Ann Cam Church of England Primary School

ANN CAM C of E PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 7 th - 9 th May 2002

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ANN CAM C of E 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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ANN CAM C of E 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. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Bayfield Gardens Dymock Gloucestershire Postcode: GL18 2BH

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs Sheila Greenfield MBE

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: June 1997 Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 2

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responsibilities

23039 David Penney Registered inspector Mathematics Science Design and technology Music Physical education What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are the pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 8986 Philip Andrew Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 12116 Christina Morgan Team inspector Equal opportunities Special educational needs English Art and design How well does the school care for its pupils?

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responsibilities

19302 Christine Perrett Team inspector Foundation Stage Geography History Information and communication technology How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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responsibilities

PPI Group Ltd 7 Hill Street Bristol BS1 5RW

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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:

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responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 4 - 8

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? 9 - 12

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Ann Cam Church of England Primary School serves four parishes in rural Gloucestershire about 13 miles northwest of Gloucester. It is a small Infant and Junior school with 134 boys and girls on roll. Although the numbers of boys and girls are generally similar, overall, there are twice as many boys as girls in Year 2. Pupils are arranged into five classes, four of which contain mixed age groups. All 18 reception aged children are taught in one class with about a third of the Year 1 pupils, the remainder of whom are taught with the Year 2 group. Nearly all pupils are from a white ethnic background; one has English as an additional language, which is a low proportion. The school population represents a wide socio-economic mix with a high proportion of low-income families. The proportion of pupils who are entitled to free school meals, however, is below the national average. Twenty-five pupils are on the

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

school’s register of special educational needs; this proportion (18.6 per cent) is similar to the national average. Of these pupils, two (1.5 per cent) have Statements of Special Educational Need; this is also close to the national and local averages. Pupils’ attainment on entry to the school in the reception class is broadly average, overall. Recently, the school gained a School Achievement Award for continuous improvement in mathematics and has achieved the Investors in People standard for the second time.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school is an effective school that gives satisfactory value for money. Standards are rising in line with the national picture, overall, when measured by the national tests but vary markedly from year to year. Currently, in Year 2 they are close to average levels in English, mathematics and science while, in Year 6, they are below average in those subjects. The quality of teaching and learning in lessons is good throughout the school. Because of weaknesses in curriculum provision and the use of the growing body of assessment information, teaching and pupils’ achievement are only satisfactory over time, especially for the oldest pupils. The ethos of the school is strong and pupils develop into mature, responsible and likeable youngsters. The quality of leadership and management, overall, is sound with fundamental improvements recognised as being necessary to the procedures for the frequent monitoring

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

and rigorous evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning, including the development of the role of subject co-ordinators.

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What the school does well

• The ethos is strong, resulting in very good provision for pupils’ personal development, very good relationships and confident, polite and courteous pupils. • Provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good and they are taught very well when withdrawn in small groups, which helps them to achieve good results in relation to their prior attainment. • Provision for learning outside lesson time is very good. • The leadership of the headteacher in pastoral matters is strong and there is a positive commitment, which is shared by all staff, to improve aspects of the school’s work still further. • All available resources are used well to meet the identified targets in the school development plan.

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What could be improved

• Pupils’ standards, especially in English, mathematics, science and art in Year 6. • The frequency with which the quality of planning, teaching and learning is monitored and the rigour with which it is evaluated to establish consistency in provision for pupils of the same age in different classes, especially in some junior classes. • The balance of the curriculum, especially in the Year 5/6 class, to ensure that all subjects receive adequate and regular time to cover what is needed in sufficient detail. • The way that plans ensure that pupils acquire skills and understanding in a logical sequence in all subjects. • The use that teachers make of assessment information so that work is planned to match closely each individual’s developing needs. • The role of curriculum co-ordinators in monitoring regularly and evaluating rigorously the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in June 1997, since when it has improved at a steady rate. The key issues of the last inspection have been addressed soundly, although further work remains to be done on developing the role of the subject co-ordinators and in ensuring that the assessment procedures that have been devised are now used to raise pupils’ attainment. Standards have been inconsistent over time and remain too low at the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics, science and art. The quality of teaching and learning in lessons has improved. There are now schemes of work for all subjects, which are, appropriately, due for review. Recently, assessment procedures have been devised for those subjects where they were still needed. Aspects of the accommodation and resources have been greatly improved. The school is soundly placed to continue these improvements.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

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

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Key

The table shows that results in the national tests in 2001 for the pupils in Year 6 were in line with the national average and that for similar schools in English, well above them in mathematics and below them in science. The overall trend of improvement over time is in line with the national picture. The school met its targets for English and greatly exceeded them in mathematics. In the same year, pupils in Year 2 attained results that, when compared with the national picture, were below average in reading, average in writing and well below average in mathematics. In comparison with similar schools, these results were well below average in reading and writing and very low (in the bottom five per cent nationally) in mathematics. The findings of this inspection are that children in the reception year are making satisfactory progress, overall, and good progress in their communication, language and literacy and

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Key

mathematical development; they are on course to meet the expected standards in all areas of learning by the time they enter Year 1. Pupils’ standards in Year 2 are close to those expected nationally in reading, writing and mathematics and in all other subjects except music, for which, because of the timing of the inspection, there was insufficient evidence. In Year 6, pupils’ standards in English, mathematics and science are below the national average. They are below the standards expected nationally in art but match them in design and technology, geography, information and communication technology and physical education. Because of the timing of the inspection, there was insufficient evidence to make a judgement on the standards of music in Year 6. No written evidence was given for history and so no judgement was possible about pupils’ attainment or progress. Differences between these findings and the results of the national tests are because statistics are unreliable when dealing

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Key

with small groups and because one third of the pupils in the current Year 6 are on the school’s register of special educational needs. Pupils make good progress in the lessons observed, overall, and satisfactory progress over time in all subjects throughout the school, except in information and communication technology, where their progress is good, and in art in the juniors, where overall progress is unsatisfactory. However, a number are underachieving in some subjects. Pupils with special educational needs achieve good results in relation to their prior attainment. It is likely that the school will reach its targets for English and mathematics in Year 6. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 6

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils are enthusiastic and interested learners.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils are courteous and polite to each other and to adults. They behave very well in and around the school and there is no oppressive behaviour. One pupil was, however, recently excluded for a fixed period.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good. Pupils accept responsibilities willingly and discharge their duties conscientiously. Relationships between pupils and between pupils and adults are very good and there is a high level of mutual respect.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Good and above the national average. The proportion of unauthorised absence is low.

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

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

The quality of teaching is good in lessons, overall, throughout the school. However, there are inconsistencies in curriculum provision and the use of the growing body of assessment information that result in teaching and learning not being consistently of this quality over time, especially for the oldest pupils. When pupils with special educational needs are withdrawn to work in small groups, teaching is very good, overall, and occasionally excellent. The teaching of English and mathematics, including the skills of literacy and numeracy, is good. All subjects are taught well, overall, with the exception of art and design and geography, which are taught soundly throughout the school, as is history and physical education in the infants and design and technology in the juniors. The teaching of part-time teachers and the ‘specialist’ teaching of physical education in the upper part of the juniors are effective. Pupils

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

are generally enthusiastic and diligent learners because of the high standard of relationships and mutual trust that permeates nearly all lessons. Where lessons are most effective and pupils learn most quickly, it is because teachers have carefully planned a range of tasks that match individual pupils’ needs closely and have high expectations of what they should achieve. This challenges pupils to work hard and is frequently accompanied by good quality assistance from effective learning support workers. Where lessons, although satisfactory overall, are less effective, it is because teachers have not used the information gained from assessment well enough to influence their planning. In these lessons, all pupils are taught the same thing at the same level, which does not suit the needs of all pupils and does not challenge them to achieve the results they could. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 7

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory, overall, but good in the Foundation Stage and Years 1 to 4. Pupils of similar age do not always receive the same quality of education if in different classes. Some subjects are not taught frequently enough or in sufficient depth for the oldest pupils. More work is needed to ensure that the required skills and understanding are developed in a logical sequence in subjects other than English and mathematics. The amount of extra-curricular activities is very good as are the links between the school and the community. Visits and visitors support class work in history in outstanding fashion. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. Individual education plans identify targets for improvement clearly and pupils’ progress is tracked closely. As a result, these pupils achieve good results in relation to their prior attainment. Provision for pupils’

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Aspect Comment

personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good, overall. The school’s ethos is strong. Provision is good for pupils’ spiritual development and is very good for their moral, social and cultural development. Excellent links with an African school greatly enhance the pupils’ awareness of multicultural issues. Provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is good. How well the school cares for its pupils Satisfactorily, overall, although teachers need to use the information gained from assessment rigorously to match work closely to the needs of individuals. Procedures to monitor and promote good behaviour are very good and child protection procedures are good.

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Aspect Comment

The partnership between parents and the school is good. Parents feel that the school does a good job in educating and caring for their children; they are well involved in their children’s education.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory, overall. The headteacher gives a strong steer to the pastoral work of the school. The role of subject co-ordinator requires further development. All members of staff are fully committed to improve the work of the school still further. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory, overall. They play a good part in establishing the school’s direction. They have a sound grasp of the school’s strengths and weaknesses but their role in evaluating the success of actions taken is not fully developed. The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. The results of annual tests are analysed well and inform future priorities for development. The school development plan is thorough and suitably focused on raising pupils’ attainment. Procedures for monitoring classroom practice are not robust enough to ensure that

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Aspect Comment

the work planned takes place when it should. Performance management systems are good. Best value principles are applied satisfactorily. The strategic use of resources Good. All available resources, including finance and staff training, are used effectively to meet the priorities identified in the school development plan. As a result, the match of teachers and support staff to the demands of the curriculum is good. The accommodation is good, overall, although there is a need to improve facilities for the youngest children. Resources are satisfactory in most subjects. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 8

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school. • They make good progress at school. • The school has high expectations for their children. • The school helps their children to become mature and responsible. • The quality of teaching is good. • The amount of homework. • Closer co-operation with parents. • The range of activities outside lessons. • The leadership of the school. • Better information about their children’s progress.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with most of the positive comments. However, while agreeing that pupils develop very well on a personal level, it judges that their academic progress is satisfactory, rather than good. The team judges that the amount of homework is generally appropriate for pupils of this age and that the leadership of the school is satisfactory, overall, although there are points for improvement. The number of parents’ evenings is appropriate; annual reports on pupils’ progress are satisfactory but would benefit from a reference to the levels that individuals have attained. The partnership between the school and parents is good and the range of extra-curricular activities is very good for a school of this size and type. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 9

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. In the national tests in 2001, the standards attained by pupils in Year 2 were below the national average in reading, close to it in writing and well below it in mathematics. When compared with the average for similar schools, these results were well below average in reading and writing and very low (in the bottom five per cent of the country) in mathematics. Although the proportion attaining at least the expected levels was similar to the national average in reading and well above it in writing, very few pupils achieved higher levels in any test, which adversely affected the overall results. The school’s results in reading were slightly improved compared with the previous year and there was a marked improvement in writing results; however, the mathematics results were significantly worse than in 2000. Overall in 2001, and for a number of years previously, boys performed less well than the girls.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. In the same year, pupils in Year 6 attained results that were in line with the average nationally and for similar schools in English, well above them in mathematics and below them in science. These results reflected the proportions of that group of pupils that achieved the higher levels in each test. While both genders performed at a similar level to their peers nationally in mathematics, girls did better and boys worse than their peers in both English and science. In all tests, results were above those of the previous year, markedly so in mathematics which has led to the school gaining a School Achievement Award for continuous improvement in mathematics. Overall, the rate of improvement over time is in line with the national trend. The school met its targets for English and exceeded them in mathematics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. In small schools, such as this one, however, great care must be taken in drawing conclusions from statistics. Because there are so few pupils in each year group, each individual represents somewhere in the region of three per cent of the total. As a result, trends in attainment can seem more volatile than they are merely because one pupil achieves one particular level rather than another. It is this difference in the characteristics of particular groups of pupils that accounts for the differences between national test results last year and the findings of the inspection, detailed later in this section.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. The findings of the current inspection are that the children enter the reception class with a range of abilities which, overall, are as expected for the age of the child. During their time in the reception the children achieve well in communication, language and literacy and their mathematical development and soundly, overall. By the time they are ready for Year 1, the majority of children have achieved the Early Learning Goals (which are the standards expected nationally of children aged five years) in all the areas of learning 1 , with the higher attaining children working within the early stages of the National Curriculum in English and mathematics. This is as a result of the good range of learning opportunities and good teaching. Children with special educational needs are well catered for and make progress at the same rate as their peers.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 achieve generally satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment in nearly all subjects, including mathematics and science. Exceptions to this are in English, information and communication technology (ICT), where they are making good progress as a result of recently improved hardware and software following the construction of an ICT suite, and in music, where the timing of the inspection meant that no lessons were observed. As a result, pupils in Year 2 attain results that meet those expected nationally in all subjects, including reading and writing, other than music, where no judgement was possible.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 The six areas of learning are: personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical development and creative development. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 10 6. In English, focused attention has been given this year to improving the quality of writing and addressing the issue of the underperformance of boys. This has been successful and there is now no evidence that boys and girls perform differently.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. In the juniors, pupils continue to achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment, overall, except in ICT, where they achieve well for the same reasons as explained earlier and in art and design, where the achievements of the oldest pupils are not sufficiently high. Again, no judgement is possible about their achievements or their attainment in music because too few lessons were observable.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Almost one third of the current group of pupils in Year 6 are on the school’s register of special educational needs (SEN). Although the progress these pupils are making in relation to their prior attainment is often good, this high proportion adversely affects the overall standards attained by the group. Consequently, standards of English, mathematics and science are below average in Year 6. Nevertheless, it seems likely that the school will reach its targets for English and mathematics again this year, although they are suitably challenging for this group, because of the heavy emphasis put on these core subjects throughout the year and the focused teaching that prepares Year 6 pupils thoroughly for the national tests.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. The national imperative to concentrate on English and mathematics in recent years has led to a lighter touch being given to developing foundation subjects. In addition, the school feels greatly under pressure to ensure that as many pupils as possible attain the national average standards in the annual tests, especially in Year 6, where league tables are published. Because a high proportion of the Year 6 pupils are on the SEN register, this has led to an imbalanced curriculum and has adversely affected standards in all subjects. Consequently, there has been an apparent decline in standards in many subjects since the last inspection.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Standards in Year 6 of art and design are below those expected because the subject is not taught regularly enough in that class to ensure that pupils’ skills are developed fully. This is also the case in history, where no judgement is possible about pupils’ levels of attainment because the subject has not been taught yet this academic year. The small amount of work available for analysis in geography indicates that standards in this subject are close to those expected. In design and technology, ICT and physical education, pupils’ standards are in line with those expected of their age nationally.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Because of this imbalanced curriculum, Year 5 pupils who work with Year 6 do not have equal access to the curriculum as their counterparts in the Year 4/5 class and, therefore, do not have equal opportunities to achieve the standards of which they are potentially capable, which is unacceptable.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. Pupils in Years 3 and 4, together with those Year 5 pupils working with Year 4, achieve the results that they should in relation to their prior attainment in all subjects, including art and design, history and geography because they enjoy a regular entitlement to these subjects.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13. There is now no evidence of a difference in the achievements of boys and girls in the juniors in relation to their prior attainment.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

14. Pupils with SEN make good progress, overall, in relation to their prior attainment and to the targets shown on their individual education plans, which are focused on their behavioural and linguistic needs. They benefit from some excellent teaching when withdrawn to work individually or in small groups with the SEN teacher. Most, but not all, teachers provide a variety of tasks in lessons, which are broadly matched to the range of different ages and abilities in the class. Support staff are used well to support individuals or groups of pupils and most reflect the good teaching methods employed by the class teacher.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

15. However, there are weaknesses in the way that teachers use the results of assessment information to plan work that matches individual needs closely. These are compounded by a number of schemes of work that do not emphasise enough the development of pupils’ skills and understanding. Consequently, while pupils make sound progress, overall, as a result of good Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 11 teaching performance throughout the school, a number are underachieving, particularly in subjects other than English and mathematics and especially in the Year 5/6 class. This applies especially to those who are potentially higher attaining.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. This is a school in which the very good behaviour and the positive attitudes shown by pupils provide a firm foundation for their full development. Older pupils show mature attitudes to the organisation of the school community. The very good behaviour and positive attitudes reported in the last inspection have been maintained; this is a strength of the school.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Generally, children in the reception class show positive attitudes to their work. They enjoy coming to school and show a high level of interest and involvement in their learning. They know the routines well and settle to tasks without fuss. Even the youngest children are happy to leave their parents and eagerly join their peers on the carpet for registration. They concentrate well when involved in their chosen activities, but there are a number of children who find it hard to sit still and listen when in the large class group. This means that some time elapses while the teacher ensures that proper attention is maintained. Children are encouraged to be independent and from an early age they learn to dress and undress themselves for physical development lessons, taking care to fold their clothes in a tidy pile. Children play well together and show a respect for each other when working in a group. These positive attitudes and behaviour help the children’s learning.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

Those children who find it harder to conform are gently but firmly taught good work habits, to enable them to learn and prevent them disturbing others.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. Pupils’ attitudes to work, school and each other are very good. They take part in all activities, in lessons and outside them, with considerable enthusiasm. For example, take-up rates for many club activities, such as soccer and netball, are high and all pupils attend residential trips. Older pupils talk with relish about their work, for example, in designing and making fairground rides in design and technology lessons, while others show an obvious sense of pride at work well done, such as the fabric printing in Year 3. They collaborate well when asked, for example in science lessons in the Year 1/2 class and in the Year 4/5 class when planning and carrying out an experiment on sound insulation or when they share ideas as to what various Victorian artefacts were used for. They work with very good regard to the needs of others; a notable example of this was in the Year 5/6 class where Year 5 pupils conducted a scientific task with great sensitivity

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

and quietly while their Year 6 classmates were being given a revision lesson prior to the national tests.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19. The school is a safe and well-ordered community. Throughout the school, pupils’ behaviour is very good during lessons, in the playground and within the school building. The children move around the building sensibly, even when not supervised, and no inappropriate behaviour was seen anywhere during the inspection. The school prefects, elected by Year 6, play an important part in encouraging and promoting the good behaviour of all the children. In the 31 lessons observed, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes were noted as good or better in all but four and there was no incidence of unsatisfactory behaviour. There is almost no incidence of oppressive behaviour; there were no exclusions in the last school year but one pupil, who had transferred into the school shortly beforehand, has been excluded for a fixed period in the current school year.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

20. The provision made for the personal development of the children is proving highly effective. All adults show consistent respect for individuals and act as very good role models to pupils. This respect is mutual and is extended to include other pupils. Pupils have a very clear understanding of how their actions affect others, which is discussed and reinforced through, for example, lessons in personal, social and health education and through more informal contacts. Many, especially the oldest, show good levels of maturity and are interesting and articulate individuals, for example when discussing their work and what they like about the school. Further opportunities to develop maturity occur when the junior pupils attend residential camps. Pupils are encouraged through all school activities to be honest, trustworthy, well mannered and cooperative and all pupils are polite and courteous to visitors.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

21. The development of the school council and the school prefect system help to encourage personal responsibility and concepts of citizenship. The school council is elected on the basis of two Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 12 members (a boy and a girl) from each of the classes in the junior part of the school. Discussions with the council members illustrated their concern for, and interest in, the healthy eating project and the development of an area with an all weather surface for playing football. Nine prefects are elected by their contemporaries. Before the election the pupils write an assessment of the suitability of each other for the position. These assessments showed that the pupils have a clear understanding of the feelings and values of each other and illustrate the very good personal relationships in the school. Prefects and others accept the responsibilities given them very willingly and discharge them with a mature sense of responsibility.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

22. Attendance rates are above the national average and there is very little incidence of late arrival. The incidence of unauthorised absence is low. This clearly reflects the success of the procedures for improving attendance.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. The quality of teaching and learning seen in lessons is good throughout the school. Of the 31 lessons observed, five were taught satisfactorily and 21 well. Four lessons were taught very well and teaching in one lesson was outstanding. This is an improvement in statistics since the last inspection report.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The quality of teaching by subjects is as shown in the following table:

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

English Good Good Mathematics Good Good Science Good Good Art and design Good Satisfactory Design and technology Good Satisfactory Geography Satisfactory Satisfactory History Satisfactory Good Information and communication technology Good Good

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

Music Not seen Not seen Physical education Satisfactory Good

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

25. The specialist teaching of physical education in the upper juniors is effective and leads to good learning. The quality of teaching by part-time staff is good and contributes to pupils achieving good results in relation to their prior attainment. A specialist teacher, shared between a number of small local schools, also provides valuable support for the teaching of information and communication technology.

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

26. Pupils’ skills of literacy and numeracy are developed soundly and are used satisfactorily, overall, in other subjects, such as history and science. With the recent development of the ICT suite and consequent improvements to hardware and software, teachers are beginning to use ICT well to support work in other subjects, such as English, science and history, although some basic revision programs are not an efficient use of time.

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

27. Throughout the school, relationships are very good. As a result, teaching is relaxed and effective and pupils are willing learners who are confident that their efforts will be appreciated. All teachers have consistent expectations of pupils’ behaviour and application to task, which ensures that they sustain good levels of concentration and generally work hard. All available resources are deployed well, including learning support workers (LSWs) and volunteer helpers. Many LSWs are assigned to pupils with SEN; the majority of these are effective because they work closely with the class Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 13 teachers to identify exactly what it is they are to do and have developed very good relationships with ‘their’ pupils. All LSWs have been trained in the literacy and numeracy strategies.

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

28. Teachers’ subject knowledge is generally good, often as a result of focused and continuing training, such as in science, design and technology and ICT. Consequently, they teach basic skills well and intervene to good effect when pupils encounter problems, ensuring that they can complete their tasks.

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

29. Most, but not all, teachers provide a variety of tasks, which are broadly matched to the range of different ages and abilities in the class. However, the individual and developing needs of all pupils are not always met because some teachers do not mark pupils’ work regularly enough to know what is needed next. In addition, teachers’ marking rarely shows pupils how they could improve their work. Also, in some cases teachers do not follow up whether or not the remarks they do make, for example to do mathematical corrections or to complete written work, have been acted upon. Homework, such as reading or mathematical tasks or research for topic work, serves to reinforce or extend pupils’ learning in class soundly throughout the school.

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

30. Teaching throughout the foundation stage is consistently good. The teacher has a good understanding of the needs of this age group and plans a wide range of activities to enhance the children’s learning progressively. All opportunities are grasped to further learning. The teacher sets a very good role model for the children to learn from. A variety of appropriate methods is used to promote learning, from structured sessions to less formal play sessions. In all sessions the teacher knows exactly what she wants the children to learn. In this way all the children are appropriately challenged and make good gains in their learning. The learning assistants make a very positive contribution to the quality of learning.

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

31. Where teaching is most effective and learning is swift in Years 1 to 6, lessons are characterised by:

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Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

• thorough planning that takes account of what pupils already know and what individuals need to move on in learning, for example in a mathematics lesson in the Year 4/5 class; • very effective use of methods and resources to stimulate interest and enquiry and to develop pupils’ skills, such as in a history lesson using Victorian artefacts in the Year 4/5 class; • activities that are closely matched to need and enable pupils to make progress at a swift rate because they are interested and want to achieve good results. This was very evident when SEN pupils were withdrawn to work with the SEN teacher; • very good relationships and management so that pupils are highly motivated learners and no time is lost, for example in a Year 3 music lesson; and • good use of time and resources, including the targeted use of LSWs and volunteer helpers to support individuals or groups of pupils. A good example of this was in a design and

p.15

Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

technology lesson in the Year 1/2 class where a volunteer parent helped pupils to learn how to use a grater safely.

p.15

Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

32. Where teaching and learning, although satisfactory overall, is less effective, the information gained from continuing assessment is not used well enough to influence further planning of appropriate activities. Consequently, all pupils are taught the same thing, sometimes as a carousel of activities as in the English lesson in the Year 5/6 class and there are limited opportunities to challenge the higher attainers or to devise suitably different activities for the lower attainers.

p.15

Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

33. However, there are inconsistencies in curriculum provision and the use of the growing body of assessment information that adversely affect the quality of teachers’ planning and result in teaching and learning not being consistently of this quality over time, especially for the oldest pupils, where the quality of teaching over time is only satisfactory.

p.15

Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

34. Although teachers plan together to ensure parity of provision for pupils of the same year group in different classes, in practice there is some inequality. For example, Year 5 pupils in the mixed Year 4/5 class are receiving a broader and more diverse curriculum than Year 5 pupils in the mixed Year 5/6 class. There is a significant contrast between the narrowness of the curriculum in the latter class and its concentration on practising for national tests and the opportunities for topic Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 14 work in history and geography in the former. This disadvantages pupils who work with Year 6. It means that pupils do not receive the same access to the curriculum or the same opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding to the full and is unacceptable.

p.15

PUPILS?

35. The curriculum overall is satisfactory. The quality and range of learning opportunities are good for the Foundation Stage and for Years 1 to 4. However, in the Year 5/6 class too much emphasis is placed on English and mathematics, with insufficient time being allocated to subjects such as history, geography and art. This adversely affects the balance of the curriculum, and limits the learning opportunities for the pupils in this class. Overall provision has, therefore, deteriorated since the last inspection.

p.16

PUPILS?

36. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is good. It is well planned to cover all the areas of learning to enable children to achieve the early learning goals. It is broad and relevant, with an appropriate emphasis on the use of structured play activities, to enable children to learn from direct experience. A range of visitors to the school further enhances the curriculum. The needs of children with special educational needs are well met and they receive good support from caring assistants.

p.16

PUPILS?

37. All subjects of the National Curriculum are taught, with opportunities to raise pupils’ awareness of a modern foreign language in the Year 5/6 class. There is a daily act of collective worship for all pupils and there are comprehensive policies for personal, social and health education, including citizenship, sex education and drugs awareness. The school has recognised the importance of pupils’ personal, social and health education by developing a good scheme of work that can be taught either as a discrete subject through circle time when pupils and teachers discuss and resolve many moral and social issues, or as part of the normal curriculum. This contributes to the development of good attitudes and the very good relationships within the school. Opportunities for the delivery of information and communication technology have improved since the last inspection with the use of a new ICT suite.

p.16

PUPILS?

38. Planned provision in all subjects is satisfactory. Sound consideration has been given to planning for mixed-age classes and subjects such as history and geography are planned appropriately on a two-year cycle. In practice, nearly all curriculum areas receive an appropriate time allocation, with the exception of art and design, geography and history in the Year 5/6 class. The headteacher recognises that the long-term planning cycle needs adjusting to ensure that pupils have frequent and regular exposure to all subjects and to ensure that curriculum time is used effectively and, for example, pupils do not repeat the same topic.

p.16

PUPILS?

39. The school now has schemes of work for all subjects, which is an improvement since the last inspection. However, the headteacher and subject co-ordinators have recognised that the present schemes of work need to be reviewed to meet the needs of the school more closely and to assure a systematic development of pupils’ skills and understanding in subjects such as art, history and geography to raise standards.

p.16

PUPILS?

40. The good implementation of and high priority given to the National Literacy Strategy have begun to make a positive impact on pupils’ learning and standards of attainment have risen steadily since the previous inspection. However, the high proportion of pupils with special educational needs in the current Year 6 may well adversely affect the results of this year’s national tests. Skills are reinforced on a regular basis and are taught in a well-planned and structured way. Good use, overall, is made of other curriculum areas to enhance writing skills through extended pieces of work. The implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy has similarly helped to raise standards and sound use is made of pupils’ numeracy skills in, for example, design and technology and geography.

p.16

PUPILS?

41. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good. The specialist teacher liaises closely with class teachers and responsibility for addressing the targets is clearly divided between them. When withdrawn from lessons to work with the SEN teacher, tasks are very closely Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 15 focused on individuals’ identified needs while, in class, support workers are often, but not always, available to work with the pupils in English and mathematics lessons. A good balance is established between ensuring equal access to the curriculum for pupils with special educational needs and addressing their specific learning difficulties. An agreed timetable of withdrawal ensures that pupils are not missing essential work in other curriculum areas.

p.16

PUPILS?

42. Overall, the school is effective in providing a fully inclusive curriculum for most, but not all, pupils. Pupils in the Year 5/6 class do not receive sufficient curriculum time for geography, history and art. Also, pupils in Year 5 in this class receive different learning opportunities from their peers in the Year 4/5 class, which is unsatisfactory.

p.17

PUPILS?

43. Despite the relatively small number of teachers, the school provides pupils with a very good range of extra-curricular activities to enrich their curriculum. This is an improvement since the last report when provision was described as good. Clubs for cricket, netball, Mega maths, recorders and art are run after school this term and school teams participate in local competitions. A ‘God Squad’ club meets at lunchtime and gives pupils opportunities to strengthen links with the church. About ten junior pupils receive instrumental music lessons and all junior pupils have the opportunity to participate in residential visits. An appropriate range of day trips for all pupils further enriches their learning and excellent use is made of visits and visitors to the school to enhance the history curriculum.

p.17

PUPILS?

44. Since the previous inspection, the school has maintained and improved its links with the local community, which are now very good. The local vicar takes assemblies regularly, and pupils visit the church for services and as part of the curriculum for religious education. Pupils take an active part in village activities, and are to contribute to the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations by performing some Maypole dances round the pole donated by the village. Pupils were involved in formulating the ‘Parish Plan’ to enhance local facilities. Various organisations, including the National Rivers Authority, the Countryside Commission and local nurseries were all involved in providing a wildlife area in the school grounds to enhance the pupils’ environmental studies.

p.17

PUPILS?

45. There are good, constructive links with other schools in the area. The nursery, which is housed on the school premises, liaises closely with the reception class to ensure a smooth transfer of children. Pupils take part in joint sporting activities. The local secondary school provides good liaison and curriculum support for pupils’ transition. The school benefits from many joint initiatives run by the local cluster of schools, including the shared use of a technician to maintain the school’s computer hardware.

p.17

PUPILS?

46. The provision for pupils’ personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is very good and the school’s ethos remains strong. The school has a comprehensive policy for the personal development of pupils, which reflects the school’s aims. However, although the policy clearly identifies how pupils’ personal development can be developed, curriculum policies do not identify opportunities that may arise to enhance this development. The caring, Christian ethos of the school permeates all activities and helps to promote the very good relationships, attitudes and personal development of the pupils.

p.17

PUPILS?

47. The provision for pupils’ spiritual development is good. It is promoted through daily acts of collective worship and religious education, although less successfully through other subjects of the National Curriculum. Opportunities are missed for experiences to be planned into lessons to develop the spiritual aspect more fully. In religious education, pupils discuss the beliefs of others and learn to value them. The ‘Achievements’ assembly helps pupils to value the efforts of others and the use of the ‘buddy system’ promotes a caring attitude towards other members of the school community. From the caring ethos of the school and the way that pupils relate to each other and to adults, it is clear that pupils are developing a set of values that inform their perspective on life. They show compassion for others, looking after one another when hurt and show a concern for those less fortunate than themselves.

p.17

PUPILS?

48. Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good, as it was at the time of the last inspection. Values are successfully promoted through the school’s programme for personal, social and health education, where a developing sense of citizenship is encouraged through Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 16 structured debate during circle time. There is a consistent whole-school approach to managing pupils’ behaviour and pupils are quite clear about their class rules and the sanctions applied when these rules are broken. From a very early age, pupils are taught the difference between right and wrong and they benefit from the very good role models set by the adults in school. The ‘buddy system’, where paired reading takes place, enables older and younger pupils to share ideas and skills, both academically and socially. Good opportunities are given in lessons for pupils to work collaboratively, sharing expertise and helping each other to achieve. Pupils make a positive

p.17

PUPILS?

contribution to the running of the school by volunteering to act as monitors in classrooms, acting as prefects or serving on the school council.

p.18

PUPILS?

49. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is very good. Pupils learn about their own culture in subjects such as history, art, music and English. They learn traditional country dances and perform these at the village occasions, enhancing a sense of community. In religious education lessons, pupils learn about other faiths and, in geography, they learn about other parts of the world. The excellent link with a school in Kenya makes a very positive contribution to the pupils’ understanding of life in that part of the world. These links are used well through many areas of the curriculum, such as information and communication technology, when pupils use computers to write for a different audience by composing pages for a book to go to Kenya. The school has a good range of multicultural musical instruments that help to promote pupils’ cultural understanding. The school is very aware of the need to prepare pupils for life in multicultural

p.18

PUPILS?

Britain and, through this excellent Kenyan link, pupils are learning to appreciate different cultures and develop a real tolerance and understanding of others.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

50. The children are assessed on entry to the reception. These assessments inform the groupings within the class so that appropriate activities can be set to match differing abilities. The teacher also keeps detailed records of children’s achievements. The curriculum is adapted to meet individual needs as a result of these assessments.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

51. For Years 1 to 6, the school has developed a broad range of assessment procedures that are good for English, where reading records and frequent spelling tests give a clearer picture of pupils’ developing achievements and needs and satisfactory for mathematics. There is a simple and manageable recording procedure for all other subjects. This is a satisfactory response to the key issue identified in the last inspection report, although more work is now known by the school to be necessary to develop them fully, as explained in paragraph 53 of this report.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

52. The results of national tests are soundly and regularly analysed to identify whole school issues and the data is used to target specific and appropriate areas for improvement. For example, extra resources have been successfully provided to address the problem of boys’ underachievement. The results of tests also feed into the tracking of individual pupils and provide firm information on which the school accurately bases its annual targets for the national tests in Year 6.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

53. However, comparable systems in other subjects have only recently been started and there has not been time for them to be used to ensure that teachers prepare work that meets the developing needs of individuals closely enough to develop their skills and understanding logically.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

54. Individual subject co-ordinators are insufficiently involved in the analysis of data and, as a result, are not in a position to monitor pupils’ attainment and achievements, evaluate the delivery of the curriculum or influence curriculum development in their subjects.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

55. The school places a high priority on the early identification of pupils with special needs and the provision of early support. The special needs teacher has considerable expertise in the diagnosis of specific learning difficulties and prepares very detailed and precise individual education plans. The specialist teacher liaises closely with class teachers and responsibility for addressing the targets is divided between them. Targets are reviewed regularly and pupils and their parents are fully involved in the review process. Very good use is made of assessment to track the progress of pupils with special educational needs from baseline onwards. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 17 56. The use made of assessment data by class teachers is inconsistent across the school. Most teachers make good use of assessment information to plan for the range of different ages and abilities in their class. Too often, however, in some classes all pupils are presented with the same

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

tasks. Higher attaining pupils are, therefore, not challenged fully and lower attaining pupils struggle to complete the tasks.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

57. The school looks after the children very well and assures their welfare. This is a strength of the school and maintains the good provision noted in the previous report.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

58. Good procedures for child protection are in place; two named members of staff to co-ordinate the policies and action if required. All the standard health and safety requirements are met and fully in place. The pupils have a clear understanding of the procedures to be followed in the event of a fire alarm.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

59. The procedures for monitoring and improving attendance and addressing late arrival are good and are implemented very well. The level of attendance that is above the national average and the very low level of late arrival are tributes to the effectiveness of these procedures.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

60. The procedures for monitoring and promoting good behaviour and for eliminating oppressive behaviour are very good. The procedures are consistently applied across the school and the success is clearly seen in the very good behaviour of all pupils and the high quality of relationships.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

61. The procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development are good. They are, in the main, informal but nevertheless effective; in this relatively small school the staff know the pupils very well.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

62. The parents have a positive view of the school, which is a similar judgement to that of the previous inspection. There is an easy dialogue between parents, including those of pupils with special educational needs and the school staff and this enhances the education of their children. Thus there is a close and effective relationship with the parents, who value what the school does for their children. Discussions with the parents during the inspection and at the parents’ meeting clearly illustrated and confirmed this relationship.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

63. Parents make a good contribution to the work of the school. This ranges from regular support in the classrooms, for example to teach infant pupils how to use a vegetable grater safely, to the parent, teacher and friends’ association financing the running costs of the school swimming pool and providing the finance for a swimming instructor. In a village school that is some little distance from the nearest local municipal swimming pool, this is a very helpful support to pupils’ development.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

64. The school provides the parents with a wide range of information covering all aspects of school activities. There are two newsletters per term and letters on specific topics when necessary. The notice board in a covered area at the school entrance has copies of the letters, newsletters and governors’ annual report to parents. There are meetings each term for parents to discuss the progress of their children and targets for pupils’ improvement are agreed at these meetings. The written annual reports to parents, while being clearly written, do not give any indication of levels reached or targets for the year ahead.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

65. The parents make a satisfactory contribution to their children’s learning both at home and at school through helping them with reading, mathematics homework and providing materials for projects. In addition, they help to assure a high level of attendance and a very low incidence of late arrival for school.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 18 66. The leadership and management of the headteacher and key staff are satisfactory, overall, setting a clear educational direction for the work of the school.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

67. The headteacher has a very well articulated vision for the school that embraces all aspects of a child’s development. Her leadership and management in pastoral matters are strong, setting a very good tone for the work of the school that results in high standards of behaviour, very good relationships and good teamwork, overall. This ensures that the school’s aims are translated into practice well, overall. As a result, the key issues of the previous inspection have been addressed soundly, overall, although more work is now needed to develop the role of subject co-ordinators more fully, enabling them to discharge their responsibilities and to use the assessment information becoming available in a number of subjects effectively to raise pupils’ standards.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

68. However, there are areas for development with regard to the rigorous evaluation of teaching and the curriculum so as to ensure that all pupils are challenged to achieve as highly as possible, in line with the school’s published aims. In addition, the monitoring of staff has not been regular, robust or effective enough to ensure that agreed policies and procedures are carried out.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

69. The deputy headteacher provides good support for the headteacher and the work of the school. He maintains performance management systems well and ensures that the training needs of the staff and the school, as identified in the school development plan, are fully met.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

70. Subject management is good, overall, and co-ordinators are aware in general terms of the improvements that are needed in their subjects. They share a good commitment to further improvement and are reasonably placed to do so. However, the roles of the co-ordinators are in need of development to allow them the opportunity to lead their subjects more effectively, including the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning. Currently, although they receive regular non-contact time to attend to their duties, including, for example, the updating of policies and the successful audit and storage of resources, this is not scheduled at a time when subjects other than English and mathematics are being taught. It is, therefore, not as useful as it could be.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

71. The headteacher co-ordinates the provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) effectively, ably supported by the dedication and expertise of the SEN teacher. A high priority is given to supporting these pupils and resources are very good. The considerable expenditure on SEN has been evaluated by the school and judged, correctly, to be effective in terms of the progress made by pupils. The school also makes very good use of outside agencies including a physiotherapist and speech therapist. Good progress has been made towards implementing the new Code of Practice.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

72. Governors fulfil their roles soundly, although there are some minor omissions from the school brochure and their annual report to parents. Their structure of committees, each with clearly defined roles, is appropriate and the annual calendar of tasks is clear, comprehensive and helpful. Their role in influencing the school’s educational direction is good. They have a secure grasp of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, arrived at through a balanced mix of, for example, thorough reports from the headteacher and their own personal visits to the school while it is in session. For example, individual governors are linked with subjects and have a joint responsibility with the co-ordinator to implement identified priorities. They act as a friend for the co-ordinator but their role in evaluating the success of actions taken is known to be in need of further development.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

73. Governors are appropriately involved in drafting the school’s development plan and their involvement in setting, monitoring and evaluating the budget is very good. They receive detailed financial reports regularly and evaluations are set in the context of the progress made by pupils. All available finances are used well for their designated purpose, including implementing the priorities identified in the school development plan. The principles of obtaining the best value for expenditure are applied soundly.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

74. The school development plan is comprehensive and thorough with, when appropriate, a suitable emphasis on raising pupils’ achievement. It addresses suitable priorities, based on the sound analysis of the information gained from annual testing; these priorities have largely been addressed Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 19 satisfactorily. The format is consistent and clear, although in some cases groups of people are identified as responsible for implementing actions (for example, “the premises committee”), which could lead to confusion. In addition, it is often not clear who is responsible for evaluating the impact of the actions taken on raising standards.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

75. The school has an appropriate number of teachers and support staff for the effective delivery of the curriculum. They are well qualified; for example, all learning support workers are fully trained in the literacy and numeracy strategies and many have additional qualifications. They are deployed well in each class to meet the areas of greatest perceived need. There is a good balance between younger staff and those with more experience. A small amount of specialist teaching takes place, which makes good use of particular staff skills in physical education and information technology. The school secretary makes a valuable contribution to the smooth running of the school and is a very good point of first contact for parents and visitors.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

76. The accommodation is good, overall. The school building is modern, attractive and very well maintained. There is a large field and nature area, the latter having been developed with funds from the parents association. Most classrooms are large, although the reception class is too small to accommodate adequately the range of activities necessary for the delivery of the required curriculum. The allocated outside play area for the youngest children is insecure and limited in size, which restricts its potential for using large wheeled toys.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

77. Resources are satisfactory, overall. They are good in English as a result of recent focused expenditure and in history and ICT. The recently completed computer suite is helping to raise standards and is used well for a substantial portion of the timetable. In all other subjects, resources are satisfactory except for science and art and design, where further expenditure is required for the effective delivery of the curriculum.

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

78. In order to improve standards still further, especially in English, mathematics, science and art in Year 6 and for the potentially higher attaining pupils throughout the school, the headteacher, staff and governors should now:

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• improve the frequency and rigour with which the quality of planning, teaching and learning is monitored and evaluated to establish consistency in provision for pupils of the same age in different classes, especially in the upper juniors;

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Paragraphs: 11, 33, 36, 68, 90, 94, 96, 105, 110 – 112, 121, 131, 134 and 143)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• review the balance of the curriculum, especially for the oldest pupils, to ensure that all subjects receive adequate and regular time to cover what is needed in sufficient detail;

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Paragraphs: 10, 34 – 36, 42, 118, 121, 131, 133 and 134)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• develop further, as planned, the schemes of work in all subjects to ensure that all pupils acquire skills and understanding in a logical sequence;

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Paragraphs: 15, 39, 113, 120, 121 and 127)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensure that teachers use the growing body of assessment information available to plan work that is closely matched to the developing needs of individual pupils; and

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Paragraphs: 15, 32, 33, 53, 54, 56, 94, 101, 103, 105, 107, 114, 127, 131, 137, 143, 146 and 151)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• develop the role of subject co-ordinators to enable them to account fully for the standards attained and the provision made in their subjects.

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Paragraphs: 70, 96, 105, 115, 121, 127, 131, 137, 146 and 151) Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 20

p.21

In addition, the governors should consider:

• improving the outside play area for the youngest children, including providing large wheeled toys; • improving the resources for science and art; • improving the quality and regularity of teachers’ marking of pupils’ work; and • identifying more clearly in the school development plan exactly who is responsible for evaluating the impact of actions taken on improving pupils’ learning.

p.22

In addition, the governors should consider:

(Paragraphs: 29, 74, 76, 77, 80, 85, 94, 103, 115 and 122) Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 21

p.22

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 26

p.23

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.23

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 three percentage points.

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 134

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 3

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 2

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 25

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 4

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 2

p.23

Attendance

School data 3.2 School data 0.1 Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 22 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

p.23

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 23

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 13 13 26

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 11 13 10 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 11 12 12

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 85 (81) 96 (67) 85 (81) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 10 10 10 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 9 12

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 77 (81) 73 (86) 85 (86) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

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

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 15 15 30

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 10 12 13 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 15 15

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 80 (81) 90 (81) 93 (88) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 8 12 11 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 14 15

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 73 (81) 87 (75) 87 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 24

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 6.3 Financial year 2001/2002

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21.3

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 308,107

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 10 Total expenditure 319,668

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 85 Expenditure per pupil 2,205

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent Balance brought forward from previous year 25,000

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 13,439

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2.2

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1.1

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

p.26

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. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 25

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 23 68 10 0 0

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 29 52 16 3 0

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 32 52 13 3 0

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 65 26 10 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. 74 26 0 0 0

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 42 32 16 3 6

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 65 19 10 6 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 58 35 3 0 0

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 29 48 10 6 6 Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 26

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

79. As a Church of England Voluntary Aided School, admission arrangements are fully explained in the parents’ brochure as being, in priority order, by location, number of siblings already in the school, denomination, past siblings, other Church affiliation and other factors. Children enter the reception class with a range of attainment. Over time this has improved and is now broadly average, although in each year group a relatively high proportion performed below the levels expected in their baseline assessments. All reception-aged children are taught in the same class, which also contains a number of Year 1 pupils (currently 6 in number).

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

80. There was a two-part key issue in the previous inspection report to do with improving the opportunities for structured play and the improvement of children’s learning in English and mathematics. Overall, the quality of the education they receive is now good. The curriculum is well planned to cover all the areas of learning to enable children to achieve the early learning goals. It is broad and relevant, with an appropriate emphasis on the use of structured play activities, to enable children to learn from direct experience. It has improved since the last inspection because of good quality teaching and the effective use of some detailed records of what children can do and what they need to do next, leading to improvements in children’s learning, including in communication, language and literacy and mathematics. However, although there are now more opportunities for structured play, the school recognises the continuing need to provide regular

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

access to a secure and fully equipped outdoor play area.

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Personal, social and emotional development

81. Children enter the reception with average social skills. They make satisfactory progress because of the good quality teaching they receive and, by the end of the foundation stage, their attainment in this area of learning, overall, is generally in line with what is expected nationally. The clear boundaries, and very good role models set by the adults, ensure that the children know what is expected of them. They generally behave well and show interest in what they are doing. Children are continually encouraged to feel confident about what they achieve and are reminded of the high standards that the teacher expects. However, there are a few children who do not always behave as they should and this disrupts lessons. The majority learn to concentrate well on the task, even when not directly supervised, and show pride in the finished product. They know the rules of the class and settle to tasks quickly and without fuss. They make their own choices as to what

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Personal, social and emotional development

activity they would like to pursue, taking turns if too many children want the same thing. Some children do not find listening easy, but by friendly, firm management the adults ensure that the children pay attention. The gains in learning in this area are as a result of the continual reinforcement of rules by the adults and treating each other and the children with courtesy and respect. This leads to trusting relationships and helps the children succeed.

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Communication, language and literacy

82. Teaching in this area of learning is good and children, including those identified as having special educational needs, achieve well. By the end of the reception year, with the exception of those with learning difficulties, all children are attaining the Early Learning Goals with the higher attainers working within the early stages of the National Curriculum. Children are given opportunities to speak and talk about their home life and the adults listen carefully to what children are saying. In the role-play area good opportunities are provided for social interaction and conversation, as children act out the roles of customer, waitress and chef in the cafe. Many children have imprecise speech, but the clear way the adults talk and model language ensures that the children make steady progress in their speaking skills. Listening skills are not so well developed; some children find listening difficult but constant reminders from the teacher and insistence on complete

p.28

Communication, language and literacy

attention ensure that the children learn good work habits and improve their listening skills. From an early age, children are taught to hold a pencil correctly and by the time they leave the reception all children form their letters correctly, with the higher attainers writing recognisable words and Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 27 simple sentences. They recognise the sounds of all the letters and the majority correctly identify the names. They know that an author writes a book and that the illustrator draws the pictures. They enjoy books and even the youngest children handle them correctly, knowing that print is read from left to right. The teacher makes good use of elements of the National Literacy Strategy to meet the needs of these young children and also ensures that children are ready for transfer to the National Curriculum in Year 1. Children are encouraged to read at home, but there are no agreed

p.28

Communication, language and literacy

targets for reading or writing to enable children to become more aware of their own learning.

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Mathematical development

83. The children achieve well in this area of learning as a result of the good teaching and by the end of reception are on track to have acquired a good understanding of number and to have attained the Early Learning Goals. Children recognise the main colours and the names of simple two- and three-dimensional shapes. The teacher has adapted the National Numeracy Strategy well to meets the needs of the children. In their mathematics lessons the children order numbers to at least ten, learn number operations such as addition and subtraction and understand what a symmetrical shape means by checking shapes with a mirror. The higher attainers position shapes correctly to make a symmetrical pattern. They are given opportunities to learn through practical experience and appropriate apparatus is used. For example, the teacher uses a variety of shapes to promote discussion on shape and to get the children to identify curved and flat

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Mathematical development

surfaces. They concentrate well and show an interest in numbers, which has a positive impact on their learning. All children are appropriately challenged to ensure they all make good gains in their learning. Children with special educational needs are given good support to enable them to succeed.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

84. Children are making sound progress in developing their knowledge and understanding of the world around them, as a result of good opportunities to experience a range of activities that ensures good coverage of the area of learning and satisfactory teaching. They are on track to meet the standards expected nationally of five-year-olds. Children use the computer to draw pictures and drag icons across the screen when making symmetrical patterns. This requires good control of the mouse, which children learn very early on. The higher attaining children also print the work themselves. Children make bread and sandwiches and know why it is important to wash your hands. They know the main observable parts of the body and investigate the changes that occur when ice melts. They examine a variety of fruits using all their senses. This activity is used well to enhance the children’s vocabulary as they describe what they see, feel and smell. The teacher

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

uses questioning well to make children think about their world and to appreciate the wonder of it. In this way she ensures that children are involved, interested and continuously learning.

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Physical development

85. Children make satisfactory progress and attain the Early Learning Goals by the age of five as a result of the good teaching of this area. Children are well co-ordinated, move with an increasing awareness of their bodies and manipulate a range of small equipment with dexterity. Children use the playground and hall for their physical development lessons and learn to move with increasing control of their bodies, showing a good awareness of the space around them. The adults join in well and lead by example, becoming thoroughly involved alongside the children. The teacher ensures that the children aim accurately when throwing a beanbag and watch the ball carefully while rolling it to a partner. During playtimes children walk, run and jump safely and appropriately, but there is no secure suitable outside area for the children to ride tricycles and wheeled toys each day. The outside facilities are unsatisfactory for the further development of children’s large

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Physical development

motor skills, as the hard area is too small and the grassed area is not flat enough. This was the case at the time of the last inspection and this weakness has not yet been addressed. Fine motor movements are developed through the use of pencils, brushes, scissors and small construction apparatus. This area of learning is planned well to develop children’s physical skills, using the limited facilities that are available.

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Creative development

Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 28 86. Teaching in this area is good. Children have a range of opportunities to develop their creativity and the majority make satisfactory progress and are on track to attain the expected standard by the end of the reception year. Planning of this area is sound and gives children a full range of artistic experiences. Children also use a variety of pencils, pastels and collage to create images. They use paint effectively to make representations of different fruits, and, with guidance from an adult, print fabric using fruits. In this lesson however, there were missed opportunities to teach the children artistic skills to enable them to produce a pleasing result. Children learn to sing a number of rhymes and are encouraged to use their imaginations during role-play sessions, when they use the cafe. Here children write a menu, ask the customer what is wanted and the chef prepares the

p.30

Creative development

meal. The waitress then serves the food. They use clay to make pots and decorate them carefully.

p.30

ENGLISH

87. Evidence from the current inspection indicates that the number of pupils attaining nationally expected standards in English is close to the average by the end of Year 2 but below average by the end of Year 6. This represents a similar picture to the previous inspection in Year 2 but a decline in standards for pupils in Year 6. However, numbers in each year group are small and this has an adverse effect on the reliability of statistics. Attainment, as measured by the results of the national tests, has, therefore, fluctuated considerably from year to year. Pupils generally achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment.

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ENGLISH

88. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good. It provides an effective balance between in-class support, which enables pupils to access the full curriculum and individual withdrawal, which addresses pupils’ individual learning difficulties. The quality of teaching that pupils receive when withdrawn for individual support is excellent. It is based on a very clear diagnosis of pupils’ precise learning difficulties and backed up by a very detailed individual educational programme. Pupils with special educational needs are very positive about the support they receive and are motivated by the interesting range of purposeful activities provided. They gain in confidence as they become aware of increasing success in mastery of basic skills. They make good progress over time and several pupils achieve nationally expected levels in reading and writing.

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ENGLISH

89. In the current Year 2, the majority of pupils understand the conventions of discussion, speak clearly and listen well to their teacher and to each other. Their standards match those expected nationally. Approximately one third of pupils have a wide vocabulary, enabling them to carry on an extended conversation and to express a well-argued and coherent point of view. Reading standards are above average. Two thirds of pupils are confident readers of familiar but demanding texts. They read with expression and appropriate attention to punctuation and use a range of semantic, phonic and syntactic clues to decode unfamiliar words. The regular ‘author of the week’ slot has engendered an enthusiasm for reading and several pupils had well-established preferences for a particular author. They could offer opinions about books they had read and say why they liked them. Good use was made of pupils’ enthusiasm for reading as a stimulus for their

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ENGLISH

writing, where their standards are in line with the national average, overall. For example, pupils wrote down questions that they would ask Alan Ahlberg if they met him. The emphasis on teaching basic grammar through pupils’ own writing is proving successful and most pupils understand and use simple punctuation and can write in grammatically correct sentences. The scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that the quality of pupils’ spelling has improved over the year and most pupils are applying phonic skills to both their reading and writing.

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ENGLISH

90. Pupils’ reading and writing skills continue to develop satisfactorily in Years 3 and 4. However, this is less assured for the oldest pupils in the school because of the limited opportunities they have to develop their writing skills.

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ENGLISH

91. In Year 6, pupils’ standards, overall, in writing are below average. They have been taught a range of grammatical structures but only the higher attainers use them consistently accurately in their writing. They have studied some of the components of poetry writing, such as style and imagery. They have looked at the main characters in Macbeth and analysed the main features of creation Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 29 myths. However, there was no evidence in pupils’ books that these issues had been explored in depth or that pupils understood them well enough to use the main points in their own writing. The majority of pupils remain enthusiastic about reading and all pupils, including those with special educational needs, are independent readers who read with good levels of understanding and attain average standards. Higher attaining pupils talk enthusiastically of a wide range of books, enlarging

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ENGLISH

on the characters they like and using evidence from the text to justify their viewpoint. In one-to- one conversation, pupils are articulate, informed speakers and, in lessons, they listen attentively and politely to each other and to adults. Their standards of speaking and listening are in line with those expected nationally.

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ENGLISH

92. The quality of teaching is good, overall; no specific judgement was given in the previous inspection report. Teachers have a real enthusiasm for poetry and literature, which they communicate to their pupils. For example, in the Year 4/5 class the teacher used examples of his own poetry to focus pupils’ ideas and, in the Year 3 class, pupils responded creatively to the teachers’ lively reading of a range of humorous poems by writing their own alliterative verse. Pupils’ own writing is valued and celebrated and used well to teach grammatical skills. Teachers’ planning is detailed and in most classes planning takes account of the wide range of different abilities and ages in the class. For example in the Year 3 class, all pupils were encouraged to write their own verse with lower attaining pupils being effectively supported by a more structured work sheet and additional adult support. In all classes, pupils are encouraged to be independent learners, using dictionaries or a

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ENGLISH

thesaurus to find words and spellings and not relying on adults to think for them. Nearly all support staff adopt the good open-ended questioning displayed by most teachers. This is effective in assessing what pupils know and understand and encourages pupils to think through strategies for themselves.

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ENGLISH

93. The National Literacy Strategy is well established and its format has been appropriately adapted to give additional time for extended writing. The use of pupils’ literacy skills in other subjects is satisfactory. Since the establishment of a new ICT suite at the beginning of the year, its use to support pupils’ work in English has been developing well. A good example is when Year 4 pupils use a program to insert speech bubbles into their work.

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ENGLISH

94. Where teaching is less effective in promoting learning, work is not appropriately matched to the range of different ages and abilities in the class. As a result, some lower attaining pupils, in particular, are increasingly unable to tackle work that is too difficult for them. Marking does not show pupils how they can improve their work and pupils are provided with too few opportunities for developing their writing for different audiences and purposes. Too much emphasis is placed on the regular practice of test papers at the expense of relevant and interesting opportunities for learning.

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ENGLISH

95. Pupils are positive about their English lessons and settle quickly to written activities. They concentrate for appropriate periods of time and are keen to do well. Classroom routines are well established and pupils work sensibly and co-operatively even when not directly supervised. Their attitudes to work were at least good in all the lessons seen except for the oldest pupils, where they were satisfactory.

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ENGLISH

96. English is managed jointly and well by two experienced and enthusiastic co-ordinators who have ensured that all members of staff have good resources to underpin their teaching. They both set a very good example by the quality of their own teaching. However, their co-ordinator role is underdeveloped because they have not had opportunities for monitoring the teaching of English throughout the school, either by scrutiny of planning, sampling pupils’ books or by observing lessons. Their involvement in the curriculum development of the subject has been hampered by lack of responsibility for the analysis of test results, although initiatives for raising the achievement of boys and for the development of cross-curricular links have been successfully supported by major book purchases. Agreement on whole-school initiatives has not been followed up by checks that all teachers are operating them. For example, a good range of assessment procedures is in

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ENGLISH

place but the results of these are not used by all teachers to inform their planning or to ensure that the work provided matches the needs of the pupils in their class. A portfolio of work is maintained but this is not moderated and there is insufficient checking that teachers’ levelling of work is accurate. These judgements are similar to those of the previous inspection report; progress since that time has been satisfactory, overall. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 30

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MATHEMATICS

97. Improvements since the last inspection have been satisfactory, overall. Pupils’ standards are close to the national average in Year 2 and below average in Year 6, which, when compared to the results in the national tests in 2001, represents a significant improvement in Year 2 and a large deterioration in Year 6. However, cohorts are small and every individual pupil represents just over three per cent of the whole group with a consequent adverse effect on the reliability of the statistics. In addition, the current Year 6 group contains a large proportion of pupils who are on the school’s register of special educational needs. Pupils’ achievements, including those with special educational needs, are satisfactory when compared with their prior attainment.

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MATHEMATICS

98. Year 2 pupils add and subtract accurately with pairs of numbers up to 20, although they are less secure when the number of elements involved is greater than two. They group similar numbers together satisfactorily in early exercises leading to multiplication and division. They have a secure understanding of place value of two-digit numbers. Pupils correctly name simple two- and three- dimensional shapes, such as circles and squares and accurately compare length and mass, using arbitrary measures. Higher attainers use the correct units of measurement, such as kilogrammes and successfully add strings of numbers, for example 3 + 7 + 12. Lower attainers and pupils with special educational needs subtract single digit numbers accurately when helped by a learning support worker but find this difficult on their own.

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MATHEMATICS

99. Year 4 pupils build well on these beginnings. They accurately add and subtract numbers to two places of decimals. They have a secure grasp of place value but do not fully understand the relationship between fractions and decimal numbers. They read a small variety of scales accurately and measure mass in grammes. Higher attainers multiply decimal numbers accurately by single digit numbers. Lower attainers and those with special educational needs are less secure when handling numbers, for example only adding numbers accurately to one place of decimals. There are encouraging signs that the growing use of assessment information is beginning to improve the match of work to pupils’ needs and that all pupils, including higher attainers, are making the progress that they should.

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MATHEMATICS

100. In Year 6, average attaining pupils add numbers accurately to three places of decimals and use brackets appropriately to group numbers. However, their recall of basic number facts is slower than it should be, which hinders their work in other areas of the subject. They calculate percentage discounts reasonably accurately and are beginning to use formulae, for example, to calculate the area of a circle. Their understanding of ratio and proportion is insecure. They have a satisfactory grasp of reflective symmetry and construct pie charts with reasonable accuracy, sometimes using computer programs to do so. Higher attainers use a variety of methods to do their calculations and accurately convert improper fractions to mixed numbers, which is in line with what pupils of this age should be doing. Lower attainers and those with special educational needs, who form a large proportion of this year group, work at levels below those expected

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MATHEMATICS

nationally when they have problems with understanding, for example, the concept of a perimeter or place value.

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MATHEMATICS

101. The quality of teaching is good in all lessons seen, which is an improvement since the last inspection. However, there are comparative weaknesses in teachers’ planning and use of assessment data that result in teaching over time being satisfactory, rather than good.

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MATHEMATICS

102. Lessons are structured well and activities generally chosen to interest pupils, which results in a good use of time. Throughout the school, relationships are strong and pupils’ behaviour is managed well; consequently, pupils are motivated to work hard and are confident that their efforts will be appreciated. The pace of lessons is generally good with teachers giving pupils time to consider their answers as well as sustaining momentum when explaining points between activities. Reasonable use is being made of new technology, although some of the computer programs used during the inspection were being evaluated and were not fully useful. However, pupils in the Year 4/5 class used spreadsheets soundly to show the results of expenditure on party food. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 31 103. Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ behaviour and application to task are high and so pupils work diligently and concentrate well. However, their expectations of the standards pupils could and

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MATHEMATICS

should achieve are not always as high as they could be. This is because they do not use all of the available assessment information as well as they should to devise work that is closely matched to the developing needs of individuals. Pupils’ work is marked regularly in most, but not all, classes but is rarely accompanied by indications of how work could be improved. However, good practice was observed in a lesson in the Year 4/5 class; the teacher had made a thorough assessment of individual needs, based on his marking of the work from the previous day. He grouped pupils according to those needs, devised tasks that were focused well on what they needed to do next and allocated appropriate resources well.

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MATHEMATICS

104. Learning support workers (LSWs) are deployed well and make a significant contribution to the learning of the individuals and groups to which they are assigned. For example, in the Year 1/2 lesson, the LSW explained what pupils had to do very carefully and questioned them closely, forcing them to think hard and helping them to understand how to subtract single digit numbers. Another example of this good deployment and effective practice was in Years 4/5, where the LSW played a full and active part in the initial session of quick recall of numbers by timing the session and keeping track of the answers given. Homework is used soundly to support and extend the work done in the classrooms. Other subjects, such as science and design and technology, are used soundly to support pupils’ developing numeracy competences.

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MATHEMATICS

105. The leadership and management of the subject are sound, overall. Planning is now firmly based on the National Numeracy Strategy, although there is little evidence of a routine and regular emphasis on developing pupils’ skills in problem solving and investigation, except in the co- ordinator’s class. Procedures for the annual assessment of pupils’ standards are satisfactory and are used appropriately to track pupils’ progress. Recently, procedures for testing pupils’ attainment more frequently have been established and are sound in principle. However, insufficient use is made of more regular assessment information, including marking, as detailed above, to enable teachers to devise further work to match individual needs. In addition, there is no identification of those pupils with special educational needs in mathematics to enable their specific needs to be identified and met to the same standard as they are in English. Teachers make

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MATHEMATICS

occasional and appropriate notes about the effectiveness of lessons and sometimes include comments about how well individual pupils have achieved; this process lacks the rigour and consistency necessary for it to form a robust addition to tracking pupils’ achievements and attainment. The monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics are not carried out with sufficient rigour or frequency to inform the co-ordinator about, for example, why standards have been so low in the infant part of the school or why they have now improved.

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SCIENCE

106. In the national tests in 2001, the standards attained by pupils in Year 6 were below the national average and that for similar schools. Inspection findings show that current standards are similar to these because there are very few pupils attaining higher levels and a significant proportion are working at levels below those expected nationally. Pupils’ standards in Year 2 match those expected of their age nationally, which is a significant improvement on teachers’ assessments of standards in the previous year. In both cases, however, these findings are worse than at the time of the previous inspection. However, as previously explained in this report, cohorts are small and every individual pupil represents just over three per cent of the whole group with a consequent adverse effect on the reliability of the statistics. In addition, the current Year 6 group contains a large proportion of pupils who are on the school’s register of special educational needs.

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SCIENCE

107. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, make good progress in lessons throughout the school because of good teaching. However, they make satisfactory progress over time because there are weaknesses in the way teachers use assessment information to plan work that matches individual pupils’ needs and develops their skills and understanding in a logical sequence.

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SCIENCE

108. In Year 2, pupils record their work in a reasonable variety of ways, including drawing and words. Higher attaining pupils record their work at greater length and in an increased variety of ways. They have a secure understanding of the main food groups and of the need for a balanced diet if Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 32 they are to stay healthy. They realise that people change in appearance with age. They correctly name common sources of light and know many of the dangers associated with electricity.

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SCIENCE

109. Pupils in Year 3 develop their skills satisfactorily when they use their own ‘dictionaries’ to find the correct words to explain how a variety of materials feel. In this class, pupils’ scientific vocabulary is developed well because of a constant emphasis by the teacher throughout the lesson. In the Year 4/5 class, these skills are further enhanced. Pupils have a good grasp of fair testing and realise which variables can be changed and which cannot. They make sensible predictions and explain what they are doing clearly and correctly. They measure length correctly, which is a satisfactory use of their mathematical skills and write their results on a prepared record sheet, drawing valid conclusions.

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SCIENCE

110. In the Year 5/6 class, the pupils in Year 5 do not have the same opportunity to develop their investigative skills. Worksheets tend to be too narrowly focused to allow higher attaining pupils to develop their skills fully enough. In this class, the needs of the Year 5 pupils are not met adequately, which is in contrast to pupils of the same age in the other class and is an issue concerning equal access to the required curriculum.

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SCIENCE

111. In the Year 6 group of pupils there is a high proportion – nearly a third of the class – that are on the school’s register of special educational needs, which adversely affects the overall standards attained. In addition, because of the weaknesses in provision, outlined in the previous paragraph, there are too few pupils attaining higher levels. Nevertheless, pupils have a reasonably secure grasp of the fact that some changes can be reversed and some cannot. They use methods, such as filtration or evaporation, to separate simple mixtures. Where the worksheet allowed, higher attaining pupils occasionally wrote at greater length but this development of recording techniques has been insufficiently emphasised during the year, which leads to some potentially higher attaining pupils not achieving the standards that they could. Lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs, however, are supported soundly by such prescriptive worksheets and

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SCIENCE

112. The quality of teaching seen was good throughout the school, although in different ways; this is the same as that reported during the previous inspection. Relationships are strong in every class, which means that pupils are very willing to work hard in the confidence that their efforts will be appreciated. They behave well and are sensitive to the needs of their peers; teachers’ behaviour management is good and is consistently and sensitively applied when necessary. Where lessons are more successful in developing pupils’ skills of scientific enquiry, it is because the teacher has a good understanding of the subject and plans work in such a way that all pupils, including the higher attaining and those with special educational needs, are challenged to think for themselves. This results in good levels of concentration, participation and enjoyment as pupils collaborate to good effect. For example, in the Year 4/5 class, an emphasis on the need for fair testing and

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SCIENCE

some very good incisive questioning helped pupils to probe their own understanding. Another good example of this high level of challenge was in the Year 3 class, where pupils had to group a number of materials according to their properties; they had to describe what they felt like, using a ‘dictionary’ that they had prepared in a previous lesson. Where lessons are less successful in developing pupils’ skills, it is because they focused on revising the knowledge base needed for the national tests. While this was a successful exercise for those Year 6 pupils who needed such provision, it did not fully meet their needs as scientists and has been a characteristic of lessons in this class, with too little emphasis on the development of pupils’ enquiry or investigative skills.

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SCIENCE

113. The school has used national guidance as the basis of its scheme of work for the duration of the current two-year planning cycle, which is now drawing to a close. While this assures coverage of National Curriculum requirements, the co-ordinator has recognised that further work is needed to develop an effective scheme that places suitable emphasis on developing understanding and pupils’ skills of enquiry and investigation. At the time of the previous inspection, the scheme of work was judged to be detailed, so this represents a deterioration since then. Although pupils do use sensors to investigate temperature changes, there is no indication that the potential of technology to support work in this subject has yet been fully realised. However, this is understandable because the school has only very recently had the benefit of its new computer suite; teachers are eager to utilise its potential to the full.

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SCIENCE

Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 33 114. From the beginning of this academic year, a satisfactory system of assessing what pupils have learned has been put in place. However, it has not yet been effective in providing the information needed to enable teachers to plan work that builds on what individual pupils already know, understand and can do. This is a similar judgement to that made in the last inspection report.

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SCIENCE

115. The co-ordinator has a sound grasp of what is needed to improve the subject but is unable to use her non-contact time to monitor the quality of teaching because no teaching of science is taking place during her ‘free’ morning; this is unsatisfactory. In addition, the fact that she has not evaluated the quality of learning is also unsatisfactory. However, she has helped her colleagues to identify and undertake useful training that has improved their own confidence with the subject and has correctly identified that the amount, range and quality of resources, judged to be good during the last inspection, are now in need of improvement. Overall, improvements in this subject have not been made at a fast enough rate since the last inspection.

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ART AND DESIGN

116. Standards in art meet national expectations in Year 2 but are unsatisfactory in Year 6. Both these judgements are below those of the previous inspection. Pupils enter Year 1 with a good grounding in the basic skills and these are satisfactorily built on in the Year 1/2 class. Pupils handle paint well, have good cutting and sticking skills and take an element of responsibility for the display of their work. Printing skills, initially introduced in the reception class, are soundly developed through to Year 2 in a range of activities, such as potato printing and fabric printing inspired by African textiles.

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ART AND DESIGN

117. A whole school project, inspired by links with a Kenyan school, assures the further development of printing skills. In Year 3, pupils tile printed butterfly and flower patterns onto fabric. In the Year 4/5 class, pupils have used tie-dye techniques satisfactorily to replicate African techniques and designs and, in the Year 5/6 class, pupils have made pleasing clay models of African animals. There are examples of computer art packages being used satisfactorily to help design posters or to act as backgrounds for other text.

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ART AND DESIGN

118. The quality of teaching is satisfactory, overall. It was good in two of the three lessons observed and barely satisfactory in one. As a result, pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve satisfactory standards in relation to their prior attainment in Years 1 to 4, as do those Year 5 pupils working in the Year 4/5 class. Pupils in the Year 5/6 class do not achieve the results they could and should because art and design is not taught regularly enough to develop their skills sufficiently.

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ART AND DESIGN

119. In the more effective lessons, teachers have good subject knowledge and establish a purposeful working atmosphere. Pupils are encouraged to evaluate their work in terms of the particular requirements of the task and a relevant context for the work is established. The skills of support staff are utilised well to give additional expertise.

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ART AND DESIGN

120. In the less effective lesson, there was no planning and the lesson objective was unclear. The teacher had identified shortcomings in pupils’ observational drawing skills but the task – copying a magazine picture showing movement – was limited and not set in a context of the development of drawing skills. Although they were unclear about the purpose of the task, the pupils concentrated sensibly.

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ART AND DESIGN

121. At present the school is using national guidelines as a framework for the teaching of art. However, there is no scheme of work that ensures the progressive development of knowledge and skills across the school or robust assessment procedures that teachers could use to plan further work. The curriculum is, therefore, less good than that judged in the previous report and assessment has not been addressed sufficiently. Sketchbooks have only been introduced in the last few weeks. Art has yet to establish a sufficiently high profile in the school; it is not taught on a regular basis in all classes and there are no specifically art displays in some classrooms. The level at which art is taught or even whether it is taught at all depends too much on the expertise and inclinations of Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 34 individual teachers. Monitoring of the curriculum and of the quality of teaching and learning is

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ART AND DESIGN

122. The co-ordinator for art is knowledgeable and enthusiastic and sets a good example through the quality of her own art teaching. She has already brought in a visiting art specialist to work with her own class on printing and weaving activities. The co-ordinator also runs an after school art club to help fill gaps in curriculum provision. This has resulted in large-scale pictures in the style of Kandinsky and Jackson Pollock. However, the art club can only meet the needs of a handful of pupils. She is aware of the need to raise the profile of art in the school. She is already compiling ideas for the development of skills across the school and has audited resources, which are currently unsatisfactory. She is well able to provide advice and support for colleagues. There has been insufficient improvement since the last inspection. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 35

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

123. Because of the timing of the inspection, only one lesson was observed. However, through analysing pupils’ work on display, talking with them about their work, discussions with the co- ordinator and scrutiny of plans and records, it is clear that pupils’ standards in Years 2 and 6 match those expected nationally for their age, which is not as good as at the time of the previous inspection. Because of the school’s recent emphasis on English and mathematics in response to national imperatives, less emphasis has been possible on work in this subject to ensure that the scheme of work has developed sufficiently.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

124. Overall, pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment. In Year 3, however, there is a substantial amount of evidence that indicates that these pupils attain good results and are working, in textiles, at levels above those expected for their age and have achieved well.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

125. In Year 2, pupils plan a healthy meal with good regard to nutrition, which links well with their work in science and to the eventual colour balance of their ingredients. However, they are less secure when required to plan ahead what resources – knife, chopping board and so on – they will need to have. They have a good understanding of the need for the safe handling of tools and, with the help of a volunteer mother, learn to slice vegetables safely. In this lesson, the quality of teaching and learning was good. Both the mother and the learning support worker, linked with an identified pupil, were deployed well by the teacher and made very good contributions to the smooth running of the lesson and to pupils’ learning. All pupils were enthusiastic but about half found it difficult to sustain concentration for long periods of time. However, the teacher managed behaviour well and relationships were good. This ensured that most pupils remained reasonably on task throughout

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

the lesson, with the learning support worker taking a full part in sustaining concentration and effort for all pupils, not just for the one to which she was assigned. The lesson was planned well with all necessary resources readily to hand, which meant that no time was lost and pupils were able to fulfil the specific tasks given.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

126. Through discussions with pupils and the scrutiny of plans and models, it is clear that the quality of teaching is satisfactory, overall, in the juniors. In Year 3, pupils develop a very good understanding of the complete design process through designing, trialling, amending and finalising the patterns for cushion covers before printing them onto fabric. This work is linked with their work on Kenya and is an excellent example of what can be achieved. Year 6 pupils talk with enthusiasm about their work building fairground rides. They have a secure grasp of the process of designing, making and evaluating their work and have collaborated well on this project. They show satisfactory standards of design and their diagrams are suitably labelled. They amend their designs appropriately when they need to do so in the light of problems encountered. Their making skills are satisfactory. However, they do not routinely use simple strengthening techniques when they

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

need to join dowelling and their level of skills in the making of structures is only just satisfactory. Their evaluations are entertainingly honest!

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

127. Leadership and management are satisfactory, given the emphasis put nationally on the core subjects of English and mathematics recently. This is less good than at the time of the previous inspection. The school has adopted national guidance to act as a satisfactory scheme of work and the initial two-year planning cycle is drawing to a close. The co-ordinator has, appropriately, recognised that there is a need to develop a scheme that puts greater emphasis on developing pupils’ skills rigorously and sequentially and makes full use of the potential of new technology to support pupils’ work in this subject. A system of assessment has been put in place very recently, which is an improvement since the last inspection. However, there has not yet been time enough to use the information gained to influence teachers’ planning of further work, thereby ensuring that the needs of individual pupils are met adequately. Nevertheless, a good amount of useful training

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

has increased teachers’ confidence and competence and the accessibility of resources has been improved. The co-ordinator has no opportunity to monitor and evaluate the standards of teaching because of the timing of co-ordinator release within the school week and has not monitored or evaluated the quality of learning; this is unsatisfactory.

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GEOGRAPHY

Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 36 128. No lessons were observed during the inspection. However, the examination of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils indicate that standards of attainment at the end of both key stages are in line with those expected nationally. This matches the judgements of the previous inspection report in Year 6 but is less good in Year 2, where the development of their mapping skills is less advanced than previously. Achievement throughout the school is satisfactory in relation to pupils’ prior understanding. Pupils with special educational needs do the same activities as their peers and make similar satisfactory progress.

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GEOGRAPHY

129. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 learn early mapping skills by drawing plans of the classroom and playground, identifying the main features. They study the local village through a village walk and record the changes that happen to the school during a building project. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 develop their skills of geographical enquiry soundly by examining the advantages and disadvantages of building a supermarket in the village. They study the environment through a litter project and examine environmental change during a residential visit when they look at the erosion of rocks. Mapping skills are developed satisfactorily from Year 2 into Year 3 when pupils learn direction and how to use co-ordinates to record the position of features on a map. During a residential visit the oldest pupils use these skills well to follow routes when orienteering.

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GEOGRAPHY

130. Very good use is made of the link between school and a school in Kenya. Through this link the pupils learn about a different part of the world and different life styles. They handle a range of African artefacts that illustrate how materials are recycled, for example how old car tyres are used to make sandals.

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GEOGRAPHY

131. Evidence from the scrutiny of work indicates that teaching is satisfactory although no lessons were observed. A range of activities is planned to develop pupils’ skills and ensure that there is adequate coverage of the curriculum. However, the evidence available indicates that pupils in the Year 5/6 class have limited opportunities to enhance their geographical knowledge and understanding as little curriculum time is allocated to the subject. Year 5 pupils who work with Year 6 do not receive the same learning opportunities as their peers who work with Year 4 in spite of a two-year programme of topics. This is unacceptable. Teachers use every opportunity to exploit the excellent African link, including the use of emails in ICT lessons, which greatly enhances the learning opportunities for the pupils.

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GEOGRAPHY

132. Monitoring of the subject is underdeveloped at the moment and assessment is not used to inform further stages of learning. Good use is made of fieldwork to enhance skills through a range of visits.

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HISTORY

133. At the time of the last report standards were reported to be good, but, because there is a lack of current evidence, no judgements can be made about standards achieved by the present Year 6 pupils. However, evidence from the two lessons observed and the scrutiny of work of the remainder of the juniors, indicate that standards are average for the pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5. No lessons were observed in Years 1 and 2 during this inspection, but a scrutiny of pupils’ work and examination of teachers’ planning indicate that standards are currently in line with expectations at the end of Key Stage 1. Explanations of why standards appear to have fallen in this year group since the last inspection are not possible because of the lack of examples in the previous report. Pupils’ achievements in Years 1 to 4, including those of pupils with special educational needs, are satisfactory, as they are for the Year 5 pupils in the Year 4 class.

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HISTORY

134. The subject is planned on a two-year programme to accommodate the mixed age classes, but this does not always prevent pupils studying the same topic in subsequent years. For example, some pupils have studied the Victorians twice. Curriculum time is blocked with geography, which works successfully throughout the school, except in the Year 5/6 class, where pupils have had no history lessons this year. This means that the gap between historical topics is too large to develop pupils’ skills systematically. Discussion with Year 6 pupils shows that they have a very sketchy understanding of the past as they have had little recent exposure to the subject. Pupils in Year 5 working in different classes do not receive the same learning opportunities as each other, which is Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 37 unsatisfactory. As a result, Year 6 pupils and those Year 5 pupils who are in that class do not

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HISTORY

achieve the results they could and should.

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HISTORY

135. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 find out about past events and learn about the lives of significant people, such as Guy Fawkes and Florence Nightingale. Year 2 pupils compare and contrast nursing during the Crimean War and now. They begin to appreciate that there are different sources of evidence, and write an eyewitness account of the Fire of London. The notion of eyewitness accounts is developed well in Year 3, when pupils interview members of the local community who remember life during World War Two. These pupils organise their own questions to enable them to find out more about life at that time and in particular what it was like to experience an air raid and spend time in an air-raid shelter. Pupils in the Year 4/5 class learn about the Victorian era through a visit to Blists Hill and they examine artefacts closely to enhance their understanding of life in Victorian times. They achieve a satisfactory sense of chronology by making time-lines from

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HISTORY

the Saxons to the present. Historical skills of enquiry and chronology are developing well and pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress in all classes except in the Year 5/6 class.

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HISTORY

136. In the two lessons seen the quality of teaching is good overall, with some very good features. Teachers plan a range of exciting activities to enable pupils to enjoy their lessons and stimulate a real interest in learning about the past. A variety of methods is used to bring history alive for the pupils. These include visits to local places of interest, the examination of a wide range of artefacts and use of a variety of sources of evidence. For example, pupils in the Year 4/5 class examine a range of Victorian artefacts, to enhance their understanding of life at that time. In this lesson the teacher used questioning well to make the pupils think and use their previous knowledge to try to identify the objects. Teachers have good subject knowledge and their enthusiasm motivates the pupils to want to learn.

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HISTORY

137. The co-ordinator has an enthusiastic approach to the subject and has ensured that the school has a good range of resources. She has had no opportunities to monitor the quality of teaching or learning. She does not monitor curriculum delivery throughout the school to ensure comprehensive coverage and does not examine pupils’ work to monitor standards. This weakness is acknowledged. Assessment procedures are in place to test factual knowledge at the end of a unit of work, but there are no systems for assessing historical skill acquisition and so these skills cannot be extended appropriately as pupils mature. Excellent use is made of visits and visitors to the school to enhance the curriculum and history is used well as a vehicle to enhance literacy skills through extended pieces of writing. Pupils use information technology effectively to carry out research by using the Internet and CD ROMs. Other good cross-curricular links occur when

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HISTORY

historical topics are used as stimuli for design and technology projects when pupils make Egyptian sandals and a Shaduf.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

138. The judgement of the past inspection report was that standards were good across the school. However, since that time the school has been unable to maintain standards with older equipment, which led to the decision to build the new ICT suite. Progress across the school is now good and pupils including those with special educational needs achieve well. This is a result of the good teaching and planned opportunities for all pupils to use computers regularly.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

139. Since the addition of the new ICT suite at the beginning of the year, the school has worked hard to improve staff expertise in the subject and ensure that all elements of the curriculum are covered. Resources have therefore improved since the last report and standards in both Year 2 and Year 6 are in line with those expected nationally, with some pupils achieving the higher levels.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

140. Skills learned in the Foundation Stage are developed soundly in Year 1 and pupils assemble text, matching words and pictures, to create sentences to support their mathematical work on capacity. They program correctly a Roamer to follow a given path using directions forward, backwards and turn. Pupils are beginning to recognise where keys are found on the keyboard and the higher attainers delete errors successfully using the backspace. Pupils in Year 2 successfully use a paint program to produce pictures and show good control of the mouse when drawing images. Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 38 Year 3 pupils produce a graphics box with photographs downloaded from a digital camera and insert appropriate text. In Year 4 pupils continue to develop their knowledge of combining text and graphics and insert speech bubbles to produce comedic text. This is an example of how ICT is used well to support other areas of the curriculum, such as literacy. The oldest pupils use

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

spreadsheets to input data and use a graph program to present the information in as clear and meaningful a way as possible. The pupils make their own choices as to the most appropriate graph to be used. Revision programs are also used by the oldest pupils; this is not always the best use of computer time as pupils have to proceed at the rate of the machine which is sometimes too slow and the use of these programs does not enhance the pupils’ ICT skills.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

141. Pupils use their information technology skills well to support their learning across the curriculum. For example, they use a computer package to help them compose music, a simulation program to aid their learning about the Vikings and in science use sensors to investigate temperature change. Older pupils communicate successfully with their link school in Kenya by using electronic mail.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

142. Teaching is consistently good, which has a positive impact on the progress pupils make. Teachers who teach the subject have good subject knowledge and use clear demonstrations and give precise instructions to ensure that the pupils are able to succeed when using the computers. The subject is taught in small groups enabling each pupil to have hands-on experience. Individual help is therefore available for any pupil experiencing difficulties. This ensures that all pupils are able to complete the task set. Good use is made of teaching assistants to help the younger pupils access their programs.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

143. The subject is well managed and all elements of the subject are taught. The new ICT suite is used well and the school is fortunate in having enough staff to enable the subject to be taught in small groups. The quality of teaching and learning are not monitored or evaluated regularly or rigorously enough. There is a comprehensive portfolio of work to help teachers check coverage of the subject and monitor standards. Satisfactory new assessment procedures are now in place, but it is too soon for them to have had an impact on standards, or to inform the curriculum.

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MUSIC

144. Because of the timing of the inspection, only one music lesson was observed, together with singing during acts of collective worship and a very small amount of instrumental music teaching. As a result, it is not possible to make judgements about the standards attained in Year 2 or Year 6 or of the overall quality of teaching and learning. Improvements since the last inspection have been satisfactory, overall.

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MUSIC

145. Pupils sing with satisfactory attention to pitch and rhythm in assemblies but their singing tends to lack lustre because few pupils project their voices sufficiently. By contrast, in a Year 3 lesson, pupils sang well in a more informal context when playing singing games, such as “Shoo, fly” or “Oranges and lemons”. This was because the singing was an integral part of the activity, which they enjoyed immensely. The teacher led this lesson very well and showed a great deal of expertise and enthusiasm, which ensured that the lesson was conducted at a good pace and that all pupils concentrated fully throughout a lesson that they enjoyed greatly. Relationships were very strong, which ensured that pupils participated fully and were confident to sing out. There was a high level of mutual trust and respect between the pupils and the adults in this lesson, to the extent that pupils burst into spontaneous and genuine applause when the teacher had finished a

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MUSIC

146. The co-ordinator is knowledgeable and has a clear idea of what is needed to improve provision and standards in the subject. She has worked hard to improve resources, which are satisfactory and to store them in an accessible manner. She has also tried to raise the profile of musical appreciation, for example, by playing a variety of music when pupils enter and leave assemblies, but this does not always happen throughout the school when she is not part of the worship. The co-ordinator is unable to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning in the subject because her release time is at a time when the subject is not being taught. Satisfactory systems for assessing pupils’ attainment and what they need to do next have very recently been put in place and are not yet being used to plan work that matches individual needs closely. Satisfactory Ann Cam C of E Primary School - 39 use is made of new technology when pupils use a computer program to help them compose

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MUSIC

147. A number of visitors, such as African drummers and string and woodwind quartets, enhance the curriculum. A choir practises during the winter months and performs regularly both within and outside the school, for example at a local residential home. About ten pupils benefit from instrumental teaching in woodwind or brass instruments, which makes a satisfactory contribution to their learning and enjoyment.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

148. The standards pupils attain in Years 2 and 6 are close to those expected nationally and all pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment. These findings are the same as those of the previous inspection. The quality of teaching and learning is good, which appears to be a similar finding to that of the previous inspection, although no overall judgement was given at that time.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

149. In Year 2, pupils move in a reasonable number of specified ways – jumping, running and hopping, for instance – but their movements lack quality. They have a satisfactory awareness of the space around them and move into the spaces with appropriate regard to their own safety and that of others. They respond reasonably well to their teacher’s repeated emphasis on improving the quality of their movements but find it difficult to sustain concentration enough to do so. Only about a quarter of the pupils use their imagination to devise interesting ways of moving. All pupils enjoy the activity contained on a recorded tape, which is appropriately amended by the teacher and this helps them to participate fully throughout the lesson and to make sound progress, overall. They behave soundly, overall, although a small minority talk when the tape is playing and miss some of the instructions; this adversely affects their learning. However, overall the quality of teaching and

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

150. Year 6 pupils show good awareness of the space to be used and, in their dance lesson, move in an imaginative variety of ways in response to recorded music. Through practice and the teacher’s use of demonstrations of pupils’ good ideas, all pupils improve the quality of their movements well. They step increasingly lightly and extend toes and fingers in a pleasing way. All have a secure grasp of the effect of warming up on their heart rate and pulse, which makes good links with their work in science. Pupils work hard and have very good attitudes towards each other and towards learning. This is because the quality of the teaching is good. Relationships are strong and the teacher manages the lesson well. He chooses relevant activities and conducts the lesson at a good pace, which keeps the pupils interested and working productively. His subject knowledge is very good and he constantly re-emphasises the objectives of the lesson so that pupils know

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

exactly what is expected of them. Through regularly adding further teaching points as the lesson progresses, he challenges pupils well and they respond accordingly. The structure of the lesson is sound but pupils should be more active more consistently, which is an area to be developed.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

151. The leadership and management of the subject are good. A commercial scheme of work ensures that all aspects of the required curriculum are covered, some through attendance at residential visits that are held annually. The co-ordinator has worked with colleagues to support their practice in gymnastics, which has given him a sound grasp of the quality of teaching and learning in that aspect of physical education. Through his routine involvement in the very good range of extra- curricular activities, he has a reasonable overview of pupils’ standards in many, but not all, other aspects. However, the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching are not carried out routinely enough. In addition, sound assessment procedures have only recently been established and the information gained is not yet sufficient for teachers to be able to devise subsequent work that picks up on what individuals need to do next to improve their skills and understanding further.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

There is a swimming pool on site and a good playing field, together with a hall of reasonable size; accommodation is good. The parents make a very good contribution to the swimming in the school because they pay for a swimming teacher through the hire of the pool out of school hours. As a result, pupils receive regular swimming lessons and attain satisfactory standards, overall.

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