Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary School

ST SAVIOUR’S COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 4 – 7 February 2002

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ST SAVIOUR’S COMMUNITY 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 SAVIOUR’S COMMUNITY 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 Saviour’s Community Primary School

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Lane End Road Bacup Lancashire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Roger Chicken

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: January 2000 St Saviour’s Community Primary School

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Paul Nicholson Registered inspector Mathematics Science Information and communication technology Art and design Design and technology Physical education Special educational needs Equal opportunities What sort of school is it? How high are standards? (The school’s results and pupils’ achievement) How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further?

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Janet Butler Lay inspector How high are standards? (Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development) How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? Lynda Parkinson Team inspector The Foundation Stage English Geography History Music Religious education How well are pupils taught? How good are the curricular and the other opportunities offered to pupils?

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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 Saviour’s Community 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 Saviour’s is a small primary school situated near the centre of Bacup, a small town in the Rossendale Valley five miles south of Burnley. The school serves a large area with a range of social backgrounds and includes local authority, privately rented and owner-occupied homes. The area is recognised as having a higher than average social deprivation. Currently, there are 112 pupils on roll (59 boys and 53 girls) aged from 4 to 11 years. Twenty-nine per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average. No pupils come from ethnic minority groups and none speak English as an additional language. The school has identified 15 per cent of pupils as having special educational needs, which is broadly in line with the national average. One pupil has a Statement of Special Educational Need. When children enter the reception year, their attainment varies widely from child to child, but overall it is typical

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school gives an acceptable education to its pupils. Standards by the time pupils leave the school are below average because of previous weaknesses. Currently, pupils make satisfactory progress and standards are beginning to improve. The quality of teaching is satisfactory and the school is soundly led and managed. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • The school fosters good relationships so pupils have positive attitudes and their behaviour is good. • It makes good provision for pupils’ personal development, particularly their moral, social and cultural development. • The school provides a caring environment in which there are very good procedures for the welfare of pupils.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • The standards achieved by the age of 11, particularly in mathematics, science and information and communication technology. • Planning for the future so that there is a clearer focus to whole-school priorities for improvement. • The effectiveness of teaching methods so as to further improve the quality of teaching and improve pupils’ independent learning skills. 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 has made reasonable progress since its last inspection in January 2000. It has satisfactorily addressed the serious weaknesses it had in teaching and management. The school has improved its procedures for monitoring teaching and learning. Consequently, it has greatly reduced the amount of unsatisfactory teaching and the management of pupils is now good. The role of the governors in supporting the work of the school has improved though the role of subject co-ordinators needs further development. Standards are beginning to improve, but teachers still do not give pupils sufficient opportunities to develop their skills in information and communication technology. St Saviour’s Community 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

English C D A A well above average above average A B Mathematics E D E E average below average C D Science E E E E well below average E

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STANDARDS

The relatively small numbers in each year group make comparisons from year-to-year, as shown in the table above, difficult. A comparison using test results from the last three years and pupils’ current work gives a clearer picture. By the end of Year 2, pupils achieve good standards in reading and average standards in writing, mathematics and science. Their standards in art and design, geography, history and physical education are appropriate for their age, but are low in information and communication technology and in religious education. It was not possible to make a judgement on standards in design and technology and music. Overall, pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1.

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STANDARDS

By the end of Year 6, overall standards over recent years (1999-2001) have been similar to the national average in English, but well below average in mathematics and science. Compared with similar schools 1 , these results were average in English, but well below average in mathematics and science. Inspection evidence shows that standards are beginning to improve because of recent developments in the teaching and learning within the school. Currently, standards by the age of 11 are average in English and below average in mathematics and science. Pupils achieve appropriate standards for their age in geography, history, physical education and religious education. Standards, however, are below average in art and design, design and technology, information and communication technology and music. There are gaps in pupils’ learning in all of these subjects, as they have not progressively developed all of the knowledge and

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils have positive attitudes towards their school. They show good levels of enthusiasm and interest.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are polite and show respect for people and property.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Overall, pupils’ personal development is satisfactory. There are good relationships between pupils, as well as between pupils and staff. However, pupils do not take sufficient responsibility for their own learning.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Satisfactory. The pupils’ rate of attendance is broadly in line with the national average.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The pupils’ positive attitudes and good behaviour make a valuable contribution to the friendly and caring environment within the school.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

1 National Benchmark information bands together ‘similar schools’ based on the proportion of pupils’ known to be eligible for free school meals. St Saviour’s Community 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 Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory 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

Overall, the quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. During the inspection, the majority of teaching was satisfactory and a third of it was good. There was a very small amount of unsatisfactory teaching. The teaching of literacy is sound and results in pupils making steady progress in English. In numeracy, teaching has been less effective and pupils' progress slow, though this is now improving and progress in lessons is now satisfactory.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teachers manage the pupils well and encourage them to work well together. In the better lessons, teachers plan activities carefully to match the needs of all their pupils in the mixed-aged, mixed-ability classes. The activities contain a good level of challenge and are fun. The pace and methods chosen by teachers do not always ensure pupils make the best possible progress. They do not develop pupils’ independent learning skills sufficiently enough to help them in their learning. The teaching of information and communication technology is weak.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory. The school provides pupils with an appropriate range of learning experiences though the curriculum for reception children requires further development.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs The school makes satisfactory support for these pupils, which ensures they make sound progress towards their individual targets.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Overall good. The school makes satisfactory provision for pupils’ spiritual development. Its provision for moral, social and cultural development is good.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The school takes very good care of its pupils. There are very effective procedures in place for child protection and pupils’ welfare.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The way the school plans lessons in the reception class does not take sufficient account of the nationally recognised areas of learning for young children. The breadth and balance of activities therefore, do not fully meet their needs.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Overall, the school has satisfactory links with its parents. However, improved communications between home and school are needed to make this partnership more effective. St Saviour’s Community 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 provides sound leadership and management for the school. The role of the subject co-ordinators in supporting school improvement is improving, but requires further development.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors are supportive and carry out their statutory duties well. They are developing a good understanding of the work of the school and they take a satisfactory role in shaping its development.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school is taking valuable steps to evaluate its performance. It now has a satisfactory approach to monitoring teaching and learning.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources The school makes satisfactory use of its financial resources. It uses grants effectively for their specific purposes. The school satisfactorily applies the principles of ‘best value’ by questioning what it does and ensuring money is spent wisely.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school has a satisfactory number of appropriately qualified teachers. It has a good number of support staff, who make a valuable contribution to pupils’ learning. The school’s accommodation is good and resources are adequate, except in the Foundation Stage and music.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Twenty-seven parents (25 per cent) completed questionnaires and four attended a meeting with inspectors.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

• Children enjoy school. • They are satisfied with their children’s progress and feel school helps them to become mature and more responsible. • Children’s behaviour is good. • Most parents find the staff are approachable. • The school has high expectations. • The amount of homework given. • The range of activities outside of lessons. • The amount of information they receive about their children’s progress. • Closer links between school and parents. • A small number of parents have concerns about the quality of teaching and find it difficult to approach staff.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Inspection evidence supports the parents’ positive views. The school has recently adopted a sensible approach to homework though many parents are not aware of the new routines. Given the size of the school, there is a satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities. The school should improve the amount and quality of information it gives to parents and this would help to create closer links between school and parents. The quality of teaching is satisfactory though there are aspects that teachers could improve. Staff were found to be approachable. St Saviour’s Community Primary School

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. At the time of the last inspection, overall standards by the age of 7 were average, but were well below average by the age of 11 years. The school has maintained the overall average standards by the age of 7 years. Standards by the age of 11 are gradually improving, but they remain below average. A major reason for the low standards is that some aspects of individual subjects are not taught in sufficient depth to ensure pupils achieve appropriate knowledge and understanding for their age. A common weakness is the limited development of pupils’ independent learning skills

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Children start full-time schooling at St Saviour’s in the September following their fourth birthday. Attainment on entry to reception varies greatly between individual children. Overall, their attainment is broadly similar to that expected for their age. By the end of their reception year, children have made satisfactory progress and achieved the expected early learning goals in most areas of learning 2 . This is the result of satisfactory, and at times good, teaching but the way teachers plan activities restricts children’s progress in some areas. Children achieve a good level of personal and social development because staff help them feel happy and secure and provide regular routines in the classroom. Consequently, children sustain good levels of concentration and develop very good relationships. Children make satisfactory progress in the areas of communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and physical development. Children are

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

unlikely to achieve all of the early learning goals in the areas of knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. This is because teachers do not provide enough time or opportunities for children to learn through exploration or to experiment, plan and make decisions for themselves.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The school’s results in National Curriculum tests for 7-year-olds fluctuate from year to year because of the different levels of attainment within the small number of pupils in each year group. Overall, the results for 2001 show that standards in reading, writing and mathematics were average. In comparison with similar schools, results were average in reading and writing, but below average in mathematics. Test results over recent years (1999-2001) and an analysis of the work of current 7-year-olds shows that overall average standards are being maintained, with a strength in reading. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard for a typical 7-year-old (Level 2) in each of the reading, writing and mathematics tests and teacher assessments in science have been slightly above that found nationally. The proportion achieving the higher standard (Level 3) has been broadly similar to that found nationally in writing, mathematics and science, but better

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

than average in reading. In reading, pupils’ standards are about a term ahead of what is normally found.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Pupils’ achievements by the age of 7 in art and design, geography, history and physical education are appropriate for their age. However, standards in information and communication technology are below average. Pupils have insufficient opportunities to develop their skills in this subject and to use them in supporting their learning in other subjects. Their standards in religious education are below the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus for the subject. Pupils have limited knowledge of stories from the New Testament and very little understanding of other world religions. It was not possible during the inspection to make a judgement on standards in design and technology or music.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2 Early learning goals - these are expectations for most children to reach by the end of the Foundation Stage. They refer mainly to achievements children make in connection with the following six areas of learning: communication language and literacy; mathematical development; and personal, social and emotional development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical and creative development. There are many goals for each area of learning ,; for example, in language and literacy pupils should be able to write their own name and other things such as labels and begin to write simple sentences. St Saviour’s Community Primary School 5. The results of National Curriculum tests for 11-year-olds over recent years show a similar fluctuating pattern to that found at the end of Key Stage 1 because of the small numbers in each year group. The pattern is further complicated by the high turnover of pupils both

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

leaving and entering the school during Key Stage 2. In 2001, the results in English were well above both the national average and that of similar schools. This was because, while the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard for a typical 11-year-old (Level 4) was similar to that found nationally, the proportion achieving the higher standard (Level 5) was well above average. This was due to a very high proportion of girls within the year group and the school’s focus on improving standards in literacy. Standards in mathematics and science were, however, well below the national average and the average for similar schools. Fewer pupils achieved both the expected standard and the higher standard in these subjects. Test results over recent years (1999-2001) show that standards in English are average, but in mathematics and science they are well below average. Overall test results have not been improving in line with the improving national trend.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Inspection evidence indicates a similar but improving picture in the current Year 6, which has a very high proportion of boys. Overall standards in English continue to be average. In mathematics and science, standards are improving, but they remain below average. The proportion of pupils on target to achieve the expected standard continues to be lower than is normally found. However, the small number of higher-attaining pupils is on target to achieve the higher standard. The improving quality of teaching and the newly introduced published scheme for mathematics is beginning to influence pupils’ learning positively. Weaknesses remain as pupils do not sufficiently develop their use of mathematical skills and their investigative and experimental skills in science.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Standards in other subjects by the age of 11 are variable. In geography, history, physical education and religious education, pupils achieve an appropriate standard for their age. However, in information and communication technology, art and design, design and technology and music standards are low. Pupils are not progressively developing their skills in these subjects and do not have sufficient opportunities to use computers to support their learning.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. A common feature in the subjects where standards are low is that teachers tend to direct activities too closely. Consequently, pupils do not sufficiently develop their independent learning skills. For example, in science, pupils complete experiments set by the teacher and do not develop and test their own ideas. In design and technology, pupils follow the same pattern when making models rather than making their own choices based on their individual designs.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. Teachers ensure that pupils with special educational needs are included in activities. These pupils have positive attitudes to their work and this helps them make sound progress towards their individual targets. This is the result of work set at an appropriate level, effective strategies to support pupils with behavioural difficulties and good support from classroom assistants.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Pupils satisfactorily use their reading and writing skills in subjects other than English. For example, they write reports of their experiments in science and explanations of events in history. However, there are few opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy skills in longer pieces of writing in both English and other subjects. Pupils also make satisfactory use of their numeracy skills in subjects, such as science. For example, they measure their heights and length of their foot and plot this data onto graphs.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Children enter the school with average levels of attainment and make sound progress in reception and Key Stage 1. Past weaknesses in staffing, the quality of teaching and the management of these areas resulted in pupils underachieving in Key Stage 2. St Saviour’s Community Primary School Consequently, standards by the end of Year 6 have been well below average. The targets the school has set for pupils have not been high enough. The school has now addressed these weaknesses and is providing pupils with an acceptable education. Standards are beginning to rise, but they have not reached a satisfactory level. The school is aware of the need to raise standards and must now set challenging targets for pupils. The raising of standards is a key priority for governors, headteacher and staff.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils’ good attitudes to school, good behaviour both in and out of classes, and good relationships continue to be one of the school’s strengths. Parents say their children like coming to school and pupils say they feel happy and among friends. They show eager interest in lessons, particularly those with practical activities, and concentrate well. In a design technology lesson for six and seven year olds, pupils persevered very well with the difficult task of cutting out accurate shapes from a variety of slippery materials. They are good listeners, can work quietly and independently when asked to and they try hard to succeed.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Behaviour is good overall and sometimes very good, particularly when pupils are really absorbed in their learning. They are polite, show respect for people and property and are usually self-controlled. They understand and respect the school rules and normally need only a word to bring them back into line. Staff provide good support for the very few pupils who have recognised behavioural difficulties. They successfully include these pupils in lessons without disruption to learning. At playtimes, the atmosphere on the playground is harmonious, with a variety of games and activities involving pupils in mixed-age groupings. During the inspection, and having spoken to many pupils, there was no evidence of any bullying or aggressive behaviour. Pupils said they felt secure and that staff dealt successfully with any minor problems that occur. The school has used exclusion as a very last resort to emphasise its refusal to tolerate any violent or aggressive behaviour in order

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Relationships are good, both pupil to pupil and pupil to adult. A particular feature is the caring way older pupils greet and supervise the younger members of their ‘family’ groups during school assemblies. They provide very good role models for their younger charges and their own confidence and self-esteem is developing well. They can express how they feel and show an enquiring approach to matters of religious belief. Pupils think about and empathise with those who are not so fortunate and they show compassion in their words and actions. They respect and value the lifestyles and beliefs of other cultures, being particularly impressed with the skills of a recent visitor, who had shown them about life in Ghana. Overall, pupils’ personal development is satisfactory, but has real strengths in the way they relate to others and show self-control. This is clearly illustrated, even by children

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

in class one, who work, play and share together very well. As they grow older, pupils become more responsible, but teachers do not give them enough opportunity to develop this independence in lessons. Pupils are not demonstrating sufficient use of their own initiative in investigating, research and taking some responsibility for their own progress in learning.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Attendance is satisfactory and remains at just above the national average. Unauthorised absence is low. Punctuality is satisfactory, although the school has to be proactive in ensuring that some families send their children to school on time. St Saviour’s Community Primary School

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. At the time of the last full inspection there was a serious weakness in teaching. The school has worked hard to improve the quality of teaching. Currently, it is satisfactory overall. In the majority of lessons observed, teaching was satisfactory. It was good in a third of lessons. There was a very small amount of unsatisfactory teaching. In many lessons throughout the school, there are good parts and at the same time there are other parts that need improvement.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. The quality of teaching in the reception class is satisfactory and sometimes good. There is no unsatisfactory teaching. Teaching is especially good in personal, social and emotional development. The reception class staff know their children and manage them very well. The teacher and learning support assistant work together very well as a team. The learning support assistant is active in joining in with the teaching and learning even when everyone is sitting together on the carpet. She takes an active part in assessing the children’s knowledge, for example when she has a group or when children are in a physical education lesson. The planning of teaching and learning is affected by the fact that the class has a small number of pupils from Year 1 and so the curriculum is very biased towards the Key Stage 1 curriculum. Teachers plan to the subjects of the National Curriculum rather than the nationally recognised areas of learning in the Foundation Stage curriculum. This is not

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

appropriate for the majority of children in the class. Consequently, teachers do not provide sufficient opportunities for children to explore, discuss, select and initiate their own learning. The school’s under-developed resources for reception children affect the quality of planning and teaching sometimes.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. The quality of teaching in Years 1 and 2 was satisfactory overall and in half the lessons was good. There was no unsatisfactory teaching. In Key Stage 2, nearly a quarter of lessons were good and one lesson in the lower part of the key stage was unsatisfactory. Expectations of behaviour are high and management of pupils, especially in Years 3 to 6, is good. This, coupled with the good relationships, ensures that pupils are attentive and respond positively. This is a strength of the teaching.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. The school has implemented the national strategies for literacy and numeracy satisfactorily throughout the school. The teaching of basic skills in Years 1 and 2 is particularly effective. This was clear in a lesson where the teacher actively involved the pupils and support staff in finding questioning words beginning with ‘wh’ and then linked this spelling work to handwriting. In Years 3 to 6, however, the teaching of basic skills, particularly in mathematics and science, is much less effective. Teachers’ subject knowledge in English, mathematics and science is at least sound.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. In effective lessons, teachers have high expectations of pupils’ abilities to collaborate and discuss and resources are well chosen and well used. In an English lesson for Year 6, the text chosen was difficult, but immediately interested the boys because it was about cars. Pupils worked well together discussing reasons for choices of cars, such as price and reliability. Another mathematics lesson on fractions in Year 5 contained a good level of challenge for the pupils, which they found fun and at which they worked hard. In a good music lesson, pupils in groups discussed together at length and experimented with musical instruments to work out new tunes and gained a good deal from the exercise.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. However, in a number of the lessons where teaching is satisfactory rather than good, learning is affected by teaching methods and strategies that reflect unclear aims and which slow the pace of lessons. For example, in a science lesson in the upper part of Key Stage 2, the focus of the lesson became confused between science and literacy. In a science lesson in lower Key Stage 2, the teacher inspired the pupils to be enthusiastic about measuring, but then spoiled the flow of the lesson by stopping them from working to give explanations about recording. In both lessons, pupils spent a long time listening, which St Saviour’s Community Primary School slowed the momentum of the learning. In another lesson in religious education on Islam, pupils had to listen for a long time and became restless and uninterested. This was because the teacher did not use available resources. The use of a prayer mat and other

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

resources would have made the lesson more interesting and relevant to the pupils. The overall teaching and use of information and communication technology is unsatisfactory. The school has identified this as an area to develop and training as part of the government’s New Opportunities Funding is planned for later in the year.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Throughout the school, teachers’ expectations of pupils’ abilities to investigate, explore and carry out independent learning are low. The planning of the curriculum in this respect is unsatisfactory and slows the pupils’ development of knowledge and understanding of relevant skills. Pupils often copy teachers’ recording in practical lessons rather than deciding on and working out their own diagrams or illustrations as a record. A design and technology lesson in Years 1 and 2 was good because the teacher planned for the full involvement of the pupils very successfully. The teacher encouraged pupils to experience the problems associated with marking and cutting out different materials. The tasks involved good discussion on the use of pins. The pupils enjoyed the lesson so much they did not want to stop and tidy up. The use of the final part of the lesson to evaluate the difficulties the pupils had had in cutting ensured pupils fully understood the reasons and

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

skills. Teachers do not always do this. In a mathematics lesson in Years 3 and 4, the pupils had become confused with axes and with which axis should come first when positioning numbers on a grid. In this lesson, the teacher did not return to this in the final part of the lesson to clear up misunderstandings and reinforce appropriate learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Pupils do not have a good knowledge of their own learning. They are not always sure what they have learnt or more importantly why they have learnt it. Teachers do not recap with pupils at the end of lessons on what they themselves think they have learnt, linked to the aims of the lesson. A number of parents do not feel that pupils have sufficient homework. The inspection team disagrees with this and found that homework was improving in its effectiveness.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. Throughout the school, classroom support staff play an invaluable role. Teachers brief and involve them well in the lessons and in checking on progress. The teaching assistant for the early literacy support is particularly effective. The partnership between the teachers and all assistants is strong and is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning in lessons.

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PUPILS?

25. The school provides a satisfactory curriculum that meets statutory requirements. All subjects of the National Curriculum are taught and religious education is in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus. The previous report judged that teachers gave insufficient attention to important aspects of information and communication technology. While the school now meets National Curriculum requirements, it has not fully addressed this issue. Resources have improved, but there is little teaching of this subject and standards are unsatisfactory. The previous report also stated that opportunities for independent learning were limited. This is still the case throughout the school. Teachers’ planning does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to explore, investigate, research and to use their initiative overall, but especially in mathematics, science, history and geography. There are too few opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for some of their own learning.

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PUPILS?

26. The school satisfactorily uses the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. Teaching in all subjects contributes to the development of literacy skills. However, although time for certain subjects has been adjusted, there is insufficient time given to the development of pupils’ longer pieces of writing. The school has also successfully implemented the national early literacy strategy to support the younger pupils’ learning in English. The recent St Saviour’s Community Primary School introduction of a published scheme to support pupils’ learning in mathematics is beginning to raise standards in Key Stage 2. The school has reviewed the topic structure in subjects other than English and mathematics. There is a two-year rolling programme of units of work linked to national guidelines. This ensures that pupils do not repeat or miss any units of work because classes have two age groups in each class. However, the school has not

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PUPILS?

fully adjusted the national guidelines into a school-focused policy and curriculum.

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PUPILS?

27. The school has partially implemented the curriculum of the new Foundation Stage and teaching covers the six areas of learning. However, planning is under the headings of National Curriculum subjects rather than the six areas of learning. Consequently, the curriculum is very biased towards the curriculum for six-year-olds and above because there is a small number of Year 1 pupils in the reception class. This means that, although activities are mainly relevant to the age of the children, the breadth and balance of learning opportunities does not fully match the needs of the younger children. Children do not have sufficient opportunities to explore and investigate in the spirit of the Foundation Stage curriculum. They do not develop their own initiative alongside staff intervention and direction when appropriate. Resources are underdeveloped in the reception class, particularly in the outdoor area. This further restricts the development of an enriched early-

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PUPILS?

28. All pupils have equal opportunities to benefit from the curriculum. The school recognises that there are sometimes differences in the ways that boys and girls learn, particularly in English, and it makes every effort to minimise the impact of these differences. Planning for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory and, as a result, they make satisfactory progress in relation to the targets on their individual educational plans. However, the usefulness of the individual learning targets on these plans varies. Some targets are sufficiently specific to allow both pupil and staff to identify success, whereas other targets are too general to be clear and so success is harder to identify.

p.15

PUPILS?

29. The school has recently purchased two schemes of work to develop the personal, social and health education (PSHE) of the pupils, but they are not in full use. Current teaching of PSHE is satisfactory, if somewhat unstructured. It mainly takes place through other subjects and has a cross-curricular approach in which teachers draw issues for discussion from the current topics of study. Due attention is given to drug awareness education and to sex education. Specific life skills and health awareness are enriched by the regular visit of the ‘life bus’ 3 . The pupils’ awareness of the environment is raised through involvement in some local projects. Strong links with the community enrich the curriculum and contribute to pupils’ learning significantly. There are links with old peoples’ homes and with local business, in addition to the local church community. These good links involve trips to local

p.15

PUPILS?

places of interest. There is some parental dissatisfaction with the provision of extra- curricular activities. The inspection team does not agree with this. There is satisfactory provision for extra-curricular activities, given that this is a small school. There is a variety of extra-curricular clubs for pupils to join, which includes some kind of sport.

p.15

PUPILS?

30. Links with the school’s partner institutions are satisfactory. Links with the local cluster group of schools are particularly strong. They join forces to provide visitors to school from other cultures in order to widen pupils’ awareness of other ways of life and values. They also join together to carry out residential visits. A very good idea is that Year 7 pupils from the local secondary school visit the school to talk to Year 6 pupils before they move up to secondary education. This very sound partnership would benefit from expansion in other ways. The reception teacher has good links with local nurseries, which she visits at the same time that she makes home visits to the parents of the new reception children ready for the start of the year.

p.15

PUPILS?

3 A travelling display that visits the school, which involves pupils in a range of activities that are aimed at improving their knowledge of appropriate health issues. St Saviour’s Community Primary School 31. Overall, the school continues to make good provision for the personal development of its pupils, although its attention to spiritual development is relatively less emphasised. There is no formal planning for spiritual awareness and as a result opportunities in lessons are rather ad hoc. Occasions to reflect on or wonder at the uniqueness of creation or to consider the spiritual dimensions of art, poetry or music are often missed. However, school assemblies and collective acts of worship are well used to develop pupils’ understanding. Teachers show pupils how special they are and inspire them with stories from Christianity, other world religions and influential people from the past, like Martin Luther King and

p.15

PUPILS?

32. Involvement of the pupils in creating the basic set of school rules is the foundation for the good moral development offered. Pupils in class 4 have extended these to give them a sense of ownership, with each child contributing. Stamps, stickers and certificates contribute to a valued and well-understood reward system, which takes account of moral and social development as well as academic achievement. All staff are consistent in their high expectations and help pupils to challenge what they know is wrong. The school encourages social responsibility, mostly by the family-grouping system, but the lack of class targets is a missed opportunity for developing a sense of shared progress to a common goal. The school provides its pupils with a variety of opportunities to make a difference in their local, or the wider global, community. It supports small groups of pupils who choose to raise funds for charity and also co-ordinates larger initiatives, like ‘Wear shades for a day’ to

p.16

PUPILS?

33. The cultural opportunities provided by the school are good and have improved through the impact of the local cluster group of primary schools. This funds a useful programme of multicultural visitors. Pupils experience a wide range of experts, who demonstrate music, art, puppetry and drama from various ethnic backgrounds. They learn about their own local culture through visits to local factories, the town centre and places of worship. Teachers use geography and personal and social education lessons well to develop pupils’ cultural awareness.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

34. All adults in the school place the welfare of pupils at the heart of their work and make very good provision for the health and safety of pupils. Procedures for child protection are fully in place, well known to staff and follow local area guidelines. The governing body monitors the application of its health and safety policy. It has been very involved in ensuring the safe commissioning of the new building. The school has developed an effective policy of making contact with home on the first day of a pupil’s absence to ensure pupil safety. The school monitors absence well, although the school could do more to promote full attendance.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. There are good procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development. Beginning with home visits, and developing through the good relationships, teachers and support staff have with their pupils, the needs of the individual are catered for well. Pupils are helped to become self-controlled, considerate young citizens, with enough confidence to make sensible choices as they grow older. The system used by some teachers of recording the pupils’ personal development in their National Curriculum records is a good feature that could be developed further. Teachers use assemblies effectively as a forum for discussing issues relating to anti-social behaviour, with the result that aggression or bullying are kept to an absolute minimum and pupils are confident in speaking out. The majority of parents who responded felt that the school helps their children to become mature and sensible.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

36. The school’s procedures for assessing pupils’ progress and its use of assessment data have improved since the last report. There are still some areas for development, however, in the aspects of assessing and recording pupils’ academic achievements and progress. St Saviour’s Community Primary School The school carries out its statutory assessments when pupils are 7 and 11 years of age. It also carries out assessments of children when they first come into school. During pupils’ time in school, there is a comprehensive system of assessment through a variety of other annual tests. This information is given to the governing body to help their understanding of the school’s progress. The headteacher carries out an annual analysis of all results of these tests with members of staff. Teachers can then adjust their teaching plans at the beginning of the year accordingly to take account of pupils’ attainment and progress. There

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

is a whole-school approach to the recording and tracking of pupils’ results in the annual and end-of-key stage tests and this system is a strength. Pupils’ lists of results are available to be shared with individual parents.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

37. In addition to these records, there are school records of progress linked to the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. The teachers keep records of pupils’ progress against the national schemes of work in other subjects, such as history and geography. This is the basis of a really good system of recording pupils’ progress as they move though the school. At present, however, there is no whole-school approach to the way in which these records should be kept. The use to which this information can be put to inform teachers of pupils’ previous learning is limited. The way in which teachers record this information in their ‘mark books’ prevents it following the pupils from year to year as they move up the school.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. There are separate reading and spelling records. The reading records only show the title of the book and the date it was read. In Years 2 to 6, there are simple records of the pupils’ opinions of the books and in Years 1 and 2, there are simple reading diaries. There is no good record of teachers’ more detailed assessments of pupils’ progress in the different aspects of reading. Teachers are conscientious in marking pupils work. However, the effectiveness of their marking is variable. In Years 5 and 6, it is excellent and of good use to the pupils. It gives clear advice to individual pupils on what it is they need to do next to improve the standard of their work.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. When teachers plan their lessons, they do not focus strongly on the National Curriculum levels that pupils have reached and do not make good enough use of the information they have. Therefore, teachers do not always pitch the activities in their lessons at an appropriate level for all the pupils in their class. A start has been made on collecting samples of work in various subjects to create portfolios as points of reference for teachers when they are assessing. However, there has not been a sustained and systematic focus on the whole staff working together to agree the levels that different pupils’ work has reached.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. Overall, the school provides satisfactory support for monitoring and supporting pupils. It meets the requirements of the Code of Practice 4 for pupils with special educational needs and adjusts the amount of extra help a pupil receives according to their needs. The headteacher, who is the special educational needs co-ordinator, ensures the individual targets for these pupils are regularly reviewed. Additional help from other agencies is used when appropriate, for example for those pupils with behavioural difficulties.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

4 Code of Practice – this gives practical advice to schools and local education authorities about their responsibilities, duties and tasks to ensure that pupils who have special educational needs receive the most appropriate help and support to further their learning and personal development. This is a statutory duty under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001.Code of Practice – this gives practical advice to schools and local education authorities about their responsibilities and tasks to ensure that pupils who have special educational needs receive the most appropriate help to further their learning and personal development. This is a statutory duty under the 1993 Education Act. St Saviour’s Community Primary School

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

41. The school has not been totally successful in carrying over its good relationship with parents to the new accommodation. Although teachers make themselves very accessible to parents, there is a changed perception that the school is not as welcoming as it once was previously. A significant minority of parents do not feel that they are encouraged to work in close partnership. Overall, parents’ views of the school are satisfactory, with a large silent majority. However, the significant disagreement with certain questions on the inspection questionnaire reveals that communications between school and home are unsatisfactory.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

42. Most parents feel their children like school, and they support school policies, including signing the home-school agreement. A few parents regularly volunteer to help in class and this is greatly valued by the staff. When special events take place, the headteacher is very grateful for the good level of very practical help offered by parents and the parent teacher association provides valuable social and fund-raising opportunities. The contribution made by parents in support of their children’s education is satisfactory overall, particularly hearing younger pupils read at home, but has been underdeveloped because of confusion about expectations for homework.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

43. The school is not providing parents with information that encourages and enables them to become active partners in the education of their children. Some publications, like the ‘ Starting school ’ document, are helpful and well written. However, the school’s prospectus and governors’ annual report are dry and uninviting, doing little to celebrate the pupils’ contributions to school life. Parents say they do not receive enough information about forthcoming topics of study and there is not sufficient dialogue between home and school in support of reading and other homework. Information about progress is an area in which the school is not sufficiently proactive. Parents feel that they do not have enough access to pupils’ work before meeting teachers. They also feel that annual written reports do not give a clear picture of attainment. The inspection supports parents’ views about reports and

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

found that the Foundation Stage reports are not based on the areas of learning for children aged five and under. There also appears to be a problem regarding the school making clear to parents the availability of extra-curricular activities.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

44. At the time of the last inspection, overall leadership and management of the school were satisfactory. There were, however, serious weaknesses in the monitoring, evaluation and development of teaching. This resulted in the school not addressing a significant amount of unsatisfactory teaching. The school has satisfactorily dealt with this issue and has improved other aspects of its leadership. Other areas, particularly related to planning for the future, require further development if continued school improvement is to take place. Currently, leadership and management are sound.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

45. The school has a clear philosophy, which it publishes in its prospectus. It states that the focus of the school is on developing pupils’ social and personal skills. The school is making good progress towards this aim. It is a caring school, which provides good personal development for its pupils. Consequently, pupils have positive attitudes and they are well behaved. The school’s aim that pupils should also achieve their full potential is less well fulfilled and a clearer focus on raising standards is required.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

46. The headteacher provides sound leadership and effective day-to-day management. As a class teacher, she provides a good example to the staff. She has satisfactorily managed a difficult period of uncertainty in staffing. Since the last inspection, the headteacher has introduced more effective monitoring of teaching, including classroom observations and analysis of teachers’ planning and pupils’ work. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of unsatisfactory teaching. However, continued developments are required to St Saviour’s Community Primary School remove the remaining elements of unsatisfactory teaching and further raise its overall quality and impact on raising standards. The headteacher has introduced more effective procedures for monitoring pupils’ performance and this is helping teachers to identify areas for improvement within the core subjects of English, mathematics and science.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

47. The effectiveness of subject co-ordinators in promoting high standards remains unsatisfactory. They are beginning to expand their role in developing their subjects. For example, the literacy and numeracy co-ordinators have monitored teaching and learning across the school. The small number of permanent teachers means each has several subjects to manage. The school’s focus on the core subjects has resulted in less emphasis being placed on other subjects. Consequently, co-ordinators have not identified and addressed weaknesses in the teaching of skills across the school in subjects, such as art and design, history, music and design and technology. The development of the role of subject co-ordinators is not focused on important whole-school issues and in particular, the raising of standards. This remains an area for development.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48. The co-ordinator for pupils with special educational needs satisfactorily manages their provision. She reviews the register of pupils with special educational needs and produces satisfactory individual education plans, which she regularly monitors. The governor for special educational needs is kept well informed about the school’s provision for these pupils. The governing body is keen that there should be inclusion for all pupils and successfully ensures there are equal opportunities for all pupils.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. The governors are supportive and share common values, based on creating a community school with a caring atmosphere and on improving the quality of education the school provides. They have successfully improved their involvement in the work of the school since the last inspection and now make a good contribution to its management. The governing body effectively carries out its statutory duties by ensuring all legally required documents and polices are in place, including the school’s prospectus and special educational needs policy. Through the work of their committees, governors are developing a good knowledge of the work of the school. The finance committee effectively monitors spending and they ensure that priorities, such as increasing the level of support staff, are appropriately funded. The school makes satisfactory use of specific grants, for example, to support pupils with special educational needs. The developing roles of the curriculum and

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

monitoring committees are good examples of how the governors have improved their role. For example, the monitoring committee has visited school to observe pupils’ behaviour and the way in which teachers mark pupils’ work. Governors, by acting as ‘critical friends’ and questioning current practice, were able to make helpful suggestions.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. The school’s development plan satisfactorily identifies appropriate priorities, including staff development, curriculum and pupils’ welfare. The headteacher and governors regularly monitor progress towards its targets. However, the plan does not show why priorities have been chosen or clearly identify whole-school priorities to give a strong lead to school improvement. The targets do not always focus on improving standards and their success criteria are not always specific enough to measure progress towards the targets. The governors early involvement in the school development planning process is limited and this reduces their valuable input in the choice of whole-school agreed priorities.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. For a small school, there has been a considerable number of changes to staffing recently. The upheavals have had a detrimental impact on the rate of progress made since the last inspection. The current match of teachers and support staff to the needs of the curriculum is satisfactory, although there are certain areas, notably science and the Foundation Stage, where staff expertise requires further professional development. The support staff are valued and work well with class teachers, but this approach to teamwork is not a strong feature of the staff as a whole. New staff enjoy a satisfactory introduction to the school, with support from headteacher and colleagues. In recent years, the effect of so much staff St Saviour’s Community Primary School training has been to cause some confusion, which highlights the need for the staff to share a whole-school approach to the implementation of any new ideas.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. The new, bright and well-maintained accommodation is good and used soundly to meet the needs of teaching and learning. There is still room for improvement in the use and development of the surrounding grounds. Internal areas are enhanced by attractive wall hangings made by the pupils, but the use of displays to celebrate pupils’ work is under- developed. Displays of multi-cultural artefacts provide a very good opportunity to broaden pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world. Learning resources are mainly satisfactory, with a good range of high-quality fiction books. There has been an improvement in the resourcing for information and communication technology since the last inspection. However, there are weaknesses in music and the Foundation Stage, with insufficient musical instruments, white boards and large wheeled toys for outdoor play. St Saviour’s Community Primary School

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

To further develop the quality of education provided and to raise standards, the governors, headteacher and staff should now:

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) raise the overall standards achieved by pupils by the age of 11, particularly in mathematics, science and information and communication technology, by:

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensuring all aspects of each subject are taught in sufficient depth so that there are no gaps in pupils’ learning;

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensuring that the school’s recently adopted guidelines to help teachers with their planning are securely introduced and that their effectiveness in respect of raising standards is carefully monitored and evaluated; (Paragraphs: 1, 5-8, 45, 72, 74, 89, 95, 103, 107, 118)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) improve planning for the future so there is a clearer focus on the agreed priorities for school improvement by: • clearly identifying in the school’s written development plan whole-school priorities and the targets needed to achieve them; (Paragraph: 50)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) improve the effectiveness of teaching methods to: • further improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ standards by developing their independent learning skills;

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• improve the educational experiences for children in the Foundation Stage by ensuring the planned curriculum for reception children has an appropriate balance between teacher- directed activities and opportunities for children to learn through exploring, experimenting and making decisions for themselves. (Paragraphs: 1-2, 8, 14, 17, 21-23, 25, 54-63, 79, 86-87, 95, 99, 115)

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition to the key issues above, the following minor issues should be considered for inclusion in the school’s action plan. They are indicated by the following paragraphs:

p.21

Area for development Paragraph/s

Find ways of improving communications with parents so that they become more willing partners in the education of their children 41 – 43

p.21

Area for development Paragraph/s

Develop the current system for recording pupils’ progress into a more effective whole-school approach 37 – 38

p.21

Area for development Paragraph/s

Improve the progress in reading at Key Stage 2 so as to develop pupils’ higher order reading skills St Saviour’s Community Primary School

p.21

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 25

p.22

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

p.22

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 0 0 35 61 4 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 three percentage points.

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 112

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 32 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 17

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 14

p.22

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 13

p.22

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 Saviour’s Community Primary School

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 8 6 14

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Total 10 13 13

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

Percentage of pupils School 71 (100) 93 (100) 93 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Total 10 12 14

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

Percentage of pupils School 71 (100) 86 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.23

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) 5

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

p.23

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

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 4 13 17

p.23

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.23

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

Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Total 13 10 12

p.23

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

Percentage of pupils School 76 (75) 59 (69) 71 (88) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.23

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.23

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

Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Total 11 8 13

p.23

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

Percentage of pupils School 65 (63) 47 (56) 76 (75) 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.

p.23

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

5 The existing guidance from OFSTED is that test and examination data should be excluded from inspection reports if the year group is 10 or fewer. This also applies to year groups of boys and girls separately. St Saviour’s Community Primary School

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.24

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.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 5 Financial year 2000/01

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 22.4

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 251,314

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 5 Total expenditure 254,117

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 77 Expenditure per pupil 2,269

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year -2,803

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 30,579

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.24

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 Saviour’s Community Primary School

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 37 48 7 0 7

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 30 52 11 0 7

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 19 33 26 22 0

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 19 52 15 11 4

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 59 22 4 15 0

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 33 48 7 4 7

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 37 37 7 15 4

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 37 48 0 11 4

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 33 48 7 7 4

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 22 30 26 7 15

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Totals for each question may not equal 100 as a result of the rounding off of numbers. St Saviour’s Community Primary School PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES

p.25

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

53. Children enter the Reception class at the beginning of the academic year with attainment that is in line with that found nationally and locally. Teaching, which ranges from good to satisfactory and is satisfactory overall, builds on this and children are ready to move up to the next key stage by the end of reception. The staff in the reception class is composed of one teacher and one assistant. They work well as a team. The class assistant, whose work is of good quality, is quick to join in and interact with the children and the teacher at suitable times in differing learning situations.

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

54. The class has a small number of children from the Year 1 age group. This is affecting the planning of the curriculum for the Foundation Stage as the curriculum is very biased towards Key Stage 1 learning. It does not accommodate all the principles and spirit of the Foundation Stage so that children's learning can flourish. The reception teacher is well aware of the new key stage and had a small amount of training following its introduction. There is a need for extended training for the reception staff so that they can make the curriculum more appropriate to the needs of the very young children. The implementation of the national literacy and numeracy strategies needs to be adjusted to the age of these young children. Provision for children with special educational needs is satisfactory.

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

55. The school has provided an outdoor area, but it is not fully effective because relevant resources are under-developed and so a fully enriched curriculum is not possible at the moment. This affects all the areas of learning. There are significant gaps in resources for the Foundation Stage and the classroom as a whole, which affect planning and teaching, for example a range of programmable toys and a good range of different writing implements.

p.26

Personal, social and emotional development

56. The children settle into school life well and feel secure and valued. They achieve a good level of personal and social development because of the good standard of teaching in this area. They know the daily routines, which they follow very sensibly. The children’s ability to dress and undress is exceptionally high for their age. The children are well aware of the school’s expectations. The children are very well behaved and obedient at all times. This means that no time is wasted in lessons because children get on with their work and sustain good concentration. They are attentive to teachers and work hard in all lessons. Children show an awareness of each other during lessons. Staff act as good role models in the classroom. The management of the children is good and the very good relationships between children and adults are significant. This was evident in a class assembly, when children listened well and felt confident to offer answers and comments as well as to ask

p.26

Personal, social and emotional development

57. The very sound basis that the school has developed in this area of learning now requires extending to promote children’s sense of responsibility and to deepen children’s confidence in their ability to be successful learners. At present, the teaching staff direct the vast majority of the activities. There are insufficient opportunities within the early years planning of the curriculum for children to develop independence and initiative. Children make few decisions for themselves and they do not participate in the planning of their activities. Staff do not give them many opportunities to make choices within any planned activity.

p.26

Communication, language and literacy

58. Standards in communication, language and literacy are in line with those expected for the age of the children. A small number of children are likely to achieve beyond this standard by the time they move into the next class. The satisfactory teaching means that the St Saviour’s Community Primary School majority of children make satisfactory progress. Many children recognise the letters of the alphabet and are learning to hear initial sounds and to recognise and match initial letters of three-letter words. Children’s learning and recognition of words that are frequently used are growing steadily. A very few higher-attaining children know the difference between fiction and non-fiction. Higher- and middle-attaining children also copy write very carefully sentences in joined writing and the higher-attaining children are making good contributions to their construction. When children are given opportunities to initiate and carry out their

p.26

Communication, language and literacy

own writing activities, they do so with enthusiasm and imagination even though the formation of letters may be immature on these occasions. Staff miss opportunities to develop good writing habits by encouraging children to regularly and frequently write for different purposes, even if children make marks rather than fully formed letters. The range of writing tools and paper to inspire children are limited. Children speak clearly and most are confident to do so in a range of situations in the classroom. Two boys in the class ‘Post Office’ discussing who should operate the till and who should stick the stamps on was an ideal opportunity for them to develop their conversational skills and spoken vocabulary. These kinds of situations and opportunities need to be provided more often to improve children's already satisfactory achievements.

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Mathematical development

59. By the end of reception, children are likely to have achieved the early learning goals for their mathematical development and the few higher-attaining ones will have achieved beyond this. The quality of teaching is at least satisfactory and is sometimes good. Children recognise and name simple shapes and explain their properties. They are beginning to carry out simple addition and subtraction. They are developing an understanding of how simple patterns work and are made and they learn how to balance and compare weights. Staff appropriately match group activities to the age of the children and resources are well organised. The teacher uses correct mathematical language. As in other areas of development, however, there is insufficient allowance made for children’s own mathematical thinking and their use of mathematical language to develop. For example, by children working together and checking and correcting each other and

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Mathematical development

experimenting with different ways of recording. The outdoor provision does not support this area of learning sufficiently.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

60. The teaching of knowledge and understanding of the world is satisfactory, but children are unlikely to achieve all of the early learning goals for this area. Staff teach good factual knowledge in topics about people who help us, such as firemen and postmen. Children learn some geographical concepts about islands and compare them with their own local features. Teachers use characters, such as ‘Barnaby Bear’ and ‘Katie Morag’, to help make learning interesting for the children. Children successfully learn the different parts of plants and their understanding of how these work increases. For example, when children were looking at the roots of cress with the teacher, a child commented, ‘it sucks the water up’. This area of learning, however, is too over-directed and biased towards a Key Stage 1 curriculum. The curriculum does not allow children to sufficiently develop important skills. Children do not have enough time or opportunities to discuss, to select their own

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

appropriate resources, to find out and experiment, and to record their own experimental evidence instead of copying the teacher’s. Children are learning to use the computer, but progress is slow. Other resources are lacking to improve children’s learning of the use of technology. There have been good attempts to develop the outdoor area to support children’s learning in knowledge and understanding, but these have not been successful. This provision does not extend children’s progress and achievements.

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Physical development

61. Most children achieve the early learning goals by the end of reception. Children are taught formal physical education in the school hall. In these lessons, where the quality of teaching is good, children move confidently and imaginatively. The children use different parts of St Saviour’s Community Primary School their bodies to twist and spiral into interesting shapes. They have a very good awareness of space and move with control and co-ordination. The school has provided an outdoor area, but resources are inadequate to make full use of it. This means that children are not able to increase their control over large materials and objects. They are not able to improve further their ability to move more effectively in less confined spaces. They are not able to see things from different perspectives, high up or low down or to feel sensations that are different from the ones gained on indoor equipment.

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Physical development

62. Children’s manipulation of small tools is sound and teaching is satisfactory. Children draw round simple shapes, such as triangles and squares, with good attempts at precision and use other utensils, such as painting brushes, carefully. Children are not fully aware that if they move their hands up or down the implement it can change the amount of control they have and the effect.

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Creative development

63. Teaching in creative development is satisfactory, but the children are unlikely to achieve all of the early learning goals for this area by the time they are ready to move into Year 1. This is because the curriculum is not sufficiently well planned to nourish children’s originality of thought and expression. The children make good progress in activities in which the teacher closely guides them. The children choose colours when sewing; they use their imaginations in dance and when given the opportunity they use their imaginations in role-play. They sing simple songs from memory and explore the different sounds of instruments in directed lessons. However, there are few opportunities for children to respond in a variety of ways and to express, explore and communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings through a wide range of situations and media alongside teacher interaction and intervention.

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ENGLISH

64. Inspection evidence and test results show that seven-year-olds achieve slightly above average standards in reading and writing. Eleven-year-olds achieve standards in line with those expected nationally, but below those of similar schools. Standards have fluctuated since the previous inspection, but have remained broadly the same.

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ENGLISH

65. Given that attainment on entry is average, the pupils make satisfactory progress overall, with better progress in Years 1 and 2. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress in all aspects of English because they are given support by a good team of learning assistants. However, their tasks are not always directly related to the targets contained in their individual education plans. The teaching assistant who delivers the early learning strategy for reading and writing to small groups of pupils is very effective. There is no significant difference between the attainment of boys and girls achievements.

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ENGLISH

66. Pupils make satisfactory progress in speaking and listening. In both key stages, the pupils listen well. They listen to the teachers and to each other carefully and with attention in class and in other teaching situations, such as assembly. In question and answer situations in the classrooms, they ask and answer questions and offer comments with confidence and ease because of good relationships. Teachers’ expectations vary. The teacher in the Years 1 and 2 class insisted that the pupils thought of adjectives to describe pictures and events in a story in a large book entitled ‘Handa’s Surprise’. The pupils suggested words such as ‘greedy’, ‘fat’, ‘smelly’ and ‘grey’. The class teacher encouraged the pupils to put them into full sentences thus developing their speaking skills to a good level. However, spoken vocabulary is not being extended at a good rate. In certain subjects, such as English and science, teachers themselves use vocabulary that is pertinent and specific to

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ENGLISH

the subject being taught. Pupils are not being encouraged to use this vocabulary themselves in the course of their learning. Therefore, this vocabulary does not become a secure part of their language with which they can express themselves. There are missed St Saviour’s Community Primary School opportunities, especially in Years 3 to 6, for pupils to develop speaking skills in more formal situations.

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ENGLISH

67. By the age of 7, standards in reading are above that expected for their age and progress is good. All pupils have a good knowledge of the letters of the alphabet and their sounds and make good attempts to work out unknown words. Most pupils recognise a very good number of words that are used frequently and this is an improvement since the previous inspection. Sometimes, middle- and higher-attaining pupils cannot blend initial letters together or they do not know double sounds, such as ‘th’ and ‘ea’. In lessons, pupils’ knowledge of different types of fiction is extended well. In one good lesson, the teacher developed pupils’ more complex comprehension skills by making higher-attaining pupils aware of the similarities between an Indian magical story and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. In this same lesson, the teacher made pupils think hard about what a fairy story is and, ‘Is it going to be magical?’ and, ’What does magical mean?’ The pupils enjoyed this work, but

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ENGLISH

teachers do not develop this kind of knowledge about books by other means. Average and high-attaining pupils have good comprehension skills when questioned about stories. Pupils do not translate this good understanding into their reading aloud. They do not read with good expression. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 have positive attitudes to reading, but some lower-attaining pupils state they do not like reading. The lower-attaining pupils lack some strategies to help them, such as automatically re-reading a sentence after a mistake to give them more fluency. A number of average and higher-attaining pupils go to the local library, but are not able to compare and discuss other books or authors in a way that matches their technical reading and comprehension levels. There are missed opportunities to extend average and higher-attaining pupils by giving more direction and structure to their individual reading material.

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ENGLISH

68. Standards in reading by the time pupils are 11 is in line with those expected for their age. Progress is satisfactory across the key stage, but is variable. Pupils are confident readers and usually have positive attitudes to reading. Teachers build on the knowledge and skills the pupils have learnt in Years 1 and 2, but given the good progress in Key Stage 1, the rate of progress in Key Stage 2 is slower than it should be. Knowledge of parts of books, such as the ‘the glossary’ or’ the index’, and general library skills are very variable across the years. A small group of Year 6 pupils stated that they wished the school library could be better organised and made bigger. The implementation of the National Literacy Strategy has been very satisfactory, but as in Year 2, pupils lack structure and strong teacher guidance on their individual reading material. This is so for all levels of achievement.

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ENGLISH

Lower-attaining pupils become frustrated and do not gain enough progress from choosing a book that is too difficult.

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ENGLISH

69. The good rate of progress in reading at Key Stage 1 does not continue in Key Stage 2 because there is not enough challenge in the school’s free choice system of choosing a book to develop higher-order reading skills. For example, higher-attaining pupils do not develop the more difficult reading skills of inference and deduction when they choose books that are too easy. The use of reading diaries and records are useful in recording which books the pupils have read and when. There is no real provision, however, for recording analyses and assessments of pupils’ reading skills. There is no real provision within these records to inform parents how to help their children when they are hearing them read.

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ENGLISH

70. Standards in writing by the age of seven are in line with national averages. Pupils make sound progress through Years 1 and 2. They learn to use simple punctuation in the correct places and, by the end of Year 2, higher-attaining pupils are making good attempts to spell words using their word building skills. Middle- and lower-attaining pupils make reasonable attempts at spelling correctly, but their skills are still developing. There is a good range of writing topics in literacy lessons and the development of pupils’ writing skills is very much supported through recording in other subjects. Basic sentence structure is sound, but St Saviour’s Community Primary School pupils do not always choose words for their variety and interest. Pupils use a joined up style of handwriting from the very beginning and progress is very satisfactory.

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ENGLISH

71. By the end of Year 6, standards in writing are in line with national averages for pupils of this age. Progress is satisfactory. Grammar and sentence work, which is to be found in their literacy books, is very sound and is making good progress. In extended and general writing across the key stage the use of correct punctuation is progressing well for middle- and higher-attaining pupils. Spelling in all years in all types of writing is weak. This is particularly so in words that belong to word families and in frequently used words, such as ‘friend’, ‘too’ and ‘believe’, which pupils spell as ‘freind', ‘to’ and ‘beleive’. These mistakes are repeated. When spellings are corrected by teachers, pupils practise them in isolation, but do not then relate them to full sentences. Pupils do not use dictionaries regularly or frequently. Higher-attaining pupils are not achieving the higher levels of attainment

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ENGLISH

sufficiently well. Although they use complex sentences, they do not use higher forms of connectives; they do not use paragraphs enough or consistently and there is a lack of rich vocabulary. Handwriting is very variable and this is because teachers pay insufficient attention to the teaching of the joining of certain individual letters, such as the ‘w’. Work is often untidy, particularly in Years 3 and 4 and Year 6. Pupils in Year 5 have more pride in their work.

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ENGLISH

72. The quality of teaching is never less than satisfactory and is good in half of the lessons. This supports the sound progress pupils are currently making in literacy lessons. This is an improvement since the previous full inspection. In the one lesson seen in Key Stage 1, it was good. Of the four lessons seen in Key Stage 2, two were good. The rate of progress is better in Years 1 and 2 where the teaching is lively and in Year 5 where teacher expectations are higher and the standard of marking is excellent. Overall, marking is variable in its effect on the pupils. In Years 3 and 4, marking does not demand enough and so pupils’ work often lacks care. All teachers have sound subject knowledge. The effective implementation of the literacy strategy is enabling pupils to progress soundly. Overall, teachers use pupils’ literacy skills satisfactorily in other subjects. For example in religious

p.30

ENGLISH

education or in history, pupils write accounts of Remembrance Day or of famous people in the past. Pupils put a lot of effort into making very pleasing storybooks to take home, such as those based on the story of ‘Red Riding Hood’. There is, however, insufficient time and focus given to longer pieces of writing even though it is integrated into these subjects. There is very little evidence of information and communication technology being used in English. Neither the library nor the computers were used during the inspection for independent or literacy related work.

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ENGLISH

73. The co-ordinator has begun to collect samples of work for a portfolio. The co-ordinator’s role is under-developed. She has been in post two years, but does not have a good idea of what happens in other classes in English. The co-ordinator is aware that there is a need for a more rigorous and analytical approach to this role.

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MATHEMATICS

74. Inspection evidence and test results over recent years show that, by the age of 7 years, standards in mathematics are average. The school has maintained these standards and the satisfactory rate of progress made in Key Stage 1 since the last inspection. By the age of 11, however, standards are currently below average. This represents unsatisfactory progress over time, but is an improvement over the results achieved in recent years, which have been well below the national average. Samples of pupils’ previous work highlight gaps in their learning, particularly in the using and applying of mathematical skills. This accounts for pupils’ low levels of personal achievement by the age of 11 years. The school has worked hard at improving the teaching of numeracy. Currently, the quality of teaching and learning across the school is satisfactory overall. There are no significant differences in the performance of girls and boys.

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MATHEMATICS

St Saviour’s Community Primary School 75. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, are now making satisfactory progress. This is because of the satisfactory, and at times good, teaching and the pupils’ positive attitudes, which leads to satisfactory learning in lessons. Teachers have introduced a new published scheme of work to support their planning. This helps them to make sure the work pupils do builds on what they already know.

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MATHEMATICS

76. By the age of 7, most pupils gain satisfactory levels of achievement in their understanding of number. Most pupils accurately count, read and write numbers to at least 100 and they understand the place value of each digit. They recognise odd and even numbers and count in twos. Pupils successfully double and halve numbers, such as 27 and 44 and recognise multiples of 5 and 10. Teachers provide suitable opportunities for higher-attaining pupils to develop an appropriately high standard. Around a quarter of pupils, which is similar to that found nationally, achieve Level 3 in national tests. These pupils show a good understanding of place value and use numbers up to 1,000 in addition and subtraction questions. Pupils make satisfactory progress in their use of simple metric measurements. They weigh objects in grams and measure carefully in centimetres. They tell the time using hours, half-hour and quarter-hour units. Pupils recognise simple three-dimensional shapes,

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MATHEMATICS

such as cubes, pyramids and cylinders. However, their understanding of an angle as a measurement of turn and their use of mathematical vocabulary to explain the characteristics of a shape or an object’s position, such as ‘right-angle’, ‘clockwise’ and ‘anticlockwise’, is limited.

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MATHEMATICS

77. Pupils in Key Stage 2 make satisfactory progress in their understanding of number. By the age of 11, the majority of pupils have a sound understanding of place value and use this to round numbers to the nearest 10,000. They mentally recall multiplication tables up to 10x10. Pupils add and subtract decimals to two places. They understand simple fractions and know that they can also express a quarter as 0.25 or 25 per cent. However, pupils have not sufficiently developed the strategies needed to use their numeracy skills to solve problems about numbers in real life, particularly those that involve more than one operation. While pupils successfully calculate the perimeter of simple shapes, they are not as confident in calculating the area of compound shapes that can be split into rectangles. Pupils’ knowledge of data handling is limited. Teachers give them opportunities to produce tally charts, bar charts and bar line charts. However, there are insufficient opportunities for

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MATHEMATICS

pupils to develop their understanding of line graphs and the vocabulary associated with data handling, such as ‘mode’, ‘mean’ and ‘median’. Consequently, fewer pupils than is normally found achieve the expected standard for a typical 11-year-old (Level 4) and fewer achieve the higher standard (Level 5).

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MATHEMATICS

78. The school has introduced a number of initiatives to help raise standards. These include, additional staff training in numeracy, the introduction of a new published scheme of work and booster lessons for those about to take national tests. Teachers are beginning to use assessment procedures, based on national guidelines, to monitor pupils’ progress. These initiatives are beginning to have an impact on raising pupils’ standards. They have not ensured all areas of mathematics are taught in sufficient depth or that pupils have sufficient opportunities to carry out practical mathematical activities or to investigate problems that directly relate to their own lives and experiences. This is a key factor in hindering pupils from reaching satisfactory, or better, levels of achievement.

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MATHEMATICS

79. The quality of teaching ranges from satisfactory to good, overall it is satisfactory. This is an improvement on the teaching observed at the last inspection, when a significant proportion of teaching was unsatisfactory. Throughout the school, teachers manage the pupils well and there are positive relationships between staff and pupils. Consequently, pupils are well behaved and they show good attitudes towards their work. For example, pupils in Year 6 are very attentive to their teacher’s clear explanations of how to interpret a table of information. This gives them the confidence to tackle the accompanying questions. St Saviour’s Community Primary School Teachers have satisfactorily adopted the National Numeracy Strategy. The mental mathematics sessions at the start of lessons are useful in helping pupils to practise existing skills. However, the pace is often slow and strategies do not always involve all pupils in

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MATHEMATICS

answering questions. In a lesson in Years 3 and 4, the teacher asked questions at an appropriate level, but she asked them individually rather than using resources, which would have enabled all pupils to show their individual answers at the same time. This slowed the pace of learning.

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MATHEMATICS

80. Teachers satisfactorily plan what it is they want the pupils to learn. This planning is best where it clearly shows what each group in the mixed-age, mixed-ability classes is to learn. In a Years 3 and 4 lesson on grids, for example, the teacher identified more advanced objectives for the older pupils, which ensured work was at an appropriate level for all pupils. Where teachers share the lesson objectives with pupils at the start of lessons, pupils gain a better understanding of their own learning. However, teachers often do not return to the objective at the end of the lesson to reinforce it in pupils’ minds. Teachers explain new ideas carefully, but do not always use the most effective methods or make sufficient use of resources to help the pupils’ understanding. For example, in a Year 5 lesson on converting fractions to their decimal equivalent the teacher’s effective use of calculators helped pupils

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MATHEMATICS

to make good progress. However, in another lesson in which pupils tried to answer questions based on ‘I am thinking of an number….’, no use of resources was made to help the pupils visualise the problem and identify usefully strategies for solving it. Consequently, progress was slow.

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MATHEMATICS

81. The school does not make enough use of information and communication technology in mathematics. Younger pupils make use of a programmable toy robot when learning to give directions. Pupils occasionally use practice programs that fit into the theme of the lesson, but they make very little use of programs to handle data. Teachers miss many opportunities for pupils to use computers to sort information and produce bar charts and graphs or to develop their understanding of angles by using control programs.

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MATHEMATICS

82. The school has introduced satisfactory procedures for assessing pupils’ progress. The subject co-ordinator is beginning to use this data and an analysis of national test results to identify areas for development. This process is at an early stage of development, but is not having a major impact on raising standards.

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SCIENCE

83. The school has maintained the average standards achieved by 7-year-olds since the last inspection. Standards by the age of 11 are below average, but this is an improvement on the well below average standards achieved over recent years. Currently, pupils throughout the school are making satisfactory progress in their learning, but for older pupils their progress has been unsatisfactory over time. Recent improvements in teaching and the curriculum are beginning to raise standards. There are no significant differences in achievement between boys and girls. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress because of the support they receive from teachers within lessons. For example, a teacher took additional time to quietly explain the activity and consolidate the pupils’ learning once the other pupils had started.

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SCIENCE

84. Inspection evidence and teacher assessments over recent years show that standards by the age of 7 are average. Pupils reach satisfactory levels of achievement. They gain a satisfactory knowledge of materials and identify ones that are natural, such as wood, and others that are man-made, such as plastic. Pupils sort materials based on their characteristics, such as whether they are rigid or flexible. Teachers provide appropriate opportunities for pupils to develop a satisfactory understanding of living processes. Pupils plant bulbs and seeds and observe their growth. Through a class experiment, they know that seeds need water, warmth and light to germinate. St Saviour’s Community Primary School 85. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 continue to make satisfactory progress and reach satisfactory levels of achievement in most aspects of the subject. They develop their knowledge of materials through experiments to test the water resistance of paper, plastic and fabric. They

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SCIENCE

understand that some materials help to keep objects warm. In living processes, pupils understand that our skeleton helps to keep our body upright and that it protects vital organs, such as our heart and lungs. Pupils, however, do not know the names of key bones within the skeleton. Teachers provide pupils with opportunities to develop their experimental skills. For example, they make predictions before testing whether it is easier to push an object along a rough or a smooth surface.

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SCIENCE

86. In Years 5 and 6, pupils further develop their knowledge of materials. They know that a sieve removes large pieces of debris from water and that a filter paper removes smaller pieces. They use experiments to show how the use of warm water, stirring or shaking increases the amount of powder that can be dissolved in water. Pupils know how simple electrical circuits work and they can test whether materials will conduct electricity. They used this knowledge to build a simple pressure switch that operated a model burglar alarm. Pupils in Key Stage 2 are currently making satisfactory progress in developing their scientific knowledge and understanding. However, their use of scientific names is very limited. For example, they explain how to test whether electricity will flow through a material, but they are unsure of the terms ‘conductor’ and ‘insulator’. Pupils carry out experiments, but most of these are teacher guided. They are not given sufficient

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SCIENCE

opportunity to develop these initial experiments so as to test out their own ideas. Consequently, their understanding of a ‘fair test’ is limited and they do not independently identify appropriate approaches, select materials, record information and make conclusions.

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SCIENCE

87. The quality of teaching and the learning it promotes are satisfactory. Teachers manage the pupils well and encourage them to co-operate in their work. Consequently, behaviour is good and so are relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils are keen and particularly enjoy the practical activities. For example, pupils in Years 3 and 4 worked sensibly in small groups and were eager to measure their heights and foot sizes. Teachers plan appropriate activities; for example, they make good use of the school’s grounds when looking at the habitat of small creatures. However, it is not always clear what it is they want the pupils to learn within the lesson and therefore, pupils’ progress is reduced. For example, having observed a number of insects found in the grounds, the teacher did not sufficiently stress the common characteristics of an insect to secure the pupils’ knowledge. Teachers use appropriate scientific vocabulary, but they do not sufficiently emphasis it during lessons and

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SCIENCE

at their summing up at the end. Consequently, pupils are not developing their knowledge of scientific names. Whilst teachers provide pupils with regular opportunities to carry out experiments, these are in almost all cases teacher-directed activities. Pupils are not progressively developing their independent skills of scientific enquiry. Weaknesses in these two aspects of teaching, the use of scientific vocabulary and the planning of activities that develop pupils skills of enquiry, are the major causes for the low attainment at the age of 11 years.

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SCIENCE

88. Since the last inspection, the school has introduced national guidelines to help teachers in their planning. It has yet to complete its planned two-year cycle of activities. The co- ordinator provides useful support to staff and manages resources well, but has not gained a clear overview of pupils’ learning across the school. Teachers make satisfactory use of pupils’ numeracy skills in science, particularly in calculating measurements. However, insufficient use is made of information and communication technology to support pupils’ learning. For example, teachers miss opportunities for pupils to use word processing and data handling skills to record their work, CD-ROMs and the Internet to gain information and to use monitoring equipment during experiments.

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ART AND DESIGN

St Saviour’s Community Primary School 89. There was insufficient evidence at the time of the last inspection to make judgements on teaching and learning. The very limited amount of work available following the school’s move to its new accommodation was judged to be at an appropriate standard for the pupils’ ages. No lessons were observed during this inspection, but examples of pupils’ previous artwork and displays around the school were analysed. Pupils aged 7 and 11 produce individual pieces of art of a good standard, but overall, standards are below that expected for their age. Pupils do not progressively develop their skills as they move through the school. Support staff provide good levels of help for this subject and consequently, pupils with special educational needs make similar progress to their classmates.

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ART AND DESIGN

90. By the time pupils are 7, they know how to manage paint and mix colours. They know that by mixing primary colours other new colours can be created. Pupils show reasonable brush control when creating snow scenes with white paint on black paper. Teachers give pupils some opportunities to use other materials, including textiles. For example, pupils make ‘spiders’ from pieces of felt and pipe-cleaners. In Years 3 to 6, pupils develop a simple understanding of pattern. They use crayons to colour a printed repeating pattern of robins and trees and squared paper to design symmetrical patterns. Older pupils gain an understanding of how a repeated shape can create the idea of movement. They satisfactorily cut a number of identical coloured shapes from card and overlap these to produce designs that give the impression of movement. They also build up collages of pictures cut from magazines that show movement.

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ART AND DESIGN

91. Pupils enjoy the subject and produce individual pieces of work of a good standard. For example, younger pupils used flour, water paste and paint to produce very attractive designs on fabric following the visit of an African artist. Older pupils used felt shapes to produce a pleasing wall hanging depicting a story from ‘Winnie the Pooh’. However, these are one-off activities and teachers do not progressively develop pupils’ practical skills and knowledge of art and famous artists through the school. Consequently, overall standards are below average.

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ART AND DESIGN

92. Pupils at both key stages have sketchbooks, but very little use is made of these. Pupils make occasional observational drawings, such as a face, church windows and a riding hat. Teachers give pupils insufficient opportunities to develop their drawing skills, the use of tone, to experiment with their designs or to record the development of skills. Consequently, pupils drawings are not of a high enough standard for their age. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 are beginning to make use of information and communication technology to support their learning in art. For example, pupils use a program to create colourful designs for ‘Joseph’s coat’. In Years 3 to 6, pupils make insufficient use of computers to enhance and develop their standards in art.

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ART AND DESIGN

93. The school has adopted national guidelines for the subject, but has not successfully implemented them. Due to the pressure to raise standards in the core subjects, developments in art have been slow. The co-ordinator recognises the need to develop teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the subject as an important step in raising standards.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

94. At the time of the last inspection it was not possible to make a judgement on standards as there was insufficient work available following the school’s move to new accommodation. Currently, there is similarly very little work available for analysis, but indications are that standards are below average by the age of 11 years.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

95. In the one lesson observed during the inspection, pupils in Years 1 and 2 made good progress in developing their practical skills of cutting. The teacher’s clear instructions resulted in pupils quickly understanding how to mark out the shapes they needed to make St Saviour’s Community Primary School ‘Joseph’s multi-coloured coat’ by drawing round templates. With the help of the teacher’s guidance, pupils cut accurately along straight lines though angles caused some minor problems. Photographic evidence shows that older pupils in Years 5 and 6 have made electric cars from a wooden framework and a small electric motor. Pupils understand that cardboard triangles help to strengthen the joints in the framework. Pupils enjoyed making these models and were successful in making them work. However, all the models were made to the same design and were identical when completed. While teachers are developing pupils making skills through projects such as this, they are not developing their

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

designing skills or their use of numeracy skills. Pupils are not making important choices in what materials and tools they should use or applying their knowledge to solve problems and evaluate their own work. These are all important skills expected of pupils by the age of 11 years.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

96. Teachers are not keeping or valuing the importance of pupils’ designs. Pupils, therefore, cannot see how their designing skills are developing as they move through the school. There is also no written evidence of pupils evaluating their work and making recommendations on how they could improve it. The school has recently adopted national guidelines to help teachers with their planning. The subject co-ordinator has sound knowledge of the subject. Other teachers are not clear on how pupils develop practical and designing skills through focused tasks and then how pupils apply these skills in problem solving activities.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

97. The school arranges history and geography teaching in alternate terms or half-terms. Two lessons were observed in geography, one in Year 2 and one in Years 3 and 4. One lesson in history was observed in Years 5 and 6. At the time of the last inspection it was not possible to make a judgement on standards because there was very little work available for scrutiny. There is some improvement since the previous inspection in that there is a good amount of recorded work in the Years 3 to 6 to review. Standards in these subjects meet expectations by the time pupils are 7 and 11 years. There are, however, variations in the standards of some aspects of both subjects.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

98. Teaching is satisfactory overall. Progress is satisfactory in both key stages, especially in knowledge and understanding. In Years 1 and 2, pupils’ knowledge of famous people, such as Florence Nightingale, and their understanding of why events happened as they did is increasing steadily. Their knowledge of local places and features is also improving satisfactorily. Pupils’ concepts of the physical features of where they live and other places, such as remote islands, and their ability to compare and contrast them are developing. In Years 3 to 6, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of places increases by comparing their own town with one in Peru. In a project on rivers, the older pupils make reasonable progress in their understanding of field studies and environmental change. Similarly in history, teachers build on pupils’ previous knowledge concerning famous invaders and settlers. Pupils learn why these events happened. They understand the effect they had on

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

life then, such as affecting the names of places.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

99. Pupils use printed articles to research facts about the ancient Greeks in Years 5 and 6 and pupils in Years 3 and 4 learn some mapping skills. Pupils’ research and enquiry skills, however, are weaker in both geography and history. Teachers do not use information and communication technology sufficiently in either of these subjects to support pupils’ research skills or the recording of knowledge.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

100. Progress is limited because work does not match the needs of all pupils. The school has adopted the national schemes of work for history and for geography. The topics and units of work within these schemes have been reorganised into a two-year rolling programme. This is because in all classes there are two age groups and the school has rightly ensured St Saviour’s Community Primary School that pupils do not repeat or miss out any of the units of work because of this arrangement of classes. However, teachers do not adjust the level of demand of the tasks within the units to match the needs of the pupils in the different year groups within their classes. Pupils with special educational needs are supported by learning support assistants and thus do the same work as their classmates. Their progress is satisfactory, but work is not closely matched to targets in their individual education plans.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

101. Historical knowledge and a sense of its pervading influence was reinforced in very good assemblies about Elizabeth Fry, the Earl of Shaftesbury and government policy concerning working conditions. Teachers also reinforce pupils’ geographical knowledge by attractive displays around school of African countries, such as Ghana. Pupils satisfactorily use their reading and writing skills in history and geography. For example, they write explanations of events in history and describe geographical features. However, very few pieces of writing are of any length and so do little to develop pupils’ skills in their extended writing.

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GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY

102. Assessment of pupils’ achievements follows national guidelines for the two subjects and is satisfactory. Teachers assess each pupil’s attainment at the end of each unit of work. This gives them an overall picture of pupils’ progress which they use to help their planning and teaching. The co-ordinator for geography is the headteacher who has a good overview of what is happening in the subject. The co-ordinator for history has a less precise knowledge of what is happening in her subject and her role is not fully developed.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

103. It was not possible to make a judgement on standards at the time of the last inspection as the school was awaiting the arrival of new equipment following its move to new accommodation. Currently, standards at 7 and 11 years are below average and pupils, including those with special educational needs, make unsatisfactory progress. Pupils are competent in those areas that they have learned, but there are gaps in their knowledge. Teachers make insufficient use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support pupils’ learning in other subjects.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

104. Since the last inspection, the school has improved the provision for the subject. New computers, which have Internet access, have been installed in each classroom and in the library. The school has adopted national guidelines to help teachers plan their activities. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 understand that information can be gained from a variety of sources, including CD-ROMs and the Internet as well as from reference books. Careful demonstrations by the teacher help pupils gain confidence in loading CD-ROMs into the computer. Consequently, pupils satisfactorily gain information from encyclopaedia discs, as when investigating insects in science. Pupils use a simple art program to produce pictures, such as of ‘Joseph and his coloured coat’. Teachers provide suitable opportunities for pupils to give instructions to make things happen. For example in mathematics, they enter simple commands into a programmable toy robot to make it move forwards and backwards.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

However, pupils have not sufficiently developed their ICT skills as they have had insufficient opportunities to use the classroom resources. For example, they make insufficient use of the computers to develop their ideas, record their work or become familiar with the uses of the appropriate software that is available. Pupils do not regularly use simple word processing programs to present their writing or other software to explore what happens in real and imaginary situations. Consequently, by the age of 7, standards are below average.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

105. Standards are below national expectations by the age of 11 years. This is because of gaps in the pupils’ learning. Pupils make good use of CD-ROMs to gain information, for example when studying the ancient Greeks in history. However, they do not use the Internet to research their topics. Pupils produce, edit and print written work using various fonts and styles, but are given too few opportunities to use these skills. They do not use desktop publishing programs to produce work of a more sophisticated style. They do not use e-mail St Saviour’s Community Primary School to send and receive messages. Pupils make very little use of data handling programs. Teachers miss opportunities for pupils to enter data and produce tables and graphs using the computer. For example, mathematics work on graphs and results of science experiments are all hand drawn. Pupils do not develop their work from Years 1 and 2 on

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

106. The school has recently introduced national guidelines to help teachers in their planning. In the one lesson that took place during the inspection, teaching and learning were satisfactory. The teacher carefully consolidated younger pupils’ knowledge of how to use a CD-ROM. Progress was, however, limited as the class used only one computer. Although individual pupils helped to demonstrate the procedures, there was insufficient ‘hands-on’ experience for the pupils to make better progress. In other classes, regular lessons during which pupils are taught new skills do not take place. Pupils have very little access to the classroom computers. They are often switched on, but then not used to develop pupils’ skills or support their learning in other subjects.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

107. Teachers’ knowledge of the subject and their confidence in using the computers and software available is weak. The school recognises this weakness and training for teachers is planned for later this year. The co-ordinator, whose subject knowledge is sound, has identified objectives for each year group that will help raise teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve. However, she has not used this as a basis for tracking pupils’ achievements and progress and to identify what it is pupils need to learn next.

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MUSIC

108. At the time of the last inspection it was not possible to judge pupils’ standards in music. During this inspection, only one lesson was observed and this was in Years 5 and 6. There was no evidence in Years 1 and 2. There was insufficient evidence to judge pupils’ progress through the school and the quality of teaching overall. Indications are that pupils by the age of 11 do not achieve the expected standard in all aspects of the subject.

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MUSIC

109. In the one lesson seen, teaching and learning were good. The Year 6 pupils sang well and with great gusto. They knew the difference between major and minor keys. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the lesson because they were well motivated to work hard. They were very actively involved in creating music. They collaborated well in experimenting with a certain number of notes to produce tunes using a variety of tuned and untuned instruments. They discussed and evaluated how to improve their work sensibly and with enthusiasm. Pupils recognise that they can explore sounds and organise and reorganise them. When the time came for each group to demonstrate the tune they had created, individual pupils maintained their own part very well. This indicated the good potential for progress in the future.

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MUSIC

110. Overall, however, by the time pupils are 11, they do not achieve a sufficiently satisfactory standard in all the aspects of music. Pupils do not often sing songs in a variety of ways, for example pupils singing in parts. They do not appraise a range of music with satisfactory skills or use expressive musical vocabulary to respond to their ideas and feelings about music. Teachers do not give pupils sufficient opportunities to practise, rehearse and present performances to different audiences so that they realise that time and place influence the way they do this.

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MUSIC

111. In whole-school assemblies, music is linked to the theme for the day. For example, pupils listened to a song sung by Labi Sifri that led onto the story of Martin Luther King’s early days. Pupils sing songs in assembly tunefully and with meaning. The headteacher is the co-ordinator and accompanies singing in assembly on the guitar. She has a good command of music, but the subject knowledge of other members of staff is limited. The school has a commercial scheme to support the teaching of music. This scheme is now St Saviour’s Community Primary School somewhat out of date with the introduction of new national guidelines and the school is looking for a more suitable one. There are now no visiting music teachers to enhance teaching and learning. Resources for music are inadequate to teach the whole of the music curriculum.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

112. Pupils aged 7 and 11 achieve the expected standards for their age. This indicates an improvement since the last inspection when standards were below average. Since the move to the school’s new accommodation in 2000, pupils have regular physical education lessons within the very good facilities that it has for the subject. This, together with satisfactory teaching, ensures pupils make steady progress and achieve average standards. Pupils with special educational needs are given sufficient help to enable them to make sound progress.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

113. By the age of 7, pupils develop suitable skills in games lessons. They bounce, throw and catch a large ball with appropriate co-ordination for their age. Most successfully carry out simple activities. For example, pupils control the ball when they bounce it on the floor and satisfactorily throw it into the air and catch it. Most find throwing the ball up, batting it with their hand and then catching it more difficult. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 satisfactorily develop their ball skills. They confidently bounce and catch a large ball and learn to co-operate with a partner. For example, they satisfactorily throw and catch a ball when practising a bounce- pass. The school operates an adequate programme for swimming. Pupils in the Years 3 and 4 class attend weekly lessons in alternate years. They develop their confidence in water and learn to swim on their front and back. By the end of the year of lessons most can

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

swim 25 metres, the expected standard for 11-year-olds.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

114. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Teachers have good relationships with their pupils and satisfactorily manage them during lessons in the hall. Consequently, pupils show interest in their work and the majority behaves well. A few pupils find it difficult to maintain this good behaviour and their immature actions reduce the pace of lessons. Teachers have a satisfactory understanding of the subject. They begin lessons with an appropriate warm- up, have a good awareness of safety and finish lessons with a cool-down. Teachers encourage pupils and make frequent use of praise. They use pupil demonstrations, but do not sufficiently highlight what it is that pupils are to learn from them, or give pupils opportunities to use these ideas to improve their own performance.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

115. Teachers satisfactorily plan their lessons and make effective use of the resources available. Their teaching is more effective when they give clear teaching points to help pupils improve their performance. For example, in reminding pupils of the effect of exercise on their heart beat during the warm-up or when explaining how to improve the accuracy of the bounce- pass. However, teachers do not sufficiently develop pupils’ independent learning skills. For example, they take valuable time within the lesson to collect and give out equipment and to organise pupils into pairs or teams rather than giving the pupils responsibility for these tasks.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

116. Physical education is not included on the school’s curriculum overview. Individual teachers plan lessons so as to ensure pupils experience all appropriate activities, including gymnastics, dance and games. This makes monitoring the balance of activities more difficult for the subject co-ordinator. The recent adoption of a published scheme provides teachers with appropriate activities. Opportunities for pupils to perform outdoor and adventurous activities are limited to those completed during the annual Year 6 residential course to Calderdale. These include the use of a climbing wall and various water activities. However, teachers do not give pupils experiences of an adventurous or problem solving nature within the school grounds. St Saviour’s Community Primary School

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

117. It was not possible to make a judgement on standards at the time of the last inspection. Interviews with pupils, an analysis of their previous work and an observation of a Years 3 and 4 lesson indicate that standards by the age of 11 reach those expected in the locally agreed syllabus for the subject. However, standards by the age of 7 are below those expected.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

118. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 have a sound knowledge of the nature of God in relation to the world. They also have a good knowledge of some of the important events in the Christian calendar and know a good amount of detail about these, such as Christmas and Easter. They also have a good idea of their significance. However, pupils do not know any of the miracles or parables contained in the gospels. They go on visits to the local church and they remember a number of significant details about the building and the artefacts they saw and their use. However, they do not have any knowledge of other world religions. Consequently, their overall standard is below that expected and their progress is unsatisfactory.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

119. By the age of 11, pupils have a reasonable knowledge of Christianity and some knowledge of the features of Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. They cover a good range of work. In Christianity, the pupils know the difference between the Old and New Testaments and the importance of baptism and some of the Christian symbols. Pupils have a satisfactory understanding of the Islamic Five Pillars of Wisdom, the Jewish Tora and the Hindu story of ‘Rama and Sita’. Throughout Key Stage 2, the amount of work done in pupils’ books is very variable in quantity. It indicates that overall progress is satisfactory. There was much less work in the books of pupils in Years 3 and 4 than in those of Years 5 and 6. In Years 5 and 6, the work is interesting, neat and tidy and pupils obviously have a pride in it.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

120. In the one lesson seen during the inspection, teaching was unsatisfactory. The teacher’s knowledge was satisfactory. Pupils were very interested initially in discussing the nature of God and the creation of the world and were bursting to ask questions. This interest dwindled as the lesson progressed because the pace of the lesson was slow. Teacher explanations were laboured and not completely clear. No resources were used to make the lesson more relevant and interesting and learning was superficial.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

121. The locally agreed syllabus has changed during the present academic year and the school is still adjusting to the new requirements. Teachers satisfactorily develop pupils’ reading and writing skills through this subject. Overall, resources are satisfactory.

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