The John Harrox Primary School, Moulton

JOHN HARROX PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 4 th – 7 th June 2001

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JOHN HARROX PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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JOHN HARROX 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. John Harrox Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Broad Lane Moulton Spalding Lincs Postcode: PE12 6PN

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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 Jane Gibbons

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: April, 1997 John Harrox Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 16493 Neville Sherman Registered inspector Information and communication technology Art and design The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What could the school do to improve further? 9224 Mike Vineall Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 27899 Georgina Beasley Team inspector The Foundation Stage Music Religious education 17570 David Fisher Team inspector Mathematics Physical education. How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? 10611 Martin James Team inspector English Design and technology Equal Opportunities 10228 Sue Russam Team inspector Science History Geography. Special educational needs.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The inspection contractor was: Lynrose Marketing Ltd. Bungalow Farmhouse Six Mile Bottom Newmarket Cambs CB8 OTU 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: The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE John Harrox Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

John Harrox Primary School is situated in the village of Moulton near the market town of Spalding in the county of Lincolnshire. The school caters for pupils between the ages of 4 and 11. At present, 270 full-time pupils are on roll and the school is about average in size. Around half of pupils come from the village itself while others live in outlying villages surrounding the school. The school does not have any pupils who are at the early stages of learning English. No pupils claim free school meals, a figure that is well below average. The number of pupils with special educational needs is well below average as is the percentage of pupils with statements of special educational need. Pupils enter full-time education in the year they become five. Attainment of pupils on entry to school is above average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is an effective school with many good features. By the age of eleven, pupils make good progress, and achieve very well in English and mathematics, where standards are well above average. This is often because teaching in these subjects is interesting and challenging. Standards in English and mathematics by the time pupils leave the school have improved significantly since the last report when they were judged to be in line with expectations. Pupils are very responsive, keen to learn and behaviour in and around the school is very good. The headteacher, staff and governors have worked hard to raise pupils’ achievements in English and mathematics over the past four years and the leadership and management of the school by the headteacher is good. The school gives good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Pupils make good progress and, by the age of eleven, attain standards that are well above average in English and mathematics. • Standards in religious education are above the expectations outlined in the locally agreed syllabus. • Teaching in Key Stage 2 is good. • Pupils’ attitudes to learning are very good as is the quality of their behaviour in and around the school. • There is a very good range of extra curricular activities. • Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is highly effective. • Attendance and punctuality are very good. • There is good leadership and management of the school by the headteacher.

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What could be improved

• Pupils’ achievements in science. • Standards in information and communication technology. • How teaching is monitored. • Pupils’ achievements in art and design, geography and history. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. John Harrox Primary School - 7

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made satisfactory progress since it was last inspected in April 1997. The quality of teaching in English and mathematics has improved, as has the quality of leadership and management of the school. These are significant factors in helping pupils achieve high standards in these subjects. These standards are much improved by the end of Key Stage 2. However, the school has not kept pace with developments in information and communication technology and standards have fallen since the last inspection. The school had already acknowledged this as an area for improvement and the newly created information and communication technology suite offers good scope to improve pupils’ learning in this subject. The school has made substantial improvements in the physical development of the school that add much to the quality of pupils’ learning. However, while standards in science are in line with national expectations, given that pupils enter the school with above average levels

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

of ability, their achievements could be higher. Positive action has been taken to address the key issues from the last report. Assessment procedures are now stronger in English and mathematics and the quality of marking in these two subjects is often excellent. The role of the co-ordinators in supporting the overall management of the school is more secure; however, further action needs to be taken to develop their understanding of teaching and learning in their subjects of responsibility. The school is well placed to build on its strengths and improve further.

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STANDARDS

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

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schools

1998 1999 2000 2000 very high A* English A A* A A well above average above average A B Mathematics A A A C average below average C D Science C B C E well below average E

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schools

The 2000 end of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests and teacher assessments indicate that standards in English and mathematics are well above the national average and have been so for the past three years. In science, standards were in line with the national average. When compared to similar schools, based on the number of pupils who claim free school meals, standards were well above average in English. In mathematics, standards were average and in science they were well below average. Trends over time indicate that the school is improving at a rate higher than the national average and that the boys attain slightly higher standards than the girls. The school has set appropriate and challenging targets for improvement and is aware of the need to raise pupils’ achievements in science to the level approaching those seen in English and mathematics.

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schools

Inspection findings indicate that standards in English and mathematics are well above expectations. In science, they are in line with national averages and reflect the findings of end of key stage National Curriculum tests. However, pupils do not do as well as they could in science. Standards in literacy and numeracy are above expectations. Standards in information and communication technology are below expectations. Standards in religious John Harrox Primary School - 8 education are above the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. Standards in physical education are above expectations and the range of extra-curricular activities contributes well to the high standards attained. In art and design, design and technology, geography, history and music, standards are in line with expectations. Given the above average attainment of pupils on entry, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects.

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schools

The 2000 end of Key Stage 1 National Curriculum tests and teacher assessments indicate that standards in writing were above average and that standards in reading and mathematics were average. Inspection findings indicate that standards in these subjects are above average. In information and communication technology, standards are below expectations. In religious education, standards are above the expectations outlined in the locally agreed syllabus for pupils aged seven.

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schools

By the end of the Foundation Stage, children’s achievements exceed the early learning goals for children of this age in communication, language and literacy, and in their personal, social, and emotional development. In their mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world and in their physical and creative development, children attain the early learning goals. Pupils make satisfactory progress in their first full year at school.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils have very good attitudes to the school. They are keen to learn, concentrate well and work with a high level of motivation on the work they are asked to do.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Pupils are polite, and behaviour in and around the school is very good. The majority of pupils are considerate of the needs of others and treat one another with respect.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Relationships at all levels are very strong at the school and contribute greatly to the purposeful atmosphere at the school. When given the opportunity, pupils show good levels of initiative.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Attendance levels at the school are well above the average. The level of punctuality is also very good.

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

56 lessons seen overall Satisfactory Satisfactory 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

During the inspection, the quality of teaching was excellent in 5% of lessons seen, very good in 18% of lessons, good in 40% and satisfactory in 32% of lessons. Unsatisfactory teaching amounted to 5% of lessons seen. This unsatisfactory teaching, in Key Stage 2, is largely attributable to the lack of challenge given to pupils during the course of their work, which leads to slow learning. The greater proportion of excellent and very good teaching lies in the teaching of the more able pupils in one of the Year 6 classes and in the Year 1 class. Whilst good or better teaching was evident in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 during the inspection, the impact of teaching over time indicates that the overall quality is satisfactory. The teaching of the basic skills in English and mathematics is good and the school has very successfully integrated the national literacy and numeracy strategies. The teaching of literacy

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

and numeracy sessions during the inspection was often good in many classes. The teaching John Harrox Primary School - 9 of religious education is good. The teaching of information and communication technology across the school is unsatisfactory. Pupils get too few opportunities in lessons to develop their skills in this subject. Teaching in other subjects is satisfactory, but the needs of the higher-attaining pupils are not fully catered for.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The school generally ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum and religious education are fully met. However, the school has yet to develop all aspects of the information and communication technology curriculum. A very good range of extra-curricular activities further enhances the opportunities for pupils’ learning. Some foundation subjects do not have the status they should have.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs The level of individual support for the pupils with special educational needs in class is good, ensuring that the pupils who need additional support make appropriate progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good overall. Teachers make good use of different subjects to promote pupils’ social and moral development which is very good overall. The provision for pupils’ spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory. There is good provision for pupils’ personal development, through, for example, the school’s ‘House’ system.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Pupils are very well cared for and all staff have a good knowledge of the pupils they work with. Assessment of pupils’ progress in English and mathematics is very good and the marking of pupils’ work in these subjects is often excellent. The school makes good use of National Curriculum and other data to highlight trends in pupils’ attainment. At present the procedures for assessing pupils’ progress in other subjects is unsatisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

The majority of parents are very supportive of the school; however, a small minority of parents are concerned by the way that the school organises pupils into classes. John Harrox Primary School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Leadership and management of the school is good. The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, provides the school with effective educational leadership. He has a clear idea of where the school could improve further. There is a strong team spirit with all staff contributing well to the school’s development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors provide the school with well-targeted and effective support. They are equally successful in fulfilling their role as a ‘critical friend.’

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school makes good use of National Curriculum test data to plan pupils’ learning in English and mathematics. Procedures to regularly monitor teaching and learning are insufficiently developed.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good overall. Teaching staff are effectively deployed and, with the exception of computers, resources used well to support pupils’ learning. The school effectively plans to ensure that best value is obtained for planned expenditure.

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Aspect Comment

Staffing, accommodation and learning resources There is an appropriate number of suitably qualified teachers to ensure that the National Curriculum can be taught. Support staff make a valuable contribution to the day-to-day running of the school. Accommodation has been thoughtfully and creatively extended in recent years to provide a school library, an extension to the Foundation Stage classroom and an information and communication technology suite. Resources are good overall. The resource materials to support teachers in their work are excellent.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The community ‘feel’ of the school. • The quality of teaching. • The standards that pupils attain. • The high degree of care shown to pupils. • The amount of written communication. • The range of extra-curricular activities. • How classes are organised.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspection findings confirm the positive views of parents. Inspection findings indicate that parents do receive regular and full newsletters about events taking place in the school and the inspection team does not support parents’ views on these issues. In addition, the inspection findings indicate that there is a very good range of extra-curricular activities for pupils in both key stages. The inspection findings are that teachers’ planning of pupils’ learning addresses the needs of pupils in the mixed-age classes and that there is no evidence to suggest that standards are significantly different between some year groups in different classes. John Harrox Primary School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. The children start school with above average levels of attainment, especially in terms of their literacy, mathematical and personal and social development. Teachers’ assessments of the children when they first enter the Reception class bear this out. The children make satisfactory gains in their learning in the Reception classes. By the end of the Foundation Stage, pupils’ attainment in their communication, language and literacy skills and in their personal, social and emotional development exceeds expectations for children of this age. Their attainment in mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development is in line with expectations. However, given the good levels of attainment many children demonstrate when they first enter the school, their achievement in their early understanding of mathematics is too slow.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. The school’s 2000 end of Key Stage 1 National Curriculum test results show that pupils’ attainment in reading and writing was in line with the national average. In comparison with similar schools, pupils’ attainment in reading was below the average and in writing was average. The inspection findings indicate a slightly stronger picture in attainment from that suggested in the National Curriculum tests. Since 2000, the school has increased the amount of support and time given to developing pupils’ reading and writing abilities and skills. The school has also ensured that pupils with higher attainments are extended to their full ability as the National Curriculum test results, particularly when compared with similar schools, strongly indicate that these pupils were not achieving as well as they could. When pupils’ speaking and listening skills, which are good, are also taken into account, inspection findings

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

indicate that pupils’ attainment overall in English is above national expectations at the end of Key Stage 1.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The 2000 end of Key Stage 1 National Curriculum test results in mathematics show that pupils’ attainment was average nationally and below average when compared with similar schools. The number of pupils reaching the expected higher levels was below the average and this depresses standards generally. Inspection findings are that standards are in line with the national average and reflect the end of key stage National Curriculum test results. Pupils’ ability to solve problems of an open-ended nature is the weaker aspect of attainment generally and not all pupils have developed the confidence to be able to work out everyday problems involving number for themselves.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Standards in science at the end of Key Stage 1, on the evidence of the 2000 end of key stage National Curriculum teacher assessments, were above average. However, a lower than average number of pupils reach the higher levels and, compared with similar schools, standards are well below average. Inspection findings indicate that pupils’ attainment is average in science. Whilst pupils do retain their learning well, in general, too few opportunities are provided for pupils to set up investigations for themselves and this hinders their achievements in the subject. Given the good levels of ability that many pupils demonstrate when they enter Key Stage 1, standards and achievement generally in science could be significantly higher.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. In information and communication technology, pupils do not attain the standards normally expected for seven-year-olds. Pupils make insufficient gains in their learning and in their understanding of how particular computer programs can be used to support their every day learning. In religious education, pupils reach standards higher than those expected for seven- year-olds as outlined in the locally agreed syllabus for Lincolnshire. In art and design, design and technology, history, geography and music, pupils reach standards that are in line with John Harrox Primary School - 12 those expected for seven-year-olds. While standards are satisfactory in most of these subjects, pupils’ achievements could be better given their level of prior attainment when entering the key stage. In physical education, pupils reach standards in line with those normally expected for seven-year-olds although attainment in gymnastics is often good. The

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

very good extra-curricular provision in gymnastics is warmly supported by many pupils and has a positive impact on the standards that they reach.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. The school’s 2000 end of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests results in English indicate that standards were well above the national average and maintain the pattern seen over the previous three years. When compared with similar schools, standards were also well above the national average. When the pupils’ results are compared with what they attained at the age of seven, they show that they have made very good progress and attained well above average standards. The number of pupils who reached standards at the higher levels was well above average. The inspection findings indicate that standards are well above average. Pupils speak clearly and articulately and listen very purposefully to the views of others. Many pupils write neatly and standards of handwriting and presentation are often high as a result. However, the presentation of pupils’ written science work does not always demonstrate the

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

same degree of care and attention as that seen in their other subjects. The quality of pupils’ written work is often striking with many pupils demonstrating skilfully the ability to use language in a vivid and highly imaginative way. Pupils read widely and have a good understanding of the works and styles of authors who write for pupils of this age. Pupils make good gains in their learning as they move through the key stage in many aspects of their literacy development.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. The results of National Curriculum tests for mathematics in 2000 indicate that standards were well above the national average, as they have been for the three years previously. When compared to similar schools, standards were average. The results indicate that fewer pupils attain the higher Level 5 in mathematics than they do in English. Inspection findings indicate that the numbers of pupils who reach the expected levels in mathematics are well above the national average. The school has successfully introduced the National Numeracy Strategy and together with the setting arrangements that have been introduced, these have helped to boost both pupils’ interest in the subject and the standards they achieve.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. The school’s 2000 end of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum test results in science indicated that standards were average. The percentage of pupils reaching the higher Level 5, was close to the average and well below the number who attain at this higher level in English and mathematics. Consequently, when the results are compared with similar schools, the results for 2000 were well below average. The school is acutely aware of the difference in attainment in science compared to English and mathematics and has highlighted in its development plan measures to bolster teachers’ confidence in ensuring that pupils learn aspects of science through open-ended investigations. Inspection findings indicate that standards in science are average. Pupils’ written work indicates that in some classes higher-attaining pupils are often given the same work as that for less able pupils. As a result, pupils do not achieve the

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. Standards in information and communication technology are below expectations at the end of Key Stage 2. Given the good access to computers at home, the school does not sufficiently build on pupils’ prior learning and pupils’ achievements are not as high as they could be. However, the recent completion of the school’s new information and communication technology suite offers very good opportunity to effectively ensure that pupils’ learning in this subject is more effectively developed. Greater use could be made of information and communication technology to support and extend pupils’ literacy, numeracy and scientific skills and information and communication technology is not used sufficiently across all subjects. Standards in religious education are above the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus and progress and achievement are good. Standards in art and design, design and John Harrox Primary School - 13

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

technology, geography, history and music are in line with national expectations. However, inspection findings indicate that pupils are capable of reaching higher standards in these subjects. In physical education, pupils continue to make good gains in their learning and often reach standards above expectations in gymnastics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Further evaluation of the end of key stage National Curriculum tests indicates that there is a noticeable difference in attainment between the boys and girls with the boys doing better than the girls in English, mathematics and science. While there is no apparent reason for this, the headteacher is aware of the difference and has plans to ensure that the differences in attainment are more closely monitored.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. The overall picture in English and mathematics at Key Stage 2 is one of rising standards with the number of pupils attaining at the expected levels in these subjects being higher than that seen in other schools nationally. Standards in these subjects have risen considerably since the school’s last inspection. The school is aware of the need to raise standards in science to the level of those seen in English and mathematics. The school is well placed to attain the standards set for all schools by 2002.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. The school’s programme of support for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. It is effectively organised to identify pupils who need additional help in class. This ensures they make similar progress to their classmates. Arrangements for supporting pupils who have statements of special educational needs are effective and ensure they attain standards which are in line with their prior achievements. Pupils who have individual education plans make adequate progress towards their targets and their attainment in relation to these targets is satisfactory. Pupils who are withdrawn from class to receive additional help with literacy make significant gains in basic reading, writing and spelling skills, and their progress is very good.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. The very positive attitudes of pupils towards the school and the very good behaviour seen in class and around the school represent major strengths of this school. Pupils come to school with enthusiasm and are very eager to learn.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. During the inspection, there was no evidence at all of oppressive behaviour; pupils respect each others’ feelings, listen to others’ views in class and readily applaud their peers’ successes. Relationships in the school are very good between pupils themselves and between pupils and all adults. Staff set very good role models and strongly encourage constructive pupil relationships and good personal development.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. The interest and enthusiasm seen in lessons extends beyond the classroom to the very good range of extra activities and to the ‘House’ system which embraces the rewards system for meritorious activity through a points competition. The children who assist in the organisation of this show initiative and enjoy taking the responsibility. In Year 6, all pupils are particularly encouraged o take on responsibilities, such as locking outside gates or supervising classrooms in wet weather.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Pupils approach their work with great enthusiasm. In class, they burst with eagerness to offer views or information and with visiting adults, whilst ever polite and courteous, they readily greet them and speak enthusiastically, readily and articulately. In breaks they can be very active but are able to revert to a serious work mode with the minimum of instruction. Their personal development is good.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Attendance is very good and consistent. Unauthorised absences are negligible and no exclusions have been necessary. John Harrox Primary School - 14 18. These aspects of the school, which were seen as generally good at the last Inspection, have become even greater strengths since then.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. During the inspection, the quality of teaching was excellent in 5% of lessons seen, very good in 18% of lessons, good in 40% and satisfactory in 32% of lessons. Unsatisfactory teaching amounted to 5% of lessons seen. Overall, the quality of teaching and learning is good although the greater proportion of very good teaching lies in the teaching of the more able pupils in one of the Year 6 classes. Whilst good or better teaching was seen in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 during the inspection, the quality of teaching over time is satisfactory. The teaching of the basic skills in English and mathematics is good and the school has very successfully integrated the national literacy and numeracy strategies. In English, teachers have very high expectations of how pupils, for example, present their written work and this results in very high standards in this aspect of their literacy development. The teaching of literacy and numeracy sessions seen during the inspection

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

was often good in many classes. The teaching of science, while generally satisfactory, could be improved with more effective use of investigation work to support pupils learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. The teaching of religious education and physical education across the school is good resulting in good progress being made by the majority of pupils in these two subjects. The teaching of information and communication technology is unsatisfactory. At present, the curriculum for this subject is not totally developed with aspects of control technology not being taught. In addition, teachers make too little use of computers during the course of daily lessons. As a result, pupils make too few gains in their learning and teaching does not sufficiently build on existing skills and knowledge. The teaching of all other subjects is satisfactory. However, given the higher than average levels of ability many of the pupils demonstrate, their learning could be at a greater pace in some of the non-core subjects.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. Support in whole class lessons for pupils with special educational needs is good. It is effective in enabling pupils to participate fully and with confidence in all learning tasks. Experienced learning support staff are particularly effective and make a very valuable contribution to the quality of teaching and learning. Not all teachers make enough use of individual education plans to inform their planning or match the work they provide to the pupils’ individual needs.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Both teachers have a secure understanding of the needs of young children and ensure that learning is developed through the use of well- planned structured play. Parts of the classrooms are organised in such a way that children regularly take part in imaginative role-play, such as booking a holiday in the ‘travel agent’s.’ Good emphasis is placed on developing the children’s early reading and writing skills and this ensures that children make at least satisfactory progress in these aspects of their learning. The teaching of numeracy could be strengthened if teachers made greater use of the assessment information in planning pupils’ work. This is particularly relevant for higher- attaining children who are sometimes insufficiently stretched in this aspect of their learning. Learning support assistants are effectively deployed and in lessons seen during the

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

inspection were often involved in teaching small groups of children under the guidance of the teacher. Relationships are good and this ensures that the children quickly become secure in the school’s surroundings and know what is expected of them.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Teaching in Key Stage 1 is satisfactory with some good features. In an excellent art and design lesson seen during the inspection, the teacher had extremely high expectations of the pupils as she very skilfully guided them in their exploration of the work of Henry Moore and contrasted this with the sculpture of Barbara Hepworth. From this, pupils had to construct John Harrox Primary School - 15 their own piece of sculpture, using soap. Pupils sat enthralled by what they were doing and made very good gains in their learning about how art can be created from everyday objects. Other features of the good teaching seen in both Year 1 and Year 2 included clear introductions to lessons, ensuring that pupils know exactly what is expected of them, well organised lessons with resources easily to hand for pupils to use, lessons that have crisp pace and often concluded with time for pupils to share their learning with the teacher and

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

their classmates. However, teaching could be further strengthened with a sharper emphasis on ensuring that higher-attaining pupils are suitably challenged in all lessons and that greater use is made of information and communication technology generally to support their everyday learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The teaching in Key Stage 2 is good overall. In the Year 6 class, which consists of pupils of largely higher ability, the teaching is frequently very good or excellent and often results in very rapid progress made by pupils. In these lessons, the pace of lessons is very brisk and the teacher often demonstrates excellent subject knowledge and a strong rapport with the pupils. As a result, they are highly enthused by what they are asked to do. Teaching is often good in the Year 3 and 4 classes; teaching in one of these classes is carried out by two teachers on a job share agreement. Across the key stage, pupils are very well managed and, in most cases, respond well to the work they are set. The unsatisfactory teaching is largely attributable to lack of expectation of pupils. In one history lesson, for example, the work expected of pupils was low and failed to motivate the pupils’ interest and curiosity. As a

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

result, their interest levels waned and they did not produce the work of which they are capable. Other shortcomings in teaching, often seen in science, include the setting of work that is largely similar for all pupils in the class regardless of their ability. There is a need to ensure that higher-attaining pupils have work that is a closer fit with their actual ability in this subject. Across the key stage, pupils do not make sufficient use of computers and other information and communication technology equipment to support them in their various endeavours.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. Across both key stages, there are other strong features of teaching. Homework in English and mathematics is regular and makes an effective contribution to pupils’ learning in these subjects. However, there is potential to raise the expectation of what pupils are able to do at home by extending the use of homework to include the setting of homework in other subjects. Given the strong enthusiasm to learning that many children demonstrate, many would respond to this degree of challenge. The marking of work is very good. There is consistency of practice across the school in this respect. On many pieces of work, for example, pupils receive full and detailed commentary from their teachers on their various efforts. As well as praise and encouragement many teachers often add two or three developmental points for pupils to work on to improve their efforts.

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OR STUDENTS?

26. The school meets the requirements of the National Curriculum and the agreed syllabus for religious education. It includes good provision for sex and drug education. The major weakness of the curriculum is related to information technology. The planning of pupils’ learning in the control technology aspects of information and communication technology is unsatisfactory.

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OR STUDENTS?

27. The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage is based on the nationally agreed Early Learning Goals. It is planned to provide a relevant curriculum that takes account of the needs of young children. The planned activities offer children the opportunity to develop a range of skills and prepare them for entry to the National Curriculum. Children are taught literacy and John Harrox Primary School - 16 numeracy but the lessons frequently extend beyond the recommended time and work is not always sufficiently matched to prior attainment.

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OR STUDENTS?

28. Good provision is made for pupils' health and personal education. The school is recognised as a health promoting school. There is no written school policy or scheme of work for this area of the curriculum, although good practice is very much evident. Pupils are encouraged to work as part of a team. This is reflected in the involvement of pupils in the 'House' system.

p.16

OR STUDENTS?

29. The school has successfully established homework agreements with pupils and parents. Pupils receive regular homework that includes spelling, multiplication tables, worksheets and reading. They diligently complete a homework diary. However, there are insufficient opportunities planned for pupils to extend their learning across the curriculum by completing individual research projects.

p.16

OR STUDENTS?

30. There have been significant improvements in the curriculum since the previous inspection. National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy have been successfully implemented and are central to teachers' planning. New schemes of work have been introduced in all subjects and included in a school curriculum framework. Subjects are taught in a two-year cycle ensuring pupils’ learning is built on as they move through each of the classes. Using assessment information to allocate pupils to ability sets regardless of age has raised numeracy standards in Key Stage 2. The content and organisation of the curriculum are socially inclusive and ensure equal opportunity for all pupils. Good provision is made for pupils whose parents exercise their right to withdraw their children from collective worship.

p.16

OR STUDENTS?

31. A very good range of extra-curricular activities enhances the curriculum and reflects the commitment of staff in ensuring that pupils’ learning extends beyond the formal lessons of the day. Over half of the pupils participate in activities that include competitive team games of netball and football. Over one hundred pupils participate in gymnastic clubs and achieve standards above those seen in most primary schools. In Key Stage 2, fifty pupils enjoy learning to play the keyboard, cello, violin and recorder. A school choir is formed when festivals are celebrated. Pupils also have the opportunity to take cycling and swimming awards, join in cross-country and sewing clubs. The school values the support given by parents in some sporting activities.

p.16

OR STUDENTS?

32. Day and residential visits are used effectively to enrich the curriculum. They successfully contribute to pupils’ social and cultural development. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 have the opportunity to participate in residential weekend visits to outdoor pursuit centres. Year 6 pupils visit Lincoln to compare life in the city to their village. They enjoy visits to London theatres. In Years 3 and 4, pupils develop an understanding of Sikhism by visiting a Peterborough temple. In previous years, pupils have visited Kentwell Hall as part of a Tudor project. In Key Stage 1, opportunities are planned for pupils to visit Sacrewell Farm and meet local artists at Ayscoughfee Hall.

p.16

OR STUDENTS?

33. Visitors are welcomed to share their expertise, interests and memories with pupils. Local residents enrich the history curriculum by describing life in the 1930's and the plight of evacuees during World War Two, effectively adding to the pupils’ understanding of life during this era. The local police officer, nurse and vicar are regular visitors, who contribute significantly to the quality of education provided. Good links are established with local playgroups and schools. Pupils participate in inter-school tournaments and visit the secondary school they will attend. The school welcomes students on work experience. Although the school is not used to support teacher training, it has much to offer student teachers.

p.16

OR STUDENTS?

34. There are satisfactory links with the community and local industry. The school participates in parish church events, the Spalding Flower and Moulton Garden Festivals. Members of staff John Harrox Primary School - 17 of British Telecom have arranged a workshop for pupils in Key Stage 2. Peterborough United arrange termly football coaching programmes that enhance the physical education curriculum. 35. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. The school provides a flexible range of support to meet the various needs of individual pupils. The most effective is in class support from learning support assistants and individual help for pupils with statements of special educational needs. Although teachers have copies of pupils’ individual education plans, they are not used as much as they could be to plan suitable work to meet the needs of individuals. The school ensures that the provision outlined in pupils’ statements

p.16

OR STUDENTS?

is in place and is reviewed annually in line with Code of Practice guidance.

p.17

OR STUDENTS?

36. The school makes very good provision for pupils' moral and social development and satisfactory provision for their spiritual and cultural development. Overall, provision is good.

p.17

OR STUDENTS?

37. The school makes satisfactory provision for pupils' spiritual development. Assemblies are well planned and thoughtfully delivered, with a clear theme being developed through each week. Pupils are helped to gain knowledge and insight into their own, and other peoples', values and beliefs, and in particular they are encouraged to respect and value the feelings and opinions of others. Moments of quietness are occasionally provided for pupils to reflect on what they have heard. Few planned opportunities are provided, however, for pupils' spiritual development in other subjects of the curriculum. Those opportunities that are provided though, in, for example, art and design in Reception and Year 1 and history in Years 4 and 5, allowing pupils to express their thoughts and feelings, are used most effectively.

p.17

OR STUDENTS?

38. Provision for moral development is very good. As well as providing good role models themselves, the headteacher and staff regularly remind pupils of the correct forms of behaviour and give reasons for them. Discussions often take place in lessons, as well as in assembly, and rules of conduct, in the form of the '6C's', are clearly displayed around the school. Expectations of pupils are high, and pupils are regularly praised and rewarded for maintaining the very good standards. Pupils are encouraged to develop a clear understanding of right and wrong, and to treat staff, visitors and other pupils with courtesy, and property with respect. Moral issues are often considered in lessons and, for example, in geography, pupils have discussed the problems caused by pollution and confidently suggested ways in which the problems could be resolved.

p.17

OR STUDENTS?

39. The school makes very good provision for pupils' social development. Pupils are encouraged to form good relationships with each other, their teachers and other adults. As they progress through the school, pupils are encouraged to work collaboratively, to take turns and to share resources, for example, when taking part in experimental work in science, or when working together in physical education. Older pupils are particularly caring towards younger ones, and they relate well to them during lunch-times and break-times, and also on trips out from school. Suitable opportunities are provided for pupils to take on responsibilities within their classrooms, and they carry them out effectively and efficiently. Pupils in Year 6 undertake a variety of tasks around the school, such as helping at lunch-time, acting as bus-monitors and taking house assemblies. The social development of all pupils is further enhanced by the

p.17

OR STUDENTS?

quality of the school's extra-curricular activities, its involvement with national and international charities and its community links.

p.17

OR STUDENTS?

40. Provision for pupils' cultural development is satisfactory. They are taught about aspects of British culture in subjects, such as English and history. An appropriate emphasis is placed on the knowledge and understanding of other cultures during lessons in subjects such as geography and religious education. Similar opportunities are missed, however, in subjects such as art and design and music. Apart from occasional visits, for example to the Sikh Temple in Peterborough, few opportunities are provided for pupils to develop an John Harrox Primary School - 18 understanding of the multi-cultural society in which they live. This weakness in provision was noted at the time of the school's previous inspection, and it has not been fully rectified.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. Very good planning and clear policies ensure the safety and security of all children. All staff know the pupils well, both academically and personally, and the school is one that places a high regard on pupils’ welfare and general safety.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. All welfare, safety and child protection arrangements for pupils are very well thought out; procedures and systems are well known by staff and efficiently implemented. The Governing Body is closely involved in these, particularly in all Health and Safety issues. The involvement of all staff in many of these areas is a particular strength. In the same manner, the monitoring of attendance is particularly well done, with a fully computerised system enabling regular analysis and supervision.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. Teachers know the individual pupils well, are well aware of their particular needs and personalities and this is frequently demonstrated in their contact with them, for instance, through the use of humour with a specific child. Each child’s needs are individually addressed. Children are well supervised at all times of the day and in all parts of the school premises. One example of this is the noticeable emphasis on safety matters in physical education lessons.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. Several initiatives exist overtly to reward pupils for good behaviour, good or creative efforts. Several of these feed into the House system which generates healthy competition in whole school assemblies when the week’s ‘League Table’ is updated on ‘House Points’. Whilst oppressive behaviour is rare, the ways of handling it are well articulated and understood.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. The school has been particularly active in promoting ‘Healthy Living’ – working as a pilot school on a local initiative and developing the ideas further. Drugs awareness is well tackled across the whole school. The School Nurse is well integrated into the procedures for pupils’ welfare and support and supports the school in teaching part of its sex education programme.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. The school has devised good links with other agencies to ensure the provision outlined in statements of special educational needs is effectively implemented. The special educational needs co-ordinator is responsible for liasing with a wide range of other professionals, parents, carers and other schools. These duties are undertaken diligently as is the organisation of annual review meetings enabling parents to have a good overview of their children’s development.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. The school implements satisfactory assessment procedures to identify pupils with special educational needs and comply with the Code of Practice. However, the information is not always used consistently for reviewing the appropriateness of pupils being retained on the school’s special educational needs register or deciding what further help they may require. This has resulted in a minority of pupils who do not have special educational needs being placed on the register. The school meets its statutory requirements as outlined in pupils’ statements of special educational needs. Statements and reviews are up to date and specified provision is implemented effectively, including access to additional staffing.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

48. Assessment procedures in the Foundation Stage are good. Careful assessments are made when the children start school and teachers use these to ensure that a suitable curriculum is planned. However, further analysis of pupils’ attainment in mathematical development is John Harrox Primary School - 19 required to make sure that higher-attaining children achieve as well as they should in this area of learning.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

49. In Key Stage 1 and 2, assessment procedures for English and mathematics are very good and make a strong contribution to the high standards attained in both subjects by the age of eleven. Teachers make regular assessments of pupils’ attainment and the information is collated and given to all teachers so that necessary changes and improvements can be made to teaching and the curriculum. Teachers’ marking in these subjects is excellent and helps them to plan suitable work with relevant challenge to meet the needs of all pupils. Assessment is used successfully to inform the setting process and to set suitable targets for individuals and groups of pupils. This ensures that the needs of individuals are met and suitable support is put into place for these two subjects.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

50. The school has not yet extended the very good procedures in English and mathematics into other subjects of the curriculum and these are currently unsatisfactory. The assessments at the end of each unit of work in science do not yet focus closely enough on pupils’ scientific skills and do not identify those skills which pupils have mastered or those which need developing further. Similarly, assessments in information and communication technology, whilst giving useful information on pupils’ attainment, is not yet used well enough to set challenging work to meet the needs of all pupils. There are few formal assessment procedures in other subjects other than the general observations of the staff who make notes on pupils’ progress. The school development plan shows that improvements in how pupils are assessed in other subjects are intended.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

51. The majority of parents have good opinions of the school and give it good support. They particularly praise the hard work done, the teaching, the leadership and the fact that their children like school. There is, however, a significant minority of parents who are critical of some aspects and say they do not feel the school works closely with them and that they are not kept well informed. Some parents are concerned with the system of having some mixed age classes to accommodate the intake of forty children per year.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

52. Inspection findings are that communication to parents is very good, with the school working hard to ensure parents are well informed about what is happening within the school and their children’s work and progress. Literature sent out to new parents is particularly impressive; newsletters are sent out each half term, and numerous letters are sent out as needed, including some from class teachers describing projects and work plans. Reading diaries and homework diaries are regularly used. Pupils’ reports at the end of the year are very full and detailed, giving good insights into the pupils and their strengths and weaknesses, although reports do not set targets and give no indication of pupils’ progress in relation to standards nationally. These are followed up with a Parents Evening, and there are two other such evenings offered earlier in the year. Instruction evenings have been held on Literacy,

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

Numeracy and other topics of interest and Year 6 sex instruction includes Parent and Son and Parent and Daughter evenings.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

53. Several parents help in school, with hearing reading, preparing resources and other tasks for teachers. Many more help on special occasions, for example, providing transport for visits. The ‘Friends’ is a very active organisation of mainly parents, who arrange social events and valuable fund-raising activities. They regularly contribute significant funds for the school each year and have, more than once, made spectacular efforts, as when some £15000 was raised for the new library. John Harrox Primary School - 20 54. Links with parents make a good contribution to pupils’ learning and parents support their children well in the work that they are asked to complete at home.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

55. Parents of pupils with statements of special educational needs are appropriately involved in annual review meetings. They are invited to contribute both in writing and verbally to the discussions about the continuing needs of their children and the progress they have made since the previous review. However, the school is less effective in consulting with parents of pupils who have individual education plans, where the tendency is to inform parents rather than involve them in identifying their needs, contributing to setting targets and working to achieve these both at school and at home.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. The headteacher provides good leadership and management of the school. He has a good overview of the school’s strengths and areas which could further enrich the quality of pupils’ learning. He is deeply committed to the school and has been highly successful in developing a strong team spirit among staff, who work hard to ensure that many of the school’s aims and values are fully reflected in the school’s day-to-day work. He is ably supported by the deputy headteacher.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The governors are very supportive of the school and are effective in most aspects of their work. They are kept regularly informed about events in the school and there is a strong and professional relationship with the headteacher and staff. They ably fulfil their role as a ‘critical friend’ and many visit the school regularly to support teachers in classrooms and gain a working knowledge and understanding of the school as it operates on a day-to-day basis. Full and frank discussions regularly take place to ensure that the school is accountable for the standards that pupils attain. The most recent National Curriculum test results for science were not as strong as those in other subjects and this resulted in the governors seeking ways through the headteacher to ensure that pupils’ performance in this subject improves. Their committee structure enables them to get a good overview of developments and ensures that

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The school has made satisfactory progress since its first inspection. The school building has been greatly improved and this has contributed much to the quality of pupils’ learning. Standards have risen substantially in English and mathematics at Key Stage 2 and are much improved since the first inspection. Effective action has been taken on most of the key issues. The planning of pupils’ learning is now more consistent from class to class and assessment procedures in the subjects of English and mathematics have also been much improved and have contributed significantly to the rising standards in these subjects. Whilst the management structure has also improved, with co-ordinators, for example, having developed their understanding of the nature of their role, the arrangements that are in place for regular and systematic monitoring of teaching are not secure. Evaluation of pupils’ learning does take place through exploring pupils’ work on display or in exercise books and

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

the monitoring of teaching in the literacy and numeracy hours has taken place. However, given the size and nature of the school, the procedures for monitoring teaching on a more regular and planned basis are, at present, not fully effective. The school has started to address this issue through the creation of a structure to enable the arrangements for performance management to be successfully implemented.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. The quality of development planning is good. The school development plan is a comprehensive document and clearly highlights the areas where improvements are to be made. The plan gives a good idea of where the school is heading over a two to three year time line. Developments are thoughtfully costed and overseen carefully to ensure that time lines for the completion of initiatives are met. Much discussion takes place to ensure that the John Harrox Primary School - 21 best value is obtained for planned and incurred expenditure. Much of the imaginative and physical development of the building has been largely funded by the school itself and adds further testimony to the good level of financial planning that takes place. At present, however, the success criteria identified for measuring improvements are general and are not always sufficiently linked to measuring success in terms of raising standards.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. Staff who have received specialist training are particularly effective in the contribution they make to teaching and learning, especially when they are deployed to support pupils in whole class lessons or to work individually with pupils who have statements of special educational needs. The special educational needs co-ordinator is an experienced teacher but at present does not have a direct teaching remit for working with any pupils who have special educational needs. Her role could be developed to directly monitor and evaluate the work of colleagues and the use made of individual education plans throughout all subjects of the curriculum. There is a satisfactory policy for special educational needs which is due for review. Special educational needs features in the school development plan and there is a named governor with responsibility for this aspect of the school’s work. However, at present,

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

the governors have had too little involvement in monitoring the quality of special educational needs provision or devising any criteria for assessing the value of this element of the school’s work, or how the school uses the devolved budget for special educational needs. The school provides a good level of resources and staffing to meet the needs of this group of pupils.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. The school has a satisfactory number of suitably qualified staff to meet the demands of the curriculum. The school employs 12 full-time teachers and 4 part-time teachers. Co-ordinator roles are matched wherever possible to teachers’ qualifications and experience. There are no newly qualified teachers. There is a very comprehensive programme of staff training in place, which provides continuous professional development and additional training for newly appointed staff. There is a high number of support staff, who are well deployed and who also benefit from some of the in-service training. Seven support staff are qualified for nursery, special educational needs or other educational duties. There is a comprehensive staff handbook, which provides a point of reference and very clear information about day-to-day routines within the school.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. The quality of the accommodation is good. All classrooms and corridors benefit from high quality displays of pupils’ work, which provide colourful and stimulating surroundings. Classrooms are compact but many have adjacent areas for practical activities and there are additional storage facilities for books and learning materials. The school has already laid plans for the integration of the newly created library and information and communication technology to support pupils in their learning. Once these are fully in use, they will offer rich potential to further enhance pupils’ learning. Very good use is made of the hall for assemblies, gymnastics, dance and dining. The outside grounds consist of grassed and hard areas and a school field. The school has worked hard to improve its external grounds, which provide a very stimulating environment. There is no separate area for outside play for children in the Foundation Stage to safely play unsupervised. There is also no suitable

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

outdoor-wheeled play equipment such as ‘bikes’ or ‘trikes’.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. Overall, resources are of a good quality and quantity. The school has invested heavily in good resources for both English and mathematics. The range of materials for the teaching of English is in fact very good. The newly created information and communication technology suite is bright, airy and well equipped with hardware. A great deal of time and effort has been invested in creating a resource area for staff to store teaching and reference materials. It is very organised and stock is clearly labelled, which makes the retrieval of materials easily accessible for pupils as well as staff. John Harrox Primary School - 22

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

64. In order to raise standards further, the headteacher, staff and governors should:

p.22

mathematics by ensuring that:

• the planning of pupils’ learning matches pupils’ individual ability; • teacher’s knowledge, understanding and confidence in using investigation work as part of their teaching strategy is raised; • greater use is made of information and communication technology.

p.22

mathematics by ensuring that:

(paragraphs 4, 8, 20, 23, 24, 82, 95 - 101)

p.22

that:

• lesson plans show clearly what information and communication technology skills pupils are expected to learn; • where possible, information and communication technology is used during the course of everyday teaching; • assessment procedures within the subject are developed to ensure pupils’ learning is suitably extended.

p.22

that:

(paragraphs 5, 9, 20, 23, 24, 50, 82, 88, 93, 105, 114, 120 - 124)

p.22

ensuring that:-

• assessment information of pupils’ progress is used in planning the next steps in their learning; • teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of attaining are suitably high.

p.22

ensuring that:-

(paragraphs 5, 9, 20, 50, 102, 115, 119, 124)

p.22

4) implementing the planned programme for developing the monitoring teaching

(paragraphs 58, 101, 106, 110, 119, 128, 135, 139) John Harrox Primary School - 23

p.22

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

p.23

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.23

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

5 18 40 32 5 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) - 270

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs - 2

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register - 19

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 15

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 0

p.23

Attendance

National comparative data 4.3 National comparative data 0.3 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. John Harrox Primary School - 24

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 26 22 48

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 24 26 24 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 20 22 21

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 92 (93) 100 (98) 94 (95) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (82) 84 (83) 90 (87)

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 26 24 26 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 22 21 21

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 100 (93) 94 (95) 98 (98) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 18 26 44

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 16 16 14 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 26 24 25

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 95 (97) 91 (95) 91 (89) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 13 15 14 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 23 24 23

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 82 (81) 89 (86) 86 (84) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 80 (75) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. John Harrox Primary School - 25

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage - Black – Caribbean heritage

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage - Black – African heritage - -

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group - Other minority ethnic groups - -

p.25

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.

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 10 Financial year 1999 - 2000 £

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 27 Total income 423 488

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Average class size 30 Total expenditure 407 750

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Year 6 Balance brought forward from previous year 30 191

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 7 Balance carried forward to next year 45 929

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 91 John Harrox Primary School - 26

p.25

Questionnaire return rate

Percentage of responses in each category

p.26

Questionnaire return rate

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

p.26

Questionnaire return rate

My child is making good progress in school. 35 54 5 1 5

p.26

Questionnaire return rate

Behaviour in the school is good. 45 50 3 0 2 My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 25 57 16 1 1

p.26

Questionnaire return rate

The teaching is good. 52 39 2 0 7 I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 24 50 15 10 1 I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 52 32 8 5 3 The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 63 31 4 1 1

p.26

Questionnaire return rate

The school works closely with parents. 32 46 13 6 3

p.26

Questionnaire return rate

The school is well led and managed. 61 31 5 1 2 The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 54 37 6 1 2

p.26

Questionnaire return rate

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 36 41 15 4 4

p.26

Other issues raised by parents

There were no other issues raised by parents. John Harrox Primary School - 27

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

64. Children start school in the September following their fourth birthday. The older children attend full-time immediately and younger children start school part-time initially, becoming full-time by their end of their first term. There are currently 41 children in the reception classes, which make up what is known as the Foundation Stage, and all children are attending on a full-time basis.

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

65. Children start school with skills which are above average in all areas of learning. Satisfactory teaching in the reception classes ensures that the majority of children achieve the early learning goals in all areas of learning. The particular emphasis placed on developing personal, social and emotional skills and early reading and writing skills ensures that children make good progress in these aspects, in particular, and, by the end of the reception year, a majority of the pupils exceed the early learning goals. However, assessment information is not always used sufficiently well to match suitable numeracy activities to the abilities of higher-attaining children, who have already achieved the early learning goals by the time they start school. As a result, this group of higher-attaining children make insufficient progress in mathematical development.

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

66. The quality of teaching overall for all children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Children follow the established routines independently, settling quickly to respond to the register and begin work. They respond well to the teachers and other adults and are keen to learn. Due emphasis is given to developing children’s independence, self esteem and self confidence and they are soon coping with the expectations set for them. There is a suitable balance between adult led activities and those that the children choose themselves. A careful check is made by adults to make sure that all the children are receiving equal access to all activities and learning. All adults in the reception classes have a good knowledge of the way that young children learn and this is shown particularly in the quality of questioning. Children’s responses are carefully considered and accepted and careful probing is used to

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

develop understanding further, where necessary. All adults know the children very well and are able to support them in their learning through carefully planned activities. Teaching could be improved by teachers making greater use of the assessment information to plan children’s learning – especially their mathematical development.

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

67. The co-ordination of the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. There is an appropriate action plan with clear and suitable priorities for improving provision. There is a suitable range of resources except those to develop children’s outdoor play. Most are well organised and stored at a height for children to reach independently.

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Personal, social and emotional development.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

68. Good teaching ensures that children develop positive attitudes to school very early in the year and most are ready to learn almost immediately. The atmosphere set by the teachers in both classrooms is purposeful and positive and the children work well together in group focused activities. The children are able to work independently on a range of tasks during lessons. They all know where to put their work when they have finished and from which activities they can choose before the plenary session. Playtimes are great social occasions and groups of children talk or play together in a number of imaginary games and situations. The great majority of children have good self-help skills. Children are encouraged by teachers to organize their own clothes when changing for physical activities and can dress themselves afterwards, attempting first to do their own buttons and shoe fastenings before asking for help. They are developing good levels of independence and are confident at

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

John Harrox Primary School - 28 lunchtimes and during playtime. The older pupils support them well during lunchtimes and when they go swimming and this helps to raise their self-esteem and confidence further. By the end of the Foundation Stage, most children attain above the expectations of the early learning goals and progress is good.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

69. Children enjoy talking about their work and most children exceed the early learning goals in communication skills by the end of the Foundation Stage. Teachers plan suitable opportunities for the children to talk and write about the many experiences on offer in school. Many have favourite stories and are encouraged to retell these confidently to an audience and to each other. The teachers’ decision to focus on the development of early reading skills is supported well by well-structured activities and this ensures that the children make good progress in this aspect of learning. Consequently, by the end of the Reception year, most children exceed the expectations outlined in the early learning goals. All the children know the letter names and sounds and are beginning to develop a small sight vocabulary. Higher- attaining children are already reading both fiction and non-fiction texts confidently, using the

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

context to work out any unfamiliar words as well as ‘sounding out’. Writing is equally good. All children make good attempts to try to write their thoughts and experiences with a significant group able to write simple sentences with most words spelt correctly, sometimes with the aid of a word bank which they have made themselves. The quality of teaching in this area of their learning is good and the children make good progress.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

70. The quality of teaching is satisfactory, but there are some weaknesses. Activities to develop early counting and calculation skills, knowledge and understanding are suitably practical, and children are already recognising, ordering and counting groups of numbers to ten. All are able to add and subtract in practical situations and most can recognize and write their calculations down as ‘sums’. Strong emphasis is placed on developing mathematical vocabulary and children therefore talk confidently about their work using relevant terms. Well-focused questioning by the adults working with groups extend and develop oral skills further and give supportive encouragement to the children to talk about what they are doing and what they have found out. Insufficient use is made of assessment information, however, to match tasks well enough to the abilities of the higher-attaining pupils, who consequently do not achieve as well as they should. Many of these children are able to count beyond 20

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

and can say confidently which number comes after 87, for example. There are insufficient opportunities to extend their knowledge and understanding and, as a consequence, this group of children make insufficient progress in number activities. Although most children attain the early learning goals in this area of learning, too few exceed them.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Knowledge and understanding of the world.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

71. There is a suitable range of activities to develop children’s sense of time and place through many activities, which invite them to look at and consider familiar houses and people. The newly built activity area is equipped with sand, water and small world toys, which contribute well to this area of learning. The ‘travel agent’ role-play area is a great source of enjoyment for the children, who look forward to acting out the role of the travel agent, offering to book holidays for each other and for any visitors, helping them build an idea that there are other countries in the world. They act out the telephone call to the travel company and enter information on the computer. Teachers’ planning identifies the structured play situations through which children learn about their immediate world. They draw maps of the local area and use these as a basis for discussion to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Children enjoy making vehicles, sometimes for a favourite toy, from a range of commercial construction kits to add to their model of their street map. All children are confident when John Harrox Primary School - 29 working on the computer and control the mouse to accurately move a ‘racing car’ into the correct lane on a racetrack according to the order of the letters of the alphabet. When sufficient focus is given to this area of learning, progress is good. The quality of teaching seen during the inspection was satisfactory. Children’s progress is satisfactory and by the end of the Foundation Stage most children attain the early learning goals.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

72. The quality of teaching is good. Children make good progress and by the end of the Foundation Stage the great majority of children achieve the early learning goals. A significant minority exceeds these. Children move confidently about the hall aware of their own and others’ space. They have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe when running, jumping and skipping around the hall. The maypole dancing displayed the children’s good ability to skip, which they all did confidently and with grace. They skipped in time obviously enjoying the activity, which added to their general social development as well as their creative and physical skills. Teaching is satisfactory and both teachers have appropriate expectations and the good scheme of work ensures that children always achieve appropriately for their age.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

73. Children’s fine motor skills are well-developed and cutting skills are secure. Most can cut along a straight line when cutting out pictures beginning with ‘b’ and ‘d’ in a literacy lesson. Children have suitable cutting and sticking skills when making models from recycled materials. The majority of children have a suitable pencil grip and are developing a smooth handwriting style, forming many letters correctly. Most children can colour between lines accurately.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

74. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. The teaching of musical skills is good, particularly when it is combined with dance activities. The choice of music for the children to respond to is lively and sparks their interest thus motivating them all to want to take part. The children had a good time dancing around the maypole, showing that they can not only skip successfully but also keep in time to the music. Children are given good opportunities to paint but during the inspection colours had already been premixed. Some opportunities to mix white with primary colours are evident from work on display but there are not enough planned opportunities for the children to do this on a regular basis, thereby limiting their progress in this aspect of their creative development. Children are developing good drawing skills and their pictures of seashells show good observation skills, as shown by the detailed

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

attention to the different line patterns on each one. By the end of the Foundation Stage, children attain standards that are in line with the expectations of the early learning goals and progress is satisfactory.

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ENGLISH

75. Inspection findings are that at the end of Key Stage 1, standards are above the national average in speaking and listening, reading and writing. At the end of Key Stage 2, standards are well above average in these areas. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and good progress in Key Stage 2. In the 2000 National Curriculum tests at the end of Key Stage 1, the school's results in reading and writing were broadly in line with the national average. Having identified this as a comparative weakness, staff provided specific support in reading and, as a result, standards have improved for the current cohort of Year 2 pupils. Present inspection findings confirm the other results achieved in the National Curriculum tests, at both key stages, in 2000. At the time of the school's previous inspection, standards were reported to be broadly average. Since that time, significant improvements have been made at

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ENGLISH

John Harrox Primary School - 30 Key Stage 1, and very significant improvements have been made at Key Stage 2. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress. Evidence from the National Curriculum tests over the past three years indicate that boys achieve slightly better standards over the girls. There is no apparent reason for this, but the school has plans to ensure that the differences are closely monitored.

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ENGLISH

76. At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils' speaking and listening skills are above average, and at the end of Key Stage 2 their skills in this area are well above average. Key Stage 1 pupils listen attentively to their teachers, and to each other, and their responses show that they have a clear understanding of what they have heard. Most answer clearly and confidently, providing, on occasions, extended answers. They successfully use a range of very appropriate vocabulary to add detail to their comments, and many develop their ideas carefully and thoughtfully. At the end of Key Stage 2, pupils listen carefully in a variety of contexts, including teacher instruction, class discussion and drama. Most pupils are articulate speakers, who provide detailed answers, explanations and arguments. They speak clearly, and put forward their points confidently and concisely, using a very extensive vocabulary. In Key Stage 2, in particular, teaching consistently provides pupils with good opportunities to

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develop their speaking and listening skills. In discussions, pupils respond most appropriately to the comments of others.

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ENGLISH

77. At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils' standards in reading are above average, and at the end of Key Stage 2 they are well above average. At the end of Key Stage 1, many pupils read texts fluently and accurately, with clear understanding. The majority introduce suitable expression into their reading. In discussing their books, many pupils readily refer to the text, clearly expressing opinions about the content. Most pupils also show a secure understanding of phonics, as well as having an extensive sight vocabulary. Most pupils confidently find information, readily using a book's contents page and index to help them. At the end of Key Stage 2, most pupils read with fluency, accuracy and evident enjoyment. They talk confidently about what they read, making very appropriate reference to characters and events in the stories. They identify key events and themes, and use relevant information to support their views. Pupils regularly use reference books to find information, and most of

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them have mastered the skills of skimming and scanning. Many pupils confidently summarise the information that they find. At both key stages, all teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to develop their reading skills, giving reading a high status across the school, and help to promote the high standards many pupils attain. In addition, teachers throughout the school provide many opportunities for pupils to listen to stories and various forms of instruction, and they make good use of intonation in their voices and humour to help maintain pupils' interest.

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ENGLISH

78. At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils' attainment in writing is above that expected nationally, and at the end of Key Stage 2 their attainment is well above that expected. At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils successfully write factual information, sometimes in the form of news, and imaginative writing, in the form of stories and poems. Many pupils produce extended pieces of writing, and by the end of the key stage their writing is often clear and logical. Good use is made of vocabulary to bring writing alive. Capital letters, full-stops and other forms of punctuation are generally used correctly, and pupils' spelling is usually accurate. Where there are inaccuracies, the words are nearly always phonetically acceptable. The handwriting of many pupils is neat, legible and of a consistent size, with most pupils being able to join letters appropriately. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils successfully write for a variety of

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ENGLISH

purposes and audiences. They place great emphasis on the use of items, such as adverbs and adjectives, to add detail to their writing, and include an increased range of punctuation, including inverted commas. On many occasions, pupils draft their work carefully knowing that this helps to improve its quality. Pupils' work is often sustained into longer pieces of writing. Pupils effectively introduce imagination, interest and depth to their work through the use of lively and thoughtful vocabulary. Paragraphs are readily introduced into the writing. Most pupils join their letters in a clear and neat handwriting style. Pupils usually spell very well and John Harrox Primary School - 31 they confidently use a dictionary and a thesaurus to improve this aspect of their workl further. Many teachers have high expectations of pupils’ writing and this contributes significantly to the high standards that many pupils attain in this aspect of their literacy development.

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ENGLISH

79. The overall quality of teaching and learning are good. Teaching has improved since the time of the school's previous inspection. At Key Stage 1, teaching is satisfactory with some good features, and at Key Stage 2 teaching is good. Teachers have a good subject knowledge, and lessons are well-planned and well-organised, with teachers carefully following the requirements of the National Literacy Strategy. In their planning, teachers are usually careful to provide work that is suited to the needs of all pupils, with, for example, higher-attaining pupils being given extension activities when necessary. However, this is not always the case at Key Stage 1, where, in Year 1 in particular, some of the tasks provided do not present enough challenge for higher-attaining pupils. Teachers usually provide good opportunities for pupils to speak at length and develop their speaking skills, for example, by making good use

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ENGLISH

of questioning, discussion and drama. Very occasionally, however, at Key Stage 1, teachers do not provide pupils with enough chances to speak, for instance, when pupils are allowed to call out answers, limiting the chances for others to contribute.

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ENGLISH

80. Teachers are most careful to provide appropriate reading books for pupils, and all pupils have books which suit their needs. Many opportunities are provided for pupils to read, both in lessons and to parents and other adults, and this is contributing significantly to the standards being achieved. Very detailed records are kept of the books read, and pupils are regularly provided with new ones. Pupils are keen to read, and many of them profess a great interest in books. Many pupils at Key Stage 2 choose quite challenging texts, but they still readily discuss the content.

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ENGLISH

81. Teachers usually provide a very good range of writing activities and opportunities for their pupils, during lessons in English and, to a lesser extent, in other subjects, such as history and geography. In Year 1, these opportunities are more limited. Teachers emphasise the need to develop handwriting skills, and they regularly remind pupils about the need to introduce interest, depth and quality into their writing. Pupils respond enthusiastically to the opportunities provided, in all aspects of the subject, and at Key Stage 1, they make satisfactory gains in their knowledge and skills, whilst at Key Stage 2 they make good gains. Where teaching is very good, teachers provide particularly clear explanations and demonstrations for pupils and have high expectations of what they expect pupils to achieve. Good relationships are developed between teachers and pupils in all classes, and teachers provide effective support and guidance during lessons. Lessons are usually brisk in pace,

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ENGLISH

and pupils are kept busy throughout. Pupils' attitudes to English are usually very good, and this greatly enhances the progress they make. They set about their various tasks with concentration and interest. They work well on their own, and in groups when required, and they persevere with the work set. Pupils generally know what to do, showing considerable independence in their work, but they also readily turn to adults if necessary. Pupils are keen to produce a neat and careful standard of presentation in their books, and they take a pride in the appearance of their work. Teachers mark pupils' work regularly, providing, in most classes, extensive and thoughtful words of advice and encouragement. The quality of marking has contributed significantly to the high standards being achieved in writing.

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ENGLISH

82. The National Literacy Strategy has been effectively implemented and all the various aspects of work are suitably covered. The co-ordinator is hard working, knowledgeable and a very good practitioner, and although he currently has no opportunity to observe lessons taking place, he provides very appropriate support and advice to his colleagues when it is requested. He keeps detailed records of pupils' work, and can clearly identify the many strengths in that work, as well as the comparative weaknesses. The leadership of the subject is much improved since the previous inspection, and the co-ordinator has had a most significant influence on the overall standards being achieved in the school. A very good John Harrox Primary School - 32 range of assessment procedures is in place, with teachers keeping a variety of information about each pupil's performance. The information which is recorded is used very effectively to

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ENGLISH

identify pupils' current attainment, the progress they have made and, in most classes, to help the planning of appropriate future work. Teachers also provide pupils with suitable targets for further improving their work. Resources are very good and they are put to most appropriate use, and library provision has improved considerably since the last inspection. Suitable use is made of a number of curricular subjects to help develop pupils' literacy skills, although opportunities are missed, in subjects, such as science and information and communication technology, to further develop these skills.

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MATHEMATICS

83. The results of the 2000 National Curriculum tests and teacher assessments indicate that most seven-year-olds achieve the standards expected of their age but that the percentage of pupils that achieve above average standards is below the national average. Inspection findings indicate that standards are in line with the national average. At Key Stage 2, the results of the National Curriculum tests indicate that pupils attained standards well above the national average. Inspection findings indicate that pupils make good progress through Key Stage 2 to achieve standards that are well above average and in line with those achieved by pupils in similar schools. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and good progress in Key Stage 2.

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MATHEMATICS

84. There has been significant improvement in attainment in Key Stage 2 since the previous inspection when standards achieved by pupils by the age of eleven were average. The improvement has been maintained over the last four years. Good leadership of the subject, improved resources and higher quality teaching have been the key factors in improvement. Standards have not significantly improved in Key Stage 1 and remain average. Early assessment of pupils shows that at the time of admission most have an above average understanding of number. As they progress through Key Stage 1, insufficient emphasis is given to the development of pupils’ investigative and problem solving skills through practical activities. Although teachers group pupils according to ability, pupils with higher ability are not challenged to develop their knowledge and understanding in numeracy, shape and measurement and data handling. In Key Stage 2, pupils are assessed and grouped

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MATHEMATICS

according to ability. Teachers ensure work is appropriately matched to pupils' prior attainment and regularly assess progress. The teaching in the highest ability group is of a very high standard and is the main reason for the well above average standards achieved by pupils.

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MATHEMATICS

85. By the age of seven, pupils have a secure understanding of place value to 100 and are able to round to the nearest ten. Approximately a quarter of pupils show confidence in describing numbers to 1000. However, these pupils are not sufficiently challenged in the mental start to lessons or during group activities. They recognise odd and even numbers but do not understand that when odd and even numbers are added together the answer will always be an odd number. Most seven-year-olds are able to add and subtract numbers to 20, but are not confident in their mental recall of multiplication tables. They recognise that subtraction is inverse to addition but do not show understanding of division being the inverse of multiplication. They have a secure understanding of simple fractions and are able to explain when fractions are equivalent. Teachers ensure pupils develop confidence in recognising and describing shape and measurement. Pupils are able to identify cuboids, hexagons,

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MATHEMATICS

pentagons, cylinders, pyramids and spheres. They recognise reflective symmetry and familiar two-dimensional shapes and patterns. They develop skills in telling the time and are able to draw simple graphs on how they spend their day. John Harrox Primary School - 33 86. By the age of eleven, pupils show greater confidence in investigation and problem solving activities. The good quality of teaching of the older pupils is reflected in the range of challenges that enable them to achieve well above average standards. Pupils have confidence in numeracy, algebra, shape, measurement and handling data. They understand place value to a million and confidently divide whole numbers and decimals by 10 and 100. They calculate fractional and percentage parts of real life problems. When asked to calculate the cost of a jacket to include VAT, pupils use strategies to work out the 17.5% added cost. They recognise that it is simpler to partition calculations. Most pupils can describe number

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MATHEMATICS

patterns, multiples, fractions and square numbers.

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MATHEMATICS

87. At Key Stage 2, pupils have a secure understanding of shape and measurement. They confidently measure in degrees and recognise right, acute and obtuse angles. They know that the sum of the angles of a rectangle is 360 degrees and that those of a triangle total 180 degrees. When drawing two-dimensional shapes, they locate and draw shapes using co- ordinates in the first quadrant, then in all four quadrants. In an excellent lesson seen during the inspection, the teacher gave pupils a clear description and explanation of reflection by showing how a shape can be flipped over an imaginary mirror line onto a replica of itself. Pupils confidently describe examples of symmetry before using their knowledge of co- ordinates to draw symmetrical shapes.

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MATHEMATICS

88. Pupils use data handling skills to solve problems in other areas of the curriculum, particularly in science. At Key Stage 2, they draw graphs to show time and distance, heat loss and experiments related to breathing. However, at both key stages, pupils do not have sufficient opportunity to use information and communication technology equipment to interpret or display the results of their findings.

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MATHEMATICS

89. The standard of teaching is satisfactory in Key Stage 1 and good in Key Stage 2. The best teaching is in the highest ability set, where it is excellent. In Key Stage 1, the management of pupils is good and pupils show high levels of interest. They listen attentively and are eager to answer questions. Teachers ensure pupils attain the standards expected of their age but do not provide sufficient challenge to enable a higher percentage to achieve above average standards. Pupils complete their tasks but not always with a sufficient sense of urgency. An example of this was seen when a group of pupils took turns in using a whiteboard to round numbers to the nearest ten and lost interest when waiting their turn. Teachers do not make sufficient use of investigation work to support pupils’ learning.

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MATHEMATICS

90. In Key Stage 2, teachers generally have higher expectation of pupils. They ensure work is matched according to pupils' prior attainment and regularly assess pupils' progress. They have high expectations of presentation and application. Pupils show enjoyment in learning and take care when recording their work. Lessons are well organised with effective use being made of support staff and resources. A weakness is the lack of pace in some mental sessions. The reliance on number aids restricts pupils' mental recall.

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MATHEMATICS

91. In the best lessons seen, the teacher makes very effective use of a wide range of resources to stimulate pupils' interest. The video and overhead projector are used to offer clear explanation of reflection and symmetry. Pupils are continually challenged to answer well- directed questions that ensure all pupils are attentive and understand their task. Work is marked effectively with pupils being asked to consider alternative ways of finding a solution. Pupils are expected to complete work in a given time. Their recorded work shows coverage of all strands of the curriculum and confirms very good progress.

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MATHEMATICS

92. The National Numeracy Strategy has been effectively implemented. The three-part lesson structure is firmly established. Teachers give a clear explanation of the aim of the lesson and questioning is used effectively at the end of lessons to assess what pupils have learned. Teachers use this information to guide future lessons, which is good practice because it John Harrox Primary School - 34 ensures work is matched to the understanding of all pupils. Frequently, teachers use the mental session to revise concepts taught in previous lessons. Teachers use a wide range of mathematical vocabulary in each year group and this ensures pupils are able to explain their work using correct terminology.

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MATHEMATICS

93. At both key stages, pupils' ability to use information and communication technology to develop mathematical knowledge skills and understanding is insufficiently developed. Teachers do not provide pupils with sufficient opportunity to use the resources available. In Key Stage 2, homework is used effectively to support pupils' learning. This also helps to ensure they are well prepared for secondary education.

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MATHEMATICS

94. Since the previous inspection the subject has been effectively co-ordinated. Staff and parents have been given clear guidance on the structure of the curriculum. Teachers have attended in-service training and ensured consistency in assessment and planning. The headteacher recognises the need for further refinement in how teaching is monitored to draw out and identify strengths, share good practice and address the shortcomings in some aspects of provision – particularly in how investigative mathematics is used to support pupils’ learning at Key Stage 1.

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SCIENCE

95. Since the time of the last inspection in 1997 standards of work achieved by pupils at the ages of seven and eleven have remained broadly similar. National Curriculum test results for 2000 showed pupils in Year 6 achieved standards in line with the national average although well below average when the results are compared with similar schools. Inspection findings indicate that standards are in line with the national average although pupils’ achievements could be higher. Throughout the school, pupils with special educational needs make similar progress to that of their classmates. Evidence from the National Curriculum tests for Key Stage 2 indicate some difference in attainment between the two sexes. However, inspection findings did not detect a difference between the boys or girls.

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SCIENCE

96. Standards in the current Year 2 are satisfactory and pupils make satisfactory gains in their learning. Within the key stage, in lessons where the quality of teaching is of a higher standard, pupils make better progress and achieve higher standards of work than expected for that age. Pupils are able to give examples of a force and know, for example, that the wind is a type of a force and enables washing on a line to dry, kites to fly or the sails of a windmill to turn. Pupils explain what is meant by a ‘fair test’, although their ability to set up their own investigations and follow their own lines of enquiry is weaker. In addition, computers are not yet used often enough to support the recording of evidence or the presentation of results. However, all pupils enjoy their investigative work. It is especially beneficial for pupils with special educational needs, who receive effective support from classroom assistants and their

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SCIENCE

classmates. The practical approach to learning ensures they make secure progress in developing their knowledge and understanding of the subject. Older pupils talk knowledgeably about what they have recorded, including the stages of the life cycle of humans and why we need food and a balanced diet. They are familiar with natural and man made sources of materials, including wool, plastic, wood and paper.

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SCIENCE

97. Standards in the current Year 6 are not as high as they could be, although they are average. Despite pupils making satisfactory progress in lessons seen during the inspection, they are capable of producing a higher standard of work, and this is particularly the case for those with higher-attainments. Overall progress is too slow. Pupils are conscientious and keen to learn. They have high personal aspirations and want to do well in the national tests. All pupils make satisfactory progress in practical activities, as seen in a lesson in which they had to devise a game with a magnet, which would be suitable for entertaining younger children. John Harrox Primary School - 35 Their use of scientific terminology and subject specific vocabulary is not yet sufficiently well developed. They have a good command of the basics, but are capable of assimilating more complex explanations. All show pride in recording their work to a high standard.

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SCIENCE

98. An analysis of work produced by pupils of average and lower ability shows that in Year 3 their level of knowledge and understanding about materials, forces, magnetism and life processes is unsatisfactory. Much of the work they have done about living things is at a level expected for pupils in Key Stage 1. Pupils are given too much work to copy and too few opportunities to write accounts of their work themselves. In most other classes, pupils have covered a good range of work since the beginning of the school year, but too little of it is done in adequate detail, with pupils making insufficient progress in the development of their use of scientific vocabulary. With the exception of a small number of pupils, who are taught in a different class, Year 6 pupils make the most significant progress in lessons. Teaching ensures that the tasks they are given help them to develop skills of recording their work using

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SCIENCE

diagrams, labels and the interpretation of data. In discussion with pupils, they explain clearly the basic features of fair testing and they are experienced and familiar with devising and carrying out their own experiments and investigations. In their work on the Solar System they could clearly explain the relationship between the Earth, Sun and Moon and how day and night are linked to the Earth spinning on its axis.

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SCIENCE

99. Science teaching is barely satisfactory. The most consistent strength is the way in which teachers manage pupils. As a result, pupils like their teachers and show them respect. Teachers expect pupils to try their best and most endeavour to make the work interesting and challenging. However, the subject is not taught in adequate detail, so pupils’ knowledge of some scientific skills is weak. Teachers do not have high enough expectations about what pupils are able to achieve and do not encourage them to set up their own investigations, or make their own interpretations when recording their work. The work which pupils produce is not always well marked and teachers rarely include comments which would help pupils improve their work. This is often in sharp contrast to the quality of marking seen in English and mathematics. Some teachers spend too much time giving directions and explanations in some lessons and pupils do not, therefore, have sufficient time to produce adequate work of

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SCIENCE

their own. Nevertheless, pupils enjoy their lessons and even in those lessons that are not always sufficiently challenging or interesting they behave well.

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SCIENCE

100. The use that teachers make of information gained from assessing pupils’ work is unsatisfactory. Records are kept which help teachers plan what to do next, but teachers do not keep adequate information about the development of pupils’ knowledge and understanding, or investigative skills. Pupils who are capable of achieving better than average standards of work are not being given tasks which are sufficiently challenging. More time needs to be devoted to monitoring the effectiveness with which the teachers’ plans are implemented in the classroom and how they affect the quality of teaching.

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SCIENCE

101. The role of the subject manager is under-developed. The recent absence of the co-ordinator, following a period of maternity leave, has resulted in slower developments in this subject compared with those seen in English and mathematics, for example. However, the school is acutely aware of the need to raise standards in the subject and the means of how to address and raise pupils’ progress in the subject are clearly highlighted in the school development plan. These include plans to ensure that the co-ordinator receives more frequent opportunities to gauge the quality of teaching and learning in the subject. Resources to support teachers in their teaching of the subject are good and complemented further by the very good range of teacher reference materials that the school has carefully developed in recent years. John Harrox Primary School - 36

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ART AND DESIGN

102. By the end of both key stages, standards are in line with expectations. While progress is generally satisfactory for pupils of all abilities, they do not always achieve a standard of art work that fully reflects their capabilities. The increased time and attention that the school has placed over the past few years on raising standards in literacy and numeracy has reduced the emphasis and status that art and design as a subject has within the school.

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ART AND DESIGN

103. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils have developed satisfactory skills in their ability to draw. These are sufficiently developed through a programme of work that ensures that pupils increase their knowledge and understanding of elements, such as tone and line. Pupils are given sufficient scope to explore the work of other artists and this generally ensures that the pupils’ own creative skills are sufficiently developed. Pupils do not make enough progress in understanding how information and communication technology can be used to support their learning. By the age of seven, pupils, who have good access to materials, such as fabric, successfully develop their understanding of pattern.

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ART AND DESIGN

104. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are given sufficient opportunities to work with appropriate resources to develop a satisfactory understanding of the principles underpinning aspects of art and design. When drawing, pupils become more aware of composition and place greater emphasis on adding detail to their work, such as facial expressions or folds on clothing. Pupils make satisfactory use of a range of different drawing media to make a variety of patterned lines and are able to apply shade and tone using a variety of lines creating depth and dimension to their work. Pupils are able to discuss colours used by different artists and develop a similar range of colours within their own work. However, pupils’ understanding of the work of famous craftspeople is somewhat limited given their ability. In addition, pupils’ use of sketchbooks and general understanding of how they can be used as a means of

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ART AND DESIGN

preparatory work is equally limited. Teaching places too little emphasis on letting pupils use sketchbooks as a means of thinking through how their work is to develop and be modified in the light of experience.

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ART AND DESIGN

105. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall but some good and excellent teaching was seen during the inspection. In the best seen, in Year 1, the teacher was very successful in ensuring that pupils developed their understanding of sculpture, first by exploring photographs of the work of Henry Moore and then by enabling the pupils to make their own sculpture in the same style by using a bar of soap. In other lessons seen, teachers explain the skills and techniques pupils are to learn well, ensuring that they know what is expected of them before they undertake their work. Whilst teaching is satisfactory, it could be strengthened by enabling pupils, particularly in Key Stage 2, to explore the work and techniques of other artists in more depth and by ensuring that pupils make greater use of sketchbooks during the course of their work. There are also missed opportunities to develop pupils’ learning of the subject through other subjects, such as history or information and

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ART AND DESIGN

communication technology. Whilst some opportunities are provided for pupils to explore the work of local artists, this tends to the exception rather than the norm.

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ART AND DESIGN

106. The management of the subject is satisfactory. The co-ordinator appreciates that the status of the subject across the school could be raised further. At present, there are too few opportunities provided for her to gauge the quality of teaching and learning in the subject and, as a result, she is only able to draw together judgements on the standards of pupils’ work from evaluating their work that is put on display. In some year groups, notably in Year 1, the subject makes a significant contribution to the pupils’ spiritual development. However, this good practice is not always followed through in other year groups. John Harrox Primary School - 37

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

107. Standards are in line with national expectations, at the end of both key stages. Pupils' progress is satisfactory. The school has maintained standards in the subject since its first inspection.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

108. At Key Stage 1, pupils successfully clarify their ideas for making a product, through class and group discussion, and they produce appropriate pictures of the item they wish to make. Having decided how to proceed, pupils readily identify the items they need to make that product. They choose from a range of suitable materials, such as paper, card, felt and wood, and tools, such as scissors and saws, to help them make their product. Pupils cut their components carefully, and join them together accurately, using items, such as sticky tape and glue. Pupils successfully make, for instance, clothing for a bear, place mats, puppets and model 'vehicles for taking people to the sea-side'. At Key Stage 2, pupils draw up appropriate plans and sketches. In some cases, they first closely examine commercially made items, such as slippers and purses, to help them. Having produced their plans, pupils choose from a

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

range of materials, including foam, denim and food items, and tools, including needles and knives. They successfully measure, cut and shape the materials, and join them with items, such as thread. Pupils provide appropriate finishing techniques, such as decorating and painting, where required, and they confidently evaluate their work, both as they proceed and when they have finished. They successfully identify ways in which their work could be improved. Younger pupils, for example, produce money containers, Egyptian ceremonial collars, with a link to history, and sandwiches, and older pupils make biscuits, slippers and play-masks.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

109. The overall quality of teaching and learning are satisfactory with some good lessons observed during the inspection. Teachers' planning is satisfactory, and pupils are provided with opportunities to carry out all relevant activities and develop all appropriate skills. A suitable range of equipment and resources is provided for pupils, and this allows all pupils to participate fully. Opportunities are also provided, on occasions, for pupils to evaluate commercially produced items before they make they make their own, and this helps them to identify the components they need themselves. Pupils are not always reminded of the need to be realistic in their designing, however, with the result that some pupils produce plans that are too complicated to make, such as those of vehicles produced by a number of pupils in Key Stage 1. Teachers generally provide clear and helpful advice for the pupils, and this

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

helps them all, including those with special educational needs, to make satisfactory gains in their designing and making skills. Where teaching is good, and where, for example, teachers provide helpful demonstrations for pupils of what they have to do, pupils make good progress. In Key Stage 1, good use is made of learning support assistants, to show pupils how to use saws to cut axles of the correct length. Pupils clearly enjoy the subject. They settle quickly and quietly to their tasks and, although a small number of pupils occasionally lack some initial attention, most work with good concentration. Pupils readily discuss the work they have produced, how successful it has been and how it could have been improved. They work well with other pupils, share resources amicably, are very well behaved overall and are most careful when using various tools.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

110. There is a suitable scheme of work in place, based on the government's curriculum guidelines. All aspects of work are suitably covered, with appropriate opportunities being allowed for designing as well as making. The co-ordinator is enthusiastic, and she has discussed with colleagues the introduction of the scheme. At present, however, she has little clear knowledge of the work that is being done in the school, as she has few opportunities to monitor the work being undertaken in class, either through seeing samples of work or through observing lessons. No whole-school assessment procedures are in place, and although teachers make informal assessments in class, little information is currently being recorded to help identify pupils' current attainment and their skill levels, or to identify ways in John Harrox Primary School - 38 which pupils' attainment could be improved further. The writing activities undertaken, in

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

planning and evaluating work, give satisfactory support to the school's initiative in literacy. Measuring activities, such as in cutting wood and card accurately, support the work in numeracy. The making of Egyptian artefacts helps to raise pupils' awareness of past cultures. Little use is presently made of information and communication technology to support pupils’ learning in the subject.

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GEOGRAPHY

111. The last time the school was inspected, the standards in geography were average for pupils in Years 1 and 2 and also average by the time pupils reached the age of eleven. Since then standards have remained the same. Pupils with special educational needs make similar progress to their classmates. No geography lessons were observed during the period of the inspection and judgements are therefore based upon evidence gained from teachers’ planning, a scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with staff and pupils.

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GEOGRAPHY

112. By the end of Year 2, pupils have a satisfactory knowledge of the locality. Teachers satisfactorily draw pupils’ attention to similarities and differences between places in which people live. In discussion, pupils are able to express preferences for their own homes or the houses in which close relatives live. They can explain the routes they need to take to travel between various familiar places, such as the school and the swimming baths. This leads them to give clear explanations about different forms of transport used to travel between home and more distant places. Pupils who had a clear understanding about distance could relate this to holiday destinations. In a Year 1 lesson, pupils learned about the similarities and differences between their life style and that of children living on the imaginary Isle of Struay. They can recall characteristics of the natural landscapes on the island and contrast it with

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GEOGRAPHY

that of Moulton and the East Anglian coastline. They are beginning to develop some knowledge about the wider world and several pupils are able to recall their personal impressions of places they have visited, including France and United States.

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GEOGRAPHY

113. In Key Stage 2, pupils continue to develop their geographical skills, knowledge and understanding. A strength of the geography curriculum is the use teachers make of visits and residential field trips to give pupils first hand experience of their environment. Pupils in Year 5 visit Graffham Water and, in the past, Year 6 have visited London. These experiences build upon opportunities provided for younger pupils to visit places, such as Snettersham Farm Park.

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GEOGRAPHY

114. Overall, pupils make satisfactory progress in their lessons and produce work at a level expected for their age, although the majority of pupils are capable of doing better. Across the school, teaching is satisfactory. For example, pupils in Year 3 have learned about pollution by assessing the level of noise and rubbish created within the school. They have also studied the impact of pollution on cities and the countryside. However, the work they have produced is superficial and they are not given enough opportunity to investigate parts of the topic independently by using reference books or information and communication technology. Pupils in Year 5 are taught in two different classes. Those who are taught with younger classmates make better progress because the range of work they are given is better and the teacher has higher expectations about what they are able to do. They are also provided with

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GEOGRAPHY

more interesting and stimulating aspects of the subject. With the exception of a minority of Year 6 pupils, who are in a different class, pupils in this year group have produced some interesting work about volcanoes and the water cycle. Nevertheless, learning could be strengthened if more opportunities were provided for pupils to use information and communication technology for personal research or if pupils were more actively encouraged to pursue their studies at home. John Harrox Primary School - 39 115. The subject co-ordinator is keen to continue to develop more formalised links between geography and the study of the environment. Some good documentation has been produced to support this initiative. However, there are weaknesses in the way in which pupils’ knowledge and understanding of geography are assessed. Teachers make too little use of the information they have to plan future lessons and, because of this, some pupils do not

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GEOGRAPHY

always make the progress of which they are capable. The quality of resources is good. Of note, is the very good range of support materials for teachers in the staff resources area. These are detailed and provide a rich bank of materials from which teachers plan pupils’ learning.

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HISTORY

116. At the end of Years 2 and 6 pupils produce work that is at a level expected for their age and make satisfactory progress. Pupils with special educational needs make similar progress to that of their classmates. The school has maintained standards in the subject since the previous inspection.

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HISTORY

117. By the age of seven, pupils have a satisfactory understanding of chronology and how things change over time. Pupils are able to give the main facts about the Great Fire of London. They know that information about the fire can be gained by looking at the work of artists of the time. In Year 1, pupils can evaluate old and new objects in their school, and relate simple facts about the lives of famous people, including the achievements of Florence Nightingale. They are able to compare hospitals at the turn of the twentieth century to those of today. In Year 2, pupils have studied the lives of other famous people, including Mozart and Samuel Pepys, as well as more contemporary figures, such as Sir Cliff Richard and David Beckham.

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HISTORY

118. At age eleven, pupils have a secure knowledge about key dates, events and periods in British history. While some good teaching was evident in the upper part of the key stage, the overall quality is satisfactory. Pupils’ level and range of knowledge are well developed and are able to talk with confidence when exploring arguments about past events. Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the history of other eras, such as the Roman and Tudor era, is satisfactory. Pupils are given some opportunities to examine different perspectives or aspects they find of particular interest. For example, in a Year 3 lesson, pupils were keen to talk about their knowledge of the Ancient Egyptians. They found information about burial rites, mummification and the Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the after life particularly interesting and could recall in detail all the gory facts relating to embalming. Year 4 pupils found it fascinating to try to picture the country during the Second World War. They have a

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HISTORY

satisfactory understanding of the significance the war has had on their own locality, as a result of the good opportunities provided for them to talk a local visitor who was able to share her first-hand experiences with them. In a Year 6 lesson, where teaching was good and extended pupils’ learning, pupils made greater gains in their knowledge and understanding of Ancient Egypt because the teacher made learning exciting through a mixture of effective questioning, prompting and explaining. This enabled the pupils to discuss the difference between fact and opinion. This resulted in the pupils being keen and eager to learn and show good levels of concentration. Across the school, teaching could be strengthened with more regular use of information and communication technology. This would enable pupils to explore sources of historical information through, for example, compact disc software.

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HISTORY

119. There is no member of staff designated as having responsibility for managing the subject, leading to a lack of leadership in the subject. Whilst it is acknowledged that all teachers plan together, there is no formal leadership in monitoring teaching. There are insufficient procedures for assessing pupils’ achievements and the progress they make. Whilst standards are satisfactory, pupils could achieve higher standards. These could be achieved if John Harrox Primary School - 40 standards of teaching and learning were more rigorously evaluated and if assessment was used to evaluate what pupils had learned.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

120. By the end of both key stages, standards are below expectations and pupils of all abilities do not make the gains they are capable of in their learning as they move through each of the classes in the school. The school has not maintained standards in the subject that were found to be in line with expectations at the time of the last inspection. However, the school has recently just completed a new and well-resourced information and communication technology suite. In addition, the staff are just about to undergo their training in how to use the new equipment. Once the new suite is fully functional, it offers rich potential to ensure that pupils make more rapid gains in their learning and achieve the standards of which they are capable.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

121. By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils have a limited understanding of some of the most basic elements of using a computer. Few, for example, are able to explain what is meant by a ‘font’ or can change the style and appearance of their type-written text. In addition, too few pupils are able to save their work and are heavily dependent on another adult loading, saving and retrieving their work. Pupils do not have a satisfactory understanding of how to use a computer to present simple numerical information although their learning in this aspect of the curriculum is more secure in Year 1. Pupils have a satisfactory awareness of how information and communication technology impacts on their daily lives with many able to explain the benefits of a video recorder or a mobile phone. Pupils make unsatisfactory gains in their understanding of how to use and program a programmable toy.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

122. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils have made some gains in their learning of information and communication technology but generally their learning remains unsatisfactory given the nature of their prior attainment, their high levels of enthusiasm and the fact that many pupils have access to computers at home. The school does not build sufficiently on these aspects. Whilst pupils are able to use a simple word-processor, their work is limited to perhaps altering the shape and appearance of their text that may have already been entered by the teacher. Few are sufficiently confident in creating their own graphics and adding them to their work to create simple desktop published pieces of work. Pupils rarely use compact disc software and the current lack of facilities for pupils to explore the Internet results in pupils making too limited gains in this aspect of their learning. In addition, pupils make too few gains

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

in their understanding of control technology.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

123. The main factor in the low standards and slow progress at both key stages is the lack of knowledge of some staff in how to successfully integrate computers into their everyday teaching. Whilst most classrooms have computer facilities, teachers miss the opportunity to use these to support their teaching. Lesson plans do not highlight sufficiently the knowledge and skills pupils are to learn. As a result, the overall quality of teaching across the school is unsatisfactory. Whilst some scope is given for pupils to use computers at home, as seen in the science work Year 5 and Year 6 pupils had produced in relation to research work on the Solar System, teaching, across the school, makes insufficient use of the access to home computers that a good number of pupils have.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

124. The co-ordinator for the subject has been managing the subject for the past academic year. While doing so, she has successfully highlighted areas which need improvement. At present, too little monitoring of teaching takes place although the school does have plans in place to address this once the new information and communication technology suite is timetabled for use. Resources are now good and once fully utilised offer good potential to enrich pupils’ personal development even further. John Harrox Primary School - 41

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MUSIC

125. During the last inspection little music was taught and, although standards at Key Stage 1 were judged to be average, it was not possible to make firm judgements on pupils’ standards at Key Stage 2. Lesson observations and conversations with pupils show that standards are now average by the age of seven and eleven. There are strengths in the instrumental lessons and these make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning and standards in the subject.

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MUSIC

126. Pupils sing in assembly in tune and show a keen consideration to rhythm and tempo. The singing is very exact and precise, reflecting the accurate teaching of this aspect. In lessons, pupils are familiar with a range of instruments, knowing how each one is played and the range of different sounds it is possible to make with each one. Good opportunities exist to consider how the mood and effect is created in a range of music and these are reflected in pupils’ own compositions. Year 2 pupils compose suitable sound effects to depict different kinds of weather, including sun and storms. These are recorded on a pictorial score for other pupils to perform. In another good lesson, pupils were invited to paint a picture in sound and encouraged to work together in groups to compose a piece of music to depict the feelings in three very different pictures. Discussions with pupils at Key Stage 2 indicate that they have a

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MUSIC

secure understanding of a range of different composers and the type of music they created. They are able to differentiate between a range of musical instruments and have a developing musical vocabulary.

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MUSIC

127. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Good lessons often start with a suitable warm up activity to sharpen the pupils’ musical performance skills. Reference to musical elements is included in teachers’ planning and pupils are invited to evaluate and improve their own performance. In one unsatisfactory lesson, although the choice of activity and skills was relevant to pupils’ needs, the choice of song was inappropriate for this particular group of pupils. This, coupled with the slow pace of the lesson, meant that pupils quickly lost interest and attention wavered as a result. Instrumental lessons make a very good contribution to musical standards. Violinists and cellists are encouraged to take ‘grade exams’ and these pupils are keen to do their very best. The quality of tone when playing their instruments is good. Forty-five pupils take part in weekly keyboard lessons and older pupils are able to read

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MUSIC

music and perform quite difficult pieces after one run through. The annual concerts, choir activities and weekly recorder clubs also make a significant contribution to standards.

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MUSIC

128. The co-ordination of the subject is currently unsatisfactory. There is too little opportunity for the co-ordinator to influence developments and improvements in the subject as too little responsibility to monitor standards, teaching, learning and provision is delegated. Assessment continues to be a weakness and, as this was identified in the last report, reflects unsatisfactory progress in this aspect. Although the annual visit by Year 6 pupils to see a West End show is a memorable event, there are too few planned opportunities to contribute to pupils’ spiritual and cultural development. The use of information and communication technology to support the subject is unsatisfactory.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

129. Pupils at the age of seven and eleven achieve above average standards in gymnastics and swimming. They achieve standards expected of their age in other aspects of physical education that include dance, games, athletics and outdoor activities. Standards have been maintained since the previous inspection. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, have equal opportunity and make good progress. There is no difference in the standards achieved by boys and girls. John Harrox Primary School - 42 130. By the age of seven, pupils show enthusiasm in gymnastics through actions involving stretching, jumping and travelling. They enjoy their lessons and being involved in the gymnastic club. They show increasing control when balancing and keeping in time to music. This is evident when they complete a sequence of movements involving rolling, turning and jumping to the music of 'The Tweenies'. All pupils recognise the importance of health and

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

safety and develop a sense of commitment to their task. They take pride in achieving awards for swimming and gymnastics.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

131. By the age of eleven, pupils further develop skills in each strand of the curriculum. They enjoy being active and using their imagination in physical activity. They develop new skills and learn how to use them in different ways, showing more consistent control. In games activities, they develop skills of ball control by receiving and passing a ball with hands and feet. They show clear understanding of attack and defence and use these skills well when competing in traditional team games of football and netball. In athletics, they develop skills in running, jumping and throwing. They recognise the importance of warm-up and cool-down sessions to ensure they do not suffer from pulled muscles. The standards achieved in gymnastics and swimming are directly related to the quality of teaching by teachers with good subject knowledge.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

132. Learning is enhanced by pupils' involvement in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Over one hundred pupils participate in gymnastics. Skills learnt in these sessions are built upon in lessons. Pupils show confidence in creating and performing fluent sequences of movement using floor and apparatus. They vary the level, speed and direction of movements and keep in time to music, such as 'Uptown Girl' and 'Bob the Builder'. They enjoy participating as a member of a team and presenting a performance to parents and pupils. Most pupils can swim at least 25 metres and many achieve awards for longer distances and survival.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

133. Teaching is good throughout the school. Teachers show awareness of health and safety issues and have high expectations of pupils to be properly prepared for lessons. They manage pupils well and are fully involved in activities. They set a good example by wearing appropriate clothing. Pupils respond well to teachers' encouragement and advice. During a games lesson, the teacher gave a clear explanation and demonstration of how to improve movement and ball control. She demonstrated how different body parts could control a ball. In an athletics lesson, the teacher explained the importance of arms when running and jumping. Pupils listened attentively and put the advice into practice. They recognised how improving the style could improve performance. In some lessons, teaching could be further improved if pupils experienced a wider range of activities and worked in smaller groups. This would ensure pupils were kept active and have more opportunities to improve performance.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

134. Teachers are fully committed to their pupils. This is reflected in their involvement in extra- curricular activities of football, netball, cross-country, dance, residential visits and gymnastics. Pupils relate well to their teachers and adult helpers. The additional activities make a significant contribution to pupils' personal and social development.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

135. The subject is well managed by an enthusiastic co-ordinator. Her enthusiasm is reflected to staff and pupils. She has ensured that teachers are supported by a clear scheme of work and award schemes. She provides guidance on the development of skills and sets a very good example in her own teaching. She willingly supports colleagues with ideas but does not have the opportunity to formally monitor teaching and learning across the school. John Harrox Primary School - 43

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

136. The school has maintained the standards reported in the previous inspection report and, at the age of seven and eleven, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of religious education is above the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. Good teaching ensures that pupils have good opportunities to consider the values and beliefs of others and to consider carefully the purpose and meaning of the celebrations and customs of a range of religions. The school follows the Lincolnshire Agreed Syllabus and supplements this with selected units from the schemes of work given to all schools nationally. All pupils make good gains in their learning as they move through each of the classes.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

137. Lesson observations, scrutiny of pupils’ work and talking to pupils show that most have good knowledge and understanding of Christian beliefs. Many pupils are able to explain the importance of the main religious festivals of the Christian calendar and understand the significance of, for example, Easter to Christians. The good links that the school has established with the local church support pupils’ progress in this aspect of their learning. Pupils make regular visits to look at and study where a range of Christian celebrations and acts of worship take place. Older pupils show a keen respect for and value the beliefs and customs of other faiths. When talking about their lessons, pupils recall facts about all religions studied and show a keen respect for and understanding of the beliefs of others, including family members. Their response shows that they have a very good awareness of the rights of others to a point of view, which may be different from their own. Pupils

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

appreciate well the need to show sensitivity and respect to the religious beliefs of others.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

138. The quality of teaching at both key stages is good. Suitable activities are well planned and allow the pupils to think carefully about the various practices in a number of religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Judaism. Activities are interesting and motivate pupils’ attention and effectively enable them to compare and contrast the customs and traditions of one faith with those of another. Teachers’ questioning probes pupils’ understanding and extends their thinking in order to clarify and deepen their understanding further. There are very good opportunities for children to debate issues, such as bullying and belonging, and suitable links are made to the teachings in the Bible. Such debates are of good quality because of the confidence with which pupils speak, knowing that their contributions will be valued by teachers and other pupils.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

139. Subject co-ordination is satisfactory. The co-ordinator has ensured that the content in the locally agreed syllabus is covered in teachers’ planning and regular monitoring of teachers’ lessons over the course of a half-term enables the co-ordinator to have a good understanding of what is to be taught to pupils. However, at present, there have been no formal opportunities to monitor standards, teaching and learning and this is currently unsatisfactory. Provision for information and communication technology is unsatisfactory. Religious education makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development through the opportunities provided for pupils to discuss and learn about other faiths, their customs and traditions.

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