good understanding of life and living

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PART B: COMMENTARY

processes and a sound understanding of the other strands of the subject. They know about parts of the body and the function of the main organs, understand how food relates to health and know what conditions plants need to grow successfully.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

4. By the age of nine pupils read a wide range of texts with appropriate expression and sound understanding. They talk sensibly about the books they have read. Their speaking and listening skills exceed expectations of nine- year-olds. Most attain standards in reading which are in line with national expectations and a significant minority exceed this standard. Their achievement in writing is good and many write effectively and understand how to choose words carefully to achieve the best effect. By the age on nine, pupils write in a wide range of forms, including poems, instructions, letters, and thoughtfully planned stories. They attain standards in writing which are typical of nine-year-olds. Pupils have confidence in their ability to manipulate number and enjoy the challenge of solving problems. In one Year 3 class, for example, they rose eagerly to the challenge of finding as many different ways

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PART B: COMMENTARY

as possible of calculating how many tins would be needed to contain 350 biscuits if each tin held 70. In Year 4 most pupils can quickly calculate 54 x 5 quickly in their heads and know how to share 54 cakes equally among 4 children so that all the cake is distributed with no remainder. Most attain standards in mathematics which match national expectations.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

5. Across the school there is appropriate emphasis on developing skills in literacy and numeracy though in the classes for five to seven-year-olds, particularly in Year 1, writing skills are not developed sufficiently. Across the school, pupils approach scientific investigations systematically and have a particularly good understanding of how to conduct a fair test, such as how to find out which type of sole on a shoe is most effective in preventing slipping. They understand the effect of friction on forces. When investigating the school pond they correctly identify water boatmen, dragon fly larvae, damsel-flies and pond skaters. By the age of nine they attain standards in science which meet national expectations.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

6. By the age of seven and again by nine years of age, pupils attain standards in information and communication technology which are in line with national expectations. This indicates an improvement in standards attained by nine- year-olds since the last inspection. Computers are used with increasing effectiveness to support teaching and learning across the curriculum. In science, for example, pupils in Year 2 experiment to see which toy car travels the furthest down a ramp. They then use computers to create clear block graphs that illustrate their findings. In Year 4 they print colourful geometric patterns based on programs they have developed and interrogate data bases that they have created to answer such questions as, ‘Do most children with Carlton Colville Primary School - 15 blond hair have blue eyes?’ In all other subjects standards across the school are satisfactory except in design and technology where standards exceed

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PART B: COMMENTARY

expectations of seven and nine-year-olds. The process of design, make, evaluate and improve is well established and pupils develop a good range of skills. They create good wallets and purses designed to be attractive and to hold money safely. Pupils in Year 4 know how to select a range of fastenings, including Velcro, to stick materials together. They make good wooden framed houses with solidly fixed corner joints.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

7. For the most part standards in subjects have been maintained since the last inspection. They are in line with those to be expected when their prior attainment is considered. There was no evidence of any significant variations in the attainment or progress of boys and girls during the inspection. An analysis of National Curriculum test results, however, shows that on average over the past three years girls perform better than boys in reading and by more than the difference nationally. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress as a result of early identification of their needs, effective management of provision for them, and good support by teachers and support staff. The standards attained by most pupils in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 2 are as high as might reasonably be expected.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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PART B: COMMENTARY

8. The majority of pupils like coming to school and generally display positive attitudes to their work. This is similar to the findings of the last inspection in 1997. Most pupils listen well and are willing to learn. However, there is a significant minority of pupils in Years 1 and 2 who quickly lose concentration and put little effort into their work. This occurs most frequently when pupils are required to sit for extended periods of time, usually close together on the carpet, listening to the teacher’s over-long explanation. Where good or better teaching takes place, many are able to sustain good levels of concentration during their lessons and collaborate well with others in both group and paired activities. With the exception of a small number of pupils with emotional or behavioural difficulties, attitudes of pupils with special educational needs to learning are good. This results from the school being successful in raising

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PART B: COMMENTARY

their self-esteem through peer group support, praise by teachers, and a good system of rewards for good effort. Pupils with special educational needs demonstrate positive attitudes to the school. These pupils are pleased to come to school, generally behave well in lessons and are courteous to their teachers and other adults. The great majority of pupils collaborate well with each other. They take turns happily and without question and they share willingly as when three have to work on one computer. Pupils treat property and learning resources with care such as putting out play equipment at break time and gathering it in again afterwards and checking that it has all been collected.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

9. Overall, the standard of pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is satisfactory and serves to enhance the positive relationships that exist between staff and pupils. Behaviour is often good in the nursery and reception classes. Children in the nursery soon adapt to routines and gain appropriate social skills so that they interact well with one another and with adults. They develop the ability to share resources willingly and soon form very good relationships with adults. Children’s levels of concentration increase during their time in the reception class and they adapt to the brisker pace of lessons. Carlton Colville Primary School - 16 Across the school very good behaviour is promoted where lessons proceed at a brisk pace and when teachers capture pupils’ imagination so that an enthusiasm for learning is created. Very good behaviour is more common in Years 3 and 4 than in Years 1 and 2. Behaviour is unsatisfactory in a small

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PART B: COMMENTARY

minority of lessons in Years 2, 3 and 4 because teachers are too tolerant of misbehaviour and their strategies to deal with misdemeanours are ineffective. In Years 3 and 4 the rare occurrences of misbehaviour take place when the class is being taken by a part-time teacher rather than by the regular class teacher. The system of rewarding good behaviour and employing sanctions to deter poor behaviour is clearly understood by pupils and applied in a consistent manner by most staff.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

10. Two instances of the temporary exclusion of pupils and one permanent exclusion from the school due to unacceptable behaviour, occurred in the last school year. There is no evidence of oppressive behaviour or racial abuse by pupils. The school is very clear about its intolerance of bullying, and racial and sexual harassment, and if there is an incident of any type of harassment, it is dealt with swiftly. The school is currently preparing for a thorough audit of provision for equality of opportunity. The school is reviewing its policy on equality of opportunity which, though very detailed, is quite an old document. A new policy is being developed that includes set procedures for recording racial incidents and reporting them annually to the local education authority and parents.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

11. Pupils’ personal development is fostered well and good standards are attained. In the nursery and reception classes pupils get out and help to put away equipment. They exercise choice confidently when offered a selection of activities to follow or which clothes and shoes to wear when dressing up. Across the school pupils take registers and messages to the office quickly and efficiently. The children always know to whom they can turn if they need help. One excellent initiative is the provision of special ‘friendship’ posts in the playground where pupils stand if they are lonely or have nobody to play with. Pupils notice anybody standing by one of the posts and quickly invite them to join in their games. In the playground they do not encroach on the play apparatus unless it is their class’s turn. Pupils take their responsibilities seriously and fulfil them conscientiously. Monitors supervise the distribution

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PART B: COMMENTARY

and collection of equipment used during playtimes and school councillors understand that they have been elected to serve the interests of their class and to assist with maintaining and improving the smooth operation of the school. Pupils willingly accept and undertake their assigned responsibilities in school with vigour. Relationships throughout the school are good. Pupils are friendly and considerate towards each other and to adults. They are generally courteous and discuss issues sensibly.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

12. Attendance is satisfactory overall even though a significant number of pupils are absent during term time when they are away on holiday with their families. The great majority of pupils arrive promptly and are ready to start work on time.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

13. The sound attitudes, good relationships and satisfactory behaviour patterns demonstrated by the great majority of pupils make a strong contribution to their social and academic development and provide a sound foundation upon which to build further improvements. Carlton Colville Primary School - 17 HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

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PART B: COMMENTARY

14. The quality of teaching is mostly good but within this overall picture there are variations. Teaching is mostly good in the nursery and reception classes, mostly satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, mostly good in Year 3 and it is mostly very good in Year 4. There are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and there is a small proportion of unsatisfactory teaching. Teaching in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory in all subjects where it was possible to make judgements except design and technology where it is good. There is insufficient evidence to make judgements about teaching in geography, history or music in Years 1 and 2. Teaching in Years 3 and 4 is good in English, mathematics, geography, history and music and design and technology and it is satisfactory in science, art and design, information and communication technology and physical education. Across the school teaching is satisfactory in religious education.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

The quality of teaching is better than at the time of the last inspection when there was a higher proportion of unsatisfactory teaching and a lower proportion of very good teaching. There are, however, close similarities in findings about pupils losing enthusiasm when the pace of lessons is slow or when tasks are unchallenging. Teaching has improved most for the older pupils. The grouping of pupils by ability into sets for part of each week in English and mathematics in Years 2, 3 and 4 enhances the quality of teaching because teachers can focus more easily on the needs of pupils at similar stages of development.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

15. The quality of teaching in the nursery and reception classes is good in all areas of learning. Expectations of the children are high, and work is carefully planned to match their needs. The teachers provides an exciting programme of stimulating activities which extends and enhances children’s skills in literacy and numeracy. In one reception class, for example, Mr Bunny plays a key role in lessons. (Mr Bunny is a toy rabbit who is an honorary member of the class.) He tries to count in twos but keeps making mistakes. Children pay close attention, eager to spot his mistakes and shriek with delight when he goes wrong. Teachers plan lessons carefully so that skills and understanding are built cumulatively. Close attention is paid to matching tasks to children’s varying stages of development. In a lesson in a reception class, for example, lower attaining pupils were counting the number of plastic bears they managed

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PART B: COMMENTARY

to fish from a tray of water while higher attaining pupils play a game of dominoes where they have to solve problems such as finding a number which when added to six makes thirteen. The good teaching ensures that most pupils reach the early learning goals by the time they move to Year 1. In both classes, the nursery nurse and classroom assistants play a valuable role in the teaching programme. All staff have a secure understanding of the needs of young children.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

16. In Years 1 and 2, teaching is good where lessons proceed at a brisk pace and pupils’ imagination is captured. There was an example of this in a mathematics lesson in Year 1 where the teacher produced two little friends who had been hiding in her drawer. These were introduced to the class and the ‘friends’ helped the pupils to count in tens. Here imaginative teaching was coupled with a good range of strategies, such as using a counting stick to help pupils to visualise blocks of ten and games involving dice. Carlton Colville Primary School - 18 17. Teachers’ planning is generally good. In the best lessons pupils are told at the very beginning what it is that they are expected to learn during the course of the lesson. At the end of the lesson teachers usually leave time for a short review session where pupils join in an evaluation of what they have learned and how successful the lesson has been. This is a valuable technique as it

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PART B: COMMENTARY

adds purpose to the lessons and pupils understand what they are aiming to achieve. It also helps teachers to assess how successful learning has been and helps to inform planning for the next steps in learning.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

18. Teaching is less successful where pupils remain inactive for too long. This occurs in a small number of lessons in Years 1 and 2 when pupils are required to sit, often on the carpet in close proximity to one another, and listen to the teacher for a considerable length of time. In consequence they become frustrated because they cannot get on with planned activities; they grow restless and behaviour deteriorates. In a small minority of lessons, pupils’ behaviour deteriorates when explanations of what is required are unclear and when a question is closely followed by teachers’ habitual ‘shush’, ‘shush’, which is ignored by most pupils.

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PART B: COMMENTARY

19. In the classes for five to seven-year-olds, teachers have sound knowledge of the subjects they teach and assess pupils’ performance satisfactorily. The basic skills of reading and using numbers are taught satisfactorily but the teaching of writing is unsatisfactory. Writing is not taught systematically and expectations of the standards that pupils should achieve are too low. This is especially the case for higher attaining pupils in Years 1 and 2 who are not achieving as well as they should. In a minority of lessons teachers’ expectations of the effort that pupils should contribute are too low. In each year group teaching is of a higher quality in one class compared with that of the parallel class so that in one class pupils achieve better results than pupils of the same age in a parallel class. Pupils work willingly when their imaginations are captured. One particularly good lesson was seen in design

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PART B: COMMENTARY

and technology in Year 2. Here the teacher gave a very clear explanation of what was required and promoted a serious approach to the task in hand. Pupils were required to evaluate their designs for making machines that move using a wind-up mechanism. Good questioning strategies fired their thinking. Was the axle too fragile? How could they strengthen it? How could it be made to move more freely? In a good review session towards the end of the lesson the teacher used the pupils’ work well to highlight the strong features that were common to many of the designs. The work was challenging, captured pupils’ interest and encouraged them to look forward with anticipation to the next lesson in the series.

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20. Teaching in Years 3 and 4 is significantly better overall than the teaching in Years 1 and 2. There is greater consistency and there is also a high proportion of very good teaching, especially in Year 4 where most of the teaching is very good and occasionally excellent. Teachers in Years 3 and 4 have good knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach and basic skills are taught well. Particularly good teaching was seen in English, mathematics, science, design and technology, geography, music and religious education. These lessons shared key characteristics. Each was planned and prepared in great detail, the learning intentions were clear, work was Carlton Colville Primary School - 19 challenging, learning progressed at a brisk pace and the teacher’s enthusiasm was transmitted to the pupils. The good teaching does not always lead to higher than average levels of achievement because some of the basic skills,

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such as writing, are insecure and hence there the foundations on which to build are shaky. As in Years 1 and 2, time is not always used to best effect; a significant number of lessons are over-long and not enough work is produced in the time available. In a minority of lessons teachers’ expectations of the quantity and quality of work that pupils can produce are too low.

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21. Classroom assistants make a good contribution to the quality of learning and are especially effective in supervising small groups and assisting individuals. There were, though, several occasions when classroom assistants were not deployed effectively. They spent a long time listening to teachers rather than being actively engaged in supporting pupils’ learning. Most teachers use good questioning strategies to consolidate learning and to assess pupils’ level of understanding. Pupils’ work is marked carefully and the best gives them a clear understanding of how they can improve their work. Relationships between teachers and pupils are generally good and contribute to a happy working atmosphere. All staff ensure that they give equal attention to boys and girls in the classroom.

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22. Teachers have good knowledge of pupils with special educational needs. They use this knowledge well to plan lessons so that tasks and resources are matched to pupils’ needs. There is good liaison between class teachers and classroom assistants at the level of planning, teaching and assessment. As a result, the quality of support provided by assistants both in the classroom and in sessions when pupils are withdrawn from the classroom for extra help, is good. For example, in a short withdrawal session where a classroom assistant was helping a pupil with spelling, the assistant’s good relationships with the pupil, coupled with a structured approach to the teaching of spelling, enabled the pupil to make good progress. Classroom assistants provide a good blend of assistance and challenge during group work so that pupils do not become too dependent on them. However, their role during the whole-class part of

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lessons is unproductive when they spend a long time listening to the teacher rather than being actively involved in supporting pupils’ learning. Except for writing in Years 1 and 2, the needs of the higher attaining pupils are generally well catered for by matching activities to their particular stage of learning and by setting pupils into ability groups in Years 3 and 4 for English and mathematics. This helps teachers to focus more directly on the learning needs of a narrower range of pupils.

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23. The use of assessment information to guide teachers’ planning is good. Staff maintain careful records on the progress of each pupil. Teachers’ plans are detailed and help teachers to know what the pupils are going to learn and what they understand and can do. Staff assess all children from the nursery onwards as part of their normal teaching programme, in order to build on achievement and to give additional support where necessary. The school uses its daily assessments to inform planning. Teachers know the individual pupils well and are aware of their specific needs. They respond to them in a very positive and supportive way. The school builds effectively on its assessment procedures when identifying pupils with special educational needs and deciding what further help is needed. The same cannot always be said of Carlton Colville Primary School - 20 higher attaining pupils. There are no procedures to identify gifted and talented

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pupils and no special provision is made to meet their needs. Teachers have a clear understanding of the purpose and use of assessment. They keep day-to- day records which include results from spelling and number tests. Teachers use reading records to establish the pupils’ attainment and progress made. Several subject co-ordinators collect in samples of children’s work to inform them of standards. Members of staff attend audit sessions with colleagues from local schools to promote consistency in the standards of assessments. The information gained from assessment is used to highlight strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ attainment. One weakness that was identified recently was the need to develop a common approach to the teaching of handwriting, for example. This is now being addressed but there are still variations in teachers’ expectations of the standards of presentation that can be attained.

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24. Across the school homework is used effectively to support teaching and learning. In the reception classes, pupils are encouraged to read at home with their parents, to gather information for projects and to enjoy games that help to develop number skills. In Years 1 and 2, reading is underpinned by lists of high frequency words that have to be practised at home and number facts have to be learned. In Year 3, pupils share reading with parents, learn spellings and multiplication tables. In Year 4, pupils are provided with a home-school book where homework assignments are recorded along with dates for completion. Homework is set consistently and the system works well.

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

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25. The school provides a curriculum which meets statutory requirements and provides pupils with a good range of learning experiences. There are strengths in the provision for pupils with special educational needs and in the contribution of the community to pupils’ learning. There have been improvements in the curriculum since the last inspection, when statutory provision for information and communication technology was not fully met and provision for health education was sound. The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage is good. However, the amount of teaching time is below recommended levels for five to seven-year-olds and seven to nine-year-olds, and time is wasted during the day when there is slow movement in from the playground and between lessons. This limits curricular opportunities for pupils.

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26. There are good policies and clear frameworks that guide teachers’ planning and promote the sequential development of skills and understanding. The policies give good guidance and affirm the school’s commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils, including those who have special educational needs. They translate into practice well and pupils have equal access to all areas of the curriculum. The planning framework for personal, social and health education is good. The governing body has approved a policy for sex education and for drugs awareness. Planning for religious education follows the locally agreed syllabus. The school follows the national frameworks for literacy and numeracy. In other subjects, nationally recommended schemes and commercial material are used to ensure that all areas of the National Curriculum are taught appropriately. The school takes account of analyses of pupils’

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performance in national tests to strengthen areas of the curriculum where weaknesses are found. The curriculum for children in the nursery and reception classes is planned to meet the nationally recommended early learning goals for children in the Foundation Stage of education. Links between subjects are planned effectively. Literacy, numeracy and Carlton Colville Primary School - 21 information and communication technology are promoted appropriately in other subjects. The school has implemented the National Literacy Strategy and the National Numeracy Strategy effectively. Teachers make good use of literacy and numeracy lessons to meet the needs of individual pupils.

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27. The quality of the provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. All aspects of the provision are effectively organised and co-ordinated and the policy meets statutory requirements. Teachers are aware of equality of opportunity. They make sure boys and girls have equivalent experiences and that the content of the curriculum and learning resources, such as books, reflects cultural diversity and present positive role models.

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28. Provision for personal, social and health education is good. Health education is included in the curriculum through personal, social and health education, science and physical education. Pupils learn about what they need to do to stay healthy. The school provides sex education and education to raise pupils’ awareness of the dangers of drug abuse sensitively and at an appropriate level for the pupils’ age.

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29. The school provides a satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities which open the way for pupils to take part in activities which they enjoy and provide opportunities for them to practise and extend their enthusiasms and interests. These include sports, recorder and choir clubs, a series of lunchtime computer clubs and a wildlife club.

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30. The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is good, it is satisfactory for their cultural and spiritual development. There is a daily act of collective worship which provides time for reflection. The school has a clear code of conduct which plays an appropriate part in enabling pupils to understand the difference between right and wrong and develop an awareness of personal responsibility and citizenship. Adults set good examples to pupils and establish very good relationships with them. In subjects such as English, art, music and religious education the school promotes an appreciation of the skills and perceptions of great artists, performers and thinkers. In religious education, the school’s curriculum reflects ethnic diversity so that pupils come to appreciate the importance of religious faith in many people’s lives. However, the curriculum does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to

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learn about the wider picture of life in contemporary British society. Members of the police force, the fire brigade and the ambulance service visit the school and make a good contribution to pupils’ education in citizenship. Pupils’ skills and appreciation of literature are enhanced when visitors, such as a storyteller and an author visit the school.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

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31. A caring ethos has been established that helps pupils to feel confident and secure in school. The school has sound procedures for child protection and ensuring pupils’ welfare. A member of staff and the headteacher have been designated as being responsible for child protection and a governor maintains good oversight of provision. Teachers and support staff have recently received appropriate training in child protection procedures. The school has a good Carlton Colville Primary School - 22 written policy and staff are well aware of its content and their own specific responsibilities.

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32. Health and safety procedures are good. The school has a detailed and effective policy and governors make regular checks on buildings and equipment. A report on health and safety issues is presented to the board of governors each term and this helps to ensure that pupils work in a safe environment. There are regular fire and evacuation exercises and health and safety is given appropriate attention in lessons. In physical education lessons, for example, pupils understand the reasons for warming up muscles prior to vigorous exercise and how exercise has a healthy effect on their hearts. Pupils’ awareness of protection issues are reinforced effectively during personal, social and health education lessons. Pupils are aware of the dangers associated with electricity and have an understanding of water safety. All portable electrical and physical exercise equipment is tested regularly and full details are documented. The school keeps detailed reports of accidents

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and has efficient procedures for administering medicines, such as inhalers for asthmatics. Specific allergies that affect particular pupils are well documented. First aid training has also been undertaken by a high proportion of the staff.

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33. The school has good procedures for the personal support and guidance of its pupils. Good use is made of outside professional help, such as the school nurse. There is a designated member of staff for children in care who has recently attended training for her responsibilities. The personal, social and health education co-ordinator has received training in sex education, drug, alcohol and substance misuse. A sex education policy has been considered by staff and this is being incorporated into the programme of personal, social and health education. The school’s parent, friends and teachers’ association recently organised a keep fit day that included a sponsored cycle of activities including skipping, football and gymnastics. Over three thousand pounds was raised towards the fort to be built in the grounds. This structure is designed for fun as well as to offer protection from the sun. Pupils are warned about over

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exposure to the sun and the school sells sun hats that provide good protection. There is good and sensitive support for pupils at lunch and playtimes. Carlton Colville Primary School - 23 34. Procedures for monitoring attendance are satisfactory but procedures for improving attendance are unsatisfactory. A significant number of pupils take holidays in term time and the school has no effective strategies for discouraging parents from taking their children out of school for family holidays. Registers are marked properly by the teachers in both the morning and afternoon sessions and are carefully monitored by the headteacher and the bursar. In liaison with other schools in the area a good home-school agreement has been written. Parents, pupils and school representatives sign the agreement which aims to promote consistency among all the local schools and a high quality of education within a caring environment. The school

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participates in a local scheme which has developed awards for pupils who have a one hundred per cent attendance during any one year.

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35. The school’s behaviour policy, also formulated in liaison with local schools, is clear and is communicated well to pupils. Classes devise their own set of rules. Rewards and sanctions are made clear and the children are well aware of them. There is no evidence of oppressive behaviour and this is partly due to the close supervision of pupils provided by teachers and support staff. Overall, the school has well considered procedures for looking after its pupils and these help to promote an orderly learning environment.

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36. The procedures for monitoring pupils’ performance are good. ‘Baseline’ assessments of pupils’ attainments in each year group are made within seven weeks of the beginning of each academic year in the nursery and reception classes and these help to identify children’s specific learning needs. Pupils take the statutory National Curriculum tests and assessments at the age of seven and non-statutory assessments are made including county reading tests and tests in mathematics in Years 2 and 4. The school analyses its assessment by the age and gender of the pupils. The special needs co- ordinator keeps good records which track pupils’ academic and personal progress. Support is directed effectively to pupils who need it most.

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37. At the end of each academic year, pupils’ attainment is recorded on an individual Record of Achievement, which is kept in the child’s file. This data is sent on to the child’s next school. Parents receive an annual written report of good quality, giving details of attainment and progress and targets for development. Adults, including teachers, support assistants and voluntary helpers, know pupils with special educational needs well, and give them good quality support.

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38. Individual education plans are of good quality because the targets set in them are specific and manageable, and they are formulated in consultation with teachers, support staff, and outside agencies where appropriate. Currently parents are not involved in the setting of targets. However, the special educational needs co-ordinator meets with them to discuss the outcomes of reviews and the targets in the individual education plans. The arrangements for assessment are good, with assessment being carried out regularly. Assessment information is used well to inform individual education plans which are generally reviewed at least once a term. However, those related to behaviour are reviewed more regularly. It is not possible to comment on the quality of annual reviews of statements of special educational need because the child who has a statement is in the reception class and the statement is not Carlton Colville Primary School - 24

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yet due for review. It has not been necessary to conduct any other reviews in the recent past as no pupils have had statements of special educational need.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

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39. Parents are happy with the education provided by the school. Their replies to the pre-inspection survey show high levels of approval for all aspects of its work. They agree that leadership and management are effective and that pupils behave well. Most parents also think that the school maintains high expectations of pupils’ performance, that teaching is good, and that their children make good progress. There is least satisfaction with extra-curricular activities, with less than a half of respondents agreeing that the school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. The inspection team found that the school provides a satisfactory range of activities outside lessons.

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40. The quality of information for parents is good overall. The prospectus gives details about the curriculum and annual reports to parents give clear information about the areas that pupils have covered as well as details about pupils’ progress. At the beginning of each term, parents, including those of children in the nursery, receive notice of the topics that their children will be studying. They are also able to keep in touch with what pupils are learning via reading and homework diaries. These are used well by both pupils and parents. Parents regularly read and sign the diaries. Members of staff contact parents promptly if they have concerns about work or behaviour. Teachers in the reception classes meet parents informally four weeks after children start in main school for discussion on how they have settled in. Formal arrangements for reporting to parents are very good. Parents are able to obtain more detailed

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information on children’s progress at consultation evenings in the autumn, spring and summer terms. Pupils’ ‘Records of Achievement’ are available at these evenings which gives parents an opportunity to read and discuss them with class teachers. The school also organises annual curriculum events to which parents are invited to help them gain a deeper understanding about specific areas of pupils’ learning, such as numeracy or information and communication technology.

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41. The written information which the school is, by law, obliged to give parents is of good quality. The school prospectus provides parents with a good outline of the school’s aims, organisation and curriculum. The prospectus complies with legal requirements but there are omissions in the annual report of the governing body. End-of-year reports on pupils’ progress are good overall. Most provide informative accounts of what pupils know, understand and can do in the core subjects of the curriculum. They also include targets for future learning. Good relations between home and school enhance the partnership in learning that the school seeks to promote. Most parents feel free to approach the school if they have queries or concerns and if necessary will make appointments to see class teachers.

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42. The support provided by parents for pupils’ learning has a positive impact on standards of attainment. Parents are pleased to sign the home-school agreement and do their best to uphold it. They co-operate with members of staff if there are problems with a child’s work or behaviour. They are actively Carlton Colville Primary School - 25 involved in their children’s education both in and out of school. There are a good number of parent volunteers who help with classroom activities or volunteer to act as supervisors on school visits. Parents also enhance the quality of lessons by providing extra resources for learning. For example, parents have raised substantial sums of money to improve the school grounds by installing play equipment.

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43. The school values the contribution that parents make to pupils’ learning and has developed sound strategies for making the most of it. There are home visits by the staff before children start the nursery and parents are welcomed into the school for meetings about transfer into the reception classes. Parents are encouraged to share in the teaching of their children through simple homework. The school actively encourages parents to support their children’s learning at home. The success of this policy is evident in parents’ response to the pre-inspection questionnaire. The vast majority of respondents think that their child gets the right amount of work to do at home. The school improvement plan includes a proposal to raise standards of literacy through the improvement of the partnership between the school and parents. This initiative involves preparing a new reading diary that includes pupils’ reading and writing

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targets and inviting parents to an information evening about how they can best help their children to improve their literacy skills. This is a good example of how the school seeks to involve parents in pupils’ learning.

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44. Parents are closely involved in the general life of the school. They attend school performances and are active in fund raising and social events. The amount of money which parents raise each year is considerable and significantly enhances the school’s resources.

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45. The school has made good improvement since the last inspection. It has raised the quality of information for parents by ensuring that parents receive information about the topics their children will be covering each term. The school has maintained good levels of parental support for pupils’ learning.

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46. The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory; there are good features and areas for improvement. There have been significant developments in the organisation of school management since the last inspection; the key issue concerning the revision and clarification of the structure of the management team has been tackled successfully. The impact that the revised structure has had in improving the consistency of teaching and standards has been less effective. The other key issues have been successfully addressed; progress in Years 1 and 2 has improved, the curriculum is richer and standards in information and communication technology have improved and financial resources are now used efficiently. The headteacher and his deputy work together well. They maintain a good overview and share responsibilities well. The deputy headteacher takes a lead in developing teaching and learning while the headteacher takes prime

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47. The headteacher and his deputy have recently attended training together in improving the quality of the school improvement plan so that it has a sharper Carlton Colville Primary School - 26 focus on clearer targets relating specifically to raising standards. This is an area that has now been tackled successfully. The school improvement plan includes clear targets for development together with sharply focused criteria against which to evaluate the school’s success and details of how the improvements will be made. It also includes a timescale for the completion of each initiative, details of personnel designated to fulfil the necessary tasks and who will monitor the progress of the development as well as any costs involved.

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48. Subject managers keep a close watching brief on the standards attained by pupils in their particular areas of responsibility. Senior managers monitor the quality of teaching by conducting regular lesson observations. Agreed criteria against which to evaluate the quality of teaching are used and agreed protocols are followed. These lesson observations are not always effective in raising standards, however, because they often offer congratulations to teachers for everything that is successful in lessons but fail to give enough attention to areas for improvement. Teachers therefore do not receive sufficient guidance on how they might improve their performance. Similarly action taken by senior managers to iron out problems in the quality of teaching are not always effective and the problems persist. It has been apparent for a long time, for example, that standards in writing attained by seven-year-olds

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are not high enough yet the problem persists. Inconsistencies in the quality of teaching in Years 1 and 2 have been apparent for a long period yet they persist. This is partly due to the lack of a concentrated, dynamic approach to raising standards. It is also because the school has often been preoccupied with reacting to events rather than adopting a pro-active approach to raising standards. The school diagnoses its strengths and weaknesses successfully but the next step, taking effective action to secure improvements is less well developed.

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49. Financial planning is good. The governing body uses financial allocations wisely and has recently been successful in negotiating the building of two new classrooms, the removal of temporary hutted accommodation and the creation of a computer suite. Long-term strategic planning is of a high order. Careful projections are made about the consequences of an anticipated falling roll and the consequent decline in income. A larger than usual financial surplus has been accrued to offset a substantial anticipated deficit in 2003-2004. This far- sighted planning is designed to cushion the effects of the anticipated deficit and, in the short term, maintain staffing at current levels. A range of plans to address this short-term problem with least effect on provision have been carefully considered. The strategy is designed to maintain classes for single age groups rather than be forced into a short-term situation where mixed age

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50. The governing body are well informed and monitor expenditure carefully. Appropriate priorities for improvement are first considered by the senior management team before being presented to the governing body for debate. The principles of best value, such as competitive tendering, are adopted to ensure that money is used to optimum efficiency in all projects. Grants and specific funding, such as that to support pupils with special educational needs, is used for its designated purposes. The governing body have been highly successful in ensuring that resources are at least adequate to support teaching Carlton Colville Primary School - 27 and learning. They are responsive to specific requests from subject managers for additional resources, such as extra computers to ensure that the computer suite can operate efficiently. Systems for monitoring the effectiveness of their spending decisions on the standards that pupils attain are not fully developed.

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The effect that spending on classroom assistants has on standards attained, for example, is not fully evaluated. Accommodation is adequate and good plans have been devised to develop the grounds as an effective learning resource. The strong links with parents and the energetic parent, friends and teachers’ association have combined to raise substantial sums of money to support such developments. The governing body have been successful in ensuring that there is an adequate number of staff to meet the demands of the curriculum but the recruitment of teachers is not easy and, as there were no applications for one post recently, governors appointed one of the nursery nurses to the post as an unqualified teacher. This imaginative solution worked well and the nursery nurse is now well on the way to gaining the necessary qualifications to acquire qualified teacher status.

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51. The good provision for special educational needs is well managed. The special educational needs co-ordinator has a clear understanding of her responsibilities which she carries out very effectively. She is well supported by parents and the nominated governor for special educational needs in her role. The governing body meets its responsibility to report to parents on the implementation of special educational needs. There is an appropriate policy for special educational needs which is clearly written in plain English and covers all aspects of special educational needs. Pupils with special educational needs are well provided for in terms of staffing and resources which are effectively deployed. The provision for in-service training for special educational needs is sound. There is provision for books on different religions and cultures but there is little emphasis on cultural diversity in the wider

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society through, for example, displays, resources or signs in different languages.

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52. The governing body is mostly successful in fulfilling its legal responsibilities though there are omissions in the governors’ annual report to parents. There are no details of the membership of the governing body, no information about the next election of parent governors, no information about school security and no details of how the school ensures that pupils with disabilities will not be treated less favourably than other pupils. Under the able leadership of the chair of governors a strong partnership has been forged between the school and the governing body. Responsibilities are delegated well and each governor makes a major contribution to the effectiveness of the board. All are keenly interested in the continuing success of the school. Governors have been designated to maintain an oversight and monitor the school’s performance in the different National Curriculum subjects. They visit the

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school regularly to fulfil their monitoring roles and report back the governing body on their findings. These visits provide good support for teaching staff and help the governing body to make informed decisions on curricular issues.

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53. The bursar and the clerical assistant help the headteacher to ensure that all routine office procedures run smoothly and efficiently. All school accounts are maintained meticulously and are properly audited. Taking into account the improving standards, the high proportion of good teaching and pupils’ Carlton Colville Primary School - 28 generally sound achievement, the school provides, as at the time of the last inspection, satisfactory value for money.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

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54. In order to improve standards further the headteacher, staff and governing body should:

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1) Promote greater consistency in the quality of teaching in the classes for five to seven-year-olds by:

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• increasing the pace of learning in lessons by using time effectively; • refining procedures for monitoring and evaluating teaching so that teachers receive clear guidance on how to improve their performance; • developing a more rigorous approach to remedy the weaknesses in teaching that are identified as a result of monitoring;* (paragraphs 1,14,18,19,20,48,78,79,127)

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2) Raise teachers’ expectations of the amount, quality and standards of presentation of work that pupils can produce; (paragraphs 1,19,20,77,109,114)

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3) Improve standards in writing, particularly in Year 1, by:

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• adopting a more rigorous and a more systematic approach to teaching the skills of writing; • increasing opportunities for pupils to write effectively in other subjects; • ensuring that procedures are in place to support more able pupils so that they attain standards that match their potential. * (paragraphs 2,3,5,19,23,25,70,74,77)

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4. Make sure that time is used efficiently throughout the school day by;

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• ensuring that lessons start on time and are of an appropriate length; • reducing the time pupils spend sitting and listening.

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In addition the governing body should consider increasing the amount of teaching time to that recommended nationally. (paragraphs 1, 18, 20,25,83,97)

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* These are areas that have already been identified by the school as areas for development and have been incorporated in the school improvement plan.

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Other less significant areas for development that the governing body should consider:

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• The governors’ annual report to parents should provide all the information required by law. (paragraphs 41,52) Carlton Colville Primary School - 29 • Develop strategies to discourage parents from taking holidays during term time have not been developed. (paragraphs 12,34)

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• Heighten pupils’ awareness of the rich cultural diversity in our society. (paragraph 30) Carlton Colville Primary School - 30

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 34

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

1 16 43 35 4 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y4

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 26 243

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Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 31 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y4

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Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 1

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Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 2 36

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English as an additional language No of pupils

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Number of pupils with English as an additional language 1

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Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 19

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Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 10

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National comparative data 5.1 National comparative data 0.4 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Carlton Colville Primary School - 31 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 Year Boys Girls Total

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 24 18 42

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Boys 19 18 22 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 17 17 18

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Percentage of pupils School 86(82) 83 (79) 95(86) at NC level 2 or above National -- (83) -- (84) -- (90)

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Boys 20 20 22 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 18 17 18

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Percentage of pupils School (77) 88 (79) 95 (79) at NC level 2 or above National -- (84) -- (88) -- (88)

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 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. Carlton Colville Primary School - 32 Teachers and classes Financial information

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Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 10.6 Financial year 2000/2001

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Number of pupils per qualified teacher 22.9

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Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 493908

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Total number of education support staff 6 Expenditure per pupil 2050

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 93 Balance brought forward from previous year 47848

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Balance carried forward to next year 32908

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Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

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Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1

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Number of pupils per qualified teacher 26

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Total number of education support staff 1

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Total aggregate hours worked per week 24

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Number of pupils per FTE adult 13 FTE means full-time equivalent. Carlton Colville Primary School - 33 Results of the survey of parents and carers

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Questionnaire return rate

Percentage of responses in each category

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Questionnaire return rate

Strongl y agree Tend to agree Tend to disagr ee Strongl y disagr ee Don’t know

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Questionnaire return rate

My child is making good progress in school. 59 35 5 0 1

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Questionnaire return rate

Behaviour in the school is good. 39 54 5 0 2

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Questionnaire return rate

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 32 45 8 3 13

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Questionnaire return rate

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 49 39 10 3 0

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Questionnaire return rate

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 74 25 1 0 0

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Questionnaire return rate

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 55 38 4 0 3

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Questionnaire return rate

The school works closely with parents. 44 42 13 1 1

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Questionnaire return rate

The school is well led and managed. 51 45 3 0 1

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Questionnaire return rate

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 43 47 7 0 4

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Questionnaire return rate

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 18 27 25 10 21

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Other issues raised by parents

Although a significant proportion of those parents who returned questionnaires feel that the school could offer a more interesting range of activities outside lessons, the inspection team found that the Carlton Colville Primary School - 34 school provides a good range. In correspondence and at the pre-inspection meeting for parents concern was expressed about the number of different teachers who teach certain classes. Whilst this does lead to some unevenness in pupils’ learning, the inspection team judged that this did not have an adverse effect on standards. Carlton Colville Primary School - 35

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

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55. Children under six years old are taught in the nursery and reception classes. They enter the nursery with a wide range of attainment from year-to-year but, overall, their attainment is in line with expectations for their age. As a result of good teaching and good curricular provision, children, including those who have special educational needs, make good progress and achieve well in the six areas of learning in the Foundation Stage of education. These are:

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• personal, social and emotional development; • communication, language and literacy; • mathematical development; • knowledge and understanding of the world; • physical development; and • creative development.

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56. By the time they move to Year 1, most children reach the expected levels in all of these areas of learning and higher attaining children exceed them. The school’s manager for early years’ provision has established the new curriculum for the Foundation Stage well and there has been professional training of good quality for all staff in the nursery and reception classes. The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection, when it was always at least sound. It is now good, with very good features. The nursery nurse and classroom assistants play a significant role in the teaching programme. There is appropriate emphasis on personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy.

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Personal, social and emotional development

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57. Children make good progress in all three classes. They enjoy coming to school and soon settle into the daily routines and keep the simple but firm and fair rules. In the nursery, children identify their name labels and put them on a chart to show that they are present. They become increasingly confident as they move about the classroom and outdoor area. With sensitive adult support, they gradually become more confident in choosing activities independently. In the role-play areas, they learn to share, co-operate and relate happily to one another. In the reception classes, children show increasing levels of concentration but a significant number of them still need adult support to ensure that they complete tasks. They gain experience in being part of a larger group when they join the rest of the school for assemblies in the hall. In lessons on literacy and numeracy, most children become increasingly responsive to the teachers’ questions so that they gain early skills in mental

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arithmetic and reading. In all classes, children ask confidently for help from adults and make very good relationships with the staff. They develop appropriate levels of independence as they help to clear up at the end of activities, use the bathroom and deal with dressing for physical education.

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58. In all classes, the quality of teaching and learning is good. The school demonstrates that children and parents are welcome by arranging home visits and informative displays and by inviting parents and children in to see the school’s work. The welcoming atmosphere in the nursery raises children’s self-esteem and encourages them to succeed. Staff in all the classes have a very good understanding of the needs of the age group. They plan their lessons very well and explain activities clearly so that children understand what they should do. Staff prepare activities carefully to encourage children’s independence from an early stage . They value the children and make very good relationships with them because they listen to them and engage with them sensitively. Classrooms are organised to create stimulating and positive surroundings in which children are happy to learn. The management of children is very good and all staff have high expectations of good behaviour.

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Carlton Colville Primary School - 36 Communication, language and literacy

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59. By the time they move to Year 1, most children’s attainment in communication, language and literacy is in line with expectations for their age and higher attaining children read well. In the nursery, children they become more confident as they join in rhymes, share books with adults and listen carefully to stories. They ask questions about the illustrations and are keen to contribute their ideas. Children handle books with care and ‘read’ the stories by looking at the pictures. Most children recognise their names and make marks with pencils, crayons and paintbrushes. Higher attaining children write their names recognisably. In the reception classes, where children benefit from the early introduction of elements of the literacy hour, children begin to acquire knowledge of initial sounds and to recognise simple commonly used words. Average and higher attaining children follow words from left to right to read simple

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texts. Whilst the majority trace and copy the teacher’s writing accurately, a significant minority cannot write simple sentences independently by the time they are six.

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60. The quality of teaching and learning in communication, language and literacy is good in the nursery and reception classes. In the nursery, children benefit from the support of parents, who sit with children in small groups and help them to read. Teachers’ solid understanding of the Foundation Stage and its links with the literacy hour contribute to the success in the teaching and learning of reading skills in the reception classes, but there is some way to go with writing. Teachers choose interesting stories and develop children’s appreciation of poetry with well-chosen poems and rhymes. The literacy hour is adapted well to meet the needs of all children in the reception classes. Teachers and nursery nurses in the three classes work as a team and planning is very good, with successful links to all of the required areas of learning. The range of opportunities for children to talk and widen their range of vocabulary is good.

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Staff organise quiet areas of the classrooms where children can practise making marks, recording their thoughts and writing letters. However, closely focused writing activities are less in evidence and higher attaining pupils do not always achieve as well as they could. Children with special educational needs are supported well as staff engage with them during activities to ensure that they know what to do and make good progress.

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61. By the time they leave the reception classes, most children meet the early learning goals for mathematical development. In the nursery, children become familiar with numbers to ten through counting rhymes, singing games and practical activities with sorting and ordering objects. As they play with sand and water, they gain increasing understanding of ‘more’, ‘less’, ‘full’ and ‘empty’. In the role-play area, they lay the table and ensure there are plates and implements for each person. By the time they are six, children’s counting skills have developed and the majority of children can count objects up to ten confidently and are familiar with a satisfactory range of two-dimensional shapes. They talk about ‘one more’ or ‘one less’ and begin to understand the idea of addition and subtraction. With the teacher’s help, children can use a simple number-line to count forwards and backwards to add or subtract given

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amounts. Higher attaining children work confidently with numbers to 20 and know about bigger numbers in everyday life. In practical activities, children show clear understanding of sharing fairly and matching objects appropriately.

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62. The quality of teaching for mathematical development is good. In the nursery and reception classes, activities are well structured to ensure that children’s knowledge and understanding are reinforced and extended in interesting ways. Resources are prepared well to stimulate children’s interest and extend their understanding. Staff create imaginative settings for children to exercise their mathematical vocabulary; for example, when they play circle games in the nursery or go on a ‘bear hunt’ in the reception classes, to find questions which they have to answer. As a result, children are enthusiastic and they practise their mathematical skills in engaging ways. In all classes, activities have good links with other areas of learning and mathematical language is actively promoted. As lessons become more formal in the reception classes, the teachers reinforce children’s learning very effectively through repetition and by

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combining new learning with what children already know. Teachers involve the nursery nurse and classroom assistants very effectively so that everyone who works with the children is clear about what is being taught.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world Carlton Colville Primary School - 37 63. By the time they join Year 1, children achieve the early learning goals for knowledge and understanding of the world. Children make good progress as they explore and investigate the world around them through interesting topics. In the nursery, children join and fix components appropriately to make simple shapes with construction kits. Children gain road safety skills as they ride tricycles around a track in the playground. They put up barriers and create diversions when there are ‘road works’ – a child is painting the road with water! Their knowledge of the wider environment increases as children explore the school site and get to know about the various buildings and playgrounds. Children enjoy using the computer and most operate the mouse successfully. Children become more aware of the passage of time, for example, when they

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used their observational skills well to decide whether teddy bears were old or new. In the reception classes, children develop appropriate skills for designing, making and evaluating models; for example; when each of them created a receptacle to carry a teddy bear’s picnic. Children develop early geographical skills as they learn about a toy bear’s travels. They gain skills in map-making when they draw a route to reach a bear’s cave.

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64. The quality of teaching and learning is good, with some very good teaching in the reception year. Lessons are planned well to provide an interesting range of opportunities for children to practise appropriate skills and gain confidence. However, there is sometimes not enough challenge in activities to add a stronger sense of purpose. Children explore but activities do not include any specific challenges or targets to aim for. In all classes, teachers enhance and extend children’s learning through well-planned visits from a wide range of interesting people. Members of the fire brigade, the police force and the ambulance service have brought vehicles to the school. A member of Guide Dogs for the Blind brought a dog and explained the way it helps a blind person. Teachers promote skills of literacy and numeracy well as they develop children’s vocabulary, help them to express their ideas and share books on a

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wide range of subjects. Displays are labelled and notices on activities in the classrooms help children with their reading. In the reception classes, the teachers structure work very carefully to lead smoothly into the National Curriculum in Year 1.

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65. Children make good progress and achieve appropriate standards of physical development by the time they are six years old. They move about in the classrooms and the play areas with appropriate levels of control and co- ordination. In the hall, they crawl, jump, climb and roll confidently as they move across, between, over and under a wide range of apparatus. Children in the reception classes run about the playground safely and play games confidently as they enjoy playtimes with older pupils. Children respond to music with enthusiasm and satisfactory levels of co-ordination as they clap. They demonstrate satisfactory manipulative control when they make models from construction kits and handle paintbrushes effectively when they create pictures. In the reception classes, children handle pencils with varying degrees of success as they practise letter shapes. Their cutting skills are developed appropriately. Higher attaining children were very successful as

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they cut paper and cardboard. Carlton Colville Primary School - 38 66. Teaching and learning are good. Very good planning ensures that the provision for this area of learning is well organised. Children have good access to equipment and a good number of wheeled toys and there is good- sized, secure space for nursery children for purposeful play each day. Time is planned for the reception classes to share these facilities and children also enjoy well-planned physical education lessons and playtimes with older pupils. Teachers in all classes plan the use of the outdoor play area, the hall, the role- play areas and classrooms very well so that children have regular opportunities for physical activity.

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67. Children make good progress and, by the time they join the Year 1 classes, most achieve the expected levels in creative development and confidently use a wide variety of paints, colour sticks, papers and malleable materials such as modelling dough. In the nursery, children practise making marks with thin and thick brushes. They dab, swirl and stroke the paint onto paper to make bold patterns. Their drawings often show a lack of concentration; few show much detail. They gain experience with interesting malleable materials, such as a corn flour mixture which changes in consistency as the children mould and stretch it. In the reception classes, children create bright and well-made fish to form an underwater collage. They study a work Paul Signac and imitate his style of painting to create pictures made up of small blobs of paint. Children in the nursery sing number and nursery rhymes tunefully and imitate the actions

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of the teacher well. These skills are extended in the reception classes when children join with older pupils to sing songs with more words and more complicated rhythms. Children play percussion instruments enthusiastically; they know the names of a wide range of instruments.

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68. The quality of teaching and learning is good. The nursery classroom is a stimulating place for children to develop their imagination and learn new skills. Activities are planned to be inviting and challenging and as a result children make good progress. All classrooms are carefully and colourfully organised to provide imaginative and well-presented opportunities for creative development. The reception class teachers plan well to ensure that all children are able to benefit from creative and expressive activities, which are well organised and supported. Children’s work is displayed neatly to promote their self-esteem and brighten the classroom.

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69. At the last inspection, standards were in line with national expectations for seven and nine-year-olds. There was often a lack of challenge in the teaching of the oldest, brightest pupils. The findings of this inspection show that the picture has changed. Although standards by the end of Years 2 and 4 are broadly in line with national expectations, they are higher for nine-year-olds than for seven-year-olds. Over the past year, there has been significant improvement in reading standards for seven-year-olds, but there are weaknesses in their writing. A brighter picture emerges for nine-year-olds, where a substantial number of pupils read and write well and higher attaining pupils are challenged with interesting and thought-provoking work. Carlton Colville Primary School - 39 Throughout the school, pupils’ achieve well in speaking and listening. All pupils, including those who learn more quickly and those who have special

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educational needs, demonstrate a wider range of skills than at the time of the last inspection because of the school’s effective implementation of the National Literacy Strategy.

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70. In the national tests for seven-year-olds in 2000, the school’s performance was well below the national average in reading and below the national average in writing. Compared with that of pupils in schools with similar intakes, their performance in reading and writing was well below average. The trend in the school’s results has fluctuated over the past five years. In 2000, a significant number of pupils had special educational needs. Inspection evidence shows that the current performance of pupils who are seven is above national expectations in speaking and listening, below national expectations in writing and broadly in line with nationally expected standards in reading. Standards for nine-year-olds are above national expectations in speaking and listening and in broadly in line in reading and writing. A significant number of pupils exceed the nationally expected levels in reading and writing because of the

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71. By the time they are seven, pupils express their ideas and thoughts effectively because of the school’s emphasis on the development of appropriate subject vocabulary. Pupils usually listen attentively and take turns to contribute to discussions. Throughout the school, most lessons end with a session of reflection, when teachers get pupils to explain what they have done and learned. As a result, pupils are used to giving explanations. By the time they are nine, pupils join in discussions confidently and answer the teachers’ questions clearly. They become increasingly aware of the needs of the listener; as for example, when pupils in Year 4 told their classmates about the subtle wording of persuasive writing in advertisements. During design and technology lessons throughout the school, pupils use specific vocabulary to describe how they evaluate and improve their work. In Year 3, pupils confidently offered ideas of how the ending of a story could be changed.

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Pupils gain confidence in speaking to a larger audience when they contribute to assemblies and take part in concerts for parents and friends.

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72. By the time they are seven, pupils use their knowledge of sounds and letter patterns effectively to decipher words. In Year 1, pupils do not have sufficient grasp of how to build words from letters; progress is faster in Year 2. Even the youngest pupils use words such as ‘author’ and ‘illustrator’ confidently and all pupils scan the illustrations for clues about the story. Seven-year-olds express opinions about the major events in stories. Skills for research are appropriately developed and pupils refer confidently to the contents and index pages in reference books. They also use simple dictionaries confidently. By the time they are nine, pupils use a growing range of strategies to get meaning from print. They break words into syllables and consider the context to gain meaning from texts. When they are led by the teachers to read together in the literacy hour, pupils read with expression, but many forget to do so when they

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read aloud at other times. However, higher attaining pupils read in a lively and intelligent way, with fluency and expression. Most pupils read accurately and their reading includes non-fiction, play scripts and contemporary children’s literature. Throughout the school, pupils benefit as they read together from Carlton Colville Primary School - 40 enlarged texts during the literacy hour. They look for rhyming words, examine the way punctuation is used and talk confidently about the characters and the plot. Lower attaining pupils gain confidence and enthusiasm for reading through the well-focused support from classroom support staff. All pupils take books home but opportunities are missed when teachers make few comments in reading diaries to indicate how parents can help their children to improve. No difference in the performance of boys and girls was noted during the inspection yet over the past three years girls have outperformed boys in

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National Curriculum reading tests for seven-year-olds by more than the difference that occurs nationally.

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73. By the time they are seven, most pupils use full stops and capital letters appropriately to demarcate sentences, but a significant number of pupils are not consistent in doing so. The quality of pupils’ handwriting is variable and they do not always present their written work well. The spelling of commonly use words is usually correct and pupils have a good grasp of letter sounds by the end of Year 2. However, pupils in Year 1 are not sufficiently confident with their writing. A significant number of them do not hold their pencils correctly and this hampers their progress. Their writing skills are not developed sufficiently. They produce very little creative writing, especially in Year 1. Although little is produced, seven-year-olds write for a good variety of purposes and illustrate their work with lively drawings. Higher attaining pupils write thoughtful and imaginative poetry with a strong sense of imagery; for

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example, a pupil wrote about a fairy whose shoes were as ‘tiny as a crumb’. Planning of work develops appropriately; but higher attaining pupils continue to rely on the teachers’ outline frameworks for writing for too long; opportunities are missed for them to organise their own writing and they do not achieve at the rate of which they are capable.

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74. By the time they are nine, most pupils write a sequence of sentences and develop ideas logically. In story writing, higher attaining pupils use inverted commas correctly for speech and begin to use complex sentences, extending meaning through the use of commas. Quicker-learning pupils show a clear sense of narrative and use a growing vocabulary to write stories and accounts. Their stories are imaginative and pupils add interest and tension to their work by using dramatic phrases. In a story about being terrified a the water’s edge, a pupil wrote, ’I couldn’t breathe’. Poetry writing is a strength of the school. In Year 4 a pupil wrote, ‘The clouds are misty seas skimming the tops of gusty trees’. Pupils’ handwriting is evenly sized in practice books, with increasing use of appropriate joins and the development of a fluent style. In everyday work, many pupils do not transfer this practice to their other work so that joined

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writing becomes the norm. Word-processed work is presented attractively and computers are used effectively to help pupils to learn letter patterns and improve their spelling. A minority of pupils are not sufficiently productive in lessons. They share ideas for writing and know what they are expected to do, but they write very little, even after extensive discussion designed to help them.

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75. Pupils generally enjoy lessons and take part confidently. Most behave well, respond positively to the teachers and form good relationships with adults and each other. Teachers are aware of the need to get pupils to knuckle down to periods of sustained written work. In Years 3 and 4, strategies such as Carlton Colville Primary School - 41 regular time checks are beginning to work but in Years 1 and 2 there is a lack of urgency in the pupils’ approach to tasks. They are very interested, can explain what they have to do but do not work hard enough. Pupils with special educational needs respond well to the good quality of provision made for them and make good progress towards the targets in their individual education plans.

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76. Literacy is promoted effectively in other subjects. In all subjects, pupils develop appropriate specific vocabulary to express their understanding, both orally and in written form. In design and technology, pupils make lists, write instructions and label diagrams. In science, they record their investigations and in art, they express their views about sculptures. In many lessons throughout the school, pupils could organise their own writing rather than use the worksheets provided by the teachers. The library has an adequate range and number of books for pupils to find information to support their learning and older pupils also use CD ROMs confidently for research. Carlton Colville Primary School - 42 77. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory in classes for five to seven- year-olds and good in classes for seven to nine-year-olds, with an example of very good teaching for the oldest pupils. The good teaching in Years 3 and 4

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helps pupils to catch up and attain standards in writing that meet national expectations. Because of effective professional training to meet the requirements of the National Literacy Strategy, teachers have a good knowledge and understanding of the content and teaching methods of the daily literacy hour. This shows through well in the skilfully structured lessons in Years 3 and 4. In these classes, teachers engage effectively with pupils, listen well to them and help them to sort out their ideas. Consequently, they make good gains in their learning. Teachers question pupils effectively both to challenge their thinking and to assess what they know and understand. Lesson planning is clear and in line with the National Literacy Strategy so that pupils are tackling work at the right level for their age. However, teachers in Year 1 do not always provide enough visual support for pupils by displaying

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lists of frequently used words and rhyming words to reinforce spelling, reading and writing. Writing skills are not taught systematically or with sufficient rigour, especially in Year 1, and too little is expected of pupils. In the literacy hour, teachers choose interesting texts which stimulate pupils’ interest. This has a positive impact on pupils’ response to literature and their own creative writing, especially in Years 3 and 4. Classroom assistants support pupils well during individual and group activities but are not always sufficiently involved during the periods of whole-class teaching.

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78. In the best lessons, teachers keep up a brisk pace so that pupils are involved and responsive. There is no hiding place for those pupils who are reluctant to answer. There is a lack of pace in some lessons for five to seven-year-olds, especially in Year 1. Teachers plan activities which are relevant to pupils’ lives and which are well matched to their needs. In a very good lesson in Year 4, the teacher skilfully teased out pupils’ understanding of why advertisers exaggerate the efficacy of their products. Throughout the school, teachers use assessments of individual pupils’ work and of whole-class progress effectively to help them plan future lessons. Marking of work does not always provide clear guidelines for pupils on how they can improve their performance and few corrections are done. Teachers make regular use of homework to reinforce and extend pupils’ learning; the amount and range of work increases

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appropriately as pupils move to older classes.

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79. The National Literacy Strategy is well established and is taught consistently in Years 3 and 4. There is less consistency in Years 1 and 2. The subject is very well led and is in a good position to continue to improve. The subject manager has been at the school for only a year and has already made her mark by working with colleagues to raise standards in reading for seven-year-olds. She has been a key player in setting up the plan to improve pupils’ performance in writing throughout the school, with targets for improved standards, appropriate ‘top-up’ training for staff and agreed teaching methods. Procedures for assessing pupils’ work are effective. The monitoring of pupils’ progress through the school and the setting of individual targets for improvement have had a positive impact on standards, especially in Year 3, over the past year. The subject is enhanced and made more relevant for pupils through the

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thoughtful organisation of events such as visits by a storyteller and an author. Resources for English are adequate. The school has made prudent and Carlton Colville Primary School - 43 imaginative use of funds to provide the wider range of literature necessary for teaching and learning in the literacy hour.

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80. The school’s performance in the National Curriculum tests for seven-year-olds in 2000 was well below the average both when compared with all schools and when compared with similar schools. The results were unusually low partly because the group of pupils who took the tests last year had a relatively large proportion of pupils with special educational needs and over half of them had spent less time in the school than the others because they were at the younger end of the age band. Another factor was the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching for the group that took the tests. Furthermore, insufficient attention was given in the past to the strand of the subject that involves using and applying mathematics. This resulted in fewer pupils than is normally the case achieving the standards expected of seven-year-olds. Since then, the school has been putting more emphasis on using and applying mathematics and have given

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pupils more opportunities to think through clearly what they doing and explain their methods. As a result, standards have improved and they are now much better than they were last year. Standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 4 are in line with what is expected of pupils of their age. These standards are similar to those found at the time of the previous inspection. There is no significant difference in the attainment of boys and girls. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported and they make good progress.

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81. By the age of seven, most pupils can read, write and count numbers to 100, and beyond. They use various signs such as +, -, and = to record different operations in number sentences. The higher and average attaining pupils demonstrate a growing understanding of place value by showing what each digit represents in a number. Pupils’ mental mathematics is developing satisfactorily, with most of them being able to count in twos, fives and tens. They use this knowledge well to identify multiples of different numbers. Most pupils know the names and properties of common two-dimensional shapes, with the higher attaining pupils having some knowledge of three-dimensional shapes. Pupils solve simple problems involving money, and are beginning to make appropriate use of mathematical language when discussing their work.

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82. By the age of nine, numeracy skills of most pupils together with their mental calculation and rapid recall of number facts are satisfactory. They have a sound understanding of place value which they use to multiply, divide, add and subtract numbers. This is also helping them to understand simple decimal fractions as was seen in a Year 4 lesson with the lower set. The higher and average attaining pupils carry out addition and subtraction of numbers in columns that involve two or three digits. Their understanding of multiplication and division is developing satisfactorily. For example, they are able to multiply a two-digit number by a single-digit number by splitting the two-digit number into tens and units. Pupils have good opportunities to apply their knowledge and understanding of number operations to solve problems involving numbers in real life. A very good example of this was seen in a lesson in Year 4 with the upper

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ability set where pupils formulated word problems related to division successfully. They make some use of information and communication Carlton Colville Primary School - 44 technology to support mathematics in Years 3 and 4. There is evidence in previous work of pupils developing their understanding of ‘shape, space and measure’, and handling data. As might be expected the lower attaining pupils produce work of a standard that is lower than is normally the case for pupils of their age.

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83. The quality of teaching is good overall. In Years 3 and 4, there are examples of exceptionally good teaching. Overall teaching is better for the older pupils. As a result, in lessons, it is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, and good in Years 3 and 4. Over time pupils’ overall achievement is satisfactory. The quality of teaching is different from the findings of the previous inspection when teaching was mostly good in Years 1 and 2, and mostly sound in Years 3 and 4. This is because of the changes in staff since then. Where teaching is good or better, teachers’ instructions and explanations are clear, and questions are used effectively to check and extend pupils’ learning. Teachers provide a range of practical activities to engage pupils’ interest so that they are focused and learn well. Pupils are prepared well for independent work, with tasks being matched well to their stage of learning. This has a positive impact on pupils’ interest and

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involvement in their work as a result of which they make good or better progress. For example, in a good lesson in a Year 2 class, the teacher helped pupils to consolidate their understanding of multiples of different numbers by playing simple games with them, using multi-link cubes and bingo cards. In the very good lesson in a Year 4 class, the teacher carefully built on pupils’ previous knowledge of division through very good questioning to help them verbalise ‘real life- like’ problems, using division problems. In the excellent lesson in a Year 4 class, very enthusiastic and well-structured teaching, excellent resources and very good involvement of pupils in practical activities throughout the lesson had a positive impact on pupils’ understanding of decimal notation, and decimal fractions. Teaching is less effective where teachers are not able to sustain the interest of pupils or the introductory part of the lesson is not used well to prepare

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pupils for independent work later in the lesson. Sometimes lessons are too long, particularly in Years 1 and 2, for teachers to sustain pupils’ interest in their work throughout the session. As a result the pace of pupils’ work slows down, and in some cases they either get stuck or start making mistakes due to lapses in concentration.

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84. The school has implemented the National Numeracy Strategy successfully, and teachers apply the numeracy lessons satisfactorily. The three-part lesson structure is firmly established and planning is good. Teachers’ explanations and instructions are generally clear, and they make good use of questions to engage pupils in learning. Teachers have a good knowledge of the subject, and most manage pupils well. Pupils’ work is marked regularly and the provision for homework to consolidate pupils’ understanding of mathematics is satisfactory. Other subjects make a positive contribution to mathematics, such as measuring results of plant growth or the distance cars travel on different surfaces in science.

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85. There is a good balance between all strands of the subject. National guidance supports teachers in planning which provides a clear structure for continuity and progression. The procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress are good. The school has established a system of three types of targets: class targets for teachers, targets for each group of pupils in the class, and individual Carlton Colville Primary School - 45 targets for pupils with special educational needs. Group and individual targets are set every term and shared with the pupils and their parents. Resources are sufficient to meet the needs of the mathematics curriculum, and they are used well. The co-ordinator has a clear understanding of her role, and provides good leadership in the development and monitoring of the subject. She has a good action plan designed to improve the quality of provision further.

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86. By the age of seven, pupils attain standards that meet the national expectations for their age. At the time of the previous inspection the standards seven-year-olds achieved were higher than those expected nationally but this is not now the case. Since 1997, there have been changes in both the teaching staff of the school and the requirements of the National Curriculum. The scheme of work has been adapted to take account of these changes and is beginning to have a positive impact on standards. Standards as shown in the statutory teacher assessments for pupils aged seven have been variable. For instance, in the year 2000, the teachers’ assessments, indicated standards that were well below those expected for pupils of this age; the percentage of pupils who attained the national target was well below the national average yet the proportion who attained the higher standard was close to the national

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average. However, the assessments for this year, 2001, show that the proportion of pupils who were assessed as having reached at least the national target to be much higher as was the proportion of pupils who attained the higher standard. Clearly results are now better than last year’s but no national data is available as yet against which to compare the school’s performance with other schools.

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87. By the age of seven pupils are able to make suggestions about how to find out information and carry out tests. They understand the need to control conditions to have a fair test. Pupils make adjustments to improve the chance of getting an accurate result, record their results sensibly and use standard measures, such as centimetres, in their work. Younger pupils understand, as a result of practical investigations, that sounds are fainter the further away you travel from the sound source. Pupils in Year 2 suggest the factors that might make a difference to the way in which a car travels down a ramp. These include the height of the ramp, the different materials that form the surface of the ramp, the characteristics of the car and how the car is placed upon the ramp. Previous work shows that pupils have experimented with simple electrical circuits. They have also investigated:

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• the properties of materials for keeping things warm and cool as well as investigating what happens if such as butter, eggs, candles and bread are heated • the school environment for different habitats for plants and animals with experiments to consider the best conditions for growth • the young of different species including cats and humans are identified as well as the life cycles of creatures such as frog and butterflies and comparing their needs with those of humans. Carlton Colville Primary School - 46 88. Younger pupils are able to identify parts of the body while pupils in Year 2 have investigated healthy food, have conducted an analysis of favourite lunches, identified and classified different groups of food and planned a balanced meal. This is linked to their work in design technology, personal, social and health education and physical education. Pupils use a range of computer programs to produce graphs and charts to record their results.

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89. Standards by the age nine are as expected for pupils’ ages and abilities. There is now an appropriate emphasis on experimental and investigative work which at the time of the last inspection was identified as a weakness. Standards generally have been maintained since the previous inspection. The progress that the pupils make throughout the upper school is satisfactory overall. This includes pupils with special educational needs. Within Years 3 and 4, pupils understand that they must control the conditions and quantities in their experiments. They validate their findings by repeating their work and comparing results appropriately. During the inspection for instance, pupils in Year 4 were predicting the outcome of an experiment on friction ‘using a Newtonmeter, investigate which of a range of shoes provides the best grip’. Before starting their practical work pupils identified the need to standardise the

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experiment and during the plenary discussed their predictions, the test results and the effectiveness of the methods they had used. Previous work shows that pupils brought the same thoroughness to their observations in work on pets food with surveys and analysis comparing a range of pets and their needs; animal groupings including classification of and the similarities between mammals, birds and amphibians; temperatures and forces such as thermal insulation and conduction and electricity and circuits including switches, buzzers and electric motors.

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90. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. Mostly satisfactory teaching was seen in the classes for five to seven-year-olds and mostly good teaching in Years 3 and 4 but the standards pupils attain lead to the judgement that teaching is generally satisfactory in both key stages. Planning ensures that pupils build on work from earlier experiences, providing pupils with continuous, progressive development of their experimental and investigative skills. Teachers have secure knowledge of the subject. Lessons are well prepared with tasks and resources matched to pupils’ needs. Teachers understand the importance of pupils carrying out open-ended lines of enquiry. Relationships with pupils are generally good. Teachers listen to pupils’ ideas and encourage them to contribute to their own learning. Teachers have high expectations of behaviour and are intolerant of the restless behaviour of a few handicapping

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the learning of others. The quality of teacher’s questions stands out as the key difference between lessons that are satisfactory and those that are very good. In the better lessons questioning strategies challenge higher attaining pupils to extend their thinking while also being adapted to support lower attaining pupils so that all achieve satisfactorily. The use assessments at the end of topics has enabled teachers to plan lessons that build on pupils’ prior learning and this encourages pupils’ interest and enhances achievement.

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91. This quality of teaching boosts confidence in pupils and they are generally interested and motivated to work hard. Almost all pupils show a good level of interest and concentration in activities and most try hard to carry out their investigations carefully and accurately. Teachers manage pupils well and this Carlton Colville Primary School - 47 ensures that a good working environment is maintained. There is effective use of learning support staff to encourage the learning of pupils with special educational needs. Teachers encourage the use of scientific vocabulary and direct questions to involve all pupils in appropriate technical language.

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92. The leadership of science is satisfactory overall. The subject co-ordinator is working well with colleagues to improve the quality of delivery and improve standards. She has prepared an appropriate policy and a good planning framework to ensure that pupils receive full access to the statutory curriculum. Her action plan, matched to the school development needs includes using release time to monitor the quality of work by samples matched to teachers’ plans and discussions with teachers. The science curriculum is varied and relevant and good links are made to other curricular areas such as mathematics, literacy and information and communication technology. Science gives good support to pupils’ physical and health education, especially with consideration of food and healthy eating, teeth and the skeleton. Resources are satisfactory overall. The school makes very good use of the environment to support learning.

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93. Most pupils by the age of seven and by the age of nine produce work which meets national expectations, as was the case at the time of the last inspection. Pupils are introduced to an exceptionally wide range of techniques as well as to the work of a wide range of artists and craftspeople. They use their developing knowledge of the work of other artists as inspiration for their own creations. This contributes to their sound achievement.

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94. In Years 1 and 2, for example, pupils draw still life and concentrate particularly on the spaces between the arrangement they are drawing. They use pastels and colour washes to create paintings inspired by the Japanese artist Hiroshige and paintings in the style of Miro where only three primary colours are used. In Years 3 and 4 pupils study African tribal masks before creating their own dramatic masks decorated with peacock feathers. They study work from India that have been painted on leaf skeletons and use this for their own finely detailed press prints and painting on thin net fabric. Pupils study the work of Andy Warhol before making their own series of prints and pop art collages. The work of Klimt also forms the basis of a series of press prints using polystyrene blocks and pupils experiment with creating images with fine spots of paint having studied techniques used by the Impressionists. They use

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thick paint applied to hessian to create pictures inspired by Van Gogh. Rapid ten minute sketches of their friends are created and pupils make good torn paper collages based on photographs of themselves striking gymnastic poses. They paint effective portraits of an elderly member of their family on cotton fabric and net, make string prints based on dreams, use pen and drawing inks to paint a rooftop scene, experiment with stencils, print onto tissue paper and illustrate a display of their poems using wire and tissue paper to create delicate structures. Pupils study Barbara Hepworth’s sculpture ‘Madonna and Child’ before making a range of good three- dimensional family scenes from clay. Pupils experiment with an exceptionally wide range of techniques and, by the Carlton Colville Primary School - 48 end of Year 2 and the end of Year 4 the quality of the work produced is typical of the standards attained by most seven and nine-year-olds.

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95. The broad range of work from artists of different countries makes a good contribution to pupils’ understanding of different cultures. There are good links with history as in a series of lessons where pupils in Year 4 study the work of Ancient Egypt. Prior to making wall hangings, they study hieroglyphics, images painted on papyrus and the designs for sarcophagi, like that of King Tutankhamun. Good links are made with mathematics as when pupils studied the work of Bridget Riley before experimenting with patterns that involved repeating, translating, reflecting and rotating shapes.

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96. Information and communication technology is used effectively to support teaching and learning. Pupils learn how to use programs to paint computer generated pictures and the photocopier is used well to create repeating patterns after the style of Warhol.

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97. Teaching is satisfactory overall though in Years 3 and 4 a significant proportion of teaching is good and a small proportion is unsatisfactory. Where teaching is good explanations are clear and pupils have a good understanding of what they are required to do. This was the case in a lesson on painting clay plaques of the New York skyline where pupils understood exactly what they had to do and considered how each of their finished plaques were to be displayed. Teaching is less effective when opportunities are missed to explain each part of a process in detail and where there is no model of requirements that has been made previously as an example, so pupils are not quite sure what is expected. In several lessons the teacher’s explanation was over long and as a result pupils lost interest, became restless and their behaviour deteriorated. Unacceptable noise levels were the result of talking over the

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sound track of a video instead of lowering the sound to allow explanations to be heard. Relationships between teachers and pupils are good and this contributes to pupils’ keen interest in the subject. Teachers offer encouragement but there are occasions when praise is used indiscriminately and this contributes to the acceptance of standards that are not as high as they might be if praise were coupled with suggestions for improvement. Interest wanes when too much time is allocated to preparing to commence on a particular piece of work. In one set of lessons, for example, pupils spent an hour listening to an explanation of requirements and experimenting briefly by painting on a small swatch of fabric before clearing away the materials and equipment to await a subsequent lesson when they would eventually start their paintings. The co-ordinator is a part-time teacher who spends one day a week in the school. She has very good knowledge of the subject and her specialist

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expertise is used well in each year group where she takes one of the parallel classes and provides an example for that week’s lesson for the other class.

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98. The co-ordinator is currently developing a good planning framework based on the work that has been completed during the course of the year. The framework is designed to promote the progressive development of skills, knowledge and understanding from Year 1 through to Year 4. She has good plans in place to develop the subject further next year. Resources are satisfactory to support teaching and learning. Carlton Colville Primary School - 49 Carlton Colville Primary School - 50 DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

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99. Standards are above national expectations by the time pupils are seven and nine-years-old. Observation of lessons, scrutiny of pupils' work and discussions with pupils indicate that standards are better now than when the school was last inspected in 1997. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, make good progress.

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100. Five to seven-year-olds develop skills for designing and making things appropriately and gain confidence in handling tools. Younger pupils gained valuable experience in designing structures and testing materials when they planned and built houses for the Three Little Pigs. They tried to fulfil the criteria for the houses: to be big enough for a pig; to hide a pig; and to withstand the huffing and puffing of the Big Bad Wolf. Their efforts were very good and they learned a great deal from the exercise. They worked well together in groups and evaluated the houses systematically and with great interest. By the time they are seven, pupils are able to produce ideas and use their knowledge of materials and components to make realistic plans for making things. For example, pupils explored a range of ways to make puppets and ensured that they were well finished, with bold facial features and attractive decoration. In Year 2, pupils used their scientific knowledge of

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pushes and pulls well as they designed three-dimensional scenes with suspended spacemen, spiders and birds. Pupils think ahead about the sequence of their work and choose suitable tools and materials. After initial trials with winding mechanisms, they evaluated and refined their ideas; they looked at other pupils’ work to find solutions to problems. In discussion, pupils clarify their ideas. They then make lists and labelled diagrams to communicate the design details.

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101. Seven to nine-year-olds are aware of the need to use equipment safely. They work sensibly and accurately, with understand the need to choose appropriate materials. Pupils in Year 4 worked from their own detailed plans to make purses and wallets from felt. They considered the needs of the users and adapted their plans where necessary. They worked with some accuracy so that the flaps and fastenings were effective and finished their work with attractive personalised motifs; for example, to celebrate a favourite football club or express friendship. Links with science are very good. Pupils designed and made furniture to fit models of bedrooms. They measured and sawed wood with a fair degree of accuracy, decorated the walls and made soft furnishings. They then experimented with wires, bulbs and switches to design lights which were suspended from or fixed to the ceiling. The models demanded high levels of concentration and commitment and pupils are proud

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of them. Pupils, including those who have special educational needs, make good progress.

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102. Pupils enjoy the subject and speak well about their experiences. They recognise the importance of working safely and sensibly and support one another thoughtfully when problems occur. They proudly point out their displayed work, which is attractively set out by teachers and shows value for the pupils’ effort. Carlton Colville Primary School - 51 103. Literacy and numeracy are promoted well in the subject. Pupils label diagrams, make lists, read instructions and look for ideas in books. They measure materials and consider shapes; for example when they folded the felt and made inserts for their wallets and purses. The use of information and communication technology is less well developed.

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104. Teaching is good and teachers’ secure knowledge and understanding of the subject is the major feature which helps pupils to achieve well. Throughout the school, teachers’ planning is very good and covers all aspects of the subject. There are clear learning objectives and high expectations of pupils. Time is well managed, and the teachers use effective questioning skills to encourage pupils to articulate their evaluations of their work in discussions. Informal assessment is conducted well as the teachers closely observe pupils as they work and listen to them carefully to check their understanding and knowledge.

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105. The subject is very effectively co-ordinated. There is a clear planning framework which helps to promote good coverage of National Curriculum requirements and the co-ordinator offers good advice and guidance to her colleagues. There are regular staff discussions on the subject and the co- ordinator monitors teachers’ planning for each half term. This has enabled clear improvements to take place. Teachers use their own informal assessments to build effectively on what pupils already know. The thorough planning and clear schemes of work provide a good foundation for further improvement. GEOGRAPHY

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106. As at the time of the previous inspection, standards in geography at the end of Year 2 and Year 4 are typical of seven and nine-year-olds. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory.

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107. Pupils in Year 2 are able to talk about some of the physical and human features of the locality of the school. They know the name of the town and the country they live in. They can also remember the names of a number of countries in the Caribbean, for example Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic from previous work, although they are less in naming the countries in the United Kingdom. Pupils use geographical terms for directions confidently when they talk about getting from one place to another. As part of their current topic on seaside holidays, most pupils begin to compare and contrast the features of Lowestoft with those of other seaside places they have studied or visited. Pupils’ skills in understanding maps are satisfactory.

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108. In Years 3 and 4, pupils continue to develop their understanding of different aspects of geography. For example, pupils in Year 3 compare and contrast physical and human features of Carlton Colville and St. Lucia in the context of studying weather conditions around the world and how weather affects human activity. They consolidate the use of geographical terms such as equator, tropical and temperate when describing weather conditions in different places. In Year 4, pupils make good use of earlier learning of drawing sketches of school sites, and side and aerial views of objects in the classroom to approach the challenging task of drawing aerial views of the school grounds. In their previous work, there is evidence of pupils looking at the changes in their Carlton Colville Primary School - 52 locality and the reasons for them. They have also carried out a range of work in relation to their topic on ‘water’, for example the water cycle and rivers.

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109. In the classes for five to seven-year-olds, only one full lesson could be seen during the inspection. There is, therefore, insufficient evidence to make a judgement on the quality teaching and learning across the key stage. However, the quality of teaching and learning in that lesson was good. In Years 3 and 4, the overall quality of teaching and learning is good, although in the three lessons observed, it varied from satisfactory to very good. Where teaching is good or better, teachers have good subject knowledge, and their lessons are well planned and well structured. Teachers’ explanations ensure that pupils are clear about what they are doing. They use questions well to elicit responses from pupils and to build on them. They teach geographical vocabulary systematically. Teachers’ relationships with pupils are at least good, and they manage pupils well. As a result of these positive aspects of

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teaching, pupils demonstrate good attitudes to geography, and make good progress in lessons. Weaknesses in teaching occur when teaching does not ensure that pupils, particularly the more able ones, produce a sufficient amount of work.

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110. The arrangements for assessing pupils’ progress and attainment are good. Resources are sufficient to teach the geography curriculum and they are used well. The co-ordinator has a good understanding of his role and manages the subject well. He has a good action plan to improve the quality of provision for geography further.

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111. As at the time of the previous inspection, standards in history at the end of Year 2 and Year 4 are typical of seven and nine-year-olds. Across the school progress is satisfactory and pupils achieve well.

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112. Pupils in Year 2 demonstrate satisfactory knowledge and understanding of aspects of past beyond living memory as they talk about holidays in the past. They begin to interpret pictures to identify similarities and differences between holidays now and in the past. Pupils also begin to give reasons for the changes which have taken place in holidaymaking over time. Pupils show emerging sense of chronology and use appropriate terms concerned with the passing of time. Most pupils present their work in simple writing and pictures whereas the lower attaining pupils do so mainly in pictures.

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113. Most pupils in Years 3 and 4 show satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the topics they have studied in the past. In their current topic on ‘Scotch fisher girls in Lowestoft herring industry in the 1930s’, pupils in Year 3 learn about and make use of primary and secondary sources of information to develop their understanding of the working conditions in this industry. They begin to give reasons for why people acted in the way they did in the past. In Year 4, pupils show sound historical knowledge and understanding of the conditions in Great Britain immediately after World War Two, with most of them showing a real empathy with some aspects of life then, for example the effects of bread rationing on people. They are developing their understanding Carlton Colville Primary School - 53 successfully about the rise in the standard of living in 1952 – 1959, and its effects on the lifestyles of different people, including those of teenagers.

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114. It was only possible too see one lesson in the classes for five to seven-year- olds during the inspection so there is insufficient evidence to make a judgement on the quality of teaching and learning in Years 1 and 2. However, in the lesson seen, teaching and learning were satisfactory. In Years 3 and 4, three lessons were observed and the quality of teaching and learning was good in all of them. Teachers of the older pupils have a good knowledge of the subject, and their lessons are well planned. They revise previous work at the beginning of lessons. This helps pupils to consolidate previous knowledge and understanding, and to make links between previous and new learning. Teachers’ explanations are clear, and they make good use of questions to elicit responses from pupils, and to build on them. Work is generally carefully matched to pupils’ varying stages of learning. Teachers have good

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relationships with pupils and manage them well. Sometimes weaknesses in teaching occur when the teacher’s explanation becomes too long, with pupils’ having insufficient opportunities to contribute to the lesson; or when higher attaining pupils are asked to produce written work which is not challenging enough.

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115. The arrangements for assessing pupils’ progress and attainment are good. Resources are sufficient to teach the history curriculum and they are used satisfactorily. The co-ordinator has a good understanding of his role and manages the subject well. He has an action plan to improve the quality of provision for history further.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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116. Pupils’ attainment at the ages of seven and nine is in line with national expectations. Pupils’ achievement is good and they make at least satisfactory and mostly good progress in their learning. At the time of the previous inspection standards achieved by younger pupils were in line with those expected nationally. Standards achieved by older pupils were below average. Although expectations of the subject have changed since then and demands on pupils are now greater, younger pupils knowledge and skills have risen in line with these raised expectations. Older pupils achieve well and now achieve in line with national expectations. The use of computers as a tool in other subjects, such as science and mathematics, is developing throughout the school.

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117. Pupils are able to load programs from the computer hard drive. Older pupils are able to load directly from the Internet. Pupils control a mouse to move the cursor round the screen, click to enter different parts of programs and older pupils in particular use the keyboard with developing dexterity. At the end of lessons pupils save their work and exit programs efficiently, closing down the machine correctly. Throughout the school pupils develop and practise word- processing skills, regularly drafting pieces of written work by using the word processor. Pupils can change the print style, size, and colour, use a spell checker and print out their work. Pupils in Year 2 use the computer suite to consolidate their skills; they can log on, build pictographs and bar charts from Carlton Colville Primary School - 54 a written summary, generate axes and number them using suitable icons. Pupils print their work, save their work and close down the software ready to

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use the findings in such as science work back in the classroom. By Year 3 pupils are logging on to the Internet, opening, reading, printing and replying to e-mail messages sent from the parallel Year 3 class. Pupils in Year 4 are handling data gathered by a previously constructed a questionnaire and representing that data on a spreadsheet and pie charts. Previous work shows that pupils use a good range of programs to support their learning across the curriculum and develop their information and communication technology skills. Older pupils use ‘Super Logo’ linked to their work in mathematics on rotation to construct complex geometric patterns or showing symmetrical work with the “Dazzle” program, constructing and printing repeating patterns, moving them through 360 degrees in steps of right angles to do so. Literacy work is supported by pupils’ word-processing skills. Stories and information texts are

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composed directly onto the screen, with pupils deleting, inserting and over- typing text as well as using a spell checker. Younger children use the ‘Storymaker’ program, not only to develop mouse control but also to devise pictures to support the story of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’; showing where the bears would have gone to have a picnic or where baby bear would play.

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118. As they move through the school pupils build up a good skills base across a wide range of communication equipment. Pupils can use televisions, video players, tape recorders, compact disk players and digital cameras. The school also has electronic keyboards and mobile computer units, ‘Roamers’, to support investigations in science, mathematics, music and geography. New equipment and programs are regularly added to the systems.

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119. The quality of teaching is satisfactory and a significant proportion is good. As a result pupils develop good basic skills. They are given plenty of experiences upon which to build confidence and expertise. Teachers understand the programs that they choose to use on the computers and match them carefully to support work across the curriculum. Teachers teach computer skills directly, encouraging pupils to have a go and experiment in order to solve problems. They have high expectations of pupils’ independence with the equipment and pupils enjoy this and the result is an improving understanding of their work. Teachers plan for pupils to practise skills and use the computer for research, they share their own expertise and knowledge and make on-going assessments to guide learning further.

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120. The co-ordinator encourages teachers to update their knowledge, understanding, skills and confidence. Staff training has been a priority of the school, including learning support assistants training on specific courses related to their roles and responsibilities. All teaching staff have completed training funded by the National Grid for Learning and the New Opportunities Fund except the headteacher. The co-ordinator has drawn up an action plan linked to the school development plan to raise standards further and is planning further specific training to meet the targets identified by the plan. The whole-school policy for children’s work in information and communication technology is subject to frequent review and this ensures a continuous and progressive curriculum across the school. A nationally produced planning framework is used to assist teachers plan their weekly lessons, supporting Carlton Colville Primary School - 55

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planning of differentiated activities to challenge higher attaining pupils while supporting the less confident and inexperienced pupils.

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121. Resources are good overall, however the school has had to create the computer suite within the school library area. The school has ten computers in the suite, and classes have to share one computer between three pupils, which makes it difficult for all to gain enough opportunity to experiment with programs. Space is rather tight and the cabling for the machines is joined to extension cables which snake across part of the floor and are not all safely secured and covered. Although pupils are careful when working in the area, trailing cables pose a health and safety hazard.

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122. Standards are in line with national expectations for seven and nine-year-olds. At the last inspection, pupils’ progress in the subject was better for seven-year-olds than for nine-year- olds. Pupils, including those who have special educational needs, now make satisfactory progress throughout the school. Although few lessons were seen during the inspection, there was singing in assemblies and song practices and performances in clubs which showed that the subject has been taught effectively and that pupils approach the subject with enjoyment. Evidence from planning and discussions shows that all aspects of music are taught appropriately and the requirements of the National Curriculum are met.

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123. By the time they are seven years old, pupils have a satisfactory understanding of high and low notes and use a range of percussion instruments to accompany their songs. They sing well and have a good repertoire of songs. Pupils recognise and name a good range of tuned and untuned instruments. When they are exploring sound, pupils confidently choose instruments to create special effects. A significant number of pupils have difficulty in repeating patterns played by the teacher, but their efforts improve as they listen to one another more closely. Pupils listen well in assemblies, when a range of classical, modern or music from different cultures is played as they enter the hall.

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124. By the time they are nine, pupils sing well in unison and their diction and sense of pitch and rhythm are good. There is a brightness to their singing and they respond appropriately to the mood of songs. Pupils play percussion instruments with varying rates of success, but they enjoy making music together and are keen to follow the conductor and come in on time. In lessons, pupils begin to understand the idea of phrases in music and explore musical structures. They work effectively in pairs to clap increasingly complex patterns and respond to them. Their listening skills develop well as pupils sing responses to short phrases of music. Skills in composition develop steadily as pupils create simple graphic score for their peers to play. They develop an increasing musical vocabulary and use words such as ‘tempo’, ‘beat’, ‘speed’ and ‘pitch’ accurately. Pupils gain insight into the work of well-known

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composers; for example when they study Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’.

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125. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 benefit from taking part in extra-curricular activities. Pupils play the recorder or sing in the choir. The songs and pieces practised in these clubs extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding in music. There is a feeling of commitment as pupils take on difficult work which they are Carlton Colville Primary School - 56 prepared to practise at home. This impacts well on their musical skills, knowledge and understanding.

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126. Pupils throughout the school enjoy singing, and pupils with special educational needs are well integrated into lessons. Pupils who play the recorder practise appropriately and pupils show commitment when they join the recorder clubs or the choir.

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127. Overall the quality of teaching is satisfactory. Teaching is generally good in Years 3 and 4 but in Years 1 and 2 insufficient teaching was seen to make a judgement about its general quality. An example of very good teaching was observed in Year 4 and an unsatisfactory lesson in Year 2. Where the teaching was very good, pupils were challenged with interesting activities and there was a brisk pace to the lesson. The teacher used questions well to consolidate and extend pupils’ learning. The management of pupils in Year 2 was unsatisfactory and resulted in misbehaviour. Teachers have good subject knowledge which helps them to introduce new musical terms to extend pupils’ vocabulary. Relationships with pupils are usually good, ensuring that musical activities are conducted in a purposeful and enjoyable atmosphere. Teaching is less successful when it lacks pace and there is insufficient attention to the

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idea of ‘performance’; pupils are rarely reminded to compose themselves, to sit or stand well and be aware of their breathing. However, singing practice in the hall is led well so that pupils strive hard to improve their performance.

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128. The subject co-ordinator has effectively developed a cohesive, whole-school approach in order to promote consistency in what and how pupils are taught. She has spent time in lessons to monitor the quality of teaching and learning and has shared her findings with the staff in order to raise standards of pupils’ attainment. The school recognises that the use of computers to support teaching and learning is underdeveloped. The policy and planning framework have been reviewed and there are helpful assessment procedures to record pupils’ attainment and progress. Resources for music are adequate, with a good range of interesting instruments that originate from different cultures.

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129. Standards meet national expectations of seven and nine-year-olds. During the inspection, lessons were only seen in games and dance and pupils in Year 4 also went swimming; however, evidence was also gained from a study of plans, policies and discussions.

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130. Older pupils meet the expectations in swimming as they have good opportunities to develop their skills in the two off-site pools. As a result of an appropriate time allocation and the expertise of both swimming instructor and staff, the quality of learning is good and pupils’ achievement is sound. Most have a satisfactory understanding of water safety and can swim the required 25 metres unaided by the age of nine.

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131. Standards in games, particularly ball skills training are satisfactory as a result of regular sessions for most pupils. Likewise, standards in dance are satisfactory. Younger pupils use their bodies to make movements that match the mood of a range of music, telling a story or reacting to music with skill and expertise, making up short sequences, especially using circular movements appropriately. Older pupils demonstrate increased control, knowledge and understanding using movement to recreate an impression of prehistoric creatures, recalling the size, shape and speed of movements to portray a range of characters. Pupils are developing Carlton Colville Primary School - 57 the skills of evaluating their own and other performances, making suggestions for improvement and identifying and praising those particularly appropriate, taking the idea on board into their own work. Younger pupils are making satisfactory progress in developing their rope skipping

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skills. The teacher broke the session down into practical parts and pupils achieved satisfactory levels, building up their skipping skills appropriately. Older pupils are making progress in controlling a ball using both feet, dribbling in and out of a series of obstacles with increasing control.

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132. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall; the teaching of dance is good. Teachers have good knowledge of the curriculum and plan activities based upon the skills that need developing from assessment of progress from previous sessions. Teachers generally start lessons on time, have good relationships with pupils and manage them well. Teachers particularly focus pupils on the need for healthy, vigorous exercise as part of the personal, social and health education work through the school. Teachers set a good role model for pupils, demonstrating skills and working 1:1 with pupils, extending and supporting skills and encouraging pupils to practise and developing confidence. Unfortunately not all teachers reinforce safety by ensuring that pupils cover ear studs, tie back long hair or tuck in shirts. While this did not particularly interfere with work in games, this lack of reminders about good

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practice could have more serious implications in dance or gymnastics work where pupils could stand on studs with bare feet in dance or catch loose shirts on equipment in gymnastics.

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133. There has been satisfactory progress since the last inspection. This is largely due to the vigorous efforts of the current co-ordinator who is in school for only two days each week. She is well aware of the need for more training and support for staff. The subject policy has been updated in line with the guidelines for safe practice in physical education. The curriculum is drawn from a published scheme of work that helps teachers identify skills to be developed and with their planning. Over the year all pupils have an appropriate curriculum. All pupils develop their games skills all year round. Gymnastics and dance alternate over the year by blocked session and Years 3 and 4 have blocks of athletics and swimming. Pupils have access to outdoors adventurous activities when they reach middle school. Pupils’ skills development and progress are assessed using the guidelines of the new scheme of work from the end of key stage statements of the National

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Curriculum. After each assessment teachers change planning, using the data to extend and support appropriately. The school has adequate resources to enable the curriculum to be taught. Replacements and renewals are bought on a rolling programme according to priorities.

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134. Pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 2 and Year 4 is satisfactory and meets the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus. These standards are similar to those found at the time of the previous inspection. Pupils’ achievement in both key stages is satisfactory.

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135. Pupils in Year 1 make a sound start in religious education. They are developing satisfactory understanding of technical vocabulary such as Church, chancel, font, vicar, god-parents and Christening. They learn from their teachers, and children, who have been Christened, about what happens at a Carlton Colville Primary School - 58 Christening ceremony. By Year 2, pupils show a basic understanding of the work they have covered in Judaism and Christianity. For example, they have some knowledge of the way of life and the beliefs of the Jewish people. They also know about the importance of God to them and the name of their holy book: Torah. Pupils are able to talk about the Bible stories they have heard, for example Noah’s Ark, and David and Goliath. They know that Church is a place where Christians go to pray. Pupils have some knowledge of the major festivals in Christianity and why they are celebrated. In their current work,

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pupils are learning about the term ‘commitment’ in the context of commitments which they have to make when joining a group or club. This was to prepare them for later work on understanding the commitments which a Jewish boy or girl makes at their bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah. Carlton Colville Primary School - 59 136. Year 3 pupils understand the need to protect the environment. They explore the relationship between caring for the environment and caring for themselves successfully. By Year 4, pupils show a sound understanding of special celebrations in Christianity and Judaism, and the importance of symbols and symbolic actions in religious celebrations or acts of worship. Pupils understand special terms such as ‘respect’ in the context of religion and they can make connections between Christianity and Judaism.

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137. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall. In the lessons seen, teachers’ explanations and instructions were very clear which helped pupils to understand what they were doing. Through very good questions, they drew out of pupils their previous knowledge and built on it successfully. In the very good lesson in a Year 4 class, the teacher was able to help pupils to make good links across religions to increase their understanding and knowledge of symbolic actions in religious celebrations or acts of worship. In the good lesson in a Year 1 class, a good range of resources which pupils had opportunities to handle, and the teachers’ clear questions and explanations helped pupils to make good progress in understanding the concept of Christening. Across both Key Stages 1 and 2, teachers have a secure knowledge of the subject, and they plan lessons well. They revise previous work at the beginning of lessons satisfactorily to make connections with new

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learning. The classroom assistants and voluntary helpers provide overall good support to enhance the quality of learning. However, in some lessons, teaching does not take sufficient account of pupils’ previous knowledge to build on it successfully; or pupils are not sufficiently clear about the purpose of tasks given to them; or teaching is not stimulating enough.

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138. The religious education curriculum is broad and balanced curriculum, and meets the statutory requirements of the agreed syllabus. The quality and range of resources in religious education is satisfactory and they are used well. This is an improvement on the previous inspection when the available resources were little used. The arrangements for assessment are good. The co- ordinator has a good understanding of her role and manages the subject well. She has an action plan to improve the quality of provision for religious education further. Currently the provision for enriching the subject through visits to different places of worship is limited.

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