Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

MOUNT PLEASANT CE VC JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 9 th -12 th July 2001

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MOUNT PLEASANT CE VC JUNIOR 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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MOUNT PLEASANT CE VC JUNIOR 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. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Princess Road Market Weighton East Yorkshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs L V Mather

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: March 1997 Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 2

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

OIN Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 20704 T Elston Registered inspector Mathematics What sort of school is it? Art and design How high are standards? History How well are pupils taught? Physical education How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 12536 S Bullerwell Lay inspector How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 30839 A Pullan Team inspector English Music Religious education Special educational needs 8552 W Hart Team inspector Science How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? Design and technology Information and communication technology Geography Equal opportunities Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 3 The inspection contractor was:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Eclipse (Education) Limited 14, Enterprise House Kingsway Team Valley Gateshead NE11 0SR.

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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. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 4

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 5

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 10

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This is a school of average size, with numbers increasing significantly as new housing is built close by. The school educates 258 pupils aged between seven and 11, with about the same proportion of boys and girls. There are over 17 per cent of pupils on the register for special educational needs, and four pupils have a statement of their special educational needs; these proportions are broadly similar to those found nationally. The surrounding houses are a mix of privately owned and rented accommodation. There are no pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds, or with English as an additional language. Just over nine per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals; this figure is below the national average, but is increasing year by year. Pupils enter the school with skills that are broadly in line with those found nationally. The degree of mobility is greater than normally found, with 47

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

pupils entering the school this year at other than at the usual time, and 13 leaving; only 43 out of the 72 pupils currently in Year 6 began the school in Year 3.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a sound school, which has suffered a long period without clear direction when the previous head teacher was absent for over two years. Pupils’ standards fell at this point. The new head teacher has played an important part in giving staff the skills and confidence to move the school forward again. He has a good understanding of what needs to be done, and how improvements will be achieved. The quality of teaching, pupils’ attitudes to work and their behaviour are good, but standards attained by the oldest pupils are still too low in English and mathematics. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• Pupils’ standards in art and design, geography, history and music are above average. • The head teacher leads the school well, with a clear view of how to raise standards of teaching and learning. • Relationships throughout the school are very good, and have a positive effect on the way teachers teach and pupils learn. • Pupils enjoy school and are very enthusiastic learners. • The provision for pupils’ social development is very good, and this helps them work constructively together.

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What could be improved

• Standards reached by pupils in writing, mathematics and science, which are too low by Year 6. • The provision for pupils’ cultural development, which gives them too little understanding of how people from other parts of the world live and worship. • The amount of time that pupils are taught; this is more than an hour below that recommended for pupils this age, and the time allocated to science is particularly low. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in March 1997, and, despite being without a head teacher in school for over two years, has made satisfactory improvement. The new head teacher has done well to address some important issues in his short time here, but recognises that there is more to do. The attainment of boys now broadly matches that of girls, and the Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 6 monitoring of standards of teaching and learning has improved significantly. The school’s forward planning has a sharper focus on raising standards, and is tied neatly to the budget. The library has been re-sited to a more appropriate place. Standards are lower than at the time of the previous inspection in mathematics, science, religious education and physical education, higher in geography and similar in all other subjects. The school’s national test results have followed a downward trend over the past three years, and higher attaining

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

pupils still do not achieve high enough standards. The quality of teaching is much the same as was reported in the previous inspection. In view of the strengths of the leadership, and the appropriateness of the head teacher’s priorities, the school is well placed to improve further.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in the National Curriculum tests.

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Key

English A B C C well above average above average A B mathematics A B D D average below average C D science A B D E well below average E

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Key

The figures in the table show a significant drop in standards over the past three years, and standards in mathematics and science have fallen below those of schools with similar numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals. These Year 6 pupils suffered most from the turbulence over the past two years because they were taught by temporary teachers while the deputy head teacher took over the running of the school. The large numbers of pupils joining the school each year at times other than the usual starting point are also affecting the school’s results. This can be seen when this table is compared with the results of those pupils who spent all of their time here; they did significantly better overall, and attained in line with standards found nationally in all three subjects. The school did not meet its overly ambitious targets last year in English and mathematics, and the unconfirmed results for this year suggest they will not do so again. In this inspection, Year

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Key

6 pupils’ standards are average, overall, in English, but their writing skills are weak. Pupils’ mathematical skills are below average by Year 6, and many struggle when asked to use these skills to solve problems. In science by Year 6, pupils’ attainment is average, but higher attaining pupils do not do as well as they should. In information and communication technology, Year 6 pupils attain average standards, and use computers very well in geography, design and technology and English to research their topics, and in mathematics to compile databases. In religious education, pupils’ attainment generally meets the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus, but their knowledge and understanding of faiths other than Christianity is weak. In art and design, geography, history and music pupils’ attainment is above average. In design and technology and physical education standards are average. Pupils make satisfactory progress overall. While the recent

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Key

national test results show a decline in standards by Year 6 pupils, the standards of pupils lower down the school are much better. These are pupils who have benefited most from Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 7 the more focussed teaching and curriculum planning that has been introduced over the last year.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils are very enthusiastic workers, and are proud of their achievements.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils behave well in lessons, and, although some play is rough outside, get on well with each other at playtimes.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Good. Pupils’ personal development is good. They are keen to take responsibility, and they value other people’s views. Relationships are very good, and a strength of the school.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Very good. It is well above the national average, and has a positive effect on pupils’ standards.

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Aspect Comment

These are important strengths, which explain why this is a happy and popular school where pupils enjoy their work.

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Teaching of pupils: aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall 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 7-11 years

The quality of teaching is good, and generally meets the needs of all pupils well. Of the 49 lessons seen, 2 per cent were excellent, 16 per cent very good, 41 per cent good, 38 per cent satisfactory and only 2 per cent were unsatisfactory. Teachers make lessons interesting, and this generates great enthusiasm for learning. Lessons usually move at a brisk pace because teachers are good at managing pupils’ behaviour. The teaching of English and literacy is good overall, but teachers do not always do enough to develop the quality of pupils’ writing, and this is not as good as other aspects of their English. Teachers teach the basic skills of numeracy well overall, and most pupils are confident with number. In some numeracy lessons, however, teachers talk for too long, and leave too little time for pupils to work at tasks set specifically for their level of attainment. The teaching of science is satisfactory overall, and good when teachers require pupils to research topics and come

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Teaching of pupils: aged 7-11 years

up with their own hypotheses. In information and communication technology, the quality of teaching is good, and gives pupils confidence to use computers as an everyday tool to help them learn. The teaching of creative skills is good, and accounts for the high standards that many pupils achieve in music and art and design. In history and geography, the quality of teaching is also good, and pupils’ learning is enhanced by the many visits that the school Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 8 provides to give them first-hand experiences of, for example, historical artefacts and coastal regions of Britain. In physical education, the quality of teaching is satisfactory, and develops pupils’ physical skills reasonably well. In religious education, the quality of teaching is satisfactory, but there is too little teaching about faiths other than Christianity, and this is why pupils have too little awareness of how different people of the world

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Teaching of pupils: aged 7-11 years

worship. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 9

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory. There is a broad curriculum, which provides particularly well for the development of pupils’ creative skills. The literacy and numeracy strategies are soundly in place, and pupils build up a reasonable foundation of basic reading and number skills. A good range of extra-curricular activities and interesting visits do much to enrich the curriculum. The curriculum time, however, is more than an hour a week below that recommended for pupils of this age; the time allocated to science is particularly short, and pupils’ standards in the national tests are low as a result.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs This is good, and pupils make good progress towards their targets. Pupils with statements do well and are included in all school activities. A few pupils are withdrawn occasionally from assembly for extra work; this is unsatisfactory, and means they miss these important spiritual and social events.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. The school provides well for pupils’ personal development. The provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. They are encouraged to reflect upon the place of God in their lives, taught to distinguish between right and wrong and given many opportunities to work and play co-operatively. The school provides much to enable pupils to learn about art and music, but too little to develop their understanding of other cultures and faiths.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school takes good care of its pupils, monitoring their behaviour carefully, and providing a safe place to work and play. The school’s procedures for assessing pupils’ progress over the year are sound, but teachers’ day-to-day assessment says too little about how well pupils learn in a particular lesson, and which topics may need to be revisited.

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Aspect Comment

The curriculum is planned well, overall, but the lack of multicultural experiences it offers denies pupils the chance to learn about life outside Market Weighton. The school has a good partnership with parents. They keep parents well-informed about their child’s progress, but provide too little information about the curriculum. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the head teacher and other key staff The head teacher leads the school well. He is respected by staff and parents, and is clear about how to move the school forward. The deputy head teacher did much to maintain morale when he was temporarily in charge, and now gives good support to the new head teacher.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. The governing body, led very well by a knowledgeable Chair, supports the school well. Governors have a good awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, but, whilst they work closely with the head teacher and staff, they have too little say in the formation of the school’s development plan.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The governing body and head teacher analyse the school’s performance well, and this gives them valuable data to direct the teaching and curricular planning.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Satisfactory. Staff are deployed appropriately and funds are used well to support pupils with special educational needs.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s procedures for achieving the best value for its spending are sound. The school is well-staffed with appropriately qualified teachers and learning support assistants. The accommodation is attractive, and has benefited from much refurbishment lately. The school’s resources are satisfactory overall, and good in physical education, music, geography and art and design. There are too few computers, however, for pupils to make the best possible progress in information and communication technology, and in religious education, the school lacks resources to develop pupils’ understanding of other faiths.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The stability provided by the new head teacher. • The good quality of teaching. • The way pupils respect the views of others. • Their child’s enthusiasm for school. • The good provision for pupils with special educational needs. • Too much, or too little, homework is set. • They get too little information about the curriculum.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Parents’ views are very positive, and inspectors agree with their favourable comments. The setting of homework is good, and appropriate for all ages of pupils, but it is true that the school provides a limited amount of information about the curriculum. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 Analysis of the school’s national tests in 2000 shows that, compared with all schools, standards in English were average, while those in mathematics and science were below average. Boys generally attain higher standards than girls in mathematics and science in the tests, but the school has worked hard to raise girls’ attainment and this inspection found no differences. Compared with schools with a similar proportion of pupils eligible for free meals, standards were average in English, below in mathematics and well below in science. Although the overall trend in the school’s results show a rate of improvement in line with that found nationally, they are lower than those reported in the previous inspection. This decline coincides with the period of turbulence suffered by the school when, without a head teacher, it lost direction.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2 This inspection finds that, by the end of Year 6, pupils speak well. They are clear and precise in what they say, with the majority using good standard English. Teachers listen well to the pupils, and provide lots of opportunities for pupils to listen to each other. Standards in reading are above average. Pupils are very enthusiastic about reading and this is a direct result of the types of books that are available and the teachers’ encouragement. The Literacy Hour is developing pupils’ reading skills well. Most teachers have a good knowledge of the national strategy, and choose texts carefully to develop specific reading skills. Standards in writing are below average in Year 6, and only just about average in other year groups. Teachers give insufficient attention to the teaching of different styles of writing that pupils use in other subjects, and this prevents pupils making the best progress possible.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3 In mathematics, pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 6 is below average. Their numeracy skills are weakest, and, while most have a basic knowledge of the multiplication tables up to 10, they struggle if the teacher asks them to answer a question quickly, or use their mathematics to solve problems. They convert percentages to fractions and decimals confidently, but often make careless mistakes. Pupils have a good grasp of databases, and how to compile data using frequency tables to produce a graph.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4 In science by Year 6, pupils’ attainment is average. They make accurate notes about important concepts, and their work on the Solar System shows that they organise their information well. Nearly all use apparatus very well to conduct experiments, and they enjoy the practical challenges set by teachers. Their work on forces is of an average standard, although their diagrams are often drawn incorrectly. Pupils have a sound knowledge of the human body, and a good understanding of the effects of exercise on the heart. However, the time allocated to science is significantly lower than is found in most schools, and this helps to explain why few pupils develop the deeper understanding of science necessary to attain the higher levels in the national tests.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5 In information and communication technology, Year 6, pupils attain average standards. They use computers very well in geography, design and technology and English to research their topics, and in mathematics to compile databases.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6 In religious education, pupils’ attainment generally meets the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus. A strength of their attainment is the way they discuss moral issues, Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 12 and understand why people have different points of view. Throughout the school, however, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of other faiths is weak.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7 In art and design, pupils’ attainment exceeds national expectations. They use sketchbooks well to experiment with ideas and different materials, and produce very detailed drawings of objects in still-life exercises. In design and technology, standards meet national expectations. They produce good designs with step-by-step instructions, and their models are produced with a sound attention to detail.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8 In geography, pupils’ skills exceed national expectations. Year 6 pupils use a wide geographical vocabulary to describe the physical features of coastal regions, and have a good awareness that people can improve or damage the environment. The weakness in geography lies in pupils’ writing, which is often too brief to do justice to their knowledge and understanding.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9 Standards in history also exceed national expectations. Pupils have a clear insight into the way that people lived at different periods, and the important events that shaped their lives. They show a good understanding of chronology and construct accurate time- lines from their knowledge. Pupils develop a good historical vocabulary because teachers place great emphasis on the use and understanding of the correct terminology to describe events.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10 Pupils’ musical skills exceed national expectations. Most of them sing a wide repertoire of songs with accurate pitch, vary the volume to good effect and show a good understanding of rhythm. Staff give much of their time to running a number of extra- curricular music clubs and these, together with the very good expertise of the teachers, have resulted in a large number of pupils who are able to play an instrument well.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11 In physical education, pupils’ attainment is in line with national expectations overall. They have good ball skills, and do well in competitive sports against other schools. Their gymnastic skills are as expected for pupils this age. They move easily around the hall, and show reasonable agility with their bodies. Their swimming skills are good, with nearly all pupils able to swim 25 metres confidently by the time they leave.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12 Pupils make satisfactory progress overall. While the recent national test results show a decline in standards by Year 6 pupils, those attained by pupils lower down the school are much better. These are pupils who have benefited most from the more focussed teaching and curriculum planning that the school has introduced over the last year.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13 Pupils with special educational needs make good progress. Their individual targets focus clearly on what they need to do to improve, and nearly all make significant gains in the basic skills of reading and number.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

14 Higher attaining pupils do reasonably well overall, but too few move on to attain the high standards of which they are capable in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Recognising this weakness, the school has introduced ability sets for Year 6 pupils, and these are starting to make a difference. Teachers’ planning, however, gives too little attention to the more advanced skills of writing, scientific enquiry and numeracy, and this is why some pupils do not make the best possible progress towards high standards.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 13 15 Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development are good. Relationships are a particular strength and make an important contribution to the standards pupils achieve.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16 Pupils have good attitudes to their work and life in school. They enjoy coming to school, confirming parents’ views. They show a good level of interest and involvement in their lessons. Most pupils try hard to do their best. For instance, during a Year 6 religious education lesson, pupils concentrated well when watching a video about a visit to a mosque, and worked hard to compare similarities and differences with a Christian church. Pupils respond enthusiastically to activities led by their teachers. For example, in a Year 5 numeracy lesson on metric capacity, pupils could hardly wait to work out how many litres of lemonade would be needed for them all to have one cup each.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17 Pupils’ behaviour is good, overall. They move around the school in a quiet, orderly and purposeful way, holding doors open for adults and each other. During assemblies and in the dining room pupils’ behaviour is very good. A small number of pupils do not always behave well during break times. All are aware of the need to tell someone if bullying occurs, and are happy they have someone to turn to if they are hurt or upset. There have been two temporary exclusions in the past year, and this reflects the schools commitment to achieve high standards of behaviour from all pupils.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18 Pupils’ personal development is good, and is supported by a good range of extra- curricular activities. Pupils are polite to each other and adults. They work well together in groups and discuss their work sensibly. They are confident when talking to visitors and respond very well when given responsibility. For instance, Year 3 pupils were proud to explain about their class hamster, and how they take turns to look after it each weekend. Some Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to read to Year 3 pupils, and this works well; it helps younger pupils to improve their reading skills and boosts the self-esteem and confidence of the older ones. Relationships throughout the school are very good. These are particularly noticeable at lunchtime, when the ‘family’ seating arrangements in the dining room gives them good opportunities to socialise with all year groups. However, the personal development of pupils to make choices about what they eat is limited for pupils

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

who have a school lunch, as no alternatives are offered. A child who did not like pizza, salad and jacket potato, for example, looked forward to the second course, but unfortunately did not like blancmange either.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19 Pupils’ attendance is very good, and has a positive impact on their progress. This has been maintained since the last inspection and remains well above the national average. Unauthorised absence is very low in comparison to other schools. Pupils are punctual and lessons start on time.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20 The quality of teaching and learning is good overall, and promotes good progress in most lessons. Nearly all parents agree that the quality of teaching is good, and that it helps their children do well. Of the 49 lessons seen, 2 per cent were excellent, 16 per cent very good, 41 per cent good, 38 per cent satisfactory and only 2 per cent were unsatisfactory. The quality of teaching has been maintained since the last inspection. There is evidence of good teaching throughout the school, but there is often a marked difference in the quality of lessons within each year group, even when teachers have planned lessons together. This leads to one group of pupils learning at a faster rate than the other. The monitoring of teaching, with its present degree of rigour, has only been in place for less than a year, and this explains why some teaching is very good, and some still only satisfactory. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 14

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

21 The teaching of the basic skills of reading and number is satisfactory, overall, but there are classes where it is consistently very good. Teachers are enthusiastic about the national literacy and numeracy strategies, and generally comfortable with the division of lessons into direct teaching time, activities for individual pupils or groups and the summing up session. Where there are shortcomings, mostly in numeracy, the taught session is too long. This means that pupils have too little time working at tasks that are tailored to their level of attainment, the summing up session is too short, and the highest attaining groups in particular are held back. This is why so few pupils attain the higher levels in the national tests.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22 Teachers show a secure knowledge of the subjects they teach, and all make lessons interesting so that pupils enjoy learning. They tell pupils at the start what they will learn, and this works well; it helps pupils focus on particular skills, and enables teachers to evaluate their progress at the end. This process is often devalued, however, by teachers’ evaluations of lessons that they write on the plan; too often, these say that, for example, ‘The lesson went well’, and give little guidance as to how well different groups of pupils learned, and which topics may need to be revisited. Pupils’ writing suffers here, because they are not always asked to re-write work that is unsatisfactory, and the quality of their written work improves slowly as a result.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

23 Teachers’ direct teaching generally works well, and promotes pupils’ learning of new skills effectively. Their management of pupils’ behaviour is good, and this makes the best use of the time available. Teachers are good at rewarding pupils who behave very well in an obvious way, praising them enthusiastically by saying things like, “Well done! You have got yourself prepared really quickly”, and this makes all pupils strive for this standard. The planning of lessons is satisfactory overall, and good when it sets out clear time limits so that each part of the lesson achieves its objectives.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

24 Looking at the different subjects, the quality of teaching in English, including literacy, is generally good. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ speaking and listening, and pupils’ skills develop well. They provide lots of opportunities for pupils to read, and pupils soon develop a love of books as a result. The teaching of writing is generally satisfactory, but teachers do too little to help pupils develop characters in stories, or write in different styles. In mathematics, including numeracy, the teaching is satisfactory overall, but when the taught session goes on for too long, pupils have too little time to work at tasks matched to their ability and this holds back higher attaining pupils. Where numeracy lessons work best, the teacher introduces a new concept, ensures that all pupils understand it and then moves them on quickly to tasks that enable them to apply their new learning at their own level. In a Year 6 lesson, for example, the teacher’s introduction was

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

so brisk and enthusiastic in its delivery that pupils could barely wait to get started on the practical tasks. When pupils had just enough information, the teacher set them a challenge to estimate how many coins would stretch to a metre ruler. Pupils had to decide for themselves what equipment and mathematical processes to use, and there was soon a buzz of excited activity. Higher attaining pupils worked out the first challenge at lightening speed, and moved swiftly on to estimating how many coins it would take to span the room; when they had done this, they did the same with the playground. At the end, all pupils were exhilarated by their success, and had learned much about how to estimate and calculate.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

25 The teaching of science is satisfactory overall. At its best, teachers’ expectations of pupils are high, and require pupils to research topics and come up with their own hypotheses. Sometimes, however, teachers accept work that is of too low a standard, and Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 15 do not expect them to correct that which was unsatisfactory. The teaching of religious education is satisfactory, and good when teachers involve pupils in debates about moral issues which develop their understanding of topics such as war, and illness. Teachers teach too little about other faiths, however, and pupils’ knowledge is weak as a result.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

26 In information and communication technology, the quality of teaching is good, and gives pupils confidence to use computers as an everyday tool to help them learn. The teaching of creative skills is good, and accounts for the high standards that many pupils achieve in music and art and design. In history and geography, the quality of teaching is also good, and enhanced by the many visits that the school provides to give pupils first- hand experiences of, for example, historical artefacts and coastal regions of Britain. In physical education, the quality of teaching is satisfactory, and develops pupils’ physical skills reasonably well.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

27 Teachers set homework regularly, and increase their demands on pupils appropriately as they get older. While some parents feel that their child gets too much, or too little homework, the inspectors found many instances when pupils were given suitable tasks to, for example, complete work at home, or deepen their knowledge by researching topics further. Teachers mark pupils’ books regularly, often with helpful comments to help them improve.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

28 The quality of teaching and learning for pupils with special educational needs is good overall. The co-ordinator for pupils with special educational needs works closely with teachers and support assistants in helping pupils who have special educational needs. Some pupils are withdrawn for well-directed specialist teaching. This system works well, particularly when pupils with special educational needs are working at similar tasks to the rest of the class. Sometimes, however, pupils are withdrawn from, for example, physical education and collective worship; this is unsatisfactory, and denies pupils the chance to enjoy activities alongside other members of the class. Some pupils, for example, missed the school assembly when the trophies won by the choir and orchestra were presented.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

29 The school has, in the past year, combined its existing curriculum plans effectively with those of the nationally recommended schemes to ensure a good coverage of the National Curriculum. The planning provides a sound overview of what is to be taught and learned each year, but there are variations between subjects in the detail provided. However, all of the medium term plans enable teachers to write lesson plans which state clearly what the pupils are expected to attain by the end of the lesson.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

30 The very good quality of the display throughout the school shows clearly the wide range of experiences provided for the pupils, and the good balance between academic ideas and topics from everyday life. The quality of the curriculum is also enhanced with a good range of artefacts loaned from the museum service.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

31 The time allocated to lessons each week is too short by more than one hour, which reduces quite significantly the learning opportunities for pupils. In addition, the time allocated to the teaching of information and communication technology and science is significantly lower than that recommended. This helps to explain why, in these subjects, many pupils attain average standards, but few move on to attain higher levels of expertise. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 16 32 The provision for pupils’ personal and social education (PSHE), which includes health education and drugs awareness, is satisfactory overall. There are elements of PSHE in several subjects, and the school nurse and named teachers give sound advice. The school assemblies often focus upon the importance of the school as a community, and they do so very effectively. The school provides some good opportunities for pupils to think

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

about moral and social issues in religious education lessons and special sessions called ‘Circle Time’.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

33 There is good provision for those pupils with special educational needs. Their needs are identified well at an early stage. From this it is then determined if the pupil requires altered work or additional support. The co-ordinator works well with other teachers in the school so that all teachers are aware of the needs of the pupils in their class, and work is well matched according to pupils’ requirements. The school provides good support for pupils with special educational needs from the classroom assistants. The assistants work closely with teachers when they plan lessons, so that they can then work with groups or individual pupils matching the lessons to their specific needs. In this way all pupils with special educational needs are integrated well into the classroom. They are also withdrawn from class to have support that is specifically focussed to their need, and while they make good progress in developing these necessary skills, it sometimes means they miss

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

34 There are good links with the local community, which have a positive influence on the quality of pupils’ learning. Younger pupils have exciting times at the fire station, and learn much about the importance of this service. Often, the pupils are involved in surveys and research projects, and these create good links with the community. The pupils also help to take care of senior citizens in the wider community. They make banners and decorations, and join in community events such as ‘Market Weighton in Bloom’. The pupils’ work on the issues surrounding the building of the Market Weighton by-pass brought members of the Council into close contact with the school, and taught pupils much about the environmental effects of new roads. The school is justifiably proud of pupils’ achievements in music competitions, which bring them into contact with other communities and pupils from other schools. Pupils also receive coaching in cricket from professional

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

players, which has a good impact on their skills.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

35 The quality and range of the extra-curricular activities are good. Activities are provided by teachers and other adults on most days of the week, and many pupils are involved in dramatic productions, open evenings, musical presentations and sport.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

36 The school has forged sound links with a number of institutions. The links with the infant school are satisfactory, and improving through regular meetings between the two head teachers. A joint ‘after school club’ is organised in the infant school, and infants attend six junior school assemblies. The links with the secondary school have a strong curricular emphasis, and include projects in design and technology and mathematics which start in the junior school and are completed in the secondary school.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

37 The school provides well for pupils’ personal development overall. Pupils’ spiritual development is effectively fostered in many aspects of school life. They sing respectfully in assembly because the staff join in the singing and set a good example. The school does much to generate feelings of awe and wonder, for instance, when Year 4 pupils spotted some baby woodlice recently hatched. They are encouraged to reflect deeply on issues, and, in English lessons, to set some of their thoughts down in poetry. One Year 4 pupil, for example, wrote: Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 17 ‘ Slowly sinking down; the sun is drifting to bed; Good night and God bless ’,

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

‘ cotton wool clouds playing tig the stars twinkling in the night sky and the earth gently spinning’.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

38 The provision for pupils’ moral development is good. Teachers are firm but fair, and unacceptable behaviour is met with an appropriate response from both class teachers and senior staff. The school, through measures such as the ‘Golden Rules’ and the good example set by all the adults who work there, places a high priority on consideration for others, and the importance of everyone working together to form a strong and happy community.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

39 The provision for pupils’ social development is very good. Teachers provide many opportunities for pupils to work together, and encourage them to value each other’s opinions. Parents are right to feel that this is a real strength of the school. Pupils are given lots of encouragement to help one another, and the project when Year 6 pupils read to those in Year 3 is a very good example of this happening in practice.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

40 The provision for pupils’ cultural development is satisfactory overall. The provision for pupils developing an understanding of their own culture is very good, and they gain much from the school’s strong focus on art and music. They are, however, given too few opportunities to experience, or to learn about, the values and beliefs of people with differing cultural backgrounds.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41 The health, safety and general welfare of pupils is a main concern of all staff who provide a good level of care. There are appropriate arrangements for child protection issues and all procedures are followed carefully. The school is aware of the need to update training for new staff. There is one adult qualified in first aid, and other staff have received basic training. The medical needs of pupils are catered for well. A governors’ committee check and monitor the premises for health and safety issues each term and risk assessment is carried out.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42 The school has good procedures for promoting attendance and good behaviour, and for deterring and dealing with bullying if it should occur. There is very good liaison with outside agencies who play an important role in monitoring individual behaviour plans. Attendance is monitored very well, and all absence is followed up. As a result, the rate of attendance is high. The ‘Golden Rules’ were written in consultation with pupils. These are prominently displayed in classrooms and used with rewards of house points to effectively promote good attitudes, behaviour and respectful relationships. When behaviour occasionally falls below the required standard pupils are asked to reflect on which rule they have broken. Visual rewards, such as ‘smiley faces’ and stickers, are also used in some classes to motivate pupils to always do their best. A pupil in Year 3 was proud to receive the ‘worker of the week’ certificate for consistent effort. These are effective measures,

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

which help pupils see the benefits of trying hard to achieve high standards of work and behaviour. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 18 43 The school regularly carries out formal assessments of pupils. These include standardised tests about pupils’ reading and mathematical ability. In addition, the school makes good use of the nationally recommended tests for Years 3, 4 and 5. These tests provide useful indications of how well pupils are attaining. The results of these tests and the statutory tests at the end of the key stage are analysed to see if there are any specific areas that the school needs to develop. For example, the school identified that pupils’ writing was not as good as it should be, and this has been a focussed area for improvement. At this level the school uses assessment well.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44 Teachers identify on their daily planning what the specific learning outcomes of a lesson should be. In the best practice, where pupils make very good progress, teachers refer to these intended outcomes when evaluating how well pupils learned, and make suitable comments on the lesson plan so that they can revisit work that some find difficult. Too often, however, teachers’ comments at the end of lessons are too general and do not specifically refer to the gains that pupils have made in their learning. As a result, pupils’ progress is restricted because planning is not always based on what they actually need, but more on what the scheme of work suggests they do next.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45 Teachers often share with pupils exactly what they should know or be able to do by the end of a lesson. This works well, and these pupils are developing a good understanding of their own learning, and whether they have achieved what they should have done in a particular lesson. However, this practice is not consistent throughout the school, and, as a result, some pupils have a greater understanding of their achievements than others.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46 The school has a good understanding of the areas where improvements in pupils’ attainment are needed. However, targets are only set for those in Year 6. For other classes the school does not have a secure way of measuring gains in pupils’ knowledge. This is a similar situation for individual pupils. Targets are not set for pupils, so they do not have a clear understanding of what they need to do in order to improve their work. They are tested regularly, but the tests are only used to assess their level of attainment at that particular time. Pupils’ achievement is not tracked sufficiently well through the school, and so teachers are not clear about whether all pupils are making the best possible progress. The exception to this is pupils who have been identified as having special educational needs. These pupils have their needs identified thoroughly. A set of individual targets is then agreed for them, which provides clear guidance about their progress.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47 Parents have positive views of the school. They are delighted that their children enjoy school, work hard and make good progress, as a result of the good teaching. They feel welcome in school to discuss any queries or concerns.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48 Most parents feel well informed about everyday events in school through a good range of information, including monthly newsletters. Most parents have also made a commitment to work in partnership with the school to raise their child’s achievement. However, a small number have concerns about homework and information on their child’s progress. Inspection findings show that homework is used well, but parents receive a limited amount of information about the curriculum or how to help at home. Annual reports are very good, and include individual targets for improvement. However, pupils are not given regular targets to achieve throughout the year, and this makes it difficult for parents to monitor their child’s progress. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 19 49 A few parents come into school regularly to help during lessons. Parents also help on trips and visits. They make an effective contribution to the work of the school. There is

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

also a hard working ‘Friends of the School’ association, which canvassed parents to ensure they organised events that parents would attend. This worked very well, and parents gave very good support and raised substantial amounts of money for the pupils’ benefit. For instance, they funded netball equipment and the Pleasant Garden. This involvement of parents has a positive impact on pupils’ education and the school environment.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50 The leadership of the school is good, and is starting to make a significant contribution to the raising of standards. The school suffered from the disruption caused by over two years of uncertainty and turbulence when the previous head teacher was absent. The deputy head teacher played an important role in this difficult time, by helping to raise the morale of staff and keeping the school functioning smoothly. It was, however, a period when pupils’ standards slipped because the deputy’s class was taken by a succession of supply teachers. The school’s action to address the issues from the previous inspection also slowed at this time, and most of the progress made towards these weaknesses has been achieved in the past year.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51 The new head teacher has done well in his first year, and has taken an appropriate amount of time to establish the school’s strengths and weaknesses. He has soon built up good relationships with staff and parents, all of whom welcome the stability this appointment has brought to the school. For instance, one parent wrote, “After several years with no head teacher, I now feel very confident about the future of the school”.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52 The head teacher began well by involving staff and governors in a useful system of self-evaluation and this has directed the school towards clear priorities while, at the same time, celebrating its successes. One issue that emerged from this process was the quality of pupils’ writing, which fell below other aspects of their work. The head teacher looked with the staff at how writing was taught, and introduced more focussed work in the Literacy Hour to develop pupils’ skills. Early signs are that, while writing is still a relative weakness, it is much improved, and the unconfirmed national test results for this year show a far higher proportion of pupils attaining and exceeding the national standard. 53 The monitoring of teaching is good, but has not been operating with the present degree of rigour for enough time to have a significant impact on the quality of lessons. This explains some inconsistencies in the quality of teaching during this inspection. The head

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

teacher began cautiously by taking each class himself, and monitoring pupils’ standards. The next stage involved the monitoring of pupils’ books to pinpoint areas of weaknesses, and this directed the head teacher towards a very focussed observation of teachers’ lessons. This systematic process has worked well; it has moved at a realistic pace, and given a thorough understanding of how effectively teachers teach and well pupils learn. It has also been at the centre of the school’s successful introduction of performance management procedures, that all staff are finding very helpful.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54 The senior staff support the school well, and form a good partnership with the head teacher. He consults them concerning matters of change within the school, and they undertake their duties conscientiously. The deputy head teacher provides good support to the head teacher; importantly, they share a common vision, and are committed to the raising of standards. The deputy’s responsibilities, however, are modest, and lack a whole- school focus to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 20 55 The co-ordinator for pupils with special educational needs monitors the provision effectively. There are regular reviews of pupils’ individual targets and parents make good contributions to these meetings. They are fully involved in setting the targets for their child and most give very good support at home. The school works well with outside agencies, who provide valuable support to pupils with statements of special educational needs to

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56 The members of the governing body support the school well and benefit from strong and knowledgeable leadership from the Chair. They analyse the school’s policies thoroughly and are keen to offer their own views on the school’s future direction. They have a good knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and are starting to use data well to look for ways to improve the school further. Governors, for example, identified the differences in the attainment of boys and girls as an issue for the school to pursue. As a result of the school’s action, the attainment of girls has improved, and is now equal to that of boys. Governors monitor the progress of the school’s development plan, but take too little part in its formation, relying more on school staff to set the targets. The governors meet the statutory requirements for the delivery of the curriculum and the welfare of pupils.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57 The school manages its finances satisfactorily and benefits from the direction and support of knowledgeable governors, who measure the cost-effectiveness of the school’s provision effectively by comparing the school’s performance with that of similar schools. This process is made more effective by the involvement of the school’s Senior Administration Officer, who does much to ensure that the school gains the best value from its spending.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58 The staff are well qualified to meet the demands of the curriculum. The school uses their expertise effectively, and staff benefit from very good opportunities to attend training courses and develop their skills. Staff are very established, and this is why there are no formal induction measures in place to ensure that new staff settle quickly. The school has plans to produce an induction policy.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59 The accommodation is good overall and allows the curriculum to be taught effectively. The school building is welcoming and is enhanced by colourful displays. It is in good decorative order and is maintained well. The classrooms are generally of adequate size to accommodate the number of pupils, although, in the largest classes, space is limited. The library area is attractive and much improved from the previous inspection. The store of books is also better than before and provides a good source of reading for all groups of pupils. The hall provides adequate accommodation for collective worship, physical education and social interaction at lunchtime. The playgrounds and large field grounds provide good opportunities for physical education and have a good effect on pupils’ games skills.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60 The school’s resources are satisfactory overall, and good in art and design, geography, history, physical education and music. In religious education, while resources are satisfactory overall, the school has too few artefacts to teach pupils about how other people of the world worship, and this explains why their knowledge of different faiths is weak. In information and communication technology there are too few computers to make the best of pupils’ skills and enthusiasm, and, realising this, the school has plans to increase the number of up-to-date machines in the near future. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 21

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

61 To maintain the progress the school has made over the last year, and raise standards further, the governing body, head teacher and staff should:

p.23

(A) Raise standards in writing, mathematics and science by:

• using the literacy hour more effectively to teach pupils how to structure their stories and develop the characters; (Paragraphs 2, 69) • ensuring that, in the numeracy hour, pupils are given enough time to work at tasks matched to their ability; (Paragraphs 21, 24, 73, 78) • allocating more curricular time to the teaching of science; (Paragraphs 4, 85) • making better use of teachers’ evaluations of lessons to show how different groups of pupils could have been extended more. (Paragraphs 22, 44, 69, 80) )

p.23

(C) Increase the amount of teaching time to at least the recommended

figure of twenty three and a half hours per week. (Paragraph 31)

p.23

(C) Increase the amount of teaching time to at least the recommended

In addition to the weaknesses above the following more minor weaknesses should be considered for inclusion in the action plan.

p.23

(C) Increase the amount of teaching time to at least the recommended

• Involve the governing body more in setting the targets of the school development plan. (Paragraph 56) • Increase the number of computers to the level found nationally. (Paragraph 108) • Ensure that pupils with special educational needs are not withdrawn from collective worship. (Paragraph 28) • Provide parents with more information about the curriculum. (Paragraph 48) Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 22

p.23

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 23

p.24

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.24

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

2 16 41 38 2 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 258

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 24 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 4

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 45

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 47

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 13

p.24

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. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 23

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 26 34 60

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 19 20 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 27 24 29

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 77% (77%) 73% (82%) 82% (89%) at NC level 4 or above National 75% (70%) 72% (69%) 85% (78%)

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 20 21 23 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 28 24 28

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 80% (89%) 76% (91%) 85% (94%) at NC level 4 or above National 70% (68%) 72% (69%) 79% (75%) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.25

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. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 24

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 9.9 Financial year 2000 - 2001

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 26

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Y3 – Y6 Total expenditure 428,485

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 5 Expenditure per pupil 1,661

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 42 Balance brought forward from previous year 26,598

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 35,118 Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 25

p.26

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 38 57 5 0 0

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 22 64 7 2 5

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 16 61 19 4 0

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 30 52 14 3 1

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 58 37 2 2 1

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 49 47 5 0 0

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 27 59 10 2 2

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 32 62 2 0 4

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 39 53 5 1 2

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 30 54 8 3 5 Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 26

p.27

ENGLISH

62 In the 2000 national tests for 11 year olds the school’s results in English were similar to most schools nationally and those of schools with a similar number of pupils eligible for free school meals. The standard of work for those pupils currently in Year 6 would indicate that the school’s results in the 2001 tests will not be as good as in 2000. This is primarily because the current Year 6 class has a high proportion of pupils who have been identified as having special educational needs, including two pupils who have a statement of specific need. Most of the pupils in Year 6 are attaining at a level that is appropriate for their age in reading but standards in writing are not as good as this. A significant minority of pupils are attaining levels in writing that are below and well below where they should be. This attainment, however, is not representative of standards in other classes. In all other year groups standards are close to where they should be in writing and

p.28

ENGLISH

63 Over the last three years the school’s results in English have shown a downward trend. During this time the school has had disrupted management. The previous head teacher was absent for a long period and the school was unsure about when he would return. During this time the National Literacy Strategy was introduced. A lack of direction during this first initial introductory period resulted in the strategy not being implemented with sufficient rigour. This situation has been addressed by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic co-ordinator and the strategy is now implemented well in most classes.

p.28

ENGLISH

64 The school has recognised the under achievement in writing. This has been a focus for development throughout the school and has resulted in improvements being made. However, standards are still too low.

p.28

ENGLISH

65 Throughout the school pupils speak well. They are clear and precise in what they say, with the majority using good standard English. Teachers give pupils many opportunities to express themselves. For example, each class has time when pupils sit in a circle and discuss issues related to a variety of topics, such as feelings and emotions. A lot of discussion is entered into in religious education where pupils explain and discuss their beliefs and values. Teachers use the end sessions of lessons very well to promote pupils’ speaking and listening skills. For example, in a Year 4 class pupils read a poem about the ‘Lambton Worm’ and rewrote it as a play script. Pupils were extremely enthusiastic about the choice of topic and took great delight in reading out their scenes to others in class. They spoke very clearly and with a great deal of expression. Other pupils in the class listened very carefully to what they were saying and this was clearly indicated by the boys’

p.28

ENGLISH

reactions to that fact that the worm would love to eat little boys. Teachers listen well to the pupils and are good role models for pupils to listen to each other. Occasionally, pupils have to be reminded to allow others to speak but, in the main, they are polite, listen well to each other and respond well to questions.

p.28

ENGLISH

66 Standards in reading are above average. Pupils are very enthusiastic about reading and this is a direct result of the types of books that are available and the teachers’ encouragement. For example, Year 6 pupils regularly visit the Year 3 class; partners from each of the classes are decided and the Year 6 pupils take responsibility for hearing the Year 3 pupils read. Both classes enjoy this session, which enhances the reading skills and enjoyment of books for all the pupils involved. The school has a wide variety of books. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 27 Pupils read from the school reading scheme initially but when they have reached a proficient level they choose from a range of books that are graded by ability. This means that pupils read books that are appealing to them, for example, Harry Potter books. They are free to change their books when they have completed them and are not restricted by

p.28

ENGLISH

having to wait for the teacher to tell them which book to get next. Every afternoon session begins with the opportunity for pupils to read silently for pleasure. Pupils are allowed to choose what they read and this ranges from comics and magazines to novels and school reading books. This is fostering a love of reading. During this session teachers take the opportunity to listen to pupils read. This is done in small groups of pupils of similar ability, and they make good progress in these sessions.

p.29

ENGLISH

67 Teachers assess what pupils know and understand about their books through the good use of questioning. For example, in a Year 5 session the teacher asked questions such as, “What do you know about the character of Grace?”. Pupils replied that they knew she was lonely and that they thought that was is why she is bullying. This good teaching is resulting in pupils being able to read at quite a high level. For example, they do not just read what the word says, but are beginning to understand what might be implied in the text. The Literacy Hour is also developing pupils’ reading skills well. Most teachers have a good knowledge of the national strategy, and teach reading well. Texts are chosen carefully to develop specific reading skills. For example, pupils in a Year 3 class read ‘There’s some sky in this pie’. The teacher was a good role model for expressive reading and the humorous content of the text fully engaged pupils’ interest. As a result, they listened very

p.29

ENGLISH

carefully and, by the end of the lesson, had a good understanding about the difference between fact and fantasy, and how words can rhyme but do not have to have the same spelling. This specific teaching of skills has resulted in pupils being able to use a variety of strategies when tackling unknown words. For example, they sound out individual letters, break the word into syllables and use pictures as clues. As a result, most pupils are developing well as expressive and fluent readers.

p.29

ENGLISH

68 The last inspection found that pupils’ reading skills were being restricted by the library’s limited stock of non-fiction books. In addition, the library was sited in a thoroughfare and was small for the size of the school. This has now been resolved. The library has been re-sited and is a good size. The amount of non-fiction books has been increased and is now adequate. Pupils use the library regularly and their retrieval skills are well developed. For example, even the youngest pupils quickly locate books using the school’s classification system. They all know how to use the contents and index pages of books to locate information and know that the glossary will help with ‘hard words’.

p.29

ENGLISH

69 Standards in writing are below average in Year 6, and only just about average in other year groups. The school has identified that writing is an area for development and there have already been many improvements made. As a result, standards of pupils’ writing are improving. The implementation of the Literacy Strategy has improved the quality of teaching in this area and it is usually good. Where it is only satisfactory the teacher had not followed the Literacy Strategy format and the lesson was not as well paced and challenging as it could have been. Most teachers use the strategy well, and planning indicates clearly what is to be covered in a lesson. Teachers provide many opportunities for pupils to write and choose topics that they feel will interest and motivate them. For example, in Year 5 pupils learnt how to write a ‘Performance Poem’. Pupils had to describe an alien using adjectives to describe his appearance, verbs to describe his movements and

p.29

ENGLISH

nouns to describe where he lived. They showed a very good grasp of the grammar involved, and enjoyed the activity, especially reading it out expressively at the end of the lesson. Many opportunities are given for pupils to write creatively. This has resulted in sound development in pupils’ use of their imagination and descriptive vocabulary. For Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 28 example, in a story in Year 6, one pupil wrote ‘It was strange how the dust on the floor muffled our footsteps’. However, insufficient attention is given to the teaching of different styles of writing that pupils use in other subjects. Most lessons are conducted at a good pace, which maintains pupils’ attention and interest. Consequently, they apply themselves well to tasks and work productively. However, teachers do not always use assessment effectively to identify specific areas for development, and so opportunities for writing are

p.29

ENGLISH

not sufficiently focussed to areas of weakness. As a result, pupils are not given sufficient support and guidance to develop specific aspects of writing within the Literacy Hour. For example, the endings of stories or the development of a character that unfolds as the story progresses. In addition, pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to revisit pieces of work and improve it in light of teachers’ marking. There are no individual or class targets set that indicate to teachers or pupils specifically where improvements are to be made. As a result, many pupils continually repeat mistakes and do not make the progress of which they are capable.

p.30

ENGLISH

70 The co-ordinator leads and manages English well. Through the monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning he has clearly identified areas for development and these are showing signs of success. He knows where the subject needs to improve further and has clearly identified how this will be achieved.

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MATHEMATICS

71 In the national tests for 11 year olds in 2000, the pupils’ results in mathematics were just below the national average. Few attained the higher levels in the tests, and this brought the average figure down. Compared with schools that have a similar proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, pupils’ attainment was also below average. Trends in performance over the last four years indicate a steady improvement until last year, when standards dropped significantly at a time when Year 6 pupils had several different temporary teachers. Boys performed much better than girls in the tests last year, and the school has worked effectively to raise girls’ attainment; this inspection finds that girls attain just as highly as boys. The school did not achieve its ambitious targets by some way last year, and the unconfirmed results of the national tests show that it is unlikely to do so this year.

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MATHEMATICS

72 The findings of this inspection indicate that current Year 6 pupils are achieving standards that are below average, and significantly lower than at the time of the last inspection. A high proportion of Year 6 pupils are on the special educational needs register and, while they make satisfactory progress in most areas of mathematics, their reading difficulties make it difficult for them to work out problems because they get confused when a problem is written in words rather than numbers. Overall, pupils have a reasonable knowledge of the multiplication tables up to 10, but struggle to recall these facts when a question is fired at them. They convert percentages to fractions and decimals confidently, and provide basic explanations of their mental strategies. Pupils in Year 6 use non- calculator methods for long multiplication and long division, including the multiplication and division of decimals, but often make mistakes because of carelessness in the way they set

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MATHEMATICS

out the sums. When working with two-dimensional shapes and angles, pupils label the various shapes with reasonable confidence, and have a sound understanding of acute and obtuse angles. They understand rotational symmetry well, and draw their shapes accurately on squared paper. Pupils have a good grasp of databases, and how to compile data using frequency tables to produce a graph. In some of their best work, pupils produced very good line graphs to show the distances travelled by coaches at specific points of time. They make good use of information and communication technology in their Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 29 mathematics, and their research into currency exchange rates shows a good understanding of how to use the Internet to work out their sums.

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MATHEMATICS

73 The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, and at its best when teachers provide a good balance between direct teaching of skills, and opportunities for pupils to apply their new learning in practical activities. Occasionally, however, teachers talk for too long, and pupils have too little time to work at tasks that are matched to their level of attainment. This particularly affects higher attaining pupils, who have to spend too much time being taught skills they already know. This is an important reason why so few pupils attain higher levels in the national tests.

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MATHEMATICS

74 The teaching in Year 3 is generally good, and pupils do particularly well in developing their numeracy skills. They are confident using numbers because teachers give them lots of practise, and their mental mathematics sessions are brisk and exciting. For instance, at the start of a very good lesson in Year 3, one pupil gave a cry of delight when the teacher informed the class that it was time for mental mathematics. Teachers are good at getting pupils to use different strategies to solve problems, and this helps them attack new work with confidence. The pace of lessons is usually brisk, although sometimes teachers dwell too long on one part of a lesson rather than move on as soon as pupils have grasped a concept. In one lesson, for example, pupils were building their own graph by each sticking a card on the board to show how many letters they had in their name. This worked well the first time, but the time spent repeating the exercise was wasted when

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MATHEMATICS

higher attaining pupils could have been extending their learning.

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MATHEMATICS

75 In Year 4, the teaching is satisfactory overall, but there is enough good teaching to account for pupils’ rapid progress in these classes. Teachers place lots of emphasis on pupils gaining a feel for number, and learning to estimate quantities rather than just count them. This works well; it helps pupils check the reasonableness of their answers, and reduces the number of careless mistakes. Year 4 pupils have good numeracy skills, and have a clear understanding of how to add and subtract large numbers in their head. The good teaching of shape ensures that pupils are confident investigating the characteristics of two and three-dimensional figures, and label acute and obtuse angles accurately.

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MATHEMATICS

76 Pupils continue to do well in Year 5. The quality of teaching is generally good, and gives pupils a thorough grasp of the four rules of number. Teachers teach the skills of attacking problems well, so that pupils learn what information is important, and what they can discard. In one lesson, for example, the teacher saw pupils bemused at the complexity of a problem, and asked them to cross out all the words that they did not need. This left them with a straightforward sum, which they did easily. The pace of lessons is usually brisk, although higher attaining pupils are not always stretched by tasks such as waiting for 25 minutes watching a tap drip in order to calculate how much water would be wasted in a year.

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MATHEMATICS

77 The teaching is satisfactory in Year 6 and, despite their low standards, these pupils are making steady progress. Teachers have to do lots of work on pupils’ basic skills because they are so weak. This was illustrated when one pupil worked out a sum well, but then struggled because he could not say whether the answer of 120,000 was ‘twelve million’, ‘one hundred and twenty thousand’ or ‘twelve thousand’.

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MATHEMATICS

78 Throughout the school, most teachers use the summing up sessions well, both to assess how much pupils have learned, and to gauge which topics may need to be revisited. This falls down, however, when the ‘taught’ element of the lesson goes on too long, and there is no time to review the work done. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 30 79 Pupils make sound use of their numeracy skills in other subjects. In science, for example, they calculate changes in temperature and produce good graphs of their results, and in information and communication technology, pupils design sequences of moves for a programmable toy and create geometric shapes on the computer screen.

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MATHEMATICS

80 The subject co-ordinator is enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and gives good support to the staff. She has monitored the teaching of mathematics, and identified useful areas for the staff to work on to raise standards. Pupils’ progress is assessed methodically and the school make good use of the national test results to focus on specific areas of weakness. The day-to-day assessment, however, is inconsistent. Teachers write evaluations of each lesson on the back of the plan and, at its best, this gives a clear picture of which work needs to be revisited. One teacher began a lesson, for example, by saying, “Listen carefully, because this is where you went wrong yesterday”. Too often, however, these evaluations are limited to comments such as, ‘The lesson went well’, and are little help to pupils or teachers. Resources for the subject are good, and include a wide range of books, computer programs and practical equipment in all classrooms to provide easy

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MATHEMATICS

access for teachers, support staff and pupils. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 31

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SCIENCE

81 Last year’s national test results for science were below the national average. The test scores compared with those of similar schools were well below average. This inspection finds that the current Year 6 pupils’ attainment is in line with that found nationally. This improvement is mainly the result of teachers providing more work to develop pupils’ scientific vocabulary. Since the last inspection, when standards were above average, the school’s results in the national tests have dropped. While pupils’ scores improved well in 1998 and 1999, they fell in 2000 when the class was taken by different temporary teachers. The unconfirmed results for this year show a marked improvement on last year’s figures.

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SCIENCE

82 Year 6 pupils make accurate notes about important concepts, and their work on the Solar System shows that they organise their information well. They use their sound ideas and understanding to write good instructions, for example, on how to look after a Guinea Pig. Teachers’ good planning includes an appropriate balance of direct teaching and practical activities; this gives pupils a broad scientific knowledge, and enables them to test their ideas competently. Year 6 pupils use apparatus very well to conduct experiments, and they enjoy the practical challenges set by teachers. Their work on forces is of an average standard, although their diagrams are often incorrectly drawn. Pupils have a reasonable knowledge of the human body and a good understanding of the effects of exercise on the heart. They display results of their experiments clearly and make effective use of line graphs to, for example, show the range of thermometer readings. However,

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SCIENCE

higher attaining pupils are not always encouraged to use the data from their good investigations as evidence when convincing others about their hypotheses; this lowers their attainment, and helps to explain why so few of them attain the higher levels in the national tests.

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SCIENCE

83 Overall, pupils make sound progress as they move through the school, and those with special educational needs do well enough to attain, or come close to, national standards by Year 6. As early as Year 3, the pupils record daily temperatures accurately and record these readings on charts. They have a sound understanding of what makes a test fair and know that to compare different tissues you have to add the same number of drops of water to each type. Their knowledge of teeth is good, but their writing when recording their findings is often too brief. Year 4 pupils sort materials systematically, and record their observations well. They have detailed knowledge about insects, and their life cycle. Year 5 pupils achieve well, and many develop good scientific skills. Sometimes, however they are so keen to get on with the practical work that they miss important evidence, and this affects the accuracy of their results.

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SCIENCE

84 The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly, usually with helpful ideas as to how they can improve their work, and this ensures that pupils make steady progress through the school. Occasionally, however, teachers allow pupils to produce work that is of too low a standard without asking them to improve it. Teachers provide many opportunities for pupils to research topics, and this helps develop their independent learning. This was seen to good effect when Year 4 pupils gained a good knowledge of insects and other arthropods through studying books and CD-ROMs. Teachers use questions well to assess pupils’ knowledge and develop their skills. A Year 5 teacher, for example, questioned pupils very effectively to find out what they knew about woodlice and, by probing further, enabled them to come up with good ideas about how they could discover more. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 32

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SCIENCE

85 The science co-ordinator gives sound support to teachers. She has developed a good scheme of work, which makes effective use of the most recent national guidelines. The co-ordinator has monitored some teaching and the school has analysed pupils’ national test results in order to pinpoint areas of weakness. This is good practice and has started to raise standards. The amount of time that science has on the curriculum, however, is short, and not enough to ensure that pupils attain the highest standards possible.

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ART AND DESIGN

86 Pupils’ work in art and design by Year 6 is above national expectations, and the school has maintained the high standards reported in the previous inspection. Teachers convey their enjoyment of art and design to pupils, who respond with enthusiasm and delight at their finished work. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well, and relish the success this subject gives them. Indeed, some of their work is among the best in the school.

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ART AND DESIGN

87 The quality of teaching is good, and develops pupils’ basic skills and creative talents well as they move through the school. The walls are full of exciting work that celebrates pupils’ considerable achievements. Teachers’ high expectations are illustrated well by pupils’ work in Year 3. They produce very effective pencil drawings of churches that show different textures of the bricks in great detail. Already, they are getting to grips with how to use different pencils to achieve soft and sharp effects, and they shade their designs very well to show how shadows are cast.

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ART AND DESIGN

88 In Year 4, teachers provide stimulating tasks that enable pupils to build well on the techniques learned in Year 3. Pupils’ sketches illustrate their good progress by the careful use of colour and shading to show the complex patterns of sea-shells. Teachers encourage pupils to link their work to the school’s concern for the environment by getting them to create designs to brighten up the temporary classroom. By now, pupils are starting to experiment with complex colours, producing work of a high quality when mixing shades to show the colour of skin.

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ART AND DESIGN

89 Year 5 pupils take this experimentation further by making good use of sketchbooks to improve their understanding of how to create perspective in their pictures. Again, teachers show pupils how art is important in everyday life; in the best lesson, for example, the teacher had pupils producing exciting ‘touchy-feely’ books with different textured material for pre-school children to use. Their work on famous artists is of a good standard, particularly that in the style of Paul Klee.

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ART AND DESIGN

90 Pupils continue their good progress in Year 6. Teachers maintain the pace of their learning by moving them on from still life pictures to drawing moving figures. Pupils start by learning how to draw arms and legs, which have muscles in the correct proportion and orientation. They develop this technique very well by drawing a sequence of figures, each at a different stage of movement.

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ART AND DESIGN

91 The co-ordinator manages the subject well, monitoring the quality of pupils’ work, and helping teachers cover all aspects of the art and design curriculum. The resources are good and do much to enhance pupils’ learning. The only weakness in the curriculum is the lack of focus on multicultural art, and this is especially important in this predominantly white ethnic community.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 33 92 Standards in design and technology by the end of Year 6 broadly match the national expectation. Year 6 pupils are full of ideas when faced with a problem to solve, as was seen to good effect when they designed a prototype shelter. They take great care when marking out, cutting and fixing, for example, the wood and card chassis for an electrically powered model vehicle. When required, pupils also experiment and collect data to enable them to select the strongest strut, or the safest fabric. However, they do not explain why one design solution is preferred. Some of their designs are very basic, and this makes for problems when things are not going well in the making sequence. This also means that pupils are too reliant upon their teachers; they are relieved when things work rather than being determined to make improvements. After completion of the product they

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

evaluate their projects in terms of difficulties they encountered, but do not sufficiently compare the product’s performance with its intended purpose.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

93 Pupils’ progress, including those with special educational needs, is sound overall. In lessons, especially during Years 3 and 4, progress is good. Pupils in Year 3 write good step-by-step details of what they intend to do. Their planning includes lists of materials, annotated sketches and dimensions. Not only are they able to saw pieces of wood accurately, but also they come up with a simple solution, for instance when Winnie the Pooh was stuck in a hole and pupils found a good pneumatic solution. In Year 4, pupils make sound and useful products, such as fabric purses from their own patterns. Teachers encourage pupils to put a lot of emphasis on thinking carefully before they start work; this is good practice, and enables pupils to work well independently. However, the range of ideas they produce for a specific product is sometimes too limited. By the end of Year 5, pupils use a good range of technical words and are skilled at planning a series of tasks in

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

sequence before beginning to make the product. Year 6 pupils write good instructions for the making of a good quality cup of tea, but these pupils often lack confidence in their plans, and prefer to ask the teacher what to do next.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

94 The quality of teaching and learning is good. Teachers put good emphasis on teaching the basic skills of planning, cutting and joining, and this ensures that pupils are equipped to produce sturdy models that work well. Teachers plan lessons well, often setting exciting challenges. These motivate pupils so much that they can hardly wait to get started. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and write useful comments to indicate clearly what the pupils must do next. This approach helps pupils build up their skills progressively as they move through the school.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

95 Pupils with special educational needs do well in design and technology. They are supported well by teachers’ planning and the support of learning assistants. They are included in all activities, and delight at the success this subject gives them.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

96 Since the last inspection the school has made reasonable progress. The strong features such as the skilful use of tools, and the sound links with commerce have been maintained, and the co-ordinator has updated the curriculum in line with national developments.

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GEOGRAPHY

97 Standards of attainment are above national expectations for pupils by the end of Year 6. These pupils are knowledgeable about the physical and human features of the East Yorkshire coast, and describe carefully how to use a clinometer to estimate the height of a cliff. In an illustrated sequence of well-annotated sketches, they show a good knowledge of how caves are caused by the waves to collapse and then form stacks. They consider carefully the reaction of various pressure groups to proposals for the development Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 34 of unspoiled coastline, and use geographical knowledge well in the process. They also produce field sketches of good quality. While there is sound use of information and communication technology to, for example, illustrate their work, the quantity and quality of the writing in the pupils’ books is often poor.

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GEOGRAPHY

98 Pupils make good progress overall. In Year 3, they use and make good ‘birds eye view’ plans of their part of the school, and maps of the town on which they identify safe play areas. Year 4 pupils build reasonably well on these early skills. They use maps effectively to show types of climate, and the main geographical features of St Lucia. They have a good awareness of the dangers of litter to humans and wildlife, but struggle when asked to explain the geographical reasons for recycling. Year 4 pupils are less confident when asked to apply their geographical skills to new situations. Their comparisons of different localities, for example, show a very basic understanding of why one area is more attractive than another, and few give reasons why bananas grow better in some places than in others. Year 5 pupils are starting to develop this deeper understanding of geography, and their research into traffic flow shows a good understanding of the effects

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GEOGRAPHY

99 The teaching of the subject is generally good. In the best lessons, teachers make pupils think carefully about geographical issues, and join in debates that are designed to make them consider environmental issues. In one lesson in Year 6, for example, the teacher had clearly identified main groups in the simulated debate, and had chosen pupils carefully to take on each of the roles. This gave the lesson the best chance of success and, as a consequence of this very good preparation, the pupils were keen and eager to talk. The teacher speeded up the debate effectively by setting deadlines and challenging pupils to give sound geographical reasons to support their position on the coastal developments. By the end, all groups of pupils had learned much about the impact that man has on the environment and enjoyed the process greatly. Occasionally, however, teachers’ expectations are not high enough and, when they do not pose a sufficiently

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GEOGRAPHY

challenging range of key questions, the higher attaining group coast through the lesson. Teachers mark pupils work promptly, but do not always indicate what they need to do to improve.

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GEOGRAPHY

100 Since the last inspection progress has been good. Pupils’ attainment is better and they make more use of computers to develop their geographical skills. The curriculum is planned well and the school has sound procedures for assessing pupils’ progress. The co- ordinator has established a good programme of staff development to address shortcomings in the standards reached by higher attaining pupils, the building up of a collection of pupils’ work and the further development of pupils’ writing.

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HISTORY

101 By the end of Year 6 pupils’ attainment exceeds national expectations, and is of a higher standard than that reported in the previous inspection. Pupils have a good depth of factual knowledge and understanding of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Tudor times and the history of Britain since 1948. They have a clear insight into the way that people lived in different periods and the important events that shaped their lives. They use their literacy skills well to write in depth about the history of immigration into Britain, show a good understanding of chronology and construct accurate time-lines from their knowledge. Pupils develop a good historical vocabulary because teachers place great emphasis on the use and understanding of the correct terminology to describe events. 102 Throughout the school, pupils with special educational needs achieve well, and develop a sound understanding of history. High attaining pupils also do well and benefit

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HISTORY

Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 35 from the school’s interesting selection of computer programs to aid their independent research.

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HISTORY

103 The quality of teaching and of pupils’ learning in history is good overall. Teachers show confidence in teaching the subject. They use appropriate vocabulary, focus well on historical skills and provide many good opportunities for pupils to see actual historical evidence. These qualities give pupils a thorough knowledge of history and challenge them to produce their best work. Teachers in Year 3 make a good start by using historical visits, such as York Minster, to good effect. Pupils use the knowledge gained from these visits well to produce informative booklets in the style of tourist guides. In Year 4, teachers involve pupils in a wide range of historical enquiry and pupils develop a good understanding of how the Aztecs lived, and an insight into the life of John Lennon. In Year 5, teachers maintain pupils’ good progress by requiring them to make comparisons between life in the past and life today. This works well and helps pupils empathise with

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HISTORY

some of the conditions faced by people in Tudor times. Strengths in the teaching of history in Year 6, and its effect on learning were evident in a lesson following a visit to a Victorian museum. The lesson started briskly with a good review of pupils’ previous learning and probing questions about the previous day’s visit. Pupils responded enthusiastically and showed how much knowledge they had gained from the visit. They made very good use of the sources of evidence and displayed great maturity in their understanding of the social history. 104 A sound policy supports the teaching of the subject and the school makes good use of units of work produced by the co-ordinator. The co-ordinator manages the subject well and has a clear vision for the future development of history in the school. The assessment procedures are sound, but teachers’ day-to-day annotations on lesson plans provide little to help them revisit topics that pupils have not understood.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

105 Standards of attainment are in line with those expected nationally. Year 6 pupils produce a wide range of products and effects using computers for specific purposes such as posters for the Summer Fayre, databases of book collections and control systems for working models of car park barriers and traffic lights. They save various documents proficiently and locate them with confidence when asked to do so. Pupils use computers very well in geography, design and technology and English to research their topics, and in mathematics to compile databases. Updated equipment enables pupils to gain access to the Internet and use a digital camera effectively when producing photographs of relief models, and connect up equipment such as scanners.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

106 The progress of pupils, including those with special educational needs, is satisfactory, despite some shortage of equipment. Year 3 pupils have their own web page, and they have sufficient confidence to use the computer in front of the whole class and the teacher. Year 4 pupils use the computers well in English, design and technology, and art and design. They work with speed and accuracy when producing two-dimensional designs on the screen, and when giving instructions to a mechanical toy to make it follow a chosen pattern of movement. The spreadsheets and charts produced by Year 5 pupils are presented well, and include important information such as scales and labels and legends on graphs. Pupils visit appropriate web sites and use computers well when making books for infants. By the end of Year 6, pupils are aware of the benefits of using computers against other methods because they have been given appropriate opportunities to compare

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

electronic and traditional ways of doing things. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 36 107 The quality of teaching is good. Year 3 teachers help pupils make a good start. They have sufficiently good subject knowledge to be able to teach the pupils some general rules about using computers; this give pupils confidence, and ensures that they are not afraid of doing something wrong. This good teaching gives pupils the skills they need to find out what the weather is like in Australia as easily as they can find out what conditions are like in Bridlington. As pupils move through the school, teachers build well on their skills, moving them on from basic computer functions to producing, for example, sequences of instructions to move a cursor or a toy robot, or spreadsheets to organise their data.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

108 The school is well aware that they need more computers for pupils to make the best possible progress. Each class has two updated, reliable computers, and an appropriate range of printers. The co-ordinator supports colleagues well, and gives good advice concerning teachers’ long and medium term planning. She also monitors pupils’ learning effectively through a collection of their work that teachers update on a regular basis.

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MUSIC

109 The school provides high quality music provision, and has maintained the standards reported in the previous inspection. For the majority of pupils, including those with special educational needs, their attainment matches what is expected for their age. However, a significant number of pupils attain well above this standard. Staff give much of their time to running a number of extra-curricular music clubs including recorders, woodwind, brass, strings, guitar and orchestra. The expertise of the teachers has resulted in a large number of pupils who are able to play an instrument well, and they are given many opportunities to use their talents. The school enters local competitions and usually does very well. At Christmas, pupils play for the local old age pensioners, in local churches and entertain Christmas shoppers. Throughout the school year, either the recorder group or the whole school orchestra play in hymn practices and assemblies. Pupils and staff

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MUSIC

greatly appreciate their contributions and this leads to high quality, enthusiastic singing. The atmosphere that the musicians create contributes greatly to pupils’ spiritual and cultural development.

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MUSIC

110 The quality of music teaching is usually good and from particular members of staff it is very good. A number of teachers are very confident with teaching music but for those that are less confident, the co-ordinator has ensured there is a good scheme of work from which to base their lessons. Most music lessons are very well prepared and organised so that no time is wasted getting out instruments. This very effective use of time ensures that pupils experience a variety of activities in most lessons. For example, in a good lesson seen in Year 3 pupils initially listened to a piece of music and identified which instruments were brought in to create ‘texture’ as the music progressed. Pupils had previously made their own instruments out of a variety of papers and these were then used to create their own textured composition about ‘fire’. Finally, pupils wrote their compositions on a ‘sounds grid’.

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MUSIC

111 The teaching of music is usually lively and enthusiastic. As a result, pupils look forward to these lessons and not only learn a great deal but also have fun. For example, in a particularly effective lesson seen in Year 5, pupils listened initially to the music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. They greatly appreciated this rhythmic music and swayed and clicked along to the beat. Further into the lesson the teacher introduced singing in rounds. Initially this was done in a two part round but it later progressed to singing in four parts. The pupils found this extremely challenging and difficult. However, they tried very hard and Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 37 rose to the challenge gaining success at their second attempt. At the end of the singing there was much giggling at their own efforts and a great sense of achievement.

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MUSIC

112 The music co-ordinator is ‘bursting’ with enthusiasm. She leads and manages the subject very well, and is supported well by other talented staff. There is no formal monitoring of teaching but as the co-ordinator’s classroom is next to the hall she hears what is happening and often ‘pops’ into lessons. Staff regularly approach her for guidance and help about how to develop their lessons. The school is well resourced and this contributes to the quality of teaching.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

113 By Year 6, pupils’ work in physical education is in line with national expectations, and similar to the standards reported in the school’s previous inspection. Pupils have average games skills overall, but their ball skills are good, and teams do well in competitive sports against other schools. Their cricketing skills are enhanced by the coaching provided by a professional cricketer, and this is a good initiative by the school. Pupils’ gymnastic skills are average. They move easily around the hall, and show reasonable agility with their bodies. Pupils observe each other’s work carefully and improve their own performance as a result. Their swimming skills are above average, and nearly all swim well. They respond well to instructions, and are well aware of the effects of exercise on their heart and lungs. Pupils with special educational needs do well, and take a full part in all activities. Higher

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

attaining pupils also make good progress, and do the school credit in competitive games.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

114 The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Teachers start physical education lessons promptly and in a well-organised manner. This is important, and ensures that pupils’ learning begins the moment the lesson starts. Warm-up activities are appropriate and interest the pupils who work at a good pace. The lessons are challenging, and encourage pupils to attempt more and more challenging work. Teachers show secure knowledge of the subject in the instructions and demonstrations that they give.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

115 In Year 3, the good teaching extends all pupils. Teachers encourage pupils to think carefully about their movements and this helps improve their performance. Pupils are encouraged to work together and they showed exceptional co-operation in one lesson as they worked as a team to cross a ‘swamp’ and avoid the ‘crocodiles’. Year 4 pupils’ good gymnastic skills were brought out well in one lesson, as the teacher required them to make ‘sculptures’ with their bodies following a visit to an exhibition of sculptures. In Years 5 and 6, the teaching is satisfactory and builds soundly on pupils’ skills. Teachers do much to make lessons interesting and pupils respond well, as was demonstrated when they worked at a feverish pace to locate markers in an orienteering exercise. Teachers generally control pupils’ behaviour well, although occasionally pupils get excited in lessons and slow the pace down as the teachers have to remind them to behave.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

116 Physical education makes a good contribution to the social and moral development of pupils as they learn to understand the benefits of teamwork. The subject is overseen capably by the co-ordinator, who has done much to involve the school in local and national sporting initiatives. The school has a sound scheme of work and the curriculum includes appropriate opportunities for swimming and outdoor adventurous activities. The resources are good and are stored efficiently for easy access. The school has a good-sized hall, and the large playing fields have a good impact on pupils’ games and orienteering skills. A good range of extra-curricular sports sessions help to boost standards, especially by higher attaining pupils. Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School - 38

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

117 The locally agreed syllabus for religious education has recently been changed, and the school is only just coming to grips with it. All aspects of the syllabus are being covered but some in much more depth than others. Consequently, there are areas where the pupils’ knowledge and understanding are not a strong as they should be.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

118 Throughout the school pupils have a good understanding of Christianity and churches. Teachers try to provide first hand experiences, where possible, so pupils in Year 3 visit and study the local church. Teachers show good subject knowledge in this area. As a result, pupils name and know the uses of many of the things found inside the church. For example, they know that the font is used for baptism and the vicar speaks from the pulpit. They show a good understanding about how and why Christianity came to England and to Market Weighton in particular. They visit York Minster and make good comparisons with their own church identifying things that are found in all churches and those that are particular to their church or the Minster, such as the stained glass windows.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

119 A strength of this subject is the way that teachers develop pupils’ own personal knowledge, values and beliefs through discussion. For example, when discussing the ‘Creation’, pupils in a Year 4 class showed a good understanding that it is not wrong for people to believe in different things. They recognise that different faiths have different ways of worshipping but sometimes there are similarities in their beliefs. For example, they agreed that all religions thought that the world was a fantastic place. In this very good lesson pupils own spirituality was well developed. The teacher used a range of wonderful artefacts to ‘amaze’ the pupils by the wonder of nature. For example, she showed and discussed a desert rose, a pupa case and crystals both in their natural form and highly polished. As a result, pupils wrote a descriptive prayer thanking God for the wonders of nature. However, teaching is not always of this high standard. In an unsatisfactory lesson

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

in Year 4, the pace and challenge of the lesson was insufficient for the pupils to make satisfactory progress in their learning.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

120 Throughout the school, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of other faiths is weak. Although pupils in Years 5 and 6 study Islam and Judaism, their knowledge is patchy. For example, pupils in Year 5 know about the Jewish Seder plate, and have some recollection about what it means, but they are unsure whether or not Jewish people celebrate Christmas. In Year 6, pupils are encouraged to compare Christian and Islamic faiths. Pupils’ answers demonstrate they have sound knowledge of Christianity and they express reasons for their own beliefs very well. For example, one pupil explained that, although he believed in God, he did not believe that God was always there, “If he was why did he allow people to die painfully of cancer?”. In a Year 6 lesson, pupils make good progress in their knowledge and understanding of the Islamic faith; the teacher made good use of the school’s limited resources for religious education, including a prayer mat.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

However, it was clear that pupils knew little of the Islamic faith at the beginning of the lesson. For example, when asked where they thought the prayer mat would be placed one child replied, “In front of the fire”.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

121 The head teacher is the co-ordinator for religious education. He has a very good understanding of how the subject needs to be developed and has already led training for staff on the new syllabus. He has identified where the subject requires improvement and has clear plans on how this will happen. These include improving resources, which are currently inadequate .

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