Shankhill CofE Primary School

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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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. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Hethersgill Carlisle Cumbria

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Iain Kyle

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 16 September 1997 Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 4

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Team members

1471 Jane M Randall Registered inspector 9777 D Heath Lay inspector

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Team members

PkR Educational Consultants Ltd 6 Sherman Road Bromley Kent BR1 3JH

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Team members

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

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Shankhill CE Infant and Junior 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 17

Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Shankhill School is a Church of England Controlled Primary School in a very rural area with a scattered population. Most pupils come to school by mini-bus. Some pupils attend the school from outside its normal catchment area because parents prefer the school. The school caters for boys and girls aged four to eleven. It is a much smaller school than average and at the time of the inspection had 35 pupils in two classes. Two pupils speak English as an additional language but are not in the early stages of learning English and do not require additional support in language learning. The percentage of pupils in receipt of free school meals is well below average (5.5 per cent). Five pupils (16 per cent, which is below average) are on the school’s register of special educational needs. All of these are on the early levels of the register and over half of these pupils are in Year 4. Two pupils have help with speech and

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

language difficulties and the others have mild learning difficulties. As the school is very small the number of pupils in each year group can differ significantly. The attainment of pupils on entry to the school covers a wide range of prior attainment but overall levels are average. The school has been nominated for a high achievement award and is working for the ‘Investors in People’ award. The area around the school suffered very badly in 2001 from the effects of foot and mouth disease and many pupils were unable to come to school for significant lengths of time. Pupils and parents also experienced much sadness and anxiety and this affected both pupils’ progress and the time that parents and governors could give to the school and its pupils. The school made great efforts to take work to pupils who could not attend. Parents were very appreciative of the support provided.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This an effective school. The quality of teaching is very good. All pupils achieve well and overall attainment is above average in English and mathematics. The leadership and management by the headteacher are good. The school continuously assesses its performance in all aspects of its life and makes all possible effort to improve further. Teachers know individual pupils very well and are very aware of their strengths and weakness, both academically and in their personal development. It is a welcoming and friendly place and pupils enjoy coming to school. Their attitudes to school are very good and personal development and relationships are excellent. The school gives good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that found nationally. • The quality of teaching is good overall and very good in English. • The curriculum is rich and varied and extended well beyond the basic National Curriculum. • Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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What could be improved

• The long-term development plan for the school, linked to clear and up-to-date financial information and management. • The provision of a secure outdoor area for children in the Foundation Stage (Reception Year). The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in September 1997 and has made good improvement. The school has maintained the above average attainment in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6 and improved the standards by the end of Year 2 to above average. The quality of teaching is very good. The provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is now very good and pupils’ personal development is excellent. The building and the grounds are much improved with carpets, new furniture, porch extension Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 7 and landscaping work. Provision for information and communication technology is greatly increased and pupils use the computers with skill to support learning in many subjects. The 'key issues' from the previous report have been acted upon. There is a locking cupboard for medicines and formal procedures for handling medicines in school. The class for pupils in Years 3-6 is now split for indoor physical

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

education lessons and a part-time teacher teaches the younger or older half of the class while the others take part in physical education.

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STANDARDS

The table showing the standards achieved by 11-year-olds in the latest reporting year has not been included. This omission is in accordance with the OFSTED instructions for small schools where the year group is under ten pupils because comparisons of year groups of this size with national figures are not meaningful.

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STANDARDS

Inspection findings are that the overall standards attained by pupils by the ages of 7 and 11 years are above those normally found nationally. Attainment in the national tests and assessments at the end of 2001 was affected by pupils’ absence and anxiety during the foot and mouth crisis. Despite this all pupils at the end of Year 6 attained the average Level 4 in English and science and all but one pupil achieved this in mathematics where the level was missed by one mark. Half the pupils achieved a higher level in English, two thirds in science and one third in mathematics. All pupils at the end of Year 2, with the exception of a pupil with special educational needs, achieved the average Level 2. One pupil gained the higher Level 3. Yearly attainment targets are based very securely on the school’s extensive knowledge of its pupils and are realistic but challenging. The school’s targets of 100 per cent of pupils

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STANDARDS

to reach Level 4 in English and mathematics in 2001 were almost met despite the effects on pupils’ learning of the foot and mouth crisis. Targets for 2002 are for 100 per cent of pupils to reach Level 4 in both English and mathematics. The school is well in line to reach these targets and most pupils are likely to attain a higher level. Most pupils in Year 5 are also likely to reach the higher level at the end of Year 6. The trend of improvement in results over time is below average but the school’s results have been above average for most of the previous six years. Very small year groups make national comparisons unreliable as one pupil can equal a significant percentage of the whole year group. During the inspection particularly high standards were seen in Years 3-6 in pupils’ ability to write creatively in stories and poems, in using different forms of writing well for different purposes, for example in reporting

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STANDARDS

or describing and in the standard of reading in all year groups. Pupils in Years 3-6 use word processing and desktop publishing programs on the computer well to support work in other subjects. All groups make good progress and achieve well. Those with special educational needs achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. Pupils with English as an additional language achieve in line with their peers.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good – pupils enjoy school and respond willingly at all times. They are interested in their work and can be trusted to take much responsibility for their own learning. This is a considerable strength in learning in the mixed age-group classes. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good both in and out of lessons and this contributes very well to successful learning and the friendly atmosphere. Personal development and relationships These are excellent. The school is a very happy and friendly place where pupils willingly take responsibility for many tasks and for younger pupils. They discuss moral issues with maturity. They have a very well developed sense of social responsibility, work very well together and are independent thinkers and learners. Attendance Good – attendance was badly affected last year by the foot and mouth crisis but the below average level of attendance is not typical. There was

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 8

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

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

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

Overall the quality of teaching is very good. All lessons observed were at least good and of these just under a half were very good. The quality of teaching in mathematics is good and in English is very good. Teachers have a good understanding of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and adapt and use these creatively to meet the learning needs of pupils with different levels of prior attainment and to make good provision for several age groups within one class. Teachers are particularly good at helping pupils to gain a love of literature and to write creatively themselves. The needs of the children in the Foundation Stage (Reception pupils) are well met within the class for younger pupils by careful planning and the good use of the able teaching assistant. These pupils take part in some activities with the rest of the class when it is appropriate but also have the opportunities to initiate their own learning, as, for

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

example, when working with sand or construction equipment. The limitations of the size of the classroom means that the teacher has to plan carefully for different activities each day. There is no secure outside activity area and this means that children do not have the benefit of the full range of physical development opportunities recommended in the latest national guidance for this stage. Teachers plan well to meet the individual learning needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs. Groups within classes often contain pupils of different ages but with similar prior attainment. Very good links are made between subjects to maximise learning and pupils use the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology within many lessons and subjects.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum is rich and varied well beyond the basic National Curriculum. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is good and pupils make good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language The two pupils within the school need no extra support with language learning. The school takes care to value their culture.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Overall provision is very good and provision for social development is excellent. This is a key strength of the school.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Staff know all pupils very well, both academically and personally. Progress is carefully monitored, targets set for each pupil and support provided to enable them to achieve their personal best.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Leadership and management are effective. The headteacher has a good vision for an education that is rich and fulfilling for all pupils and for successful teaching and learning. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors are supportive of the school. The foot and mouth epidemic of last year inhibited meetings and there are a number of new governors. There is not enough involvement in financial and development planning. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 9

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school evaluates its performance well and is constantly seeking to improve. The strategic use of resources The school uses its resources carefully and matches its spending well to the academic and social needs of pupils. It seeks to get value for money at all times but does not have a clear enough view of its finances to make long-term plans.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Most parents are pleased with all aspects of the school. • A few parents did not think that the school was well led and managed. • A small number thought that there were not enough activities outside lessons.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspectors agree with parents’ very positive views of the school. The leadership and management are judged as good. The range of activities outside lessons is good, particularly for a very small school. Activities that take place directly after school are difficult to manage because many pupils travel home by minibus. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 10

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

1. The overall standards attained by pupils by the ages of 7 and 11 are above those normally found nationally. The overall levels of prior attainment on entry to the Reception Year at the age of four are average and pupils make good progress. All pupils achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. Pupils’ absence and anxiety due to the foot and mouth crisis affected work and attainment in 2001 but the school worked very hard both to provide work for pupils to do at home and to help them to make up the lost ground. Pupils attain particularly well in writing in Years 5 and 6.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

2. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well because of the close and individual attention given to their particular difficulties. The school is flexible in grouping pupils and pupils work with whichever learning group best fits their needs, regardless of age. The school seeks all possible advice and support from the local education authority for these pupils. Individual records show steady progress and clear improvement in skills and understanding and many pupils initially placed on the school’s register of special educational needs are nearing the average levels expected for their age.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

3. Pupils in the Foundation Stage (Reception Year) have made a good start in communications, language and literacy and mathematical development. They are likely to meet the nationally expected levels for children of this age by the end of the Reception Year. During the inspection children working in the sand talked well about their imaginative play (burying Egyptian mummies). There was much mathematical discussion about ‘big’ and ‘little’ and what might happen if you put a big man in a little hole. These children are beginning to write their name unaided and to build simple words by their sounds. They begin to add ‘one more’ and work out how many people are on the bus when passengers get on. They record their work and form figures satisfactorily for their age.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

4. All Year 2 pupils tackled short texts designed for higher-attaining pupils of this age and coped competently with the challenge of distilling information from these. In response to the question ‘Why can’t animals live on the moon’ a pupil wrote, in very good handwriting, ‘There is no air on the moon for plants or animals to breathe’. These pupils could decide which pieces of writing were fact or fiction and could explain the differences. The same group of pupils is confident and quick in using mental arithmetic skills, for example in counting back from 87 in fours. They use an understanding of place value to work out 50 less than 54. They subtract money, for example giving the price when an item that is normally 24 pence has 20 pence off. Pupils use multiplication tables up to five times and make pairs of number facts to equal numbers up to 100. One higher-attaining pupil was given an extra challenge of adding three sets

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

of two digit numbers in his head through using a computer program.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

5. Pupils in both Years 5 and 6 read fluently and competently and demonstrate a love of books and literature. They talked with interest and enthusiasm about what they were reading and why they chose it. The school has a very good range of exciting and challenging texts and pupils talk about different authors with knowledge and maturity. One ten-year-old chose his book ‘because it was about magic and mystery’, explaining that he had just finished reading ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ by Tolkien and likes ‘to escape into a book’. The quality of pupils’ writing is particularly high. They write with Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 11 confidence in a wide variety of styles and for different purposes. One pupil recently won a prize and had his work published in a County book of pupils’ work. This piece of work was a very clear and explicit explanation of how the combi-grab on a tractor works. Another pupil won a prize in a competition for a sophisticated argument in the

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

form of a letter to the press putting forward forceful reasons against fox hunting. The poetry, written in a lesson during the inspection, was very impressive and first drafts of these were completed within half an hour. Extracts from the work of two ten-year-olds included vivid descriptions and excellent imagery of a walk in a jungle and exploring a cavern.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

6. These pupils know and understand alliteration and onomatopoeia, give examples and use these with confidence. They work out the meaning of complex text such as: ‘Old Armada wreck in seaweed furled, Rusted with barnacles’ and use their historical knowledge from a previous year to expand this. They use word processing and desktop publishing programs on the computers with skill to present and enhance their work. They are skilled in drafting and redrafting work to create a polished final piece of writing.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

7. In mathematics, pupils in Years 5 and 6 use good mental arithmetic skills in games designed to practise speedy use of multiplication tables. They use small cubes and calculators to solve problems of creating different multiplication patterns to represent numbers. They worked independently to test theories of probability and decided after discussion that the probability of one result over another is always the inverse of the first. Skills of hypothesising, testing and concluding are developing well and are followed through in science. They create structures on the computer using a mathematical modelling program. A scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that pupils in both Year 6 and Year 5 are likely to attain the average Level 4 by the end of Year 6 and most are already working within Level 5.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

The quality of teaching is good overall and very good in English.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

8. Overall the quality of teaching is very good. All lessons observed were at least good and just under a half were very good. The good quality of teaching is the key to the school’s success. Both class teachers plan well and work very hard to maximise the learning for all the different age groups in the class. Relationships between pupils and teachers are based on mutual respect and are friendly and caring. Teachers use good questioning skills to encourage pupils to think for themselves and extend their ideas. They take every opportunity to develop pupils’ vocabulary. Teachers trust pupils to work independently and pupils respond to this by getting on well with the work set, concentrating and giving their best intellectual and creative effort. High expectations of the pace and quality of work and of behaviour result in the good achievement in the school. These features are a significant reason for the success of the mixed age-

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

9. Teachers have a good understanding of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and use these creatively to meet the learning needs of all pupils within these mixed age group classes. Both full-time teachers are ‘leading literacy teachers’ and share their skills with others in the county by demonstration and support. The quality of pupils’ learning and achievement demonstrates their effectiveness. 10. Staff take care to keep up-to-date with the latest national guidance and curriculum requirements. They attend a very good range of training opportunities and share what they have learned with each other. Training in information and communication technology enabled them to implement new requirements well. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 12 11. The needs of the Foundation Stage (Reception) pupils are well met within the class for younger pupils by careful planning and the good use of the skills of the able teaching

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

assistant. These children have a good mix of adult-directed work to focus on specific skills and opportunities for self-initiated learning through exploring, imagining and experimenting. The challenges of providing an appropriate curriculum that meets the latest national guidance for this age group, within a mixed age class and the small space available, are managed well.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

12. Pupils are highly motivated by the interesting, relevant and enjoyable lessons. The class of younger pupils were fascinated in learning about the differences between times past and present when they looked at the old features of the school building after studying many old photographs, including aerial photographs. They marked the changes they noticed on copies of the plan of the old school and some wrote short sentences to explain their findings. The teacher used every aspect possible to stimulate interest. This historical topic was cleverly linked to art, design and technology work about buildings. The artwork on display demonstrated an above average level of attainment. Pupils drew the other half of various photographs of the school 50 years ago, used pastels to make pictures in the style of Paul Klee and made three- dimensional skyscrapers in the style of Georgia O’Keefe, learning something of the

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

work of famous artists in the process. Another example of innovative ways of ensuring pupils’ interest and enthusiasm was shown when Year 1 pupils had to locate their personal ‘secret message’ on a floppy disk, thus learning to load a disk, find a file, write their own message, save and close.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

13. In the class for pupils in Years 3-6, lesson planning makes very good use of time and ensures that pupils make very good connections indeed between different subjects and pieces of learning. Work in science and mathematics was linked very well together to emphasise the learning of the skills to hypothesise, test, draw conclusions and give reasons. Very good development of writing and speaking and listening skills also took place. Literacy is linked to almost all other subjects. Stories about imaginary locations led to mapwork both of imaginary and real places and this was linked to the residential visit to the Lake District. Work on settings and characters in books and heroes and magicians involved a study of the legends of King Arthur, Gandalf and the Hobbit and the stories of Harry Potter. These themes were further developed into exciting work on journeys, including a sensory trail through the woods with a visiting story teller and the

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

ensuing work on oral story telling culminated in these older pupils studying the ways of telling the Christmas story and writing their own version of the Nativity story for the younger class to perform. Historical study of the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings was cleverly linked with this work and a visiting drama specialist worked with pupils on play making and script writing about the legends of King Arthur. This work was well supported by visits to the theatre to see the’ Wizard of Oz’ and Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’.

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Pupils achieve well and overall attainment in English and mathematics is above that

14. Teachers know individual pupils very well and are very aware of their strengths and weakness both academically and in their personal development. The progress of each pupil is tracked individually and work programmes for learning created accordingly. Pupils in the class for Years 3-6 have a very good understanding of their own learning needs and, with the support of the teacher, create their own learning targets and work towards them, assessing their progress as they move forward. Homework is regular and supports learning. The very good range of good quality books supports reading well, as these pupils live many miles from a library.

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The curriculum is rich and varied and extended well beyond the basic National

Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 13 Curriculum.

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The curriculum is rich and varied and extended well beyond the basic National

15. The school makes considerable efforts to extend pupils’ horizons beyond the immediate very rural community in which they live. In lessons pupils draw on previous studies spontaneously and well in many subjects. For example, when studying a poem, pupils related quickly to previous work in history following a reference to the Armada. They talk with interest and enthusiasm about all aspects of their learning. Visiting enthusiasts and specialists support learning in drama, music and art and design. Pupils have enjoyed a visiting workshop in origami and Japanese painting and created cubist pictures following another visit from an artist. Many visits and visitors extend skills, knowledge and understanding both in subjects and in personal development. Visits to the theatre give pupils a good appreciation of literature. A ‘Viking Storyteller’ helped an appreciation of oral story telling and Viking legends. Authors talk to

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The curriculum is rich and varied and extended well beyond the basic National

pupils about their own writing and pupils attended an ‘Authors’ Week’ at a local theatre. A residential visit for pupils in Years 5 and 6 enabled pupils to study an area different from their own and to enjoy the social experience of living together. Geographical skills such as map reading are learned in a real situation and pupils experience challenges such as canoeing and abseiling. A visit to an organic farm gave rise to an understanding of a different perspective of farming and sustainability. History is enlivened by visits to places such as Roman Vindolanda.

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The curriculum is rich and varied and extended well beyond the basic National

16. Sporting opportunities include a football club, open to both boys and girls, netball, cross-country running and a gymnastics club. The school takes part in local sporting events such as the swimming gala, athletics competitions and rounders. In the summer the headteacher runs a ‘multi-activity’ club with a wide variety of opportunities such as hikes, picnics and games. At lunchtimes all pupils take part in games and use bikes and sports equipment, for example. The school field has a den making area for imaginative play. Playground markings encourage pupils to create their own games.

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

17. Pupils demonstrate very high levels of maturity and independence and self-esteem is high. They communicate very well with each other and with adults and are polite and friendly at all times. Behaviour in lessons, in the playground and when eating lunch is very good and older pupils care for younger ones. There is very rarely a need for discipline of more than a mild rebuke. Pupils take responsibility very well for jobs around the school. They clean up after lunch, taking turns to sweep floors and move tables. They clear the room ready for physical education quickly and safely. On arrival in the morning they bring their homework into school and get learning resources ready. They are trustworthy and very sensible, for example in using the new entrance lobby at lunchtime and break time as a shelter from sun and wind and for quiet activity. In lessons they work very well together in pairs and in groups, working as mixed age or

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

gender groups as required. This was demonstrated very well in a dance/drama lesson for Years 5 and 6 where they worked in pairs to create sequences of sounds and movements to represent ‘The Rainforest’. From the youngest age they take responsibility for their own learning, working independently and reliably. Pupils in Years 3-6 help to set their own learning targets and this helps them to make the effort to overcome any difficulties. They undertake research, both at home and in school, and are competent users of information and communication technology for their work.

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

18. In ‘circle time’ (a time when pupils sit together to discuss and share ideas) pupils in Years R-2 heard the story of King Midas and reflected well on what made them happy and learned to take turns and listen to others as they shared their thoughts. Pupils in Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 14 Years 3-6 reflect on poetry and stories and use this reflection to stimulate their imaginative writing very well. When considering the Rainforest in geography they decided which crops and activities were for the native people’s own use and which were for the benefit of others. They reflect and debate on world issues, of exploitation for example, with maturity and sympathy. The good written work resulting from the study of the ‘Wizard of Oz’ showed a good understanding of the difficulties others might have in life. At a visit to an ‘Authors’ Week’ at a local theatre, pupils heard the author of a novel written about a child living on a farm during the foot and mouth crisis speak

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

about his work. For these pupils this topic had a deep and significant meaning and they related to the book with sympathy and feeling. The school has copies of the book and one pupil stated that she had read it several times.

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

19. Pupils learn much about the lives and cultures of others. Years R-2 have learned about the Hindu religion and a good display of artefacts and pictures added well to this learning. Pupils in Years 3-6 study a novel ‘Kensuki’s Kingdom’ that introduces them to Japanese culture and values the culture of two pupils in the school who speak Japanese. They learn much of the heritage of their own culture through myths and legends and visits and visitors. A recent visitor talked and showed a film and artefacts from the Rainforest. All pupils are introduced to the work of famous artists and listen to music. They enjoy theatre visits and appreciate drama productions ranging from the ‘Wizard of Oz’ to Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’.

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

20. Self-assurance and confidence is developed when pupils present dramatic productions to parents or a Harvest presentation in the local church. They learn to take part in the life of the locality when they enter paintings and handwriting for the local Stapleton Show.

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Pupils’ personal development is excellent and is supported by the very good

21. At the pre-inspection meeting parents felt that the attitudes and values that the school promotes are a strength of the school. Comments included, “learning is not just academic”, “pupils have a real interest - they bring projects home and want to do things”, “pupils play well together and gain a respect for others by mixing with other years”. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 15

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information

22. The school development plan does not extend beyond the current year and does not indicate any future developments. The school does not use information and communication technology to manage its finances and, although financial management is secure, financial management is taking the headteacher a great deal of time and effort and a current financial position is not always readily available. As a result of this the school has found itself with too large a percentage of its budget unallocated at the end of the financial year. The governing body had considerable difficulty in meeting for most of 2001 because of the foot and mouth crisis. Some new members have joined recently who have yet to become part of the planning cycle. Discussions have taken place in order to plan for next year and there are a number of plans to use the current surplus funds. However, none of this has yet been formalised in writing. The governors

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information

are aware of the need to improve the ways in which school finances are managed, have the intention of buying in to the local education authority’s bursar system to have this managed for them and have already made the initial contact with this service.

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(Reception Year)

23. Due to the very small size of the school, children in the Reception Year are part of the class for younger pupils. The teacher tries very hard to meet the requirements of the latest national guidance for this stage of learning. However, the school cannot meet the full recommendations for outdoor activities as there is no secure outside play area. Children do not have regular opportunities to build large structures, take part in exploratory play or to be challenged by climbing, scrambling or crawling, for example. Experimenting and co-operating with balls, hoops or wheeled vehicles is confined to lunchtime and is not part of a regular teaching and learning programme. The teacher tries hard to plan outdoor activities to meet young children’s learning when she can, but not as regularly as is desirable to match the national guidance. When possible children use the small play area outside the classroom but have to be trusted not to round the

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(Reception Year)

corner and venture into the larger playground and field and this makes supervision difficult. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 16

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve development planning to extend beyond the current year and link this to clearer and more up-to-date financial information by: § providing clearer long-term targets for development; § providing effective and efficient use of information and communication technology ; § training appropriate staff and governors on day-to-day financial management; § greater involvement of governors in financial planning and decision making. (paragraph 22)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Provide a secure outdoor activity area for children in the Foundation Stage (Reception Year). (paragraph 23)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

These issues are not yet contained within school development planning. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 17

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 5

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y[6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) N/A 35

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Information about the school’s pupils

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery Y3 – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs N/A 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register N/A 5

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

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

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 18 The tables relating to pupils’ attainment in National Curriculum tests and assessments have been omitted in accordance with OFSTED’S instructions for schools that have less than ten pupils in the year groups.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2.6 Financial year 2000/01

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 13.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 121511

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1 Total expenditure 122784

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 15 Expenditure per pupil 3148

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year 11645

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Shankhill CE Infant and Junior School - 19

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 59 33 4 4 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 52 33 0 11 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 70 19 7 4 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 78 15 4 4 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. 70 26 0 4 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 63 26 11 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 56 26 7 11 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 63 30 0 0 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 37 41 11 11 0

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