Summer Lane Primary

SUMMER LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 5 th – 8 th March, 2001

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SUMMER LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection number: 230245 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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SUMMER LANE 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. Summer Lane Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Summer Lane Barnsley South Yorkshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs A. Watson

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: Not applicable Summer Lane Primary School - 5

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

21285 Mr F. Carruthers Registered inspector Information and communication technology Music Religious education The Foundation Stage Equal opportunities What sort of school is it? How high are standards? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

9348 Mrs M. LeMage Lay inspector The pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?: the pupils’ personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? How well is the school led and managed: staffing?: accommodation and learning resources 30205 Miss T. Kenna Team inspector Mathematics Art and design Design and technology How well are the pupils taught?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

25509 Mrs J. Clarke Team inspector English Geography History How well is the school led and managed?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

7994 Mrs P. Weston Team inspector Science Physical education Special educational needs How good are the curricular and other opportunities? Summer Lane Primary School - 6 The inspection contractor was:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

85 Shores Green Drive Wincham Northwich Cheshire CW9 6EJ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Summer Lane Primary School - 7

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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? 11

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

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 28

Summer Lane Primary School - 8 Summer Lane Primary School - 9

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Summer Lane Primary School opened in September 1999 as an amalgamation of St Matthews Infants School and Keir Street Junior School. There are 295 pupils on roll aged three to 11, including 51 part-time children in the nursery. There is a wide mix of social backgrounds among the pupils’ families. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is in line with the national average. There are very few pupils from minority ethnic background and none is in the early stages of learning English. There are 21 pupils on the school’s register of pupils with special educational needs and this is below average for schools nationally. Five pupils have statements of special educational need. There are three intakes of children into the reception class and their attainment on entry is average. The headteacher was unwell and on long-term absence at the time of the inspection. He was the headteacher of the former junior school. The deputy headteacher is acting as

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

headteacher, with a teacher seconded from another school supporting her in this role and teaching her class of Year 2 pupils. The school is involved in the pilot of a local project supporting less able pupils in Year 1 and an inter-schools project using information and communication technology (ICT) with more able pupils in Years 5 and 6.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory. Standards achieved by pupils at the age of 11 last year were low but current standards in Year 6 are better, thanks to improved teaching and new initiatives. Pupils’ attainment in reading, mathematics and science is similar to that found nationally but below in writing. The quality of teaching and learning, which has been adversely affected by staff absences in the past, is improving and is now good. Leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. In the absence of the headteacher, the deputy headteacher is effectively taking the school forward and is ably supported by the governing body. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Standards achieved by pupils at the age of seven and 11 in design and technology are above those expected of pupils at these ages. • The progress made by pupils with special educational needs is good. • The quality of teaching and learning is good and there are initiatives, such as the Intervention Project in Year 1, that support pupils’ learning well. • The quality and breadth of the curriculum throughout the school, and in particular in the Foundation Stage, are good. • Links with parents are developing well. • The leadership provided by the deputy headteacher in the absence of the headteacher is moving the school forward well and is giving the new school a sense of identity and purpose. The teamwork of staff and governors is developing well.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Standards in English, mathematics and science by the age of seven and 11 should be higher. • There are insufficient opportunities for older pupils to take on responsibilities. • Planning in the nursery should be developed further to include a focus on the progress of the youngest children, given the short time they spend in the nursery and reception classes. • Procedures to assess pupils’ attainment and how well the information is used to plan work for the pupils are inconsistent across the school. • There are weaknesses in the management of the school. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

This is the first inspection of the amalgamated school. Summer Lane Primary School - 10

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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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STANDARDS

Performance in: All schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Results in the 2000 national tests, the first for the newly amalgamated school, were very low compared with similar schools. There are a number of reasons to account for them. The amalgamation of two schools occupying buildings in separate parts of the district into one was difficult and there was quite a high turnover of senior staff. Further staff absences, some very recent, have led to classes being taught by temporary teachers whose quality has been variable. These circumstances were largely beyond the control of the school. Standards are beginning to rise as the pattern to school life settles and new initiatives are put in place. Targets of 70 per cent of pupils to achieve the nationally expected level in English and mathematics are being revised upwards in the light of the clear progress the pupils are making. In the current Year 6, standards in reading, mathematics and science are broadly in line with those of pupils nationally. In writing, they are below expectations and this was evident in a

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STANDARDS

scrutiny of pupils’ work. Whereas the pupils read fluently, their writing lacks variations of style and interesting vocabulary. Overall, pupils, including the most able, achieve satisfactorily but they could be doing better. Pupils with special educational needs, especially those with statements of special educational need, achieve well. This is because of the good support they receive. Attainment in design and technology is good. In all other subjects, including ICT and religious education, standards are average. Pupils aged seven achieve standards in reading, writing, mathematics and science in line with those expected of pupils nationally. Attainment in design and technology is good. In all other subjects it is average. Pupils’ achievement in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory and could be better.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Attitudes are generally satisfactory. Children in the Foundation Stage are very keen on school. Older pupils have satisfactory attitudes to school and often good attitudes to the activities in lessons.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Overall, behaviour is satisfactory. Pupils behave well in lessons and this is because staff are skilful at managing their behaviour. There have been no exclusions in the past year. Behaviour in the playground is satisfactory but in corridors during break and lunchtimes it is unsatisfactory. The school is taking steps to improve this aspect.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Pupils’ personal development is satisfactory though older pupils have few opportunities to take responsibility in school. Relationships between pupils and staff and among pupils are good.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Levels of attendance are satisfactory and in the first half of the current school year, the level of unauthorised absence has fallen significantly. Summer Lane Primary School - 11

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Lessons seen overall Good 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 AND LEARNING

Overall, 20 per cent of teaching is very good, 48 per cent is good and 33 per cent is satisfactory. There is no unsatisfactory teaching. Teachers display good subject knowledge, manage the pupils well and vary the activities in lessons so that the work is interesting and demanding. However, in the past, not all lessons have been taught to the good standards currently evident. This is because the expertise of temporary teachers has been variable and this has had a significant impact on some pupils’ learning and achievements. The teaching of literacy and numeracy throughout the school is good and there are new initiatives, such as the Intervention Project in Year 1, ‘reading partners’ in Years 1 and 2 and grouping the pupils by their attainment into smaller classes in Year 6. The full impact of these initiatives is yet to be seen in national test results. Pupils with special educational needs are taught well by both teachers and support staff. They also benefit from the new initiatives

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

the school is introducing. Pupils are interested in lessons and the great majority show good levels of concentration. The pace of lessons is good and pupils put in a good deal of effort and energy. The pupils’ awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses in skills and knowledge is not developed sufficiently.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum There is a good range of learning opportunities provided for pupils. For example, children in the Foundation Stage enjoy a rich and varied curriculum. Pupils benefit from good provision in music. ICT is used well in other subjects such as science, geography and history. There is a good range of outside visits arranged. However, the youngest children have a very limited amount of time in nursery and the reception class. This hinders their progress. The progress of some pupils has been adversely affected by staffing problems and staff absences since amalgamation of the two schools.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is good. The teachers plan work for these pupils well and use support assistants well, so that the pupils make good progress. The pupils are well integrated into all activities.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language There are very few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and none is at the early stages of learning English. Support from the local education authority’s services is available and used when appropriate.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision is satisfactory overall and good for the pupils’ cultural development. Teachers set good examples and are good role models, promoting Christian values. Subjects such as art, music and history contribute well to the pupils’ understanding of local and wider culture.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils This is satisfactory overall and is a balance of some strengths and some weaknesses. New initiatives, including the introduction of personal and social education in the form of Circle Time and training for midday supervisors, are helping to improve behaviour around school. There are good initiatives such as the Intervention Project to support the pupils’ academic progress. However, procedures to assess the pupils’ progress are inconsistent across the school and the information gathered is not used well enough to plan work for pupils. Summer Lane Primary School - 12 Links with parents are developing well and parents are involved in supporting pupils in their work at home and in class.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. This is a balance of strengths and weaknesses. In the absence of the headteacher, the deputy headteacher is providing good leadership and direction for the school. She is well supported by the governing body and local education authority in the role and there is a strong commitment from everyone to improve standards and provision. There is no senior management structure in place, however, to support the school when difficulties arise. Subject co-ordinators have training needs, especially in relation to monitoring standards and provision in their subjects. As yet, there is no longer-term strategic plan for the school’s development.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The contribution of the governing body to the work of the school is good. Governors have a clear view of the school and its development and are setting out an agenda for improvement.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance This is satisfactory. Staff are beginning to identify strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ attainment but the monitoring of teaching is in its early stages of development.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources Grants, such as those to improve the buildings, are used well. The school is active in seeking good value for money by comparing prices and evaluating the success of purchases.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Staffing levels are satisfactory and the number of support assistants is increasing. However, the staffing situation has not been stable since amalgamation and this has largely been the result of circumstances beyond the control of the school. The accommodation is good, especially developments in the nursery building. The quality and quantity of learning resources are good but there are too few reference books in the junior library.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • The pupils make good progress • Teaching is good • Pupils are expected to work hard and achieve well • Parents feel comfortable approaching school with problems or concerns. • Parents would like more information about how their children are doing in school • They do not feel the school works closely enough with parents • The range of activities outside lessons is limited • A minority of parents were concerned about standards of pupils’ attainment at the age of 11 • Some parents were concerned about the quality of teaching in some classes where there has been disruption caused by staff absences • Some parents were concerned about playground behaviour at dinner times.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Inspectors find that standards that the pupils achieve should be higher and that the school is taking the necessary steps to make this happen. The school is making good progress developing links with parents and consultation arrangements about pupils’ progress. It has prioritised correctly the raising of standards at this crucial stage of the school’s development, rather than offering more extra-curricular activities. It is improving supervision at dinner times, through training for supervisors. Supported by the local education authority, it is doing as much as it can to limit the impact of staff absences on pupils’ progress. Summer Lane Primary School - 13

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. There is a new intake of children each term into the nursery. The attainment of the children on entry is wide in range and is average overall. All the children make good progress while they are in the nursery, because of the good quality of teaching and provision. The longer they spend there, the more they achieve. Their attainment on entry to the reception class, which may be in the September, January or April of the year in which they are five according to when their birthday falls, is broadly average. A few children are above average. The children who spend two or three terms in the reception class make good progress and most achieve all the Early Learning Goals. Some achieve beyond them and are working within Level 1 of the National Curriculum as they enter Year 1. However, through no fault of the school, summer-born children spend less time in the nursery and reception classes, often only two terms in the nursery and one in the reception class. This has a

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

significant impact on their overall progress and few achieve the Early Learning Goals before they start in Year 1. This affects their achievement throughout the infant years, where they are ‘catching up’.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. In the 2000 national tests for seven-year-olds, standards were in line with the national average in reading and writing and well below average in mathematics. Teachers’ assessments of attainment in science showed that pupils were achieving above the national average. Results in reading, writing and mathematics show that few pupils achieved higher than the average expected of seven-year-olds. Indeed many only barely achieved the expected level. This is partly the result of the difficulties that the youngest children in each year group face as they go through the infant years. In order to compensate for this, the infant staff are involved in two initiatives, a pilot Intervention Project and ‘reading partners’. Standards are rising as a result. In reading, writing and mathematics, more pupils are working at and above the expected level in the current Year 2 than last year. Standards in science are

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. Standards in the 2000 national tests for 11-year-olds were well below the national average in English, mathematics and science. There were a number of circumstances which led to a difficult year for the school. The amalgamation of the two schools proved difficult as the juniors finally moved from their old building to the new school in the middle of the autumn term 1999. Also a number of teachers left the school with temporary teachers taking their place. The school has worked hard to evaluate the school’s strengths and weaknesses and to support areas it acknowledged as needing development. The attainment of pupils in the current Year 6 is rising in all three subjects but as yet it is not high enough.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. A number of initiatives have begun, especially in Years 5 and 6, to push up standards. These include

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• the grouping of pupils by attainment in Year 6 in English and mathematics lessons • employing a third teacher to teach Year 5 as a smaller class at the same time • making improvements in how writing is taught • employing more classroom assistants • taking positive action to improve areas of weakness in the subjects and • providing revision classes in science. Summer Lane Primary School - 14 The impact of these is yet to be fully felt but standards are now broadly in line with the national average in reading, mathematics and science. Targets had been set some time ago for 70 per cent of pupils in the current Year 6 to achieve the nationally expected level in both English and mathematics. These are being revised upwards in the light of the progress the pupils are clearly making.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. In Year 6, standards of speaking and listening are generally good and most pupils read fluently and enjoy books. Writing skills are underdeveloped. Stories lack interesting and imaginative vocabulary and the accuracy of spelling and punctuation is very variable. In mathematics, most pupils have satisfactory skills of mental arithmetic and can apply their knowledge to solve problems. In science, pupils use scientific vocabulary confidently and understand key concepts in their study of light, electricity and the human body.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Because the staff use skills of English and mathematics well in other subjects, standards of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum are satisfactory and sometimes good. For instance in science, the pupils have a clear procedure to follow when they write about their investigations and they use their skills of data handling to record the results. Standards of writing in other subjects, however, are more variable.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress, in particular in personal and social skills and language and listening skills. They make good progress towards the targets set for them in their individual educational plans, especially in English and mathematics. The introduction of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies has had a positive effect on the pupils’ attainments. Pupils benefit from the many strategies which the school is taking part in. A good number of these pupils are achieving just below the level expected of all pupils by the end of Year 6 in English mathematics and science. The very few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds make similar progress to all pupils.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Attainment in information and communication technology (ICT) is similar to that found in most schools. The pupils’ skills are improving at a fast rate, however, because of the introduction of powerful new software and access to the Internet. This is most evident in Years 5 and 6. Attainment in religious education matches the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus and pupils have a satisfactory appreciation of the main elements of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths. Attainment in design and technology is above that expected of pupils at the age of seven and 11. Pupils plan, make and evaluate the tasks they are given well. Attainment in all other subjects is in line with expectations for the age range.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. The attitudes, values and personal development of pupils are satisfactory. Pupils have very good attitudes to their learning in the Foundation Stage and are very interested and involved in all the activities available to them. In other classes, the pupils have satisfactory attitudes to school. They generally show good interest in activities in class. They settle to the tasks set, and most answer readily and concentrate well in lessons. Pupils are able to work independently in literacy and numeracy, help and support each other appropriately and also work effectively in pairs and small groups. Pupils with special educational needs have a positive attitude to their work and make good gains in self- confidence.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. Behaviour in the school is satisfactory. The great majority of pupils behave well in lessons and this is due, in part, to the good level of skill in managing pupils demonstrated by the teaching staff. When a small minority of pupils behave inappropriately in lessons, the teachers deal with it very quickly and effectively. This skill in managing behaviour has a positive impact on the achievements of the pupils as Summer Lane Primary School - 15 it ensures maximum time is spent on the task in hand. A minority of parents expressed concern about the standard of behaviour at lunchtime. Inspectors found behaviour to be satisfactory in the dining hall, although noisy, and also satisfactory in the playground. It is boisterous and even robust, but harmonious. There were no incidents of bullying seen during the inspection and there have been no exclusions in the past twelve months. Behaviour in the corridors during break and lunchtimes is

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

unsatisfactory, with a significant number of pupils running and shouting in their eagerness to get outside, or bringing inappropriate behaviour back into the building.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Relationships in the school are good. Pupils relate well to all adults they encounter during the school day. They give a friendly welcome to visitors, and are polite and generally courteous. There was a good degree of social and racial harmony observed between pupils and they have good cooperative skills when working together in pairs.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. The personal development of pupils is satisfactory. The recent implementation of Circle Time throughout the school is enabling pupils to develop an increasing awareness of and respect for the feelings, values and beliefs of others and aims to help them understand the impact of their actions on others. However, opportunities for pupils to use their initiative or take personal responsibility, both in their learning and in contributing to the life of the school, are underdeveloped. There are some very new initiatives, such as a suggestion box for pupils, addressing this area and others are planned.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Attendance at the school is satisfactory although it is slightly below the national average. A very small number of pupils contribute significantly to the rate of absence in the school. These pupils are closely monitored by the school and in the first half of the current school year the level of unauthorised absence has fallen significantly. Parents report that pupils enjoy coming to school and most arrive promptly at the start of the school day.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

14. The quality of teaching is good. This is true of teaching in the Foundation Stage, the infant and junior-aged classes. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed during the inspection. The quality of learning is similarly good throughout the school, with the same proportions of very good, good and satisfactory learning taking place. Teaching has been adversely affected, however, by staff absences since the school opened. Not all lessons have been taught to the same good standard and this was evident in a scrutiny of pupils’ work since last September. The expertise of temporary teachers has been variable and this has had a significant impact on pupils’ achievements and results in national tests. At the time of the inspection, as a result of staff absence and difficulty in obtaining temporary teachers, the local education authority supported the school by seconding two temporary teachers to the school. One was on long-term cover to teach the deputy headteacher’s class and assist her in a

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

senior management role during the absence of the head teacher. The other was seconded for the duration of the inspection, helping to cover a teacher absent on maternity leave.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

15. During the inspection, the teaching was characterised by good subject knowledge; knowledge of pupils’ learning needs and the quality of relationships with the pupils. As a result, lessons are generally planned well, enabling pupils to make progress. In lessons that are good or better, teachers use a range of varied activities geared to exactly what they want the pupils to learn. Pupils are generally clear about what is expected of them both in their learning and behaviour. Most pupils respond well to the teaching and put effort into their work. They apply themselves, concentrate and persevere.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

16. The teaching of children in the nursery and reception classes is never less than satisfactory. Seventy-four per cent of lessons were good or better, of which 12 per cent were very good. The Summer Lane Primary School - 16 curriculum is well balanced and provides a rich variety of learning opportunities for the age group. However, younger children’s experience of this positive learning environment is limited by the amount of time they spend in the Foundation Stage, which can be as little as three terms in total. Teachers form very good relationships with the children and have well-established routines so that the children move happily between activities. Sharing the story “Peace at last” with children in the nursery, the nursery nurse used voice, facial expression and amusing actions to good effect, bringing the text to life. Children had good levels of independent working when they tackled activities relating to the story.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

17. The quality of teaching in infant-aged classes is never less than satisfactory. Of the lessons observed, 63 per cent were good or better, of which 16 per cent were very good. In the best lessons, teachers plan activities to ensure that learning opportunities are provided for all levels of ability. In a Year 1 mathematics lesson, the good support from a classroom assistant helped pupils with special educational needs to achieve well. Teachers set clear and high expectations, which ensure that pupils through challenging activities are able to learn more successfully. This was evident in a mathematics lesson with Year 2 pupils in which they consolidated and developed their knowledge of number bonds, adding tens to one hundred and strategies for adding 3 digits. In satisfactory lessons, weaknesses usually related to the pace of the lesson, resulting in rushing the final part of the lesson, and insufficiently sustained concentration. All lessons had strengths, however. A Year1 religious education

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

lesson, for example, provided good opportunities developing skills of literacy. Pupils read the days of the week from the board and the discussion of the topic supported the development of their speaking and listening skills.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

18. The quality of teaching in junior-aged classes is satisfactory or better in all lessons observed. Sixty- eight per cent were good or better, of which 20 per cent were very good. Teachers recognise the importance of a positive beginning and end to lessons. In a Year 6 English lesson on the understanding of how the passage of time is conveyed to the reader, the teacher set clear objectives that helped the pupils to understand the purpose of the lesson. Effective questioning and prompts brought out good responses from pupils about the story, for instance that a guru is a teacher. The final part of the lesson was used well to consolidate the pupils’ reading, speaking and punctuation skills. The best teachers motivate and engage the pupils through their own enthusiasm and sound subject knowledge. This was the case in a Year 3 design and technology lesson. The whole class was given the task of designing a

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

container to certain criteria. The enthusiasm and interest of the teacher sustained the pupils’ interest over a series of lessons culminating in all achieving their objectives, including a pupil with special educational needs who did so without support. Teachers provide a range of interesting and challenging activities that motivate pupils to work conscientiously in order to achieve the clearly identified learning objectives. On the few occasions when there are weak features in lessons, there is insufficient pace, resulting in some pupils becoming restless and limited learning taking place.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

19. Throughout the school, teachers use a combination of whole-class, group and individual teaching methods appropriately in both mixed ability classes and grouping by prior attainment. This happens in Year 6 for Numeracy and Literacy lessons. Some of these arrangements have been only recently established. They account, however, for much of the improvement in standards evident in classes currently. These arrangements provide opportunities for pupils to work co-operatively, in pairs or small groups. Boys and girls are given equal attention.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20. The teaching of English and mathematics is good throughout the school. The teachers effectively use the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. They use nationally recommended guidance well to plan interesting and often challenging lessons in other subjects. This was seen in a design and technology lesson in Year 2 where pupils were challenged to design and build their own model of a house. All were very enthusiastic and took great interest in the task set. Summer Lane Primary School - 17 21. Teachers provide good support for pupils with special educational needs. Work is planned to match each pupil's individual targets and good use is made of support staff. Sometimes this support is individual but on other occasions pupils are taught as part of a small group and this good practice helps the pupils to be included. The arrangement in Year 6 whereby class sizes are reduced three mornings a week provides good support for less able pupils and those with special educational needs. Additional

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

support staff is also available for mixed-age classes, and this provides additional support for pupils in these classes. Pupils with a statement of special educational need receive very good support from their assistants and this, coupled with the good teaching strategies used in for example, an Intervention Project in Year 1 and additional literacy groups, provides good structured support for these pupils. Pupils who are withdrawn for part of the literacy and numeracy hours follow a similar lesson plan in their sessions. Staff know their pupils well and all the work set is adapted to take account of the various ability levels of the pupils, and to provide the right blend of challenge. Every effort is made to ensure that pupils realise their full potential, recognising strengths as well as weaknesses.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22. Throughout their day-to-day work, teachers assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding and give pupils immediate feedback and praise. Misconceptions or difficulties are either handled immediately or followed up in the next lesson. There is insufficient involvement, however, of pupils in setting their own targets for improvement.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

23. The quality of the displays in most classrooms and corridors is good and enhances the learning environment. Good examples were observed of the use of homework to re-enforce and extend learning. For example in the Foundation Stage and infant classes, good use was made of homework to support literacy. In junior classes it was used to consolidate part of the Numeracy Strategy. Homework is liked and well supported by families. It is appropriate in amount, although some families would like to see more.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

24. The curriculum reflects the school's aims well and provides a good range of learning opportunities. The school constantly considers the need to match curricular opportunities appropriate to the broad range of pupils' needs and this is highlighted by the number of school-based initiatives that the school has successfully embarked upon. In Year 1, the pilot Intervention Project and reading partners are providing good additional support for the teaching of literacy. Both these initiatives provide targeted support for pupils and enrich the overall curriculum. In junior-aged classes, the school has successfully adopted the programme of additional support for literacy. These sessions are structured well and provide good support for pupils identified as needing extra help. The Literacy and Numeracy Strategies are further boosted by the support staff in the two mixed-aged classes and an additional teacher for

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

three mornings per week in Years 5 and 6. This enables three smaller teaching to be formed in these year groups.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

25. Planning in the Foundation Stage is well matched to the recommended areas of learning for the age group. In infant and junior age groups, all subjects other than English and mathematics are planned over a two-year cycle and have schemes of work, which have been suitably adapted to follow national guidance and the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus in religious education. These schemes ensure balance and learning in progressive steps. Lessons are planned well to meet the needs of all pupils with assessment ongoing in the lessons, although not always formalised. A good start has been made in updating policy documents following the amalgamation of the two schools and the introduction of Curriculum 2000. However, many are still in draft form. Summer Lane Primary School - 18 26. The school has made good progress in developing curricular opportunities, particularly in English, mathematics, science and ICT. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies have been

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

successfully introduced and there is good practice in both infant and junior-aged classes. The Foundation Stage is well planned to take account of the recommended areas of learning for this age group. These factors contribute towards teaching standards overall being good.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

27. Whilst the school makes a very good effort to ensure that all pupils are included in the curriculum provided, there are aspects of equality of opportunity that are unsatisfactory. Summer-born children do not have a sufficient length of time and experience in the nursery and reception classes. This dilutes the good provision that is available in the Foundation Stage and hinders the children’s progress. In addition, some pupils have had a number of temporary teachers covering staff absences since the new school opened and this has hindered their progress.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

28. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. The recommendations of the Code of Practice for these pupils are effectively implemented. Teachers and support staff make good use of pupils' individual plans and targets when planning their work. Support for pupils with English as an additional language is available from the local education authority when appropriate.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

29. Personal, social and health education is carefully planned and forms an important part of the curriculum. Sex education and drugs awareness are appropriately taught with support from, for example, the police, as part of their drugs awareness initiative. Good relationships are encouraged throughout the school. Healthy living is well promoted in science and physical education lessons.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

30. The school provides a good range of additional opportunities which extend and enrich the learning of the pupils. There is teaching of brass instruments through the peripatetic music service and the additional support of a pianist to assist with music throughout the school. Christmas, concerts are shared with the wider community. Visiting theatre groups and performers visit the school and the Performing Arts Department of the local education authority offers support in the development of dance, drama and music. There are many planned educational visits to give pupils first hand experience, such as to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park where pupils are given the opportunity to practise their skills. There is an annual residential visit for the older pupils in Key Stage 2. This offers good challenge to pupils and has a positive effect on their personal development.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

31. Over the school year there are held a variety of after-school clubs, although there were few in operation at the time of the inspection. A particularly good example of a successful club is the computer club, which aims to improve independent learning, speaking and listening and problem-solving skills of a small group of able pupils in Years 5 and 6.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

32. There are many links with the local community and they make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. Clergy from two different denominations visit the school regularly. The pupils are given the opportunity to visit the local Further Education College where, for example, they are given the chance to experience building a wall using 'real' bricks. Links with the local secondary school provide good opportunities for teachers to exchange information about the curriculum and pupils’ progress at the time of transfer. On a day visit a competition is organised for all associated primary schools to compete in. There is a work pack which is partly completed by the pupils in their own school and finally completed during the first two weeks at the secondary school. All these initiatives assist the smooth progression from one school to another. Summer Lane Primary School - 19 33. Provision for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is satisfactory

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

overall. Circle time is now timetabled throughout the school and is intended to provide increasing opportunities for pupils to consider and explore their own responses to all aspects of their personal development.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

34. Provision for the spiritual development of the pupils is satisfactory. Collective worship takes place daily and the school welcomes clergy from local churches who regularly lead assemblies. These promote Christian values and provide opportunities for pupils to reflect and consider issues such as human needs beyond the physical, for example, the value of friendship and teamwork.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

35. The provision for pupils' moral development is satisfactory. Teachers set a good example and use incidents that arise in order to teach the difference between right and wrong and encourage and reward good behaviour. Pupils are taught to respect the rights of others, such as when listening to others in whole-class sessions, to respect property and to handle resources carefully. All pupils are involved in setting the rules in their particular classroom. The pupils are honest and co-operative and their awareness of people less fortunate than themselves is raised through charitable initiatives promoted by the school.

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

36. The provision for social development is satisfactory. Good social relationships are encouraged in the classroom and through a wide range of visits out of school, including a residential visit for pupils in Year 6. Good features of social development are the baking and sharing of a birthday cake each week in the infant classes, and the opportunity in 'Golden time' for older pupils to read to younger children. However, there are too few opportunities for pupils to take responsibility, or show initiative in the daily organisation of the school, although further opportunities are planned. Pupils are encouraged by example as well as instruction, to help and care for each other. Pupils with special educational needs are well integrated and accepted by other pupils and play satisfactorily in the playground. In the classroom, they receive the care they need alongside others and are encouraged to participate fully in

p.19

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

37. Provision for the pupils' cultural development is good. Pupils have access to a good range of multi-cultural literature in the class libraries and multi-cultural texts are used very regularly in the classroom in literacy lessons. The music provision in the school, including the wide range of music used in assemblies, supports the cultural development of the pupils well. The school brings in visitors and the pupils' families well to broaden pupils' experiences of art and life from the 1930s onwards and life in other cultures. The good use made of the local environment to support the curriculum, both within walking distance and further afield, gives pupils a strong sense of local identity and culture.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. Arrangements to ensure pupils' welfare, health and safety are satisfactory. The school environment is one in which pupils feel safe, secure and valued. All statutory checks are undertaken, safety is given high priority in lessons and the general welfare of pupils is well catered for in the daily life of the school. The inspectors identified a number of minor health and safety issues and these have been reported to the school orally.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. Child protection procedures are satisfactory and all staff are aware of the procedures. However, owing to a staff absence, there is no one in the school with recent training in child protection. Summer Lane Primary School - 20 40. The school carries out all statutory assessment requirements and reports the results to parents. In addition to statutory assessment a range of other assessment procedures exist in the school but there is no consistency of practice across the classes and some, more structured, assessment procedures have only been introduced very recently. The procedures which are in place concentrate on assessing attainment and the development of these procedures to monitor progress is less evident. Tracking of individual pupils' progress is at a very early stage of development and as yet there is no process to set individual targets for pupils. Methods of assessment are too recently implemented in the

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

school to influence curricular planning and as a result information to support temporary teachers in planning work appropriately matched to the pupils' needs is inadequate. Overall, the monitoring of pupils' academic performance and personal development is unsatisfactory.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. The support and guidance for pupils' educational and personal development are satisfactory. Attendance is monitored regularly and the school works closely with the education welfare officer on isolated cases of poor attendance. The systems in the school to monitor behaviour and promote desired behaviour are satisfactory. This term there is training for midday supervisors to develop their skills of interaction with and control of pupils and this is helping to improve pupils’ behaviour at lunchtime, a cause of concern to some parents. There are a number of new initiatives in school, in particular, the implementation of Circle Time throughout the school, but their long-term effects are untested as yet. The academic progress of pupils is supported and monitored through largely informal means as the assessment procedures are not yet embedded in the school and pupils' knowledge of their own learning

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. The school is very responsive to the needs of specific individuals or groups of pupils and uses a variety of initiatives to address their needs, including the Intervention Project in Year 1. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported by their teachers and staff. Teachers plan work to meet pupils' needs in a range of lessons well. All support is well planned to take account of the provision outlined in the pupils’ statements and individual education plans. The school makes good use of a range of visiting specialists. There is a very effective and consistent procedure for placing pupils on the register for special educational needs. This is known to all staff and ably implemented by the special educational needs co-ordinator in collaboration with class teachers. Pupils’ targets are reviewed regularly and when necessary further assessment and advice are sought from relevant outside

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

43. The effectiveness of the partnership between the school and parents is good and parents are pleased with the school's provision and achievements. Parents are most pleased with the high expectations the school has of the children, the progress their children make at school and the quality of teaching they receive. Parents also feel very comfortable to approach the school with a question or a problem. The inspection evidence broadly supports the positive views of the parents.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

44. A significant minority of parents, however, are dissatisfied with the range of activities available outside of lessons, do not feel well informed about how their child is progressing and do not feel that the school works closely with parents. There were some further concerns expressed about the standards of attainment by the age of 11 and the quality of teaching in some classes where there has been disruption caused by staff absences. Inspection evidence does not support the parents' view that the school does not work closely with parents. Links are developing well. Inspectors found standards of work are rising but should be better across the school. The quality of teaching was good throughout the inspection. However, through no fault of the school, the consistency of the quality of teaching has been adversely affected by staff absences in the past. The range of activities available outside of

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

Summer Lane Primary School - 21 lessons is very limited at present, but inspectors consider that the school is prioritising correctly at the moment, with the aim of raising standards and developing provision in lessons, given the staffing difficulties, which the school faces.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

45. The quality of information provided for parents is satisfactory. Links with parents in the nursery and reception classes when the children start school are good. The prospectus is informative and comprehensive and there is regular contact with parents through a variety of means, including reading diaries, monthly newsletters and the half termly newsletter about the curriculum in each class. These newsletters are of high quality and indicate ways in which parents can support their children's learning at home. In addition there is an annual meeting about the curriculum for each class, an annual consultation meeting and the school operates an open-door policy which enables parents to arrange an appointment with their child's class teacher at any time during the year.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. Parents receive an annual report on their children's progress. All reports cover all subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education explicitly and are never less than satisfactory although their quality is not consistent across the school. Most give good descriptions of what the pupil knows and understands in English, mathematics and science, but only the better ones report explicitly on progress and set targets for the pupil for the following term. In other subjects, the reports frequently highlight pupils' experiences rather than the progress they make in their learning. In part this is a consequence of the early stage of development of assessment in the school. This also results in reports making no reference to attainment in relation to National Curriculum levels except when national test results are reported in English, mathematics and science at the end of Years 2 and 6.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are kept fully informed and involved in the progress of their children. They are invited to discuss their child's individual education plan and to provide additional support at home if possible. Reports, completed by staff, are shared with parents at parents' evening. Because of the number of temporary teachers, there have been occasions when this has not run as smoothly as the co-ordinator would wish. However once alerted to any shortcomings, steps have swiftly been taken to rectify any difficulties.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. The Friends of Summer Lane School group has already raised a significant amount of money for resources. A number of parents help voluntarily in school on a regular basis, especially in specific initiatives such as ‘reading partners’ and more respond to specific needs such as baking Christmas cakes and making costumes for productions. The school has begun to seek the views of parents across the whole spectrum of school development.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. This newly amalgamated school has had to overcome significant hurdles since its beginning eighteen months ago. Difficulties experienced by the school have been largely beyond its control. The headteacher has been absent much of the time since the amalgamation and was absent at the time of the inspection. This has been an unsatisfactory situation. There has also been an unsettled period for some pupils with a number of temporary staff taking classes throughout the school. The impact of this has been felt and shown through the inconsistency of behaviour and work of some pupils. Parents are concerned about this. The school is finding the availability of temporary teachers increasingly difficult with the consequence that vital staff training has had to be cancelled through lack of good quality staff to take teachers’ classes. The amalgamation itself presented difficulties as the building was not ready at the beginning of

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

the school year, 1999 -2000. This meant the headteacher managing a split-site school until the eventual move of the juniors two months later. Summer Lane Primary School - 22 50. The acting headteacher, who was initially seconded to the school as a deputy headteacher, has effectively led the school during the headteacher’s absence. She has been ably assisted by a supportive governing body. The leadership provided by the acting headteacher is good. She gives a clear direction for the development and improvement of the school and has initiated and followed through many new strategies during the initial phase of the amalgamation. She has effectively managed the transition from two very different schools to one united school. The quality, hard work and commitment of the staff owe much to her leadership and the good support of the committed governing body. Together they have succeeded in creating a unified school where the central ideas of

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

improvement and raising standards encourage the pupils to be both proud of themselves and their school. They have worked hard to create a climate in which every member of the school feels valued as an individual and part of the community. Relationships in the school are good, pupils are learning to work together and to appreciate each other. They are growing in confidence and are striving to work hard. There is a positive ethos, which reflects the school’s commitment to achieve higher educational standards and prepare the pupils well for a life in the wider world.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. The management structure of the school is at present unsatisfactory. In the absence of the headteacher, the acting headteacher has shouldered the responsibility of the school alone. The proposed senior management review was not finalised. The local education authority has seconded an experienced teacher from another school to support the acting headteacher. After being approached by the school, the local education authority brought in an experienced and effective teacher to take a class normally taught by an absent temporary teacher. The governing body is concerned about the lack of a senior management team within the school and is looking to appoint a seconded, experienced deputy headteacher to support the acting headteacher. This position along with the promotion of members of staff within the school is intended to enable senior managers to have a wider strategic overview of the school.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. The management of the provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. Good use is made of assessment data and test information to identify pupils with special educational needs and to set targets in individual education plans. Provision for pupils with special educational needs permeates the school's organisation and curricular structures and practices in the school. The level of classroom support is good and meets the needs of the pupils. The co-ordinator, teachers and educational support staff work closely together and this contributes to the progress made by pupils.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. The school has implemented the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies well, and continually monitors their impact. As a result of the 2000 national tests for seven and 11 year-olds the school recognised the need to group the pupils in Years 5 and 6 by their attainment for their Literacy and Numeracy lessons and to focus on writing throughout the school. In this way the school has retained its emphasis on reading and ensured good coverage of writing. Subject co-ordinators are enthusiastic managers of their subjects; all have written a review statement, which outlines the position of their subject. Policy documents and schemes of work are being evaluated before their finalisation and approval by the governing body. Co-ordinators have not yet monitored teaching in their subjects through the school. They recognise that this is a vital area for them to develop as they all have worked, prior to amalgamation in single key stage schools, so they have only a limited experience of the

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

development of pupils in a full primary school. The acting headteacher has arranged curriculum co- ordination training through the local education authority for the staff and all are eager to extend their roles further. Staff have begun to moderate pieces of the pupils’ written work and this is enabling them to develop an understanding of the strengths and areas for development throughout the whole of the school. Assessment procedures are also a priority for co-ordinators, as in some subjects assessments are newly in place and have yet to be evaluated and in other subjects there are no procedures. Summer Lane Primary School - 23 54. The monitoring of teaching is in its early stages of development. The substantive headteacher, the acting headteacher, the local authority adviser and the English co-ordinator have all monitored lessons in the school. The acting headteacher works alongside staff and has a clear overview of the

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

strengths and areas for development of the staff team.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The contribution of the governing body to the work of the school is good. The governing body fulfils its statutory responsibilities satisfactorily. Governors have helped the acting headteacher to steer the school through its important early stages as a primary school. They take their responsibility seriously and are committed to improvements. They have been instrumental in appointing staff to effect improvements and initiatives within the school, for example the employment of a teacher to enable the Years 5 and 6 pupils to be taught literacy and numeracy in smaller groups. They are kept well informed and the work of the different committees of the governing body is thorough. The governors have a clear view of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and work hard to look at a range of options and strategies for the different management problems they face. The Chair works closely with the substantive headteacher, the acting headteacher and provides good support. The

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

governing body meets regularly and is provided with good information by the acting headteacher and the school administrator. Governors take training opportunities very seriously and are clear in their role as a critical friend to the school. There are governors with responsibility for literacy, numeracy and special educational needs.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. During the first year of amalgamation the school worked with a document whose focus was the effective amalgamation of the two schools. This document was called the School Improvement Plan. The acting headteacher has undertaken a thorough review of the school with the active support of staff and this is intended to form the basis of a three-year school development plan with time scales and costings included. The key focus for this new document is to raise standards throughout the school. Particular emphasis is on the development of writing throughout the school and the continued development of all subjects. The acting headteacher, the school administrator and the governing body carefully monitor the school budget. The careful evaluation of all areas of spending is seen as an important role of the governing body as it seeks to hold the school accountable for its management and performance. The school does not receive any specific grants for supporting pupils with special

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

educational needs. Those grants that are administered by the school are carefully accounted for and spent in the manner designated.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. Day-to–day financial control and administration are good. The school administrator has clearly defined roles that she carries out efficiently. Administrative systems are unobtrusive and support efficient day-to-day organisation. There are good management systems in place for ensuring that incoming monies are handled efficiently. The most recent auditor’s report for the school has one item to be acted upon which the school administrator was prompt in rectifying. The school applies principles of best value in the use of its resources. The school is active in seeking good value for its money by comparing prices and evaluating the success of its purchases. The school makes good use of new technology. The computers are used effectively in school, with pupils using electronic mail, fax facilities and the Internet in their lessons. The school administrator uses new technology well to support her work in the office.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The school has a sufficient number of teachers to meet the needs of the curriculum. There is an appropriate number of support staff, several of whom are relatively new appointments. This is an improvement in provision intended to raise standards of pupils’ attainment. All staff are appropriately qualified and where gaps exist in their expertise, training and support have been identified. The staffing situation in the school has not been stable since amalgamation and this was largely the result of circumstances beyond the control of the school. Senior managers have attempted to minimise the Summer Lane Primary School - 24 effects of this disruption but the longer-term impact on educational standards and provision has been significant and contributed to the very low standards that pupils achieved in last summer’s national tests for pupils in Year 6. Induction arrangements for temporary teachers in the school are

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

satisfactory. The quality of the school's accommodation is good, especially developments in the nursery, which are very good. Although the school has an area designated as a junior library, this is unavailable as a library for three mornings each week, when it is used as a classroom to reduce the size of teaching groups in Years 5 and 6. In addition, the school does not have an ICT suite complete with necessary hardware but it does have a room networked in preparation. The sufficiency and quality of the school's learning resources are good overall and very good in the Foundation Stage. At present the junior library is unsatisfactory owing to the very limited range of reference books available.

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

59. Staff, supported by governors, should

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Raise standards in English, mathematics and science that the pupils achieve by the age of seven and 11 (paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 82, 83, 96, 97, 103) *

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Provide more opportunities for older pupils to take on responsibilities in school (paragraphs 12, 36)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Develop planning further in the nursery to include a focus on the progress of the youngest children to help compensate for the short time they spend in the nursery and reception classes (paragraphs 1, 16, 71)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) Develop procedures to assess the pupils’ progress * so that • they are used more consistently in all classes Summer Lane Primary School - 25 • teachers make better use of the information gathered to plan for pupils’ work • targets are set for individual pupils to achieve and the pupils themselves have a greater understanding of how well they are doing • reports to parents include more detail on how their children are progressing (paragraphs 40, 41, 46)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(5) Improve the management of the school by • confirming the composition and role of staff as a senior management team • developing the expertise of staff to be effective subject co-ordinators monitoring standards and provision in their subjects * • planning for school development in the long term. (paragraphs 51, 54, 56)

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition governors should consider including in their action plan funding to improve the quantity of reference books in the junior library. (paragraphs 58, 94)

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* Features in the school development plan

p.25

PROVISION PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

60. The school was included in a survey of provision for pupils with special educational needs in schools nationally. Provision is good. It is managed well and the recommendations of the Code of Practice for these pupils are effectively implemented. Pupils make good progress, in particular in personal and social skills and language and listening skills. They make good progress towards the targets set for them in their individual educational plans, especially in English and mathematics. The introduction of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies has had a positive effect on the pupils’ attainments. Pupils benefit from the many strategies which the school is taking part in. A good number of these pupils are achieving just below the level expected of all pupils by the end of Year 6 in English mathematics and science. Summer Lane Primary School - 26 61. Teachers provide good support for the pupils. There is a very effective and consistent

p.25

PROVISION PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

procedure for placing pupils on the register for special educational needs. This is known to all staff and ably implemented by the special educational needs co-ordinator in collaboration with class teachers. Good use is made of assessment data and test information to identify pupils and to set targets in individual education plans. Work is planned to match each pupil's plans and good use is made of support staff. Sometimes this support is individual but on other occasions pupils are taught as part of a small group and this good practice helps the pupils to be included. The arrangement in Year 6 whereby class sizes are reduced three mornings per week provides good support for less able pupils and those with special educational needs. Additional support staff is also available for mixed-age classes, and this provides additional support for pupils in these classes.

p.26

PROVISION PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

62. Pupils with a statement of special educational need receive very good support from their assistants and this, coupled with the good teaching strategies used in for example, an Intervention Project in Year 1 and additional literacy groups, provides good structured support for these pupils. Pupils who are withdrawn for part of the literacy and numeracy hours follow a similar lesson plan in their sessions. Staff know their pupils well and all the work set is adapted to take account of the various ability levels of the pupils, and to provide the right blend of challenge. Every effort is made to ensure that pupils realise their full potential, recognising strengths as well as weaknesses. The school makes good use of a range of visiting specialists. Pupils’ targets are reviewed regularly and when necessary further assessment and advice are sought from relevant outside agencies.

p.26

PROVISION PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

63. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are kept fully informed and involved in the progress of their children. They are invited to discuss their child's individual education plan and to provide additional support at home if possible. Reports, completed by staff, are shared with parents at parents' evening. Because of the number of temporary teachers, there have been occasions when this has not run as smoothly as the co-ordinator would wish. However once alerted to any shortcomings, steps have swiftly been taken to rectify any difficulties. Summer Lane Primary School - 27

p.26

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 32

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 25 247

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 25

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1 4

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 1 21

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 4

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 10

p.27

Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5

p.27

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Summer Lane Primary School - 28

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 13 13 26

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 13 13 12 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 11 12 13

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 92 (N/A) 96 (N/A) 92 (N/A) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 85 (83) 90 (87)

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 13 13 13 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 12 11 12

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 96 (N/A) 92 (N/A) 96 (N/A) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 22 13 35

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 10 13 15 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 8 6 9

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 51 (N/A) 54 (N/A) 69 (N/A) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 6 12 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 7 6 11

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 37 (N/A) 51 (N/A) 77 (N/A) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 80 (75)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Summer Lane Primary School - 29

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage Black – Caribbean heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 1 Black – African heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group Other minority ethnic groups

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 11 Financial year 2000/2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 26.2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR– Y6 Total expenditure 498 802

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 10 Expenditure per pupil 1911

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 202.5 Balance brought forward from previous year 7275

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 19973

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 50

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Note that the financial information provided relates to the first full year of the school’s existence (the current financial year). As a result, the figures shown are the best current estimates of income, expenditure and unit costs. Summer Lane Primary School - 30

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 47 44 5 1 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 30 50 10 4 6

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 27 50 15 3 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 34 40 18 8 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 68 26 4 1 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 50 41 2 1 7

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 42 37 14 5 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 44 38 9 4 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 45 48 4 1 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 17 35 19 14 15

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Some parents expressed concern about the quality of teaching in some classes where there has been disruption caused by staff absences. A minority of parents were concerned about standards of pupils’ attainment at the age of 11. Some were concerned about playground behaviour at dinner times. Summer Lane Primary School - 31

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

64. At the time of the inspection, there were 51 children attending the nursery part-time and 20 children in the full-time reception class. The school is popular and over-subscribed and there is a long waiting list for places in the nursery. There are a few children with special educational needs, a few from ethnic minority backgrounds but none is at the early stages of learning English as an additional language. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage, including the quality of teaching, is good. The new school has benefited well from the additional building of a purpose-built and very well resourced nursery adjacent to the reception class. This enables the two classes to work as a unit and share expertise and resources, including the outdoor play area. The nursery is staffed by a nursery-trained teacher and nursery nurse; the reception class is staffed by a teacher and classroom assistant, both

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

having been trained in nursery / reception education. There is a new intake of children into both classes at the start of each term. When numbers rise to the maximum intake of 38 in the reception class in the summer term, an additional teacher is employed to work alongside the teacher in that class.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

65. Generally, children enter the nursery class when they are about to turn four years old. A number have attended privately run pre-school playgroups. Procedures to assist the children to settle into nursery are good. Parents value highly the level of contact and support that the staff in both classes offer. Information about the work in both classes is on display for parents and there are notice boards informing them of events. The attainment of the children on entry is wide in range and is average overall. Most children complete three terms in the nursery before joining the reception class. All the children make good progress while in the nursery, because of the good quality of teaching and provision. The longer they spend there, the more they achieve. Attainment on entry to the reception class is broadly average as measured by a nationally recognised ‘baseline’ assessment. A few children are above average. The children are re-assessed at the end of their reception year and most have

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

made good progress, achieving the Early Learning Goals in all areas of learning. Many are beyond them, achieving within Level 1 of the National Curriculum. However, through no fault of the school, summer-born children have less time in the two classes, often spending only one term in the reception class and three terms altogether in the Foundation Stage before moving on to Year 1. This has a significant impact on the overall progress that these children make and few achieve the Early Learning Goals before they start in Year 1. This affects their achievement adversely through the infant years, where they are ‘catching up’.

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Personal, social and emotional development

66. The children make good progress in this aspect of their development in both classes and the great majority achieve the Early Learning Goals by the time they leave the reception class. Children in the nursery use equipment and resources well. They quickly get to know the routines of the class and become independent, registering their attendance each day themselves and choosing which activities they want to do at the start of each session. They know how many children are allowed to play in the various areas and wait their turn. They choose whether or not they will have milk at snack time and register their choice on a display board. When having their snack, they are polite and share the fruit and biscuits sensibly. They respond well to the adults in the nursery, joining in or finishing activities when asked. They tidy equipment away helpfully and use the toilet independently. This good progress

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Personal, social and emotional development

continues in the reception class, where the children listen very well on the carpet in whole-class sessions. They are helpful and share sensibly. This was evident in a mathematics lesson when the children distributed number-fans and used them well. Most are confident to speak up in class, for example when they talked about what made them happy or sad in a Circle Time session. They begin to Summer Lane Primary School - 32 understand the feelings of others and compare Baby Bear’s feelings with how they themselves might have felt.

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Personal, social and emotional development

67. The quality of teaching is good in both classes. Staff encourage the children to become independent and to play sociably together. There are very good opportunities for both, with routines designed to promote self-sufficiency and well equipped role-play areas to encourage good levels of interaction. Stories are used well to help the children understand how people feel. The children in the nursery recognise just how Father Bear feels the following morning in the story, ‘Peace At Last’. Staff are learning how to use the system of Circle Time and this is having a positive impact on the children’s personal and social development. All staff have very good relationships with the children and manage them well. Children with special educational needs receive good support from special needs assistants and make good progress in how they relate to adults and the other children.

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Communication, language and literacy

68. The majority of children make good progress in this aspect of their development. Most achieve the Early Learning Goals and by the end of the reception year are speaking and listening, reading and writing well for their age. This is not, however, the case for many younger children whose progress is limited by the short time they have in both classes. Children in both classes take a full part in the role- play areas. During the inspection, children’s stories about bears featured in both classes. The children dressed up and took on the roles of the bears in the stories they know and engaged in a good deal of relevant conversation. A noticeable feature of the children in both classes is how confident they are to talk to adults. They described to inspectors what they were doing, for example in the ‘baking’ area in the nursery, where the children used play dough to make all sorts of cakes, tarts and sausage rolls. A

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Communication, language and literacy

few have indistinct speech but all children can talk in phrases and full sentences. Children in the nursery value stories shared with an adult and enjoy books. They chant Father Bear’s words, “Oh, no! I can’t stand this!” and later they are able to make up their own picture book putting the events of the story in sequence. They write their own captions to the pictures using play writing and including letters they are familiar with.

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Communication, language and literacy

69. The longer the children spend in the reception class, the more progress they make in language and literacy. For example, the majority of children who entered the class in September become fluent readers of simple books. They recognise a good number of words on sight, they use clues from the pictures well and understand the context of stories. They predict what might happen in the story and are beginning to use their knowledge of letter sounds to read unfamiliar simple words. They know about clusters of consonants, such as ‘br’ and ‘cl’ and use them in their reading and writing. The children have good attitudes towards reading and those who began in the class in January are making a good start at reading early reading books. They regularly take books home to share with their parents or carers. Progress is good and often very good in writing. Many children progress from writing a single letter to represent words to writing a full sentence with spellings that closely resemble the

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

correct form. One child wrote, ‘I am going to Frane and we are going on a big but. We mayt see some dofins.’

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Communication, language and literacy

70. Teaching is good in both age groups. The staff create an environment in classrooms that is rich in pictures, signs, photographs, words and captions. They provide many opportunities for the children to develop their skills. All staff, including support staff, make a very good contribution to the children’s skills of speaking. Familiar fairy stories, children’s stories and rhymes are recited well with expression, so that the children quickly get to know key phrases. For instance the nursery children enjoyed it when the nursery nurse shared a big book with them, because she used much expression and gesture to bring the story alive. Summer Lane Primary School - 33 71. Particularly in the reception class, the teaching of literacy is well structured so that the children’s learning is progressive. The teacher uses short sections of the ‘literacy hour’ at various times of the day to focus on the teaching of, for instance, letter sounds and blends. The staff make good use of

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Communication, language and literacy

relevant programs on the computer to reinforce the learning of letter sounds. There are good opportunities for the children in both classrooms to write in writing areas. The children write their own list of things they need for a teddy bears’ picnic. The special needs assistant supports children with special educational needs well in literacy, through one-to-one teaching. Planning in the nursery, while it provides good coverage of communication, language and literacy, does not focus sufficiently well on the different ages of the children nor on the length of time they have in the Foundation Stage as a whole. Staff are planning to make use of a ‘quiet’ room, recently made available to them, so that they can work with target groups of children in a more focused way and compensate for this.

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Mathematical development

72. The majority of children make good progress and achieve the Early Learning Goals in this aspect of their development. In the nursery, the children sing many different number rhymes counting on from one and back from five and ten. They count accurately the number of teddy bears in the reading area. They make repeated patterns using paint and prints. Most begin to recognise simple two-dimensional shapes and in the soft play area they sort the large regular-shaped cushions. They make walls and arched doorways in this area to go under and over and they use large wooden blocks outside. The class choose their favourite stories and the staff make a wall display of the results in the form of a simple block graph. The children count which is the class favourite.

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Mathematical development

73. In the reception class, the children begin to use a published scheme of work and record their work. They add and subtract numbers to ten and use non-standards units, such as paper clips, to measure. The children become familiar with number lines and use them to count on and back. Most use terms such as shorter and longer, more and less, accurately. Evidence of progress is seen in how the children write numbers. The frequency with which they reverse numbers such as 5, 6 and 7 gets less. Working with the classroom assistant, the older children learn how to order numbers from one to 20. They can select a numbered teddy bear and decide where it will appear in a line. In the session, they learn terms less than and more than, between, before and after. Helped by the teacher, the children sort teddies according to their attributes; for instance which are wearing jumpers. They suggest their own criteria.

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Mathematical development

In another session, the children use number-fans to show a given number and then find the number before and after.

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Mathematical development

74. The quality of teaching in both age groups is good. The classrooms are well equipped with appropriate resources on display, for example number lines and, in the reception class, a number square. This helps the children to chant numbers from one to 50 successfully. Staff take every opportunity to ask the children relevant mathematical questions in the activities they do and the children learn many rhymes and songs by heart. Good use is made of elements of the ‘numeracy hour’ in the reception class and classroom assistants are used very well in group activities to support the children’s learning. They are very well briefed and take a full part in planning. Staff use ICT programs successfully to consolidate learning in mathematics.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

75. Progress is good and the majority of children achieve the Early Learning Goals in this aspect of their development. Children in the nursery play with a range of small toys, including trains, cars, houses and people. During the inspection, the children were observed building complicated routes with the trains set which included points, bridges, stations and tunnels. They make Lego models and cut and paste card and materials to make collage pictures. For instance, they each made a musical instrument Summer Lane Primary School - 34 from waste materials. The children use hammers and nails to make models, using balsa wood and pipe insulation. They know about living things through studying the seasons. They draw detailed observational drawings of teasels and lilac twigs in winter. They care for their pet hamster. One child was observed bringing an apple to school and, well supervised, carefully cut it and fed small pieces to

p.33

Knowledge and understanding of the world

the animal. They use computers, tape recorders and headsets well.

p.34

Knowledge and understanding of the world

76. In the reception class, the children were proud to show off the Lego tower they had created. They sort toys by their materials: wood, fabric, plastic and metal. They write captions to accompany the display of the toys. They find out about toys in the past and the present and make model vehicles with wheels using wood and waste material. The children draw simple plans of their route to school and discuss them, using terms such as along, passed, up and down. The children’s skills with the computer develop well and they use the mouse to ‘drag’ items of furniture, such as a bed and dressing table, into the Three Bears’ bedroom. The children can use a simple toolbar to select and highlight items.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

77. The quality of teaching in both age groups is good and there are many opportunities for the children to explore and find out more about the world around them. The staff plan well for this area of learning. They make good use of the outdoor play area to promote this aspect of the work. For instance children in the nursery build walls using wooden blocks for bricks and sand for mortar. They wear hard hats as they build. At other times, the children clean the windows of the nursery, using appropriate equipment and dressed as workers. The children dig for dinosaurs’ eggs in the garden. The children’s scientific and historical knowledge develops in the reception class when they explore their toys.

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Physical development

78. The children make good progress and achieve the Early Learning Goals in this aspect of their development. Children in both classes become more and more skilful in how they use the large toys to push, pull and pedal. They co-ordinate their movements better as they play games of throwing and catching in the play area outside. They climb under and over and jump in safety in the soft play area. Children in the reception class also have the opportunity to develop skills of balancing, rolling and hopping in the hall during regular sessions of physical education.

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Physical development

79. The quality of teaching is good in both age groups and both classes have regular timetabled sessions using the very good quality resources for outdoor and indoor play. Staff plan how the resources are deployed and are careful to ensure the safety of the children as they use the equipment.

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Creative development

80. The children make good progress and achieve the Early Learning Goals in this aspect of their development. The children’s paintings in the nursery class show a range of skill expected of this age group. Painted and crayoned pictures of family members vary in the level of detail but all are completed carefully. Their musical instruments are made from card, boxes, elastic bands, beads and paper. These they use to accompany their singing of ‘Ol’ Macdonald had a band’. They strum, beat and shake their instruments at appropriate times in the song. There are percussion instruments readily available in the class and when the teacher shows the children a violin, they compare it to the stringed instruments they have made. This good progress continues in the reception class. The children paint and draw with increasing detail. For example, four panels depicting the seasons are clear attempts at showing the changes as they affect trees and flowers. The children also use computer programs to

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Creative development

draw and paint pleasing pictures. The children learn more about music and movement when they have lessons with their teacher and the accompanist in the hall. They know many action rhymes. Summer Lane Primary School - 35 81. The quality of teaching is good in both age groups. Staff provide very many opportunities for the children to create using paint, materials, music and role-play on a daily basis. All children, including those with special educational needs, are given good opportunities to use the various areas of the classrooms and staff praise and share their work regularly with all the class.

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ENGLISH

82. Pupils’ current attainment in English is in line with the national average at the age of seven and below the national average at the age of 11. Compared to the 2000 national test results, this is a similar position at the age of seven and an improvement for the 11-year-olds. The test results in the 2000 national tests for 11-year-olds were particularly disappointing in this first year of the school’s amalgamation. The scores attained by the pupils showed the pupils to be well below the national average and very low compared with similar schools. Standards achieved by both boys and girls were well below average. There were a number of circumstances which led to a difficult year for the school. The amalgamation of the two schools proved difficult as the juniors finally moved from their old building to the new school in the middle of the autumn term. Also a number of teachers left the school with temporary teachers taking their place. Nevertheless, the school felt quite rightly that the results

p.35

ENGLISH

were not good enough throughout the school and has worked hard to evaluate the school’s strengths and weaknesses and to support areas it acknowledged as needing development. The attainment of the pupils in English is rising but as yet it is not high enough.

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ENGLISH

83. Initiatives that are helping to raise standards are

p.35

ENGLISH

• Grouping pupils in Year 6 by prior attainment in English lessons • Employing a third teacher in Years 5 and 6 during English lessons in order to reduce class sizes • Improvements to assessment procedures • Further improvements in the teaching of writing and • The introduction of specific strategies, especially in infant-aged classes, such as ‘reading partners’ and the Intervention Project.

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ENGLISH

The teachers are very aware that they need to maintain and improve still further the levels of reading and writing throughout the school.

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ENGLISH

84. When children enter the school their attainment is broadly average. However children enter the reception class throughout the school year and so a third of the children have had only one term in the reception class before they enter Year 1. This limited amount of time has an impact upon their levels of overall attainment, as many find it difficult to reach the Early Learning Goals expected of children of their age. As they start in Year 1, the majority of the children listen carefully to the class teacher and answer her questions. They read familiar words and write their own sentences.

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ENGLISH

85. Speaking and listening Summer Lane Primary School - 36 Inspection findings show that speaking skills are developed through effective teaching and the many opportunities available for the pupils to develop their skills. The pupils answer the teachers’ questions, thinking carefully before they answer. In Year 2 the pupils talked clearly about their books and their reading preferences. The older pupils in Year 6 talked about their books and said why they can recommend them to other people. In all classes the pupils listen well to their class teachers and follow instructions carefully.

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ENGLISH

Most pupils read fluently and accurately with overall average standards evident throughout the school. Reading is promoted well and it is clear from the pupils’ attitudes that they enjoy their reading sessions. The positive impact of new reading books, carefully chosen to accommodate a wide range of tastes has had a beneficial impact upon standards and pupils’ enthusiasm for reading. Regular visits to the local library and opportunities to borrow books from the school library have also had a positive impact upon the attainment of the pupils. While reading to an inspector, a more able pupil discussed the characters in her book and could not wait to read the text to find out exactly why “they painted the biscuits”. Average and below average pupils in Year 2 talk about the stories they are reading and use a range of strategies they use to read words that they find difficult. In Years 3, 4 and 5 pupils’ reading

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ENGLISH

is at a good level. The more able and average pupils demonstrate good fluency and a clear understanding of the text and the underlying themes of the books. They discuss their preferences and explain the reasoning behind their choices. Attainment in the Year 6 class is average with pupils clearly enjoying the Harry Potter books but lacking the depth of understanding shown by the pupils in Year 5. A few of the below average pupils read words effectively but lack fluency and expression in their reading. For these pupils reading is less enjoyable.

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ENGLISH

Standards in writing are average at the age of seven and below average at the age of 11. At the age of seven pupils write for a wide range of purposes. Pupils who only enter the reception class in the summer term make good progress, reaching the expected level by the age of seven. Indeed the school recognises that many of the pupils just manage to achieve at the expected levels and there is room for improvement. The school is meeting this challenge and is helping the pupils to improve their writing skills. A cursive style of writing is being taught earlier in Year 1 and the pupils are given many opportunities to write in other subjects. The most able seven-year-olds write well. They understand that when they are answering questions they must not only give their opinion but also include in their answers the reasons why. Below average pupils clearly understand the need to write using full stops and capital letters.

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ENGLISH

88. In Year 6 the pupils’ writing skills are limited and the pupils have to work hard to explain the answers to their questions. They write stories and poems but their stories are lacking in style and interesting vocabulary. They are working particularly hard on their punctuation. Accuracy is sometimes limited and pupils do not always use paragraphs in their work. In Year 5 the pupils are technically more effective in their writing. The grouping of pupils in Years 5 and 6 for their English lessons and the employment of an additional teacher to reduce the sizes of these groups are having a positive impact upon the attainment of these pupils and this is beginning to be reflected in their work.

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ENGLISH

89. Many pupils in Year 2 have developed a cursive style of handwriting and the pupils write clearly and neatly. Spelling of common words is accurate for the majority of pupils. The pupils work hard with their spellings and their good knowledge of letter sounds aids them in this respect. Junior-aged pupils use a wide range of punctuation accurately. Complex words are generally spelt correctly because the pupils are willing to use their dictionaries as they work. The pupils in Years 3 and 4 are Summer Lane Primary School - 37 developing a cursive style of writing and this skill is now being developed in Years 1 and 2. Handwriting is generally clear and neat with work well presented. A few of the pupils lack sufficient fluency in their writing and their work is generally printed. Overall, pupils’ achievement is satisfactory but not good enough in writing.

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ENGLISH

90. The quality of teaching observed during the inspection was good with no unsatisfactory lessons observed. In general, the teachers have good subject knowledge and this is demonstrated in the way they lead discussions with the pupils about set texts. The school has fully adopted the National Literacy Strategy and this is consistently used across the school. The teachers share the learning objectives of the lesson with the pupils so that they are clear about what they are learning. In this way the pupils gain a good understanding of how the lessons develop their reading and writing skills. For example, in the Year 3 class the teacher used a freeze-frame technique, which they had used previously to encourage the pupils to think about what their characters are thinking and saying. The pupils acknowledge that what the characters think, may not be the same as what they actually say. This technique gave the pupils time to think logically and carefully about the characters' opinions.

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ENGLISH

91. Teachers set challenging work for pupils of all levels of ability. This is a very effective feature of all the work. In this way the pupils’ work is carefully matched to their level of attainment and the pupils are confident and enthusiastic. This enables the pupils with statements of their educational need to be well included within the work of the class, their individual written or reading tasks carefully matched to their individual specific needs. In the Year 4/5 class, the teacher demonstrated very high expectations of the pupils and gave good levels of praise and encouragement as the pupils strove to meet his high expectations. The teachers have good relationships with the pupils and actively encourage the pupils to improve their work. For example, in the Year 6 class the teacher gave the pupils a set of words to rearrange into a sentence. This involved the pupils working together to sort out

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ENGLISH

the complex sentence. They did so with good humour and active discussions showing the easy relationships and the good levels of behaviour in the class.

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ENGLISH

92. The teachers are skilled at choosing a wide and stimulating range of resources for their lessons. There is a wide range of quality big books and supporting sets of books to choose from. In Year 2 the pupils were fully engaged in the story “Why frog and snake can’t be friends”. In this lesson the teacher’s good use of technical language, for example scan and glossary, encouraged the pupils to extend and develop their spoken vocabulary.

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ENGLISH

93. The teachers have recently begun to assess pieces of the pupils’ work as they recognise that, having previously worked in single key stage schools, they had a limited understanding of the work of pupils in other age groups. Assessment procedures are in an early stage of development. The staff have worked hard to develop assessment procedures but these are very recently in place they have little knowledge of their effectiveness. The teachers complete ongoing day-to-day assessments to help and guide them in the careful focusing of lessons but there is no common format and staff have developed their own systems. The teachers regularly mark the pupils’ work and they make supportive comments, generally indicating their spelling mistakes and how they could improve their work. Spellings and reading are regularly set as homework and the pupils are often well supported with these tasks at home. The pupils do not have individual targets to work towards and have little knowledge of

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ENGLISH

what constitutes a Level 4 or Level 5 piece of writing, according to National Curriculum standards. This means that they have little idea about their own level of achievement.

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ENGLISH

94. The teachers regularly use literacy skills in the support of other subjects. In this way the pupils have many opportunities to develop and extend their writing skills. The pupils write postcards from the Holy Land in religious education lessons and write about their experiments in science. The pupils use ICT to present and refine their work. The range of reading and reference books in the infant library is Summer Lane Primary School - 38 satisfactory. The reading books throughout the school are of good quality and quantity. Many of these books are new. On amalgamation the reading scheme had to be adapted to follow on from infant to junior classes in a cohesive manner. This entailed a considerable amount of work and has been achieved successfully. The number and range of the books in the junior library is at present unsatisfactory. The school has recognised this area for particular development and is to ask the library

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ENGLISH

95. The enthusiastic English co-ordinator and a supporting colleague teaching infant-aged classes have worked together effectively to bring about improvements in standards throughout the school. An Intervention Project in Year 1 to support pupils with their reading and writing, reading partners, additional support staff and additional support for literacy have all been introduced. The impressive amount of support and help offered to the pupils is beginning to have a positive impact upon the attainment of the pupils. Although the co-ordinator monitors planning throughout the school she does not monitor teaching or learning. This hampers her work as she has not a clear picture of the effectiveness of the recent initiatives and she cannot evaluate their individual effectiveness.

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MATHEMATICS

96. The results of the tests for seven-year-olds in 2000 show that pupils’ attainment was well below both the national average and in comparison with similar schools. It is a similar picture for 11-year-olds with attainment well below the national average and very low in comparison with similar schools. Boys and girls both performed well below average.

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MATHEMATICS

97. Evidence from the current inspection shows that changes to the teaching of mathematics following the introduction of the National Numeracy Strategy are all having a positive effect on the standards of teaching and learning in mathematics. These include:

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MATHEMATICS

Ÿ Analysing national test and assessment results Ÿ Establishing attainment targets for pupils by the end of Year 6 Ÿ Grouping of Year 6 pupils by ability - three mornings a week Ÿ Additional classroom assistants Ÿ Additional training to develop new strategies for the teaching of numeracy and Ÿ The introduction of a booster class in Year 6.

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MATHEMATICS

However the majority of these changes have only recently been put in place. They are having a positive effect on both teaching and learning. Standards in current classes are broadly in line with national expectations. However the full impact has yet to be seen on national test results.

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MATHEMATICS

98. By the age of seven pupils demonstrate increasing knowledge and understanding of basic number facts. They understand place value of tens and units and how to add and subtract ten. Many work with number bonds to 100 orally. All pupils understand that subtraction is the opposite process of addition, and they have increased their knowledge in the use of differing strategies when adding and subtracting. In their work pupils are successfully applying these methods to solve simple problems. By the age of 11, pupils take great pride in their abilities to think mathematically and apply their Summer Lane Primary School - 39 knowledge. Pupils use facts already known to them to solve word problems. They use different calculations to check their answers.

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MATHEMATICS

99. By the age of 11, pupils have continued to make satisfactory progress with the skills of mental calculation. They have a sound knowledge of number facts including multiplication tables and they use a range of strategies to calculate answers correctly, often checking answers by using alternative methods of calculation.

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MATHEMATICS

100. Teaching and learning are never less than satisfactory. They are good in 33 per cent of lessons and very good in 56 per cent. The overall standard of teaching and learning in infant-aged classes is very good. Here strategies for stimulating pupils’ interest and enthusiasm are very well planned. A hand puppet was used to direct pupils to their next activity, and then to evoke answers – ‘What have you learnt?’ at the end of a Year 1 lesson. In Year 2 the teacher used pupils and large hoops to demonstrate the use of a Venn diagram when sorting objects to a given criteria. The increased interest and enthusiasm led to very good learning taking place. In junior classes, teaching and learning are good. On occasions during the inspection they were very good. Here very good questioning consolidated learning for all pupils regardless of ability and helped all pupils rise to the challenge. They did this with enthusiasm in a Year 3 lesson. All understood the concept being taught

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MATHEMATICS

and were able to partition two digit numbers to subtract, whilst the more able pupils were able to partition three digit numbers and subtract them. In Year 6 great interest and enthusiasm were shown when identifying the properties of three-dimensional shapes. Pupils with special educational needs are receiving good support from classroom assistants and achieve well.

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MATHEMATICS

101. The curriculum has a good structure with a balance between the teaching of facts and knowledge, and opportunities for pupils to use investigative skills. There is good application of mathematics in other subjects, for instance when Year 3 pupils used their skills of measuring to produce a net in order to make a container. In Year 2 good use was made of mathematics to support a science lesson where pupils were sorting materials to set criteria using a Venn diagram. Good use is made of ICT through data handling and graphics programs. Pupils listen attentively to their teachers and they try hard to make sure they understand what their teachers are explaining. They respond with enjoyment to the first part of the lesson where they are expected to think quickly in response to mental arithmetic questions. They take pride in their work in the second part of the lesson when they show their skills and knowledge in independent work.

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MATHEMATICS

102. Co-ordination of the subject is good and the co-ordinator has come a long way towards achieving the action plan that was put in place following the school’s amalgamation. Teachers assess pupils’ work well on an informal basis and they use this information to address their day-to-day planning. The school uses a range of assessment procedures. However, although results are recorded, very limited use is made of them other than when grouping pupils and determining who is to be included in the booster class. The co-ordinator now plans to develop this by introducing monitoring and tracking of individual pupils and their progress, which is designed to help in improved day-to-day planning. There are plans to develop ways of ensuring that staff have the same understanding of what constitutes success at each level of the National Curriculum attainment targets. There are two nominated governors overseeing the teaching of numeracy in the school, both play a very active part.

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MATHEMATICS

They are closely monitoring the new initiatives that have been put in place, and their impact on standards of attainment throughout the school. Summer Lane Primary School - 40

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SCIENCE

103. Teachers' assessment of pupils' work in 2000 indicated that the standards the pupils were achieving at the age of seven were above the national average and also above when compared to similar schools. The percentage of pupils achieving above what is expected of pupils aged seven was well above the national average and that of similar schools. The results of the 2000 tests for 11-year- olds showed that standards were well below national average and very low in comparison with similar schools. The school has taken steps to address areas of concern. These include

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SCIENCE

• An analysis of test results and positive action to address areas of weakness • The provision of targeted activities in lessons • Support staff employed to help in mixed-age classes and • Booster classes for Year 6 pupils.

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SCIENCE

104. From the inspection evidence current attainment in science is in line with that expected of pupils in the age range. There is a good number of pupils achieving above expected levels by the age of seven. There are no significant differences in the attainments of boys and girls.

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SCIENCE

105. By the age of seven, pupils understand the difference between animals and plants and recognise their basic needs. Most understand the need for a healthy diet. In a Year 2 lesson pupils were discovering ways of making materials and objects change. Through their experiments the pupils learn that some objects can be altered by squashing and bending and that others cannot. A number of pupils are able to say that some materials, for example a sponge, can be changed and then changed back. When experimenting with freezing water, more able pupils said that filling a balloon with water is a good idea because frozen water expands and the balloon will stretch. When some of the balloons burst they felt that this is a fair test, despite the fact that the water had frozen and expanded and the balloon was not big enough.

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SCIENCE

106. By the age of 11, pupils are confident with scientific vocabulary. For example, pupils request how to spell opaque and they use transparent and translucent in correct context. Both more and less able pupils are available to use these terms correctly. Younger pupils understand that sounds are made when objects vibrate. Through their investigations they discover that not all vibrations are visible. They have a good understanding of how simple electric circuits work and that, when attached to a battery, the more bulbs used the dimmer the light will become. They successfully carry out simple investigations, for instance when experimenting with a torch and a comb they discover that the light cannot turn when it hits the bristles, and so cannot get through the comb. They conclude that light can only travel in a straight line. This is further developed when pupils shine a light through three cards with a hole in each. They conclude that for the light to shine through the holes they must be in a

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SCIENCE

straight line. Older pupils have a good understanding of the properties of light and reflection and understand how shadows are formed. They engage in a good range of experimental activities and have a clear understanding of a 'fair test'. In one lesson pupils investigate reflecting a light onto a plane mirror and discover that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. More able pupils compare this to the action of kicking a ball against a wall. All pupils have a good understanding of the human body in relation to healthy eating, functions of the heart and the effect of body parts on movement.

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SCIENCE

107. Teaching and learning are good overall. They were very good in one lesson in a junior class. In the best lessons teachers skilfully use questioning to develop thinking and improve understanding. They sensitively target individual pupils to ensure their involvement and all are suitably challenged. Praise and feedback are used well, successfully encouraging and motivating pupils. Good relationships Summer Lane Primary School - 41 between teachers and pupils result in pupils being confident to answer questions and to undertake tasks. In a Year 5 lesson good organisation and planning progressively build up to the concept being taught. As a result the pupils are not confused and they are learning at a good rate. In Year 2 because the teacher uses a good variety of materials to enable the pupils to explore change, they enjoy the activity and are eager to carry the experiments further. Because of this pupils are clear about the task

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SCIENCE

and are confident and able to record their findings accurately. Teachers use a wide range of resources that capture and hold pupils' interest. Consequently pupils have a good attitude to science. Work is well matched to the wide ability level of the pupils, including those with special educational needs and the most able, and all pupils are involved in the activities.

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SCIENCE

108. Teachers provide frequent opportunities for pupils to consolidate and develop their literacy and mathematical skills through science. They build up word banks of scientific vocabulary linked to topics, encourage pupils to use a clear procedure to describe experiments. Pupils extend their data handling skills by recording the results of investigations and experiments. Pupils’ attitudes to science are never less than good; the pupils are enthusiastic about the subject and enjoy the challenge of investigation. They work very well together when, for example, they experiment with bulbs and a battery to try to determine whether the length of a wire affects the light that the bulb gives. There are many opportunities created for pupils to learn through visits to places of scientific interest. A good example of this was the visit by younger pupils to Eureka and its Human Body Area. This provided good

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SCIENCE

reinforcement of their work on humans and other animals. There are plans for older pupils to make use of the National Science Week 'Rainforest Road Show' organised by Barnsley College.

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SCIENCE

109. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. Some tasks have been completed and some are ongoing. The co-ordinator has produced a good draft policy, which is due to be presented to the governors. The scheme of work incorporates nationally recommended guidelines and the local education authority's own programme with the result that it gives teachers good guidance and ensures all programmes of study are fully covered. During lessons, teachers assess pupils' knowledge and understanding, giving pupils immediate feedback and praise. This helps the pupils’ progress. Although pupils' work is marked and teachers' short-term plans are reviewed, there is little evidence of evaluative comments on lessons to help teachers with their future planning. Pupils’ work is not annotated to give an indication of attainment levels, although it is planned to begin to do this so that all staff and pupils are familiar with what is meant by particular levels. There is a good range of resources

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SCIENCE

but storage of these, in particular those resources for junior classes, does not enable easy access for all teachers.

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ART AND DESIGN

110. Pupils attain satisfactory standards by the age of seven and 11. They make sound progress. Infant pupils develop their skills well and gain an understanding and enjoyment of art. They begin to appreciate different artists’ printing techniques and try them out to produce different textures and patterns in their own printing. Often their work is linked to other subjects such as history. This happened when a Year 1 class designed clay plaques, pressing differently shaped objects into the clay to represent the fronts of houses, as part of a topic on houses and homes. In Year 2 they designed and printed wallpaper patterns based on the styles of William Morris and Charles Renee Macintosh.

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ART AND DESIGN

111. Junior pupils build appropriately on what they have learned. They explore and investigate the patterns used in Maori art. They design patterns and make Moko Masks based on their investigations. A Year 4 class designing printing blocks was questioned well by their teacher, enabling them to make evaluations of their designs. They considered whether the use of small indentations and spaces was effective or whether the use of larger ones would have produced a clearer print. This discussion led to Summer Lane Primary School - 42 a change to the lesson plan - in order to clarify the pupils’ understanding of the task. In Year 5 good use was made of observational and sketching skills in order to design a chair based on an original drawing. Good questioning by the teacher resulted in a good level of discussion taking place, with reasoned judgments being put forward for the pupils’ adapted designs.

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ART AND DESIGN

112. All pupils are given the opportunity to work in many different media including pencils, paint, crayons fabric, clay and other malleable materials. The results of this work can be seen around the school, where it is attractively displayed and enhances the quality of the environment. There are good examples of the use of computer programs when, for example, the pupils create abstract pictures and patterns. There are many good examples of imaginative work supporting other subjects and cultures. Infant pupils sketch body maps and label them, and make collage skeletons using matchsticks. This links to their science work. Older pupils produce Maori Art, using ICT. This followed the visit of two Year 6 teachers to New Zealand.

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ART AND DESIGN

113. The quality of teaching overall is good. It was never less than good in infant-aged classes and never less than satisfactory in junior classes. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress and are well supported in their work. In the best lessons, teachers introduced the lessons well with a reminder of previous work. In a Year 2 lesson, techniques of printing were explained carefully, which helped pupils to gain a clear understanding of the task in hand. A good example of this was the teacher’s demonstration of how to use a printing roller to apply ink to their blocks. When teaching is satisfactory rather than good or better, this is because lack of pace in the lesson leaves insufficient time for pupils to complete the task fully, resulting in learning objectives not being fully met. Support staff are always well briefed and fully supportive, with good collaboration shown.

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ART AND DESIGN

114. The co-ordinator was absent at the time of the inspection and discussion was held with the acting head teacher. She has a clear view of the development of the subject and has written a holding policy outlining immediate plans. A two-year rolling scheme of work has been devised based upon nationally recommended guidelines. The scheme is under review. Resources are good with a wide range of good and very good materials available to cover all areas of the schemes of work.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

115. Pupils’ attainment is above that typically expected of pupils by the age of seven and 11. Pupils achieve well and make good progress. By the age of seven, pupils have experienced and can select from a range of materials and methods of joining them. They know what they want to construct and its purpose. Clear plans show the ideal finished product. Year 2 pupils devised various ways of joining different materials when constructing model houses they had previously designed. By the age of 11, pupils have improved their knowledge of materials and their planning. A Year 3 class were given the task of designing a container to hold sweets. The pupils drew their design and made nets of their designs, measuring sides and angles. They reviewed their original design prior to making it in cardboard. Pupils reflect on and modify their designs as the work proceeds, and completed products are often evaluated.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

116. The quality of teaching is never less than good and is good overall. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress and are well supported in their work. Some teaching is very good in junior classes. There is steady development in the subject throughout the school. Teachers equip pupils with the necessary skills in both making and designing. In a Year 2 lesson pupils worked Summer Lane Primary School - 43 out the strengths and weaknesses of different methods of joining different materials. This was when they were constructing the houses they had designed - tepees, igloos, mud huts, and houses. The teacher and classroom assistant managed the pupils very well and explained procedures carefully, checking their understanding. Pupils use scissors carefully. They have a good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of joining techniques, such as gluing and taping. Work to a good standard is

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

evident on display around the school. One of the strengths of the subject is the investigative approach taken by the teachers. Pupils consider, test and disassemble products as part of their learning - looking at packaging prior to designing their own in Year 3. In Year 6 investigation was made into different kinds of biscuits - their taste, appearances, packaging, price and appeal. Good links were made with other subjects, for instance in literacy through the language used, ’bumpy and crunchy’ and ’bland’, and in mathematics when calculating how much each biscuit cost.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

117. The co-ordinator was absent at the time of the inspection. However, discussion was held with the acting head teacher. She has a clear view of the development of the subject and has written a review document outlining immediate plans. A rolling two-year scheme of work has been devised based upon national guidelines and it is continually evaluated. Resources are good with a wide range of materials and equipment available to cover all areas of the schemes of work.

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GEOGRAPHY

118. Pupils’ attainment in geography is average at the age of seven and 11. The standards achieved by the pupils reflect the varied opportunities available to the pupils and the careful planning throughout the school.

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GEOGRAPHY

119. By the age of seven, the pupils have a good understanding of local places. In Year 2 they look at maps of their locality and work out the positions of the local schools. They use coordinates to find the exact position of the local hospital and Summer Lane School. They are beginning to understand mapping keys and know that an H is the symbol for a hospital. The pupils use their mapping skills to devise their own maps and use a number of symbols to form a key. In Year 1 the pupils walk around the immediate locality looking at all the different types of houses. They recognise a range of house types and use the associated geographical language to describe them. In their role-play in the Estate Agents office they have a number of ‘desirable’ residences for sale.

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GEOGRAPHY

120. By the age of 11, the pupils study the news presented in a range of formats, on the Internet, in a designated News programme on the television and through newspaper cuttings. They consider what it is that makes the news and the impact that these various news items have on them as individuals. The pupils showed a real perception of the need to know about items of news; even those that made them feel uncomfortable. The teaching in this lesson helped the pupils to express their ideas and talk about the different types of newsgathering and communication. Items from the news are displayed in the classroom against a world map showing the location of these newsworthy articles. In Year 4 the pupils drew their own maps and worked out coordinates to four figures, showing a good understanding of the use of keys and legends. In Years 3 and 4 the pupils plotted the temperature in New Delhi and Barnsley. They showed this information by using a range of graphs and charts created by inputting the

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GEOGRAPHY

data into the computer. The pupils then decided which was the clearest way to show the information. Map work is a strong feature of the geography throughout the school, with the pupils using maps to locate different places on maps of the British Isles, Europe and the world.

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GEOGRAPHY

121. During the inspection it was only possible to observe one lesson and so there is insufficient evidence to form a judgement on teaching overall. The teachers are clearly interested in the subject and the range and quality of displays show that it is well promoted throughout the school. Two of the teachers have been to New Zealand as part of a study visit. They have links with a school in New Summer Lane Primary School - 44 Zealand and as a result the pupils study the Maori heritage and have e-mail contact with that school. Infant-aged pupils have been paired through a toy bear, Alexander Bear, with a school in Chicago. The pupils took the bear home and on holiday and then they relayed his experiences to the pupils in Chicago, who told the Summer Lane pupils all about their lives and culture as they exchanged mail.

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GEOGRAPHY

122. The co-ordinator is keen to promote the subject throughout the school. She has a review statement for the subject, which is in a transitional position owing to the amalgamation of the school and the change to the nationally recommended scheme of work. The co-ordinator is at present monitoring the teachers’ planning and ensuring that there are sufficient resources to enable the teachers to teach the curriculum. The co-ordinator proposes that the monitoring of teaching throughout the school and the production of an assessment structure are the next steps appropriate in the development of the subject.

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HISTORY

123. Pupils’ attainment is average at the age of seven and 11. The standards achieved by the pupils reflect the satisfactory teaching observed during the inspection.

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HISTORY

124. By the age of seven, the pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of people in the past and how they lived. They have a clear understanding that the further back in time they travel the more the people used natural materials to build their homes. They perceive that in prehistoric times timber and rushes were used to make homes, whilst today modern materials such as bricks and glass are used to build a wide variety of kinds of homes. The pupils in Year 2 who role-played in the Victorian and modern kitchens had a clear understanding that facilities in Victorian times were very different. Indeed the way these two areas were set up adjacent to each other gave a striking opportunity to see and experience the differences.

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HISTORY

125. By the age of 11, the pupils have a good knowledge of different periods of British history. They develop an understanding of life during Tudor times and think carefully about the character of King Henry V111 by studying his portraits. In the Year 4 class the pupils study Tudor drawings to find out what this period of time was like and how the lives of poor people were different to those of the rich. The pupils considered the times were harsh and the punishments that people were given were particularly awful. Good illustrations and careful questioning guided the pupils to observations and well considered thoughts on life in the past. Pupils in Year 6 report that they consider John Lennon to be a legend. They were intrigued by his life and work and considered that he was a rare talent. Some of the pupils agreed that they liked his music. The teachers’ choice of decades, the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s,

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HISTORY

to study found a good level of response from the pupils who were interested to find out how records and discs had evolved over the recent past.

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HISTORY

126. The teaching throughout the school is satisfactory and effectively promotes skills of historical enquiry. The pupils use artefacts or gain ideas of life in the past by close observation of documents from the relevant periods. The teachers have a good understanding of the subject they are teaching and organise their lessons well. The use of timelines to fix clearly the pupils’ learning in the correct sequence gives the pupils a clear understanding that the Tudor period came well after the time of the Vikings and Romans. The school brings in visitors and the pupils' families well to broaden pupils' experiences of life from the 1930s onwards. The teachers use ICT to support the subject especially in junior classes, where the pupils have the opportunity to use a number of programs to find out specific historical information. Summer Lane Primary School - 45 127. The subject co-ordinator is enthusiastic and has good ideas for the further development of the

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HISTORY

subject throughout the school. She monitors teachers’ planning and is at present evaluating different areas of the scheme of work and matching resources and artefacts to these areas. A policy statement and assessment procedures for history are planned for development. The co-ordinator has not yet monitored teaching in class, but is looking forward to training to do so, in order that that she will be better informed to undertake this important aspect of subject management.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

128. Standards are in line with those expected of pupils at the age of seven and 11. Progress for all pupils, including those with special educational needs, is satisfactory and is improving as a result of recently acquired computers and software, as well as the developing expertise of the staff. By the age of seven, pupils can use a simple word processing program to write sentences and captions for work on display in subjects such as design and technology and geography. They use graphics and data handling programs to show the layout of their homes. They then enter details about, for example, the number of bedrooms and produce pie charts and block graphs to illustrate their findings. Pupils can use a program to design Joseph’s coat of many colours in the biblical story. They learn how to use a programable toy and they plot the route it must take in order to mark out a square and a rectangle.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

129. By the age of 11, pupils can use the facilities of powerful word processing programs to make presentations from the computer on topics of their own choosing. They know how to alter the size, type and colour of the font to make, for example, greetings cards. They import pictures into their work. The pupils use items on the toolbar to draw plans of their bedrooms at home and to plan a new classroom. In topic work on water, the pupils can create a simple spreadsheet to calculate how much their families use at home each week. They produce block graphs showing how much is used for washing, using the toilet and having a shower. They create pictures from an art program, experimenting with a variety of repeated shapes, lines and squiggles. They research information for work in history from CD-Roms. Now that the school has access to the Internet and electronic mail, junior-aged pupils are learning how to use these facilities. For example, they are using the Internet to

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

find out more about the weather and to chart variations in temperature. Pupils are enthusiastic about the power of computers and are keen to develop their skills.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

130. The quality of teaching ranges from good to satisfactory, according to the level of expertise of the staff. It is satisfactory overall. As staff become familiar with new software and receive training from the subject co-ordinator, so the quality of their teaching is improving. A particular feature is how well the teachers plan in other subjects to use the skills of ICT that they are teaching. This means that their relevance is made very apparent to the pupils. For instance, they use their skills to collect information about the Tudors in history. Pupils in Year 3 write fables as short play scripts in English. As a part of a design and technology project, the pupils in Year 6 use a digital camera to illustrate the musical instruments they make. Lessons in ICT are generally well planned. For example, the teacher in a Year 5 / 6 lesson divided the class in two so that the pupils could benefit best. While one half

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

received direct teaching about electronic mail at the computer, the other half worked on a related topic independently. Generally, the quality of learning matches the teaching. The pupils concentrate well and learn new skills satisfactorily. However, they do not have a clear understanding of how well they are doing and what they need to do to develop further.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

131. The subject has high priority on the school development plan and the subject co-ordinator is managing the development of the subject very well. There is a clear action plan for the subject and this is being implemented very well. Staff are using the good quality resources well. Each classroom has at least one computer and most have two. Staff are benefiting from workshops led by the co-ordinator to Summer Lane Primary School - 46 improve their skills. Support staff are well involved in these developments. For instance one classroom assistant has introduced an online program to the staff, which has good relevance to the pupils’ skills of numeracy. During the recent refurbishment of the school, one area was wired for the setting up of a computer suite. The provision of a computer suite as well as computers in classrooms is a long-term aim of the school. In addition, there is an extra-curricular club, which aims to stretch the more able

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

pupils in Years 5 and 6. This Inter-Schools Action Learning Project links three schools in South Yorkshire and lasts for a year. As well as having important benefits building teamwork and developing links between schools, the pupils are currently designing a school web site on the Internet.

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MUSIC

132. Attainment is similar to that found in most schools. Standards of singing are above those expected of pupils in the age range. This is because the school has developed a tradition of encouraging all pupils to take a full part in singing activities, including concerts in and out of school. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress. Only a few lessons were observed during the inspection. Evidence is drawn from these lessons, assemblies, documents and photographs.

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MUSIC

133. By the age of seven, the pupils have learnt a good selection of songs, which they sing well. They learn about rhythm and beat. They can use percussion instruments to demonstrate long and short notes and they become familiar with a range of music from their own and other cultures when they listen to recorded music on entry to and leaving assemblies. In junior-aged classes, the pupils use their own ideas to write down how a sound sequence is to be played. They become familiar with traditional notation as they learn how to play the recorder in lessons. They can follow rhythmic patterns, using parts of their body and percussion instruments. They sing tunefully and enthusiastically a variety of songs traditional and modern. The pupils are taught technical terms such as staccato and legato and recall their meaning well. They learn about different types of music from the past and from other cultures. For instance, pupils in Years 5 and 6 listened very well to extracts from Grieg’s ‘Peer Gynt

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MUSIC

Suite’. They responded to the opening section with interesting descriptive words, such as ‘enchanting’ and ‘like a fairy tale’. They recognised instruments such as the flute and one suggested the playing resembled birds singing. They made discerning comments about how the piece prompts an image of the countryside. Pupils gain real pleasure from lessons and have good attitudes to the subject.

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MUSIC

134. The quality of teaching and learning is good. This is because the school has developed the provision well by, for instance, employing an accompanist one day per week. All classes have one lesson with their teacher and the pianist and a separate lesson with their teacher. The accompanist not only has very good expertise but is well involved in how the lessons progress. The pupils improve their singing, in particular its pitch, tone and volume. Their listening skills develop well as they are asked to spot changes in the playing. They are told about the technical terms of music. By working alongside the pianist, the subject expertise of the teachers themselves is improved. Ideas from these lesson plans are then followed up in class by teachers using percussion instruments with the pupils. In addition, the staff teach basic skills on the recorder to all junior-aged pupils. This usually takes place during one

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MUSIC

term per year. There are good opportunities for the pupils to experience different types of music and the element of musical appreciation is appropriately included in teachers’ planning. As a result of the good provision, the quality of pupils’ learning is good. The pupils are well involved in lessons and there were good instances of pupils joining in well, listening carefully and responding in a mature fashion to the activities.

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MUSIC

134. The co-ordinator manages the provision well. Planning follows nationally recommended guidelines and the subject makes a good contribution to the pupils’ social and cultural development. Summer Lane Primary School - 47 There are opportunities for pupils to take part in local festivals with the Town Band. The pupils have taken their music making into the community, to the Day Centre at the adjacent hospital, and, with other schools, have sung in concerts in town and further afield. There is individual tuition for pupils to learn a brass instrument offered. Levels of resourcing are satisfactory and there are enough recorders and accompanying beginner texts for all pupils to learn the instrument while they are at the school.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

135. During the inspection it was only possible to see one short lesson in the juniors and this was insufficient to make firm judgements on attainment. Two infant lessons were seen and attainment overall is in line with those expected for pupils of this age. Teaching observed was either good or satisfactory and on balance was satisfactory overall.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

136. Pupils in Year 1 demonstrate increasing control and co-ordination when practising ball skills. They are able to kick a ball accurately and to stop a ball with their feet. More able pupils travel with and send a ball accurately. However, the teacher did not ask these pupils to demonstrate their skills to the class so that all might benefit. Because the lesson was well controlled and there was a good pace pupils took part sensibly in all activities. An opportunity was missed to allow the pupils to put apparatus out for themselves, but they waited quietly while the teacher and support assistant organised this. The pupils later put the equipment away carefully, showing knowledge of health and safety rules when carrying apparatus. In dance, teaching and learning are good and this is because of the good strategies used. Pupils devise dances to different pieces of music and they discuss the sort of movement that the

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

music evokes. Eight pupils were chosen to demonstrate their dance and this promoted informative discussion amongst the class. In both lessons there was a good balance between warm up, practical and cooling down activities.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

137. Only one short lesson was observed in junior classes. The lesson was well planned to achieve clearly defined lesson targets and included a good balance of warm-up, practical and cooling - down activities. Pupils refined skills of accuracy of shot using forehand, backhand and overhand strokes. Because the lesson was well planned to match all ability levels by, for example, the use of different sized balls, bats and hoops, all pupils made satisfactory progress. Many made good progress. Some pupils devised their own scoring for accuracy, suggesting their own rules and targets and applying them with a good degree of accuracy. Teaching and learning, however, were interrupted by the time taken to achieve the full attention of a few potentially disruptive pupils and this prevented to some extent the pupils developing fully their skills. These interruptions were handled extremely well by the teacher so that the disruption was kept to the minimum. The provision for swimming is

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

concentrated in Year 5 and the additional teaching support from two swimming instructors contributes well to the teaching. This ensures that pupils are taught in small groups and teachers have expert advice available when planning swimming activities. All pupils leave the school far more confident in their ability to swim. The instructors are in the process of adopting Barnsley's Curriculum Award Scheme, and this will enable pupils to receive certificates for various achievements such as 'perform a feet-first surface dive at a depth of 1.5 metres'.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

138. Pupils’ health and safety are given due attention by all staff and written risk assessments of all activities have taken place. All pupils respond with a good level of application and enjoyment. The attitude promoted towards the subject, with smart dress and emphasis on individual, partner, teamwork and fair play makes a good contribution to pupils' personal development. Year 6 pupils make a residential visit to Scouts Dike where they enjoy and benefit from a range of out-door adventurous activities and team-building opportunities. All pupils benefit from a subject that is well resourced and this helps teachers to plan activities that are both interesting as well as stretching. Throughout the Summer Lane Primary School - 48 school, all pupils are included in all activities. All pupils, including those with special educational need, are fully integrated into all activities, tasks modified if necessary, and all are suitably challenged.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

139. In the absence of the co-ordinator the school is still in the process of updating the subject policy and scheme of work. Staff are presently working through nationally recommended guidance and are reviewing and adapting this to meet their own requirements. Despite the difficulties that the school has had to overcome with regard to amalgamation and staff absence, staff have not allowed this to detract from the good contacts established with outside agencies, the community and parents. There are good links with the Performing Arts Department who provide training and ideas for staff in dance and drama and spend up to five days per year working with pupils and staff. The school makes good use of Top Sports courses including those for the Foundation Course. There are visits to Barnsley football club and cricket training for Years 5 and 6 from Yorkshire Cricket Club and parents offer their help in cricket coaching.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

140. Attainment of pupils aged seven and 11 is in line with the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

141. By the age of seven, pupils have found out about some of the better-known stories of Jesus and understand the special significance of books such as the Bible to Christians and Jewish people. In Year 1, the pupils visit local churches and chapels. They consider the idea of ‘special’ when the teacher shares with them significant items she brought back from a holiday in Australia, a diary, photographs and shells. The pupils responded well to the trust she had in sharing these special things with them. This leads to an understanding that certain festivals and events are special to those of different faiths. At the time of the inspection, pupils in Year 2 were learning about Lent. They understood the concept of giving things up and gave examples appropriate for their age. They understood the concept of giving for the sake of others and they named a number of charities they have supported in the past.

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142. By the age of 11, the pupils have extended their knowledge to include Islam. They know about the importance of the Koran to Moslems. Pupils in Year 3 read about the story of Mary Jones and how she helped to make the Bible more available. They have increased their knowledge of stories of Jesus and compare the Ten Commandments with their class rules. Pupils in Year 4 reflect on portraits of Jesus and begin to understand that people of different racial background ‘see’ the face of Jesus from their individual perspective. They find out about the location of The Holy Land. In a lesson focusing on symbols, the pupils begin to understand that there is meaning beyond what is literal. For instance, they understand that Jesus is called ‘the Light of the World’ because he helps us to ‘see’ truth. Pupils in Year 6 research biblical stories using CD-Roms. They create a time line of events in the New Testament. Pupils talk readily in class and junior-aged pupils generally record their work

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neatly in folders and exercise books. However, this is not always the case where classes have had a number of temporary teachers.

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143. Teaching and learning are satisfactory in both infant and junior-aged classes. One good lesson was observed in Year 2. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed. Teachers’ subject knowledge is satisfactory and is improving the more familiar staff become with the locally agreed syllabus and the nationally recommended guidelines. Teachers plan the lessons satisfactorily and manage the pupils well. As a result, pupils generally have positive attitudes to the subject. Summer Lane Primary School - 49 144. The subject features in the school development plan and steps are being taken to review and develop it. The co-ordinator was appointed to the post in December and is enthusiastic to develop provision. The scheme of work is currently being developed and resources have been purchased to support the teaching. A programme of visits is planned. However, monitoring of the subject, teachers’ planning and the sampling pupils’ work are under-developed and have not identified where

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improvements in provision are needed. The subject makes a satisfactory contribution to the pupils’ spiritual and moral development.

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