Alkborough Primary School

ALKBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 2 nd –3 rd October 2000

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ALKBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL

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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ALKBOROUGH 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. Alkborough Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Whitton Road Alkborough Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: November 1996 Alkborough Primary School - 4

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Team members

Mrs M Heard, 18816 Registered inspector Mr M Weaver, 9352 Lay inspector

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Team members

J and M Inspection and Education Services 31 Innage Road Northfield Birmingham B31 2DU

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Team members

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

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Team members

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Alkborough Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is situated in the village of Alkborough, about 8 miles north of Scunthorpe. It serves a rural community and about 50 per cent of the pupils use home-to-school transport. There are 68 pupils on roll, aged four to eleven. The pupils come from a broad range of social backgrounds. Most children join the reception class part time for two terms prior to statutory admission and their attainment is generally above average when they start their full time education. There are no pupils from ethnic minority groups. About 10 per cent of the pupils have special educational needs and one pupil has a statement of special need, which is lower than the national average. The school aims to enable all pupils to develop into well- informed and active members of society. At the time of the inspection, the recently appointed headteacher had been in post for four weeks.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a good school. The youngest children make an excellent start, good teaching builds on these firm foundations and the pupils achieve standards that are well above average in many aspects of their education. The school is efficiently managed and provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Results in the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds are consistently well above average in English, mathematics and science. • Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent. • There is a rich and stimulating curriculum, which promotes an eagerness to learn. • The headteacher, staff and governors work hard to maintain high standards and teamwork is a strength. • The pupils are encouraged to try their best, within a very supportive and caring environment.

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What could be improved

• The clarity and precision of the school development plan in setting out what needs to be done to sustain the high standards and to make the quality of teaching and learning even better. • Planning for the National Curriculum foundation subjects and the manageability of the systems for tracking pupils’ progress. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. The governors have already undertaken training on school development planning.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The last inspection in November 1996 found Alkborough Primary School to be a good school and this is still so. The well above average results achieved by pupils in the national tests for seven and eleven-year- olds have been sustained in this small village school, where pupil numbers fluctuate considerably year on year. All the key issues for action previously identified have been properly addressed. The school provides a much broader range of opportunities for design and technology and better attention is given to ensuring that the pupils make sufficient progress in mastering skills. One day a week is set aside for the headteacher to undertake management tasks and this time is being efficiently used to systematically monitor the quality of the school’s work and bring about further improvements. The accommodation has been significantly enhanced through a major building programme in readiness for the start of the current

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

academic year. Governors, staff and pupils have worked tremendously hard to prepare the classrooms, following a long period of considerable disruption to the normal school routines. Alkborough Primary School - 7

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STANDARDS

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

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Key

Science A A* A* A* Very high Well above average Above average Average Below average Well below average A* A B C D E

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Key

The majority of five-year-olds achieve beyond what is expected for their age in all the recommended areas of learning in the Foundation Stage. At seven years of age, standards are well above average in reading, writing, mathematics and science. All groups of pupils continue to do well, and by the age of eleven, standards in English and mathematics are well above average. In science, eleven-year-old pupils achieve very high standards, placing the school in the top five per cent nationally. The work pupils were doing during the inspection confirmed these standards. Each year, the school sets suitably ambitious targets for eleven-year-olds to achieve in English and mathematics and has succeeded in meeting these challenges.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils are enthusiastic, interested in their work and eager to succeed. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils are friendly, courteous and respectful of one another.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Good overall. Pupils are confident, self-assured and keen to accept responsibility, but there are not enough opportunities to encourage older boys to take initiative. Relationships are very good. Attendance Good. Pupils are punctual and enjoy coming to school.

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

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

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

Overall, the teaching in the school is good. In 80 per cent of the lessons seen, the teaching ranged between good, very good and excellent. The remainder was satisfactory. In the Foundation Stage and at Key Stage 1, the teaching was consistently very good. Literacy and numeracy skills are given a very high priority, learning is exciting and teaching generates a lively sense of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. The teaching of English is excellent in Key Stage 1 and good overall at Key Stage 2. In the best lessons, Alkborough Primary School - 8 the teachers’ enthusiasm and love of literature inspires the pupils to use their imagination and be adventurous in their choice of words. The teaching of mathematics, including the use of numeracy skills in other subjects, is very good at both key stages. Lesson planning is thorough and teachers are very clear about what they expect pupils to learn. Carefully considered adaptations are made to the guidance in the

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

National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies to take account of mixed-age classes and the diverse needs of the pupils.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. Educational visits and a rich variety of first-hand experiences stimulate the pupils’ interests. The skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) are well developed. The curriculum is presented in a relevant and meaningful way, which helps pupils to see connections between the subjects. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. There are very effective support systems in place and the needs of these pupils are very well met within the classrooms. Pupils with special needs make good progress. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good overall. Trusting relationships underpin the good provision for pupils’ all-round development. Pupils’ contributions to assemblies, church services and their involvement in the wider community are strong features of this

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Aspect Comment

provision. How well the school cares for its pupils Good. The care and welfare of the pupils is given a high priority. The staff take a personal interest in each pupil and conscientiously support and nurture all aspects of their development. However, the systems for recording pupils’ academic progress are too burdensome.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Overall good. The recently appointed headteacher values the school’s strengths and has a very clear vision of how best to build on these firm foundations. The staff, governors and headteacher are a strong team. Development planning has some weaknesses. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors take a keen interest in the school’s work. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Monitoring systems are effective. Good use is made of each governor’s expertise. All statutory requirements are fully in place. The school’s evaluation of its performance The analysis of performance data and the monitoring of the school’s work are strong features in the school’s ability to maintain high standards. The strategic use of resources Good. The staff, time, finances, accommodation and resources are used

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Aspect Comment

efficiently to provide an effective education for all pupils. The school gives good value for money. Alkborough Primary School - 9

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The good progress children make • The very good behaviour in and out of school • The family atmosphere and community spirit • Good teaching • The way each pupil is valued and given individual support • Information about the curriculum their children are following • Clarification about the quantity and range of homework • The range of activities outside school

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspectors endorse the parents’ positive comments. The new headteacher has made arrangements for parents to receive a termly newsletter outlining the learning programme for each group of pupils. Homework diaries are being provided for pupils in Key Stage 2. There is a broad range of field trips, an annual residential visit and an extensive programme of instrumental tuition. After-school sports activities have not been possible recently due to the extensive building work and the safety of the pupils. The playground is shortly to be resurfaced and pitches made good. Alkborough Primary School - 10

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Results in the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds are consistently well above average

1. In this small school, there are considerable fluctuations in the number of pupils taking the national tests at the ages of seven and eleven each year. There are also significant variations in the prior attainment levels of each group of pupils. The school has sustained high standards in English, mathematics and science in spite of these factors. The results reflect the great care that the teachers take in assessing each pupil’s learning, monitoring their progress and tailoring the teaching to meet individual needs.

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Results in the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds are consistently well above average

2. The experienced staff know what level of work they should be expecting of the pupils and provide plenty of encouragement and praise. Pupils do formal tests at the end of each year and the staff rigorously analyse the outcomes and take action to remedy any weak areas in the pupils’ knowledge or understanding. For example, the school found that in writing at age eleven few boys were reaching the higher Level 5. Discussion of samples of the pupils’ work identified some weaknesses in imaginative writing and this has become a major focus for improvement throughout the school. Good development was evident in the pupils’ work as a result of actions being taken to address this issue. A six year old boy writes, ‘… I heard a thump, a crash and then silence. I peered out of my bedroom window and there in the street below, to my amazement, was a dragon tearing up all the houses,’ whilst a nine year old writes of ‘ a

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Results in the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds are consistently well above average

shipwreck waiting for a lazy human body to explore it’, when describing an underwater exploration. There are interesting starting points for writing in history, ‘Didn’t They Have Fun’ describing how people rallied round for the war effort during the 1940s.

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Results in the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds are consistently well above average

3. The staff have a very good knowledge of the national frameworks for literacy and numeracy and make sensible adaptations to accommodate mixed-age classes. They fine-tune their planning to take account of the needs of each group of pupils. A strong emphasis is given to talking and sharing ideas, choosing the right words, and explaining ways of working things out in mathematics and science. Quick and speedy mental calculation, and having ‘facts at your finger-tips’ help the youngest pupils to gain confidence and to have fun with mathematics.

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Results in the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds are consistently well above average

4. A subject specialist teaches most of the science curriculum throughout the school. The youngest children have a wealth of opportunities to explore and investigate. They are encouraged to predict outcomes, ask questions, and try things out for themselves. There are plenty of opportunities for older pupils to design their own experiments within a carefully structured framework. Older pupils, working in small groups, knew that when a beam of light is reflected from an object, its direction changes. They devised their own experiments using mirrors and a torch and accurately recorded their findings in diagrams. They skilfully navigated their way around an encyclopaedia on CD ROM to find out about the workings of the human eye, taking turns to scan the text and interpret it in their own words. Scientific understanding is very well developed through a good balance of direct teaching and guided experimentation.

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Results in the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds are consistently well above average

5. The school is swift to identify pupils with special educational needs and the teachers set clear targets for them to achieve. Additional support for these pupils is highly effective because teachers work very closely with learning support staff to ensure that pupils progress at a good rate. Alkborough Primary School - 11

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

6. The teachers prepare their lessons thoroughly, identify precisely what the pupils will learn, provide a variety of activities and make considered assessments of pupils’ progress to identify the next steps in their learning. They ensure that support staff, students and volunteer helpers are fully briefed about the lesson aims and know what the teacher expects each group of pupils to achieve. Lessons are well structured, proceed at a good pace and sustain the pupils’ interest and involvement. The teachers have a very good knowledge of the individual needs of the pupils and set work that requires sustained application and effort. The pupils’ contributions to discussions are valued, teachers follow up general questions to the whole class with more specific ones directed at individual pupils to check on their understanding or to encourage them to think more deeply. Pupils receive praise and timely prompts to help them to succeed. These

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

qualities, alongside the teachers’ enthusiasm, good control and warm, trusting relationships with the pupils make a significant contribution to the good progress that the pupils make.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

7. The children in the reception group make an excellent start. The teacher and the nursery nurse work extremely well together to provide an enticing range of well-planned and structured play activities. The children move confidently between the class base they share with pupils in Years 1 and 2, and a separate room specially dedicated to the needs of four and five-year-olds. In an excellent literacy session, reception children were engrossed in a game of ‘Hunt the Letters’ using a ‘Big Book’ version of the well-known rhyme ‘Incy-Wincy Spider’. The nursery nurse’s enthusiasm and highly skilled questioning enabled the children to identify the differences and similarities between lower case and capital letters and to begin to build up a family of words that rhymed with ‘sun’. The children delighted in their discoveries about written language, rhyme and spelling patterns, returning to the magnetic letters and a portable white-board throughout the day

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

to continue to play around with words and practise forming letters. Year 2 pupils working with the teacher were totally engrossed in studying the poem, ‘A Young Sick Dragon’. The teacher’s great love of literature, her verve and vitality, inspired the pupils to look searchingly at the text as they buzzed with ideas and delighted in finding different letter combinations that produced the same sound, such as the vowel combinations in ‘nails’ and ‘scales’. She skilfully linked the skills of speaking, listening and writing as she urged children to consider the spelling of ‘cough’ and ‘rough’ by asking ‘ When you listen to these words, what letters might you be tempted to think are there?’ Pupils went on to produce some excellent imaginative stories, often incorporating quite sophisticated sentence structures, having a go at spelling more complex words for themselves and checking these out by using dictionaries or confirming with the

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

teacher. They took great pride in the presentation of their work, were eager to please their teacher and received spontaneous applause from their classmates.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

8. A very well-structured mathematics lesson with Year 5 and 6 pupils got off to a swift start, with quick-fire questions on fractions and percentages of two-digit numbers. The teacher carefully explained the main focus of the lesson and set out clearly how this would build on previous learning. The pupils were expected to use correct mathematical terms when explaining their work and skilled questioning by the teacher held the pupils’ attention and enabled him to check on their understanding and adjust the work where necessary.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

9. In a music lesson at Key Stage 2, the teacher’s very good subject knowledge, excellent relationship with the class and sense of fun enabled pupils to achieve a high standard when performing a three-part song, which included harmonising short phrases. A challenging task was presented to Year 3 and 4 pupils in a history lesson exploring the concepts of invasion and settlement in the context of the Anglo-Saxon period. Pupils concentrated hard to assign a Alkborough Primary School - 12 selection of words and phrases to the most appropriate category, questioning one another’s views and checking out details in books and other resource material.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

10. In lessons focusing on developing the pupils’ skills of enquiry such as the lessons seen in history and science at Key Stage 2, pupils were allowed to decide who to work with. This helped to foster the pupils’ independence, and in science, for instance, resulted in some high quality negotiation as Year 5 and 6 pupils adapted their investigations depending on what they discovered at each point. Some of the Year 3 and 4 pupils are at a much earlier stage of maturity and sometimes need a greater level of guidance from the teacher in order to consider and explore the full range of possibilities.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

There is a rich and stimulating curriculum, which promotes an eagerness to learn.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

11. Strong emphasis is given to first-hand experiences, experimentation and discussion. The school capitalises on events that are of immediate interest to the pupils such as the recent major building work on the school site, and harnesses the expertise of local people. For instance, older pupils learned about the importance of accurate measurement, scale, ratio and angles in mathematics as they set about interpreting building plans. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 designed questionnaires to find out about the various skills needed by builders and interviewed elderly residents to seek information about land-use in the past. A local artist has worked with pupils throughout the school to produce an exquisitely detailed three-dimensional map of the village. High quality studies of colour, tone and texture, stimulated by a close examination of building materials and their use in the design of the new extension are attractively displayed around the school. There

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

are beautifully detailed observational drawings of the frontage of the building and still-life compositions of an arrangement of pipes, bricks and tubing showing enormous skill in shading techniques, capturing the contrasts in shape and form.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

12. Visits to places of interest such as the ‘Discovery Centre’ at Cleethorpes, stimulate the pupils’ imagination and result in work of real depth and quality. For example, publicity leaflets written by the oldest pupils skilfully combine the persuasive style of advertising with factual information about sealife. There are well-executed word-processed guides for a ‘House-Keeper’s Tour’ of a local stately home. Pupils talk excitedly about the work linked to these visits and are immensely proud of their achievements.

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Overall, teaching is good, with over half of the lessons observed being very good or excellent

13. The skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) are well fostered through the curriculum. Note-taking skills are practised as older pupils prepare a list of facts to incorporate in their written accounts of the life of Henry VIII. Careful and accurate calculation is central to design and technology projects such as the construction of Tudor houses. Information about changes in pulse rates, before and after different forms of exercise, is recorded on spreadsheets and then presented as a block graph. Younger pupils showed a high level of independence, confidently selecting font styles, print size and layout and delighting in the opportunity to compose a story on screen.

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The headteacher, staff and governors work hard to maintain high standards and teamwork is a

14. The very recently appointed headteacher values the opinions of his colleagues and recognises the school’s strengths. He has quickly gained the trust of the community and his sensitive approach has helped to maintain the strong sense of partnership that pervades the school. Parents appreciate the community atmosphere and speak highly of the personal interest shown to children and their families. Relationships at all levels are very good and there is a firmly Alkborough Primary School - 13 shared commitment to continuing school improvement. Staff and governors carefully analyse data about the school’s performance in relation to other similar schools and are very mindful of ensuring that the pupils have good quality resources and achieve high standards. The governors make effective use of their individual expertise and are well organised and receptive to new ideas. They trust the professional opinions of the headteacher and staff, make regular visits to

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The headteacher, staff and governors work hard to maintain high standards and teamwork is a

keep themselves informed about the school’s work and evaluate with honesty and thoroughness. The school has identified the need to improve the management plan. Governors have been proactive in seeking training in readiness for their greater involvement in the development planning process.

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The headteacher, staff and governors work hard to maintain high standards and teamwork is a

15. The teachers make effective use of their individual subject expertise in science, geography, music and religious education, to the benefit of all pupils. By teaching each age group in the school, the staff broaden their collective knowledge of the pupils and have a good understanding of progress across the curriculum. The contributions of learning support staff and volunteer helpers are highly valued and they feel appreciated. Pupils benefit socially from working with a wider range of people, and academically because of the additional skills and knowledge that these experts bring to art, music and local studies, for example.

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The headteacher, staff and governors work hard to maintain high standards and teamwork is a

The pupils are encouraged to try their best, within a very supportive and caring environment.

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The headteacher, staff and governors work hard to maintain high standards and teamwork is a

16. The school aims are very apparent in its everyday work. Many of the older pupils take responsibility for planning and organising assemblies, write playscripts and produce their own special concerts at Christmas and at the end of the school year. They take initiative in showing younger pupils how to play their parts. Pupils’ performances are confident and self-assured. In general however, some of the older boys are less inclined to take a lead. Musicians often make polite requests to perform set pieces during assemblies and at the end of lessons. Groups of pupils often gather at lunchtimes or during break to practice their recorder playing. The staff welcome pupils’ ideas and facilitate opportunities for them to fulfil their individual ambitions such as arranging for a pupil to have saxophone lessons.

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The headteacher, staff and governors work hard to maintain high standards and teamwork is a

17. Pupils throughout the school are keen to learn, they behave well and contribute enthusiastically to class discussions. They work extremely well in small groups. Older pupils listen respectfully to each other’s ideas, evaluate their work and show a willingness to make changes. The younger ones share equipment fairly, take turns without fuss and help each other with spellings, for instance. Pupils know that they are expected to do their best and are confident to ask for help if it is needed. They feel that their contributions to school and community life are acknowledged and valued. For example, pupils willingly gave up their time during the summer holiday to make a conservation area and to sort out the school library and classrooms following the building work. Younger pupils are given plenty of opportunities to present their work to others during lessons and their efforts are frequently greeted with spontaneous applause.

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The clarity and precision of the school development plan in setting out what needs to be done

to sustain the high standards and to make the quality of teaching and learning even better.

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The clarity and precision of the school development plan in setting out what needs to be done

18. The format of the management plan has improved since the last inspection, but some weaknesses remain. The recently appointed headteacher has begun a thorough audit of the school’s strengths and weaknesses in preparation for drawing up a new plan with the governors and staff. At present, the management plan is too unwieldy. It does not focus enough on the actions that are most likely to result in improving the quality of teaching and learning and Alkborough Primary School - 14 maintaining high standards in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. For instance, major work being undertaken by the staff to improve the quality and standard of boys’ writing, which the school identified as a key priority, is not given enough emphasis in the plan. Although the staff are very clear about the ways in which they are each trying to bring about improvement, insufficient attention is given to criteria for evaluating new initiatives and their

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The clarity and precision of the school development plan in setting out what needs to be done

impact on raising standards. The subject managers for literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) have produced very detailed plans outlining priorities for improvement, but these are not given recognition in the management plan. Initiatives that are likely to have the most impact on improving standards, teaching and learning are not given enough prominence.

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The clarity and precision of the school development plan in setting out what needs to be done

19. Prior to the building alterations, the staff worked in very close proximity to each other, and the headteacher was able to informally monitor the quality of teaching and learning on a day-to-day basis. More stringent evaluation was not considered to be a priority in the management plan, but this informal monitoring is not sufficiently rigorous or clearly focused enough to evaluate the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress and to identify what works and what is less effective. Occasionally, the work is pitched at an inappropriate level for the youngest group of pupils in a mixed-age class, as was the case in a history lesson, where the teacher had to spend an undue amount of time enabling these pupils to succeed. In the current management plan, there is no indication of how the headteacher uses time away from the classroom to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning throughout the school.

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Planning for the National Curriculum foundation subjects and the manageability of the systems

20. The staff have worked conscientiously with another local school to revise planning in the foundation subjects to take account of recent changes in the National Curriculum. They have begun to incorporate some of the nationally recommended programmes of work into these plans, but insufficient attention is being given to the needs of mixed-age classes. At Key Stage 1, sensible adaptations are being made to meet the diverse needs of the pupils and to safeguard the rich and exciting experiences that the school provides by its skilled use of the local environment and expertise within the school community. The teacher identifies precisely what she expects the children to learn from a topic such as ‘Light and Dark’. She selects what she feels is appropriate from the recommended programmes of work to complement her knowledge of the children’s prior learning and her considerable experience of working with these age groups. She

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Planning for the National Curriculum foundation subjects and the manageability of the systems

continually evaluates how well the children are progressing, and their level of interest in the work, and uses this information to refine her planning. This approach provides a good model for ensuring that the school continues to preserve the richness and diversity of learning experiences, which is a strong feature of its work.

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Planning for the National Curriculum foundation subjects and the manageability of the systems

21. The recording systems for tracking the progress of the youngest children are very good. The acquisition of basic literacy and numeracy skills is carefully and succinctly documented to give a clear picture of progress. The teacher and nursery nurse can make effective use of this information to plan the work for each group of children. A simple, brief, but effective record is kept of significant milestones of progress for each child across the other areas of learning. In Key Stages 1 and 2, copious records are maintained of each pupil’s attainment and progress. This is an onerous task, which does not help teachers to group pupils according to their learning needs or give an overview of the attainment and progress of a cohort of pupils within a mixed- age class. Some very thorough work has been done recently to update record keeping systems in mathematics and information and communication technology and this presents an opportunity

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Planning for the National Curriculum foundation subjects and the manageability of the systems

for the school to address the manageability of its record keeping systems. Alkborough Primary School - 15

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

22. In order to build on the considerable strengths of the school and further improve the quality of teaching and learning, the headteacher, staff and governors should now :

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensure that the new school development plan gives sufficient attention to the priorities that are likely to have the most impact on enabling the school to maintain high standards and make the teaching and learning even better; (Reference paragraphs 14, 18, 19.)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• build on the good work in refining curriculum planning that has been started at Key Stage1 and improve the manageability of the record keeping systems. (Reference paragraphs 3,20,21.) Alkborough Primary School - 16

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 6

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 68

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 5

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 7

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 5

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Alkborough Primary School - 17 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 Year Boys Girls Total

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 1999 5 7 12

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Total 10 11 11

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 83 92 92 at NC level 4 or above National 70 69 78

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Total 11 11 12

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 92 92 100 at NC level 4 or above National 68 69 75

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The number of pupils taking the national tests at the end of Key Stage 1 in 1999 was fewer than 10. The test results have not been included in the table above. In the Key Stage 2 tests in 1999, the overall percentage of eleven-year-olds reaching Level 4 and above has been included, but the numbers of boys and girls individually were fewer than 10. Alkborough Primary School - 18 Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers and classes Financial information

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 3.2 Financial year 1999/2000

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 157,038

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 2 Expenditure per pupil 2,454

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 47 Balance brought forward from previous year 5,812

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Balance carried forward to next year 7,271 Alkborough Primary School - 19

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 61 35 0 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 50 47 0 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 34 50 13 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 42 42 13 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 65 32 3 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 71 23 3 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 40 38 19 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 48 44 0 0 8

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 61 36 0 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 22 38 34 0 6

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