Warcop CofE Primary School

WARCOP CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 26 – 28 November 2001

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WARCOP CE 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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WARCOP CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Warcop Appleby-in-Westmorland Cumbria Postcode: CA16 6NX

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: April 29 th 1997 Warcop CE Primary School - 4

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responsibilities

11608 Anna Dawson Registered inspector Mathematics; science; art and design; design and technology; geography; music; equal opportunities. The characteristics and effectiveness of the school; the school’s results and pupils’ achievements; the quality of teaching and learning; key issues for action; leadership and management.

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responsibilities

13746 David Russell Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development; partnership with parents and carers; pupils’ welfare, health and safety. 25509 Judith Clarke Team inspector English; information and communication technology; history; physical education; the foundation stage; special educational needs. Quality and range of opportunities for learning.

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responsibilities

Chase Russell Limited 85 Shores Green Drive Wincham Northwich Cheshire CW9 6EJ

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responsibilities

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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responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Warcop CE Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 10

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

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Warcop CE Primary School - 6 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

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Warcop Voluntary Aided Primary School is a small rural school near Appleby-in-Westmorland. It is much smaller than most other primary schools nationally. It mainly draws its pupils from the village of Warcop and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Most pupils have attended a playgroup or nursery before they start school in the September of the year they become five. Pupils’ enter the reception year with attainments which are overall below average in social, language, and mathematical skills. There are 57 pupils on roll in full time education; of these 31 are girls and 26 are boys. They are grouped in three mixed age classes. There are 13 pupils on the register for special educational needs, most of whom have language/literacy difficulties. This is average at 23 per cent. The national average is 23.2 per cent. The range of special educational needs includes one pupil who has a Statement of Special Educational Need. This is broadly average. All the pupils, including those with

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special educational needs are fully included in all aspects of the curriculum and school life. There are two pupils or four per cent of the roll eligible for free school meals, which is well below the national average of 19.7 per cent. All of the pupils are of white European origin. The school has a stable population with one pupil entering and three leaving in the last school year other than at the normal times. The attainments of the pupils on entry to school are overall slightly lower than at the time of the last inspection in 1997. Religious education was not inspected during this inspection. The school is subject to a diocesan section 23 inspection.

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This is a good school with a Christian ethos which promotes positive attitudes to work and behaviour. The headteacher with full support from a hardworking staff, leads by example and gives very good leadership. There is a good governing body effectively supporting the priorities of the school. Because the quality of teaching is good, the pupils make good progress in English, mathematics, design and technology, geography and history by the time they reach Year 6. In science the pupils make very good progress. Considering the attainments of most when they start school, pupils achieve very well in science and well in most other subjects. The school is very well thought of by the parents and the community. The school gives good value for money.

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What the school does well • Pupils’ achieve well and attain above average standards by Year 6 in speaking and listening, reading, mathematics, design and technology and geography. In history, pupils achieve above average standards by Years 2 and 6. Pupils achieve very well in science to attain well above the average standards by Year 6. • The quality of teaching and learning is good. • There is good provision for pupils with special educational needs. Consequently they make good progress. • The leadership and management of the school are very good. • The school offers a rich curriculum and there is very good provision for pupils’ spiritual and social development. • There is a very good partnership with parents and the community.

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What could be improved • The development of story writing, punctuation and presentation. • There is insufficient rigour in the overall school system for tracking pupils’ progress. • Indoor accommodation for physical education and large play equipment for children in the reception year. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

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The school has made good improvement since the last inspection in 1997 in resolving the key issues. There is improved curriculum planning which ensures appropriate coverage of all the programmes of study. Standards in Warcop CE Primary School - 7 art and design for pupils in Year 2 have risen from below average to matching the nationally expected standards. The assessment of pupils’ work is improved. Pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding are now assessed and recorded in pupils’ profiles through regular sampling of their work which also informs teachers’ planning, however there is still further work to be done to track pupils’ progress more systematically in English, mathematics and science. An appropriate display policy has been implemented effectively and the staff take care to display pupils’ work around the school to provide an attractive working environment. Additionally, the standards of teaching and learning have risen. Consequently, standards have risen in English, mathematics,

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science and history by Year 6. However, standards in information and communication are not as high as they were in the last inspection. This is largely because the staff have not yet received the national training needed to improve the quality of their work. There is also good improvement in almost every other aspect of the work of the school.

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The table of examination data showing standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 in the National Curriculum tests for English, mathematics and science in 2001, is excluded from this report. This is because there were only ten pupils taking the tests, which is too small a number to report. When there are small numbers of pupils taking the tests, this diminishes the statistical reliability of the data. In the 2001 tests, one pupil in Year 6 counted as much as 10 percentage points. In 2001, a very small number of 11-year-old pupils took the tests. When their standards are compared with national standards generally and with those of schools similar to their own, they were well above average in English and mathematics. In science they were above average. Over the last three years, pupils’ performance in reaching the expected level 4 and above has been at least above average. There is a consistent rate of improvement at this school for the 11-year-olds which matches the national trend. In

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2001, pupils exceeded the targets set by the school for English and mathematics by 20 per cent. The school has set challenging targets for 11 year-olds and pupils in Year 6 are on course to meet these targets this year.

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Pupils achieve well overall throughout the school. For the current group of pupils in Year 6, pupils’ achievement is above average in speaking and listening, reading, mathematics, and well above average in science. In Year 2, pupils’ achievement is average in reading and writing, mathematics and science. In other subjects, pupils’ achievement is above average by Year 6 in design and technology, geography and history. In Year 2, pupils’ achievement is above average in history. In all other subjects pupils in Years 2 and 6 pupils’ achievement is average. In physical education too little of the subject was seen during the inspection to make a judgement on standards. However, the school makes satisfactory provision for physical education. Pupils with special educational needs across the range of difficulties get good support and make good progress towards their targets. In the reception year, pupils enter with skills that are generally below those expected for pupils of four.

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The children achieve well and are on course to attain the Early Learning Goals expected in all areas of learning by the end of the year.

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Attitudes to the school Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They enjoy school and are keen to learn.

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Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Pupils generally behave well in lessons and around the school. They are polite and welcoming to visitors.

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Personal development and relationships Pupils’ personal development is good. Pupils respect the views of others and they play and work well together. There are good relationships between pupils, staff and other adults who work in the school. In their work the pupils show a positive attitude towards people from communities different from their own.

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Attendance Attendance is good for this term. It fell well below average earlier this year because of the restrictions that were placed on pupils and their families by the ‘foot and mouth’ epidemic in sheep and cattle. Over the last three years the attendance has been well above average. Warcop CE Primary School - 8 This is a happy community where the pupils’ attitudes to school are a major contributing factor to their good achievement. Good opportunities are planned to develop pupils’ independence and sense of responsibility within a Christian ethos.

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

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

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The quality of teaching and learning throughout the school overall are good and a major strength. It is particularly very good and sometimes excellent in Years 5/6. Consequently, pupils learn well. The effective support given by the teachers and the learning assistants and the good relationships within the school, promote the pupils’ good achievement. The basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics are taught well throughout the school. Teachers combine subjects very effectively as they plan their topics well together, using resources and time very well in lessons. Teachers plan well to provide opportunities for pupils’ learning through investigative work, making the best use of the local environment. Teaching is particularly successful in lessons where teachers use the teaching methods that are advocated in the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. The pupils with special educational

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needs are supported well by the learning assistants and make good progress. Pupils write well about their work, however, there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to practice their story writing skills and to improve their punctuation and presentation of work. There was insufficient teaching observed during the inspection for design and technology, geography, history, information and communication technology and physical education to make a judgement on the quality of teaching for these subjects. Observations of pupils at work, evidence from pupils’ past work and discussions with pupils and their teachers demonstrate their good progress. The staff successfully meet the needs of all pupils and fully include them in all aspects of school life. Teaching promotes positive attitudes towards pupils’ cultural development.

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The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. The curriculum for children under six is well planned and leads effectively into the programmes of study for the National Curriculum. The curriculum for pupils throughout the school is rich and broadly based. There is very good provision for pupils to learn from their investigatory work in the local environment.

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Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. Learning difficulties are identified early. The pupils are supported well in classes and make good progress towards their targets.

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Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good provision is made for pupils’ personal development. The school makes very good provision for pupils’ spiritual and social development and good provision for their moral and cultural development.

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How well the school cares for its pupils Satisfactory. The staff know the pupils very well and take good care of them. There are satisfactory procedures for promoting good behaviour and attendance. Procedures for assessment are satisfactory and the staff use assessments of pupils’ work satisfactorily to inform their future lesson planning. Satisfactory procedures are applied for child protection. Warcop CE Primary School - 9 The school has a very good partnership with parents. Most parents support their children’s learning well at home and a small minority of parents and members of the community support pupils well in school. Parents appreciate that the school takes good care of their children.

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Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff. The headteacher leads and manages the school very well as well as teaching a class almost full time. The headteacher and the staff work together with very clear direction to achieve the aims of the school. They are successfully improving standards.

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How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are supportive of the school. They receive good information from the headteacher and work effectively with him to meet the school’s targets and fulfil their statutory duties.

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The school’s evaluation of its performance The governors, headteacher and the staff evaluate the performance of the school well. They build on their strengths to improve practice and work hard to overcome weaknesses. The teaching and learning is beginning to be evaluated successfully to improve the quality of education provided.

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The strategic use of resources The school makes very good use of the building, time, staff and the budget to help children learn. The accommodation and resources are used very well to support learning.

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There are sufficient teachers and the teaching assistants are well deployed and make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. The shared commitment and capacity to succeed by the whole school community are very good. The school constantly seeks to find best value for money and make the best use of its budget to raise standards. The accommodation and the provision of resources to help pupils learn are satisfactory overall.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • That their children like school, make good progress and achieve well. • That the quality of teaching is good and pupils are expected to do their best. • That pupils behave well and there are good relationships between pupils and staff. • That the school is helping their children to become mature and responsible. • That they feel comfortable about approaching the school with queries or concerns. • A minority of parents would like more information about the curriculum. • Some parents would like more extra-curricular activities for their children.

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The inspectors agree with the very positive view of the school held by the parents. The school has a very good partnership with parents and the local community. The quality and range of information sent to parents are good. The extra-curricular activities, which have recently been curtailed because of the foot and mouth outbreak, are satisfactory for a school of this size. Warcop CE Primary School - 10

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attained:

• well above average standards in English and mathematics; • above average standards in science.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

well above average in English and mathematic and above average in science.

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The 2001 National curriculum test results show that by the end of Year 2 pupils attained:

• below average standards in reading and writing; • very high standards in mathematics.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

• below average in reading; • well below average in writing; • very high in mathematics.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

2. In any analysis of national results caution must be exercised when, as in this case, the numbers of pupils taking the tests are small. In 2001, there were 7 pupils in Year 2 and 10 Year 6 pupils who took the tests. This means that one pupil counted as much as 14 percentage points in Year 2 and 10 percentage points in Year 6. For example, all Year 2 and Year 6 pupils attained the expected levels. However, if one or two more pupils had attained the higher levels, the pupils would have attained very high standards overall. The numbers of pupils taking the tests who have special educational needs, varies from year-to-year between year groups and causes fluctuations in the overall percentage scores for the year. In 2001, one fifth of the pupils in Year 6 and one half of the pupils in Year 2 taking the tests had special educational needs in literacy. Consequently, 100 per cent reaching levels 2 or 4 respectively indicates good teaching and learning. This year there

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

are one third of Year 2 and just over one tenth in Year 6 pupils with special educational needs who will take the tests in 2002.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

3. National Curriculum tests in 2001 show that the pupils are achieving well to reach the expected levels in English, mathematics and science and for some to exceed them by Year 6. By the end of Year 2, pupils achieved well considering that their attainment on entry to the reception class was well below average. However, they still attain well below average standards in writing and below average standards in reading, compared to similar schools. Their standards in mathematics in comparison to all schools nationally are among the top five per cent nationally. The pupils’ attainment was higher in mathematics and science in Year 2. These subjects were less demanding on language skills for most pupils. Challenging targets were set by the school for Year 6 pupils for 2001 for English, mathematics and science and were exceeded by as much as twenty per cent in English and mathematics. Pupils with special educational needs did well to

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

attain the expected standards. The school had analysed the strengths and weaknesses within the subjects at Year 6 well to improve standards. The pupils were taught for additional sessions and a Warcop CE Primary School - 11 well planned revision programme was put in place for Year 6. There was also well targeted support for groups of pupils in all classes during lessons. This resulted in all pupils attaining or exceeding the expected levels and some exceeding them.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

4. The current Year 6 pupils are achieving very well in science where they are achieving well above the expected standards. There are particular strengths in environmental and investigative work in science. In reading, speaking and listening skills and mathematics, pupils are achieving well and reaching above the expected standards. In writing standards match the national expectations. Pupils in Year 2, make good progress overall, fluctuations in the number of pupils with special educational needs limits the overall attainment of the groups to average standards in reading, writing mathematics and science. However all pupils achieve well including the pupils with special educational needs and make good progress.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

5. The school is good at identifying pupils who have special educational needs, tracking their progress and setting appropriately challenging work that promotes good achievement by Year 6. Most learning difficulties are in literacy where pupils find it difficult to understand or follow texts and answer questions or they find it difficult to concentrate for a full lesson. The average attaining and higher attaining pupils make good progress. These pupils are taught well and are given good support when needed by the learning assistants. The teachers are skilled at matching the work to the individual attainments of the pupils. All pupils are challenged well to succeed. Because the classes are small, teachers and the learning assistants effectively support all pupils so they make good progress. The staff know the pupils well and use their assessment of their progress to motivate and encourage the pupils to become successful independent learners. Pupils

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

learn well in all subjects and are not afraid to ask for help within the friendly and supportive ethos of the school. However, in English, pupils need additional opportunities outside of the literacy hour to develop their skills as writers. Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ presentation and punctuation are not high enough. These skills become increasingly important as pupils move to their next phase of education where there are increased demands made upon them to write neatly and accurately, at speed.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

6. For example, when the pupils come into the reception class, many have had little experience of making marks in the shape of letters. By the end of Year 2, the handwriting of most pupils is good and they write simple sentences for themselves, using capital letters and full stops. Spelling of simple words is satisfactory but pupils find longer words difficult and pupils attempt to spell them phonetically. However, there is less emphasis placed upon pupils’ use of adventurous vocabulary in writing stories. By Year 4, the pupils’ stories have increased satisfactorily in length. Spelling is improved and the pupils turn to dictionaries to find the meaning and correct spelling of words. Simple punctuation with the use of capital letters and full stops is usually accurate. The pupils reflect on initial drafts to correct spelling errors but soon lose interest in amending and improving the text for more imaginative vocabulary. The presentation of work is

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

often untidy. In Year 6, many pupils are writing longer coherent stories. They begin to use paragraphs and chapters which display well the stages in the development of ideas but this is not a consistent practice. They are happy to reconsider earlier drafts and recognise clearly the improvements made to help readers understand the themes. Spelling is generally accurate but punctuation and presentation of work lacks care and precision. While there are many opportunities given to pupils to develop their writing of non-narrative texts, there are fewer opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their narrative work.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

7. In other subjects, pupils work hard to attain standards that are above the national expectations by Year 6 in design and technology, geography and history. In Year 2, pupils attain above the expected standards in history and standards that match the national expectations in design and Warcop CE Primary School - 12 technology and geography. In art and design and music pupils in Years 2 and 6 attain standards that match the national expectations. However, standards in information and communication are not as high as they were in the last inspection. This is largely because the staff have not yet received the national training needed to improve the quality of their work. In physical education, there was insufficient evidence during the inspection to make a judgement on the overall standards. However, discussions and scrutiny of past evidence show that even though there is limited accommodation the school makes satisfactory provision for the subject.

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

8. Since the previous inspection in 1997, there has been good improvement. Standards have risen from satisfactory to good in English, mathematics and history. In science they have risen from above average to well above average. It is clear from discussions with staff and pupils and a scrutiny of pupils’ past work that the school has made improvements in the quality and range of the curriculum. This is because the staff have worked hard to step up the quality of teaching and learning and improve the schemes of work and best use is made of the local resources to help pupils learn. The school has managed very well under the constraints within the budget for a small school. The pupils with special educational needs are fully included in the life and work of the school. They take full part in all extra-curricular activities and the life of the school. Their efforts are rewarded by the staff and others in assemblies, motivating them to achieve well. The

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In comparison with pupils with similar backgrounds pupils’ performance was

provision was satisfactory at the time of the last inspection and it is now good. There is no significant difference in the progress of boys and girls who attain equally well in lessons. There are no pupils identified by the school as being markedly above average and requiring specialist provision.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. Since the last inspection there are good improvements in pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development. This is mainly because the agreed shared expectations held by the pupils, parents and the staff.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

The strengths are: • Pupils show good, positive attitudes towards learning. • An enriched curriculum, with strong environmental interest, gives pupils a balanced perspective of both local life and wider global issues. • Pupils enjoy coming to school. Their interest and involvement in activities is clearly visible. Behaviour in and around the school is good. There have been no exclusions over the last three years. Pupils are friendly and approachable. • At all times strong, positive relationships prevail throughout the school. • Attendance levels are usually well above the national average. Over the last twelve months, adverse external influences within the rural community have directly affected attendance levels but attendance is good for this term.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning are a direct response to teachers’ high expectations and good pace of learning. The pupils with special educational needs make good progress during lessons. They enjoy their tasks. With the extra support in class that they are given, group work and good opportunities to succeed, they remain on task and achieve well. The pupils have good relationships with the learning support assistants and class teachers. They have positive encouragement from all members of staff and are motivated by the praise they receive in lessons and assemblies. Warcop CE Primary School - 13 11. The pupils enjoy having visitors to the school. They have a very welcoming approach to new people. For example, several Year 5/6 pupils readily share their views with the inspectors about the recent foot and mouth epidemic and its devastation of parts of their community. This is a close-knit, small, rural community school with good relationships at every level. Older pupils do

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

not cherish the thought losing contacts with friends and colleagues when they leave at the end of the school year but look forward to starting their secondary education. Pupils enjoy talking about the exciting things they are doing in art and design and design and technology.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils’ behaviour in the playground and moving around the school is good. Boys and girls play well together. Older pupils are always willing to look after younger pupils ensuring that they are happy. Throughout the school there is a strong family atmosphere. During a wet lunchtime activity, younger pupils are well behaved and sit very quietly watching a video or colouring in their books. Teachers encourage older pupils to appreciate environmental topics. In most lessons, teachers make good use of the environment. The good cross-curricular elements of some lessons allow pupils to gain a wide understanding of topics being taught. The ability of pupils to relate their learning back to everyday events is quite pronounced. For example, in a Year 5/6 science lesson, concerning water pressure, the teacher told the pupils about a former local water mill and how it was used to generate energy for the community by charging batteries for use in the

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

houses. On a few occasions when pupils lose concentration and stray off task, the teachers bring them back to work in an effective and positive manner. 13. Pupils’ show good attitude to working independently as well as collaboratively. They share ideas with each other and always listen to suggestions made by their class teacher. For example, in a Year 1/2 mathematics lesson some of the older pupils encouraged the younger, less able pupils. During a mathematics game of rolling balls to each other and seeking an answer to an addition sum, older pupils patiently helped others until they found the correct answer. Teachers use stickers for good work or behaviour effectively, motivating pupils to do their best. 14. Good provision is made for pupils’ personal development. For example, pupils are encouraged to prepare assemblies about their interests and hobbies. This has ranged from pupils researching

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

and talking about their pets and doll collections, to hobbies such as fishing. This makes a good contribution to pupils’ speaking and research skills and helps to build up their self confidence in speaking to an audience. It promotes self esteem as they are cast in the role of ‘experts’ in their chosen topic. Other opportunities such as the ‘shoebox’ appeal for the Rumanian orphans gives a good opportunity for pupils to be involved in reflecting and helping others from different social and cultural backgrounds who are in need. They willingly sort out gifts and toys to give to others. ‘Circle’ times or whole class discussions are often the source of these projects and initiatives. They provide a forum where pupils are able to discuss matters of concern to them and make a personal response to developing community relationships and considering others from different cultural backgrounds. 15. Pupils’ attendance is good. A number of pupils could not attend school for a noticeable period of

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

time during 2001 because of the foot and mouth epidemic. Restrictions were placed on movement of the pupils and their families in this farming community. Consequently this external influence is adversely affecting the 2000/2001attendance levels which fell to well below average. However pupils received work from school during their absence and their learning was not adversely affected. Attendance levels for the two years prior to the foot and mouth epidemic were well above the national average. The attendance levels for this term have returned to above the national average and are good.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

Warcop CE Primary School - 14 16. The pupils are taught well. There were 24 lessons observed. In all but one, the quality of teaching was very good or better. In one quarter of lessons the teaching was very good or excellent. In just one lesson, teaching was satisfactory. In design and technology, geography, history and information and communication technology, there was too little teaching observed on which to base a secure judgement. The quality of teaching has improved from the last inspection when it was satisfactory.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

• the consistently good management of all pupils; • well deployed learning assistants and well planned lessons; • the good quality of questioning by the learning assistants and their intervention with individual and groups of pupils; • the teachers’ good subject knowledge and their teaching methods; • the very good use they make of time and resources to help the pupils learn.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

• the provision of opportunities for pupils’ to develop their story writing skills; • the teachers’ expectations of pupils’ punctuation and the presentation of work.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

17. During discussions, teachers’ questioning is skilful and challenges pupils to think hard about their work. The teachers value the pupils’ suggestions and this has a positive effect of raising the pupils’ self-esteem and confidence. This results in pupils’ learning well. The subject knowledge of the class teacher in Years 5/6 is a strength, and consequently the pupils in these year groups learn very well. This is good improvement since the last inspection when the quality of teaching was judged to be satisfactory. This improvement reflects the hard work of the teaching staff to improve the quality of their work by improved planning using national guidance coupled with in- service training. The best teaching in Year 5/6 was lively and moved along at a rapid pace. The positive relationships between pupils and the teacher promotes very good learning, as pupils are encouraged to think and work independently or as part of a small group. The pupils’ work very

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

well together and respected what others have to say. For instance, an example of very good learning in Years 5/6, occurred as part of a topic about the Victorians. The pupils were designing and making the puppets and theatre backcloths for Victorian playlets they had written. The teacher began with a clear exposition of the objectives of the lesson and the tasks to be completed. He demonstrated well how to use appropriate resources as the pupils could use as they worked in small groups. The teacher moved between the groups questioning them to ensure that all members of the group knew how to go about their work. Those needing most help were given good support and the learning support assistant paid close attention to any difficulties pupils had with sewing and costume design. When pupils got stuck, others in the group helped them. Pupils were taking pride in the presentation of their work and used tools and equipment safely and

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

sensibly. Some were designing the backcloths for their plays and others were working on the computer to design posters to invite their parents to the puppet plays. The teaching observed was excellent.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

18. Teachers’ planning is good overall. The quality of planning has improved as teachers have adopted the national strategy methods in subjects other than English or mathematics. For example, in the lessons which are well planned, the learning support assistants are all aware of the specific objectives to be achieved. At the beginning of most lessons, teachers generally share the learning objectives with the pupils. Similarly at the end of the lesson the teachers refer back to Warcop CE Primary School - 15 the learning objectives, questioning pupils to check on what has been learnt to ensure that the learning has been secured. Topics are well planned as teachers combine more than one subject in lessons. This effectively allows pupils to integrate their learning into their existing knowledge and recognise the relationships between the subject disciplines as they learn new knowledge and skills. Staff take care to include references to non-western cultures in their planning of topics.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

Reference material in the school library and access to the Internet help pupils’ research world- wide and gain an appreciation of the diversity of cultures and traditions.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

19. Teachers have good knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach. They use the correct technical terms and appropriate subject language to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of each subject. For example, in a well planned mathematics lesson in Years 3/4 about three-dimensional shapes, the importance of technical terms was explained well. The pupils understood the meaning of ‘edges’, ‘vertices’ and ‘faces’ as they successfully identified and classified their shapes. The teachers provide clear explanations of words and terms that the pupils find difficult to understand. There are particular strengths in knowledge of the local environment. This is used very well to develop pupils’ understanding of natural science, geography and local history for example. Pupils are taught very well about conservation issues and how to take care of their school and village. This helps pupils to develop responsible attitudes

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20. The teaching and learning in literacy and numeracy are good. The basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics are taught well during the literacy and numeracy hours. For example, pupils progressively learn how to read the most commonly used words, simple number patterns and operations and how to form letters correctly and write legibly. Teachers use the national guidance effectively in planning and teaching and pupils learn and achieve well by the time they leave school. There are many aspects of pupils’ work where mathematics and English activities are planned into other lessons. For example, pupils in Years 1/2 in their art and design lesson learn how to tessellate common two dimensional shapes as they work out a design for a patchwork cushion. In English, the full curriculum is taught and pupils’ write well when they record factual accounts of visits or are recoding the findings from investigations. However there

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

is less emphasis given to story writing, where pupils’ achievement is not as high. There are missed opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their story writing skills in other subjects. The teachers set high expectations of the pupils’ work and the pupils respond well setting out their work appropriately and demonstrating a good understanding of what they have been told or found out. When expectations are lower the standard of presentation and recorded work are not as high as they should be and pupils’ work is untidy and poorly presented and punctuated. Pupils with special educational needs are taught well. The teachers and the learning support assistants plan the pupils’ work well. Most of the pupils have identified needs in their literacy work and here their work is well matched to their individual needs. They achieve well because they receive good help from the very well deployed learning support assistants. The pupils with special educational

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

needs are fully included in all lessons and have the same opportunities as the other pupils. Most aspects of information and communication technology are developing appropriately and are used well in other subjects. The development of the information and communication has been hampered recently by the lack of staff training and which has contributed to the standards becoming satisfactory rather than above average as they were at the time of the last inspection.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

21. The teaching of the pupils in the reception year (Foundation Stage) is good. Since the previous inspection, a new curriculum has been implemented for the Foundation Stage. The well thought out planning takes into account the Early Learning Goals and the initial stages of the National Curriculum. The needs of the pupils are carefully catered for. Well timed interventions and prompts from the nursery nurse promote pupils’ speaking and social skills well. Consequently the Warcop CE Primary School - 16 children learn well. The staff start to build good relationships soon as pupils enter the school. Individual help is given to the to help them adjust quickly to the new routines. The outdoor environment is used effectively to support learning in all areas. The assessments made of pupils’ skills as they start school are used effectively to plan the children’s work. Children who have special educational needs are identified early and given the support and help they need. There is

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

good liaison with outside agencies to assess and provide support for pupils with speech and language difficulties. The room available allows space for work, play and practical activities. There is a suitable area for the children to use for outdoor play. There is no hall which makes provision challenging for indoor physical education. The Year 1/2 class furniture is moved to accommodate physical education lessons. However, the development of pupils’ skills on large apparatus is limited by inclement weather and the lack of outdoor apparatus and large wheeled toys for the reception children to use.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22. Teachers’ day-to-day assessment is good. The staff know the pupils very well and there are good relationships between pupils and staff throughout the school. A family atmosphere pervades the school which results in pupils being confident in asking questions and willingly accepting advice and support. This is particularly beneficial to pupils with special educational needs who feel confident in taking full part in lessons. However, on occasions, when pupils lose concentration a few pupils call out or answer out of turn. This slows the pace of their learning as the teacher has to spend time in responding to these pupils. As there are small numbers of pupils in each class, the staff give pupils good individual support during lessons. Their evaluations of pupils’ daily progress are recorded weekly and help them to plan their lessons. The teachers mark the pupils’ work in a supportive manner, and generally tell the pupils what they have done

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

well and where they need to improve although this is not always consistently done. A good range of homework overall is provided with pupils working on their topics, preparing for speaking on their interests in assemblies and tasks including reading, writing, mathematics and spellings. Independence in pupils’ learning is developed well. Pupils are encouraged to find out for themselves the answers to their problems. The teachers’ good questioning skills successfully prompt pupils’ taking responsibility in using research skills, or to work well as part of a group, learning from one another or working independently. The homework is used well to consolidate and extend pupils’ learning in class. Parents make a good contribution to their children’s reading when they start school and support their children’s learning very well at home. This was particularly evident in the recent foot and mouth outbreak. When pupils could not get to school

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

work was left at appropriate drop off points so that the pupils did not fall behind.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

23. The curriculum is very good overall; it is broad, balanced and relevant to all the pupils. The quality and range of learning experiences provided by the school for the pupils are very good. This is an improved position to the time of the last inspection, and significant changes and improvements in the curriculum provided by the school have taken place since this date. The school has endeavoured to provide a very good curriculum, which will engage and challenge the pupils. There is a focus on environmental work, a practically based education with a clear and progressive development of skills. The school is a vital part of the community and the education the pupils receive reflects the area they are growing up in.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

• the curriculum is relevant for the needs of all the pupils in the school; • the enrichment built into the curriculum is very powerful; Warcop CE Primary School - 17 • the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy have been well implemented; • the contributions from the members of the community is very effective. • the school makes very good provision for the pupils’ spiritual and social development with good provision for their moral and cultural development.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

24. There are policies and schemes of work for all the subjects of the National Curriculum. There is a rolling programme of review and revision of the policies and schemes of work. The government schemes of work are being incorporated into some subject areas and tailored to the needs of the school. In all subjects statutory requirements are met and religious education is taught in accordance with the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus. The foundation curriculum for the children who are taught in the reception class is very good overall although there are some limitations from a lack of resources and accommodation in the provision for pupils’ physical development. There is no school hall and the teachers have to move furniture to teach physical education. There is a shortage of large apparatus which limits the provision for pupils of this age and the provision of gymnastics for older pupils. It has been revised in the light of the Early

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

Learning Goals and is very well planned and organised. The children have a wealth of experiences planned for them and the nursery nurse is skilful in the use of the classroom and the outside environment to ensure the children learn securely through play and practical activities. Planning is thorough and each lesson has a clear focus.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

25. The school has successfully embraced the National Literacy Strategy. The teachers use the format of the lesson well and the level of support and help the pupils receive is considerable. The work set for the pupils, is well matched for their individual needs. There are many opportunities for the pupils to develop and extend their factual writing skills in other subject areas. For example, report writing is used in science lessons to write about the experiments the pupils have conducted. However, there are fewer opportunities for pupils to develop their imaginative writing. The National Numeracy Strategy has been implemented well throughout the school. The mental arithmetic work and the careful matching of pupils’ tasks, enable the pupils to achieve well. Numeracy skills are being used well across the curriculum to enhance learning in lessons; for example, in design and technology and science lessons.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

26. The Additional Literacy Support initiative has been well implemented to improve the skills of a number of pupils whose results fall below the national averages. The school is to implement the additional support for pupils in Year 1 and is hopeful that this early intervention scheme will have a positive impact upon the attainment of the pupils who have been identified for this help.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

27. The school provides well for pupils with special educational needs. The pupils are given good help in classrooms by teachers and the learning support assistants. These pupils who have extra help enjoy their sessions and are appreciative of the help they receive. Individual education plans are available for all pupils with special educational needs and these are detailed and have achievable targets for the pupils to work towards. The areas of need highlighted for the pupils are mainly in literacy skills.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

28. All staff make determined efforts to include pupils of all abilities and backgrounds into every activity. There is not a formal register of talented and able pupils but when pupils are identified with a special educational need or talent good provision is made for them. The school provides a very good range of activities to strengthen the curriculum. The curriculum is planned to ensure the pupils have appropriate first hand educational experiences. Visitors from the local and wider community are encouraged to come into school to talk to the pupils. Pupils also visit places of educational interest in the immediate and wider neighbourhood. Pupils’ personal development is addressed through a programme that includes personal, social and health education. This prepares Warcop CE Primary School - 18 pupils to play an active role as citizens in the wider world. There is satisfactory provision of extra-

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

curricular activities that enrich the curriculum. The activities are mainly sporting. Pupils take part in local football and netball tournaments and games. Football training taken by a parent on Saturday morning is a popular activity. Pupils are offered recorder, flute and clarinet tuition, fell walking and camping activities. There are computer activities or chess at lunchtimes. The school is a small country school and many of the pupils arrive at the school and leave by taxi, taking the children home to their rural homes and this makes provision of clubs after school difficult. There are opportunities for the pupils to spend the night camping and this activity strengthens their personal and social development. The school provides booster classes for the pupils in Year 6 and this gives them the opportunity to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. Relationships with the local high schools and the playgroup are good and enable a smooth transition for the pupils’

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

29. There is good improvement from the last inspection when the spiritual, moral and cultural development of the pupils was satisfactory and social development was good. Pupils’ spiritual development is very good. Pupils explore their thoughts and feelings during school assemblies in song and prayer. The pupils who take an active part in assemblies give the other pupils opportunities to reflect and think. They say prayers of thanks and reflect upon their learning. There are many opportunities in the curriculum for the pupils to study and find treasured moments. For example, the pupils in Years 3/4 were amazed when they looked at some stained glass windows and a vaulted church ceiling. Whilst in assembly the pupils were fascinated by the flame when the teacher lit one of the oil lamps that the pupils had made during their history lessons. Through art, music, and science the pupils experience the amazing variety within the

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

world. The school’s Millennium Resolution, which is concerned with ‘Respect for the earth, peace for its people and love in our lives’ gives the pupils a clear framework for the advancement of their ideas.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

30. Moral development is promoted well throughout the school. There is a clear if informal framework for a whole school approach that is applied consistently throughout the school. This means that pupils are clear about the expectations of staff. Members of staff provide good role models and the high levels of relationships within the school, provide a firm basis for the development of moral understanding. Pupils are taught right from wrong, with the very youngest children in the school beginning to develop a clear acceptance of the high expectations the school has of them. Receipt of stickers and incentives for good behaviour and attitudes to work is celebrated during school assemblies and pupils who have made a positive contribution to the school are acknowledged by members of staff.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

31. Social development is very well promoted. Social values are very well promoted by adults throughout the school and pupils are encouraged to care and take responsibility for others. For example, the older pupils play with the youngest pupils at playtimes. Pupils throughout the school willingly accept responsibility, for example when distributing materials in lessons and in tidying up at the end of lessons. There are many contributions from visitors from the local community such as the local clergy, members of the governing body and parents. Members of the local community helped the pupils to make a rag rug with a motif of a red squirrel. The school encourages very positive attitudes to pupils who have particular needs with all fully involved in all activities and programmes of work.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

32. Provision for pupils’ cultural development is good. Through science, history, geography, art and design and music, the pupils learn about cultures that are different from their own rural community. The pupils have links with a school on King George Island in the Antarctic and the pupils e-mail each other. This link is the result of the recent visit the headteacher made to this Warcop CE Primary School - 19 school. The pupils in Year 1/2 learn about different faiths and customs and talk about the different traditions that surround the birth of a baby in the family. In this way the pupils learn about other peoples and countries and the way they celebrate special occasions. Pupils in Year 1/2 have links with a school in Edinburgh and the pupils find out about life in this very busy Scottish city. In their physical education lessons the pupils learn some Scottish country-dances. In Years 3/4 the pupils learn about the life of Buddha in religious education and the impact he has

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

made upon peoples lives today. In history they learn about ancient customs and peoples, and the impact they have had upon our lives. Visitors into the school give the pupils flavours of their own rural culture and traditions and this is a very strong feature of the work of the school. Preparation for living in a diverse society is good with the pupils having a good knowledge of a number of different faiths and beliefs.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

33. The school has good procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress in the reception year and Years 2 and 6. Satisfactory use is made of this information to guide and direct its work. In the last inspection the school was asked to identify and use a more systematic approach to the assessment of pupil’s work so that it could better inform teaching and learning. Although the school has worked on this area for development there is still more work to be done. The school has identified the need to track the pupils’ progress systematically throughout the school so that they can check that the pupils are making good progress.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• the procedures for promoting and monitoring pupils’ behaviour are effective and well established throughout the school; • the guidance and support given to all the pupils is effective and has a positive impact on attainment levels achieved; • the knowledge the teachers have of individual pupils’ attainment.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

• the lack of a systematic tracking system to record pupils’ progress.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

34. Since the last inspection there are good improvements in care and support for pupils. The school provides good educational, personal support and guidance for pupils. Monitoring procedures for promoting good behaviour are good. The school implements them well. In all subjects teachers take every opportunity to encourage pupils to achieve well. They offer good support in pupils' personal development.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. The school procedures for monitoring and improving pupil attendance and eliminating oppressive behaviour are satisfactory. Child protection procedures are satisfactory. Staff awareness for identifying pupils at risk is well established. There are good policies to address health and safety, risks and emergency arrangements.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

36. The teachers establish good patterns of behaviour in lessons and around the school. The use of reward stickers and merit certificates to acknowledge pupils’ efforts are very effective. To promote pupils’ good behaviour, teachers utilise effective classroom management strategies. For example, occasionally, pupils shout out responses to questions. However, teachers constantly remind them of their responsibilities written into the agreed code of conduct when answering or asking questions. Warcop CE Primary School - 20 37. There is a clear commitment by teachers to include all pupils in all aspects of school life. Teachers know their pupils well. Mixed year-group classes require teachers to introduce levels of differentiation in work to address all pupils’ educational needs. Sensible support is provided when needed. Learning support assistants make significant contributions ensuring pupils make

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

good progress in learning. For example, pupils in the reception class are given time and opportunity to consider their responses to questions. Encouragement is given to them to ask questions if they are uncertain of anything. Teachers send work home to pupils unable to attend school, for example, during the foot and mouth epidemic. Even under adverse conditions affecting school life, attainment levels were maintained and equal opportunities are unaffected.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. Steps taken towards ensuring pupils’ welfare and arrangements for child protection are adequately addressed. The well-defined health and safety policy, and the availability of two trained first-aiders for such a small number of pupils on roll, ensures that the welfare of pupils is addressed. Child protection procedures are available for reference. The headteacher, acting as the designated person for child protection, liaises well with outside agencies when necessary.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. The school’s approach to monitoring attendances, latecomers and pupils taking holidays during term time is satisfactory. The school is developing computer facilities to improve the recording of attendance.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. The children on entry to school are assessed on their social, language and mathematical skills. This is used appropriately to plan work that is matched to their individual needs. At the end of both key stages the pupils take the national tests. between Years 3- 5, pupils take internal standardised reading and optional National Curriculum tests. This enables the teachers to identify the levels that pupils’ are working at in English and mathematics and to set targets for the pupils. The teachers regularly assess the pupils’ work and keep samples of work from each child each term. However, there is no recording system in place to continuously keep track of all the pupils’ performance. This is an area that has been recognised for development.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

41. The school’s partnership with parents is very good and continues to be a strength of the school. This was the case at the time of the last inspection. The majority of parents have very positive views of the school. A small minority of parents, however, feel that they do not receive enough information about the curriculum and that the school does not provide a sufficient range of extra- curricular activities.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

The strengths are: • the parents are very supportive of the school and have positive attitudes towards the objectives of the school; • the information given to parents is good.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

42. Most parents are very supportive of the school. The ‘Friends of Warcop’ continues to raise considerable funds through an extensive range of fund-raising activities. These activities are very well supported by the parents, community and the army who have a nearby training unit. The proceeds are used very well to provide additional resources such as books and resources for information and communication technology equipment. The extensions to the building are a current target. The impact of parents’ involvement on the work of the school is very good. Warcop CE Primary School - 21 43. The school provides parents with good quality information through newsletters, pupils’ reports, the school prospectus and governors’ reports. All are greatly appreciated by parents. The home- school agreement and the contribution of parents to their children’s learning both at school and home are good. Parents receive good information on how their children are progressing at school.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

The reports identify targets for improvement in personal development as well as academic. 44. Extra-curricular activities have been curtailed during the last year because of the foot and mouth outbreak and the necessary restrictions placed on pupils’ movements. There is a satisfactory range of opportunities offered for a school of this size. A necessary restriction is placed on after- school activities because some of the pupils arrive and leave by taxi. However, there are many trips and visits organised into the local environment to support pupils’ learning. 45. Parents are very supportive and several of them and others from the local community, help in the school; listening to children read curriculum activities and helping with school trips and swimming visits. The home-school agreement clearly defines the objectives of the school. This helps both parents and pupils to identify with the aims of the school and to know what is expected of them.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

Pupils and staff willingly give their time to improve their environment. For example, by planting bulbs in the village and making a living willow maze as a children’s play area. School involvement in community life is actively encouraged by parents and the local community and in turn supported. The nearby army camp provides transport and camping equipment for outdoor activities and the use of their playing field for sporting events. The church encourages the pupils to take part in their ‘rush-bearing’ service each year during the summer. 46. The headteacher keeps all parents informed of school events. For example, parents were sent a questionnaire to canvas feelings about adopting a new school uniform. There was a very good response to this initiative from the majority of parents.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

47. The school benefits significantly from very good leadership. There is good improvement from the last inspection when the quality of the leadership was good. The headteacher has clear vision and is supported well by a very hardworking staff. The headteacher maintains a very clear overview of the work of the school and works hard to maintain its very good standing in the community. This is reflected by the views of the Parish Council who wrote in support of the help given by the pupils in planting a living willow maze and planting bulbs. Parents are pleased with the way these environmental aims are reflected in practice. This is borne out by the good number of pupils who travel to the school from outlying villages because of the unique approach the school has to environmental education and the promotion of positive and responsible attitudes towards conservation.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

• The very good leadership of the headteacher and the support of the hardworking staff • The aims and values of the school; • The support given by an effective governing body; • The successful evaluation of the school’s performance and the action taken for the development of the school; • The strategic use of resources.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

• The limitations of the indoor accommodation. Warcop CE Primary School - 22 48. The school places a high priority on raising standards in English, mathematics and science and developing the confidence and achievements of individual pupils. The school has been successful in exceeding its targets for 2001 for the Year 6 pupils. Challenging targets have been set for the future. This is evident in the rise in standards over the last three years. Pupils are encouraged to work hard. They achieve well in English, mathematics and very well in science by the time they leave school.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. The governors have a good overview of the school’s progress and work effectively with the school on a day-to-day basis. Many are either parents or regular visitors to the school and are in a good position to monitor curricular developments. The school development plan is drawn up in consultation with the staff and governors and defines the main strengths and areas for improvement. This is an effective tool, aimed at raising standards. The headteacher ensures that the funding is spent wisely. Funding has been strategically organised to ensure that the pupil/staff ratio is maintained at a favourable level. This has resulted in pupils receiving good quality help from the support staff that has contributed well to their progress. Monies are spent very well for specific purposes such as that designated for pupils with special educational needs or for staff training. The school has a strategically well managed plan to accommodate building extensions.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

Within the small budget for this small school this has inevitably resulted in a careful financial plan with an overspend agreed by the diocese and the local education authority with a resolution within the next few years. The day-to-day administration of the school is very good. The headteacher teaches almost full-time. Almost all his other work is completed outside of school hours. The headteacher spends a great deal of time out of school hours occupied with administrative tasks that need to be completed inaddition to his marking, planning and preparation for his 0.9 teaching commitment. There is little time given to administrative support during the day to alleviate the workload. The school administrative officer has a good understanding of both the school and the Local Education Authority systems. He makes a very good contribution to the smooth running of the school. All the points for improvement raised in the latest audit report have been resolved

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. The staff work together very effectively taking collective responsibility for the curriculum. They work with a common purpose to set good examples for the values and attitudes that the school promotes. The school successfully evaluates its performance. The system for performance management has been effectively implemented. Lessons in literacy and numeracy have been evaluated. The outcomes, together with results of tests and pupils’ work, have been used successfully to identify areas for development which are given priority for improvement in the school development plan. The Foundation Stage has been implemented well with the help of the nursery nurse. In other subjects, national guidance has been adapted to the school’s existing schemes of work to provide an effective framework for pupils’ learning across the curriculum. The school has improved its assessment procedures to identify the strengths and weaknesses in

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

pupils’ performance. Work is regularly assessed and moderated and kept in pupils’ progress files. The data from standardised and national tests is used well to identify strengths and weakness within subject areas and support the progress of pupils through the school. The school has identified the need to implement a more rigorous programme to track pupils’ progress and has already taken steps to put this in place.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. The school is successful in meeting the needs of its pupils. Care is taken to include all pupils, in extra-curricular activities, and school projects and to help pupils reach their full potential in lessons. The headteacher ensures that all pupils have the opportunity to participate in all school activities. There is good management of special educational needs. The recommendations of the Code of Practice are closely followed. Individual records for the pupils with individual education plans are written well and appropriately monitored. There is good provision for these pupils. The learning support assistants are appropriately trained and work closely with the class teachers to Warcop CE Primary School - 23 ensure these pupils make good progress towards their set targets. These pupils are not made to feel different from others as all pupils have individual targets to work towards.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. Teachers have the opportunity to attend courses for their personal professional development. The teachers have been given specific personal targets to work towards within the new framework of performance management. Staff needs for in-service training are carefully ranked according to the priorities of the school as well as their personal needs. Since the last inspection, teachers have improved their expertise particularly in English and mathematics. They are currently waiting for their training in information and communication technology. There are appropriate induction procedures in place for new staff. The Foundation Stage has recently been implemented and the staff who work with pupils in their reception year have a good knowledge of the nationally expected Early Learning Goals as well as the beginnings of the National Curriculum.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. The accommodation is satisfactory for most of the curriculum and used very well for teaching and learning. However, the lack of a hall places severe limitations on the provision for physical education. The curriculum is met in most areas but limited for gymnastics. The staff work hard to achieve outdoors what is not possible indoors. Furniture is regularly moved for school assemblies, music and physical education lessons and a classroom doubles as a dining area. The school grounds are used very well as a teaching resource especially for science. For example, the pupils maintain the raised flower beds, the wildflower garden, living willow arches and the chequer board garden where each child in Year 5/6 maintain a plot of herbs and flowers. There are areas of grass, orchard, woodlands and marsh providing a variety of habitats for pupils to study. The school nature area with trees bushes and a pond has numerous nesting boxes for bats, birds,

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

hedgehogs and red squirrels. There is a nature hide to give pupils an advantage in observing the wildlife. The pupils are encouraged to develop positive attitudes towards conservation and help to operate the school recycling centre for paper, cardboard, aluminium and steel cans and textiles. The quality of display and the décor and internal environment are good. This is good improvement from the last report. The school is kept to a good standard of cleanliness. Learning resources in most subjects are satisfactory, both in quantity and quality and used well to support pupils’ learning. However, there are insufficient large equipment and wheeled toys for the children in the Foundation Stage.

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

54. The governors, headteacher and staff should

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) raise pupils’ attainment in English by: • setting more challenging targets in writing skills for some of the average attaining pupils who are attaining close to the higher levels; • clearly communicating to pupils the skills they need to improve their written work. (Paragraphs 20, 25, 68, 72)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Refine the procedures for the assessment of pupils’ progress by: • implementing a tracking system using information and communication technology to record and analyse pupils’ progress from entry. (Paragraphs 33, 50, 75, 78, 82) Warcop CE Primary School - 24 (3) Work towards providing indoor accommodation for physical education and improving the provision of large play equipment for pupils in the Foundation Stage of learning. (Paragraphs 21, 24, 53, 65, 97) Warcop CE Primary School - 25

p.23

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 16

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than one four percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 13

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 1

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 3

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Attendance

School data 7.1 School data 0.0 Warcop CE Primary School - 26 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 3 Financial year 2000/01

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 149 255

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3 Total expenditure 149 851

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 39 Expenditure per pupil 2 379

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance brought forward from previous year -7 588

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year -8 184

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0 Warcop CE Primary School - 27 Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Warcop CE Primary School - 28

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 45 55 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 36 59 0 0 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 34 60 2 2 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 48 36 16 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 73 27 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 61 39 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 50 41 9 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 68 32 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 55 41 2 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 37 34 20 2 7 Warcop CE Primary School - 29

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

55. This section of the report focuses on the eight children in their reception year. The children start school in September of the year in which they become five. Most have had some pre-school experience before they start school. However, others who live in remote farming communities may not have had had pre-school experiences. The majority of children start school with attainments in social, language and mathematical skills that are below that expected of four-year- olds. The nursery nurse takes full account of pupils’ learning to plan a curriculum to match the needs of the children. Consequently the children achieve well throughout the Foundation Stage because they receive good teaching and are helped to start school successfully in a secure and stimulating classroom. Most reach the expected Early Learning Goals in all areas of learning by the end of their reception year. The provision for these young children at the time of the previous

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

inspection has been improved still further by the introduction of the Foundation Stage curriculum and an improved level of staffing for these pupils.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

• the good quality of teaching and learning; • the interesting and stimulating curriculum; • the children’s positive attitudes to their learning and their good behaviour.

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Personal, social and emotional development is taught well to promote children’s positive

attitudes to learning and good behaviour.

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Personal, social and emotional development is taught well to promote children’s positive

56. In the short time the children have been in the school they have made good progress and their personal and social skills are developing well. Most are on course to achieve the nationally agreed Early Learning Goals because they are taught well. The children are sociable; they sit together and talk about their activities and concentrate well on their activities. For example, they sit on the carpet and listen carefully to the nursery nurse as they work out the value and colours of coins to one pound. They are helped and encouraged to learn to share resources and to take turns. The nursery nurse makes clear to the children what is expected of them in school. The children have learnt the school routines well. For example, they line up to get their lunch and sit at the tables with only the minimum of help and support. They use equipment properly and replace it carefully after use. The children talk to each other and help each other with their work.

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Personal, social and emotional development is taught well to promote children’s positive

The children respond well to the nursery nurse’s high expectations. 57. The teaching of personal and social education is particularly good. The nursery nurse is very patient and consistent with the children and this enables the children to learn and develop their social awareness. She knows the children well and this ensures that they receive consistent and supportive teaching. Consequently, they make good progress in their learning. The children are quite clear about the school’s expectations and they know the difference between right and wrong. The patience and care that the nursery nurse shows results in a calm working environment. Consequently the children feel happy and confident learners.

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Children achieve well in communication, language and literacy

Warcop CE Primary School - 30 58. In communication, language and literacy the majority of children achieve well. Most are on course to reach the Early Learning Goals expected by the end of the reception year. The children enjoy singing rhymes. For instance, they sing ‘One two three, four five, once I caught a fish alive’, in their mathematics lesson. Songs and number rhymes help them to remember the correct sequence of numbers. There are well planned opportunities for them to talk about the items they have brought to school to show and talk about. They go outside into the school grounds and listen to the sounds they can hear. They talk about hearing cars and the children playing at playtimes. They children enjoy looking at books. They follow the story in pictures and have made a good start in learning to read. They know some letter sounds and letter names and are beginning to identify simple and common words. One very able child is beginning to read confidently. All

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Children achieve well in communication, language and literacy

children are making a good start to developing their reading skills. The children have reading books, which they take home to share with their parents and carers. This makes a good contribution to the children’s learning. The majority of children make good progress with their writing skills. From making marks on entry to school, they have made good progress and are beginning to form their letters correctly in sand, on white boards and practising on worksheets. 59. The teaching of language and literacy is good. The nursery nurse is skilled at improving the fluency of all the children through discussions and conversations. For example, the children enjoyed listening to the story of Lucy’s picture. They understood that she made it so carefully and full of different textures because her grandfather was blind. This sensitive choice of book enabled the children to develop an awareness of the needs of people different to themselves: in

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Children make good progress in their mathematical development

60. In mathematical development most children achieve well and are making good progress towards attaining the expected Early Learning Goals by the end of the year. The children achieve well because they are taught well. For example, through a variety of well planned activities the children count along with the teacher and identify numbers to five. Most recognise and name the value of a range of coins. They sort coins into their different colours and different values. They sing number songs enthusiastically. They carefully refer to the clocks they have made which identify what they are to learn each day of the week. The children have recorded their heights on a chart and are learning comparative and specific mathematical terms well such as the ‘tallest’ in the class.

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Children make good progress in their mathematical development

61. The teaching of mathematical understanding is good. The nursery nurse takes every opportunity to develop the children’s understanding of number through practical activities. She is skilled at using a range of interesting and motivating activities and games to develop the children’s mathematical language and skills. The children respond well by concentrating on their tasks. They are keen to talk and contribute during group and class activities. The nursery nurse clearly knows the children well, she uses her assessment of their progress well to target challenging questions to children to ensure that they are all learning well. A wide range of teaching techniques and appropriate resources based on the National Numeracy Strategy effectively supports their learning.

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There is a wide range of activities planned to promote children’s knowledge and

62. In knowledge and understanding of the world, most children are on course to achieve the Early Learning Goals expected by the time they finish the reception year. Good teaching using a range of interesting and stimulating topics ensures that the children make consistently good progress. The children use the computer successfully. Using the ‘mouse’, they control programs. They Warcop CE Primary School - 31 drag and drop clothes to dress ‘Ted’ in his wellingtons and sunglasses! They draw and write to make books of a well-loved children’s story such as Red Riding Hood. They smell a range of pungent items and decide what the different smells are. In their science investigations, children observe coloured ice cubes in water. They consider why ice melts and whether the ice ‘balloon’ they left outside would melt at the same rate as the one they left in the classroom. The children draw sensible conclusions about the effect of heat on ice. Most thought that the ice shaped

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There is a wide range of activities planned to promote children’s knowledge and

balloon they had left by the shed would not melt as quickly outside because it was colder outside than inside. They floated coloured ice cubes and watched fascinated as the ice melted into the water and the food-dye used to colour the ice cubes, dispersed in trails. Most recognise that water changes from a solid to a liquid when it is warmed. The children have the opportunity to use a wide range of construction kits to make models. They experiment with a range of materials and cut, glue and stick. They make interesting pictures in this way. For example, they create perfumed flowers to go with their ‘smell’ display.

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There is a wide range of activities planned to promote children’s knowledge and

63. The teaching of knowledge and understanding of the world is good. The nursery nurse plans a wide range of activities to motivate and interest the children. For example, the children were provided with a wide range of activities to participate in that were based around the theme of water and the senses. There are well planned opportunities for children to use the immediate environment surrounding the school. For example, excursions to the grounds help children appreciate the changing seasons.

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Children achieve well in their physical development

64. Despite the limitations of the lack of a hall indoors, in physical development most children achieve well and are on course to attain the Early Learning Goals for physical development by the end of the reception year. This is good achievement as the lack of a school hall and limited large play equipment for the children to use restricts the kinds of activities the teacher and nursery nurse are able to provide for the children. Inventive teaching in this area enables the children to make good progress. The class teacher and the nursery nurse work alongside the children and encourage and help the children to succeed. The children use a range of equipment and materials in their work in the classroom. Children have access to a wide range of small bricks, puzzles, games and counting equipment throughout the day to develop their coordination skills. Most make a good attempt at cutting out pictures and card to make models such as ‘Snappy’, the monster made with recycled

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Children achieve well in their physical development

materials. The children worked hard during their indoor physical education lessons and try hard to improve and develop their work as a result of good teaching. They watch the older children in Year 1 and 2 and this helps them to gain confidence and gives them good ideas so that they can develop and improve their own work. For example, in the dance lesson about a toyshop, the children in the reception class watched the older children as they turned and moved around the classrooms in a variety of ways. This gave the children some good ideas to use and helped them improve their performance.

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Children achieve well in their physical development

65. The Key Stage 1 teacher has to move all the tables and chairs in her classroom to provide a space for dance, country dancing, Scottish dancing and gymnastics to enable the children to have a wide range of physical experiences. The children use a range of small and large equipment to develop coordination skills indoors and outdoors. The activities are well planned by the Key Stage 1 teacher, the nursery nurse and a governor who comes to help them. The outdoor playground and field is used to promote ball skills. Children share playtimes with the other children and have learned to follow instructions well. They play happily and sociably in small groups. They make satisfactory use of the space around them. The resources for outdoor play area are satisfactory overall but there is a shortage of large equipment especially wheeled toys. Warcop CE Primary School - 32 Creative development is taught well and consequently the children make good progress.

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Children achieve well in their physical development

66. In creative development most children are likely to attain the standard expected in this area of learning by the time they enter Year 1. The children are achieving well because they are taught well. The children enjoy their music lessons, singing tunefully and enthusiastically. A specialist teacher taught the lesson observed. Because of her expertise, the children made good progress. They were taught very well. The children clapped the beats to their names and played a range of musical instruments. They particularly enjoyed moving around the room to the ‘monster’ music and freezing their actions as they sang the refrain to a song. In this lesson the children were developing an understanding of the technical language associated with music and also developed an awareness of the different sounds made by different musical instruments. The children have made their own musical instruments to play during their lessons. In the imaginative role-play

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Children achieve well in their physical development

areas, the children develop their skills of co-operation and communication. They play with one another well in ‘The Spotted Cow Café’ .

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Children achieve well in their physical development

67. The teaching of creative development is good. The nursery nurse provides an ample variety of opportunities for the children to develop their creative ideas through painting, drawing, and music. They children’s interests are stimulated by well planned lessons, which motivate them to learn. Consequently, the children express their feelings enthusiastically. The nursery nurse values the children’s work by displaying it for them to see. The result is an attractive and colourful area.

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ENGLISH

68. The provision throughout the school for English is good because the staff make good use of the methods and strategies promoted in the National Literacy Strategy. Across the range the pupils with special educational needs and those who achieve at lower levels are helped well to achieve well in relation to their abilities. The vast majority of pupils on the register for special educational needs have difficulties in sustaining sufficient concentration to understand the context of the lesson or interpreting text. With good help in class discussion and carefully prepared work tailored to meet their needs the pupils achieve well and make good progress on their targets. The pupils have many opportunities in the very wide curriculum to use and develop their speaking and listening and reading skills. There are good opportunities planned for pupils’ factual writing but fewer opportunities for them to practise and develop their skills in story writing. Consequently the

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ENGLISH

pupils achieve well throughout the school in reading and speaking and listening. Their achievement in writing skills is satisfactory. Pupils make consistently good progress overall in each year group because the teachers know the pupils well and cater well for their individual needs. Pupil’s attainment in English matches the nationally expected standards by Year 2. Overall, attainment by Year 6 is above the expected standards. It is above the nationally expected standards in reading and speaking and listening skills and matching the nationally expected standards in writing. This is a good improvement from the last inspection where attainment by Year 6, matches the nationally expected standards in all aspects of English. This improvement has been achieved because of the improved teaching and learning guided by the well implemented National Literacy Strategy and the introduction of additional literacy support

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ENGLISH

materials. Additional Booster lessons and Additional Literacy support have all had a positive impact on how well the pupils achieve.

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ENGLISH

• the standards achieved by the pupils and their levels of achievement; • the good quality of teaching and learning; • the use of literacy skills to support other curriculum areas; Warcop CE Primary School - 33 • the pupils’ positive attitudes to their learning.

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ENGLISH

The weaknesses are: • story writing skills; • the punctuation of the pupils’ work; • the presentation of the pupils’ work; • the tracking system for individual pupil progress;

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ENGLISH

69. There are a good number of contributory factors to the high level of pupil achievement. The National Literacy Strategy has been implemented well and the school has been effective in embracing new initiatives to improve the teaching of English and literacy in the school. The teaching assistants play a significant role in helping the pupils who need most help to achieve well. Additional literacy support for the pupils from Years 3-6 has been effective in raising attainment and pupils’ confidence. There are plans for early intervention for pupils in Year 1 and this is designed to help a specific group of pupils. The pupils who are on the school’s special educational needs register are fully included in every lesson because of the support and guidance they receive and achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. The pupils’ good achievement reflects the good teaching they receive throughout the school.

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ENGLISH

70. Speaking skills are developed through effective teaching and the opportunities the teachers create in each class for the pupils to develop their speaking skills. The teachers encourage the pupils to answer questions and talk about their lessons and give their ideas. For example, during assembly the pupils spoke about what they had been learning in their religious education lessons. This was a good opportunity for pupils to talk at length and explain what they had been learning to others. The pupils were particularly interested in the lighting of the oil lamps the older pupils had made and were impressed at how well they worked.

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ENGLISH

71. Most pupils read fluently and accurately. They achieve above average standards by Year 6. Reading is promoted well throughout the school. Pupils’ achievements are celebrated in class and in assemblies and pupils are encouraged to take home reading and library books regularly. Parents and carers give good support with the pupils’ reading at home. The range and quality of reading books available to the pupils is satisfactory. There are sufficient fiction books to interest and motivate the readers. Non-fiction books provide a sufficient range from which pupils can research their topics. Both fiction and non-fiction books represent a range of cultural heritages from which pupils find aspects of other cultures of value to themselves and learn from them as they research their topics. Pupils are taught well to be independent in finding out and recording information about world issues from a variety of sources. It is clear from discussion with the

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ENGLISH

pupils’ that they enjoy reading. The pupils in Years 1/2 enjoy reading and show a wide range of skills. Pupils talk at length about their books and use a range of strategies to tackle words that they find difficult. The lower attaining pupils are happy to share a book and join in enthusiastically with the words they know. In Years 3/4 the pupils enjoy reading and talk about the stories they are reading and predict what might happen next. In Years 5/6 the pupils read fluently and expressively, understanding the text and the themes of the books. They discuss their preferences and talk about their favourite authors such as Jacqueline Wilson, JK Rowling and Roald Dahl. All the pupils talk about their enjoyment of reading at school and at home. The pupils make good use of the library for research. All the teachers ensure that the pupils have opportunities to use their research skills by using a range of topic books available in the classroom. Good use is made of

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ENGLISH

the Local Education Authority library loan scheme to supplement the school provision.

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ENGLISH

72. Standards in writing are average throughout the school. The standards in report writing and letter writing are better than that in story and imaginative work. There is good emphasis placed on the Warcop CE Primary School - 34 factual writing and pupils’ work is of a good standard. The writing of imaginative work has less of a priority and although standards are satisfactory there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to practise and develop skills at a higher level. The pupils plan, draft and redraft their writing often using the word processing package on the computer. For example, in a Year 5/6 lesson the class teacher ensured that some of the pupils worked on their Victorian diary by using the computer. In this way the pupils were able to get down their ideas which they would be able to refine and improve at a later date. In Years 1/2 the class teacher made good use of questioning and

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observations of the pupils’ work to assess their levels of achievement. In this way she was able to guide and target their learning effectively. A cursive style of writing is taught in Years 3/4 and further developed in Years 5 and 6 however the pupils’ presentation of their work and their consistency of handwriting is not secure. The pupils are given many opportunities to write for a range of purposes, for example to the Environmental Agency about local flood defences. The most able seven-year-olds write well. They use capital letters and full stops consistently. The lower attaining pupils do not always use capital letters and full stops in their work. In Years 5/6 the pupils writing skills are developing appropriately. This is the result of consistently good teaching throughout the school and the good help and encouragement pupils are given by the teachers and the special educational needs learning support staff. The teachers ensure they

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ENGLISH

match the pupils’ tasks to their specific and individual needs by use of careful assessments of the pupils’ work. However there are at present no procedures in the school to keep a careful track of the pupils’ work and the progress they make.

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ENGLISH

73. The teachers have good subject knowledge and this is demonstrated in the way they lead discussions with the pupils about their work. The school has fully adopted the National Literacy Strategy and it is consistently used across the school. It is because of this that standards have risen since the last inspection. The class teachers have high expectations of the pupils and encourage them to improve the quality of their written work. The teachers mark their work well and comments are often but not consistently given to encourage the pupils to improve their writing. There are very few comments to help pupils improve their presentation skills and there is a lack of examples given to help pupils improve their story writing skills.

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ENGLISH

74. In lessons, tasks are well matched to the pupils’ needs. This is because of the very clear understanding the teachers have of the pupils’ levels of attainment. There is a good level of adult help for those pupils, who find learning difficult and this means that they also learn and achieve well. Work is carefully matched for them so that their self-esteem is raised and they feel good about the amount and accuracy of the work they have completed in a session. As pupils’ work is carefully matched to their level of attainment the pupils are confident and enthusiastic in their work. The pupil with a statement of their educational need is fully included within the work of the class. The individual written or reading tasks are carefully matched to individual specific needs. In the Year 3/4 class, the teachers’ clear and carefully structured teaching of the pupils in the class meant that the pupils worked hard to write poetry accurately. They ordered their poem lines

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ENGLISH

systematically looking to see which pattern their poem conformed to. The teachers’ clear and carefully targeted work meant that the pupils were clear about what they had to do and so they succeeded well.

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ENGLISH

75. The teachers regularly teach literacy skills in other subjects. For example in history and science the pupils apply their literacy skills well. Tests and assessed work helps the teachers to assess the progress that the pupils are making. This information is also used to make sure that those pupils who need additional support receive it so that they are able to make the best possible progress. However, the tracking of progress is not systematic enough as is does not record the progress for each pupils at regular enough intervals as they get older and move up the school. Resources in the school are satisfactory. Warcop CE Primary School - 35

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MATHEMATICS

76. There is good provision for mathematics. The staff work together effectively as a team to implement the curriculum. The subject is appropriately resourced and teachers use the resources very well to help pupils learn. Since the last inspection there has been good improvement as standards have risen from satisfactory to good as the planning, teachers’ subject knowledge and curriculum have improved with the successful implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy. Pupils make good progress overall and have achieved well by the time they leave school. By Year 6, pupils are attaining standards above average. The school’s success is mainly due to the consistent good quality teaching that results in pupils learning well. The successful implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy is having a positive impact on standards especially on pupils’ mental mathematics. The trend for improvement has kept pace with the

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MATHEMATICS

national trend over the past three years.

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MATHEMATICS

• the good quality teaching and learning; • the pupils’ good attitudes to their work; • the use of mathematics in other subjects.

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MATHEMATICS

• the lack of an overall systematic system to track pupils’ progress.

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MATHEMATICS

77. Standards in mathematics are average by Year 2. Most pupils make good progress from their reception year as they extend their knowledge and understanding of number. The majority have a good understanding of the value of two digit numbers by Year 2. Pupils’ mental skills are developing well as they count accurately forwards and backwards to 100. More able pupils recognise the pattern of 5 and 10. Most are gaining confidence in adding two numbers together quickly to make ten and beyond. The above average proportion of less able pupils still work well with simple numbers, single digit numbers, and achieve their best when under the direct supervision of a teacher or teaching assistant. The lower attaining pupils achieve the work set with additional support. Pupils have a sound grasp of mathematical vocabulary such as ‘doubling’. The majority know the names and properties of common two- and three-dimensional shapes and

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MATHEMATICS

work out accurately simple problems on money and measurement. Information and communication technology is used satisfactorily to support pupils’ understanding of mathematics. Pupils use the floor-robot well to program it to move in different directions. There is good provision made for pupils to practice their numeracy skills in other subjects. For example, in science, pupils record their work in classifying animals in a chart grouping them by their physical features. Pupils continue to make good progress between Years 3-6. By Year 4, pupils for example, extend their understanding of three-dimensional shapes as they identify and classify shapes by their number of edges, faces and vertices. By Year 6, most pupils are confident in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division when using numbers to 1000 and use and apply mental strategies effectively to solve problems. They make decisions about which are the best

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MATHEMATICS

methods to use to solve effectively a mathematical problem. The majority are competent at interpreting data and recording their findings. They are competent in applying the four rules of number in their work, and have a good knowledge and understanding of fractions and decimals and how to use them to solve problems. As is the case for younger children, there is a well- developed knowledge of related mathematical language enabling them to explain what they are Warcop CE Primary School - 36 doing. The pupils with special educational needs are given one-to-one tuition from their teachers or learning assistants. Work is carefully prepared on the same topic as the other pupils but at the level that the pupils are able to be successfully challenged and succeed in making good progress towards their targets. In discussion, vocabulary and concepts are explained clearly. Teachers frequently question pupils to ensure all have understood.

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MATHEMATICS

78. The teachers plan and organise their lessons well and ensure that activities build effectively upon previous knowledge and understanding, and challenge effectively pupils of all attainment. All pupils receive a high percentage of good quality direct teaching because of the small number in each class and the way in which teachers plan well together as a team. Consequently, the pupils achieve well. They have good mental recall skills, enabling them to respond quickly to number facts, and are competent in their ability to explain their strategies for working out answers to problems. Pupils use information and communication technology effectively to record the temperatures in their weather observation. The progress of pupils with special educational needs is good throughout the school, as a direct result of work being carefully matched to their individual needs. These pupils are given good support that enables them to make effective progress towards

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MATHEMATICS

the individual targets set for them. The additional homework that is set helps pupils consolidate what they have learned during the day and practise their skills. Teachers keep good class records of pupils’ progress, which is clearly documented in their pupil profiles. However, there is no overall tracking system to identify pupils’ progress throughout the school. This has been highlighted by the school for development.

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SCIENCE

79. There is very good provision for science. The subject is very well managed collaboratively by the staff. They plan interesting practical activities and investigation. Pupils’ attainment by Year 6 is well above average for pupils of this age. Topics are very well planned to link in with other subjects such as history. Appropriate attention is given to health issues such as the misuse of drugs and the disadvantages of smoking. Pupils’ understanding of the history of scientific inventions and their ability to apply this knowledge to the present day, is well above average and makes an excellent contribution to pupils’ understanding of history as well as science. The impact of scientific discoveries such as electricity as taught in relation to western and non western cultures. Resources are very good and used very well by the staff. The local environment is used extensively to develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding of the

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SCIENCE

environment and its conservation. This helps the pupils develop positive attitudes towards environmental issues. The pupils take part in conservation and wildlife projects which attract local and national recognition. In the past the pupils have won, for example, ‘The Young Naturalists of the Year Award’. The school takes part in the Red Alert Red Squirrel Project and was successful in obtaining the first red squirrel road sign depicting a red squirrel silhouette. Pupils monitor the squirrel movements and have erected specialist hopper feeders for red squirrels. There is good improvement in pupils’ standards which were above average at the time of the last inspection because of the well focused support for environmental issues from the very knowledgeable staff.

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SCIENCE

• pupils’ very good achievement by Year 6 to reach well above average standards based on investigational work; • the good quality teaching and learning and the teachers’ subject expertise • the pupils’ good attitudes to their work; • the well-planned topics which contribute effectively to other subjects.

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SCIENCE

The weakness is: Warcop CE Primary School - 37 • There is no overall system in place to systematically track pupils’ progress.

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SCIENCE

80. When pupils enter the Year1/2 class, emphasis is given to ensuring that practical tasks and investigations that relate to pupils experience, are used to help pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding. This was seen in a lesson exploring the differing needs of animals that should be taken care of if they are kept as pets. The pupils’ attentions were captured as they brought in photographs of their pets and related their own experiences and knowledge. They did this well, knowing that it was important to know the needs of a pet before buying it. Scientific vocabulary such as ‘habitat’ and ‘life cycles’ were appropriately introduced. In the recent past, pupils have undertaken some work on animals, describing and recording their features. They have studied the life cycle of a frog and know the major difference differences between classes of animals such as fish and birds.

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SCIENCE

81. At the start of Key Stage 2, pupils continue to develop their scientific skills of investigation well. In Year 3/4, for example, pupils were challenged to construct a range of measuring devices to understand the effects of gravity on different objects. Pupils used construction materials so that a marble would roll down it in 15 seconds. Some made a pendulum that would swing for a set number of seconds and others constructed sand timers that would last one minute. Pupils worked well together to successfully complete this task. They understood by the end of the lesson that gravitational attraction pulls objects towards the ground. The oldest pupils understood that to make their test fair, they would need to repeat it more than once. By Year 6, pupils are making very good progress and are making connections in their investigations to the historical development of science their modern day applications in both western and non-western cultures.

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SCIENCE

Pupils investigate water pressure and its application to inventions such as the Plimsoll Line in Victorian times and the harnessing of water power for the production of electricity. Pupils understand that the differences between fresh and salt water affect how far a ship sinks into the water because they investigate sinking and floating in salt and fresh water tanks. The importance of establishing the ‘Plimsoll line’ based on this principle for the safety and protection of ships and their cargoes was clearly explained. From their observations of water pressure and through constructing their own water wheels, pupils find out that the base of the dam is where the pressure is greatest. The teacher effectively demonstrated how electricity was made by mill wheels by demonstrating the turning of a bicycle wheel to light a bulb. Pupils were able to apply this knowledge effectively to explain why the base of present day dams are built wider at the

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SCIENCE

bottom than the top to withstand the pressure and harness energy and how turbines in modern day dams create hydro-electricity.

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SCIENCE

82. The quality of teaching is good overall, and excellent in the Year 5/6 class. Teachers show that they have a secure knowledge of the subject in the way they use subject vocabulary and in their effective questioning to find out what pupils know, understand and can do before the pupils embark on practical activities. Teachers prepared lessons well. In the excellent lesson observed, at each step the teacher stopped and questioned the pupils who showed a sound understanding of what they had been shown. The lower attaining pupils were given good support to help them understand the text of the worksheets and prompts when necessary so they could participate effectively. When necessary one to one support was given. This enabled all pupils to achieve well during the lesson. The practical demonstrations captured pupils’ attentions and motivated them well to carry out their own investigations. The class teacher moved around the class giving

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SCIENCE

guidance through good questioning so that pupils thought for themselves and resolved their own difficulties. Good use was made of information and communication technology by the pupils to record their investigational work. The pupils were given good quality support to consolidate and practise what they had learnt. All teachers use their assessment information appropriately to Warcop CE Primary School - 38 guide planning and to check on the coverage undertaken by groups of pupils. As a result of effective teaching all pupils make good progress including those with special educational needs because the staff take care to ensure that the needs of all the pupils are met. The exception is Year 5/6 where pupils make very good progress. Pupils enjoy doing topic work at home and researching information relevant to their studies. This helps them to develop their science and research skills. However, there is no overall system in place to track pupils’ progress throughout

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SCIENCE

the school. Good opportunities are planned for pupils to learn about scientists in their own and other cultures.

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

83. There is good provision for art and design and design and technology. The subjects are managed well by the staff. There was no teaching observed for design and technology and it is not possible to make a secure judgement on the quality of teaching. However, the evidence of pupils’ completed work clearly indicates that pupils make good progress in the development of their knowledge, skills and understanding of both subjects. Standards match the nationally expected standards by Year 6 for art and design and pupils exceed them in design and technology to attain above the expected standards by Year 6. There is good improvement in standards in art and design for pupils in Year 2. They were below average at the time of the last inspection. This is because there is improved planning and teachers have better subject knowledge. Otherwise standards are similar in both subjects. Topics are planned well to develop pupils’ learning in other

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

subjects such as English, mathematics and history.

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

• Teachers’ planning and subject knowledge • The contribution made to pupils’ spiritual, social and cultural development • Pupils’ good attitudes to learning

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

84. Pupils in Year 2 work well on different projects concerned with their themes of families. They often apply knowledge gained from other subjects such as mathematics. For example, following the story of ‘Granny’s Quilt’, the pupils discussed the significance of the treasured memories that were worked into the quilt. They related these well to their own experiences. The discussion motivated pupils well to learn and the pupils worked eagerly and confidently with a range of shapes to tessellate them into an appropriate design for a cushion they are each making to capture their most treasured memories. This contributes well to their mathematical understanding. Opportunities to link into the pupils’ developing literacy skills were taken well to develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills. Pupils showed the expected awareness of colour for their age as they mix and match tones of brown to paint portraits in a Victorian style. Most pupils,

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

showed good skill in handling colour and shape with care and effect to produce a balanced composition. By Year 4, pupils have a good understanding of materials. They design and make masks for a play set in Ancient Greece. They have a clear idea of what is to be done and successfully design their masks choosing material appropriate for their purpose to portray their characters. Pupils work carefully taking pride in their finished products, skilfully mixing colours. The figure drawing by pupils shows the steady development of their skills in observational drawing as figures and faces achieve better scale and proportion and become more accurately individualised by Year 6. Pupils design and making skills are above average. Pupils are making puppets for their Victorian playlets. Pupils work very well independently to research their ideas for costumes, from books or the computer. They model the heads carefully giving good

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Warcop CE Primary School - 39 expression and detail to their chosen characters. While some pupils work on costumes others design and make the backcloth to fit inside the puppet theatre. Detail is accurate and to scale. Pupils informally evaluate their work and improve it during lessons. These projects contribute significantly to pupils’ social and cultural development.

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

85. The pupils throughout the school are clearly keen to discuss what they are doing. They behave well and listen carefully to their class teachers. The lessons are well planned. They are based on the national guidance. Work is regularly assessed at the end of each topic and staff use assessments well in lessons, as they discuss pupils’ work with them, to offer advice for improvements. The teachers hold high expectations of pupils’ work. For example, in the Year 5/6 class the teacher has excellent subject knowledge and structures the lesson very effectively. The teacher questions pupils so they learn the skills of researching their designs from books, drawing detailed plans and choosing materials to suit the purpose. Pupils also research a range of designs from cultures other than their own such as Indian pattern, recognising the contributions of a range of designers. Consequently pupils make very good progress and learn and apply their

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ART AND DESIGN AND DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

knowledge very well. In the past pupils’ have designed and made benches and playground games to improve the quality of playground provision. Very effective use is made of the skills and knowledge of non-teaching staff who make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. Members of the local community often informally come into class to successfully help pupils with art and design work such as making a rag rug with the red squirrel motif. The teachers keep appropriate records of the pupils’ knowledge skills and understanding as they make progress through the curriculum. The monitoring of teaching and learning is planned for the future.

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GEOGRAPHY

86. There is good provision for geography. Very good use is made of the locality to teach geographical skills, knowledge and understanding. By the time that they are 11, most of the pupils attain above average standards, having achieved well in their learning throughout the school. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards their targets because they are helped well by the learning assistants. They help them understand and achieve the objectives through discussion and support in literacy work. The subject is managed effectively by all the staff and the satisfactory resources within the school are more than adequately compensated for, by the rich experiences that pupils receive from their first hand study of the local environment. For example, their visits to local farms to study settlement patterns, the river study of the River Eden and visits to local weather stations. These experiences motivate pupils to learn and allow

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GEOGRAPHY

them to investigate their locality effectively building up their knowledge and skills based on their investigations. The school has maintained this good quality work from the last inspection.

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GEOGRAPHY

• The very good use made of the local environment; • The quality of pupils’ learning; • The positive attitudes of the pupils.

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GEOGRAPHY

87. No lessons were observed for geography. Judgements were based on a scrutiny of pupils’ past work, observations made of teachers’ planning, discussions with staff and pupils. Pupils learn well because the teachers have good subject knowledge and plan the activities well to effectively challenge pupils of all abilities well. Pupils enjoy the subject and are willing to talk about their work. By Year 2, pupils have studied the local village and have learned well the different uses to which land can be put. They understand how transport and environment relate to work and settlement patterns. Pupils can identify places on a map; plan their own route for walking around Warcop CE Primary School - 40 the village and use appropriate symbols to demonstrate the major features. They contrast their way of life with that of pupils who live in a school in Edinburgh. By Years 5 and 6, pupils are confident in their knowledge of the features of the locality. They use their mapping skills well to

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GEOGRAPHY

locate the features of their well planned visits to support the curriculum. For example, pupils identify the settlements along the banks of the River Eden. They make good progress in their understanding of how rivers change according to the weather patterns and how changes such as flooding affects the lives of people living near to them. Information and communication technology is appropriately used to develop pupils’ understanding of the subject. For example, in their recent study of the weather, pupils record the daily weather. They identify features from the data-logging program. This tells them how deep and fast the rivers are flowing prompting flood warnings. In this work, as in other work, there is effective development of pupils’ ability to extract information from secondary sources and good progress made in the acquisition of correct geographical vocabulary so that they can talk confidently about their work. Opportunities are

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GEOGRAPHY

taken to develop pupils’ understanding of the impact of climate in other parts of the world such as Africa. Pupils understand the importance of climate for growing foods and the growth of world trade. Pupils regularly communicate by email with the pupils in the southern most school in the world in Chile and with a school on King George Island in the Antarctic, building up their understanding and knowledge of the lives and culture of the pupils who live there. This contributes well to pupils’ cultural development. Topics are effectively linked to other subjects such as science or design and technology, deepening pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the topic. For example, pupils’ study of the weather has incorporated designing and making simple weather instruments such as anemometers to enable the pupils to record the strength of the wind against the Beaufort scale. In their design and making of barometers, pupils understand the

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GEOGRAPHY

principles of how high and low pressure is created and how this relates to national forecasts of good or bad weather. The army stationed at a nearby base help the pupils in their environmental work by providing camping equipment for extra-curricular investigational work.

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HISTORY

88. The provision throughout the school for history is good because the staff make very good use of the immediate environment and artefacts from the past to interest and motivate the pupils. The pupils with special educational needs and those who achieve at lower levels in literacy are given good support in lessons so they follow and understand the lessons and complete their written tasks well, achieving well on their set targets. The pupils achieve well throughout the school. Pupil’s attainment in history is above the levels expected of Year 2 and 6. At the time of the last inspection attainment was in line with the levels expected, so good improvement has been made at the end of both key stages. This is mainly because of the improved curriculum. There is insufficient evidence to make a judgement on the quality of teaching overall as only one lesson was observed. Evidence was gathered from looking at pupils past work and discussions with

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HISTORY

pupils and staff. The standards the pupils achieve by Year 6 reflect the significant amount and quality of the pupils’ work observed during the inspection.

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HISTORY

• The effective use of artefacts from the past; • The good quality of the curriculum; • The quality of teaching and learning in the lesson observed; • The positive attitudes of the pupils in the lesson observed. Warcop CE Primary School - 41 89. By Year 2, the pupils have gained knowledge and understanding of people in the past and how they lived. They have a clear understanding of their own past and look carefully at pictures of themselves as babies and at present. In this way they develop a secure knowledge of the passage of time. The pupils in Years 1/2 have made a museum of toys. They have visited a local museum and when they returned to school decided to make their own museum. This they have done with the aid of their teacher. Toys belonging to their grandparents, their parents and their own toys are effectively displayed to show how they have altered over time. In a very good lesson the teacher

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HISTORY

asked the pupils to consider how they knew that the toys were old and from the past. The pupils looked carefully at the toys and considered their answers very carefully. By Year 6, the pupils have a good knowledge of different periods of history. They have developed an understanding of life during Victorian times and in the time of the Ancient Greeks. This supports the pupil’s cultural development. The pupils learn about the history of Warcop and the customs and traditions associated with this rural community. The pupils in Years 3/4 study the Ancient Greeks’ civilisation and come to understand the legacy of these times upon our lives today. They looked at Greek pots and lamps. They have made pictures of the pots, reflecting the patterns and illustrations they saw on illustrations of artefacts from this period. They have made their own lamps and were amazed during an assembly when one was lit to see how effectively it worked.

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HISTORY

In Years 5 and 6 the pupils are studying the lives of famous peoples from the Victorian times and the impact they made upon life in this rapidly changing age. They look at the work of Brunel, Edison and Marconi and consider how their inventions have affected our lives today. The pupils use the computers to support their work; they find out information and write diary accounts of lives of housemaids and Victorian workers in England and the exploitation of workers in the trade with non western countries. The emphasis in all lessons is one of finding out information from a wide range of sources. After careful examination of these sources the pupils develop an understanding of how people from the past lived and the homes and environments in which they lived. This leads them to well-considered deductions so that pupils gain a good understanding and sense of time. The teaching throughout the school is clearly rooted as far as possible in first hand

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HISTORY

enquiry. To support this policy of learning through first hand experiences and the use of source materials the teachers organise visits to a wide range of educational venues. Members of the local community with specialist expertise come into school to enhance pupils’ knowledge of the local area.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

90. The provision throughout the school for information and communication technology is satisfactory. The staff make good use of the computers and the equipment they have to help pupils learn. The teachers plan a suitable range of information and communication technology experiences for the pupils in the other subject areas. The pupils with special educational needs and those who achieve at lower levels are given individual help and good support from the learning assistants and the staff which enable them to achieve as well as other pupils. The pupils achieve well throughout the school. They make consistently good progress in each year group because the teachers know the pupils well and cater well for their individual needs. Pupil’s attainment in information and communication technology is average at Year 2 and Year 6. At the time of the last inspection, pupils’ attainment was above the levels expected. Since then the resources and staff training for

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

the subject has not kept pace with the national expectations. Teachers’ expertise depends and the appropriate level of resourcing is central to raising standards. The teachers are to undertake the expected national training next term and receive the appropriate funding to improve software. The subject is well embedded in all other subject areas and the school. The subject is a priority area for improvement in order to raise standards further. Information and communication Warcop CE Primary School - 42 technology was not taught as a lesson during the inspection. Observations were made of pupils at work; teachers’ planning and discussions were held with staff and pupils.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

The strengths are: • The level of resources in the school; • The good use the teachers make of ICT to support other curriculum areas; • The quality of teaching and learning; • The enthusiasm of the pupils.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

• The lack of up to date staff training.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

91. By Year 2, the pupils attain average standards as the result of the satisfactory teaching that they receive and the appropriate opportunities the pupils have to learn new skills and consolidate their understanding. The teacher has worked effectively to ensure that the pupils are independent in their use of the computers. Year 1 pupils used the computer to improve their spellings as part of their English lesson. In this lesson the pupils used the keyboard and the mouse to successfully open the program and then make a number of three letter words. A group of Year 2 pupils used the floor robot to move forwards and backwards in response to the commands they gave it. In this lesson the teacher successfully built upon the pupils’ previous learning. The pupils knew how to make the robot turn in a variety of directions. The pupils worked independently and took turns to command the robot to move on a large square grid accurately. Most of the pupils were able to

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

make the robot take the required turns and moves. The pupils showed good co-operation and independence and achieved well. 92. By Year 6, pupils attain average standards as the result of the appropriate teaching and opportunities to practise and use their skills in a wide range of subjects across the curriculum. In Years 3/4 the pupils use the word processing package in support of their literacy lessons. They move text by highlighting and cutting and pasting successfully. They can change the style, colour and size of text and after they have finished print off their work. The digital camera is widely used throughout the school to capture many significant moments. Discussions with Year 6 pupils show that the pupils access the Internet. They e-mail the southern most school in the world on King George Island off the Antarctic peninsula. This helps them to compare and contrast their way of life with that of pupils from a non western culture. An educational website for schools on

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

the Cumbria and Lancashire Online (CLEO) project was established following the work of the headteacher in the Antarctic. This website is for teachers and pupils to enable them to gather information about the Antarctic and to email the school to answer any queries about Antarctica. Pupils in Years5/6 use the Weather logger on a computer to keep a careful log of the weather everyday. They regularly use the computers to find out information and in support of their work throughout the curriculum. During wet playtimes the computers are used by the pupils for further work. The pupils use the ‘spellmasters’ well to improve their spelling. The teachers are to receive their National Grid for Learning training soon. They feel that this will develop their expertise still further. The school has a good range of software to support the subject across the curriculum.

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MUSIC

93. There is satisfactory provision for music. The subject is well managed by a part-time specialist teacher. Additionally a visiting specialist music teacher comes to school one day each week to teach the flute and clarinet to a small group of pupils. By Years 2 and 6, pupils have achieved satisfactorily to attain average standards. The standards were similar at the time of the last inspection. Warcop CE Primary School - 43 The strengths are: • The expertise of the coordinator • Good quality teaching and learning • The effective use of time and expertise • Pupils’ enjoyment of music

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MUSIC

• Some aspects of the curriculum do not appeal to the older pupils.

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MUSIC

94. By Year 2, pupils are able to sing in time and substantially in tune. They can maintain a steady beat and rhythm. They have access to an appropriate range of tuned and untuned percussion instruments and know the difference between loud and soft sounds. Pupils enjoy being a conductor, and understand the role as they control the start and end of pupils’ playing instruments. Many enter school with below average listening skills but they are suitably developed in their music lessons. By Year 4, pupils’ skills are developed satisfactorily. They listen and appraise well a Christmas music such as ‘Sleigh Ride’ giving good suggestions for a little, the mood of the music and the instruments played Pupils use a range of instruments, making up tunes to accompany ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland’. Most are developing skills of reading simple notation as they learn to play the recorder. By Year 6, pupils’ work shows satisfactory progress.

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MUSIC

They are able to sing a round they have learned tunefully because they learning acquired between the ages of five and seven has been built upon appropriately. The class work well together to develop their Victorian Christmas theme. They sing a round ‘Christmas is Coming’ in three parts and play a simple accompaniment. Teachers’ use assessment well to help pupils improve. The pupils use a range of instruments and evaluate and improve their work. Some of the pupils successfully use their knowledge of music gained in their additional music lessons, to enhance their learning. Pupils with special educational needs who are supported well in their learning make good progress in reading and following music or playing instruments with the help of the staff and they achieve as well as others in the class.

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MUSIC

95. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Arrangements are made for a teacher with musical expertise to work throughout the school on one afternoon a week with all classes. This is an effective use of her expertise and time. There are satisfactory arrangements for the assessment of pupils’ progress and assessment is used well in lessons to develop pupils’ skill and understanding. Most pupils respond well and enjoy music. The majority are very involved and interested in their learning and produce good quality work. However, some archaic words and Victorian music do not appeal to some of the older pupils who lose concentration and at times give an inappropriate response. The works of famous composers and different types of music from other cultures are heard and make a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual and cultural development. For example, pupils’ work is often linked to their topics they study and they study

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MUSIC

for instance Victorian and Tudor music. In other subjects music form other countries such as Africa are developed into themes for dance. In addition, pupils have listened to the work of famous world composers in collective worship. There are good range and good quality resources.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

96. The provision throughout the school for physical education is satisfactory. The school does not have central hall and so the space available for indoor physical activities is very limited. Because of this the staff go to considerable pains to ensure that the pupils have a wide range of activities whilst at the same time ensuring their safety. It is not possible to judge pupils’ achievement or Warcop CE Primary School - 44 attainment in physical education as only one lesson was observed during the inspection. In the last inspection attainment matched the nationally expected standards.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

• The effective way the teachers plan a range of physical activities for the pupils; • The quality of teaching and learning in the one lesson observed; • The positive attitudes of the pupils in the one lesson observed.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

• Limited opportunities for indoor physical education

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

97. The teachers go to considerable lengths to ensure that the pupils have opportunities to develop their physical skills. A wide range of games are played by the pupils outdoors. Football, hockey, netball, rounder and rugby are all played on the school field. Ball-skills and some gymnastic activities are developed outdoors and the pupils say that they enjoy these activities. Two of the governors give of their time to help with sporting activities, one coaches football on Saturday mornings and the other helps during lesson time in school. This good support by the governors shows that they are concerned that the pupils’ physical development should not be hampered by the lack of a hall space. The teachers make good provision in their classrooms. The staff move the furniture from the classrooms and to the sides so that they can create a space for dance and movement. The nature of the floors means that gymnastics is limited. However the pupils have

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

opportunities for Morris dancing, Scottish dancing, country dancing, keep fit, expressive dance. They even had an experience of Physical Training when they were studying the Victorians. Music from other cultures makes a good contribution to pupils’ cultural as well as physical development as it is introduced as part of a topic or a theme that the pupils are studying. They listen to music from around the world. Pupils in Years 3/4 have recently listened to Greek music as an accompaniment to a mime dance. The older pupils have the opportunity to go to the local swimming baths and have swimming lessons.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

98. The pupils in Years 1/2 enjoyed their dance lesson. The class teacher was very careful to make sure that the pupils remembered where in the classroom they could use. Good teaching and learning and the insistence by the teacher that the pupils should follow carefully the instructions they were given, ensured that the pupils made good gains in their levels of skills. The older pupils were enthusiastic and tried hard in the lessons. They listened carefully to the instructions given on the dance tape and tried hard to succeed. The pupils enjoyed watching each other’s work and this enabled them to improve their own work. The pupils worked well in the session and showed good levels of listening and carefully following instructions. Their movements showed appropriate levels of poise.

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