St Laurence Church of England (A) School

ST LAURENCE CE AIDED PRIMARY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Mr Christopher Gray

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ST LAURENCE CE AIDED PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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ST LAURENCE CE AIDED 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. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Thame Road Warborough Oxford Postcode: OX10 7DX

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: November 1997 St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Christopher Gray Registered inspector Mathematics Science Information and communication technology Geography History Music Results and achievements Teaching and learning School effectiveness and improvement Leadership & management

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Mary Le Mage Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values & personal development Provision for pupils’ personal development How well the school cares for its pupils Partnership with parents and community links Staffing, accommodation & resources Barbara Darley Team inspector Foundation Stage English Art Design and technology Physical education Special educational needs Equal opportunities Curriculum opportunities Assessment Financial efficiency

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

TWA Inspections Ltd 5 Lakeside Werrington Peterborough PE4 6QZ

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 10

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Laurence CE Aided Primary School is situated in the village of Warborough, near Oxford. The school is for children aged 4 to 11 and has 74 full-time pupils (40 boys and 34 girls). This is a similar number to that at the time of the last inspection and is much smaller than most primary schools. In common with other statistics, children’s attainment on entry varies from year to year because of the small number of pupils, but the current group contains more children of below average attainment than has been the case for some time.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Most of the pupils come from families who live in or near to the village. Approximately 6 per cent of pupils are entitled to claim a free school meal, which is below average. However, the proportion varies considerably from year to year and in the last four years was more than twice the current figure. All pupils live in homes where English is the first language and none is from an ethnic minority background. Three pupils have Statements of Special Educational Need and, in percentage terms (4 per cent), this is above average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

St Laurence CE Aided Primary is a good school which is justifiably popular with parents. Pupils work hard and have very good attitudes to their work. They achieve well, measured against their prior attainment. The standards the oldest pupils currently achieve when they leave the school at the end of Year 6 are average in English, mathematics and science, though standards are higher in other year groups. The difference is because of the variation in ability levels of the small number of pupils in each year group. The overall quality of teaching is good. The school is very well led by the headteacher and the governors are fully involved. The school gives good value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Pupils achieve well in English, mathematics and science across the school. Attainment by Year 6 is above expectations in art and history. • Pupils have very good attitudes to their work and they behave very well. • Teaching is good across the school. • The school’s ethos of inclusion is very good. Pupils with special educational needs are given good support and the school makes very good provision for the personal development of all its pupils. • The school is very well led by the headteacher and governors fulfil their role very well.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Pupils’ information and communication technology skills are under-developed, though the school’s new equipment is already enabling teachers to improve them. 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 1997. Two of the key issues concerned keeping track of pupils’ progress, one in reading and the other by setting targets for individuals to help them reach their potential. The school has made good progress on these issues and now monitors the progress of all pupils carefully, taking any necessary action to increase support. The school was also required to improve the appearance of pupils’ work. This has been done very effectively and pupils’ written work is of a consistently good quality. Lastly, the school had to increase the opportunities for the physical development of the youngest children. An outside play area was constructed with a large sandpit. This is a satisfactory development, but the teacher of the youngest class needs more trained help in order to extend children’s creative play.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has maintained standards at a similar good level to that found by the last inspection, given the fluctuations inevitable with small groups of pupils. Teaching is of the same good quality, though there are now nearly double the number of teachers there were five years ago. Overall improvement since the last inspection has been good. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Performance in: All schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

1999 2000 2001 2001 very high A * English A* A B B well above average above average A B Mathematics A* B C C average below average C D Science A* A D D well below average E

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STANDARDS

Only 15 pupils took the 2001 National Curriculum tests in Year 6. The number differs considerably each year - in 1999, it was only four. In such small groups, the profile of overall ability changes enormously from year to year. This explains the variations shown in the table above, and means that comparisons with national averages are unreliable. Similarly, any comments on trends over time would be insecure. The school sets challenging targets for its National Curriculum test results. It is unlikely to meet those for 2002, however, because several pupils have left and new ones have arrived since the targets were set.

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STANDARDS

The inspection finds that pupils’ attainment by Year 2 in English, mathematics and science is above average and pupils achieve well. By Year 6, attainment is average in these subjects. This reflects the very different ability levels of this year group, who have achieved well, measured against their starting point. Attainment in English, mathematics and science in the current Years 4 and 5 is above what is expected for pupils’ ages.

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STANDARDS

In information and communication technology, pupils’ attainment is in line with expectations, though older pupils have limited experience of controlling objects or sensors via a computer.

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STANDARDS

In the other subjects by Year 6, history and art are strengths because of the quality of teaching in these subjects and pupils’ attainment exceeds expectations. Their attainment meets expectations in design and technology, geography and music. No judgement was possible in physical education because of lack of evidence. Religious education is the subject of a separate report. Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress and are on course to attain above what is expected in communication, language and literacy and in mathematical development. They are likely to meet expectations in all other aspects of their learning. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards the targets in their individual education plans.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and the interesting lessons their teachers plan are an important part of this enthusiasm.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Pupils behave very well all round the school. Behaviour during indoor and outdoor play is very friendly and self-disciplined.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Very good. Pupils demonstrate increasing understanding of how their behaviour affects others as they move up the school. Very good relationships with adults are the foundations of the good learning which takes place.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Very good - much better than average. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Quality of teaching Good 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 AND LEARNING

The overall quality of teaching is good. Teachers trust pupils to be responsible and pupils reward this trust with a keen desire to learn. Adults also have high expectations of the quality of work which pupils will do, resulting in well-presented written work. Teachers’ planning is thorough and helps them to give appropriate challenges to pupils of all abilities. However, they plan for art and design and technology as one subject, which does not give enough focus to the development of skills in the latter subject.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The teaching of English and literacy skills is very good across the school. Mathematics is taught well overall and very well in Years 4, 5 and 6 and pupils are developing good numeracy skills. Pupils use their learning in literacy and numeracy in many subjects, though do not sufficiently use numeracy skills in design and technology. In information and communication technology, pupils are developing sound skills in the new computer suite, but teachers do not give enough opportunities for them to use them in other subjects, especially art, design and technology, geography and history. Pupils in the Foundation Stage are well taught and the teaching of pupils with special educational needs is also good.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum The school provides interesting and worthwhile learning experiences for its pupils, though it does not give enough prominence to design and technology. The Foundation Stage curriculum equips the youngest children to begin the National Curriculum in Year 1, though more planned opportunities need to be given to the aspect of creative play.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. The school has an above average proportion of pupils with statements and they make good progress because of the effective way they are included in the life of the school.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development Very good overall. Pupils are involved in the running of the school through the school council and this gives them a real sense of responsibility. Adults set very clear examples of considerate and thoughtful behaviour and this encourages pupils to behave well. Pupils learn about British and other cultures from around the world, though their awareness of other cultures in their own locality is limited.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The steps taken by the school to ensure the welfare, health and safety of its pupils are good. Teachers know their pupils well and use this knowledge effectively in planning work for them.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The school has a good partnership with parents and parents respond with good opinions about the school. The school would like more parents to help in classrooms and some parents would like more information on what their children are going to learn. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher gives a clear lead to a committed and hard-working team. She involves all staff and governors in decisions and enables them to take an effective role in her very good management.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors work hard for their school and play a big part in assessing its success and planning for its development. They discharge their statutory duties very well.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance Pupils’ progress in English and mathematics is carefully tracked from the time they enter the school until they leave. Teachers use this information to challenge their pupils and set them appropriate targets. Close review of development planning means that staff and governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources The school has a very good number of teachers and support staff, with the exception of the need for full-time, trained support for reception children. The accommodation is good - the new buildings allow for good use of small group teaching. Resources for learning are satisfactory. There is a good understanding of the principles of best value.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

This section is based on the comments of the 19 parents who attended the pre-inspection meeting and the 35 completed questionnaires.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Their children like school and make good progress • Behaviour in the school is good • Teaching is good and teachers have high expectations • The school is helping children to become mature and responsible • There is a good, caring ethos • The school is well managed • The amount of homework for older pupils • The number of extra-curricular activities

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Inspectors agree with parents’ positive comments. They found that the use of homework is satisfactory, though they agree that more could be set. The number and range of extra-curricular activities are typical for a school of this size and inspectors found them satisfactory. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Only 12 pupils took the 2001 National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 2 and 15 pupils at the end of Year 6. The numbers vary each year - for example, six pupils took the 2000 National Curriculum tests in Year 6 and only four in 1999. This makes comparisons with national results unreliable. The school was given an Achievement Award by the Department for Education and Skills last year.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. The school carefully tracks the progress made by every pupil. Teachers make a prediction of the level all children should reach by the end of the next school year, based on their attainment during the current year. This begins with the assessment of children’s skills when they enter reception and continues throughout the school, using national voluntary test results from Year 3 onwards. Teachers can thus measure the progress of every pupil and the headteacher keeps detailed records which give a clear view of the progress of all pupils. Teachers use this information to set appropriate personal targets for all pupils, individually.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. This careful monitoring of pupils’ performance means that most pupils are making good progress, as records show. The current Year 2 pupils (there are 11 this year) began in reception with fairly average skills. The inspection finds that their attainment in English, mathematics and science is above average. The group of pupils in Year 6 (10) has changed in overall ability levels since they started in the school at the age of four, because of pupils who left and others who joined the school in the interim. The overall skills of this group are slightly below average, but the inspection finds that their attainment in English, mathematics and science is average. This represents good achievement for these pupils. The school set very challenging targets for the 2002 National Curriculum tests for the group - at 100 per cent in English and mathematics. However, they were made before the profile of the group changed and the school is unlikely to meet them.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. A similar pattern (of above average attainment at the end of Year 2 and average by the end of Year 6) emerged from the National Curriculum tests in 2001. This too is explained by differences in the abilities of the year group. In addition, the Year 6 pupils of 2000/01 experienced a somewhat disrupted year, being in a class of 35, housed in the hall, with building works going on around them. Teaching arrangements are now much better, thanks to the new accommodation and the judicious use of the budgetary surplus to fund smaller teaching groups (see paragraph 64). Pupils in the current Years 4 and 5 began the school with average skills and are currently attaining above average in English, mathematics and science.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress. By the time they enter Year 1, they are likely to attain the Early Learning Goals 1 in personal, social and emotional development, physical development, creative development and knowledge and understanding of the world, and exceed them in communication, language and literacy, and mathematical development. The children started school with skills which are fairly average when taken as a whole, but there is a very wide range of ability: four out of the seven children are on the register of special educational need and two are higher-attaining children who often work with Year 1 pupils.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. In English, pupils’ attainment by Year 2 is above average. Standards of speaking and listening are good and pupils talk confidently and listen attentively. Reading and writing

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 See Foundation Stage section for definition. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School skills are also good. Standards of the current Year 6 are average, but this represents good progress for this group of pupils’ given their prior attainment.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Pupils’ attainment in mathematics and science follows the same pattern of above average attainment by Year 2 and average in Year 6. In mathematics, pupils have a clear grasp of place value and they use decimals accurately by Year 6, rounding numbers to the nearest whole, ten or hundred. Pupils cover a large amount of work in all aspects of mathematics and the numeracy skills of most of the pupils in the school are well developed. In science, pupils study all aspects of the curriculum over a two-year cycle. Thus, pupils in Year 2 are studying plants at one level while those in Year 6 follow the same topic, but at a higher level. The quality of pupils’ written work is very good. Their independence is sometimes restricted in experimental work by the prescriptive style of worksheets.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Pupils’ skills in information and communication technology are average though, by Year 6, pupils do not have enough experience of control technology. Pupils learn to use computers from Reception and the school’s new computer suite is already helping to raise standards. However, information and communication technology is not used widely in all subjects.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. By Year 2, pupils’ attainment is in line with expectations in art, design and technology, geography and history. No judgement was possible in music by Year 2 and in physical education by Year 2 and Year 6 because of lack of evidence. The attainment of pupils in Year 6 is above expectations in art and history because good teaching stimulates their interest. Their attainment meets expectations in design and technology, geography and music.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards the targets in their individual education plans. Targets are set in small, measurable steps and pupils are helped to achieve them because teachers and assistants are very familiar with the pupils’ needs.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Higher-attaining pupils are usually well challenged and make good progress. The mixed- age classes make this easier because pupils often work alongside older pupils of similar ability. The school identifies gifted and talented pupils and meets their needs well. For example, several pupils in recent years have been advanced a year, taking their National Curriculum tests 12 months early and this means they can work at a level suited to their abilities.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. The attitudes, values and personal development of pupils in the school are very good and make a big contribution to the standards attained across the school. This aspect of the life of the school has remained a strength since the last inspection. These findings confirm the positive views expressed by parents at the parents’ meeting and in their responses to the parents’ questionnaire.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Pupils’ attitudes to all aspects of school life are very good. Pupils start school with good attitudes to learning and good standards of behaviour and they improve over their time in school. Throughout the school, pupils show obvious enthusiasm for their work and are keen to take part in all school activities. In lessons, pupils are very attentive, interested in their work and are keen to respond to questioning. At times their level of concentration is so great that an easy silence falls on the room. Pupils work well independently and respond well to the good teaching they receive.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Behaviour in the school is very good and there have been no exclusions since the last inspection. Pupils behave very well in lessons and at all other times in the school day. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School Very occasional incidents of inappropriate behaviour are gently and effectively dealt with by skilful teachers with minimal disruption to lessons. Behaviour during indoor and outdoor play is very harmonious, often with minimal adult supervision, and pupils of all ages and backgrounds play together naturally. Inspectors saw no incidents of bullying during the inspection.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Relationships throughout the school are very good. Pupils’ contributions in lessons and in the wider life of the school are valued and this ensures a high level of involvement. Pupils listen well to instructions and are pleased when given praise. They relate very well to all adults they encounter during the school day and give a friendly welcome to visitors. They are polite and courteous. Mutual respect is evident between pupils of all abilities and ages.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Pupils’ personal development is very good. They demonstrate increasing understanding of how their behaviour affects others as they move up the school. Pupils’ respect for others is demonstrated in lessons, where they co-operate well together and show respect and courtesy when listening to the views and ideas of others in their class. However, the opportunities to develop an awareness or understanding of the diversity of life-styles in their own country are limited. Pupils are encouraged to use their initiative and take responsibility for aspects of their learning by the opportunities provided by teachers for them to work independently, choose materials for their activities and decide for themselves how to record some elements of their work. In addition, the very active school council enables all pupils to use their initiative and take responsibility for aspects of school life and development. The council operates as a focus for all pupils and its benefits are not limited

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Attendance at the school is very good. Pupils arrive at school on time and registration is completed efficiently in a polite and pleasant manner.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. The quality of teaching in the school overall is good and gives the same, consistent picture as at the last inspection. The number of teachers in the school is almost double what it was, and this consistency is the result of very good management and monitoring, so that the best use is made of the skills and availability of the part-time staff.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. The linchpin common to all teaching, and around which pupils’ very good attitudes revolve, is the relationships which adults and children develop. Teachers trust pupils to behave very well and they reward this trust by acting responsibly. An example of this was seen in a very good literacy lesson for Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils. The main focus of the lesson took place in the classroom, but the teacher wanted the pupils to go to the computer room, six pairs at a time, to use word processing for their work. They were unsupervised for much of the time and got on sensibly and well. Another example of how effective teachers’ and pupils’ relationships are is the work of the school council. When proposals for a ‘walking bus’ were received by the school, the headteacher passed the papers directly to the council for their reaction, without trying to influence them first.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Teachers also have high expectations of how pupils will present their written work. This was a key issue from the last inspection and the action taken by the school has worked very well. Pupils’ books show great pride and care, and this inspector enjoyed reading their past work in science and history. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are also high, especially in the oldest class, where activities are consistently appealing, interesting and worthwhile. For example, in a very good mathematics lesson for Years 5 and 6, pupils were learning about ratio. The teacher planned a series of quick-fire questions, asking pupils to find as many factors as they could in a short time. Numbers used varied from 17 to 2,262 and pupils wrote down their findings on individual St Laurence CE Aided Primary School whiteboards. This also enabled the teacher to see quickly who had understood and who had not. Good challenge is presented to pupils of all abilities, and the arrangements for

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

the teaching of literacy and numeracy in Years 4, 5 and 6 work particularly well because of the skills of the two teachers concerned.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. Lessons are well planned. An example of high-quality planning was seen in an excellent English lesson for Years 2 and 3. The focus was on words, including calligrams and synonyms. The teacher prepared a wide range of resources, including big books with overlays, and whiteboards. The teaching assistant was very well briefed, recording pupils’ responses in the oral session and giving good support to different groups, whose activities were planned closely to meet their abilities.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Medium-term planning contains learning intentions and these are used well in many lessons, especially in mathematics, where pupils note down what they are supposed to learn, setting the written work in context for future reference. Some subjects, however, have learning intentions for a whole half-term rather than for each lesson and this is not as useful for helping pupils to see what they have learnt in a single lesson.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. The school is fortunate in having skilled teaching assistants and teachers use them well. A particularly successful feature is the use of one assistant (who is studying on a graduate training course) to teach mathematics to Year 3 pupils. She does this well, enabling Year 2 pupils also to be taught as a separate group.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. Teachers make satisfactory use of homework in English and mathematics and occasionally in other subjects - such as, researching natural sculptures for art. However, most parents at the pre-inspection meeting and about one-quarter of those who responded to the questionnaires would like older pupils to have more homework. Teachers’ marking is of high quality in some subjects but is not as good in others.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is good overall. The combined year groups mean that higher-attaining reception children can work with Year 1 pupils, and this means they make good progress, especially in English and mathematics. Good support from the teaching assistant in these lessons means that lower-attaining children are also making good progress. Teaching is good in most areas of early learning. The only exceptions are creative and physical development, where the lack of full-time, trained support means that aspects of children’s play are not being developed with sufficient frequency.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Teaching in English is very good across the school and in mathematics it is good in Years 1 and 2 and very good in Years 3 to 6. A major strength in both these subjects is the use of part-time teachers and assistants to produce small groups, based largely on year groups, with a few pupils from other years, according to ability. This leads to very good teaching of literacy and numeracy skills.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. The quality of teaching in science is good. Activities are interesting and well planned and teachers have a good depth of knowledge. The local scheme of work is sometimes too prescriptive and does not allow pupils enough independence in planning investigations. It is also occasionally too hard for lower-attaining pupils because they are given the same tasks as others.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

28. No judgement can be made on the teaching of information and communication technology, since none was seen. However, it is clear that all staff have been trained to use all the school’s equipment well. Planning is thorough, but classroom computers were not used much during the inspection. Information and communication technology skills are not used enough in art, design and technology, geography, history and music. (The scope of the inspection did not include religious education.) St Laurence CE Aided Primary School 29. In Years 1 and 2, teaching is good in history and music, and satisfactory in art and geography. No judgements were possible in either key stage in design and technology and physical education because of lack of evidence. In Years 3 to 6, teaching is very good in history, good in art and music, and satisfactory in geography.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

30. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is good. Teachers are mindful of the targets in pupils’ individual education plans and direct at them questions and activities specifically designed to help them progress towards their targets. Teaching assistants work well with the pupils and give good support.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

31. The school identifies higher-attaining, gifted and talented pupils and gives them good support. Pupils who would benefit are moved on a year to work with the next year group and the analysis of pupils’ past work shows that this has worked well. Equally, pupils are very occasionally held back a year where this is in the interests of their personal development.

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PUPILS?

32. The school provides a good range of learning opportunities and a broad and balanced curriculum, including all subjects of the National Curriculum. It meets the statutory requirements for these subjects, with the exception of the control aspect of information and communication technology for older pupils. The school has maintained the strengths reported during the last inspection and made satisfactory improvement. The school is making good use of the relatively new computer suite but there is insufficient planned use of information and communication technology across the curriculum. The length of the school day is in line with the nationally recommended teaching time though in practice there is insufficient time allocated to design and technology because it is closely linked to art.

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PUPILS?

33. The national strategies for literacy and numeracy have been implemented effectively throughout the school. Each year standards vary according to the pupils’ abilities. However, good-quality teaching in literacy and numeracy ensures consistency of approach and high expectations of pupils’ achievement relative to their abilities. There is good use of pupils’ literacy skills in science, history and geography. There is insufficient use of pupils’ literacy skills in art in evaluating their work. There is also limited use of numeracy and literacy skills in design and technology in recording and evaluating pupils’ ideas.

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PUPILS?

34. In other subjects of the National Curriculum, all teachers’ plan their work around a termly theme. This helps to meet the school’s needs in dealing with numbers that vary from year to year and an annual change to class organisation. Teachers pay particular attention to planning for progression in skills in subjects with the exception of design and technology where there is insufficient focus on the particular knowledge and skills required. The school has regard for national guidance from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and some subject co-ordinators plan to make more use of specific modules to add increased depth and rigour to the planning.

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PUPILS?

35. The school has adapted its curriculum and organisation effectively to take account of a wide variety of pupils’ abilities and ages in each class. Staff ensure all pupils have equality of access to all learning opportunities. The teachers’ skilful classroom management and good use of classroom assistants ensure that pupils’ particular needs are well catered for. The exception is the provision for regular creative and physical development of reception children. This is owing to the lack of sufficient trained ancillary support in the afternoons. There are good arrangements for meeting the needs of gifted and talented and higher- attaining pupils. The teachers make good use of ability grouping to meet these pupils’ needs. Provision for pupils with special needs is equally good. Learning support St Laurence CE Aided Primary School assistants provide good support to pupils on an individual or group basis.

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PUPILS?

36. Personal, health and social education are effectively catered for. There are good arrangements to ensure pupils learn about particular issues, such as sex education and the danger of drugs. There are also opportunities for pupils to discuss matters of immediate interest in circle times 2 with their teachers and at the school council. Teachers provide good opportunities which encourage pupils’ independence and sense of responsibility. For example, Year 5 and 6 pupils are trusted to work in the computer suite with occasional supervision from the teacher and their behaviour is exemplary.

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PUPILS?

37. Pupils are given a satisfactory amount of homework and all parents are encouraged to support their children’s learning through sharing books with the youngest children and hearing older pupils read. In Years 3 to 6, pupils are encouraged to read a wide selection of books. There is a satisfactory range of additional activities including extra-curricular clubs, such as choir and French, local visits, a range of visitors and a residential trip.

p.15

PUPILS?

38. The community makes a satisfactory contribution to the learning experiences of pupils. Some members of the community visit school regularly, for example a former organist from the local church, who uses her skills to support music with the youngest pupils in the school and the vicar who regularly leads assembly. Teachers arrange worthwhile educational visits in the locality and the church is used well to support the curriculum.

p.15

PUPILS?

39. The school maintains a close liaison with the local state secondary school so that pupils have opportunities to meet the staff and visit the school. These arrangements ensure a smooth transition for pupils when they leave at the end of Year 6. At present, there are no specific curriculum links between the two schools. Links with the local playgroup are good and teachers from the school visit the playgroup termly. They also visit some of the nurseries attended by pupils before coming to this school. The school has good links with its local group of primary schools.

p.15

Personal development

40. Overall, provision for pupils’ personal development is very good. The school has maintained consistently high standards since the last inspection. Provision for spiritual and cultural development is good and for moral and social development it is very good. These features make a significant contribution to the caring and happy community that the school provides.

p.15

Personal development

41. Arrangements for pupils’ spiritual development are good. This small school creates a quiet, respectful ethos where everyone is special and all can grow and flourish. All adults in the school work hard to ensure that pupils value themselves and others. Assemblies are built around themes, such as sharing, that promote pupils’ understanding of human feelings and emotions. Regular visits to the school by the vicar reinforce the links with the church and further contribute to pupils’ spiritual development. There are good opportunities across the curriculum to promote spiritual development, especially in lessons in art, music and when exploring literature and the use of language in literacy lessons. Displays around the school show many examples of writing, both prose and poetry, which show well-developed spiritual appreciation of the natural world.

p.15

Personal development

42. Pupils’ moral development is very well promoted, beginning with the very good examples set by all adults in the school. They successfully promote pupils’ awareness of the importance of rules that encourage the values of honesty, justice and care. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong, showing respect for the needs, interests and feelings of others. Consequently, pupils show respect for property and care for the environment.

p.15

Personal development

2 When pupils, sitting in a circle, take turns in expressing their views. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School Assemblies often have a moral theme. During the inspection, the story focused on the wrongs of always being a ‘taker’ and not giving anything back.

p.15

Personal development

43. The school’s provision for social development is very good. All staff encourage pupils to collaborate and support each other. For example, in some lessons, teachers provide time for pupils to review each other’s work and make positive, supportive comments about it. The school council has a high profile in the school and is a very good means of involving all pupils in the development of the school. All suggestions from pupils are discussed by the council and outcomes reported back. They frequently influence day-to-day events. For example, they have amended the arrangements for second-helpings at lunchtimes, decided who can work in the nature reserve, introduced a music-sharing assembly and are currently investigating the practicalities of having a ‘walking bus’ scheme. Debate is of a high standard showing very good awareness of other points of view.

p.16

Personal development

44. Arrangements for pupils’ cultural development are good overall. Pupils have a good knowledge of their own culture and there are opportunities for pupils to consider the influences that have shaped their own heritage, including visits to places of historical interest in the locality. Through lessons, such as art and music, pupils are made aware of their own cultural background and the artistic heritage of other parts of the world. For example, pupils have experienced several special cultural events - one built on African music, dance and story-telling and a second on Asian art. Religious education lessons give the pupils an awareness and some understanding of the major faiths of the world. However, insufficient attention is given to developing and extending pupils’ awareness and experience of the cultural diversity in Britain today.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. The steps taken by the school to ensure the welfare, health and safety of its pupils are good, as they were at the time of the last inspection. Child protection procedures are very good. Awareness of the procedures is raised regularly with all adults in the school. All statutory checks are undertaken, safety is given high priority in lessons and the general welfare of pupils is well catered for in the daily life of the school. However, at times, especially at lunchtime, there is less adult supervision of pupils than is normally seen in most schools. The school responds to the high standards of behaviour demonstrated by the pupils by expecting them to respect out-of-bounds rulings and to behave in a mature and sensible manner but this cannot be taken for granted.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. The school’s procedures for monitoring and assessing pupils’ personal and academic progress are good and those for assessing their attainment and progress are very good. The strengths seen at the last inspection have been maintained and there has been good improvement in the use of new technology in helping the school record and track pupils’ progress. Pupils are assessed informally by teachers on a regular basis and there are annual formal assessments. Target setting takes place and teachers remind pupils of their targets in lessons. The targets are also shared with parents. The quality of teachers’ marking is not consistent and, in some subjects, is not sufficiently focused on helping pupils to understand how they can improve further.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. Effective liaison between the school and pre-school providers ensures there is good transfer of information about children’s abilities. During the first half-term, the reception teacher completes the local education authority’s test of initial skills and the results are shared with parents. There are good arrangements to support the reception teacher in this process which ensures assessments are accurate.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

48. There is good early identification of pupils with particular needs and appropriate provision is made. For example, very able reception children work happily alongside Year 1 pupils and are suitably challenged. Assessment and review procedures for pupils with special St Laurence CE Aided Primary School educational needs are well established and thorough. The headteacher is the assessment and special educational needs co-ordinator and makes very good use of new technology to monitor pupils’ progress across the school.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

49. The relatively small size of the school means that assessment procedures often rely on discussion. Very good staff relationships ensure effective exchange of information and that all staff are aware of pupils’ needs. This is particularly important as classes in Years 3 to 6 are taught by different teachers for part of the week. All teachers know their pupils well and target groups of pupils successfully to ensure their particular needs are identified and met. Classroom support staff contribute well to the assessment process by recording observations of pupils. There are particularly good procedures for this in the Years 2 and 3 class.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

50. The effectiveness of educational and personal support and guidance in raising pupils’ achievement is very good. Attendance is very well monitored and the high levels of attendance are maintained by high-quality teaching which presents the pupils with interesting ways in which to extend their learning. This ensures the pupils want to come to school. Parents are almost unanimous in saying that their children like school. The procedures to monitor and promote good behaviour and eliminate oppressive behaviour are very good. Incidents of inappropriate behaviour are skilfully dealt with and if a pattern emerges, support is given to the pupil experiencing difficulties with behaviour to help improvement. This ensures that poor behaviour is unlikely to persist.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

51. There is an effective partnership between the school and the parents, as at the time of the last inspection. Parents feel this is a good school.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

52. The parents’ questionnaires, completed for the inspection, reveal that parents are most pleased with: • the quality of teaching in the school • the way in which the school helps children to mature and become responsible • the way in which the school is led and managed • the standard of behaviour of the pupils • the high expectations the school has of its pupils. The inspection endorses the parents’ positive views of the school.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

53. A small minority of parents do not think the school provides an adequate range of activities outside lessons, or that there is the right amount of homework set. The inspection found the range of extra-curricular activities to be satisfactory as is the quantity and quality of homework.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

54. The impact of the involvement of parents on the work of the school is good and parents make a good contribution to children’s learning at school and at home. Currently, a small number of parents work in school as volunteers on a regular basis, but parents escort children to swimming lessons, accompany school visits, maintain areas of the school grounds and raise significant funds for the school. They are very supportive of school functions. A class teacher responded to a request from parents to provide information about what is going to be taught in the coming term and this is being extended to cover the whole school. Nevertheless, parents do not receive sufficient detailed information about ‘How things are taught’ to enable them to be fully engaged in their children’s learning at home.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

55. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are mainly pleased with the school’s work for their children. The school has an above average percentage of pupils with Statements St Laurence CE Aided Primary School of Special Educational Need because parents have chosen to send their children here rather than to closer schools.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

56. Information provided for parents is good. There is regular contact with parents through reading diaries, school newsletters and open afternoons. The school’s brochure is clear and informative, although there is a minor omission of attendance information. The governors’ annual report to parents is also of a good quality. All parents receive an annual report on their children’s progress. These are of a good standard and cover all subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. For English, mathematics and science there is a detailed report on the pupil’s particular strengths and the progress achieved and specific targets are included so that parents are clear about how they can help their child to improve. Reporting on other subjects tends to be more general, sometimes only outlining what the pupil has studied and possibly their attitude to the subject. The National Curriculum standards achieved by the pupil are reported in English, mathematics and

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

science at the end of Years 2 and 6 but at no other time and in no other subjects. This makes it difficult for parents to know how their children are doing compared with the national level expected for the child’s age. In addition, the reporting of National Curriculum levels where it is included, is very complex, and not easy for parents to follow.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The headteacher’s leadership is very good. Her vision for the school’s direction is clear, yet, at the same time, her calm and quiet management style enable her to involve everyone in decision making, so that all share her vision. Governors and staff are in clear agreement with this view. An example of the quality of leadership is the recent policy decision about part-time staff, made possible by the budgetary surplus, described below. The headteacher formulated a number of proposals for governors’ consideration, which they discussed at length and in great detail. They adopted her preferred option of moving to a minimum of full-time staff augmented by a good number of part-time teachers.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The headteacher’s very good management is also exemplified by the way these staff are used. The school now splits its classes into smaller groups, based mainly on year groups, for English and mathematics. The inspection shows how well this is working in terms of the very good teaching observed in those subjects and the good progress pupils are making. The quality of leadership and management reported by the last inspection has been maintained.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. A further benefit of the staffing structure is the capacity it gives for delegation and this is used very well. The school has nearly twice the number of teachers one would expect in a three-class school and is very fortunate in the calibre and commitment of all of them. All teachers take on curriculum responsibilities and fulfil their roles well, undertaking monitoring of standards of teaching and attainment in all groups. This means that co- ordinators also monitor the headteacher’s teaching, and this sets a good lead in working as a team. The capacity of the staff to achieve their aims is excellent.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. The headteacher is the special educational needs co-ordinator and manages the provision well. The governor with responsibility for special educational needs is very well informed about the pupils on the register and works with them well in her role as a teaching assistant. The school is an inclusive community where pupils from all backgrounds and of all abilities are equally valued and nurtured.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. The careful tracking of each pupil’s progress (described above in the Attainment section) is important in helping the school to meet its aim of encouraging children to fulfil their potential. As a Church of England school, the school is committed to providing a caring environment based on Christian values, and this is evident in all its work, as parents were keen to confirm at the pre-inspection meeting. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School 62. Governors are a hard-working and unified body and they fulfil all statutory duties. They are fully involved in decision making and review - for example, the chairman attends annual review meetings with the headteacher and the local education authority adviser and so is fully conversant with the school’s strengths and weaknesses. He gives a detailed feedback on these meetings to the full governing body. Governors accept the headteacher’s guidance, but only when they have assured themselves that it is the best

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

option. The school development plan covers a three-year period, and gives a detailed breakdown of targets, costs and measures of success for the first year of each cycle. The plan is based on a review of the previous year’s plan and co-ordinators’ action plans are an important contributor. Targets are fully considered and are appropriate to the school’s needs.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. The headteacher and all staff have agreed performance management targets, which are linked to the school’s priorities for development. For example, one of the headteacher’s concerns targets for the percentage of pupils to reach certain levels of the information and communication technology curriculum. The fact that inspectors share the view that information and communication technology is the school’s most urgent priority shows that the processes of school and staff development serve each other well.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

64. The school has a clear planning cycle for determining its priorities. Governors are well informed and make very well considered choices and budget decisions to support the school’s educational priorities and maximise benefit for pupils. There is good use of specific grants. Governors recognise the educational challenge of several different year groups in a class and look at how best to meet pupils’ needs. They make well-considered judgements about staffing levels, as described above. There is also an additional benefit of wider curriculum expertise and greater organisational flexibility. Judicious use of accrued funds has assisted this. The very large carry forward occurred because of rising numbers and limited call on the supply and buildings budgets. The governors and headteacher have wisely planned for careful use over time of this unexpected bonus. There are well-judged plans for these funds to assist further building, repair and

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

maintenance work whilst sustaining good staffing levels for the next few years. In making decisions, the school governors take good account of best value principles. This is aided by good use of new technology which enables the school to monitor its performance and the budget easily and effectively. Budget costs for the school are inevitably high because of its small size, but in relation to its context and standards achieved, the school provides good value for money.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

65. The school’s staffing, accommodation and learning resources are very good overall. There is a very good number of suitably trained and experienced teaching staff, because most teachers operate job shares. This enables the school to have a wider range of expertise available than is the norm for schools of this size and for pupils to be taught by more than one person. This is very effective in promoting pupils’ learning and personal development. The school has a satisfactory, but limited, number of support staff, which causes some limitations in the opportunities for reception children to take part in creative play. The school has very effective procedures for supporting teachers who are recently appointed to the school.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

66. The accommodation provides good facilities for teaching and learning. There have been significant improvements over recent years, including a new classroom, which means that the hall is available for physical education every afternoon. There have also been improvements to the outside activity area for the reception children and the creation of an award-winning millennium garden. Learning resources are adequate to meet the needs of the planned curriculum in all subject areas. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

p.19

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

67. To improve further the standards of work and the quality of education provided, the governing body, headteacher and staff should:

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) † extend pupils’ experience and use of information and communication technology by: • developing the use of computers in all subjects; • purchasing software to give pupils access to the full range of the curriculum; (paragraphs 28 & 109-113)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition to the key issue above, the following less important weaknesses should be considered for inclusion in the action plan.

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) give more profile to design and technology by: • making it a clearly separate subject from art in teachers’ planning; • introducing a common procedure for recording the design and evaluation process; (paragraphs 100-103)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) give more opportunities for reception children to take part in creative play by increasing the amount of available trained support. (paragraphs 75-76)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

† denotes an issue already highlighted as a priority in the school’s development plan

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Numbers in brackets indicate a reference to the main paragraphs where the weaknesses are discussed.) St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

p.20

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 15 * Two lessons were seen where the teaching was not judged because the period of observation was too short.

p.21

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

p.21

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 6 28 56 11 0 0 0 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 five percentage points.

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 74

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 4 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 3

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 18

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.21

Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

p.21

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

Year Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 12

p.22

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Total 10 10 12

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 83 (92) 83 (92) 100 (92) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.22

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Total 10 12 12

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 83 (92) 100 (92) 100 (92) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.22

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

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

p.22

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

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

p.22

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Total 11 10 11

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 73 (83) 67 (67) 73 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.22

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Total 11 13 12

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 79 (83) 93 (83) 86 (83) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

p.22

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0 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.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 4 Financial year 2000/01

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 18

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 183,033

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3 Total expenditure 171,720

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 47 Expenditure per pupil 2,202 FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance brought forward from previous year 20,110

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 32,358

p.23

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1.6

p.23

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2.4

p.23

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.23

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

p.23

Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0 FTE means full-time equivalent. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

p.23

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. 51 43 3 0 3

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 54 40 6 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 26 49 14 9 3

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 40 37 20 3 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 63 26 9 3 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. 54 40 6 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 37 40 23 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 57 37 3 0 3

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 63 31 6 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 9 29 43 14 5 St Laurence CE Aided Primary School PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM AND SUBJECTS

p.24

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

68. At the beginning of each term, reception aged pupils join a reception and Year 1 class full- time. Most children have some form of pre-school experience and the school liaises well with the local play groups or private nurseries. Soon after children start school, the reception teacher assesses children’s knowledge and skills using the local authority’s test of initial skills. Children’s levels of experience and knowledge vary considerably from year to year. This year there is a very wide range from some very able children to some with particular special educational needs. The school records show that, usually, children’s initial skills are similar to what is normally found among children of this age.

p.25

Personal, social and emotional development

69. There are clear routines and expectations in the reception class which ensure children settle in well. They enjoy learning, respond well and are confident in their relationships with each other and adults. Children happily work together and share equipment well. Higher-attaining children and those with special educational needs are identified early. Good provision ensures their needs are met enabling them to take a full part in lessons and learn to work with others. The quality of teaching is good and ensures children have positive attitudes to learning, work hard and behave well. They make sound progress and attain the Early Learning Goals 3 by the end of the reception year.

p.25

Communication, language and literacy

70. Children gain in confidence in speaking to adults and to the class. They speak clearly though sometimes quietly and listen well to the teacher. Children learn to form their letters well and most write legible letters under the teacher’s writing. Higher-attaining children respond well to the challenge of working with a Year 1 group and write simple sentences with punctuation and conjunctions. Pupils recognise initial sounds and handle books well. Most recognise that words have meaning and are beginning to read simple books. The quality of teaching is good and promotes good listening skills and positive attitudes. The classroom assistant provides good support to children during the oral part of the literacy lesson by taking them as a small group. By the end of Reception, children have made good progress and many are likely to exceed the Early Learning Goals. Higher-attaining children are working well within the early stage of the National Curriculum Level 1.

p.25

Communication, language and literacy

Mathematical development. 71. Participation in regular numeracy sessions challenges children’s understanding. Children count confidently to five and some to ten and beyond. They recognise shapes and distinguish between rectangles and squares. Children successfully sort shapes into sets and explain their reasons. The quality of teaching is good and there is a strong focus on developing children’s mathematical vocabulary and the teacher has high expectations. Children make good progress and, by the end of Reception, most are likely to exceed the Early Learning Goals.

p.25

Knowledge and understanding of the world

72. Children have good general knowledge of the world around them and use the available information and communication technology equipment well. They know that creatures are living things and have babies. They recognise that creatures have skin and fur and that this is coloured to help them blend into the background. They remember the word camouflage as they colour paper butterfly shapes to ‘hide’ in the outdoor area. They choose colour well, for example, making their shape blue to match the side of the sand box. They know that a Christening is a time for celebration, cards and cakes. During the

p.25

Knowledge and understanding of the world

3 The Early Learning Goals are the curriculum guidelines set by HM Government for reception and nursery children. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School inspection, they enjoyed icing a Christening cake. The quality of teaching is good and extends children’s thinking well. By the end of the reception year, children are likely to attain the expectations of the Early Learning Goals.

p.25

Physical development

73. Children handle small equipment and tools successfully and are developing good control of pencils and form letters well. Children catch and bounce balls successfully and through practice increase their skills in controlling and rolling a ball with a bat. They have a good awareness of others and happily use the large playground space. Children have good opportunities for physical development through lessons in the hall, using a range of equipment. The quality of teaching is satisfactory and children’s skills are in line with expectations for their age. They are on course to attain the Early Learning Goals by the end of Reception.

p.26

Creative development

74. There is well-organised creative play equipment and a very attractive role play area. Children enjoy creative activities when they are available, such as rolling out play dough into shapes. In music lessons, they eagerly play percussion instruments and sing simple songs from memory. The quality of music teaching is good and challenges children to achieve well alongside Year 1 pupils. Children make satisfactory progress overall and, by the end of Reception, are likely to meet the expectations of the Early Learning Goals.

p.26

Creative development

75. The school’s planning links the Early Learning Goals and the National Curriculum to a termly theme. The inspection falls towards the end of the year when a more formal curriculum is clearly in place to prepare children for the National Curriculum work. There is an established pattern of lessons as there are twice as many Year 1 pupils in the class. This curriculum is appropriate for the needs of the majority of the class and higher- attaining reception children are effectively challenged by it. Classroom assistants provide good support to reception children particularly during literacy and numeracy hours.

p.26

Creative development

76. The last inspection commented on the lack of an outdoor play space. This has been satisfactorily addressed by the addition of a secure, fenced area adjacent to the classroom. The area lacks bikes, scooters and climbing equipment. Reception children have access to climbing equipment in the hall during indoor physical education lessons with Year 1 pupils. The use of the outdoor area is restricted by the lack of a covered area for wet weather. Insufficient trained support assistance in the afternoons limits the availability of the outdoor area as a natural extension to the classroom and opportunities for creative play with adult involvement.

p.26

ENGLISH

77. Standards of attainment vary from year group to year group depending on the abilities of the pupils. However, the very good quality teaching and good implementation of the National Literacy Strategy ensure pupils make good progress over time, including those with special educational needs.

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ENGLISH

78. Standards in Year 2 are above average. Early indications from teachers’ assessment of the recent national tests are that results will be good and this confirms the development seen in their work across the year. There are few pupils with special educational needs in this year group and overall attainment is above expectations. Inspection evidence shows that pupils’ overall performance in reading and writing is good for their age. Pupils’ attainment in speaking and listening is above that expected for their age. Standards in Year 6 are average but pupils have achieved well in relation to their abilities. Pupils’ performance in reading and writing is at the level expected for their age. The present Year 5 show above average levels of attainment and Year 4 are progressing well. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School 79. Pupils’ standards in speaking and listening are above expectations across the school

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ENGLISH

because teachers provide good opportunities in lessons and assemblies to promote this aspect of English. By the age of seven, most pupils concentrate well and listen well to introductions, which helps them understand their tasks and learn effectively. They successfully recall previous work; for example, Year 2 pupils gave examples of synonyms from a previous lesson. Pupils’ confidence and ability to express themselves develops well as they go through the school. Year 6 pupils confidently explain what they are doing and what is expected of them. All pupils listen carefully in class, are ready to respond to the teacher, and to each other, and join in lively discussions about a variety of poems. . 80. Standards in reading are above expectations in Year 2 and meet them in Year 6. This reflects the abilities of the particular groups of pupils. Teachers provide good-quality activities and carefully select shared texts to interest and motivate pupils. The school

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ENGLISH

promotes reading well from an early age. Pupils are encouraged to read regularly at home through reading diaries and older pupils enjoy completing their reading passport which requires them to read a wide variety of books. They read confidently and competently within their ability. Younger pupils talk easily about the books they are reading and older pupils readily discuss the differences in characterisation between books and films of the book. Pupils have satisfactory skills in finding information from books in the library and are used to using the Internet for finding out information - for example, Year 3 pupils found key information about Picasso to help their art work. Help and support from parents and carers have a positive effect on pupils’ reading throughout the school.

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ENGLISH

81. By the age of seven, pupils’ standards in writing are above average and, by eleven, they meet national expectations and pupils’ abilities. There is a strong focus in the school on handwriting and presentation. Pupils take a pride in their writing and it is usually neat and well formed. This is consistent whether writing in English, science, history or geography. There is good use of pupils’ literacy skills in these subjects. Year 2 pupils structure sentences properly, and spelling is sound. Excellent teaching assists them to understand how words are used for effect. They understand technical terms, such as conjunctions, synonyms and calligrams. Pupils progress well according to their abilities. By Year 6, they write with interest, developing and sustaining their ideas through their writing. They use correctly a range of punctuation, such as commas and speech marks and they enjoy writing extended stories which they bind into books. In lessons they select words carefully

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ENGLISH

to complete a ghostly poem following the pattern and rhyme of a previous verse. Pupils across the school use their information and communication technology skills well in word processing their work.

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ENGLISH

82. The quality of teaching is very good and promotes good learning for all pupils. In an excellent lesson in the Year 2 and Year 3 class, the demands of a very wide range of ages and abilities were very well managed. Higher-attaining pupils were successfully challenged and those with special educational needs were supported very well. The teacher was exceptionally well prepared and the clarity and depth of her notes for the classroom assistants ensured they were used to best effect. Pupils with special educational needs respond well to the good-quality provision made for them in the classroom. Teachers have good knowledge and understanding of the subject, and are thorough in their approach to teaching literacy, so pupils gain appropriate knowledge and understanding of texts. Lesson planning is clear and in line with the National Literacy Strategy, ensuring that pupils are tackling work at the right level for their age and ability.

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ENGLISH

All teachers make their expectations explicit and manage pupils very well. They give clear explanations and maintain a brisk pace to their lessons, ensuring all pupils are involved and responsive. For example, in the Year 4, 5 and 6 class, the teacher’s clear enthusiasm for poems promotes a keen interest and an expressive performance of a ghostly poem. There is satisfactory use of homework in reading and spelling to reinforce pupils’ learning. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School 83. The National Literacy Strategy is well established and taught consistently well throughout the school. Procedures for assessing pupils’ work are effective and teachers’ knowledge and understanding of pupils’ learning are good. The setting of targets for improvement and monitoring of progress through the school have had a good effect on attainment. The subject co-ordinators are relatively new but have a very clear understanding of the

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ENGLISH

strengths of the subject. They are aware that the strengths of the previous report have been maintained and that the issue relating to the quality of pupils’ presentation has been successfully addressed. The co-ordinators are keen to continue to develop the subject and develop pupils’ extended writing further.

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MATHEMATICS

84. Pupils’ attainment is above average by Year 2 and average by Year 6. At the time of the last inspection, attainment was found to be above average in both year groups. The difference occurs because the small number of pupils in each year group means that every group has a differing profile of abilities. Pupils in Years 4 and 5 are currently attaining above average, showing that standards have been maintained since the last inspection.

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MATHEMATICS

85. Year 2 pupils’ work is neat and clear. They have a good understanding of place value and count forwards and backwards in steps of two, three and four up to 50. Average and higher-attaining pupils go on to 100 and higher-attaining pupils add on numbers greater than ten. All are familiar with the two-times table and count in fives and tens. They understand simple fractions and know that some are equivalent. They identify lines of symmetry in two-dimensional shapes and use this knowledge to design shorts and T- shirts.

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MATHEMATICS

86. Pupils in Year 6 have covered a large amount of work, which is well presented in their books. Their sound grasp of place value helps them to sequence numbers effectively with up to two decimal places and higher-attaining pupils use longer numbers. Pupils use written methods accurately for adding and subtracting number with two decimal places and average and higher-attaining pupils understand methods of long multiplication. Higher- attaining pupils also use long division with a clear understanding. Pupils use protractors to measure and construct angles carefully and they have worked with angles which make up a straight line. They are familiar with terms, such as mode and median and construct and interpret line and pie graphs. Pupils use computers to record the frequency of throwing numbers on a die and to construct graphs of data they have collected. In science, pupils make good use of numeracy skills, but they do not have enough opportunities to use them

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MATHEMATICS

87. Teaching is good in Years 1 and 2 and very good in Years 3 to 6. Good use of learning intentions is clearly reflected in pupils’ work, so that they have a thorough grasp of what they are doing and how well they have succeeded. The school’s arrangements of part- time staff and teaching assistants are used to very good effect so that Years 2, 3 and 4 work in separate, small groups for most of the week. The new accommodation also facilitates this. The arrangements are flexible and can be altered to meet the needs of differing groups each year - for example, the grouping of Years 5 and 6 for mathematics this year is entirely appropriate because of the advanced skills of the younger pupils. This benefits pupils of all abilities in these years. All work is regularly marked, but the use of written feedback is not as strong a feature of the marking as it is in science.

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MATHEMATICS

88. The subject is well managed and the use of staffing is an important part of this. The co- ordinator monitors the teaching of all staff and has a good overview of standards through testing and levelling work. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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SCIENCE

89. Pupils’ attainment is above the national average by Year 2 and average by Year 6. The difference is because of the variation in ability of the small numbers of pupils involved. Pupils in Years 4 and 5 are attaining above what is expected for their age. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress. At the time of the last inspection, attainment was found to be above average at the ends of both key stages, but again, only small numbers of pupils were involved, so this does not show a decline in standards.

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SCIENCE

90. Pupils in Year 2 learn about the external parts of plants and carry out experiments to test the conditions they need for growth. Investigations form a good part of their work; for example, they have tested the elasticity of rubber bands, with a basic understanding of the need for a fair test, and they made musical instruments with rubber bands to find out what makes sounds higher and lower. They record their work, mostly in their own words and use the Internet to research living creatures.

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SCIENCE

91. Year 6 pupils have covered a good range of work. They have studied plants in detail, learning about the internal parts of flowers, how pollination takes place and how seeds are dispersed. They are developing an understanding of fair testing, though this is sometimes restricted by the nature of the experiment. For example, an investigation into growth using only one plant gave no other plant with which to make a comparison. The experiment was taken, like much of the material used, from the local scheme of work, which is very thorough, but which prescribes very closely what pupils are to do, restricting their independence to some extent. Pupils have also studied forces and compared the weight of objects in air and water, with a good understanding of why there is a difference. Pupils’ work is best when it is in their own words, when they make good use of their literacy skills, but there are some occasions when they either copy a short text or fill in missing words.

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SCIENCE

They use information and communication technology well to display results and to explore decision trees for classifying animals. Pupils’ numeracy skills are used well; for example, in measuring and calculating how far an elastic band stretches under tension.

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SCIENCE

92. The quality of teaching is good across the school. Teachers have good subject knowledge and are very thorough in their marking of pupils’ work. Activities are interesting and successfully advance pupils’ scientific knowledge. Good use of support staff means that pupils of different ages and abilities can work together. This was seen in a very good lesson for Years 4, 5 and 6 about food chains. The start of the lesson introduced the concept. The teaching assistant then took the Year 4 pupils to another room for their activity, while the class teacher worked with the rest on developing the idea into food webs. However, the close use of the local scheme of work and associated worksheets sometimes restricts pupils’ own ideas for investigation. When pupils record in their own words, they achieve well and in line with their abilities. Yet, there are occasions when the activities prescribed by the worksheets are too hard for lower-attaining pupils, who

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SCIENCE

93. The subject is well managed by the headteacher, who monitors her colleagues’ planning and teaching and has a good view of the standards pupils achieve.

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ART AND DESIGN

94. By the age of seven, pupils’ standards of attainment meet expectations. Because of good quality teaching, pupils make good progress in Years 3 to 6 and, by the age of eleven, standards are above expectations. Pupils with special educational needs make similar progress to that of their peers. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School 95. Year 2 pupils make simple drawings from observation and explore ideas in their sketch books. They use pencils effectively to create a range of textures and tones and go onto apply this knowledge to create abstract shape work based on observations of trees.

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ART AND DESIGN

96. Pupils make good progress in Years 3 to 6 as they are presented with a range of progressively more challenging tasks. Year 3 pupils have a well-developed understanding of shape, pattern and composition. They copy various works of Picasso with amazing accuracy and explain why they like his work. However, they do not use this understanding or their skills sufficiently to develop their own ideas using the same style. Year 4 pupils apply their previous experience to new situations well. They develop the technique of cutting and separating a simple black paper silhouette of a mini-beast, making intricate and complex patterns.

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ART AND DESIGN

97. Years 5 and 6 pupils respond very well to the high level challenge of creating a large natural sculpture from a range of logs, sticks and other items collected from the local environment. The challenge requires pupils to discuss their ideas and negotiate until a consensus is reached on what they will make and how. This they do very successfully and collaborate well to construct a good-quality creature sculpture. They concentrate well on sturdy construction to ensure that, when the sculptures are moved outside, no pieces fall off. They have a well-developed understanding of form and construction techniques.

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ART AND DESIGN

98. The quality of teaching is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 and good in Years 3 to 6. Teachers plan their work well and make effective links with the overall theme for the term. For example, all art work used the natural environment and mini-beasts as the stimulus so that pupils could apply knowledge from other subjects such as science. Teachers are well organised and prepare resources for lessons well, so that pupils have everything they need. They ensure that all pupils are included and have equality of access to the curriculum. There is effective use of the new information and communication technology suite to enable pupils to find out about the life and work of Picasso but too little use is made of their word processing and literacy skills in evaluating their work and that of others. Overall, there is limited evidence of consistent use of information and communication technology in art. In lessons, teachers make good use of classroom assistants and they

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ART AND DESIGN

provide good support to pupils’ learning through effective questioning.

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ART AND DESIGN

99. The school has maintained the above-average standards seen at the time of the last inspection and has continued to improve the curriculum. Links with other schools have successfully extended the curriculum, through an art week. Pupils have had the chance to work with artists from North America, Asia and Africa. They learn from their work, as well as looking at particular periods of British history, such as the ‘Flower Power’ trend in the 1960s. The relatively new subject co-ordinator has a clear view of the subject and how she will continue to develop it further.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

100. Planned activities in this subject are closely linked to art and design and the school’s overall theme for the term. No specific lessons with a main focus on design and technology took place during the inspection and there is limited evidence of finished examples of pupils’ past work. Thus, it is possible to make judgements only about standards, and not about teaching.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

101. By the ages of seven and eleven, pupils attain standards which meet national expectations. Year 2 pupils make simple plans and identify what materials they may use. They make simple models of mini-beasts with papier-mâché and concentrate well on achieving a good quality finish. Year 5 and Year 6 pupils organise their work well making good use of their literacy skills when writing their design plan. A good, basic planning structure helps pupils identify what they are going to make, what materials they will use St Laurence CE Aided Primary School and how they will make it. Pupils ensure the basic rolled paper skeleton of their large, three-dimensional model mini-beast, is well constructed and strong enough. They demonstrate good modelling techniques by carefully building upon the model’s framework with papier-mâché until they are happy that the shape reflects their intention. Pupils demonstrate good levels of intellectual, physical and creative effort and work very well

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

together. There is considerable good-natured discussion and negotiation ensuring the group achieves a good quality product.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

102. Over time, teachers ensure pupils experience a satisfactory range of opportunities. They prepare resources well for pupils ensuring that they have all they need readily to hand and usually they require little teaching support during the construction stages of a project. Teachers ensure that all pupils are included and have equality of access to the curriculum. The quality of provision noted at the last inspection has been maintained but changes to the curriculum have not been fully implemented. The school’s policy of linking design and technology closely with art and design results in insufficient attention in teachers’ planning to specific requirements in relation to the development of subject knowledge and a wide range of skills. Across the classes, there is inconsistency in where and how pupils record their design plans. Insufficient use is made of pupils’ information and communication

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

technology, numeracy and literacy skills in evaluating what they have made and its fitness for purpose.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

103. The relatively new subject co-ordinator is committed and experienced. She is aware of development needs and aims to review planning procedures, introduce more rigour and closer links with the national scheme of work. Teachers see the retention of evidence of design and technology as a problem because of demands on storage space. The co- ordinator is planning to establish a standards file which will indicate what is planned for each year group, how skills and knowledge are developed and use photographic evidence to show what is achieved by pupils of differing abilities in each year group.

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GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

104. Pupils study geography and history together as part of topic work. Their attainment in both subjects is similar to expectations by Year 2. By Year 6, pupils’ attainment in geography meets expectations and exceeds it in history because of the quality of teaching. Pupils with special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils in their class. The picture is much the same as found by the last inspection.

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GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

105. Pupils in Year 2 have looked at sketches of a village in 1900 and today and understand why there are differences - for example, the disappearance of the railway and the presence of cars. They conduct a survey of traffic on the main street outside the school and keep records of wind, temperature and rainfall. They have learnt about the Roman invasion and the story of Boadicea.

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GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

106. Year 6 pupils have covered a large amount of work, especially in history. A visit to Chedworth Villa formed a very good stimulus for a topic on Romans. Pupils write in their own words about the rooms and the sanitary arrangements, including comments on hygiene. They write detailed accounts of how a Roman battle was conducted, showing obvious enthusiasm for detail, such as how a ballista worked. They use sketches of finds from an archaeological dig to compare their original conjectures with what was actually written; for example, pupils thought a broken oil lamp might be a cup or a tray. They all recognised a strigil, because they had handled one at Chedworth. In a topic on farming, pupils keep detailed weather records and learn about the sun’s part in climate variation - also part of their science work. Pupils described differences between their environment today with what it was like 90 years ago. One higher-attaining pupil turned hers into a

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GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

dialogue with a farmer, showing a good perception of modern issues: Interviewer, ‘Now St Laurence CE Aided Primary School you’ve made a lot of money, why didn’t you spend it on more land?’ Farmer, ‘I’ve got enough land because the government pays me not to grow a lot of things’.

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GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

107. Teaching in geography is satisfactory overall and was good in the lessons observed. In history, it is very good overall, reflecting teachers’ enthusiasm and good level of knowledge. Pupils respond well to teachers’ interesting lessons by producing work and illustrations of very good quality. Marking is thorough, especially in the oldest class. However, pupils’ past work contained no examples of the use of information and communication technology. Pupils use their literacy skills well, especially in history. They also make effective use of numeracy skills when the need arises.

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GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

108. The two subjects have different co-ordinators and are managed well. There are arrangements for monitoring teaching, though other subjects have taken priority recently because of the small number of staff. Resources have to be augmented by Berkshire library services because Oxfordshire no longer offers this service.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

109. Pupils’ attainment in information and communication technology is average by Years 2 and 6, though evidence was not available from every aspect of the subject. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, are making satisfactory progress. At the time of the last inspection, attainment was judged to be above average. Since then, the curriculum has become more demanding. The school has very recently installed a new suite of six computers that is already having a good effect on pupils’ skills, but it is too soon for it to have raised the standards of the oldest pupils. In addition, the school does not have enough equipment to teach the skills of control technology to its oldest pupils. This is the school’s principal priority for current development and the plans drawn up are well judged. Overall, this means that improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

110. Year 2 pupils use the Internet to find information about artists and they write to pen-friends using e-mail. They control the mouse well when producing pictures, giving attention to details, such as the width of the brush stroke and using features like the stamp facility - a computer equivalent of printing. In mathematics, they use software to make graphs of pets owned by children in the class and they word-process complex questions - for example, “How many children own the most popular pet?”

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

111. Older pupils also use information and communication technology well in mathematics work, for displaying the results of data collection or frequency tables. In literacy, Year 5 and 6 pupils use word processing to make best copies of their poems, adding borders and formatting the text. One exercise was on abstract nouns and one pupil wrote: ‘Death is a pale white / It smells like flowers dying’. Planning and discussion with the co-ordinator show that pupils experience entering information into a database and formulating questions based on it, but no evidence of this was available. Pupils’ use of information and communication technology to control equipment is limited by lack of equipment.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

112. No teaching was observed, so no overall judgement can be made. However, all staff have received nationally funded training and are fully competent to use and teach all the equipment the school has at the moment. Examples of work were seen in many subjects, though class computers (each room has at least one) were not often used during the inspection.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

113. The subject is well managed by an enthusiastic co-ordinator, who has well summed up the subject’s shortcomings in her action plan. As she is currently employed for only two days a week, her opportunities for monitoring teaching and learning are limited, but the school has planned to make this easier next year. Despite the new computer suite, the ratio of computers to pupils is still slightly below the national average. St Laurence CE Aided Primary School St Laurence CE Aided Primary School

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MUSIC

114. No lesson was seen for Year 2 pupils during the inspection, though a lesson for reception and Year 1 pupils was observed, where the attainment of Year 1 pupils was above expectations. By Year 6, pupils’ attainment is average overall and good in singing. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress. At the last inspection, attainment was found to be good in both key stages.

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MUSIC

115. Pupils in Year 1 sing clearly and tunefully. They name a number of unpitched percussion instruments and know how to hold and play them properly. They also distinguish which instrument makes which sound when they are played together.

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MUSIC

116. Year 6 pupils sing well. They keep up a difficult, syncopated rhythm and are accurate in tunes which have an unexpected melody line. They sing in canon and in two parts. Their knowledge of composing and recording music by notation is not as developed, because this was not focused on in the teaching in previous years. This situation has now been rectified. Year 6 pupils are learning non-standard ways of writing down rhythmic patterns and know technical terms such as ostinato and pentatonic .

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MUSIC

117. The teaching is good overall. A visiting musician helped in the Year 1 lesson and pupils enjoyed her contribution. The lesson for pupils in Years 3 to 6 was well planned, though pupils’ performing abilities were not up to the teachers’ expectations. Planning is good and now shows good coverage of all aspects of the subject. A recorder group and choir make a good contribution to pupils’ personal development.

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MUSIC

118. The co-ordinator is a music specialist and manages the subject well. She has been appointed fairly recently and quickly made arrangements to cover the shortcomings in the composing aspect of the subject. Pupils’ skills are now developing well in this area, though it is too late for Year 6 pupils to catch up. There are not enough instruments from non-European cultures. Information and communication technology is little used in the subject.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

119. The school teaches the full physical education curriculum, but few lessons were timetabled during the short period of the inspection. The scheduled swimming lesson was cancelled owing to unexpected transport difficulties. Therefore, it has been possible to make judgements about standards and pupils’ attitudes in Years 1 and 2 only and no judgements about teaching. Records show that all pupils by Year 6 are able to swim 25 metres.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

120. By the end of Year 2, pupils attain standards that meet national expectations and they enjoy their lessons. Year 2 pupils successfully plan a sequence of skipping movements to make up their own version of a French country dance. They develop their ideas in response to suggestions from the teacher and incorporate changes into their performance at her direction. Year 1 pupils competently use a range of small equipment, such as bats and balls. In both lessons, pupils satisfactorily improve their skills through instruction and practice, developing increased control. All pupils are successfully included and there is sufficient additional support for those with special educational needs to ensure equality of access to the curriculum.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

121. At the time of the last inspection, the school was using its hall as a classroom and had to use the facilities of a nearby sports hall. A classroom extension to the school has significantly improved curricular opportunities. The hall is available for a range of gymnastic and dance lessons and for informal activities, such as lunchtime use by small groups of pupils. For example, during the inspection a group of Years 5/6 girls practised a St Laurence CE Aided Primary School dance routine and gave an impromptu performance to a small audience of other pupils during a wet dinner break. The school has useful links with other schools and local clubs which provide a satisfactory range of extra-curricular opportunities, such as competitive sports and annual football and hockey courses.

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