Middleton St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 18 th – 19 th June 2001

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ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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ENGLAND 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. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Moor Flatts Road Leeds West Yorkshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs S Nicholls

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 4 th – 7 th March 1997 Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members 10182 Barrie Cooper Registered inspector 9593 Barbara Sinclair Lay inspector 10911 Cicely Deloughry Team inspector 30398 Chris Scola Team inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Lynrose Marketing Ltd Bungalow Farmhouse Six Mile Bottom Newmarket Suffolk CB8 0TU

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 19

Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is a large primary school with 311 full time pupils and 78 part-time nursery pupils on roll. The school is situated in the Middleton area of Leeds. The housing around the school is mixed but the majority of pupils live in the nearby local authority estate. Some have been rehoused to the area. 34.5% of the pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above average. Nearly all pupils are of white ethnicity with four pupils for whom English is a second language. There are currently 199 pupils on the special needs’ register of whom 10 have statements. This is much higher than the national average. The children’s attainment on entry to the Reception classes is below average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Middleton St Mary’s is an effective school but it has some areas of weakness. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 are in line with national averages and have improved steadily over the past four years as the result of good teaching. Most pupils in the school are keen to learn and behave well. Children in the Nursery class make very good progress and achieve high standards as a result of excellent teaching. Teaching in the Reception classes and Key Stage 1 is satisfactory overall but does not build sufficiently on the pupils’ previous learning. Standards at the end of the foundation stage and Key Stage 1 are below average. Whilst the leadership and management of the school are satisfactory overall, the school has not fully addressed the weaknesses, particularly those in Key Stage 1 and Reception. The Governing Body is very supportive and is becoming increasingly involved in the running of the school.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school is giving satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class. • Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their strong desire to learn. • Staff manage the pupils’ behaviour well. • Good use is made in geography and history both of the local area and visits further afield. • The Governing Body is very effective.

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What could be improved

• Aspects of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1. • The identification of pupils with special educational needs. • Standards in information and communication technology. • Levels of attendance and punctuality. • The monitoring and evaluation of the standards of teaching and of pupils’ progress throughout the school. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in March 1997. It has made satisfactory progress since then and has successfully tackled most of the key issues in the last report. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 have risen in writing but are lower in reading and mathematics, although there was some improvement in English and mathematics between 1999 and 2000. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 have risen steadily and were in line with national averages in 2000. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 7 The quality of teaching in the school has also improved with an increase in the number of very good and excellent lessons and a reduction in the number of unsatisfactory lessons. There has been good improvement in curriculum planning and assessment in English and mathematics. However, some planning and assessment for the remaining subjects is still not detailed enough and does not ensure that pupils of all abilities make sufficient progress. The

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

pupils now have a far wider understanding of both their own cultural heritage and other world cultures. Standards in design and technology have risen. The subject is far better resourced and teachers have a greater understanding of how to teach the subject. Whilst the school has been more successful at identifying areas for staff development, there has been unsatisfactory progress in the management of monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching and pupils’ work and progress.

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STANDARDS

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

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schools

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

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schools

There has been consistent improvement in standards at the end of Key Stage 2 over the past three years. In 2000, pupils reached national averages in English, mathematics and science. Standards were well above average in English and above average in mathematics and science compared to schools with similar numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals. The inspection confirms the school’s view that standards are likely be a little lower this year, as there are a higher number of pupils with special education needs in the current Year 6. Targets for performance set by the school for Year 6 pupils have been exceeded each year and are not sufficiently challenging.

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schools

Test results at the end of Key Stage 1 show that standards were well below average in reading, writing and mathematics in 2000. This has been the pattern for the last three years, although there was some improvement between 1999 and 2000. Standards compared to similar schools are well below average in reading and mathematics and below average in writing. Whilst inspection findings indicate that there has continued to be some improvement, this year standards will remain at least below national averages with a significant proportion of pupils working well below average. Some pupils in Key Stage 1 are not achieving as highly as they could

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schools

Many children are not reaching the early learning goals in literacy and numeracy at the end of Reception despite the very good progress made in the Nursery class. Most children have good social skills and show satisfactory standards in the creative and physical areas.

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schools

Standards in information and communication technology are unsatisfactory at the end of both key stages as until the beginning of this term, there have been few up-to-date computers in Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 8 school and little time has been spent on the teaching of skills. The new computer suite is now providing an excellent resource and standards are beginning to improve.

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schools

Pupils are achieving good standards in geography and history at the end of both key stages as a result of the good use teachers are making of the local area and trips further afield.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Most pupils are keen to come to school and work hard. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms The behaviour of the pupils is good. They are thoughtful, polite and supportive of one another. Personal development and relationships Personal development is good. Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility and in Key Stage 2, they are good at working independently. Relationships throughout the school are good. Pupils feel valued and are keen to celebrate the success of others. Attendance Attendance is well below average. Some pupils do not arrive at school punctually, which can delay the start of the school day.

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

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

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

The teaching in the Nursery class is excellent. It is satisfactory with some unsatisfactory elements in the Reception class and Key Stage 1. In Key Stage 2, it is good overall with some very good teaching for the oldest pupils. During the inspection 8% of lessons were excellent, 23% very good, 21% good, 43% satisfactory and 5% unsatisfactory.

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

Teaching in the Nursery class is excellent. The teacher and nursery nurses provide the children with a challenging and wide curriculum linked to the early learning goals. Relationships in the class are excellent. All staff are fully aware of the needs of every child, and treat them as individuals. They are highly successful in developing the children’s skills in all areas of the curriculum with most emphasis on speaking and listening and social skills.

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

The teaching of literacy and numeracy in Reception fails to build on the excellent start these children have had in the Nursery class. There is too little emphasis on the systematic teaching of basic skills and work is not planned clearly enough to meet the needs of individual pupils. Pupils are not always given clear enough direction about the work they should be doing. A nursery nurse teaches literacy and numeracy in one Reception group. These sessions take place over the whole of most mornings and are too long for Reception age children. In addition this situation is not carefully monitored by senior management to make sure that the children are completing appropriate work.

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

In Key Stage 1, whilst all teachers succeed in providing good introductory sessions to both literacy and numeracy lessons, the group sessions are not so successful as work is not clearly enough planned to meet the needs of individual pupils, particularly those with special educational needs. Teachers do not have consistently high expectations of all pupils. The pace of some lessons is slow and too little work is completed in the time available. The Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 9 teaching of science and history is more successful – particularly when lessons have been carefully planned and good resources are made available.

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

In Key Stage 2, all teachers demonstrate a clearer understanding of the literacy and numeracy strategies. Teaching is consistently good in the set groups in Years 5 and 6, where work is well targeted at the different ability groups. Teachers have higher expectations of the pupils and are keen to challenge them. Lessons are purposeful and most are well planned with clear learning objectives. Good use is made of the local area and visits further afield. Teachers are adapting to teaching information and communication technology in the new computer suite, but many have only basic knowledge of the subject and are finding it difficult to make full use of the new facilities. The teaching of Religious Education follows the agreed syllabus, but lessons in Key Stage 2 do not include enough opportunities for pupils to record their thoughts and factual information about Christianity and other religions.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum This is excellent in the Nursery class and satisfactory in the rest of the school. All subjects are taught, but some literacy and numeracy sessions are too long. This reduces their effectiveness and leaves too little time available for other subjects. Planning is satisfactory overall and good in English and mathematics. It could still be improved in other subjects. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Unsatisfactory. As a result of poor identification procedures, so many pupils have been put on the special needs’ register since September 2000 that it is not possible to focus help and support on those who really need it. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. These pupils receive sufficient help from both school and outside agencies. They are making satisfactory progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development This is outstanding in the nursery class and good throughout the rest of the school. Pupils have a clear understanding of right and wrong. They are good at working and playing together and now have a greater understanding of their own and other cultures.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school is very concerned about the welfare of all the pupils. However no member of staff has had recent training in child protection procedures. Assessment procedures and records of personal development in the Nursery class are exemplary. Assessment procedures in the rest of the school are good in English and mathematics and the information is beginning to be used to help planning. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher is providing sound leadership, but has failed to confront some identified weaknesses. She is well supported by an able deputy headteacher and senior management team and all have a clear vision for the school and want to raise standards further. Subject co-ordinators work hard and are beginning to develop their roles so they have a greater impact on standards in their subjects throughout the school. There is no formal system in place to monitor and evaluate both teaching and the progress of the pupils. As a result weaknesses in these areas are not being identified and rectified How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors fulfil their responsibilities well. They are developing a good understanding of the life and work of the school. They have worked hard to persuade the local education authority to extend and improve the school buildings.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The headteacher and governing body have begun to identify strengths and weaknesses, but the school has not yet established a fully effective method of evaluating the quality of teaching and progress of pupils. The strategic use of resources Satisfactory. The school is using specific grants well and is becoming more successful at linking expenditure to improvements. The school achieves best value when purchasing resources. Subject co-ordinators are aware of where extra resources are needed. There is, as yet, no system in place to evaluate the impact of expenditure.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like coming to school • They feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions • The school expects their children to work hard and achieve their best • They would like to see a more consistent approach to giving homework • They would welcome more extra-curricular activities • They would like school reports to be given out earlier in the Summer term so that they can discuss them with their child’s teacher. • Parents of children in the Reception /year 1 were concerned about the progress their children were making compared to those in a single age class.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The team agrees with most of the parents’ positive comments, although there are occasions when pupils are not challenged enough – particularly in Reception and Key Stage 1. There does not seem to be a consistent approach to giving homework, which may cause parents not to be fully aware of the school’s expectations. The team agrees that reports are not given out early enough in the Summer term. The school might consider holding the consultation evening after reports have been given out. The team feels that the school does offer sufficient extra-curricular activities both at lunchtime and after school Pupils in the mixed age class make satisfactory progress, but have had four supply teachers this year to cover staff illness. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 11 This, despite the best endeavours of the present teacher, has caused some lack of continuity.

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It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class

• Every aspect of the nursery education provided by the school is excellent. The class teacher and other staff work closely together to provide a very stimulating, supportive and lively environment in which the children’s individual needs are met. The classroom is very well organised with high quality displays linked to the nursery activities.

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It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class

• The quality of teaching is always very good and is usually excellent. Of the lessons observed in the inspection, 60% were excellent and 40% very good. The children display very high levels of confidence within the classroom. At the beginning of each session, they rush into school, register themselves and then quickly move to the wide range of appropriate activities prepared for them. They work very well in groups and have learned to share resources and play together with great confidence. They spend sufficient time on each activity to complete it successfully. They take pride in all their work and tidy up when they have finished.

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It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class

• The children display a real love of books as a result of the teacher’s excellent story telling abilities . They understand that text carries meaning. They share books with each other and any adults in the room. They can recall stories such as ‘ The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and ‘act’ it out with toy goats using bricks to construct the bridge. The Nursery class staff put a highly successful emphasis on speaking and listening. Much role-play and drama is planned. Children run the class office, typing memos and posting messages. Members of the class act the class story of the ‘Three Little Pigs’ out with great gusto. The excitement showed by the children as the story unfolds is magical. Children, of all abilities, show great confidence when speaking and are keen to demonstrate the very good progress they have made since starting the Nursery class. Staff are very good at giving the children opportunities to practise counting skills

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It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class

and use is made of vocabulary such as ‘above and below’ and ‘in front of’.

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It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class

• Nursery class staff successfully plan activities for the children outside in the well- equipped grass and hard surfaced area provided for them. As a result the children develop their co-ordination skills on the climbing frame and using their imagination they make it become a car. A good variety of cars and tricycles are also used in well- planned activities round a marked out ‘road’. Once again pupils show that they can play very well together.

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It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class

• The quality of curriculum planning and assessment is exemplary. Planning is based on the early learning goals and these are successfully linked with every activity. Assessment of individual pupils is used to plan the next stage of learning in line with their needs. Each child’s assessment folder provides all the evidence required to assess their stage of learning and the progress they have made over time. There are many examples of their work, together with photographs of them participating in a range of activities. All Nursery class staff contribute to the assessment file. They write down conversations they have overheard or had with the children and record all aspects of their progress. They demonstrate that they have very high expectations of all the children. This approach is having a very positive impact on the children’s progress in the Nursery class. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 12

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It provides an outstanding education for children in the Nursery class

Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 13

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Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their

• The overall quality of teaching in Key Stage 2 is good with some very good aspects and a few areas that require improvement. During the inspection, there was 39% of very good teaching, 11% good teaching and the remaining 50% of teaching was satisfactory. Most pupils make good progress through the Key Stage with many starting below national averages but reaching average or above average scores by the time they take their standard tests in Year 6.

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Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their

• In the best lessons in Key Stage 2, the teachers have established very good relationships with the pupils in their classes and manage them well. They know the pupils well and have a full understanding of their individual needs. As a result they are able to plan lessons carefully to meet the needs of pupils with a range of abilities- either through the setting for literacy and numeracy in Years 5 and 6 or in their other lessons. Teachers use probing quick fire questions to gauge pupils’ understanding particularly in numeracy lessons. A good example in year 4 was when pupils had to switch rapidly from number bonds to multiplication to fractions, and managed to do this successfully with the majority giving correct answers. There are high expectations of pupils in the top sets in literacy and numeracy, which is enabling a higher than average number of pupils to reach level 5. For example in the Year 6 literacy set, one pupil had to take on

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Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their

the character in a recently read book, and be questioned by other members of the class. This was very successful as a speaking and listening exercise as well as deepening the pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the book. In one year 3/4 science lesson, pupils successfully carried out a challenging investigation on the various habitats of mini-beasts and gained enough clear scientific information to start thinking about how they could design another place for the animals to live.

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Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their

• In the majority of lessons in Key Stage 2, pupils show a strong desire to learn. Most listen well to the teachers and are keen to answer questions. They respond well to challenge and take care over their work. They work well with their peers and are supportive and encouraging of one another. Many demonstrate good research skills when using books and visits to help their topic work.

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Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their

• Pupils make good progress through Key Stage 2 as a result of the good teaching they receive. By Year 6, the highest attaining pupils in English have learned how to write for different purposes and can plan and draft their work. They demonstrate good imagination in play writing and story writing. They have been taught how to punctuate well, write in paragraphs and make their handwriting joined and legible. Other pupils show that they can write imaginatively in a variety of genres. However whilst their punctuation and use of capital letters are usually accurate, spelling is erratic. The standard of reading is satisfactory. Pupils enjoy reading and are keen to discuss the books they have read. They can read books of an appropriate level with expression and comprehension. In most lessons, teachers promote speaking and listening skills and most pupils achieve satisfactory standards in these. In mathematics, the most able

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Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their

pupils demonstrate a good understanding of number. They have been well taught and are able to convert decimals to fractions and back again. They can check their results with a calculator. They are able to handle the four rules of number using tens, hundreds and thousands. About one quarter of the year perform above national expectations. Whilst there are a good proportion of pupils performing in line with national expectations, about a quarter are below. These pupils are still achieving good levels for their ability, but would benefit from a greater emphasis on neat presentation. In science, pupils have covered the full curriculum. For example, their exercise books show that they have a sound understanding of circuits and have investigated these. As a Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 14 consequence of good teaching, they demonstrate an understanding of the food chain and use terminology such as predator and prey accurately. They are currently working

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Pupils in Key Stage 2 make good progress as a result of good teaching and their

on a well-planned topic on health and exercise.

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Staff manage the pupils’ behaviour well

• All new parents are informed of the school’s behaviour policy through the school brochure and a meeting with the headteacher prior to their child joining. There are very clear procedures for dealing with any poor behaviour or situations such as bullying. School rules are clearly stated and pupils are regularly reminded of them.

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Staff manage the pupils’ behaviour well

• The school has a highly developed and successful system of managing behaviour in classrooms and around the school. This is largely based on rewarding good behaviour and raising pupils’ self esteem. The pupils respond well to the system and are eager to gain ‘Sammy’ points. Their successes are celebrated in a weekly assembly, and pupils and sometimes whole classes are rewarded with badges and certificates. The headteacher and staff are very committed to this approach and it is used consistently and successfully throughout the school. It works particularly well as the pupils are so keen to celebrate each other’s success.

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Staff manage the pupils’ behaviour well

• Within the classroom, most teachers manage behaviour well. They can request order and gain instant attention from the pupils. This is most effective when a quiet but authoritative voice is used. Most pupils listen well to their teacher and value contributions from other members of their class. Interruptions are minimal and pupils are eager to praise the success of others. All staff use the same approach to behaviour management.

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afield

• Teachers make particularly good use of both the local area and other nearby places in both geography and history projects. This is raising standards in both these subjects throughout the school. In Year 2, a planned visit to Filey is being well prepared for in both geography and history. Geographical comparisons are being made in advance with Blackpool and Scarborough through a good use of photographs and postcards. In history, pupils are learning to research by investigating what the seaside was like in the past through interviews with parents and grandparents. They look at old black and white pictures of trips to the seaside provided by a teacher’s grandfather and are able to pick out the many differences.

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• In Key Stage 2, the immediate area is used well to practise mapping skills in Years 3 and 4. Pupils are able to find where they live and add this information to the maps. They have also looked at the local park and identified areas that need improvement. This work has included a questionnaire given to local residents. The results have been successfully analysed by the pupils using computers, and displayed as graphs. This outcome has been that they have a much greater understanding of where they live.

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• In upper Key Stage 2, much work has been carried on the history of the Middleton Railway. This has involved the pupils using research skills both when using local history books and visiting the railway. Their findings have been well displayed and extended in to art and design where pupils have made their own attractive clay and plaster plaques showing aspects of the railway. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 15 • A very recent day visit to Whitby by Years 5 and 6 is also being used well in school. The pupils are comparing Whitby to Middleton, looking for similarities as well as the more obvious differences. Pupils have made good records of their day in Whitby. These include detailed notebooks and plenty of photographs. This information is being well used in school by the teachers to contribute to a historical and geographical analysis of Whitby.

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• These trips are having a positive impact on both the quality of teaching and learning in these subjects, as they are carefully planned to provide the experiences needed to cover the curriculum. This practical experience is proving very effective in promoting learning and as a result pupils are achieving standards that are higher than those expected nationally.

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afield

• Since the last inspection when the lack of cultural development was identified as a key issue, pupils have been on a very large number of relevant day trips to local museums and places of interest. These have been well followed up in school and have broadened the pupils’ experience of their own culture.

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The Governing Body is very effective

• The Governing Body is hard working and supportive of the school. It is committed to raising standards throughout the school. The chair is very clear about what her role should be and demonstrates a full understanding of the role of the Governing Body, Governors have developed good links with the parents and attend all school functions. They have been introduced to the pupils and regularly visit school to work with classes listening to reading and helping on school trips. They have succeeded in attracting up to 40 parents to their annual general meeting.

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The Governing Body is very effective

• The Governing Body has identified both strengths and weaknesses in the school and has consistently raised concerns about standards at the end of Key Stage 1, although this issue has not been fully addressed. They have questioned the senior management team and subject co-ordinators in order to try to find out the reasons for the poor standard assessment test results, whilst recognising the annual improvement in standards at the end of Key Stage 2. Governors have worked extremely hard to raise the local authority’s awareness of the poor state of buildings and lack of space for the pupils. This has resulted in the building of a computer suite and new classroom to replace an old temporary building in the school grounds. Further pressure has resulted in the agreement to replace rotten windows and external walls over the Summer holidays. The Governing Body feeds ideas in to the school improvement plan and

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The Governing Body is very effective

receives updates on progress at each of their two full meetings held each term. They have a successful and well-established committee structure. The curriculum and policy committee meet fortnightly so that all information is read and collated and passed on to the full governing body. They have met subject co-ordinators to discuss curriculum matters.

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The Governing Body is very effective

• Governors monitor finances closely and have successfully seen the school through some difficult financial periods. Extra grants have resulted in a much more stable budget.

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The Governing Body is very effective

• They have recognised the value of governor training and most have attended recent courses. These include the literacy and numeracy training programmes. The special Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 16 needs’ governor is working very hard to support the work of the special educational needs co-ordinators.

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Aspect of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1

• Whilst the quality of teaching in Reception class and Key Stage 1 is satisfactory overall, there are some unsatisfactory elements, which are slowing the progress of pupils and lowering standards at the end of the foundation stage and Key Stage 1. Pupils are not all achieving as well as they could be,

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Aspect of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1

• Around half of the pupils in the current Reception class have attended the Nursery class. During their year in that class they have made very good progress towards the early learning goals and a small proportion will have already achieved them. The start they have made is not sufficiently recognised in the Reception class and as a result progress, although still satisfactory slows. Too little attention is given to planning work to meet the different needs of pupils. Whilst introductory sessions are quite successful, the explanation of follow-up work is not clear and the children do not always know what is expected of them. Groups that are not directly supervised by teacher or support assistant often do not concentrate on their work and do not complete it. Reception pupils have no access to a suitable outdoor play area to further develop their physical skills. The Reception group in the mixed age class receive better teaching when

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Aspect of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1

working with year 1 in the afternoon. In the mornings, a nursery nurse has the difficult task of teaching literacy and numeracy to this group, following the teacher’s plans, but without a full understanding of how these subject areas should be covered in Reception. By the end of Reception, many of the pupils have not achieved the early learning goals.

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Aspect of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1

• In Key Stage 1, not all teachers are following the agreed approach on how to teach the literacy and numeracy strategy. Big book sessions and other aspects of the introductions to the literacy session are usually good. Teachers make a good range of teaching points using these, and the pupils listen well and are keen to take part in big book reading sessions and answer questions. In a year 2 class, the teacher used the book ‘The Fish that could Wish’ as a starting point for a good discussion about comparing books by different authors but with similar themes. Similarly, the opening sessions of numeracy lessons are often well conducted with appropriate mental arithmetic. In one year 2 lesson, the pupils’ ‘trip’ money was used as a starting point for some mental arithmetic questions. However the activity sessions for some of the literacy and numeracy lessons are not so well organised. Planning does not always

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Aspect of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1

take account of the range of abilities in the class and the pupils are given inappropriate activities. Some find these very difficult to complete whilst they fail to hold the attention of others and so pupils’ learning is not as good as it could be. Pupils are not always clear how they should record their findings and their attainment is limited by the need to copy from the blackboard. This frustration causes some pupils to lose concentration and to misbehave. Generally lessons lack pace and challenge. Work is not usually thoroughly marked which makes it more difficult for teachers to set targets for improvement.

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Aspect of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1

• Pupils are achieving below national averages at the end of Key Stage 1 in writing, reading and mathematics. By the end of Key Stage 1 in English, the more able pupils are writing stories, descriptions and poems. They can construct a simple sentence and either spell words accurately or so they can be recognised. Handwriting is joined and Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 17 legible. Other pupils are working at a lower standard and are only able to write simple stories. They are not yet joining their handwriting. Less able pupils are struggling to write more than phrases and are not clear when capital letters should be used. Pupils read appropriate reading books and many are fairly fluent readers. They demonstrate some knowledge of phonics but this could be strengthened if there was an even greater emphasis on this is their writing. There has been significant improvement in reading

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Aspect of teaching and the pupils’ progress in Reception and Key Stage 1

over the past two years. Most pupils’ speaking skills are sound, and most listen to their teacher or classmates. A few higher attaining pupils were identified in mathematics. Most are confident with number facts to ten and can use this knowledge to work within one hundred. The majority know the names of simple shapes. All pupils cover the same work in science and there is no difference in the tasks they are given. Whilst the more able pupils understand their work, less able pupils often do not finish their writing and show limited understanding of what they have recorded. They gain more from the practical activities. A Year 1 science lesson on habitats in which pupils had to build their own bird’s nest really helped pupils to understand the intricacies of the task. The pupils are covering most aspects of science such as labelling plants, looking at friction, comparing man made and natural materials and comparing the popularity of food.

p.17

The identification of pupils with special educational needs

• At the time of the last inspection, 17% of pupils were identified as having special educational needs. This rose to 24% in the last academic year. However since the appointment of a new temporary special needs co-ordinator for each Key Stage, this figure has risen to 64%, which is nearly three times the national average. The criteria for placing pupils on the register have been ill thought out. Any pupil who has underachieved in any test is placed on the register. This has meant that, at some times during this school year, whole classes have been on the register. As a result of this over-identification, there is danger that pupils with real needs will be missed. In addition, there is no extra support or even differently planned work being given to most of the pupils on stage 1 of the register.

p.17

The identification of pupils with special educational needs

• Pupils, including those with statements, have well prepared individual education plans and parents are involved in regular reviews. However the use of these plans is not monitored by the special needs’ co-ordinators or senior management and as a result, teachers, particularly those in Key Stage 1, are not using them sufficiently when planning work for the class.

p.17

Standards in information and communication technology

• Standards in information and communication technology are below national averages at the end of both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Computers have mainly been used for word processing in English, geography and history and little use has been made in other areas of the curriculum. Prior to the opening of the computer suite at the beginning of this term, pupils had limited access to computers and many machines were out of date or broken. As a result, pupils have had little opportunity to develop their skills or use information and communication technology across the curriculum.

p.17

Standards in information and communication technology

• Displays of work indicate that many older pupils have basic word processing skills, and that some can record information on pie charts and block graphs and can use design programmes to make posters and label displays. In addition good opportunities are offered to pupils to use both still and video cameras when out on visits. Information gained in this way is put to good use in geography and history. Information and Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 18 communication technology has not been sufficiently used to control devices through a sequence of instructions. Pupils have little understanding of the potential of the Internet.

p.17

Standards in information and communication technology

• The new computer suite is now timetabled for all Key Stage 1 classes to use once a week and twice a week for Key Stage 2 classes. Whilst this should assist the raising of standards in the long-term, many teachers and support staff currently have limited skills in computing and in the teaching of information and communication technology. In addition, no assessment has been carried out of the skills that pupils already have and some are not sufficiently challenged in the work they were given. There are too few modern computers in classrooms if full use of information and communication technology is to be made right across the curriculum. The school has already identified that there is a need to develop staff expertise.

p.18

Levels of attendance and punctuality

• Levels of attendance were well below national averages at 92% in the school year 1999/2000. It has only gone up 0.6% so far this year. The school has introduced a range of systems to try to raise attendance and good attendance is celebrated at the rewards assembly. This has included the recent appointment of a learning mentor whose role is developing. From next term, she will have her own office and telephone so that she can immediately follow up absences. At the moment these procedures are having too little impact on raising attendance and are not yet effective enough.

p.18

Levels of attendance and punctuality

• Procedures for ensuring the punctuality of pupils are unsatisfactory. During the inspection, latecomers were noticed in each class. The school is basing its weekly curriculum hours on an 8.45am start yet many classes were unable to start until 9.00am. Whilst pupils were marked late, the lack of punctuality did not result in any comment from teachers. Potentially this is reducing the teaching week by 75 minutes.

p.18

throughout the school

• This was a key issue at the last inspection in 1997. Whilst the school has recently started to informally monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching, this area of the leadership and management of the school is still unsatisfactory. There has been some external and internal monitoring of the teaching of the literacy and numeracy hour. Whilst there has been some feedback to teachers about strengths and areas for improvement, there has been no formal follow-up to see how this has impacted on teaching. The headteacher does visit classes but any observations have been informal.

p.18

throughout the school

• This lack of monitoring and evaluation has failed to improve the unsatisfactory aspects of teaching found in the inspection in Reception and Key Stage 1. Some areas of weakness in a small number of lessons in Key Stage 2 have not been addressed. In these, teachers over dominate the class either through the use of loud and strident voices or by not letting pupils express their own opinions. The marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent throughout the school and does not give enough information to the pupil about either success or mistakes. Individual target setting is being introduced across the school, but its impact is not being measured in each class and practice is currently very variable. General weaknesses in staff understanding of how to teach information and communication technology have been identified, but the specific lack of expertise Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 19

p.18

throughout the school

of individual teachers has not been clearly enough identified. The setting of homework is not consistent from class to class.

p.19

throughout the school

• It is planned that subject co-ordinators will be given time to visit classrooms and observe teaching but this has not yet happened, The co-ordinators and senior management team look at planning to make sure that subjects are fully covered. However there is no system for checking pupils’ written work to make sure that teachers have actually covered all the planned work. In addition, whilst the assessment of pupils’ progress has improved since the last inspection, pupils’ work is not regularly checked to analyse either the standards achieved or progress made and this has allowed some under achievement to go unnoticed particularly in Key Stage 1.

p.19

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• In order to continue to raise standards throughout the school, the headteacher and Governing Body should

p.19

English, mathematics and science in Key Stage 1 by

• improving the quality of teaching in the Reception classes so that the very good progress achieved by pupils in the Nursery class is maintained

p.19

English, mathematics and science in Key Stage 1 by

• making sure that the literacy and numeracy strategies are fully implemented in Reception and Key Stage 1

p.19

English, mathematics and science in Key Stage 1 by

• ensuring that work is carefully planned to meet the needs of the full range of abilities in each class

p.19

2) agree appropriate criteria for placing pupils on the special needs’ register so

that support is focussed on the pupils who are most in need.

p.19

3) raise standards in information and communication technology by

• developing both teachers’ and support assistants’ skills

p.19

3) raise standards in information and communication technology by

• providing up-to-date computers in each classroom so that information and communication technology can be used regularly in other subjects

p.19

3) raise standards in information and communication technology by

• assessing individual pupils’ current knowledge in the subject

p.19

4) continue to develop strategies to raise levels of attendance in the school and

place a much stronger emphasis on all pupils arriving at school on time.

p.19

5) introduce rigorous and systematic monitoring and evaluation of teaching and

pupils’ work and progress. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 20

p.19

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 12

p.20

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.20

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 39 311

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 104

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 10

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 2 197

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 32

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 17

p.20

Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5

p.20

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 21

p.20

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 23 19 42

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 17 17 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 14 15 17

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 74 (71) 76 (73) 83(69) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (82) 84 (83) 90 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 17 18 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 14 15 15

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 74 (64) 79 (60) 79 (71) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 27 31 58

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 20 21 24 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 22 22 25

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 72 (60) 74 (54) 84 (79) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 16 15 23 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 21 29 21

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 63 (52) 58 (50) 75 (63) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 79 (75)

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 22

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage Black – Caribbean heritage

p.22

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage Black – African heritage

p.22

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 3 Other minority ethnic groups

p.22

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.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 13 Financial year 1999/00

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 643,263

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 10 Expenditure per pupil 1,880

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 262 Balance brought forward from previous year 5,720

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 2,020

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 39

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 2

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 75

p.22

Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 23 Middleton St Mary’s Church of England Primary School - 24

p.22

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 52 45 3 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 30 64 5 0 1

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 35 47 15 0 3

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 53 40 7 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 68 30 2 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 70 28 1 0 1

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 39 54 6 0 1

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 49 45 3 0 3

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 42 52 3 0 3

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 13 47 22 1 17

p.24