Altham St James Church of England Primary School

ALTHAM ST JAMES CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 27 th – 29 th March 2001

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ALTHAM ST JAMES CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short 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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ALTHAM ST JAMES CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Burnley Rd Altham Accrington Lancashire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: May 1997 Altham St James CE Primary School - 4

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Team members

21285 Mr F. Carruthers Registered inspector 9777 Mr D. Heath Lay inspector 20801 Mrs S. Pemberton Team inspector

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Team members

Quality in Focus Thresher House Lea Hall Park Demage Lane Lea-by-Backford Chester CH1 6LP.

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Team members

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

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Altham St James CE Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This voluntary-aided Church of England school is situated in the village of Altham, near Accrington, and draws pupils from the village itself as well as the neighbouring villages of Clayton-le-Moors and Padiham. It is housed in a Victorian stone building which has been modernised over the years. There are 57 pupils on roll, aged four to 11. The school is popular and full. Children enter school in the September of the school year in which they are five years old. Most have had pre-school experience in local privately run playgroups and nurseries. They join a mixed class of pupils aged four to seven. The range of attainment of the small number of children on entry is broad. Taken together over the years, it is broadly average. There is one other class in the school, a mixed-age class of junior pupils. In some year groups there is a significant imbalance between the number of boys and girls. There are no pupils from minority ethnic

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

backgrounds. Seventeen per cent of pupils have special educational needs and two per cent have a statement. The family backgrounds of the pupils vary. Some are from the farming community; some are from professional backgrounds and others work in light industries nearby. The proportion of pupils whose families are eligible for free school meals is below the national average. The school is involved in small- schools projects in East Lancashire, which support the management of schools and the teaching of subjects such as English and information and communication technology (ICT). Religious education and collective worship were the subject of a separate inspection.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The inspection of this school included a detailed inspection of its provision for pupils with special educational needs.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a successful school in which the pupils achieve well. By the age of 11, standards of attainment are well above the national average. The quality of teaching and learning is good and the headteacher, with strong support from the governing body, leads and manages the school very well. Unit costs are similar to most small rural schools and the school provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• High standards of attainment and behaviour are promoted through good teaching • Staff are very effectively deployed to make best use of their specialist subject knowledge • Staff assess the pupils’ progress very well and use the information to form small teaching groups, in which the staff can focus on teaching skills of literacy and numeracy effectively • The ethos of the school and the pastoral support that the staff provide promote the pupils’ personal development very well • The parish community, parents and governors make a significant contribution to the effectiveness of the school • The headteacher is a very good leader and excellent role model, contributing significantly to the success of the school and the quality of the provision.

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What could be improved

• Classroom support for the infant class teacher to increase the progress that the children make in their first year in school • The range of fiction to extend the pupils’ awareness of the wider world and the multi-cultural nature of society. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Altham St James CE Primary School - 7

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in May 1997 and has made good progress since then. Changes in staffing have been managed very well and new, part-time appointments have been made to gain maximum benefit from the skills and expertise of individuals. Pupils achieve well and standards have improved, despite variations in the ability of the small year groups. The school has successfully addressed all the key issues at the last inspection and improvements have contributed significantly to the high standards of attainment. These were: to improve provision for design and technology; to develop the role of subject co-ordinators; to improve the monitoring and evaluating of the provision; to write schemes of work for all subjects and make sure lesson objectives are clearly defined; to improve assessment procedures; and to improve reading, library and book provision in the infant classroom.

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STANDARDS

Despite variations in the level of pupils’ ability in the small year groups, pupils aged 11, both boys and girls, have achieved well during the last three years. Results of National Curriculum tests in 2000 showed standards in English, mathematics and science to be well above the national average and these results compared very well to those of schools with similar proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals. Standards in science rose significantly compared with the previous two years. More able pupils with those with special educational needs make good progress and achieve well The school exceeded the targets it set in 2000 and is well placed to achieve the targets set for 2001. These are for 75 per cent of pupils to achieve the nationally expected level for 11-year-olds in English and for 87 per cent of pupils to achieve it in mathematics. These targets reflect appropriately the wide spread of ability in the current

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STANDARDS

Year 6. Most pupils in this year group read fluently and write well. Spelling and handwriting are good. Pupils write and then re-draft their work to a good standard. They use complex sentences and interesting vocabulary. In mathematics, most pupils have a very good understanding of the value of numbers and can work with numbers that include two decimal places. They use their skills with number well to solve problems. Work in science includes a good number of investigations on aspects such as light and the human body. The pupils record their findings neatly and carefully.

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STANDARDS

Standards in ICT are good and the pupils use their skills well in subjects such as science and geography. Good standards of work are evident in topics in geography and history. During the inspection, the culmination of a term’s work in history, English and design and technology took the form of an exhibition for parents and the community on life in Altham during World War II. Pupils had researched information, visited a museum of Lancashire Life and interviewed local residents; they displayed relevant artefacts from the period; they planned and made refreshments for the visitors and then acted as their tour guides. The results of the work were completed to a high standard and pupils were rightly proud of their effort.

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STANDARDS

In the National Curriculum tests in 2000, pupils aged seven achieved standards well above the national average in reading and above the national average in writing and mathematics. The results in reading and writing were in line with those achieved by similar schools but below in mathematics. Standards have risen well since 1998. In science, the teacher’s assessments in 2000 showed that pupils achieved standards in the highest five per cent of all schools and also of schools similar in type. Most pupils in the current Year 2 are working at expected levels and some are working at higher levels Altham St James CE Primary School - 8

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils have good attitudes to school and to their work. For example, the junior-aged pupils contributed many items from family and friends for the exhibition on Altham in World War II and were keen to work as tour guides after school and in the evening.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour in lessons and around school is good. Pupils concentrate well in lessons and they are sensible when they are in the dining hall or the playground. There have been no exclusions.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Relationships between staff and pupils and among pupils are good. Older pupils look after younger ones and pupils readily take on responsibility for everyday matters around school.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Levels of attendance are well above average and punctuality to school is good.

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

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

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

The quality of teaching and learning is an important factor in the effectiveness of the school. In the lessons observed, teaching was very good in one third of lessons and good in just under half. In the remainder it was satisfactory. Despite the fact that this is a small school with only two mixed-age classes, the level of challenge in the great majority of lessons is good. This is because of the very effective way staff are deployed. For instance, individual members of staff, most of whom work part-time, teach their specialist subjects to all the pupils. This happens in science, art, music and religious education and contributes well to the good standards evident. In addition, one member of staff with skills in design and technology teaches the subject to junior-aged pupils in topics that also cover geography and history. Furthermore, all staff, including classroom assistants, make a very valuable contribution to

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

literacy and numeracy in the way they operate daily half-hour lessons for small groups of pupils, teaching and consolidating skills in English and mathematics. These lessons are in addition to daily lessons in these subjects that follow the framework of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. The pupils are grouped according to their prior attainment and this enables the staff to focus on specific skills. Pupils with special educational needs and the more able pupils benefit from these arrangements and this is evident in the standards of work they achieve. The quality of learning matches the teaching and pupils concentrate well and produce work of good quality. Teachers’ planning is very thorough and carefully matches the pupils’ needs. While children in the reception year make satisfactory progress overall there is insufficient support for the class teacher in some lessons to help the children to make

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

good progress. Altham St James CE Primary School - 9

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The quality and range of the curriculum are good. Subjects are well planned to cater for the wide age range in each class and cover the National Curriculum programmes of study appropriately. The school makes good provision for physical education despite the particular difficulties of not having an available hall. There is a good range of visits, visitors and extra-curricular activities.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is good and the pupils are well supported in class and in small groups withdrawn for specialist help. The school is careful to make sure the pupils are fully included in all activities.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development This is a strength of the provision and is an important element in the positive ethos of the school. Links with the church are very strong. The school promotes the pupils’ moral development very well, through discussions in lessons of Personal, social and health education (PSHE), through a code of behaviour and a merit system. It promotes their social and cultural development, through many visits and encouraging partnerships between older and younger pupils.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Procedures to support the pupils’ welfare are good. Staff know the pupils very well and this helps to support the pupils’ personal development. Procedures to assess the pupils’ progress in subjects are very good and the information is used very well to set challenging work for them.

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Aspect Comment

The whole community of parents, church and governors makes a very important contribution to the good progress the pupils make. This is evident in the classroom support that governors and parents offer, in how well they attend functions that involve the pupils and in how parents raise much-appreciated funds for resources. Altham St James CE Primary School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides very good leadership for the school. He has a clear vision of how the school should develop and is an excellent role model for both pupils and staff by his example and the quality of his teaching. All staff, including support staff, make a good contribution to decision-making in school.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors support the school well and have a high profile in school on a daily basis. They take great pride in the family atmosphere of the school and its achievements. There is a good structure of committees to deal with the work of the governing body.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance This is good. The headteacher analyses the effectiveness of the school and the performance of pupils very well. The information is used well to target improvements. For instance, to improve consistency and raise standards in science, one teacher with good expertise now teaches the subject to all pupils.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources All elements of funding are used well. The school makes effective use of funding to deploy specialist staff who are in a good position to raise standards. It makes good use of funding to make improvements, for example, to the buildings and to equipment to teach ICT.

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Aspect Comment

The headteacher and governors consult a range of people about important matters, obtain resources at the most economic price and use them appropriately in raising standards. They monitor the school’s achievements well.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• There is very strong support from parents • The pupils make good progress and behave well • The school expects the pupils to do well • The pupils are helped to become mature and responsible • The school is well led and managed • Teaching is good. • Some parents feel they are not sufficiently well informed about how their children are doing • There are too few extra-curricular activities.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors agree fully with the positive views expressed by parents. Inspectors find that there are good opportunities for parents to consult with staff about their children’s progress, that reports have a good level of detail and that the school informs the parents about what the children will be learning in a term. The range of extra-curricular activities is similar to that found in many primary schools. For a small school, the range is good. Activities include sports, art, ICT and French. Altham St James CE Primary School - 11

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High standards of attainment and behaviour are promoted through good teaching

1. The quality of teaching in four out of every five lessons seen was good or better and the remainder was satisfactory. This is an important factor in the effectiveness of the school and the high standards that the pupils achieve. The range of attainment of the children on entry to the reception year is broad and varies from year to year. In recent years, assessments indicate that overall their attainment is average. By the time the pupils are 11, the majority of them have achieved well. In last year's National Curriculum tests for 11-year-olds, all the pupils achieved at least the level expected of pupils nationally. Half of them achieved better than that in English and science and 40 per cent of them in mathematics. These results indicate that the quality of the provision is adding significantly to the achievement of the pupils. The longer the pupils are at the school, the more progress they make. Comparing the same pupils' results

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High standards of attainment and behaviour are promoted through good teaching

at the ages of seven and 11 shows that the pupils make very good progress in English and mathematics and good progress in science. As a result, the school achieves very favourably compared with schools having similar proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals.

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High standards of attainment and behaviour are promoted through good teaching

2. The achievement of the pupils in the current Year 6 is similarly good. The majority of pupils read fluently and write well. They use punctuation and paragraphs well and their spelling skills and handwriting are good. They use complex sentences and interesting vocabulary to good effect in their work which they draft and re-draft. This is because the teachers teach elements of good style in writing and encourage the pupils to use them in their own work. For instance, in one lesson, pupils learned about the language of official documents. The teacher referred to many of the conventions of such documents - for example, the use of command verbs, conditional clauses, bullet points, bold type and underlining. The level of difficulty of the work was very good and all pupils, including the more able and those with special educational needs, were gaining much awareness of how language is used. In mathematics, most pupils have

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High standards of attainment and behaviour are promoted through good teaching

a good understanding of the value of digits in numbers and can add and subtract numbers that include two decimal places. They solve problems about the area of shapes, using skills of accurate measuring. Drawing on information about footballers, they calculate averages, mode and median values. Teachers expect the pupils to work hard, behave well and produce their best work. The results are evident in lessons, where behaviour is good and often very good, and in the presentation of the pupils' work, which is neat and attractively maintained in folders and exercise books. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported by class teachers, the special needs co-ordinator and specialist teaching from a visiting teacher. Teachers set work at the right level of difficulty, whether in class or in small groups. They make good progress.

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knowledge

3. Most of the teaching staff work part-time at the school. The headteacher, who is the only full-time member of staff, teaches the junior-aged pupils and another part-time teacher teaches the children in their reception year along with pupils in Years 1 and 2. They are supported by other part-time staff, who teach subjects according to their specialism. For instance, all pupils are taught science by one teacher; there is a specialist in music who teaches her subject to both classes one afternoon per week; Altham St James CE Primary School - 12 and another teacher with a strong background in design and technology and topic work in the junior years teaches design and technology, geography and history very effectively. The headteacher teaches religious education to both classes and the infant class teacher teaches art and design to both classes. There are many advantages to this method of deployment. The teaching is always pitched at a very

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knowledge

good level of difficulty. Teachers have good knowledge and understanding of concepts and technical terms. Acting as co-ordinators for these subjects, they are able to monitor provision and standards across the age range. This has led to the regular review and development of their subjects. In science, for instance, the co- ordinator has seen the need for topics to be revised in Year 6 and the running of extra lessons for pupils has been the result. In the junior-aged class, staffing levels permit the teaching of English and mathematics in two smaller groups, splitting pupils in Years 3 and 4 from those in Years 5 and 6. This means the level of difficulty of the work is more specific to the needs of these year groups. It also helps to improve the ratio of pupils to teacher. A further benefit is that pupils are taught by more than one teacher each week, whereas in many small schools pupils are frequently taught by

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knowledge

the same teacher for more than one year. There is an additional advantage in that pupils have good role models in the mix of male and female members of staff.

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numeracy effectively

4. Staff use a good range of procedures to assess the pupils' progress. They regularly review them in order to provide them with more information about strengths and weaknesses in the pupils' learning. As well as using assessment on entry and standardised tests in reading, the staff monitor how well the pupils are achieving, using National Curriculum tests in Years 2 and 6 and optional tests in Years 3, 4 and 5 in English, mathematics and science. There are pre and post-topic tests for junior- aged pupils in subjects such as geography and history. The information is shared with pupils so that they are aware of how much they are learning.

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numeracy effectively

5. A key feature of teaching is the organisation of pupils into small groups. The staff use the information they have gathered about the pupils' progress to group the pupils and adjust their teaching to pupils’ different needs. The groups are taught by class teachers, support teachers and classroom assistants. Groups are taught for half an hour daily in aspects of literacy and numeracy. Planning is very detailed in these lessons and there is a good level of difficulty in the work set. More able pupils and those with special educational needs benefit from working in these small groups. As a result, standards of literacy and numeracy are rising. Pupils have targets to achieve during each half term and their progress is regularly reviewed by exercises and activities designed to establish how much has been learned. The information provided by assessment is used well to write reports for parents and pupil profiles. In addition,

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numeracy effectively

staff have developed checklists of learning objectives achieved in other subjects, such as art and design and ICT, and these are providing further information on the progress of pupils.

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pupils' personal development very well

6. The pastoral support and provision for the pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are strengths of the school. Christian values permeate not only its policies and aims but also its daily life. There are strong links with the parish church and various important festivals in the church calendar are celebrated with visits to Altham St James CE Primary School - 13 church and visitors to school. Staff know the pupils and their families well and pupils feel secure. Parents report that they feel confident that pupils are treated with respect and pupils themselves give examples of how well staff deal with any difficulties they may have. Links are formed between older and younger pupils and these are maintained as the pupils grow up. The school aims to celebrate pupils' achievements in order to raise their self-esteem. This is done through assemblies and the reward systems that the school operates. Topics for assemblies are carefully planned and

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pupils' personal development very well

include opportunities for the pupils to reflect on spiritual and moral issues. The school's code of conduct reflects its aims. Various subjects of the curriculum promote the pupils' personal development and sense of responsibility. For instance, parts of the personal, social and health education programme cover assertiveness, self-worth, drugs education and ethical issues. There are many opportunities for pupils to reflect on the needs of others in the wider world and to help them in practical ways, such as raising funds for emergency relief organisations. As a result of these aspects, pupils are confident and show a mature attitude to their work and to school.

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effectiveness of the school

7. Very strong support from the local community adds much to the provision that the pupils enjoy in school. All those involved in supporting the school speak highly of the sense of family and belonging it generates. This means that individuals from the parish, such as the vicar and other church officials, are regular visitors to school, supporting individuals and groups of pupils, hearing them read and working with them on activities. Governors are prominent in the daily life of the school. Some have long association with it. They support class teachers as voluntary assistants. An example during the week of the inspection was when one assisted the teacher of the infants class by supervising groups of reception-aged children in work planned for them to paint, print and build models using construction equipment. She made a good contribution to the class work and helped to release the teacher to give attention to the

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effectiveness of the school

pupils in Years 1 and 2 as they compared transport locally with that on a remote Scottish island.

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effectiveness of the school

8. Parents are frequent helpers in school. They support teachers as voluntary assistants and on out-of-school activities. They make a good contribution to the work the pupils do at home, not only in encouraging pupils to be diligent in completing homework assignments but in providing items and artefacts when requested. This was illustrated when the junior-aged pupils presented an exhibition to visitors on Altham in World War II. Parents and grandparents offered items as varied as original ration books, diaries, press cuttings, medals and uniforms. A further feature was the number of parents and others from the community who attended the exhibition after school and later in the evening. As pupils guided visitors around the exhibits, which included much of their own work, as well as refreshments they prepared specially, the pupils' pride in their work and the consequent self-esteem were clear. Parents

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effectiveness of the school

combine well with pupils in organising successful fund-raising events, helping the school to purchase resources such as library books and reading resources.

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significantly to the success of the school and the quality of the provision

9. The headteacher provides very good leadership for the school. He has a clear vision of how the school should develop and this has led to the effective deployment of staff described elsewhere in this report. He balances his time very well between teaching and administration by making efficient use of part-time staff. He involves all members Altham St James CE Primary School - 14 of staff in key decisions and shares with them findings from an extensive programme of monitoring that he undertakes. This includes the careful analysis of pupils' attainment and progress and of monitoring of teaching as well as teachers' planning, and sampling of pupils' work. He keeps governors well informed about the performance of the school through written and oral reports and follows carefully principles of seeking best value from funding and services. Documents provided by the school are completed to a high standard and are clearly influenced by his own

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significantly to the success of the school and the quality of the provision

high standards. In addition, he is responsible for teaching the junior-aged pupils for most of the week. The quality of his teaching matches that of his leadership and is a very significant factor in how well the pupils achieve. He is an excellent role model for staff as well as pupils.

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progress that the children make in their first year in school

10. Children join a mixed class of pupils aged four to seven when they start school. For many lessons in the week, the class teacher is supported well by classroom assistants and voluntary helpers. This was evident in group work. However, there are some lessons when there is no support and this makes it very difficult for the teacher to cater for the needs of all pupils. For instance, in one lesson that was observed in mathematics, it was evident that the youngest children were making only satisfactory progress, when other pupils were making better progress. This was because the whole-class part of the lesson contained elements which were difficult for the youngest children. Without the support of another adult, they spent too long at this when they should have been more actively involved in learning at their own level. The class teacher plans well for the children, following the nationally approved areas of

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progress that the children make in their first year in school

learning for children in the Foundation Stage 1 of education. However, evidence from assessment information indicates that the children's progress in their first year, while satisfactory, is not as good as it could be.

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wider world and the multi-cultural nature of society

11. There have been good improvements since the last inspection in the level of resources to teach reading and library provision in the infant class. However, there is a shortage of fiction by children's writers from countries around the world, including Europe. To raise the pupils' awareness of the multi-cultural nature of society, the school has established informal links with a school in East Lancashire with a high proportion of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds. Whereas the range of non- fiction includes an element of cultural diversity, this is not as obvious in respect of fiction.

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wider world and the multi-cultural nature of society

1 The Foundation Stage of education refers to children in nursery classes and their reception year in schools Altham St James CE Primary School - 15

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

12. The governors and headteacher should

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

1. provide more classroom support for the infant class teacher so that reception- aged children can make more progress. (Paragraph 10)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

2. increase the range of fiction in class and school libraries so that the pupils' awareness of the wider world and the multi-cultural nature of society is extended. (Paragraph 11) Altham St James CE Primary School - 16

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 9

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 57

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 5

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 9

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 3

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 1

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.3

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Altham St James CE Primary School - 17

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

In the 2000 National Curriculum tests, pupils aged seven achieved standards well above the national average in reading and above the national average in writing and mathematics. The results in reading and writing were in line with those achieved by schools with similar proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals but below in mathematics. In science, the teacher’s assessments in 2000 showed that pupils achieved standards in the highest five per cent of schools nationally and of schools similar in type.

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Standards in English, mathematics and science were well above the national average in 2000 and these results compared very well to those of similar schools.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage Black – Caribbean heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage Black – African heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group Other minority ethnic groups

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2.6 Financial year 1999-2000

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 135046

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3 Expenditure per pupil 2289

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 33 Balance brought forward from previous year 14492

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 19853 Altham St James CE Primary School - 18

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 62 34 0 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 41 59 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 52 41 7 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 34 45 17 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 66 28 3 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 72 24 0 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 45 45 7 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 59 28 0 7 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 66 28 7 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 21 52 17 7 3

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Other issues raised by parents

• Some parents feel that the school does not always punish pupils in a consistent way • Many parents feel the school treats individual pupils well • A few parents feel communication between school and parents could be better • Some parents feel sometimes pupils do not get proper breaks. Altham St James CE Primary School - 19 These issues have been raised with the headteacher and he has indicated his intention to be vigilant about the parents’ concerns.

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