St Peter's CofE Primary School

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 17 th – 20 th September 2001

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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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PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Infant and Junior School

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Oxford Street Ashton-under-Lyne Lancashire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr P T Marshall

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 10 th December 1996 St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 21750 Mrs S E Hall Registered inspector Information and communication technology English as an additional language The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What could the school do to improve further? 31729 Mr B Harrington Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, and values. How well does the school care for its pupils or students How well does the school work in partnership with parents 21678 Ms S Walker Team inspector English Geography History Special educational needs. Equal opportunities 18130 Mr A L Ford Team inspector Mathematics Music Physical education How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils 27899 Mrs G Beasley Team inspector Science Art and design Design and technology. The Foundation Stage. The inspection contractor was:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Lynrose Marketing Limited Bungalow Farmhouse Six Mile Bottom Newmarket Suffolk CB8 0TU

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES

St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Peter’s Church of England (Aided) Primary School is in Ashton-under-Lyne on the outskirts of Manchester. With 185 pupils aged four to eleven, the school is slightly smaller than average. A high proportion of pupils (31) have joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission and 30 pupils have left other than at the usual time. Ninety-two pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average. The majority of the pupils are of white ethnic heritage. Approximately one third of pupils are of other ethnic backgrounds which is a higher than average proportion. These pupils are mainly from Pakistan and most have English as an additional language. There are currently 61 pupils on the school’s special educational needs register; which is above average. There are no pupils with statements of special educational need. The school is in the Ashton regeneration area with well below average economic circumstances. The attainment of

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

pupils’ on entry to the school is below average, with many having poor language skills.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a school that provides a satisfactory and clearly improving standard of education. The leadership of the headteacher is very good. Whilst pupils’ attainment in English and science at the ages of seven and eleven and in mathematics at the age of eleven are below average, standards are rising and are much nearer to the national average than in previous years. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Overall the school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• The leadership and management of the headteacher are very good and have had a significant effect on the development of the school. • The school enables the pupils to achieve good standards in music and art. • The provision for pupils’ moral, social and cultural development is good. • The care of pupils is good with all pupils valued and supported effectively. • Links with parents and the local community are good and parents are very appreciative of recent improvements.

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What could be improved

• Standards of attainment in English, mathematics, science, information and communication technology (ICT), geography and history. • The monitoring and evaluation of teaching, the curriculum and of children’s work. • The behaviour of a small but significant minority of pupils. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was previously inspected in December 1996 when a number of significant key issues for development were identified. Following this, the school underwent a period of change and uncertainty when standards were very low. Since the appointment of the headteacher and an entirely new team of teachers, staff have begun to tackle the identified weaknesses with determination. There has been good improvement in deciding a clear strategic view for development, to include all ethnic groups of the local community and in St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 7 defining the role of the governing body further. The school was also required to raise standards of attainment in all subjects. Whilst standards initially fell and have been slow to rise, recently there has been satisfactory improvement in most subjects. There has also been satisfactory improvement in the provision for pupils with English as an additional

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

language and good improvement in the provision for pupils with special educational needs. The school has improved curriculum planning and assessment procedures well and there have been recent major improvements in the provision for teaching information and communication technology. Overall, whilst much remains to be done, the school has made good improvement over the past three years.

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STANDARDS

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

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Key

English E* E E C well above average above average A B mathematics E* E* E D average below average C D Science E E* E C well below average very low E E*

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Key

The standards of attainment of pupils aged eleven have been very low over some years. From 1998 to 2000 attainment in English, mathematics or science was amongst the lowest five percent of schools in the country. In 2001 there was considerable improvement in English and science with fifteen per cent more pupils attaining the expected standard than in the previous year although standards in mathematics remained low. In 2001 whilst standards rose in national tests, results were well below the national average in all three subjects. However, when results are compared to those with school’s with similar numbers of pupils entitled to free school meals, standards in English and science were average but below average in mathematics. Test results indicate that the proportion of pupils with higher than average attainment have risen. Inspection findings are that, at the age of eleven, pupils’ attainment in English, mathematics and science is slightly below the national

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Key

average. The achievement of pupils and the progress that they make, including those with English as an additional language, is satisfactory and for a growing number progress is good. Standards are now much closer to the average than in previous years and trends over the last four years have been consistently upwards. The school’s targets for 2001 for 56% of pupils to achieve the national average in English were exceeded and mathematics’ targets of 45% achieved. Targets for 2002 for 38% of pupils to achieve the nationally expected levels are very low but realistic, because the group includes a large proportion of pupils with a range of special educational needs.

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Key

At the age of seven, results in the 2001 national tests show standards were well below the national average in reading and average in writing and mathematics. When compared to similar schools standards were average in reading and well above average in writing and mathematics. In mathematics all of the pupils achieved at least the expected standard and a growing number achieved at the higher levels. The 2001 tests showed standards fell slightly in reading but rose in writing and especially in spelling where the proportion St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 8 achieving the expected standard rose from 37 to 69%. Throughout the school, standards in information and communication technology are below average because, until the new computer suite was developed, pupils were not regularly taught the appropriate skills. Children enter the Reception class with levels of attainment that are below that expected of

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Key

this age and skills in communication, language and literacy are often poor. Children make sound progress in the Foundation Stage of learning and a good proportion make good progress. By the time the children enter Year 1 they attain the early learning goals in reading, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development but not in personal and social development, speaking and writing. Last years group of pupils attained the Early learning goals in mathematical development but the current group of pupils may not.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school The large majority of pupils have satisfactory attitudes to their learning; an interest and involvement in activities and many pupils have good attitudes and respond positively. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Satisfactory overall. However, the behaviour of a small but significant minority of pupils, and their understanding of the impact of their actions on others, is unsatisfactory and affects the learning of other pupils. Personal development and relationships The personal development of pupils is satisfactory although opportunities to develop initiative are limited. The relationships between most pupils are satisfactory and many are good. Relationships with adults are good. Attendance Satisfactory and improved in the last three years. The majority of pupils attend school regularly but not all arrive punctually at the start of the school day and this disrupts some school activities.

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

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

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

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, and there is a considerable proportion of teaching that is good throughout the school. Standards are beginning to rise because teachers have developed a focused team approach to planning to support the development of skills as pupils move though the school. However, more remains to be done in extending the opportunities for pupils to carry out research and their own investigations. The skills of literacy are taught in a satisfactory manner. The teaching of the use of phonics in reading is good, but the opportunities to develop speaking skills and the use of a wide and imaginative vocabulary are sometimes limited, as is the teaching of neat handwriting. The school has implemented the National Numeracy Strategy well and teaching of numeracy skills is good for pupils in the Infant classes. The teaching of children in the Foundation Stage of learning is satisfactory with strengths in the teaching of reading

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

skills and in all aspects of knowledge and understanding of the world. Teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach is satisfactory overall, although there are St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 9 weaknesses in the teaching of skills in information and communication technology. Teachers’ plan in a satisfactory manner to meet the needs of pupils who make different rates of progress, but at times more could be expected of pupils with higher attainment. The teaching of pupils with English as an additional language is satisfactory. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress overall and this is often good when they work in small groups with support.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory. The school has a broad and reasonably balanced curriculum for pupils throughout the school, especially in the Foundation Stage. There are good extra-curricular opportunities for the pupils but the time allocations for history and geography are barely sufficient to teach the full curriculum. Provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) Satisfactory. The planing and provision, especially out-of-class, for pupils with SEN is suitable and enables them to have access to the curriculum at a level that is appropriate to their needs. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. Staff work hard to support the development of pupils in the range of subjects. The number of hours of direct support to pupils is limited but beyond the direct control of the school. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural

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Aspect Comment

development Good. Provision for social, moral and cultural development is good. Whilst provision for spiritual development is satisfactory, some staff miss opportunities to develop this further within day- to-day activities. Pupils are taught the difference between right and wrong and the value of establishing a set of rules and principles in their life. How well the school cares for its pupils Pastoral support is good and the school cares for its pupils well. Whilst assessment procedures are good, the use of assessment information to plan lessons and identify small-scale targets for improvement is not yet fully effective.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Predominantly good. The headteacher provides very good leadership and has had a pivotal effect in steering the school towards improvement in raising standards. The management of special educational needs is good. Subject co-ordinators fulfil their roles in a satisfactory manner but with areas for further development. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. The governors are committed to supporting the school and have developed their role in shaping the direction of the school well. The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. The school diagnoses its strengths well and the assessment of pupils’ progress is good. Systems for the identification of weaknesses and the monitoring and evaluation of planning, teaching and learning are in place but lack rigour. The strategic use of Good. Finances are well managed. The principles of best value

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Aspect Comment

St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 10 resources are applied well to purchases. The school has a good match of teachers and support staff to the demands of the curriculum and accommodation is good. Learning resources are adequate but the school library and classroom computers are not used well.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• That children are happy at school. • That they feel very comfortable about approaching the school with questions and that the school expects pupils to achieve their best. • That the school is well led and managed. • A small number would like to see homework set on a more regular basis.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Parents are mostly very happy with the quality of education the school provides. Inspectors agree that children are generally happy in school, that staff are approachable and that the school is well led and managed. The setting of homework is generally satisfactory. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. The overall picture of attainment is that standards are rising for pupils throughout the school but that over several years achievement has been very low. The previous inspection of the school in 1996 identified that standards were unsatisfactory throughout the school and this was a key area for improvement. Following the inspection, standards fell even further. With the appointment of the new headteacher and other staff, standards have begun to rise, albeit slowly. In 2001, pupils aged eleven did better in the national tests in English, mathematics and science than they had in any of the previous years for which information is available. In the 2001 national tests attainment in all three subjects was well below the national average. However, in English and science standards were average when compared to schools with similar characteristics although standards in mathematics were below average. Inspection findings are that whilst the gap between what pupils now achieve and what

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

schools achieve nationally has considerably narrowed, standards still remain slightly below the national average at the end of Key Stage 2 in English, mathematics and science.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. In the national tests for pupils aged eleven in the four year period from 1997 to 2000 in English, mathematics and science, attainment was well below average and has often been amongst the lowest five percent of schools in the country. When standards are compared to those of schools with a similar number of pupils entitled to free school meals, attainment was well below average. Information for each year during this period shows that there has been year on year improvement in the number of pupils achieving the expected standard in each subject but that this has not always kept pace with improvements nationally over the period. However, the rate of improvement rose considerably in 2001. The upward trends in attainment at the age of eleven have been evident in the much greater numbers of pupils attaining the national expectation in the core subjects. For instance, in 1998 40% of pupils achieved the national expectation in English whilst 65% achieved this standard in

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2001. Standards in mathematics have been consistently below those in English and science but again showing year on year improvement. Standards in mathematics rose from a very low proportion (28%) achieving the expectation in 1998 to 48% achieving this standard in 2001. In science 36% of pupils achieved the standard in 1998 rising to 79% in 2001.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. Whilst the school has had a very low proportion of pupils achieving standards above the average for their age this too is now improving. Ten percent of pupils achieved standards above the average in English and mathematics in 2001 compared to 4% in 2000. Seventeen percent attained the higher level in science in 2001 compared to none the year before. The achievement of the majority of pupils is satisfactory.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. The quality of pupils’ learning and the progress they make in Key Stage 2 is satisfactory overall and is good in some subjects where the school has considerably improved the quality of curriculum planning. Teaching is of a satisfactory standard overall and during the inspection it was often good and this aids pupils’ learning. Where pupils are managed well, the progress that most make is appropriate. This enables the majority of pupils to achieve standards in line with their abilities. Overall, St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 12 pupils with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs make similar progress to their classmates.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. The attainment of pupils and the progress that they make as they move through the school, and especially in Key Stage 2, is very much affected by their behaviour. The large majority of pupils have positive attitudes to learning and these pupils make satisfactory and often good progress. However, the behaviour and attitudes of a small minority of white boys are poor and this affects not only their own learning but also the learning environment for other pupils. The school is aware of this and has employed a learning mentor under the ‘Excellence Cluster’ initiative to work with these pupils.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. A generally similar picture of rising standards is also seen in Key Stage 1 with recent year on year improvement. By the age of seven, the attainment of pupils from 1997 to 2000 has usually been well below the national average and in 1998 standards in reading and writing were amongst the lowest five percent of schools in the country. Standards remained well below the national average in 2000 although some improvement was made. In the 2001 national tests for pupils aged seven, standards in reading were well below the national average and standards in writing and mathematics were average. When attainment is compared to that of pupils in schools with similar numbers of pupils entitled to free school meals, attainment was average in reading and well above the average in writing and mathematics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. In 2001, standards for pupils aged seven fell slightly from the previous year in reading but improved further in writing because of a focus on teaching the skills of writing. Of particular note was the very marked improvement in spelling. In 2000, 37% of pupils attained the expected level for their age and in 2001 this figure rose to 69%. Similarly, there was good improvement in mathematics. In 2000, 82% of pupils achieved the expected standard and in 2001 all the pupils achieved this. Inspection findings generally reflect the national assessments. Standards in reading, writing and science at the age of seven are slightly below average but those in mathematics are average. The large majority of pupils make satisfactory progress overall in Key Stage 1 and progress is often good in Year 1 because of the consistently good teaching of these pupils in a range of subjects.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Children enter the Reception class at the age of four with attainment that is below average in most areas of their early learning and with particularly poor communication skills. Pupils make satisfactory overall progress and the quality of learning in some areas, including knowledge and understanding of the world, is good because of enthusiastic teaching and well planned activities to extend the children’s understanding of life around them. By the end of the Reception year, the majority of children are attaining the early learning goals in their early reading skills, their knowledge and understanding of the world and in their creative and physical development. However, they are not yet attaining the early learning goals in their personal, social and emotional development and the speaking and writing aspects of communication, language and literacy. Last year all children achieved the Early learning goals in mathematics, but this year several children may not do so.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. The school has implemented the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies very carefully and effectively. Senior staff acknowledge that the introduction of these strategies has made a significant difference to the quality of planning lessons in a continuous and progressive manner. This has boosted the quality of pupils’ learning. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 13 10. The school has also begun to plan work on a more consistent basis to meet the needs of pupils with different abilities. This is satisfactory overall. Work is mostly planned appropriately for those pupils with special educational needs and for those with English as an additional language. Pupils with special educational needs attain standards that are broadly in line with their abilities. They achieve as well as might be expected when they are withdrawn from lessons, for example, to take part in additional literacy sessions or to receive support from visiting teachers. Pupils with

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

English as an additional language receive a small amount of additional support and this boosts the progress made.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. The school has not yet identified any pupils as being gifted or talented but perceives the need to do this. The planning for pupils with higher levels of attainment is satisfactory and improving. In some activities, including literacy and numeracy, specific tasks are organised for these pupils to ensure a high level of challenge is set. Where this is consistently planned, as often seen in Year 1, progress is good. However, on too many occasions all pupils undertake work that is the same or very similar and not enough is expected of the highest attaining pupils. Analysis of previous work reveals that too often work is unfinished because the work set is often the same or very similar for all pupils and is not well suited to the learning needs of pupils with special educational needs. This does not aid their learning effectively.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. Standards in information and communication technology are below average throughout the school as they were at the time of the previous report. However, there have been many improvements in planning and teaching since the development of a new ICT suite where pupils are taught the necessary skills on a regular basis. Although standards are below average, recent progress has been good and the gaps in pupils’ skills and knowledge are being filled.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13. Standards in geography and history are also below average because the school does not allocate enough time to teach the development of knowledge, skills and understanding in the subjects on a regular enough basis. Standards in design and technology are average throughout the school. Standards in art are above average often because of the good subject knowledge of part-time staff. Standards in physical education are slightly above average at the age of seven and average at the age of eleven. Standards are particularly high in music because of charismatic teaching, which develops pupils’ positive attitudes and lifts their level of performance. Standards in music are above average at the age of seven and well above average at the age of eleven.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Pupils’ attitudes to school and to their work are satisfactory overall. Most pupils demonstrate a positive interest in lessons and enjoy coming to school. However, a significant minority of pupils in most classes openly disregard instructions and pursue their own interests during lessons. This diminishes their opportunities for learning and intrudes upon the learning opportunities of their classmates. Pupils with special educational needs have variable attitudes to their work. This is particularly true for the skill of perseverance, either in getting started on or in finishing tasks and this makes it difficult for them to learn effectively. Since the previous inspection, the school has worked hard to improve the attitudes and values of pupils and has been successful with the majority of pupils. However, whilst the management of pupils is satisfactory overall, some pupils sometimes disrupt the education of others.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 14 15. The behaviour of most pupils in and around the school is satisfactory and it is often good. Almost all parents responding to the survey agree with this view. In the playground, pupils play well together in small social groups, although older children involved in football games are apparently unaware of the needs of other pupils. When lessons are demanding and pupils are suitably challenged, such as during Key Stage 2 choir practice, all pupils are very well behaved and respond very well to the teacher’s instructions. When lessons lack pace and challenge, a number of pupils prefer to chat amongst themselves and are dismissive of the teacher’s authority. On these occasions, when behaviour is poor, it has a detrimental effect upon the learning of others. The school clearly recognises the impact of the behaviour of a minority on other pupils’ learning and has established clear procedures to manage such

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. There have been five fixed-period exclusions of Key Stage 2 boys in the last year. These have resulted from incidents where pupils have demonstrated violent tendencies, and have been implemented when all other sanctions have been exhausted in attempting to modify the behaviour of these pupils.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. The personal development of pupils is satisfactory and many pupils accept responsibilities that contribute to the smooth day-to-day running of the school, such as being house captains, prefects, and dinner buddies. Most relationships are cordial, but there is an element of animosity evident in some pupil groups. The high number of pupils joining the school in all year groups and of those leaving the school, contribute to the difficulties that pupils experience in establishing firm friendships through their years in school. The school works well in making newcomers feel at home, and to encourage friendships has instigated, for example, the teaching of traditional games in the infant playground by the supervisory staff. Most parents believe that the school is helping their children to become mature and responsible citizens.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. Attendance is satisfactory and over the last three years has improved significantly. This is the result of improved school procedures for monitoring attendance and the raised parental awareness of the need for regular attendance. Attendance for the last year was in line with the national average, and unauthorised absences have almost been eliminated. The Education Welfare Officer works closely with the school and visits fortnightly to help analyse the reasons for poor attendance.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19. A number of pupils are late for school each day and their arrival intrudes upon the act of collective worship or other subsequent activities. Each day, the school writes to the parents and carers of pupils who arrive late, seeking their co-operation and emphasising the importance of punctuality upon the school community.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20. The overall quality of teaching is satisfactory throughout the school and there is much teaching that is good or better. Parents are very appreciative of the quality of teaching, the support of their children and the approachability of staff. The quality of pupils’ learning and the progress that they make is satisfactory and many pupils make good overall progress. This maintains the judgement of the previous inspection but with a larger proportion of teaching that is very good. The quality of pupils’ learning is directly linked to the management of pupils and the attitudes they develop towards St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 15 learning. The scrutiny of pupils’ recent work indicates that the progress of some pupils is erratic but satisfactory overall.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

21. During the week of inspection teaching was excellent in 2% of lessons, very good in 21%, good in 35%, satisfactory in 38% and unsatisfactory in 4%. The excellent and consistently very good teaching is mainly from part-time teaching staff with very high levels of subject knowledge in art and especially in music. The charismatic teaching of music is consistently of very high quality because of the teacher’s high level of subject knowledge and the particularly effective management of pupils. Because of this infectiously enthusiastic approach, pupils believe that music is enjoyable and “cool” and their learning is much better than in lessons where they have less interest and challenge.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22. The quality of learning of the large majority of pupils is sound. Most pupils, including those with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs, make appropriate progress. The quality of learning in Year 1 is consistently good because of well-organised activities that interest the pupils, the teacher’s good awareness of the use of time and resources and consistently good management of pupils. In all other year groups teaching is predominately satisfactory and there is some teaching in each class that is good.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

23. The previous inspection of the school found that that whilst teaching was satisfactory overall, there was a significant proportion of unsatisfactory teaching (17%). Since this period an entirely new full-time teaching staff has been appointed. Teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach and the needs of different groups of pupils are satisfactory. The best subject knowledge is in the teaching of music and art. In information and communication technology teachers’ subject knowledge and understanding are very variable. Classroom computers are rarely used. This has resulted in insufficient use of computers in day-to-day activities, which has limited the quality of pupils’ learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

24. The teaching of the basic skills of literacy and numeracy is generally good and is an area that the staff have focused upon well in in-service training activities. The staff have implemented the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies appropriately. Literacy skills are taught in a satisfactory manner with strengths in the teaching of phonics to aid the development of reading skills. The teaching of handwriting is unsatisfactory. The scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that few write carefully and presentation is unsatisfactory. Numeracy skills are taught well in Key Stage 1 and these pupils make good progress in mathematics. The teaching of mathematics is satisfactory in Key Stage 2. Staff also work hard to support pupils’ personal and social development with circle time being used effectively to promote pupils’ understanding of how their behaviour affects others.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

25. Planning for lessons is mostly sound. However, at times it is very brief and lacks clear objectives. Whilst some teachers share their learning objectives for lessons with pupils so that pupils understand and can measure how successful they are in meeting the lesson aims, this is not yet universal practice. Teachers’ expectations of pupils are satisfactory. Planning in most cases takes appropriate account of different groups of pupils. In literacy and numeracy, planning is better overall and different activities are organised for those with higher, average and lower abilities. This is a very effective and has boosted the attainment of the different groups of pupils by matching the difficulty of work to the level of pupils’ understanding. However, the sample of pupils’ previous work indicates that on too many occasions groups of pupils have often been St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 16

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

expected to do the same or very similar work in subjects other than literacy and numeracy. Overall, the needs of higher attaining pupils are met in a satisfactory manner, although these pupils would benefit from a consistently higher level of challenge in some non-core subjects.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

26. Teachers use a satisfactory range of teaching methods. Teachers explain things reasonably well. Parents speak with warmth of the enthusiastic approach to teaching and learning, especially for children in the Foundation Stage. Most staff make good use of open-ended questions to the whole class to identify what the pupils know and to develop their ideas in areas of new learning. But few teachers make sufficient use of directed questions to very quiet pupils to draw them into the lesson. Some pupils are allowed to sit quietly on the edge of lessons and contribute little or nothing. Some Asian girls are particularly quiet and teachers sometimes miss the opportunities to involve them more. When pupils are actively involved in investigation and completion of activities, many make good progress, but where they are required to listen for too long their concentration and behaviour deteriorate. The opportunities for pupils to

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

follow their own lines of research and different aspects of experimental and investigative work are limited and this reduces the chance for pupils to develop these skills.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

27. The quality of teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory overall. Due emphasis is given to teaching early phonics skills and, as a result, the majority of children know their sound and letter names by the end of the Reception year. There are many good opportunities for the children to listen to reading and share a book so they develop good book habits and handle all books with care. The children know the books from the reading scheme very well. However, because they are not very familiar with using books, of those asked only one girl was able to name her favourite book. Planning is satisfactory overall. Literacy and numeracy plans are detailed and based on assessment information collected about each child. However, planning for other areas of learning lacks detail and the purpose of some activities is not clear. Planning does not always identify clearly enough the skills that the children are expected to

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

develop and as a result this sometimes limits the clear and specific focus upon the development of particular skills. Adults work together well so that they have a clear understanding of what each one will do in each activity session.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

28. The management of children in the Foundation Stage is good and teachers make clear to them what is acceptable and what is not. The management of pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 is more variable. Teachers work very hard to manage the unsatisfactory behaviour of a small minority of pupils and are aware that a continual focus upon the small number of pupils with behavioural problems affects the amount of time available to support other pupils with positive attitudes. However, some teachers struggle to exercise their authority in some lessons and very occasionally teaching is unsatisfactory because of this. Occasionally, in all classes, and especially in Years 5 and 6, the behaviour of a small minority of white boys is poor and clearly affects the learning environment and concentration of other pupils. In several lessons pupils are expected to sit and listen for quite lengthy periods of time without any

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

practical task even when this would have been highly desirable. This was observed where pupils in a Key Stage 1 history lesson struggled to maintain concentration while the teacher talked about how they had changed. Whilst photographs were available, they were not used well and pupils were expected to listen for too long with some contributing very little. Resources are used to support learning in a satisfactory manner but during the inspection resources were rarely imaginative or used well. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 17 29. The majority of support staff are a very valuable asset to teaching and supporting pupils’ learning. Senior support staff have developed very effective working practices and when working with groups of pupils out of the classroom in activities linked to the lesson they clearly boost the quality of pupils’ learning. However, a minority of support staff are not deployed effectively in some introductory activities.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

30. Staff working with pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) have a good grasp of their role. Staff have made a good start to assessing the language needs of all pupils with EAL. There is only a very limited number of hours of specific teaching for pupils with English as an additional language and those newly arrived in the country. Mother tongue support, whilst effective, is also limited in the number of hours it is available. Whilst the progress made by pupils with EAL is comparable to that of other pupils in the long term, more rapid short term progress could be made if more support was available but such issues are beyond the control of the school.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

31. Pupils with special educational needs are taught satisfactorily overall and some support staff make a very valuable impact upon the progress pupils make. The recent introduction of relevant individual educational plans has made targets more appropriate and more usable in lessons. Support staff are generally used effectively when supporting pupils in small groups, for instance at the beginning of the afternoon session in Key Stage 1, where work is specifically based on targets, such as learning individual letter sounds. Teachers make good efforts to include pupils with special educational needs in question and answer sessions and praise correct answers, which reinforces pupils’ self esteem and so aids learning. However, some staff do not always have a great understanding of the needs of lower attaining pupils or an awareness of the skills needed to tackle tasks successfully and how learning for such

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

pupils could be improved. For example, in order to answer questions successfully, Year 6 pupils had to read three sheets of information. Although they were given adult support to do so, this was a more difficult task than that given to other more able pupils, changing an autobiography into a biography, which involved changing only a few pronouns.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

32. The quality and use of informal assessment is satisfactory but an area for further development. Staff often give good verbal feedback to the pupils about what they have done well. However, some pupils would benefit from a more accurate evaluation of their work and behaviour in order to make clear what they have done well, what needs to be improved and how to do this. The marking of pupils’ work is very variable. Some work is not marked on a regular basis and there is little detailed information about exactly what the pupils need to do in order to improve their work. Small scale pupil targets are not used well to identify to the pupils, staff and parents exactly what the pupils need to do next to improve their work.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

33. The use of homework is good in the Foundation Stage and satisfactory overall. Pupils are encouraged to take home their reading books on a regular basis. All pupils have a home / school reading diary. However, parents are unsure as to whether they may write in these and opportunities to develop a dialogue between parents and teachers are often missed. Staff attempt to set other homework on a reasonably regular basis, but are aware that some parents choose not to support homework and this makes the organisation of tasks sometimes difficult.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 18 34. The curriculum opportunities offered to the pupils are satisfactory overall and prepare them appropriately for the next stage of their education. The curriculum meets the statutory requirements and there are several areas of strength, with a coherent whole school plan for the curriculum, representing an improvement since the last inspection. The school has adopted government recommended guidelines for all National Curriculum subjects with some modifications to suit the school’s individual needs, such as in music. These ensure that pupils’ learning opportunities cover the required areas and build effectively on what they already know and can do. Whilst curriculum planning is often good in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, there are areas, including the planning for history and geography, which require further development.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

35. The school is justifiably proud of its music and art curriculum and of its achievement in these areas. In the Foundation Stage, the use of the outside area and local area is particularly effective and offers the children very good opportunities to learn from their personal experience. For pupils in Key Stage 1 the school provides a generally good range of learning opportunities and this is satisfactory in Key Stage 2. Policies and schemes of work have been implemented in all subjects. These now provide teachers with a framework so that planning can build systematically on previous learning. However, activities do not always match the full range of ability in each class and planning for history and geography does not fully ensure the continuous development of knowledge and understanding in the relevant areas.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

36. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies are being implemented successfully. Teachers’ planning is consistently and securely based on these strategies. Opportunities to develop pupils’ literacy skills in other subjects are also well planned. For example, in science, pupils are encouraged to use scientific terminology when describing their observations. Teachers’ plan and use subject specific language and encourage pupils to answer questions using appropriate terms in the right context. This was particularly evident in music where lessons are supported by musical terminology on display and referred to by the teacher at appropriate times during the session.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

37. In numeracy, in particular, the school’s implementation of the strategy has contributed significantly to improved attainment and raised standards at the end of Key Stage 1. Numeracy skills are also being promoted satisfactorily in other subjects. For example, pupils use their understanding of number and data handling to help them produce tables and graphs in science. Information and communication technology is not currently providing sufficient support in other curriculum areas and is under used throughout the school with curriculum improvements still being developed.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

38. Medium- and short-term planning are generally good in most subjects. But lesson objectives are not always clear enough to ensure the progressive development of skills and the required level of challenge. A whole school curriculum plan indicates that all areas of learning are covered, but the block teaching of history, geography and science topics in Key Stage 2 means that some areas of study are not revisited for a considerable period of time. This restricts the progress pupils make and limits the standards achieved. Pupils have difficulty in recollecting what they have learned and the school finds it difficult to ascertain whether the progressive development of skills is taking place.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

39. The curriculum provides equal opportunities for pupils’ learning overall. Teachers take care to rotate groups when pupils are withdrawn from class so that learning is not St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 19 affected in the long term. However, whilst it is appropriate that additional literacy support takes place in literacy sessions, care needs to be taken when withdrawing pupils from other important subjects, such as science, for additional support. The curriculum for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory overall. It is based on relevant individual education plans. However, tasks are not always well matched to pupils’ abilities in lessons so that they can finish the tasks that are set for them. Occasionally, work is the same or very similar for all pupils and this limits the quality of pupils’ learning. Curriculum planning for pupils with English as an additional language is satisfactory. The teacher with responsibility for this area and other part-

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

time support staff liase well with class teachers. Information is used to plan work in formal and informal activities to support the needs of pupils with a very wide range of skills in English.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

40. The school makes good provision for extra-curricular activities, and parents agree that there is an interesting range of activities outside lessons. Throughout the school pupils study aspects of environmental care and have helped to improve the school grounds. The environment project has also helped to motivate pupils who would otherwise be disaffected. Within the Eco project pupils’ spiritual development is enhanced, as is their awareness of issues that support their development as good citizens. The environmental club is very well supported, as is the adventure club, which is held during the summer term. Year 5 and 6 pupils are able to attend a residential adventure weekend, which provides opportunities for their personal development.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

41. The school runs additional classes that offer intensive support in English and mathematics for selected pupils and these extend the curriculum appropriately. A number of pupils also benefit from an after school study group held locally. This is supported by the New Opportunities Fund and enables pupils to work on their individual education plans as well as enjoying fun activities. This has had a positive impact on the school’s improving standards. The bilingual assistant runs classes for pupils wishing to learn and improve their Urdu.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

42. The school’s provision for pupils’ personal, social, citizenship, and health education is generally good and these activities support learning well. A formal programme of personal, social and health education is presented to all classes and is embedded in the curriculum. Through circle time activities, younger pupils are learning to listen to their friends and to take turns at speaking. Citizenship is included appropriately in the passport scheme of study. However, circle time and personal, social and health education lessons are sometimes under developed and ineffectively organised. As a result, poor behaviour and understanding of the effect of pupil behaviour on others are issues that remain unaddressed. Sex education is presented to Year 5 / 6 pupils and drugs education is presented effectively as part of the science curriculum.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

43. The school has good links with the community and this aids pupils’ learning. The school is involved in a ‘volunteer reader’ scheme, where a member of the community is trained to support children in their reading. Pupils in all classes have the opportunity to visit places of interest, which extends their knowledge and provides them with a sense of belonging to the wider community. Pupils attend church each half term for worship, and the vicar is a regular visitor to school and presents assemblies for the whole school. A stated aim of the school is to support the needs of the community. Pupils and parents regularly raise funds for charities, such as Seeds for Africa, which provides pupils with an understanding of the needs of those less St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 20 fortunate than themselves and supports work in personal, social, citizenship, and health education.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

44. Pupils have visited the mosque and the Hindu temple as well as St Peter’s church as part of their religious and social studies. Visits by ministers of other Christian denominations and representatives of Muslim and Jewish faiths help pupils to develop an understanding of the multicultural society to which they belong. The school choir is successfully involved in local and national music competitions, which help to raise pupils’ self esteem and provide them with experiences of the wider community. The special educational needs co-ordinators liase with a local high school to provide challenging work for a group of high achievers in mathematics. All of these additional activities support learning well.

p.20

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

45. There is good provision overall for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Since the last inspection, the previous good quality provision has been developed further. The school provides a welcoming and very caring environment in which all pupils are encouraged to work together in harmony and respond to the needs of others.

p.20

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

46. Provision for pupils’ spiritual development is satisfactory. Pupils have time to reflect on their actions, for instance in caring for animals in the Reception class and understanding their place in the world. In art, pupils experience the ideas reflected in the work of various artists. In class, pupils are given daily opportunities for reflection and prayer. For example, saying grace prior to lunch and ending the day on a prayer encouraging pupils to reflect on their day. Good quality assemblies further enhance the pupils’ spiritual awareness and understanding. However, staff miss many opportunities to develop a spiritual element across the curriculum.

p.20

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

47. Provision for pupils’ moral development is good. It is promoted well through the school’s mission statement in which the school sees its provision of a secure and orderly learning environment as important. There is a very strong moral framework where high expectations of behaviour, self-discipline and good relationships are fostered in a positive atmosphere. However, the behaviour and poor self-control of a small minority of older pupils negates some of the school’s best efforts. There are occasions when issues important to the pupils cannot be discussed as circle time provision is still in the early stages of development and the rules of listening to and valuing the views of others are not embedded.

p.20

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

48. The large majority of pupils have a good understanding of right and wrong. They are provided with clear boundaries for good behaviour. Class rules are displayed prominently and staff provide good role models, showing respect and concern for the individual needs of all pupils. The school reinforces good behaviour and attitudes through awarding good work and playground behaviour stickers and certificates. A strong feature of pupils’ moral development is the way they are taught about wider issues through the curriculum. A large number of pupils and teachers are involved in a range of activities after school.

p.20

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

49. Provision for pupils’ social development is also good. The school provides a wide variety of experiences for the vast majority to develop an awareness of how to relate to people in different circumstances. This is achieved through visits to the school by church representatives to celebrate religious events, such as Eid and Harvest, and through the activities of the School Council. There are opportunities provided for pupils in both key stages to take on responsibilities that contribute to the smooth St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 21 running of the school. Older pupils have monitorial duties and also act as ‘buddies’ to the younger children, supporting them during break and lunchtimes. Older pupils carry out the roles of house captains, vice captains and monitors for the whole school. There are occasions for pupils to develop further an understanding of citizenship and their role in society. Pupils are involved well in community activities.

p.20

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

They take an active part in church events and compete successfully in a number of musical events at regional and local level. Educational visits are an important aspect of social provision and visits are well planned to support pupils’ learning. The school is involved in local community sports competitions. This level of provision is effective in enhancing pupils’ self-esteem and developing their social skills.

p.21

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

50. Provision for pupils' cultural development is good. Pupils and their families, from different backgrounds and cultures, are warmly welcomed to the school. Pupils are provided with a curriculum at both key stages which promotes an understanding of their local culture, whilst also giving them opportunities to discover and understand a multi-cultural society. Traditional playground games are taught and used on a regular basis and pupils from different ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to share their experiences and customs.

p.21

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

51. Some displays feature aspects of cultural diversity, such as a display on music from other lands and artwork in the style of artists from other cultures. The diversity of educational visits to theatres and museums and visitors to the school also has a positive impact on pupils' cultural development. Pupils visit mosques and the local community to explore its rich cultural traditions. All these activities serve to enrich the curriculum and broaden the pupils’ horizons. Visitors include professional sportsmen, musicians and ministers of different faiths. The school, through its varied provision, successfully teaches its pupils to appreciate their own culture and the diversity and richness of others.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

52. The school provides good levels of care for all pupils, as was the case at the time of the first inspection of the school. The headteacher is nominated to deal with issues of child protection and is the governor for “looked after” children. She has received recent training in this role, has disseminated important information to staff, and receives good support from the Local Education Authority. There is a member of staff responsible for administering first aid and several other staff provide support. First aid kits are placed at strategic points about the school and are kept well stocked. Pupils are familiar with health and safety routines, and teachers provide appropriate reminders at the beginning of lessons, and ensure resources are safe to handle. The Governing Body conducts an audit of the premises each year and its findings are used to inform school development planning.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

53. The school has very effective measures for promoting good attendance and this has resulted in a significant improvement in the rate of attendance over the last three years. Pupils are commended for good attendance and those who achieve 100% attendance over the year receive a certificate of merit. Procedures for promoting good behaviour are implemented by all staff but do not always have sufficient impact because some teachers choose to disregard incidents in order to maintain the main teaching focus of lessons. A small but significant minority of pupils do not value the reward system and have little concern for the sanctions. Staff have tried many alternative management strategies but some teachers experience difficulty in St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 22 maintaining an atmosphere which is conducive to good learning unless the pupils concerned are excluded from the activity.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

54. Teachers and other staff know the pupils very well and monitor their personal development on a daily basis. This has a positive impact upon pupils’ learning. Progress reports contain academic and personal targets identified by pupils and their teachers. Interim reports provide parents with additional information about their children’s progress. Pupils are rewarded for good behaviour, good work and good attendance. Those pupils who consistently do well are identified as Star Pupils. They are named on displays, are awarded house points, and receive a certificate of merit. The caretaker, midday assistants, the Governing Body, and the Friends of St Peter’s give awards. A book is awarded to the pupil in each class who has made the most progress in reading. All of these procedures are successful in raising the self-esteem and attitudes to work of most pupils.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

55. All pupils with special educational needs have relevant individual education plans that identify their personal targets, resources and any adult support that they need to receive. The individual plans are regularly reviewed and adapted as necessary. Teachers take care to ensure that times for any withdrawal are usually rotated so that pupils do not miss their entitlement to a full education although there are concerns when science activities are missed.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

56. Assessment is a school priority and is an area of improvement since the last inspection. The procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress are now good. The school has gathered a wealth of assessment information since it began to collect data about its pupils in 1998. The pupils sit the optional assessment tests in English, mathematics and science. Pupils are regularly tested, for example, in reading and spelling and assessed in creative writing. There are clearly advanced plans for co-ordinators to extend assessment systems for subjects, such as science, history and geography during this academic year. All assessment data is analysed and is used to set statistical targets for future improvement in learning for classes and subjects.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

57. In 2000, the school made effective use of external analysis to identify why Year 5 and 6 pupils were not reaching the required standards in optional assessment papers in mathematics. Subsequently, staff have put in a suitable programme to enhance pace, challenge and reward in lessons. This included booster classes and a homework club. Records are kept consistently and conscientiously and are used to identify pupils to be targeted for extra help and assistance. The school is aware of the need to use the information to identify the top 5 to 10% of pupils who are gifted and talented.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

58. Overall, too few pupils are aware of what their personal targets for learning are and whether they have achieved them. This is because teachers’ marking is not sufficiently linked to lesson objectives or pupils’ personal targets. The system for writing targets in the front of older pupils’ English and mathematics books is still developing and is not fully effective in raising standards. Key Stage 1 pupils’ targets are general aims rather than specific and achievable targets

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

59. The link between assessment data and teachers’ planning is satisfactory overall, but is still being developed and focused upon the small steps necessary to improve pupils’ learning and so raise standards. For instance, literacy lessons are evaluated and show which pupils had difficulty in understanding the concepts and this aids the St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 23 planning of future lessons appropriately. However, although pupils’ work is evaluated in other subjects, this information is not effectively used in all curriculum areas and sometimes results in the same or very similar work being set for different groups of pupils particularly in non-core subjects.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

60. Pupils with special educational needs now have effective individual education plans. These form the basis of their learning particularly when they are withdrawn from lessons for extra assistance. Individual education plans are regularly reviewed and appropriate external assistance is sought as necessary. The assessment of pupils with English as an additional language is thorough and well organised. Pupils are assessed by the teacher with responsibility for this area and assessment information is shared with staff as appropriate. This is successful in identifying which pupils need additional support.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

61. The school has maintained the good links with parents seen in the first inspection of the school. Parents are generally very pleased with the work of the school. All parents responding to the inspection survey consider the teaching to be good, and would feel comfortable in approaching the school with questions or a problem. They also believe that they are kept well informed about how their children are getting on, that their children like school, and that the school expects their children to work hard and achieve their best. Almost all parents consider the school to be well led and managed, think that their children are making good progress, and that the school works closely with parents. All of these factors have a positive impact upon pupils’ learning. A small number of parents do not feel that their children are getting the right amount of work to do at home. However, whilst many parents have positive views of

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

the school and the school works hard to involve parents in the education of their children, a number have little involvement in school activities.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

62. The school provides parents with good quality information through the prospectus, regular newsletters, pupils’ progress reports, and the governors’ annual report to parents. The bi-lingual classroom assistant provides oral information for those parents who speak Urdu during formal and informal occasions and helps to put Urdu- speaking new families at ease.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

63. Staff make themselves available to parents at the beginning and end of the day so that concerns may be discussed and resolved. Consultation evenings are held each term and an interim progress report is provided for parents in the spring. In the last three years, parents have been consulted in questionnaires about their views on areas for school improvement.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

64. Parents’ involvement in the education of their children and the work of the school is satisfactory overall and the school works hard to involve parents more. Parents of children new to the Reception class stay with their children during lunchtime to help them to settle into the routines of the school, and on Friday afternoons family events encourage parents to bring younger children into school. Groups of parents have been involved in projects, such as ‘story sacks’, and have attended workshops on the national literacy and numeracy programmes. Each half term, staff focus on the development of links with one parent which provides additional support and guidance opportunities for the pupils involved. A group of parents drew up the home-school agreement, but many choose not to be actively involved in school activities. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 24 65. Parents have contributed to the school’s winning entry in the local Pageant, and

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

several local businesses have provided additional learning resources, such as crash mats, team kits, books and materials. Parents are fully involved in the education of pupils with special educational needs. They are routinely given copies of their children’s individual education plans and are involved in their reviews.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

66. The quality of leadership and management in the school is good overall with areas that are particularly effective and others for further development. Leadership and management have significantly improved since the previous inspection of the school. The headteacher was appointed after the inspection and provides calm, well-focused and very effective leadership. This serves to provide a very good steer to the schools’ development and the improvement in the role has been pivotal in bringing about greater clarity in the management of the school. The establishment of a sense of purpose has been well considered and through this all staff and governors have begun to play their part well in helping the school move forward.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

67. The previous inspection identified the pastoral strengths of the school whilst noting that there were several significant key areas for improvement. In the interim, the school underwent a period of change and uncertainty when standards of attainment were very low. Following the appointment of the current headteacher, work was begun to establish planning and to improve the quality of teaching and learning. In order to prioritise what had to be improved and how to achieve this, staff and governors were involved in considerable change. All full-time teaching staff were appointed since this time and corporate working practices were introduced. The school has maintained many of the strengths in caring for the pupils well, alongside much improved organisational procedures.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

68. Running through the improvements in all of these areas has been the well-focused determination of the headteacher ably supported by the deputy head. There have been difficult times in the development of the school with many staff changes and new requirements placed upon the school. As a result of the Ashton Housing renewal plan, there has been a high number of families moving into and out of the area. There have been difficult situations for staff to cope with, not least being the behaviour of a small minority of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Throughout this period, the senior management team has been the consistent thread calmly moving the school forward.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

69. The previous inspection required the school to develop a clear strategic view for future development to include a full partnership with all ethnic groups of the school community. Subsequently, the school identified a number of strategies to raise attainment across the school including an appropriate programme of staff induction. Policies and schemes of work were introduced for all subjects and required areas. This has led to significant improvement in the quality of planning, which is now generally cohesive. Planning supports the continuous and progressive development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills, although the progressive development of skills in history and geography is not effective. School improvement planning now involves all staff and governors and is a well-focused tool to support school development. Whilst more remains to be done in raising standards further, there has been good overall improvement in strategic development.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 25 70. Following the identification of the need to improve links with different ethnic groups in the community the school worked effectively with the Local Education Authority to appoint staff to support pupils with English as an additional language. However, despite staff illness and changes and a restriction in the current hours of specialist teaching and support for these pupils, there has been satisfactory improvement in developing the partnership with different groups within the school community.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

71. The school was also required to improve the assessment of what the pupils can do in order to match activities to pupils’ needs. Assessment routines have been considerably improved and are now good. However, more remains to be done in using assessment information to inform planning and in identifying small-scale targets of what the pupils need to do next to improve. Staff have begun to plan work to meet the needs of higher attaining pupils, but more remains to be done in this area. The school has made good improvements in the provision for information and communication technology since the development of a new ICT suite. However, the pace of this improvement until the last year has been slow and, again, more remains to be done to fully utilise all the existing computer hardware to ensure ICT is developed as a cross curricular tool in learning.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

72. The previous inspection identified the need to define and establish the role of the Governing Body as a critical friend of the school. The governors have clearly established that the school very much welcomes and values all pupils from a range of faiths and of different ethnic heritage. Governors are keen to ensure that parents are aware of how much the school values its ethnic diversity whilst maintaining links with the Church of England. The senior staff have worked with the Governing Body to develop their role much more fully. Governors now fulfil their roles well. Most governors have undertaken training and they have developed the role of committees well. A good range of information is available to governors and staff make regular presentations to committees. Governor are becoming more aware of the standard of pupils’ work because samples of work are now available for them to look through prior

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

to governor meetings. There are links with governors and classes and some governors visit the school regularly in a variety of roles and the school is keen to develop links with new governors much further. The governing body is well led and there has been good improvement in the effectiveness of the governing body in fulfilling its responsibilities.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

73. The school has introduced an appropriate range of monitoring and evaluation procedures. Curriculum planning is monitored to ensure this builds in a continuous and progressive manner on what the pupils know, understand and can do. Lesson planning is also monitored and this has led to good improvements in planning English and mathematics activities. Senior staff and consultants have monitored the quality of teaching, mainly in literacy and numeracy. However, the monitoring undertaken lacks rigour and sometimes fails to identify where further improvements need to be made. This is reflected in the issues of the ineffective development of skills in history and geography because of the length of time between areas of study.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

74. The monitoring and evaluation carried out is often descriptive and focused more on curriculum coverage rather than on assessing the relative strengths and identifying areas for development. Staff have very rightly identified that for a team of inexperienced teachers being supportive and valuing each other’s contributions build staff confidence and morale. However, sometimes this confidence obscures the need to make even further improvements in classroom organisation and the management St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 26 of the small minority of poorly behaved pupils in order to limit the effect of this behaviour on the learning of others. Whilst all teachers are very confident in their skills, several are not fully aware of when or why some activities are more successful than others and how to improve their teaching further. In some subjects there have been only limited opportunities to observe other teachers within the school. Overall

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

the monitoring of teaching and learning is not rigorous enough in identifying areas for development and has not enabled the good practice that exists to be shared.

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

75. Recently the school has introduced arrangements for the deputy head to be released from full-time teaching in order to work on a regular basis alongside colleagues. This includes giving staff additional release time so that they may undertake monitoring and evaluation activities in subjects for which they hold responsibility. However, for a variety of reasons, this has happened very infrequently and there has been limited monitoring in subjects including science, history and geography. Similarly, there has been little monitoring and evaluation of the quality of pupils’ learning through regular and focused scrutiny of pupils’ work. There has been little tracking of the work of individual pupils to evaluate whether learning has been continuous and progressive or whether pupils are recording their work on a regular basis. This has allowed areas of weakness, such as the unsatisfactory presentation of pupils’ work and the

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

76. The leadership and management of special educational needs are now good. The school has recently appointed two co-ordinators, each of whom has different areas of responsibility and who are beginning to make a positive impact upon standards. They have received effective training for their posts and this in turn has been translated into a school handbook to guide other staff in carrying out their duties. Individual educational plans are regularly monitored and teachers’ special educational needs files are monitored for compliance with the school systems. Together with the headteacher, the co-ordinators review the progress of pupils with special educational needs. The resources for these pupils are audited, easily accessible and sufficient to aid pupils’ learning.

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

77. Financial control and management are good. Financial planning is closely linked to school priorities identified in the school improvement plan and supports school development well. Funds available to support specific purposes are targeted well so that pupils with special educational needs and English as an additional language receive appropriate support. The recommendations of the recent audit report have been addressed satisfactorily. The budget is managed on computer, which allows the head teacher and Governing Body to monitor spending closely. Governors have established a finance and personnel committee with clear responsibility for financial planning and staffing issues. This enables the Governing Body to monitor closely its spending decisions in relation to staff appointment and training needs.

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

78. The school pays due regard to best value principles which require schools to find the best possible price for all services and to look closely at how well they do in comparison to similar schools. The decision to spend more money on the number of classroom assistants is monitored closely by the Governing Body to make sure that the money is being spent wisely and that it is having the desired impact on improving standards. This is happening to some extent. Many classroom assistants give the pupils effective levels of support both individually on specific targets as identified in their individual education plans and in groups during lessons. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 27 79. The school has a good number of suitably qualified staff to match the demands of the curriculum. The school employs eight full-time teachers, including the headteacher, with one vacancy currently being filled by the deputy headteacher. There are two

p.26

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

part-time teachers with a total teaching commitment equivalent to 0.8 full-time teachers. Co-ordinator roles are evenly distributed and are very well matched to teachers’ qualifications. Part-time and full-time support staff provide additional education support for pupils. Administrative staff provide very good support for the headteacher.

p.27

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

80. The quality of the accommodation is good and maintained to a high standard of cleanliness. The school buildings and grounds have benefited from extensive recent improvements and the addition of boundary railings have significantly reduced incidents of vandalism. The new areas created for information and communication technology and art and design technology are used well although classroom computers are used infrequently. However, little independent use is made of the library. Generally, there are satisfactory resources to support the curriculum, and those for several subjects are good. However, resources for history and geography are limited. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 28

p.27

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

1) Continue to raise standards of attainment across the school by:

p.28

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• improving the learning of pupils through matching the level of challenge in tasks to the abilities of all groups of pupils and the next levels that they need to achieve (paragraphs 11, 25, 134 ); • setting targets in small steps to show staff, pupils and parents exactly what pupils need to do next to improve their attainment (paragraphs 32, 58, 106 ); • extending the opportunities to undertake research and investigative activities so that pupils are more actively involved in their learning (paragraphs 26, 106, 111); • ensuring that adequate time is provided for the teaching of all subjects (paragraphs 13, 131, 136).

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

2) Improve the quality and rigour of the monitoring and evaluation of planning, teaching and learning by:

p.28

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• carefully monitoring how planning identifies specific learning objectives for different groups of pupils by making further use of formal and informal assessment information (paragraphs 73, 97, 114 ); • improving teachers knowledge and understanding of effective teaching in order to identify where improvements need to be made (paragraphs 74, 79, 147); • improving the quality of the marking of pupils’ work in order to indicate the standards of presentation, what pupils need to do to improve and whether work has met the objectives of lessons (paragraphs 32, 75,97); • further developing the role of subject co-ordinators to include in depth scrutiny of pupils’ work to secure consistent progress (paragraphs 75, 119, 135).

p.28

Other issues the school should consider

• Refining the behaviour and discipline procedures to help pupils to understand the impact of their actions upon others, and to ensure the effective management of behaviour throughout the school (paragraphs 14, 15, 28). St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 29

p.28

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

p.29

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.29

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 2 21 35 38 4 0 0 The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than two percentage points.

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 185

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 92

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 61

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 52

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 31

p.29

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 30

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 30

p.29

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

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

p.30

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.30

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

Boys 10 (10) 11 (10) 13 (11) Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 (12) 11 (12) 13 (11)

p.30

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

Percentage of pupils School 77 (81) 86 (81) 100 (81) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.30

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.30

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

Boys 10 (8) 12 (12) 13 (12) Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 (13) 12 (11) 10 (14)

p.30

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

Percentage of pupils School 77 (78) 93 (85) 88 (96) at NC level 2 or above National N/A (84) N/A (88) N/A (88)

p.30

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

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

p.30

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

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

p.30

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.30

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

Boys 10 (5) 8 (7) 13 (8) Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 9 (7) 6 (4) 10 (7)

p.30

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

Percentage of pupils School 66 (50) 48 (46) 79 (63) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.30

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.30

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

Boys 10 (3) 8 (6) 11 (5) Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 9 (4) 9 (4) 10 (4)

p.30

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

Percentage of pupils School 66 (29) 58 (42) 72 (42) at NC level 4 or above National N/A (70) N/A (72) N/A (79) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 31

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.31

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.31

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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.

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 7.5 Financial year 2000/01

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24.7

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 338,350

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 6 Total expenditure 350,954

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 180 Expenditure per pupil 1,897

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year 47,727 FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance carried forward to next year 35123

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 5.5

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 4.2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 1

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0 FTE means full-time equivalent. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 32

p.31

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 63 26 4 0 7

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 57 39 0 2 2

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 50 20 9 2 19

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 70 24 0 0 6

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 76 24 0 0 0

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 83 17 0 0 0

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 54 37 4 0 5

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 65 33 2 0 0

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 59 33 2 0 6

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 59 35 0 2 4

p.32

Summary of parents’ and carers’ responses

The parents who responded to the questionnaire are very appreciative of the quality of education and care provided for the pupils. Whilst a small number of parents would like to see homework set on a more regular basis there were no other significant concerns. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 33

p.32

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

81. Children start school in the September following their fourth birthday. To begin with, they attend part-time and have the opportunity to get used to routines, including playtimes and joining the younger children for lunch and assemblies. There are currently 24 children attending part-time, having started school only two weeks ago. The quality of provision for the children has largely been maintained since the previous inspection of the school. Overall, curriculum planning is good and the quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and parents speak with warmth about the quality of care and support the children receive.

p.33

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

82. Although there is a range of attainment, the majority of children enter school with below average attainment in all areas of learning, with the exception of communication, language and literacy, which is well below average owing to the poor vocabulary of many children, and in physical development, which is average. There is a good range of suitable play activities and these enable all children to make at least satisfactory progress. By the end of the Reception year, the majority of children are attaining the early learning goals in their early reading skills, their knowledge and understanding of the world and in their creative and physical development. Last year all children achieved the goals in mathematics but not all children may do so this year. They are not yet attaining the early learning goals in their personal, social and emotional development and the speaking and writing aspects of communication,

p.33

Personal, social and emotional development

83. Suitable emphasis is placed on planning appropriate activities for the children to make progress, although, by the end of the Reception year, the majority do not attain the early learning goals in all aspects of this area of learning. Most children have attended the local nursery and start school with confidence and are happy to say goodbye to their carers at the start of each session. Their confidence is encouraged and supported further through inviting parents to join their children for lunch. This is a well considered arrangement which gives added support to the children in learning the routines at lunchtimes, security when the older pupils come into the dining hall and involves parents in the life of the school. Supported by the LEA, the school is planning to employ two nursery nurses in the spring and summer terms to work with children to develop this aspect of their learning.

p.33

Personal, social and emotional development

84. Satisfactory teaching enables the children to develop their social skills to a suitable level, for example when taking turns. Many children are able to persist for long periods on their chosen activity. However, although adults play with the children and respond to their needs fairly well, sessions using the home role-play area and dressing-up clothes are not planned well enough to focus on the development of specific social skills. Children therefore tend to play alongside each other rather than with each other. Two boys played alongside each other, building imaginary features in sand, one with wet sand and the other with dry. But at no time did they interact and they found the sharing of equipment difficult. This is because there is too little planned interaction from adults to ensure that personal skills of sharing are emphasised in such activities. Good opportunities are provided for children to learn

p.33

Personal, social and emotional development

St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 34 how to care for living things in the environment through caring for the gerbils and other animals throughout the year. This aspect of personal development is good.

p.34

Communication, language and literacy

85. Children enter school with well below average skills in this area of their learning. Although they make satisfactory progress, the majority do not attain the early learning goals in this area of learning. When asked, the children rarely answer in sentences, preferring to use one-word answers. There are not enough planned activities for the children to improve specific speaking skills through learning new vocabulary and talking about what they are doing. Because of the suitable emphasis given to developing formal literacy and numeracy skills, the children have better listening skills. When listening to the story ‘Walking through the Jungle’, the children showed obvious enjoyment and joined in with the animal noises at the correct moment without too much prompting by the teacher. The children know the expectations set by all adults working in the classroom, who listen to them in return, and this helps increase

p.34

Communication, language and literacy

86. The teaching of early reading skills is good and most children achieve the early learning goals in reading. Many children recognise and name the letters and sounds in the alphabet. By the end of the Reception year, higher attaining children know the sounds they need to make for ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and ‘th’. All children can recognise their own name. The children treat books with care, and know where to start reading and turn pages carefully. All children read the reading scheme books with confidence and are familiar with the characters. Although there are opportunities to listen to stories at the end of each session, the children’s knowledge of books is limited. When asked, few could recall a favourite book that was not one from the reading scheme and because of their limited spoken language could not recall the sequence of stories with which they are familiar.

p.34

Communication, language and literacy

87. Early writing skills are below those expected at the end of the Foundation Stage. When children copy beneath the teacher’s writing they achieve something which looks recognisable. This encourages the children to concentrate on getting a matching letter shape but there is too little emphasis given to the letter’s formation. Work scrutiny shows that the higher attaining children are forming many letters incorrectly and work that the children write unaided consists of isolated letters only. The children are given too little opportunity to apply their knowledge of letter sounds in their own writing.

p.34

Mathematical development

88. Children make satisfactory progress. Whilst last year’s group of children achieved well, discussions with staff indicate that several children this year have limited mathematical vocabulary and skills and are unlikely to attain the early learning goals in this area of learning. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The children know a range of number rhymes which they join in with and this enables them to make good progress in counting and number recognition activities so that by the end of the Reception year they are able to count to ten and sometimes beyond with confidence. Planned activities are practical and teaching the children in small groups enables all to get enough attention from the teacher to meet individual needs. The classroom assistant supports the development of the children’s early counting skills well by playing games with them and asking focused questions. This supports useful

p.34

Mathematical development

assessment of what the children already know and can do. However, as in other areas of learning, assessment information is not always used effectively to match the St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 35 task to the learning needs of individual children and different groups are sometimes given the same activity and this limits their learning. For example, the children were asked to glue five spots to a picture of a ladybird whether they could count to five or not.

p.34

Knowledge and understanding of the world

89. The curriculum in this area of learning is particularly strong and coupled with good teaching. Children make good progress and the majority attain the early learning goals by the end of the Reception year. The outside area and local area are used particularly well and offer the children very good opportunities to learn from their personal experience. This learning from first hand helps them to remember their learning and to use it when back in the classroom. Gerbils are well cared for by the children who watch them with interest as they dig and burrow in their tank. Photographs show the sheer delight on the children’s faces when ducklings hatched recently and were reared in school. As a result of these and other experiences, the children make good progress and learn to care for living things in the world around them. The children enjoy using the computers to listen to their favourite stories, draw

p.35

Knowledge and understanding of the world

pictures, learn letter names and sounds and join in with counting games. The wide range of software available supports their learning well so that they are able to use the mouse with good control to select and make things happen on screen. They are clearly fascinated when a printer on the other side of the room prints their picture.

p.35

Physical development

90. Children make satisfactory progress and, by the end of the Reception year, the majority attain the early learning goals in this area of learning. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. The children join the older pupils at playtime and run about the playground with confidence. They develop their climbing and balancing skills during organised physical education lessons in the hall and again when a range of activities are organised outside for them to experience. Planning indicates that suitable emphasis is given to developing early throwing and catching skills and these skills are developed in playtime activities. During a story telling session, the follow up tracing and colouring activity supported the development of the children’s pencil control well. With gentle encouragement the children were able to trace and colour in a picture of an animal fairly accurately showing clear progress from the previous week when they

p.35

Physical development

had tried this activity for the first time. Fine motor skills are average for the age of the children.

p.35

Creative development

91. Good teaching ensures that the children make good progress so that by the end of the Reception year the majority attain the early learning goals in their creative development. Music sessions are lively and encourage the children to explore a range of sounds and musical instruments. They are already joining in with hymns in assembly with confidence and sing a good number of rhymes from memory. This half term the role-play area is a home and is well organised with a range of appropriate furniture and equipment to encourage the children to act out familiar situations. The role-play area changes every half term to link with the topic. For example, when the children are learning about pets, it becomes a Vet’s clinic and this gives the children good opportunity to use their imagination. Children are encouraged to paint and chalk and these activities are always available for the children to access. This allows them

p.35

Creative development

to use their imagination and explore colours appropriately. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 36 St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 37

p.35

ENGLISH

92. Standards in English have been below the national average for the four years for which information has been available, although there has been year-on-year improvement. National Curriculum tests in 2001 for pupils aged eleven show that attainment was well below the national average, but average when compared to standards in similar schools. The results of the national tests for pupils aged seven in 2001 show that in reading standards were well below the national average but average when compared to similar schools. Writing standards were average when compared to all schools and well above the average of schools with similar numbers of pupils entitled to free school meals. However, progress has not been consistent or sufficient in other areas of English including speaking and listening. Inspection judgements are that at the ages of seven and eleven standards are below average. The quality of pupils’ learning and the progress made is now satisfactory. However,

p.37

ENGLISH

because pupils enter the school with communication skills that are often well below average and progress has been slow for many pupils over some years, there are gaps in pupils’ learning that the school has had to work hard to address. The achievement of boys and girls, including those with English as an additional language and special educational needs, is satisfactory overall. The strategies for teaching literacy skills are satisfactory and senior staff acknowledge that planning for the subject has much improved since the implementation of the National Literacy Strategy. Standards in English have improved since the last inspection. 93. At the end of both key stages, many pupils have unsatisfactory skills in listening. This is a less positive picture than at the time of the last inspection. At times, this adversely affects the learning of the whole class. Too many pupils do not listen effectively to

p.37

ENGLISH

their teachers or fellow pupils, and shout out answers and comments. This is particularly true of some Key Stage 2 boys. Pupils’ speaking skills are unsatisfactory and there are a significant number of pupils, often boys, who have poor speech because many pupils lack the appropriate vocabulary for their age group. For instance, most Year 6 pupils did not understand the term ‘chronological’ when their teacher was discussing different types of writing. Similarly, when describing the headgear of people in Tudor time’s pupils’ responses were limited. This is because, despite satisfactory teaching, many pupils have gaps in the normal expressive vocabulary and do not feel confident in using words that they have been introduced to in a wide variety of activities. The small number of more able pupils in each class is working at the expected level. The school has identified, for instance in science, that it needs to specifically teach appropriate vocabulary in lessons and this will aid pupils’

p.37

ENGLISH

learning. In other subjects, whilst the Year 1 and Year 6 teachers are particularly effective in ensuring that pupils are given opportunities to use technical vocabulary, other teachers miss opportunities to reinforce learning.

p.37

ENGLISH

94. Throughout the school, the standard of pupils’ reading is below average overall. The school’s own analysis reveals that, although reading ages are rising, the majority of pupils are reading at a level below their chronological age. The more able pupils in each class usually read expressively and fluently and in line with their abilities. However, they are not always presented with tasks that allow them to show what they can do. Many pupils do not receive much support at home and teachers work hard to improve matters, giving up lunch hours and playtimes to hear individual pupils read. The teaching of letter sounds and blends is effective in moving learning forward. The current Year 2 pupils read common three letter words with confidence, and average and more able pupils can read unfamiliar words such as ‘tank’ and ‘list’ with ease. Throughout the school, pupils make satisfactory progress overall in reading.

p.37

ENGLISH

St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 38 95. The school has dealt successfully with the concerns raised by the previous inspection team. It has improved the quantity and quality of books. It has involved the library service in improving the quality of the libraries at both key stages. The literacy governor supports the pupils in changing their library books and this gives them good opportunities to discover how the fiction library works. Older pupils can name a number of authors. The literacy hour has given most older pupils a good grasp of how a non-fiction book is laid out. However, the oldest pupils in the school thought that the non-fiction library was laid out in alphabetical order and had no clear idea of how to use the Dewey system to find a book. Pupils would be assisted by better labelling to show them how the library works.

p.38

ENGLISH

96. At the end of both key stages, pupils’ skills in writing are below average. The school has extended writing opportunities and provided extra sessions each week to develop creative writing skills and regular slots for teaching handwriting, spelling and phonics. This has produced an improvement in spelling at Key Stage 1. However, pupils’ lack of vocabulary means that they have difficulty in producing work that is full of interesting words and phrases. Examination of previous work shows that although Year 2 pupils could write stories with beginnings, middles and ends, the stories were often mundane. The small number of more able pupils write in line with their ages and abilities. For example, in work analysis more able Year 2 pupils could write effective tongue twisters and a small number of the most able pupils wrote neatly in joined up writing using paragraphs, punctuation and correct spelling. The least able pupils were

p.38

ENGLISH

producing handwriting with variable letter formation, weak spelling and generally using only capital letters and full stops. However, the current Year 6 pupils have produced some effective poems reflecting on Magritte’s work which show sound progress being made.

p.38

ENGLISH

97. The quality of teaching and learning over time is satisfactory overall, and during the inspection several lessons were judged to be good. In effective lessons, teachers use lively strategies to encourage pupils to listen. In Year 1, for example, the teacher used a toy parrot to demonstrate how to sound out words and this encouraged pupils to learn from their mistakes. Successful lessons moved at a good pace, used effective questioning and matched the tasks well to pupils’ abilities. Where pupils learn effectively, the school’s behaviour management system is used well, as in Year 6, with both positive and negative sanctions being employed. Lower achieving pupils are well supported in additional literacy lessons in Year 3 and in afternoon sessions in Key Stage 1. When lessons were not as successful, teachers did not match what they were doing to the learning objectives they had set for the lesson, for example,

p.38

ENGLISH

aiming to teach plurals from a text which only contained one plural. Occasionally, there was a lack of knowledge and understanding, as when a teacher correctly identified words in a spelling pattern to be taught, but did not understand the concept of a ‘suffix’. Marking is often conscientiously carried out and spellings are corrected, but the marking does not inform pupils sufficiently whether they have met either their personal targets or the lesson’s objectives in order to move their learning forward. As at the time of the last inspection, information and communication technology is insufficiently used to support pupils’ learning.

p.38

ENGLISH

98. The National Literacy Strategy has been well implemented and pupils produce work in a variety of styles. The pupils in Year 1 have particularly good opportunities to produce work in a series of small booklets. However, sometimes pupils do not have enough opportunities to use the skills they are developing in English to write in a variety of styles in, for instance, history and geography. Teachers’ own writing on blackboards and on displays does not provide a good model for pupils to follow. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 39 There is no policy on when pupils should use pens or pencils. Too few pupils have a fluent style of handwriting that enables them to produce well-presented work quickly and easily.

p.38

ENGLISH

99. Leadership and management are satisfactory with some strengths. The co-ordinator is a leading literacy teacher and her influence is particularly noticeable in Key Stage 1.The school has received effective support in moving forward from the Local Education Authority. The school has put effective strategies into place to deal with its areas of weakness. However, because of the continual change in staff and the movement of pupils in and out of the school, it has not yet raised standards sufficiently. Teaching has been regularly monitored, and planning is monitored by a variety of personnel in order to raise standards. The current priority is to devise an over-arching scheme of work that will support all aspects of pupils’ work. The curriculum is sufficiently enriched with visits to the theatre, Book Week projects and book clubs to suitably enhance pupils’ learning.

p.39

MATHEMATICS

100. The inspection findings indicate that pupils’ overall attainment in mathematics is in line with national expectations at the age of seven but is below the expected level at age eleven. This indicates a fall in standards from the previous inspection when attainment was broadly in line with expectations. Following the inspection, standards fell sharply. However, school assessment information shows that a gradually growing number of pupils have achieved the national expectation over the last three years. The school has targeted Numeracy as a priority and this has had a positive effect on raising standards in this area of the curriculum. In 2001 standards achieved in national tests by pupils aged seven, were average when compared to all schools and well above average compared with schools with similar numbers of pupils entitled to free school meals, which is a marked improvement. All pupils aged seven achieved

p.39

MATHEMATICS

the expected level in the end of Key Stage 1 tests, although the number achieving the higher levels was still slightly below average. These pupils make good progress. The progress that the pupils make in Key Stage 2 is now satisfactory but there have been long-standing gaps in pupils’ mathematical understanding that the school has had to work very hard to improve. In 2001 standards achieved in national tests by pupils aged eleven, were well below the national average and below average compared with schools with similar characteristics. Whilst there is a growing number of pupils achieving the national average, nevertheless the standards achieved at the age of eleven are below average.

p.39

MATHEMATICS

101. There has been a steady rise in the number of pupils attaining the average standard in end of key stage National Curriculum test results. However, the low percentage of pupils working at the higher levels in both key stages remains a challenge for the school. The low number of pupils achieving the higher levels in national tests is due to previous weaknesses in planning and teaching, a lack of consistent challenge for pupils of higher abilities and inappropriate match of work to pupils’ abilities. The school has already begun to implement strategies for improvement and standards are beginning to rise throughout the school.

p.39

MATHEMATICS

102. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils are developing a sound understanding of the purpose of graphs to display information. They practise their data handling skills to record their findings in a class graph. They collect data about favourite foods and display their findings of favourite meals in the form of a block graph. With help, they St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 40 interpret their data to identify the least and most popular foods. In Year 2, most pupils recall addition and subtraction facts to at least 10 and the higher attaining pupils confidently use numbers beyond this. All pupils count on and back in twos and tens, most quickly identify different ways of making 10 and show confidence in addition and subtraction. Some pupils have a limited knowledge of multiplication and division. As well as identifying regular two-dimensional shapes, such as triangles and pentagons, pupils name and recognise some properties of cuboids and pyramids. Pupils

p.39

MATHEMATICS

confidently name faces and edges, have a good knowledge of fractions and time, recognising half and quarter hours.

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MATHEMATICS

103. By the age of 11, most pupils employ a reasonable range of strategies for working out problems in their heads. They round up to the nearest ten, hundred or thousand when adding and subtracting with whole numbers and decimals. More able pupils solve number problems using a variety of methods with the four operations of number and check the reasonableness of results with and without a calculator. However, a significant number do not know their times tables well enough to help in their calculations. Most pupils calculate simple fractions and decimals. Lower attainers lack confidence and work slowly, often waiting for others to answer, especially during oral sessions. Most pupils can reduce fractions by cancelling down and convert fractions to decimals and reverse the process. All pupils construct block and line graphs from data they have collected about favourite foods, leisure activities and television

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MATHEMATICS

104. The quality of teaching of mathematics is good in Key Stage 1 and satisfactory in Key Stage 2. In the period of inspection, over half of the lessons seen were good or better, and this represents a significant improvement since the last inspection when teaching was judged to be unsatisfactory. Whilst teaching is good in Key Stage 1, especially in Year 1, it varies in Key Stage 2. Effective lessons were characterised by clear identification of the learning objectives, the brisk pace of oral and mental activities, good use of praise and encouragement and activities well matched to meet the needs of all pupils. However, inadequate management of pupils’ poor behaviour, restlessness and insufficient challenge for higher attaining pupils caused some lessons to be less successful in Key Stage 2. The organisation of group tasks is not always effective and leads to teachers being prevented from concentrating on a focus

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MATHEMATICS

group because they have to address inappropriate behaviour and lack of purpose from a small number of pupils. This disturbs concentration and slows the progress of other pupils and as a consequence tasks remain incomplete.

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MATHEMATICS

105. Some teachers make good use of practical equipment and games to support pupils’ learning and increase their understanding. White boards and number fans also are used effectively to enable pupils to provide quick answers in response to oral questioning. Teachers use mathematical language accurately, so that pupils extend their understanding. This was particularly evident in Key Stage 1 where the different vocabulary of addition was successfully explored and confidently used by pupils. Homework is set on a regular basis and in Key Stage 1 in particular is targeted at specific groups of learners. As well as being well explained by teachers, guidance is given so that support for pupil learning can be given at home.

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MATHEMATICS

106. A weakness in teaching is that a large proportion of work sheets are used which do not give pupils sufficient opportunity to tackle open-ended questions, develop problem solving activities and record their own work based on appropriate presentation skills. Daily mental mathematics sessions, however, are used effectively to improve the pupils’ skills in manipulating numbers in their heads. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 41 107. The school has identified the high number of lower attainers in Year 6 as being in need of support to enable them to achieve in line with their capabilities. The school organises booster classes and other strategies well to improve pupils’ skills and build self-esteem in an attempt to raise standards. The impact of these strategies has yet to be fully identified in the test results. Overall achievement is hampered because small-scale targets are not identified to ensure that tasks planned clearly match the

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MATHEMATICS

learning needs of different groups of pupils.

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MATHEMATICS

108. The use of formal assessment procedures to track the progress pupils make as they move through the school is good. However, the practice of setting small-scale targets for individual pupils is patchy with a significant number of pupils not aware of their own targets. Where targets are identified, they are not usually precise or time referenced. Pupils appear unaware of exactly what is expected of them and their academic and personal development is therefore hampered. Pupils’ care of books reflects some poor attitudes to the subject, and to learning, in the classes with older pupils. However, the use of stickers, good work stamps, improved presentation and layout and some constructive marking, reinforced with positive comments, is raising standards and improving pupils’ confidence.

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MATHEMATICS

109. Led by an able co-ordinator, the management of the subject is now good and has had a significant recent bearing on improving results. The organisation of in-service training activities and a focus upon improving the quality of planning has been instrumental in supporting improvements, especially in Key Stage 1. Monitoring and evaluation of teaching has been introduced. Detailed analysis of pupil performance data over time and the identification of pupil turnover have given the school quality information to inform the target setting progress. Pupil turnover as high as 53% in one year group makes it difficult to set realistic targets but, through tracking cohorts very closely, the school is becoming far more aware of the weaknesses to be addressed. However, the monitoring of learning, the range and quality of written work and its presentation is not yet fully developed. A lack of continuity in teaching of pupils in

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MATHEMATICS

upper Key Stage 2 and the delayed introduction of a newly published maths scheme have until recently hampered pupil progress. A recent thorough audit of the pupils’ performance in annual tests has correctly identified the need to focus further on using and applying mathematical skills and problem solving.

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MATHEMATICS

110. The analysis of data at an individual level has provided the school’s management with detailed information about particular cohorts and clearly indicates areas for development, such as the interpretation of data, showing working out, probability, volume and the use of formulae associated with calculations. Pupils with special educational needs are supported well, enabling them to make good progress. The National Numeracy Strategy is being implemented satisfactorily in all classes ensuring the progressive build up of skills but is not fully embedded in Key Stage 2 to be impacting on standards. There is an adequate range of resources available to support the teaching of mathematics throughout the school; however, insufficient use is made of information technology throughout the school to support the acquisition and development of mathematical skills.

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SCIENCE

111. Standards in science have risen during the last four years. This improvement is not yet reflected in the results achieved in National Curriculum tests at the end of Key St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 42 Stage 2 and teacher assessments at the end of Key Stage 1. In the 2001 national tests for pupils aged eleven standards were well below the national average. When standards are compared to those in similar schools attainment was average. These improvements in standards are due in part to the recently introduced comprehensive curriculum, which gives the pupils full coverage of scientific knowledge and understanding in a structured way. This reflects the school’s commitment to raise standards and the focused work that has gone into development planning. This indicates good overall improvement since the last inspection but more remains to be done in experimental and investigative activities. Some work in science is linked to

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SCIENCE

topic planning. Whilst this is generally satisfactory, the school is wisely reviewing the way that the units of work are organised in Key Stage 2 to ensure that science is timetabled on a regular enough basis. There has nevertheless been continued improvement over the last four years and standards at the end of Key Stage 2, which were very low, have more than doubled. Inspection findings are that standards are slightly below average.

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SCIENCE

112. Standards also remain slightly below average at the end of Key Stage 1 although attainment is now quite close to the national average. Teacher assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 are now reliable because of the recent work by teachers to agree levels of attainment compared to national statements. Recent good teaching has also improved the structure of lessons and in older classes in Key Stage 2 secure subject knowledge and clear objectives of what the pupils are expected to learn adds to improved achievement. Pupils’ achievement is therefore satisfactory and improved since the last inspection. All pupils achieve equally well, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language.

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SCIENCE

113. Pupils enjoy carrying out investigations. They reflect on how they learn better when they carry out the investigations themselves. Although there are times, for safety reasons, that teachers need to demonstrate particular scientific processes, further opportunities for pupils to be more actively involved in the practical activities are required. In nearly every lesson seen, teachers demonstrated scientific processes to the whole class and asked pupils questions on what they could see happening. This sometimes hinders the progress made by higher attaining pupils. While this is satisfactory, overall, and enables pupils to develop sound understanding of scientific processes, some pupils find it hard to concentrate and sustain satisfactory behaviour.

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SCIENCE

114. Suitable lessons are planned to include practical investigation to develop scientific enquiry skills. However, these specific skills are not as high as they could be because there are relatively few opportunities for the pupils to carry out their own investigations. The level of work for all pupils is often the same and this means that higher attaining pupils are not challenged as well as they might be. Scrutiny of pupils’ recent work also indicates that there is too little use of assessment information to match work to the abilities of individuals and groups of pupils.

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SCIENCE

115. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory at both key stages. Some teachers imaginatively use other lessons to reinforce scientific knowledge and understanding. In a Year 4 gymnastic lesson, sequences of movements were developed which required the pupils to move like a liquid to a certain point before changing to a solid and back to a liquid again. The teacher reinforced these points well at different parts of the lesson by reminding the pupils when to pretend to be in a freezer or a microwave, repeating the practical activity demonstrated in a previous science lesson. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 43 116. Pupils learn knowledge and scientific facts well when teachers are confident with the subject content. In one lesson explaining how the earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, pupils are asked to say what time it is in Africa. When one pupil answered incorrectly that it was midnight, the teacher gently probed his understanding before

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SCIENCE

asking suitable questions, which allowed the pupil to think his way through to the correct answer ‘midday’. In another lesson the teacher changed the content of the tasks in response to the pupils’ answers to questions posed. The subsequent activity allowed the pupils to talk with confidence about the things that they could do as babies and compare these things with what they can do now as young children. Some were able to talk about what they will be able to do when they are grown up. This good learning was in response to the teacher’s confidence and knowledge about what she wanted the pupils to learn.

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SCIENCE

117. The opportunity to use information and communication technology to support the subject is satisfactory, although there are limited examples of its use in the sample of pupils’ recent work. Pupils recall recording the information they have collected when measuring the sizes of various parts of their body in graphs, which are produced quickly on the computer. A digital microscope is used effectively for pupils to look closely at the crystals remaining after the water has evaporated from solutions of sugar and salt. Sensory equipment is used appropriately to support the pupils' precise measurement of light and sound. At the moment, these links are left to individual teachers to plan, but the school has plans to formally identify all possible information and communication technology links in the scheme of work and this is wholly appropriate to make sure that computers are better used to support specific learning.

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SCIENCE

118. The environment club and Eco school activities support the subject well. Pupils enjoy acting as Eco warriors and take their responsibility of litter recycling very seriously. Work about the environment is good and supported by the local Park Rangers who visit school to play games with the pupils outdoors. The outside garden is a wonderful place where the pupils can go to find out about different animals and plants and their habitats.

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SCIENCE

119. The co-ordination of the subject is satisfactory. There has been a complete review of the curriculum so that the scheme of work covers all aspects of science and ensures that pupils learn the necessary skills to learn and develop scientific knowledge and understanding in a structured way. Although the co-ordinator has good knowledge of the work that pupils do in Key Stage 1, there is not enough monitoring of teaching and learning in Key Stage 2. Pupils’ work is not evaluated rigorously enough. The pupils who attain the higher levels at the end of Key Stage 1 are not always presented with work of a high enough challenge and their progress slows as a result. The school has recognised that there is a weakness in the use of assessment information and has had staff training to focus on this issue. The school is presently reviewing the way that the units of work are organised in Key Stage 2. This is to make

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SCIENCE

sure that all pupils get regular timetabled science lessons in all classes to help them to remember important scientific facts and processes and to practice their skills of investigation and enquiry.

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ART AND DESIGN

120. Standards have improved since the previous inspection and pupils achieve standards above those expected for pupils of the same age at the end of each key stage. Achievement by all pupils is good and in lessons taken by a part-time art specialist St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 44 achievement is very good. Pupils have particularly good drawing and painting skills because of the emphasis given to this aspect of art and design. Learning is very good when teachers’ astute questioning and demonstration make the pupils think carefully not only about what they are doing, but also about how they are doing it.

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ART AND DESIGN

121. Lesson observations, looking at pupils’ work and talking with pupils indicate good knowledge and progress in the understanding of the work of a range of artists. Work on display reflects the study of techniques used by Turner, Monet and Van Gogh and pupils use these techniques successfully to produce work of a high standard. This shows very good learning in their knowledge and understanding of the way artists work. Year 3 pupils talk knowledgeably about Picasso and how they used his drawing and painting techniques to paint portraits while in Year 2. These pupils show an above average level of skill in mixing tints of yellow and pink to create the desired flesh tone. The charcoal line gives emphasis to the features and sets the portrait off clearly against its background. Their enjoyment is obvious in the excited way they talk about the many different art activities in which they have taken part. They recall with

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ART AND DESIGN

enthusiasm making their clay pots and the fun they had moulding the clay to make their desired shape.

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ART AND DESIGN

122. Curriculum planning ensures coverage of all the main areas of the art and design curriculum and there are some good cross-curricular links to support progress in other subjects. Year 1 pupils select their own materials and fabrics from a given range, to create a class weaving from natural materials. They consider carefully and talk about which material to use next to make sure that they create the desired effect. Their keen evaluation of what this looked like and the different textures being created was reflected in their discussions, which support progress in the development of speaking and listening skills. Year 5 pupils’ paintings copy the techniques of Magritte. The outlines of birds are carefully cut out and set against darkening skies created by mixing tones of blue and black. This work inspired pupils to write poems thus making a sound contribution to their spiritual development.

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ART AND DESIGN

123. The quality of teaching and learning is good overall in both key stages. The specialist teaching of art is very good. The challenge presented is high and pupils get great satisfaction from the high quality finished pictures, especially when these are displayed prominently for others to see. The specialist teacher’s very good subject knowledge and knowledge of artists means that questioning probes pupils’ understanding and makes sure that they remember not only the names of the artists being studied, but also their particular style and the effects this style creates. This leads to pupils making good progress in being able to talk knowledgeably about those artists studied. This knowledge and understanding is repeated in their own work so that their pictures are of a remarkable likeness to the original. Astute questioning by the teacher and the directions given ensure that pupils are continually evaluating and

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ART AND DESIGN

improving their work. Learning in class lessons is less effective but satisfactory overall. However, tasks are often too directed so that pupils have too little freedom to use the skills previously learned to develop their creativity. Subject knowledge is sometimes insecure so that teachers lack confidence to let the pupils explore their own ideas.

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ART AND DESIGN

124. The co-ordination of the subject is good. The scheme of work is comprehensive and develops the skills and elements of art and design very well and this impacts positively on pupils’ learning. The school is aware that there is too little opportunity for pupils to design and create their own ideas and this has been identified as a priority for development next year. Information and communication technology is not yet used St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 45 to support learning in the subject sufficiently well and further opportunities are currently being identified in the scheme of work. Assessment procedures are ongoing and teachers have a good knowledge of the work that each pupil has done. The range of resources is good and used very well to improve pupils’ level of skill.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

125. Pupils’ attainment is at expected levels by the end of both key stages. Until recently pupils’ experience of design and technology has been patchy and they have had too little opportunity to develop these skills in a progressive manner. However, the sample of pupils’ recent work shows that there has been good improvement in design and technology over the last year and standards have risen as a result. The school has a detailed scheme of work, which identifies relevant links to other subjects. This and the suitable emphasis given to the skills of making a range of artefacts ensure that most pupils make satisfactory progress and are able to join a range of materials to a sound standard.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

126. The curriculum is planned so that pupils develop specific skills and knowledge and understanding of techniques, and refine these skills as they get older. The quality of pupils’ learning is satisfactory in both key stages. In Year 2, pupils talk proudly about how they made their picture frames. The frames are joined carefully so that the edges are neat and the picture backing is cut to precise measurements so that it fits neatly into the frame. The frames are painted carefully to show off the pressed flower and grass picture inside, which supports that term’s topic on the environment. The finished picture and frames are decorated to a high standard with shells and small stones to complete the work well. These skills are developed further in Year 4 when the pupils use the same joining skills and techniques to make models of chairs. The skills are extended by joining the seat to the back, which requires the pupils to think

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

about how they will join a horizontal frame to a vertical one. They have been very successful and again the quality of finish is good.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

127. Whilst overall progress is satisfactory, the quality of finish by older pupils in Years 5 and 6 is currently unsatisfactory. Their finished models are designed effectively and work well, but are not always finished to a high enough standard. Low expectations of presentation means that pupils take little care to make sure that paint is applied neatly even though good painting skills are seen in art. This is partly because until recently pupils’ opportunities to take part in design and technology activities have been variable and pupils have had too few opportunities to develop these skills when younger. Younger pupils have had more recent and regular opportunities to design and make a range of products and consequently they currently finish their work to a better standard. Inspection evidence indicates that because of the consistent implementation of the scheme of work, the pupils now have regular opportunities to

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

make a range of models and other items and that standards of all pupils have risen as a result.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

128. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory but with strengths and areas for further development. Lessons are planned so that suitable emphasis is given to pupils making their own models. Teachers set tasks clearly with good emphasis on the requirement to make models to a given criterion and in developing techniques and evaluating these to ensure models move well. However, these are often based on the class teacher’s design, and although pupils are given suitable opportunities to decide on the decoration, they have too little opportunity to design the product from St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 46 the outset. Interesting ideas are planned and often linked to work in other subjects. This motivates the pupils to think about their work and gives them a context for their thinking when completing the finished decoration. Photographs show, for example, the enjoyment that Year 4 pupils get from decorating their Christmas cakes ready for

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

129. There are good opportunities planned to use information and communication technology to support the subject in Year 6. The pupils make battery-operated vehicles, which incorporate knowledge and understanding of circuitry in science as well as design and making skills. By linking these to the computer, pupils have been able to write a simple programme to control the direction and distance they want them to travel.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

130. The co-ordination of design and technology is satisfactory. The focus on the subject last year enabled precise evaluation of pupils’ work which led to the current improvements in the curriculum and in the level of pupils’ skills. The need to improve the quality of the finished pieces has also been identified and is included as the next steps in the improvement plan for the subject. Resources are satisfactory and used appropriately to provide a broad curriculum for pupils.

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GEOGRAPHY

131. By the end of both key stages, standards are below what is expected nationally. All boys and girls, including those with special educational needs and English as an additional language, make unsatisfactory progress. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should because insufficient time is given to teaching the subject. The subject is allocated one half term a year and this does not ensure that sufficient effective learning takes place. Overall, standards have declined since the last inspection

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GEOGRAPHY

132. At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils know that they live in Ashton and a few know that this is in England. Pupils can draw satisfactory maps and talk about the use they made of keys when colouring in features. However, they have unsatisfactory understanding of where Ashton is located on a map of the British Isles or any secure knowledge of the size of England. The school arranged an educational visit to nearby Uppermill to provide the pupils with experience of a different type of area. However, examination of pupils’ writing and discussion with pupils, shows that little geographical knowledge was gained from this visit, although they clearly enjoyed the day.

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GEOGRAPHY

133. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils’ knowledge of basic geographical facts remains unsatisfactory. Current Year 6 pupils confuse countries, cities and continents. Only a small number could find Ashton on a map of the British Isles and most are unable to name the five continents or five European countries with any degree of confidence. These pupils have some limited ideas of the features you might find on a map, such as rivers and seas. However, they could not name a range of maps and their uses. For example, only one pupil could name an A-Z or describe what you might find on an ordnance survey map. This is because the school does not provide a sufficient range of resources or experiences. In a lesson seen during the inspection, three quarters of Year 6 pupils knew where rivers start and could name specific features. Analysis of pupils’ previous work shows that work is often at a lower level than is normal for Year

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GEOGRAPHY

6 pupils. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 47 134. The teaching of geography at Key Stage 1 and 2 is unsatisfactory, although in the lessons seen in Key Stage 2 during the inspection, teaching was broadly satisfactory. Too often, work is not pitched at an appropriate level for pupils’ ages and abilities. For example, all Year 5 pupils were asked to cut out and paste pictures in their books and copy a few words from the board, although higher attaining pupils had to add an additional sentence. Discussion and effective questioning takes place towards the end of lessons and allows pupils to show what they know and resolves their misconceptions. However, tasks are often too simple and teachers do not sufficiently use the technical vocabulary outlined in lesson plans; consequently, pupils do not have the opportunity to talk about the topic in appropriate terms. Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are generally better when they are interested, for example, when an

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GEOGRAPHY

effective practical experiment shows pupils how rivers move. However, too many pupils, particularly older boys, call out answers and this prevents other pupils from learning. In one lesson a classroom assistant was used effectively to minimise this disruption. Teachers take too few opportunities to use information and communication technology and do not routinely use what pupils have already learnt in literacy and numeracy hours to support pupils’ learning.

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GEOGRAPHY

135. Leadership and management of the subject are broadly satisfactory, given that the subject has not been a priority for such a long time. An appropriate policy and scheme of work have been put in place and the co-ordinator supports staff wherever possible. The co-ordinator is to monitor lessons and organise assessment during this academic year in order to raise standards. Resources are limited because of the small budget allocated to the subject and, consequently, teachers use inappropriate materials.

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HISTORY

136. By the end of both key stages, standards are below national expectations. All boys and girls, including those with English as an additional language and special educational needs, make unsatisfactory progress and do not achieve as well as they should. The subject is taught in short bursts of half a term, with long periods in between and pupils forget what they have previously learned. Overall, standards have declined since the time of the last inspection.

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HISTORY

137. When examining photographs, pupils in Year 2 find difficulty in using the evidence available to them because they have had relatively few opportunities to develop an understanding of the passing of time and the use of historical resources. For instance, they are not aware that the colour of the photograph, or the type of dress worn are clues to decide when the people in the photograph lived or who they might be. Pupils are interested in the resources shown to them. These are not always used effectively and this limits the progress pupils make. In discussion about their work in Year 2, pupils demonstrate unsatisfactory knowledge of famous people, except for popular figures, such as Britney Spiers. They can find when they were born on a very simple time line, but have little understanding of who might have been born in earlier times. Overall, pupils are not given enough opportunity to record their work and as a

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HISTORY

consequence find it difficult to recall facts that they have previously learned.

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HISTORY

138. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils’ knowledge of basic historical facts is still unsatisfactory and lacks depth. In discussion, Year 6 pupils have a limited knowledge and understanding of the Tudors and the Egyptians, but their lack of technical vocabulary is a handicap when they try to recall what they have seen, for example, in St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 48 an educational visit to the museum. The lack of depth in learning is exemplified in the short pieces of work that pupils record in their books. Work does not reflect that pupils have sifted through a variety of sources to distinguish fact and opinion or any depth of factual knowledge. Pupils are given insufficient opportunities to practise skills gained in the literacy hour, for example, to write a report, a diary or letters between historical people. There was little evidence of information and communication technology being used either for research or to improve presentation.

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HISTORY

139. Teaching in both key stages is unsatisfactory because of its ineffective impact on pupils’ learning, although in one lesson seen in Key Stage 1, teaching was broadly satisfactory. Teachers’ planning is insufficiently detailed to provide challenging activities and merely lists the activities that will be undertaken. This leads to lessons where insufficient time is given to important elements, because of the time spent on managing pupils’ behaviour, for example, and too long spent sitting on the carpet. More able pupils are insufficiently challenged because work is not pitched at the higher levels of expected attainment.

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HISTORY

140. Leadership and management of the subject are broadly satisfactory, given that the subject has not been a priority for such a long time. The co-ordinator supports staff wherever possible and an appropriate policy and scheme of work have been fully discussed and put in place. The school has identified the need for the co-ordinator to monitor lessons and organise assessment during this academic year in order to raise standards. Resources are limited because of the small budget allocated to the subject and, consequently, teachers use worksheets that are not always well matched to the task. Teachers try hard to provide relevant resources.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

141. The standard of pupils’ work in information and communication technology is below the national expectations at the age of seven and eleven. Since the development of a computer suite at the start of the autumn term in 2000, the appointment of a knowledgeable and enthusiastic co-ordinator and a technician, standards have begun to rise and there has been satisfactory recent improvement in the subject. However, classroom computers are often not used. This has resulted in insufficient use of computers in day-to-day activities, which has limited the quality of pupils’ learning.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

142. The last inspection identified that standards were well below the national expectation because the school had insufficient resources to teach the subject successfully, no scheme of work and several members of staff with limited confidence and competence. The quality of pupils’ learning and the progress that they make is now broadly satisfactory, although until recently learning and progress have been limited and there are gaps in the pupils’ knowledge and understanding and the staff are having to work hard to eradicate these. The progress of girls and boys, those with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs is similar to that of their classmates.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

143. All pupils in the school are timetabled to use the computer suite on a regular basis. However, the use of classroom computers to support day-to-day learning is still poor and many of these computers were not switched on during the inspection. The sample of pupils’ recent work shows that only a very limited range and amount of work has been produced, especially in Key Stage 1. Pupils are starting to use St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 49 computers to support their work in literacy satisfactorily but some aspects of research and control and using information and communication technology models / simulations are underdeveloped and this has a negative impact upon pupils’ learning.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

144. Pupils enjoy using computers and even the youngest look forward with enthusiasm to using the information and communication technology suite. However, many pupils of all ages find it difficult to explain what they are doing. This is due to both limited experience and a restricted vocabulary. The younger pupils use computers with care and concentrate well. In Year 1, most pupils have satisfactory knowledge of the components of the computer and identify the mouse, keyboard and screen and match the names of these onto the correct parts of the computer. Most pupils type their name into the computer and make good progress in changing the size and type of font to use when the teacher demonstrates to them how to do this. A very small number of pupils, usually with computers at home, know how to use the ‘caps lock’ and ‘delete’ keys unaided. In Year 2, the quality of pupils’ learning is satisfactory when altering text for presentation. Pupils make sound progress in using the

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

computer for editing, inserting full stops and capital letters to change parts of sentences that they recognise as needing these. However, when trying to decide which of some joined or jumbled words are correct, and how to change them, they make slower progress because the ineffective planning of the activity does not take sufficient account of pupils’ understanding.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

145. The quality of pupils’ learning in Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, but is better at the end of the key stage because of better teaching. During some lessons observed, pupils made good and occasionally very good progress. However, over a period of time, the progress made has been very slow and some of the oldest pupils are working at a level expected of pupils of a much younger age. This is illustrated when some pupils have to be reminded of the routine to follow to log on to a computer. Staff are finding it difficult to overcome the gaps in pupils’ learning. Pupils in Year 3 make satisfactory progress when examining a range of birthday cards to subsequently produce their own design. Pupils enjoy choosing an image from a bank of pictures and make good progress in understanding how to repeat or change the picture chosen. In Year 4, pupils make sound progress in changing the font, style and colour after highlighting

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

passages of text. However, the gaps in pupils’ learning continue to hinder progress, with several pupils not knowing what “the red squiggly line” beneath a word indicates or how to check if their spelling is correct.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

146. In the lessons observed, pupils in Years 5 and 6 made good progress and several made very good progress because of the teachers’ higher level of subject knowledge and understanding. Towards the end of Key Stage 2 most pupils are able to retrieve a file by entering, opening, selecting a drive and document and then inserting facts, changing the size of text, emboldening or underlining text and using short cuts to the toolbar. Those pupils with less confidence made very good progress because of the effective use of laminated prompt cards showing them what to do next if they got stuck. This very effective strategy ensured that all pupils worked well and at one stage, in a group of pupils containing several with behavioural difficulties, they could have heard a pin drop. Pupils in Year 6 made good progress when making a pre- entered paragraph into a multi-media piece by adding pictures and sound. Pupils very

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

much enjoyed choosing suitable pictures from an extensive picture bank and a range of matching sounds. This interest in the work undertaken resulted in good levels of concentration, so much so that some were extremely disappointed when the lesson ended. St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 50 147. Overall, teaching is satisfactory and is better at the end of Key Stage 2. However, some teachers are very dependent upon a technician for help if something goes wrong or the pupils press the wrong keys. Occasionally, the organisation of tasks and management of pupils is ineffective. Teachers use questions reasonably well to check pupils’ understanding but some teachers do not make sufficient use of directed questions to involve all pupils at the beginning or end of lessons. Sometimes, not all pupils are encouraged to contribute equally and, for example, some groups of Asian girls are very quiet, whilst some boys interrupt and sometimes dominate lessons.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Pupils clearly benefit from the opportunity to use computers individually. This is important as several pupils find it difficult to share anything with others. Some teachers make good use of prompt cards giving instructions on what to do next. But this organisational and management strategy is not universal practise and, occasionally, pupils have to wait for help, shout out and disturb the concentration of others and time is wasted.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

148. The subject co-ordinator has a good level of subject knowledge and is beginning to work with colleagues on a one-to-one basis and lead occasional in-service training activities. There is now much scope to extend these activities, especially since the recent appointment of a technician, who has been a valuable addition to staff support. However, as yet, the subject leader has not has the opportunity to conduct a rigorous audit of staff skills and effective assessment of exactly what the pupils know and where the gaps in their learning are. However, the school now has an appropriate scheme of work, which has been long overdue, to support the development of skills in a progressive manner.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

149. As yet, information and communication technology is not fully integrated into day-to- day activities or used as a tool to learning and its application across subjects is limited. The school is only at a very early stage in developing its use of the Internet, but has appropriate staff awareness of Internet safety issues. Much remains to be done in developing the subject to enable all pupils to reach the national expectations in the subject but there has been considerable improvement in a twelve month period. The information and communication technology suite has been developed through the National Grid for Learning and funds have been used well for the purchase of hardware. However, there are still gaps in the provision of suitable software and equipment to support the control aspects of the curriculum and the training of staff through the New Opportunities Fund is planned to start in January 2002.

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MUSIC

150. In the previous inspection, standards of attainment were judged to be above national expectations, with performing and composing and listening and appraising being strengths of the school. These standards have been maintained. The school continues to build on these strengths and singing remains a strong feature of the school’s music provision. Pupils take part in a number of local and regional competitions, such as the Hallelujah Christmas concert, and won a highly competitive choral competition recently. The choir also sing to community groups in the locality and these experiences play a valuable part in the development of the pupils’ personal and social skills.

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MUSIC

151. The quality and range of music provision within the school is very good. This is due to the enthusiasm and skills of the curriculum co-ordinator in setting high standards and communicating high expectations to staff and pupils. Pupils with special educational St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 51 needs and those for whom English is an additional language make similar progress to others in their year groups. Progress in Key Stage 1 is good and in Key Stage 2 is very good.

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MUSIC

152. By the time pupils are seven, they sing clearly and in tune. They are developing an awareness of patterns in music and teachers use a range of activities to encourage accurate pitch. For example, a ‘call and echo’ game gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their good recognition of high and low notes. The majority of pupils can remember and repeat a simple pattern by clapping correctly and keeping to the beat. Pupils listen to a wide variety of music, which includes music of other cultures and historical periods. They have a good knowledge of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and can identify that the flute represents a bird in the story. Pupils talk in simple terms about the sounds they hear and can generate a good range of sound effects to weather poems, clapping hands for thunder and tapping their teeth for rain. They are familiar with a range of songs both traditional and modern and can name famous

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MUSIC

composers, such as Handel and Beethoven.

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MUSIC

153. By the age of 11, pupils use simple notation to record compositions and have had the opportunity to learn to play the recorder. They imitate patterns on a keyboard and develop accurate rhythms on a drum kit. They work in groups to develop ideas, and are confident to consider and explore patterns in pitch and rhythm. They improve their work with practice and are beginning to effectively appraise the work of others. When learning about rhythm, pupils can repeat snare, base and hihat drumming patterns with considerable accuracy. Pupils sing clearly and in tune. They have good expression, clear diction and improving voice control. Extra-curricular lessons in flute, recorder and keyboard extend learning for some pupils and this contributes to their spiritual and cultural development and assists with raising the profile of music within school. All of these activities have a positive affect on pupils’ learning.

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MUSIC

154. The quality of teaching is very good overall at both key stages, because of a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic specialist teacher. Lessons are very well planned and good assessment of pupils' previous knowledge and understanding is used to extend and develop their skills. Performing skills, in particular singing, are extremely well taught. Lessons progress at a brisk pace, high academic and behavioural expectations are set and this results in pupils being well motivated and having a high level of involvement. Plenary sessions at the close of lessons are used very effectively to identify and reinforce what has been taught. Opportunities are often given for pupils to demonstrate their own learning. For example, a Year 3 pupil gave a very good demonstration of his own skill development following an initial recorder lesson.

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MUSIC

155. The pattern of team teaching in the school is very effective in allowing pupils to work in small groups and have more opportunities for practical work. Very good use is made of support assistants to achieve this, despite the noise created by several different activities taking place within a confined space. Improvements in the subject knowledge and skills of other members of staff are being helped by the use of a music specialist working alongside class teachers. This also allows for the class teacher to make assessment notes, which are shared with the specialist teacher to inform future planning.

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MUSIC

156. Teachers use music from different cultures very successfully not only to stimulate pupils as seen in a Year 6 lesson on drum music, but also to bring out particular teaching points. Pupils listen and respond to music from different times and places on St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 52 a regular basis. They are introduced to western classical compositions, such as Zorba’s Dance by Theodorakis, together with music from many other cultures. A visit to a music-making day enabled pupils to learn about Balinese culture through the Gamalan workshop. These activities are reinforced by a display of pupils’ work, linking pieces of music with the respective composers to their country of origin.

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MUSIC

157. Pupils’ attitudes and enjoyment of the lessons are very good as a result of excellent management of pupils and the setting of very clear learning objectives. Because pupils are highly motivated, they are well behaved and generally attentive. The pupils are reasonably confident when performing in front of an audience, knowing that their contribution is valued. They select and handle instruments with care.

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MUSIC

158. Pupils’ numeracy skills are reinforced effectively through the counting of beats and rhythms and speaking and listening skills form an important aspect of appreciating the performance of others. The use of electronic keyboards supports the development of pupils’ information and communication technology skills but composing through computer software has not been fully developed.

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MUSIC

159. The subject is very well managed and resources are good. A recently revised policy provides effective guidance based on nationally distributed materials and a development plan identifies further areas of improvement in order to raise standards even further. The subject co-ordinator plans to develop the recording of pupils’ musical experiences through the introduction of a music diary to include evidence of notation and to provide a written record of appraising.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

160. The previous inspection reported that standards in physical education were generally in line with national expectations for pupils in both key stages and that pupils were making satisfactory progress. The present inspection confirms that pupils aged seven achieve standards that are above average for their age and those aged eleven are still achieving satisfactory standards. Curriculum developments have been implemented to ensure a full range of experience for pupils. There is now a comprehensive scheme of work in place based on national guidance, which supports the teaching of physical education throughout the school. The progress that pupils make as they move through the school is good.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

161. Older pupils have an opportunity to go swimming and currently over two thirds can complete 25 metres without any swimming aids. Standards in swimming by the age of eleven are at least satisfactory. A Local Education Authority instructor at the local pool teaches the pupils swimming. Very good lesson organisation and pupil management allows swimmers to improve their competence and all pupils respond well. Less accomplished swimmers make good progress in developing their confidence in the water by means of a series of small group activities in a separate pool. Support assistants and teachers accompanying the pupils have an important role in taking particular ability groups on a regular basis, which effectively ensures that pupils of different abilities make good progress.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

162. Lessons and activities are planned well and ensure the systematic and consistent development of skills. However, where the management of pupils is not effective, some pupils do not exercise self–discipline and display low levels of attention and progress is impaired. Pupils with special educational needs, and those who speak St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 53 English as an additional language, are fully involved in all activities and make the same good progress as their classmates.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

163. By the end of Year 2, pupils have appropriately increased their confidence in physical control and mobility. They perform a range of movements well, involving running, jumping and balancing, and are gaining an appropriate awareness of space. Pupils perform a range of different jumps with good control, though landings are less well refined. They are able to find different ways to travel along the benches and on the large apparatus. They perform different jumps off equipment and string together a sequence of movements well.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

164. By the age of eleven, most pupils are able to perform a satisfactory sequence of different actions, but a few are less confident in linking their movements together smoothly. In dance, the more able pupils are beginning to be imaginative with their shapes and movements and try hard to improve their performances. When watching other pupils perform, pupils are beginning to suggest ideas for improvement. However, pupils’ skills in the use of balls and bats, hitting techniques and working together are less well developed, because the poor behaviour of a minority of boys affects the organisation of such lessons.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

165. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge, plan their lessons effectively and have high expectations of their pupils. Good lessons in Key Stage 2 were characterised by effective management of pupils, a brisk pace to lessons and the sharing of clearly defined lesson objectives. Very good attention is given to aspects of health and safety. This was demonstrated in a Year 3 lesson where pupils successfully set out trestles, mats and benches carefully to the teacher’s instructions.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

166. Stretching and other warming-up exercises precede lessons and pupils are reminded of the beneficial effects of exercise. Teachers use pupil demonstrations effectively to assess performance and assist pupils to refine their performance by offering advice and suggestions. In a Year 4 lesson, the teacher was able to get pupils to act alternatively like liquids and solids, by linking the activities with the science topic. This provided a good stimulus to pupils and enhanced their performances. Where opportunities are given for pupils to use their initiative then good personal development and effective learning of physical and social skills takes place.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

167. The majority of pupils work hard in lessons and by Year 5 they are able to plan their own responses to music in their warm-up session and review previous work. Their response to music is very good when they elect to work together to create good dance sequences. Clear explanations illicit good responses from most pupils and they are generally well motivated. However, incidents of pupils’ poor and disruptive behaviour force teachers to modify their planned activities and, as a consequence, pupils’ learning is affected. The planning of activities is sometimes affected when the behaviour of a minority of pupils continually affects the quality of other pupils’ learning. A good contribution is made to the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by pupils’ participation in physical education. They learn about rules and fairness, appreciate the performances of others and benefit

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

from performing to music from different backgrounds and cultures.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

168. Management of the subject is good and assessment procedures are being integrated into the new planning guidelines. Several members of staff give generously of their time to provide clubs after school. These activities include netball and football and are St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School - 54 much appreciated by parents. The school provides a very good range of extra- curricular opportunities, including competitions with other schools. The older pupils benefit from an activity week away from school in which they tackle adventurous activities of a physically demanding nature, such as abseiling and rope work. Both boys and girls have opportunities to make progress in developing appropriate skills in out-of-school clubs, and football-coaching sessions led by a visiting instructor are well attended. The subject is resourced well and organised well and a newly developed playing field has extended physical education and games opportunities for all pupils.

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