St Bede's Catholic Primary School

ST BEDE’S RC INFANT & NURSERY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Ms Cherry R Jackson

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ST BEDE’S RC INFANT & NURSERY SCHOOL

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

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ST BEDE’S RC INFANT & NURSERY 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 Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 3

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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: Father C Basden

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 4 November 1996 St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 4

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Team members

Ms Cherry R Jackson Registered inspector Mr Selwyn Ward Lay inspector Mrs Lesley Robins Team inspector

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Team members

Bexley Council Directorate of Education Hill View, Hill View Drive Welling Kent DA16 3RY

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Team members

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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Team members

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery 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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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 16

St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Bede’s Infant School is a Roman Catholic school. It has a nursery class, opened in 1997, and caters for pupils aged 3 to 7 years. There are 216 pupils altogether, with close to even numbers of boys and girls, although two of the year groups contain ten more of one gender than another. The nursery class has 53 part time pupils and 12 full time. Recently, the school has ceased to be grant maintained and has returned to its previous voluntary aided status. Most pupils come from St Bede’s parish and are part of a supportive Catholic community. The pupils have a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, including about one third black African, one sixth each of black Caribbean and Columbian. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs is below the national average for primary schools although there are a few pupils with serious sensory impairment or emotional and behavioural difficulties. The proportion of pupils who are learning English as an additional language

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

is much higher than the national average, and has risen this year. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is usually broadly in line with the national average, but has risen in recent months. The attainment of the intake is broadly average with a wide range: each class contains pupils with early literacy difficulties, pupils who are experienced and knowledgeable for their age and able pupils.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

St Bede’s is a very good school, where good teaching enables pupils to learn and achieve very well. The school provides very successfully for the children’s personal development so that they are confident and well behaved learners. Spiritual and moral values strongly underpin the school’s work. The headteacher and senior managers provide strong, clear leadership. The school has made good improvement since its last inspection and is well placed to continue to do so. Its costs are, relatively, very high but, taking the quality of its work and the pupils’ learning into account, it is providing good value for money.

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What the school does well

• By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and mathematics, which is a very good achievement for them. • The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school takes very good care over their personal development. • The children with special educational needs make very good progress due to very focused teaching and planning for their work. • The quality of teaching is good. The teachers teach the basic skills very well and expect hard work from the children so that they learn very well; for the under fives the range of activities is suitable and rich. • Very good leadership and management ensure a high level of staff commitment so that the school’s aims are fulfilled outstandingly well. • The school is very effective at checking frequently on its own performance and evaluating what it does, so that it is well placed to continue to improve.

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What could be improved

• The high numbers of adults working in the classrooms and the careful lesson planning to control exactly what the pupils do, sometimes limits the children’s use of their own initiative.

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What could be improved

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

Since the last inspection in November 1996 good improvements have included a rise in standards. This is evident for the seven year olds in the science assessments and the national tests for English and mathematics, with a particularly strong improvement in mathematics. The previously good leadership and management are very good now and the response to the last inspection was good. St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 7 The teachers who manage developments in individual subjects have attended a wide range of training and provided good training for their colleagues. They have developed their roles so that they check lesson plans and attainment data for the other teachers and watch them teaching in order to advise. The school has recently met a national standard for effective development of staff. Sensibly, the headteacher made sure that the work towards the national standard also gave support to the teachers who are managers. The pupils have sound opportunities to use their investigative

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

skills on visits, when visitors come in to school, and in the library, although there could be more chances for investigation in some lessons.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 7 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

Reading B B C B well above average above average A B Writing A D B A Average below average C D Mathematics C C B A well below average E

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Key

The under fives in the nursery and reception classes are achieving well for their age and are very good at communicating and at developing self esteem and confidence. For the seven year olds, standards in English and mathematics are above average nationally and have improved since the 1999 data above was calculated. Standards for the seven year olds in both subjects have been improving over recent years and are high in their lessons. Reading test results were lower in 1999 than in 1998 due to over concentration on letter sounds at the expense of comprehension, but this has been addressed now. The current results are a very good achievement, considering the children’s attainment when they start school. Achievement is very good for both genders and for pupils from the wide range of ethnic minorities in the school. Over the three years the pupils are in the school, their rate of progress increases so that the older they are, the faster they are learning. By

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Key

the time they take their tests at seven, pupils who started school with high standards, and some of those who started with average standards, are attaining highly. The pupils who are learning English as another language make good progress in the infant classes and very good progress as under fives. Those with special educational needs make good progress as under fives and very good progress through the infant stage because of very good management and teaching. Target setting for individuals and groups helps all the pupils to make such good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Attitudes are good. The pupils like school and work hard.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms The pupils’ very good behaviour and their sensible attitude to rules are a strength. They are kind and respectful to each other. They talk about school rules at home, because the rules are meaningful to them.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships These are good. The pupils are self confident individuals who have courteous relationships with adults and play well together. Whilst they are sensible, lack of opportunity reduces their use of initiative.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Attendance is satisfactory. It is about average for primary schools, St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 8 with data for infants unavailable, and has improved over recent years. St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 9

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

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

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

During this inspection, all of the lessons observed were satisfactory or better, 71% were at least good and 36% were very good. The hard working teachers and assistants prepare their lessons very thoroughly, have a clear purpose for each lesson, are aware of individual children’s needs, and teach literacy and numeracy very competently. There are high numbers of additional adults in the classrooms and, generally, very good learning results from their hard work. But, in a significant minority of lessons, learning is slowed because adults do too much for pupils. The additional adults give particular support to the pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as another language. They also work with a wide range of pupils and the strengths of their work are that they focus pupils well, and usually ensure that they make a good effort. A disadvantage is that in a few lessons adult intervention is too swift and closes down the opportunity for independent learning.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum meets legal requirements well. Activities are well planned and relevant to the children’s lives, ensuring that the pupils make good progress through the school, and are interested and motivated to learn. The curriculum for the under fives is particularly rich in learning opportunities.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Planning for these pupils is rigorous. They have clear objectives for literacy and numeracy and careful attention in their lessons.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language These pupils can benefit as well as others from the lessons because the adults support them well. Adults write and speak in a variety of relevant languages to help the pupils learn competently.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development This was good when the school was last inspected and is very good now. The school ensures that every individual and every culture is valued; everyone understands that and values other people accordingly. There are clear opportunities in the school week for pupils to express their spirituality, consider morality, and share views.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils This is a caring school, which is also rigorous. Child protection arrangements are clear and provided to every visitor. Procedures for promoting good behaviour are positive and effective. The headteacher systematically monitors each individuals’ academic progress and the teachers set useful targets for individuals or groups. St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher and senior staff lead through clear vision, painstaking self-evaluation, comprehensive development planning and involvement of staff and parents. The school has a well expressed set of aims and values, published in its brochure for parents; these are outstandingly fulfilled through very good leadership and management.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are responsible and concerned. They know how well their school is doing and use funding to support pupil progress.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance This is a particularly evaluative school. The teachers and the assistants, the headteacher and the senior managers all evaluate the quality of their work and that of the pupils, both formally and informally, and identify ways to improve.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources The school is applying the principles of best value well. Educational priorities are costed sensibly and are informing budget planning.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children enjoy school. • Their children learn self-discipline and understand school rules. • Their children are highly motivated to do their homework. • The parents feel welcome in school at anytime and know the head and staff will take what they say seriously. • The school is well managed and led. • Teachers have high expectations and their good teaching ensures good progress. • The parents feel well informed about their children’s progress. • Parents would like the children to have more outings and clubs. • A minority would like more, or different, homework, and note some inconsistency from year to year. • A small minority think that the nursery and reception classrooms are too small.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspectors agree with all the strengths the parents have identified. Inspectors think that the children have a good range of opportunities for learning, with sufficient outings, which are supplemented by visitors who come into school, like drama groups and the “zoo man” who brings animals with him. Clubs are provided within the parish, rather than by the school, so that, while the provision is not exceptional, it is adequate. The inspectors think that sufficient homework is provided for these young children, but that the school does not fully ensure that the quantity and subjects covered are consistent across the year groups. The inspectors agree that the reception classrooms are rather small, but think the school makes the best use of the space that it can; they think that the nursery space is adequate. St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 11

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

mathematics and their personal achievement is very good.

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

High proportions of pupils have gained at least Level 2 in all three national tests this year at St Bede’s: 97% in reading, 93% in writing, 97% in mathematics. The proportions who have reached Level 3, the expected level for able pupils, are better than last year’s for all three subjects.

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

In reading, for two of the last three years the school’s test scores for seven year olds have been above the national average. In 1999 they were only average. The school identified the area of learning which needed attention and worked on it. They had been making an extra effort on teaching letter sounds; they also focused on developing comprehension skills, particularly with pupils learning English as another language. Data for the July 2000 tests shows higher scores, with 36% reaching Level 3, the expected level for able pupils; this is higher by 20% than in 1999. In their lessons during this inspection the pupils were reading well and with good understanding. They talked competently about characters and settings in books. They knew about the index, content and glossary of a non fiction book and more able pupils could take notes. Their ability to seek information from books shows improvement from the time of the previous inspection.

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

In writing, test scores have been above average for two of the last three years and have improved over that period. The proportion of high scores in 2000 is better than for the previous year by 12%, at 24%. In their work during the inspection the pupils’ attainment was very good, with good presentation, letter formation which clearly improves over lessons, good attempts at spelling which develop in Year 2 to accuracy, and accurate basic punctuation. The range of the children’s writing is wide, and includes poetry, instructional writing, riddles, and response to experience.

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

In mathematics, the school’s scores have been close to or above the national average for the last three years and have shown an exceptionally clear trend of improvement. The proportion of Level 3s in 2000 is 32%, 8% better than last year, when it was above average. In their lessons Year 2 were attaining very well. Many pupils in one class understood that multiplication reverses into division and they could talk about halving 150 by breaking it down into smaller numbers, halving these and adding the answers back up again.

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

Considering their levels of attainment when they start school, St Bedes’ pupils achieve very well. Compared with similar schools, St Bede’s scores were above average in 1999 for reading and well above average in the other two tests. In English and mathematics lessons two things were evident:

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

• the pupils who started school with above average attainment were learning well, as expected;

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

• some others, with average attainment when they started school, were making very good progress and catching up with their more advanced peers; this happens particularly in the oldest year, Year 2.

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By the age of seven, the pupils’ standards are very good in English and

The school holds its own data which includes a prediction for each pupil’s scores, which for St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 12 this year suggests that about a third of them achieved above what might have been expected. This group included pupils from the range of ethnic minority groups within the school, and a balance of both genders. Boys and girls have achieved equally well at the school over the past few years.

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The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school

takes very good care over their personal development.

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The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school

The pupils behave very well and there have been no exclusions. In the playground the atmosphere is calm and relaxed, with everyone, including those of different ethnic backgrounds, getting on well with everyone else. The high proportion of adults present ensures good supervision and adults teach concern for individuals by their example. In class the pupils do as they are asked, even when it is difficult. One group was seated at tables full of equipment and asked not to touch it yet; despite the temptation, they complied. Year 2 work maturely, without excessive noise or unsuitable behaviour. The teachers in all the classes help the pupils to understand when they are behaving well by pointing it out to them and giving praise. This skilful management, with well-understood rules and a clear system of rewards and sanctions, helps the pupils feel valued and is serving their learning well.

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The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school

The under fives part cheerfully from their parents and settle well to work with each other. Some concentrate on solitary activities for an unusually long period. They approach adults confidently. During the inspection one nursery pupil was able to argue his point sensibly and courteously when discussing with an adult what animal his model was, in spite of some gentle opposition: “It has a hump. Camels have humps. It’s a camel”. The under fives also co-operate with each other particularly well. Two girls, sharing a computer game, enjoyed telling each other what they could see and what to do next and shared control of the computer mouse with no dispute.

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The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school

In their lessons the pupils throughout the school are attentive to their teachers and keen to answer questions and learn. They can be trusted with quite complex tasks and on one occasion were encouraged to take an electrical switch apart to see how it worked, which was sensibly accomplished. They have very good relationships with each other and do not quibble when they have to wait for a turn or share equipment. They can work collaboratively in pairs, as, for example, Year 1 pupils did when they made a list of questions they wanted to ask about a picture. The pupils’ relationships with adults are also very good. They are characterised by friendly respect which allows, on occasions, for genuine intellectual discussion where adults and pupils are respecting each other’s suggestions and ideas.

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The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school

The children like school and want to learn. Their attendance has improved over recent years and is close to the national average for primary schools. No data is available for infant schools separately. The school should continue to monitor attendance to ensure the maximum number of pupils benefit from lessons.

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The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school

The parents at the meeting thought that the school promoted tolerance, understanding, self-discipline and kindness and the inspectors agree. The school makes very good provision to support successful achievement. Meaningful opportunities for children to think about themselves and their place in the world include writing personal prayers and responding to experience of the natural world by working in the school garden. Rules are clearly established and positively expressed; they include ”peaceful playground rules” which are well understood and discussed widely. “Circle time” in the classes helps children reflect on how they can support and be supported by other people’s behaviour to them. It St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 13 provides a time to value the good that class members have done and guide their future behaviour, linking appropriately to Religious Education. The School Council provides an

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The pupils behave, and relate to other people, very well, because the school

excellent opportunity for some individuals to express views and be consulted. The school works very well to help the pupils understand and value a range of cultures: displays include captions in five or six languages. Toys and equipment include items from many countries, including dressing-up clothes and dolls. The recent “Food for Festivals” celebration allowed interesting opportunity for trying new things, valuing other cultures and sharing. Within the history curriculum, study of heroes and heroines from a variety of ethnic backgrounds provides a good range of role models for the children.

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The children with special educational needs make very good progress due to

very focused teaching and planning for their work.

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The children with special educational needs make very good progress due to

The children with special educational needs are carefully identified early in their school career. The headteacher discusses their needs with their parents and thereafter monitors the progress of each individual systematically to ensure that the right quantity and quality of support is given. A regular cycle of meetings and very precise management ensure that every pupil with special educational needs has careful consideration and a teaching programme which is suitable. Individual plans for groups or individuals are regularly reviewed and very specific. They are clear in terms of what the pupils need to learn next. Plans are equally rigorous for literacy and numeracy.

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The children with special educational needs make very good progress due to

Expensive provision is made for a full time teacher without class, in addition to the headteacher, and classroom assistants; in addition, some pupils who have formal statements of special educational need have staff allocated directly to them by the local authority. This is one of the reasons that the adult : pupil ratio in the lessons is high. Many pupils who are identified as having special educational needs, have early support and go on to attain well.

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The children with special educational needs make very good progress due to

The extra adults and the class teachers are familiar with the individual learning plans for the pupils and collaborate to meet them. Usually, pupils have additional support in lessons from one of the adults, perhaps within a group setting. Even in whole class sessions, adults will sit near a pupil with special educational needs and work sensitively, either to keep directing the child’s attention back to the lesson, or to give additional explanation, quietly at the side, to supplement what the class teacher is saying. The teachers hold conferences with individual children to examine a specific piece of work in detail, going through it step by step to identify what is good and what could be better. This powerful strategy supports the pupils’ sense of self worth and ability to improve.

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The children with special educational needs make very good progress due to

Pupils who need intensive help in literacy are withdrawn from their classes to work in small groups. This is managed sensibly and kept to a minimum so that the pupils are included in the life of their classes and do not miss very much of what is done there. The teaching and learning in the withdrawal groups is very good: the lesson plans are closely related to the individual plans for the children; the teacher is fully involved in the activity with the pupils; and gives them strategies they can use by themselves. Because the work is at their level, the pupils can understand what to do and they apply themselves well.

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The children with special educational needs make very good progress due to

Pupils with special educational needs in the class lessons and withdrawal groups learn well and often attain appropriately for their ages, despite their difficulties. Pupils with formal statements of special educational needs make good progress and sometimes achieve highly for their ages.

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The quality of teaching is good and classes are usually supported by

St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 14

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of the children so that they learn very well; in the nursery class the range and

appropriateness of the activities is of a particularly high quality.

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of the children so that they learn very well; in the nursery class the range and

The strengths of the teaching are the good planning and concentration of the teachers and supporting adults, very good teaching of the basic skills and a high expectation from adults that the pupils will make an effort.

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of the children so that they learn very well; in the nursery class the range and

The teachers have very clear targets for their classes, for groups and individuals. These are communicated clearly to the supporting adults and to the pupils so that everyone knows what they are doing. The teachers tell the children at the start of each lesson what they are going to learn, and, particularly in Year 2, they review carefully at the end of the lesson as a reminder and an evaluation. The teachers expect the children to work hard and to understand concepts which are sometimes complex; the pupils can respond to this rigour well because they respect themselves and know that their understanding matters. The pupils make a very good effort in all their work, persisting with problems, so that their learning is very good. All the lessons are well organised. The teachers have good quality resources ready, like the good range of non-fiction for more able readers, the selection of big books for whole class work, structured counting apparatus for mathematics.

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of the children so that they learn very well; in the nursery class the range and

The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are very well taught. In literacy, the pupils’ targets are shared in advance with their parents and are written in the pupils’ exercise books and home/school reading records. This focuses everyone well on specific learning points. In numeracy, similar developments are in hand. The lessons are very well planned, with their different sections all quite clear, though well related, and with separate targets for the pupils in each section. Key questions and important vocabulary are all well identified in advance and the teachers manage to fit everything in that they have planned. The middle part of the lessons, where the pupils work individually, can be a little short.

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of the children so that they learn very well; in the nursery class the range and

The school has a high proportion of additional teachers, nursery nurses and learning support assistants. The teachers deploy the other adults carefully to support different groups within the classes. The other adults support the class teachers well; in whole class sessions they sit with the pupils and model to them the kind of behaviour that is required; their proximity is a constant reminder. When the class breaks up for individual work the other adults supervise a group and talk them through what they have to do. This helps to keep the atmosphere in the classrooms focused and keeps the pupils on task. Adults are aware of the need to ensure equality of opportunity as they work.

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of the children so that they learn very well; in the nursery class the range and

Some of the school’s staff are provided to support ethnic minority and Travellers’ children. These staff are very well informed about the school’s curriculum and individual pupils. Their collaboration with the staff for special educational needs is good. They are very involved in the teaching and know clearly what pupils need to learn. The pupils respond well to this clarity. A particular strength for the under fives is the good play provision for the pupils who are learning English as another language. They are developing their bilingualism in exciting and relevant situations. During the inspection a bilingual adult was working with them in their “office”, helping them to make their play real in two languages and showing them that their meaning and purpose were more important than which language they used.

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of the children so that they learn very well; in the nursery class the range and

For the nursery and reception classes, the range of well planned and practical activities provided is rich and appropriate with good continuity for the pupils as they move from one to the other. These children have plenty of room for initiative and independence in their activities; they can make choices about what they want to do and spend enough time to St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 15 see their purposes through.

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Very good leadership and management ensure a high level of staff

commitment so that the school’s aims are fulfilled outstandingly well.

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Very good leadership and management ensure a high level of staff

The leadership of the headteacher and senior staff ensures that the school’s aims and values are fully achieved. The aims relate to respect for individuals and valuing of the multicultural society, the provision of good education within a Christian context, and a welcome for parents and carers. Care and concern for individuals is evident everywhere, balanced by the priority for the pupil’s progress. The welcome to parents and carers is well recognised within their community. The emphasis on respecting the multicultural society is evident. The school’s spiritual and moral values clearly underpin its working.

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Very good leadership and management ensure a high level of staff

The success in leadership and management is attributable to both informal relationships and formal needs analysis and planning. The headteacher leads by example in working hard and rigorously for the school. The senior managers support the management well. They are painstaking in planning and implementing their many areas of responsibility. The staff respond with commitment. Consultation ensures their joint understanding of the school’s priorities and the part they have to play, and their working relationships are good. All this is attested by the school’s recent achievement of the Investors in People standard.

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Very good leadership and management ensure a high level of staff

The school’s planning for future development is particularly clear and comprehensive. It shows national priorities, like the revised National Curriculum 2000, and local priorities of the school, like the need for better equipped play space. This latter was a recent need which exemplifies how the school and parent community worked well together. They raised money and improved the provision for the children, without becoming distracted from implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and work on raising standards.

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Very good leadership and management ensure a high level of staff

The governors understand the strengths and difficulties in the community served by the school and they support the clear focus on pupil achievement within a Catholic context. They are aware of national and local comparisons of test results and know how well their school is doing. They are also aware of their pastoral role with staff. They listen to staff as professionals and have concern for them as individuals.

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The school is very effective at checking frequently on its own performance

and evaluating what it does, so that it is well placed to continue to improve.

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The school is very effective at checking frequently on its own performance

This is a particularly self evaluative school at many different levels, from informal discussion to formal evaluation of test data.

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The school is very effective at checking frequently on its own performance

While they are watching the class teacher take a whole class session, assistants are sometimes keeping a record of the pupils’ responses, which can be used for future lesson planning and target setting. They are well organised for this with a prompt list and some identified pupils to observe. After lessons, teachers and assistants often discuss how their planning worked out and make notes about what must be covered or revised next time.

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The school is very effective at checking frequently on its own performance

The quality of the lesson planning and the teaching are monitored and evaluated systematically by the headteacher and the subject leaders for the core subjects of English, mathematics, science and information technology. They have attended training sessions to help them develop the necessary skills and knowledge. They record their judgements and give helpful feedback to colleagues. The judgements are all sound, and those of the headteacher about the quality of the teaching are particularly perceptive. Her guidance to St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 16 teachers about how to improve is clear and helpful.

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The school is very effective at checking frequently on its own performance

The progress of each pupil is tracked through assessment data in English and mathematics from when they start school and their baseline assessment is made. Data is well used to identify general weaknesses in learning, which are then carefully addressed by refocusing the curriculum and teaching.

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The school is very effective at checking frequently on its own performance

A wealth of information exists and is helpfully used in the school. The teachers are aware of it and it informs their development planning. Governors, too, discuss the data with the headteacher and thus evaluate the work of the school. They do not formally evaluate the success of their specific spending decisions and should begin to set their high investment on classroom support staff against its effect on standards.

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use of their own initiative

The lessons are very thoroughly planned and all the adults involved know clearly what their part is in the organisation. There are, among the adults, high levels of concern for the Year 1 and 2 children to do well. This can lead to adults doing too much for the pupils and can inhibit their learning.

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use of their own initiative

There are occasions when an adult who wants to help intervenes too swiftly and closes down an opportunity for independent learning. For example, one pupil was counting and sorting bricks and left one or two aside on the table. An adult who wanted to make it easier for him removed those before he had finished his task.

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use of their own initiative

Lessons are tightly timetabled, with an introduction before the pupils do individual work. Sometimes, in mathematics lessons, there is not long enough in the work session for children to finish the tasks they are set, which can lead to their thinking that it is not important to pace yourself to finish.

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use of their own initiative

Occasionally tasks are rather over planned and what the pupils have to draw or write is too carefully defined in advance, so that there is no room for their own expression of their learning. An example was when all the children carried out a science experiment and were to record what had happened. Different ability groups had different tasks of drawing or filling in sentences with gaps, which made this stage over complex for them. Although they did understand what had had happened in their experiment, they did not manage to convey it on paper and would have been better with a freer opportunity to draw and write.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

The governors and headteacher should ensure that the school

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) continues to improve the opportunity for the pupils to use initiative by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensuring sufficient time without interruption for pupils to finish tasks

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• planning a greater number of open tasks for pupils St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 17 • reducing the intervention made by the adults who are supporting groups St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 18

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 8

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

0 36% 36% 28% 0 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 39 177

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 3 59 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 4 68

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 42

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 8

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 8

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 19

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 1999 26 23 49

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 23 22 25 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 21 19 22

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 90 84 96 at NC level 2 or above National 82 83 87

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 23 24 22 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 20 21 21

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 88 92 88 at NC level 2 or above National 82 86 87

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 20

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 17 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 39 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0 This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 9.8 Financial year 1999

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y2 Total expenditure 608138

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 9 Expenditure per pupil 2896

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 154 Balance brought forward from previous year 29283

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 62371

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 39

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 4

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 83

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 7.8 FTE means full-time equivalent. St Bede’s RC Infant & Nursery School - 21

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 78 20 1 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 80 19 1 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 51 33 12 1 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 66 29 5 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 85 13 1 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 77 20 1 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 76 17 4 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 81 19 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 73 26 1 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 41 31 11 3 13

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Other issues raised by parents

The unusually large number of parents at the meeting (about 100) were very positive indeed about the quality of the leadership and the commitment of the teachers

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