Wakefield St Marys Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 4 th – 8 th March 2002

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SCHOOL

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

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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. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Charles Street Wakefield West 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 M Walker

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 29 th June 1998 Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 4

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responsibilities

18101 J. Ann Sharpe Registered inspector English English as an additional language Music Foundation Stage What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 19365 Gordon Stockley Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 29262 Nick Hardy Team inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology Art and design Design and technology Special educational needs How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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responsibilities

227545 Andrew Scott Team inspector Science Geography History Physical education How well does the school care for its pupils? Equality of opportunity Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 5 The inspection contractor was:

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responsibilities

Peak Education Partnership 19 Huddersfield Road Barnsley South Yorkshire S70 2LT

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responsibilities

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

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responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 6

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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? 12

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

Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 7

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Mary’s C of E Aided Primary is a small school serving a socially disadvantaged area of rented or low cost homes close to the centre of Wakefield. It is in an Education Action Zone and benefits from grants of money for planned projects. There are 171 children on the register (96 boys and 75 girls) including 35 children who attend the Foundation Unit part-time. The school is not full. Children are from mixed ethnic backgrounds; about half are white and about half are from Pakistani families. The school takes a small number of refugee children. The proportion of children speaking English as an additional language is very high, although only 20 are at an early stage of learning to speak English. The proportion of children who have free school meals is well above the national average. Thirty-two children are on the special needs register and there is one statement. This is close to the national average.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

When children start school, their attainment is well below average and many need a lot of help with learning to communicate by talking. A fairly high number of children do not start and finish their primary education at this school. A project to improve the main school building and the Foundation Unit is taking place. There has been a change of headteacher and several other staff changes since the last inspection.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school gives its pupils a sound quality of education. Although the standard of children’s work is well below average, teaching enables them to make satisfactory progress over time. This is an improving school owing to the positive and skilled leadership of the new headteacher who knows that there is still a lot to do. Children’s good attitudes and behaviour and their good relationships make the school a happy and friendly place where everyone is welcome. The school gives satisfactory value for the funding it receives.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • National Curriculum test results have improved more than in most other schools in recent years. • Teachers make sure that children behave well in lessons and that they get along well together. • The school is improving because the headteacher is a good leader and manager. • Provision for children’s spiritual, moral and social development is good. • Staff care about the children and make sure that they are well looked after. • The school encourages and helps parents to become involved in their children’s education.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • More lessons should focus on improving children’s talking and learning skills. • Teachers should plan more lessons that build on what children can already do. • There should be more checking to find out how good things are and where they need to improve. • The work of support teachers and staff should be planned and targeted better. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 8

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Since the school was inspected in June 1998, it has improved satisfactorily. The key issues in the report have been tackled satisfactorily, including improving teaching and children’s attendance and developing the work of governors. The school has received an award for improving the National Curriculum test results for children at the age of eleven. Although test results have improved, the standard of children’s work is about the same overall. Children’s attitudes and behaviour are better than in 1998, as are parents’ views of the school. The school is now well placed to continue to improve.

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Performance in: All schools Similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

The 2001 test results for children at the age of eleven were well below average in English, mathematics and science, but the above table does not show the improvement in recent years. In 2001, test results in reading at the age of seven were in the lowest five per cent in the country, writing was below average and mathematics was well below average. Although these results also show improvement on previous years, they do not compare well with results in similar schools in reading and mathematics. From well below average attainment when children start school, they make satisfactory progress, and at the ages of seven and eleven, the standard of their work overall is well below what is typical for their ages. Children with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language also make satisfactory progress over time. Although the standard of children’s work varies across the subjects, it is mainly below or well below average. Children in all classes listen well to

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STANDARDS

adults and learn a lot of new words, but their poor talking skills stand in the way of their learning in most subjects. Children do well in learning about the sounds represented by letters in reading and writing and they know a lot of words associated with books. Other important areas of their work in literacy are not yet as well developed. In numeracy, most children are good at estimating answers, but often find it harder to explain their thinking. Children achieve well in information and communication technology (ICT) when they work in the new suite, but they still have a lot of catching up to do. They achieve well in physical education lessons owing to good teaching. Children in the Foundation Stage settle very quickly into school and their behaviour is very good. At the end of the reception year, however, their attainment is well below average overall owing to their poor talking skills. Governors set targets for National Curriculum test results; the 2001 targets were not quite

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STANDARDS

met. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 9

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Good. Children like coming to school and are keen to do their best to please the teachers and all the other adults who help them.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Children’s good behaviour helps them to pay attention to their teachers and little time has to be spent dealing with problems.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Children are usually sensible and helpful. They get along well with other children from all backgrounds.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Improving, but still well below national average. Children’s long holidays in Pakistan and absences for religious festivals disrupt their education, although the school has fewer unauthorised absences than most schools.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Satisfactory teaching in English, mathematics and most other subjects enables children to learn at a steady pace. There were no unsatisfactory lessons, and this is an improvement since the last inspection. The number of good or very good lessons remains at about four in ten. Teaching in literacy and numeracy lessons has several good points in all classes. There is more work to do to improve teaching when adults work with groups of children, because teachers do not always pitch children’s work at the right level. This is sometimes a weakness in other subjects too. Teachers have increased their own skills in ICT recently, and lessons in the new suite were good. Good teaching in physical education lessons helps children to enjoy moving in different ways. Teachers are well organised and prepared for most lessons. They are good at managing children’s behaviour by setting high expectations of them and by their

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

positive relationships. Although children know that adults expect them to behave well, they do not know much about how they need to improve their work. Teachers are good at asking children questions that make them think hard and they introduce children to new words all the time. They sometimes ask children to listen to adults for too long, however, and not enough lessons interest, excite, challenge and enthuse the children to want to achieve more or to talk about what they are learning. Teachers cater for children’s special educational or language needs satisfactorily. Good teaching in personal, social and emotional development in the Foundation Unit helps children to learn what is expected of them and they quickly settle down and enjoy coming. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 10

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Broad and reasonably balanced and relevant. The programmes of work for literacy, numeracy, the subjects of the National Curriculum and the Foundation Curriculum are satisfactory. Links with the local community make a good contribution to children’s educational progress.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory. Children often have extra help to be able to take part in normal class lessons.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. This is a major part of the work of the school and the extra teaching and support staff enable children to have a lot of close attention. At times, teachers do not deploy the extra staff in ways that are most likely to assist children’s learning and progress.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development Good overall. The good provision for children’s spiritual, moral and social development helps them to know right from wrong and to become thoughtful and trustworthy members of the school community. Cultural development is not as strong because children do not have as many opportunities as they could to learn about their own and different cultures.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The school makes sure that children are safe and secure. Staff keep a close eye on their behaviour and their attendance, and provide help if problems arise. Teachers assess children’s attainment but do not use information well enough to pitch work correctly and help children to achieve targets.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

A good feature of the school’s care for the children is that staff try hard to involve parents in their children’s education and in the life of the school. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 11

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory. The headteacher steers everyone in the right direction with confidence, determination and sensitivity. The deputy headteacher and other teachers who carry out leadership and management duties are increasing the part they play in improving the school.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Supportive governors meet their responsibilities soundly and are keen for the children to do well. They have increased their knowledge of the school and are now involved in all aspects of its management.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. The headteacher keeps a watchful eye on the school’s performance in National Curriculum tests as well as on children’s progress over time. She is aware of most of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and works closely with governors to take the school forward. The good policy for improving teaching is starting to have an effect, but this is more evident in some subjects and classes than in others.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources Satisfactory. Governors use extra grants of money suitably to improve children’s education. The school has plenty of teachers and support assistants and enough learning resources. The accommodation is satisfactory and some improvements are taking place. Governors try to get best value from their spending and are becoming better at this. Valuable teaching and support time is sometimes wasted, however, when it is not planned and targeted carefully enough. Governors do not have a financial plan to show how they expect to balance the budget in the future.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school needs to do even more checking to make sure that teaching, pupils’ learning and the curriculum all help to lift the standard of children’s work.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Most parents are very happy with all aspects of their children’s education. They are particularly pleased that their children like school and that they feel comfortable coming to school themselves with questions or problems. Almost all parents think that the school is well led and managed. • Parents have no significant worries at all, although just one or two have a variety of small concerns. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 12 Inspectors often agree with parents’ positive views of the school, but teaching and children’s progress are not as good as parents believe them to be. Parents are right to think that the new headteacher leads and manages the school well. Parents can come to school at any time to discuss any individual concerns with staff. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 13

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Since the last inspection, National Curriculum test results in English, mathematics and science for pupils at the age of eleven have risen to a greater extent than the national trend. In 2001, the school received a national award for improvement in test results from 1997 to 2000. The average test results in reading, writing and mathematics for pupils at the age of seven have also improved since a significant dip in 1998.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Although the 2001 test results for pupils at the age of eleven were well below the national average in English, mathematics and science, pupils’ performance was average when compared with the performance of pupils in similar schools. The results from1997 to 2001 together were below the national average in all three subjects. In 2001 in both English and mathematics tests, almost half the pupils failed to reach the level expected at the age of eleven, although in science tests, the proportion was less than one in five pupils. Higher attaining pupils did well in English and mathematics tests, however, and their performance was above average for pupils in similar schools. Girls perform better than boys in tests in English, and the difference is greater than the national picture.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The 2001 test results for pupils at the age of seven were in the lowest five per cent in the country in reading, below average in writing and well below average in mathematics. The slightly better results in writing were due to the fact that a few more pupils than the national average reached a level higher than expected for their age. More than half the pupils, however, either did not reach the level expected at the age of seven or only just reached it, and the school has made lifting the standard of writing a priority for whole-school improvement. In reading, no pupils reached a higher level and more than a third of pupils either did not reach the expected level or only just did so. Pupils did better in mathematics tests, with only about a fifth of the pupils failing to reach the level expected at the age of seven; half the pupils reached either a good average grade or a level higher than expected.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

Test results from 1999 to 2001 together were below the national average. Teachers’ assessments in science in 2001, although variable between the areas of the science curriculum, were well below average. When comparing pupils’ performance in the tests with that of pupils in similar schools, results were well below average in reading, above average in writing and below average in mathematics. Girls do better in reading and writing tests than boys do, and in reading the difference is greater than the national picture. In 2001, however, the performance of boys improved in both reading and writing tests.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. A key issue in the 1998 inspection report was to seek to raise levels of attainment in the school, particularly in Key Stage 2. Documents suggest that the school has carried out the work in the action plan following the inspection satisfactorily. Although National Curriculum test results have improved, the standard of pupils’ work remains very similar to 1998. Inspectors’ judgements take account of a much wider range of evidence than National Curriculum test results. Pupils are not tested in speaking and listening, for example, or in some important areas of mathematics and science and in other subjects. From well below average attainment when children start school, pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall, as well as in literacy and numeracy and in most individual subjects. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 14 5. The standard of pupils’ work is as follows:

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

English well below average well below average Mathematics below average well below average Science below average below average Art and design average average Design and technology no judgement no judgement Geography below average below average History below average below average ICT below average well below average Music no judgement below average Physical education average average

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

6. In English and in all other subjects, pupils listen well to their teachers and make good progress with learning and remembering new words. They listen carefully to teachers’ questions and try hard to answer them. In literacy, pupils’ good listening skills help them to learn and remember the words associated with books and the English language, such as ‘author’, ‘title’ and ‘illustrator’. Pupils are good at looking closely at the sounds that letters and groups of letters represent in words, and this helps them to read new words and to try to spell words correctly in their own writing. Pupils often make good progress in their literacy lessons when they read and talk about books with adults. This good progress is due to the close attention that adults give to questioning pupils about texts and helping them to understand what they are reading. Pupils’ library and researching skills are not yet as good

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

as they need to be at the age of eleven, however, and this weakness shows in the standard of their work in some other subjects too. In numeracy lessons, many pupils are good at estimating answers, but some pupils find it difficult to explain how they worked their answers out. Pupils do not apply their mathematical skills very well in other subjects because they have few chances to learn to do so.

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

7. Pupils have started to achieve well in ICT when they work in the new suite. They still have a lot of work to catch up on, however, and they do not yet use ICT as well as they need to in class lessons and in all the subjects of the curriculum. In science, pupils’ knowledge is growing and they are learning to carry out experiments and make them fair, but they still need help to be able to plan and carry out their own scientific investigations. In most subjects, pupils' attainment is limited by their poor talking skills, and some pupils find it very difficult to expand on the simple sentences they speak and write. This is often because they have not had a very wide variety of previous experiences to talk about. They achieve much more in the few lessons where they are stimulated and motivated to talk about what they are doing. Pupils’ knowledge is often better than their skills in subjects such as geography and history

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

because they do not plan work, research it or present it in different ways often enough.

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

8. The achievement of children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. They make good or very good progress in personal, social and emotional development and in some areas of their physical development. Children settle to school life and routines very quickly and their behaviour is very good. They too make good progress with learning new words in all areas of their learning, but do not use the new words often enough in meaningful conversations with adults. Their knowledge and understanding of the world is weak, and teachers do not do enough to compensate for this. At the end of the reception year, children’s attainment is well below average, overall.

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

9. Pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language make satisfactory progress in lessons and over time. The quality of the extra help Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 15 available for the pupils varies. While some pupils make good progress in individual lessons through carefully targeted work, others sometimes mark time because the work is either too hard or too easy for them. Only one pupil who speaks English as an additional language is in the current Year 6 group for higher attaining pupils in both English and mathematics. School information from the 2001 tests for pupils at the ages of seven and eleven shows that pupils speaking English as an additional language did not perform as well as other pupils.

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Subject At the age of seven At the age of eleven

10. The headteacher keeps a careful eye on National Curriculum test results and the teachers’ predicted results for their pupils. The information she has collated suggests that some pupils make good or very good progress over time, especially in mathematics and science. It also suggests slower progress for some pupils in English. The information system has still to be refined to ensure that the full extent of pupils’ progress is measured accurately. When taking account of all the factors that influence pupils’ achievement over time, especially the particular difficulties encountered by pupils due to their poor talking skills when they start school, the standard of work, although well below average, is acceptable. Governors set targets for test results in English and mathematics based on teachers’ predictions. In 2001, the targets were not met by one or two pupils.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour have improved since the last inspection and they are now good. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, pay attention in lessons, even when teaching is not very inspiring. An example of pupils’ good attitudes was seen in an ICT lesson in Year 5. Pupils were very enthusiastic about working in the new suite and were keen to answer their teacher’s questions. They were not afraid to try out new computer skills and worked sensibly and co-operatively with partners.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils’ good behaviour is seen both in lessons and around the school. They are polite to one another, to their teachers and to the many different adults who work with them. In some lessons, pupils’ behaviour is very good, as seen in a practical science lesson in Year 4 when they thoroughly enjoyed working sensibly with partners to investigate whether the thickness of wire affects the brightness of a light bulb in electrical circuits. In the playground, pupils usually behave well, even with the small amount of activities provided for them to do. They organise themselves into pairs and groups and make up their own games. Pupils behave well in the dining areas too; they know what the routines are and follow them. There have been no recent reported incidents of bullying or racism and only one exclusion for unacceptable behaviour in the previous school year. Pupils from a variety of cultural backgrounds work and play together in harmony and this creates a happy and peaceful

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Pupils’ personal development continues to be good. They mature as they grow older due to the good examples set for them by adults. Pupils show respect for the feelings, values and beliefs of others and have a good understanding of the effects of their own actions and behaviour. In lessons, pupils are happy to work with other pupils in pairs and small groups, as seen in an ICT lesson in Year 2 when they shared computers and helped each other to practise word-processing skills. Pupils are keen to accept small responsibilities and enjoy doing jobs such as handing out materials and collecting them in.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Although attendance is improving and the school has fewer unauthorised absences than most schools, the attendance rate is still well below the national average. This is mainly due to the extended holidays abroad of pupils from Pakistani families and to their absences for religious festivals. Absences from school have an adverse effect on pupils’ education, even though teachers provide extra work for pupils to take to Pakistan with them. Teachers Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 16 mark registers quickly and correctly, and this means that lessons start promptly and no time is wasted.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

15. At the last inspection, 11 per cent of the lessons were unsatisfactory and a key issue in the inspection report was to reduce the level of unsatisfactory teaching. There were no unsatisfactory lessons during this inspection. The school has largely addressed the key issue, although it has not increased the proportion of good or very good teaching, which remains at four out of ten lessons with only a tiny proportion of very good teaching.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. Teaching and learning remain satisfactory overall. They are satisfactory in literacy, numeracy and most other subjects. Teaching and learning in physical education and in ICT lessons in the new suite are now good. The good teaching in ICT is a fairly recent improvement. Teachers have increased their own confidence to teach ICT skills. In a good lesson in Year 3, pupils made good progress in both ICT and art and design due to the teacher’s confidence and skills in guiding pupils through their new work. Teachers use the new ICT suite and teaching aids well and pupils learn and practise new skills at a good pace, but they rarely use the computers available in their own classrooms. The good teaching in physical education is due to teachers’ organisational skills and to their high expectations of pupils to learn from their own mistakes and to improve their movements. It was not possible to make judgements about teaching and learning in music in Key Stage 1 because no

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

lessons were seen. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 make good progress in class music lessons due to good teaching by the headteacher, who has strong expertise and motivates pupils to try hard.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. The strongest feature of most of the teaching in literacy and numeracy lessons and in all subjects is teachers’ successful management of pupils. They set high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and most pupils respond positively to the guidance offered by adults. The fact that teachers and support assistants are so well organised and prepared helps lessons to proceed smoothly without disruptions.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. Lessons get off to a good start because teachers discuss new work with the pupils. They are good at asking questions that encourage pupils to think before answering, as in a literacy lesson in Year 6 when the teacher helped pupils to explain their views about the use of mobile phones. Teachers know the importance of introducing pupils to new words in all subjects, and are often successful in helping them to learn and understand these words. In a numeracy lesson in Year 2, for example, pupils increased their understanding of the words associated with multiplication because the teacher planned carefully for this. Pupils often spend too much time listening to adults, especially in literacy lessons, and teachers do not plan enough chances for them to practise using these new words in conversations about interesting activities. Much of pupils’ work involves copying things or completing photocopied worksheets that have little direct meaning to many of them; consequently, pupils learn at a

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

fairly leisurely pace. In a very good art and design lesson in Year 4, this was not the case, and pupils made very good progress in both English and art and design because they talked with adults about interesting practical work. Teachers plan too few such chances for pupils to learn from exciting and challenging experiences.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Teachers’ lesson planning is satisfactory. They often make it clear what they want pupils to learn, and this is an improvement since the last inspection report. Teachers have made a good start with involving pupils in their own learning by telling them what each lesson is going to be about. They are beginning to involve pupils even further by telling them what they need to do next to improve their own writing, but this is in the early stages of putting into Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 17 full practice and pupils do not yet know much about it. Marking of work varies in usefulness to pupils, and the good example in Year 4 is the exception rather than the rule. Although lesson plans in literacy and numeracy often show that groups of pupils are going to have different work on the same theme, this is not the case in all classes or in other subjects. Too often, pupils all have the same work, regardless of the National Curriculum level they have already

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

attained, and this is not always the best match for them.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory overall, although they are good and sometimes very good in personal, social and emotional development. Staff settle children into school life and routines very well and ensure that their behaviour is very good. They help children to feel happy and secure so that they become confident to work with several adults and a variety of materials and equipment. As in other classes, staff give a lot of attention to increasing children’s vocabulary at every opportunity, but children spend too much time listening and not enough time talking about things that interest and excite them. Lesson planning takes some account of the national guidance, but there is further work to do to make sure that children always have work matched closely to their assessed learning needs.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. The school provides a lot of extra teaching and support time to help pupils who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs. The ratio of adults to pupils is sometimes very high in lessons and all staff are caring and supportive towards the pupils. The quality of the support teaching, although satisfactory overall, is variable, depending on the amount of time set aside by teachers for planning what pupils are going to learn. Pupils’ learning is sometimes good, as in ICT lessons in Years 3 and 6 when pupils had close direct help to learn how to use computers. When pupils work with bi-lingual assistants they make good progress because the assistants are sensitive to pupils’ needs and switch from speaking English to ‘mother-tongue’ as necessary. On the other hand, pupils’ learning slows down when valuable support time is wasted because adults only supervise pupils. Although teachers are keen for the pupils to do well, support time is not as

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

helpful as it could be when pupils’ work does not take full account of their individual education plans or the assessed language needs of pupils. Support assistants often benefit from good training and help from teachers to enable them to teach particular programmes of work designed to help pupils to do better. In Years 1 and 5, for example, support assistants have positive relationships with pupils and help them to make good progress during the short but helpful sessions on spelling.

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PUPILS?

22. The curriculum meets the requirement to include all the subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. Time for the curriculum is balanced suitably between subjects over each school year. Some subjects, however, such as geography, history and design and technology are not taught every term, and this means that pupils do not build up their knowledge, understanding and skills in a continuous way. Checking of the time spent on each subject is informal and is done by looking at teachers’ planning. This does not necessarily give an accurate picture of how much time teachers spend teaching each subject. The way in which teachers put together their weekly timetables means that some lessons, especially literacy lessons, are very long, leaving less time for some other subjects. Also, pupils spend a disproportionate amount of time listening to teachers, leaving too little time for them to do interesting things and to talk about their work. Sufficient time for ICT is

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PUPILS?

only just beginning to be possible since the opening of the suite. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 18 23. The National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy provide the basis for daily lessons in all classes, and these are beginning to raise standards in English and mathematics. The school has a current focus on raising standards in writing and teachers have started to use the literacy hour to work with groups of pupils and help them to improve their reading and writing skills. Pupils’ oral and mental skills in mathematics improve steadily because they practise them every day.

p.17

PUPILS?

24. The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage meets requirements for religious education and takes adequate account of national guidelines. Good attention to personal, social and emotional development helps children to settle quickly into school life and routines. Although there is strong emphasis on learning new words, there is not enough time for them to practise using these, for instance in answering challenging questions and in interesting conversations with staff. Planning shows that staff consider what children should be able to do by the end of the reception year, but it does not focus enough upon the steps that they need to take to prepare them thoroughly for work in the subjects of the National Curriculum. Children often begin formal work in these subjects before they are ready.

p.18

PUPILS?

25. Pupils with special educational needs have help to be able to join in lessons in all the subjects of the National Curriculum. This help could sometimes be tailored more closely to their particular needs, however, by increasing the amount of detail in their individual education plans. Pupils who speak English as an additional language have a lot of extra help in lessons, although the help is not always tied closely enough to their assessed levels of English.

p.18

PUPILS?

26. Provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is satisfactory. Governors have taken the decision not to include sex education in the curriculum, but drugs education is covered appropriately as part of work in science. Educational visits add positively to pupils’ experiences, as do good links with the community. These links include visits to the local theatre, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, an art gallery, Skelton Grange and the Earth Centre, and a residential visit to Hornsea for older pupils. Links with other primary and secondary schools help pupils to transfer happily to their next stage of education. The school provides a satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities covering sport, music, board games, sewing, working with clay and a homework club; pupils of all ages can attend, although only a few pupils attend some of them.

p.18

PUPILS?

27. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is good and provision for their cultural development is satisfactory. The themes and topics for assemblies interest pupils and raise their awareness of the world around them. Teachers encourage pupils to think about the deeper meanings of life, as when they think about how the season of spring is represented through beautiful flowers. They learn and sing a good range of songs that encourage them to reflect upon a variety of aspects of their lives. The special achievement assemblies help pupils to appreciate the efforts of others in terms of both their work and their behaviour. Staff teach the principles of right and wrong at every opportunity, and encourage pupils to show respect for adults and other pupils. There are opportunities for pupils to offer a helping hand around the school, for example by setting out the dining hall and looking after the

p.18

PUPILS?

younger pupils. Pupils take their duties seriously and this helps them to learn about working together co-operatively. Teachers assist pupils’ social development by asking them to work together in pairs or small groups in lessons, and pupils are willing to help each other. Opportunities to raise money for charitable organisations encourage pupils to think about how they can help others in their own society and around the world.

p.18

PUPILS?

28. Pupils have sound opportunities to increase their cultural understanding in subjects such as religious education, geography and history. They learn to answer the register in a variety of European languages. Teachers do not always extend cultural opportunities widely enough, for example by listening to music from several different cultures and studying art Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 19 from a variety of cultures. There are very good plans in music, however, for all pupils to take part in a multi-cultural programme of work.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

29. Pupils are safe and secure in the welcoming school environment. Procedures for child protection and for ensuring pupils’ welfare are good. All staff have been trained in child protection issues and they have regular updating of their training. The headteacher gives high priority to health and safety matters such as risk assessments. She carries out regular safety checks of the building with the site manager so that any hazards are spotted and rectified.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

30. The school has responded well to the key issue about attendance in the last inspection report. Checking registers and encouraging pupils to attend regularly are now good and the attendance figures have improved. This has been achieved by following up any unexplained absences, involving the education social worker and by encouraging parents not to take extended holidays during term time. Where pupils continue to have long holidays in Pakistan, teachers try to minimise the effect by providing work for pupils to complete while they are away. The attendance trophy that is presented in assembly each week to the class with the highest attendance during the previous week motivates pupils to attend school regularly. Pupils also like the individual attendance certificates that they receive for full attendance each half term and throughout the year. Teachers comment in pupils’ annual reports where attendance has been poor.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

31. Procedures for keeping an eye on pupils’ behaviour and making sure that any problems are spotted and dealt with quickly are mainly good. Staff focus on rewarding good behaviour, and this helps pupils to feel good about themselves and to try hard. Pupils devise their own class rules and know that good behaviour will be rewarded. This results in an orderly and pleasant school community that has a positive effect on pupils’ attitudes to work. Teaching and all support staff know what the rewards and sanctions are, and a consistent approach helps pupils to see that things are fair. Where pupils need a lot of help to improve their behaviour, teachers involve parents by sending home weekly reports. Parents think that this goes a long way to helping the pupils to try harder. The headteacher spends time if necessary discussing incidents with pupils in order to help them to understand why their behaviour is unacceptable. No incidents of bullying or racist behaviour were seen during the

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

inspection, and pupils know that they should tell a teacher or another adult if they feel threatened in any way.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

32. Procedures for watching over and supporting pupils’ personal development are satisfactory. Adults encourage pupils to show consideration for one another. They provide good role models themselves and teach good manners and tolerance. Adults want pupils to feel proud of themselves and their achievements, and the smiley face awards and the special achievement certificates in assemblies make this possible. The fact that parents can attend the special assemblies increases pupils’ sense of pride.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

33. Staff are developing a few good systems for assessing and recording pupils’ attainment in English, mathematics and science, although systems in other subjects are not yet very advanced. As well as National Curriculum tests at the ages of seven and eleven, there are annual reading tests for all pupils in Years 3 to 6 and voluntary National Curriculum tests in English and mathematics for those pupils not taking part in the mandatory tests. Teachers keep regular informal notes about their pupils’ progress, such as weekly records of marks achieved in spelling tests. At the end of science topics, teachers record which pupils fully understand the work, which have a reasonable grasp and which need more help to understand. Although teachers keep records of which books pupils have read, along with a Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 20 few very general comments about their reading, they do not look out for and note enough

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

about the specific ways in which pupils’ reading needs to improve. Teachers use the information they collect to group pupils of similar levels of attainment in classes, but they do not use it well enough in order to plan how pupils are going to reach a higher National Curriculum level. Far too often, pupils all have the same work, regardless of the fact that there is a huge difference in attainment between the higher and lower attaining pupils in each class. This means that bright pupils sometimes mark time and lower attaining pupils struggle to keep up.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

34. Teachers notice when pupils are not making progress and refer them to the special needs co-ordinator promptly. Provision for pupils with special educational needs enables them to make progress at the same rate as other pupils in their class. The quality of their individual education plans varies, however, and some are not sufficiently specific to help teachers to plan carefully matched work for them. Provision for pupils with statements of special educational needs is good. The school meets the requirements of statements and works closely with support agencies.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. Staff assess children’s attainment when they start nursery and when they start their reception year. They record a lot of helpful information about what children already know, understand and can do. They do not refer to this sufficiently, however, when planning what children need to learn next within the ‘stepping stones’ that form the Foundation Curriculum. This means that some of the work is unsuitable, especially for reception age children, and the time spent by adults is not always targeted carefully enough to make sure that all the children make as much progress as they possibly can, especially in extending their talking and thinking skills.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

36. Teachers with responsibility for pupils who speak English as an additional language assess the level of speech and understanding of English of all these pupils. The detailed records show clearly what pupils can already do and what they are not yet able to do. The school misses a good opportunity to use this information to set individual or group targets for them, thus ensuring that the extra help for pupils in lessons focuses on improving pupils’ speaking so that they can achieve more in lessons across all subjects.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

37. The headteacher keeps detailed records of test results and analyses these in many different ways to gain knowledge and understanding of how well pupils in the school perform and where improvements in test results are most needed. This information is helpful in deciding where to target extra help for pupils, including those with special educational needs. The headteacher, wisely, wants to move this system of target setting on to the next stage, so that targets for groups of pupils and sometimes individual pupils become part of teachers’ curriculum and lesson planning. Currently, the targeted extra help in lessons is not always as effective as it could be when pupils do not have the right work to take them up to the next National Curriculum level. This is an important matter for the school to address because the determination to provide help for pupils who need it is not always seen fully in reality.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

38. The inspection questionnaire and the comments of the very few parents who attended the meeting or those who spoke with inspectors during the inspection all suggest that parents have very good views about the school. They have no significant concerns at all about the quality of education that the school provides. Inspectors mainly agree with the positive views Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 21 of parents, although teaching and their children’s progress are not as good as some parents believe them to be.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

39. The school’s open door policy is seen in action every day and this ensures that parents feel welcome at school. Parents often take advantage of the chances they have to become involved in the life of the school and in their children’s education. Parents of pupils in Year 1, for example, can come to the weekly Parent Partnership sessions when they read in the classroom with their children. These occasions are relaxed and friendly and parents enjoy them – everyone is welcome including younger brothers and sisters and babies. Parents of pupils in Year 2 can attend sessions for an hour each week after school. They work with the class teacher and join in with their children in a variety of activities, including pottery, computers, embroidery and making finger puppets.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

40. Information for parents about the school and about how well their children are getting on, including annual reports, is satisfactory. Although reports tell parents about their children’s progress so far, they rarely say much about where children need to improve. Parents can meet with teachers to discuss their children’s progress three times each year, and they have their annual reports before the meetings at the end of the school year. A bi- lingual assistant helps parents who do not speak English to communicate with teachers. Teachers inform parents of the topics their children will be studying, and the monthly newsletters help them to keep in touch with school events.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

41. The school seeks to involve all parents in their children’s learning and has forged some helpful links that support the pupils’ education well. The response from parents is variable, however, and although parents’ attendance at open evenings and at the Parent Partnership sessions is good, no parents help in school on a regular basis. Pupils can take their reading books home, but not all have chances to read at home with adults. The Friends of St Mary’s group organises successful social and fund-raising events. Few parents attend the group’s meetings, but many support the events. Overall, parents make a sound contribution to children’s learning at school and at home.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

42. Leadership and management of the school are satisfactory overall. A key issue in the 1998 inspection report was to develop the work of the governing body, including rectifying problems with the budget. There have been several changes to the membership of the governing body and some governors are fairly new to the school. Nevertheless, most governors are now closely involved in all aspects of the work of the school and the previous problems with the budget have been rectified.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

43. The headteacher has only been in post permanently since April 2001. The school has achieved a lot in a very short time due to her good leadership and management. She gives clear educational direction, has gained the confidence of staff, governors and parents and is approachable and accessible to everyone. Staff and parents agree that pupils’ behaviour is now much better and they like the fact that projects, such as the current building project, move forward without delays. Relationships in the school are now good. The headteacher has already identified where most of the school’s strengths and areas for further improvement lie, and she knows that there is still a lot to do to improve the effectiveness of the school. She keeps a close eye on the National Curriculum test results and uses these to measure how well the school is doing and to target the school’s resources. She has introduced a lot of helpful management information systems, using her ICT skills, and these

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

increase the efficiency of the school. The school has good administrative support that enables teachers to concentrate their efforts on teaching the pupils. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 22 44. The headteacher wants all staff to become involved in improving the school and has recently lifted the profile of the deputy headteacher by delegating more management responsibilities to her. Teachers have responsibilities for leading subjects or important areas of school life. Since the last inspection, there have been several staff changes and some subject leaders are fairly new to their duties. The situation in some subjects has not changed much overall since the last inspection, although the headteacher gives guidance and support to enable teachers to increase their own leadership skills. This support is beginning to have an impact in raising standards, although it is more evident in some subjects than in others. In

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

ICT, for example, the work of the headteacher and subject leader together is having a good impact on pupils’ progress when they work in the new ICT suite. Some subjects are not due for whole-school improvement in the near future, and leaders of those subjects have little direct impact on the overall quality of teaching in the school.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

45. The headteacher keeps governors well informed about the life and work of the school. They are supportive and meet their responsibilities soundly. The school development plan has several important strengths that give direction to the work of both staff and governors. The priorities in the plan show commitment to improving provision and thus raising standards, for example closing the gap between pupils’ performance in reading and that in writing. The targets are not always sufficiently precise to address the most urgent problem, for example pupils’ poor talking skills and getting more pupils to the level expected for their ages.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

46. Governors keep a watchful eye on the budget and check to see that committed spending is on track. They take full advantage of special grants available and make sure that funds are spent appropriately. They find it difficult, however, to have a clear longer-term financial plan to show how they will avoid running into financial difficulties again in the future. The school has not had a full financial audit for several years. Governors apply the principles of best value soundly and ensure that the school gives satisfactory value for money.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

47. The policies and procedures for managing the performance of staff are good. All staff are involved and have targets to reflect school priorities as well as individual priorities. Observing teachers at work is becoming normal practice, and a few subject leaders have had an opportunity to find out directly what happens in classes other than their own. Checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning has yet to be reflected fully in lifting the standard of pupils’ work because the systems are still fairly new. The headteacher has introduced good procedures for helping and supporting teachers in their first year of teaching.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48. The levels of teaching and support staff are good, and in some lessons the ratio of adults to pupils is unusually high. The headteacher has already made changes to increase the school’s efficiency by looking closely at how support teachers and support assistants are deployed. While there are examples of good and sometimes very good use of extra help in lessons, there are also occasions when pupils do not benefit fully because their work is not matched closely to their assessed needs. This weakness applies to all pupils at times, but particularly to those who speak English as an additional language. This problem is accentuated when two teachers working in the same classroom have not planned the detail of what pupils are going to learn in each lesson. This leads to some inefficiency in the use of funds that governors have set aside specifically for helping particular groups of pupils.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. Governors ensure that teachers have enough learning resources. Resources for ICT have improved considerably recently, although more are needed if pupils are to have opportunities to apply ICT skills in other subjects. The accommodation is satisfactory even with the shortcomings that are currently being addressed. The outdoor site is not very Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 23 attractive, partly due to the current building works, but also due to a build up of litter. The interior of the school is bright, clean, well organised and carefully maintained.

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

50. To improve National Curriculum test results further and to lift the standard of pupils’ work, the school should:

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Continue to improve teaching and pupils’ learning by: Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 24 • providing more chances across the curriculum and in all classes for pupils to talk and to do things that excite them and challenge their thinking; (paragraphs 7,8,18,20,22,24,55,57,58,60,65-67,72,78,84-86,95,98) • providing more chances for pupils to transfer their skills from one subject to another, especially in English, mathematics and ICT; (paragraphs 6,7,16,49,72,77,84,88,93,96,97,99,100,106) • telling pupils what they need to do next to improve their work. (paragraphs 19,70,73,81,86)

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Make sure that pupils’ work is pitched correctly so that it enables them to build on what they already know, understand and can do. (paragraphs 19-21,24,25,33-37,48,55-57,60,63,66,71,73,78-80,83,84,86,99,104)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Extend the existing arrangements for checking that the standard of pupils’ work is high enough and that teaching and the curriculum meet the needs of all the pupils. (paragraphs 22,47,81,86,90,94,99,104,113)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) Review the timetables and duties of support teachers and support staff to make sure that they always have maximum impact on lifting the standard of pupils’ work. (paragraphs 21,35,37,48,55,63,70,79,108)

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

As well as the above key issues, the school should:

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Continue to seek ways to improve pupils’ attendance; (see paragraph 14) Arrange a full financial audit; (see paragraph 46) Include more pupils’ work and things to talk about in displays in classrooms and around the school. (see paragraph 71) Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 25

p.24

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 36

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 18 153

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/a 61

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 1

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 32

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 98

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 7

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 20

p.25

Attendance

School data 6.5 School data 0.4 Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 26 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

p.25

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 27

p.26

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 10 9 19

p.27

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.27

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

Boys * * * Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls * * *

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 79 (63) 63 (66) 84 (80) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.27

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys * * * Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls * * *

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 63 (63) 84 (77) 84 (86) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.27

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

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

p.27

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 11 14 25

p.27

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys 5 6 11 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 9 7 10

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 56 (60) 52 (63) 84 (80) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.27

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys 3 7 11 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 9 9 10

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 48 (57) 64 (53) 68 (70) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

p.27

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 28 * Attainment in Key Stage 1 for girls and boys separately is not included in this report because there were too few pupils tested to require the information to be included. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 29

p.27

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.29

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.29

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 4 Other minority ethnic groups

p.29

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.

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 10 Financial year 2000/2001

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 16.8

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 452,798

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 7 Total expenditure 432,574

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 143.5 Expenditure per pupil 2,351

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year -5,410

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 14,813

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 18 FTE

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 40.5

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 5

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 5

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0 Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 30 FTE means full-time equivalent. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 31 Results of the survey of parents and carers

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

My child is making good progress in school. 64 32 0 2 2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Behaviour in the school is good. 58 34 3 3 2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 68 20 5 5 2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 73 22 3 2 0

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 76 22 0 0 2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 80 17 2 2 0

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

The school works closely with parents. 71 20 7 0 2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

The school is well led and managed. 64 34 0 2 0

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 63 32 0 2 3

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 53 31 10 0 7 Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 32

p.31

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

51. Comparisons with the 1998 report were not made because national guidelines have changed. The school has recently re-organised its provision so that nursery and reception children are taught together in a unit across the yard. They are taught by a teacher and two nursery nurses as well as by several part-time support assistants. The teacher has responsibility for all the children, and spends most time working with upper foundation children (reception). Nursery nurses spend most time working with lower foundation children (nursery).

p.32

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

52. When children start in the unit, their attainment is well below average and their talking and personal and social skills are often poor. The achievement of girls and boys, including those who speak English as an additional language, is satisfactory, although it is good and often very good in some aspects of their work, particularly in personal, social and emotional development. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall and in most areas of learning reported below. When children transfer to Year 1, their attainment is well below average overall. Children’s personal, social and emotional development and their physical development, however, are better, although still below average. Teaching and learning in personal, social and emotional development are good, and this helps children in all other areas of their learning.

p.32

Personal, social and emotional development

53. Staff give high priority to this area of learning and work hard together to help children to settle happily and quickly into routines. They are friendly and caring and create a purposeful atmosphere where children feel secure. They have high expectations that children will learn to take responsibility for themselves and their belongings, such as coats and book bags, and that they will help to tidy things away. One girl did not need to be asked to sweep up the sand; she knew where to find the dustpan and brush and got on with the sweeping at tidy up time. Even the youngest children know where to hang painting aprons and they go to the toilet by themselves. All children behave very well. There is no sign of any unfriendliness and plenty of examples of co-operation and playing together happily. Staff teach good manners and correct behaviour all the time, and children respond by doing what they are told.

p.32

Personal, social and emotional development

Upper foundation children take part in whole-school assemblies and go to the main school building for formal physical education lessons. They are confident to do so and sit still and listen very well, for example in the assembly to celebrate older pupils’ achievements. Although most children attain many of the goals set nationally for the end of the Foundation Stage, they find it difficult to respond to a wide range of experiences by talking confidently about them, and this limits their attainment in many other areas of their work.

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

54. Staff give a lot of attention to extending children’s knowledge and understanding of individual words. Much of the work during the inspection centred on words linked with the topic of ‘Houses and Homes’, and staff questioned children all the time to encourage them to learn and remember the new words. A bi-lingual assistant worked with children who still need a lot of help to understand English, and the children made good progress by playing a game about shapes and talking about it in a natural and helpful way. Staff talk to children clearly and this provides good models of speech for the children. Children of all ages make good progress in learning and repeating the individual words that staff teach them, such as the names of shapes and the features of houses. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 33 55. Children listen to adults very well, as when upper foundation children listened to the teacher in literacy and numeracy lessons, and when lower foundation children listened to

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Communication, language and literacy

nursery nurses in their two daily sessions together in the smaller room. All the children spend a lot of their time sitting and listening, however, and have fewer chances to practise using the new words or having conversations about things that interest and excite them. This is because lower foundation children spend more than half their session in the small room or taking part in outdoor playtime and upper foundation children spend a large proportion of their time taking part in formal literacy, numeracy and topic lessons. This leaves little time for children to learn to communicate with others through playing, exploring and investigating things. Although adults ask children questions, they do not plan these sufficiently well to make sure that they challenge all the children to build on their existing skills. Consequently, children’s talking skills are well below average by the end of the Foundation Stage, and some

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Communication, language and literacy

do not improve as quickly as they could, given the number of adults who work with them closely every day.

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Communication, language and literacy

56. Many lower foundation children do very well in learning to enjoy stories from books and reciting rhymes. Their knowledge of the words associated with books is excellent. They show interest and take delight in remembering what happens next in a familiar story. Many upper foundation children also enjoy following the words of their big book and answering questions about it. Some understand terms, such as ‘word’, ’letter’ and ‘page, and some are beginning to be able to blend sounds together to read simple words. They copy their teacher’s writing and some attempt to write a few words by themselves. All recognise their own names and many can write their own names with help. In many respects, some children do very well for their age, but their achievement overall is limited because the work that they do is not always pitched correctly for them. They move on rapidly in reading and writing, all at a similar rate, regardless of where they are within the ‘stepping stones’ of the Foundation

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Mathematical development

57. Nursery nurses help lower foundation children to learn to count, sort, match things and use words associated with shapes, such as ‘sides’ and ‘corners’. They do this by saying number rhymes and by talking with children during whole-group sessions in the small room and during planned activities, such as sticking windows and doors on house shapes. Most children make good progress with this aspect of their mathematical development. Many can count at least to ten and all try to join in with an action song involving five objects. They use their fingers to help them to show what happens each time one object is taken away. Upper foundation children take part in daily formal numeracy lessons. Their behaviour is very good, especially considering that the work is too advanced for some, and they sit and listen for a long time. Most children can count together beyond ten and some can spot when a number in

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Mathematical development

a sequence is missing. They join in rhymes involving numbers up to ten and some recognise and name more complex geometric shapes, such as ‘hexagons’. Children record their work about numbers and shapes formally in exercise books and some write a few numbers correctly. Although many children attempt to write numbers up to 20 and complete sums, they still need help to write smaller numbers correctly, and they do not have enough opportunities to learn to solve simple number problems in their daily play and in challenging practical activities and conversations with adults.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 34 58. Staff plan children’s work around topics, such as the current topic of ‘Houses and Homes’. This provides some good opportunities for children to learn new words linked with houses, such as ‘roof’, ‘chimney’ and ‘window’. Planning, however, gives less attention to encouraging children to learn about the world around them by finding things out for themselves or by talking with adults in their day-to-day play. Staff question children about houses, but do not always take the opportunities that arise to ask challenging questions that extend children’s thinking, understanding and talking skills. When one child showed interest in a display of building materials, a nursery nurse seized the opportunity to ask, “What does it feel like?”, but this depth of questioning was not seen often enough. Lower foundation children can say what the weather is like outside but only in one or two word answers. They

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

are familiar with the days of the week and the terms ‘today’, ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’. Children enjoy playing in the water and in the sand but many are not very confident to talk about it, even with familiar adults.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

59. Upper foundation children take part in formal lessons, such as a lesson about houses and homes, and some children remember words, for instance ‘terraced’ and ‘semi- detached’. The teacher helped them to compile a chart about all their own houses, but they did not understand when she asked, “Which is the most popular kind of house?” The activity took a long time, especially for those who needed a lot more help to understand this advanced work. Children’s previous work shows that they can label a diagram of a flower, although this is similar work to that seen in Year 2 during the inspection. Photographs show that a nurse has visited to talk about keeping teeth healthy and that children have made a fruit salad and written about planting seeds. The class computer was not available during the inspection and there are no programmable toys. Photographs show, however, that children do have chances to use a computer, although software is limited.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

60. Lesson planning takes some account of the national goals for children at the end of the Foundation Stage, but there is not enough reference to the national guidance when planning activities to help children to achieve them. Although a lot of the children are from Pakistani families there is not much in the unit to reflect this in the work every day. There are gaps in children’s learning that are often due to a lack of experiences and opportunities for talking about them. Staff do not spend enough time compensating children for this before introducing work that is more closely based on the National Curriculum than the Foundation Curriculum.

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Physical development

61. Staff provide a lot of good opportunities for children to improve their physical skills. Lower foundation children can use a wide range of equipment with control, such as brushes, scissors, threading beads and pencils. Many upper foundation children hold writing and drawing materials correctly and show good control when cutting out with scissors. All the children move safely and sensibly around the unit, and upper foundation children know their way to the main school. They move around the larger space in the hall during their formal physical education lessons. When playing ring and ball games outside, children show a good awareness of space and other children, and they enjoy moving energetically. Most children make good progress overall, although they do not have regular chances to learn to balance, climb or become confident in travelling through, under, over and around large equipment outdoors. This restricts their physical development over time.

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Creative development

Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 35 62. Staff provide a satisfactory variety of opportunities for children’s creative development. Lower foundation children enjoy listening to stories, saying ‘finger-play’ rhymes and making patterns with beads. They join in and enjoy singing nursery rhymes together in their whole- group sessions. Upper foundation children enjoy using the tape recorder to look at and follow the words of books with a friend. They make up their own stories in the pretend house, although the quality of this play improves a lot when a nursery nurse becomes involved in their conversations. Many children thoroughly enjoy playing games together outside, such as ‘The Farmer’s in his Den’, and they draw pictures to illustrate their writing in literacy lessons. The plan for the half term includes several other suitable activities, but where staff plan for creative development through the topic of ‘Houses and Homes’, some work does not leave

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Creative development

enough to children’s own creativity. Children’s models of houses and their shape pictures of houses, for instance, are not a result of their own creative or imaginative ideas. Some children’s work is too heavily directed by staff and this stifles their own ideas.

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Creative development

63. The premises are being upgraded very shortly and children do not have their entitlement to a full and regular outdoor curriculum even when they could. The teacher knows where some further improvements to lesson planning could be made in the future. Staff collect and record a lot of very helpful and valuable assessment information about the children, including information about their talking skills, but lesson planning does not take enough account of this information. Staff say that they know children well and talk together about them, but these informal methods of making decisions about what staff and children are going to do are not sufficiently rigorous to ensure that children always make the amount of progress they could.

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ENGLISH

64. The standard of pupils’ work at the ages of seven and eleven is well below average, and this is similar to the last inspection report. The achievement of girls and boys, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, often from low starting points at the beginning of Year 1, is satisfactory. There are some areas of work, however, where pupils’ achievement is better, especially in reading. Teaching and learning in Key Stages 1 and 2 have both strengths and areas for improvement and are satisfactory overall.

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ENGLISH

65. In speaking and listening, pupils of all ages listen well to adults. They listen when teachers ask questions in all subjects and most try hard to answer, using the new words that teachers have taught them. Many pupils, however, find it very hard to explain their ideas fully, and their answers are often short and simple. Teachers are good at asking questions in ways that encourage pupils to add more detail to their answers. They know how important it is to expand pupils’ vocabulary in all subjects, and they do so very regularly. In Year 6, for example, pupils know and use words correctly, such as ‘introduction’, ‘conclusion’ and ‘paragraph’. This is because teachers emphasise such words in their teaching. Teachers speak clearly themselves and this provides good models of speech for the pupils. However, teachers do not plan systematically to build up pupils’ talking skills through different kinds of

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ENGLISH

conversations with adults and other pupils in all subjects. Consequently, pupils do not have enough chances to practise using new words in meaningful speech. In some lessons across the subjects, pupils spend a lot of time listening to adults and little time practising their own talking skills. Also, teachers do not always provide enough practical work to give pupils a wide variety of experiences to talk about. This means that very few pupils reach a level higher than expected for their ages and a large proportion of pupils do not attain the required level at the ages of seven and eleven. Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 36 66. About half the pupils speak English as an additional language and the school benefits from extra funding to help them to overcome any barriers to their learning. Governors set funds aside for further teaching time and to cover the cost of employing support assistants to

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ENGLISH

help the pupils. Pupils make sound progress over time, although they sometimes make good progress when they work directly in small groups with adults. Good quality bi-lingual teaching, for example, is very beneficial for those pupils who are at an early stage of learning to speak English. Having extra adults in lessons allows pupils to have more help than would otherwise be the case. Although support teachers assess pupils’ language skills and have very helpful records, they do not work closely enough with class teachers to plan how best to help the pupils to improve their speaking skills in carefully targeted work. Teachers know that pupils need extra help and aim to provide it, but pupils’ work is not always sufficiently based on their need to have a lot of first-hand experiences to talk about. This limits pupils’ attainment in reading and in writing too because they do not recognise unfamiliar words in books and find it

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ENGLISH

67. Reading is well below average at the ages of seven and eleven. Some pupils start Year 1 with a fairly good knowledge of the sounds that letters and groups of letters represent in words, and teachers build on this in literacy lessons. Pupils learn to tackle reading new words by looking at the letters and trying to ‘sound words out’. This skill also helps them with spelling words by themselves when writing. In literacy lessons, teachers use big books well to increase pupils’ confidence to read different kinds of texts. This was seen when all the pupils in Year 2 tried to join in reading aloud together from a class non-fiction book, and about three-quarters could read many of the words with help. Teachers are good at questioning pupils to encourage them to make sense of what they are reading. They help pupils to learn words associated with books, such as ‘author’ and ‘title’, and many pupils remember these

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ENGLISH

terms and use them in their answers to questions. There is a wide range of attainment in reading by Year 2, however, with few higher attaining pupils and a fairly large group of pupils who are unlikely to reach the standard expected for their age in the forthcoming tests. One of the reasons for well below average standards is that many pupils find it hard to talk about books and do not have much experience of life outside home and school to help them. Teachers in all classes encourage pupils to take books home and read with adults or older brothers and sisters, but not many pupils discuss books at home regularly.

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ENGLISH

68. In Key Stage 2, pupils become more accurate and fluent when reading from a wider variety of books and texts. They read together in literacy lessons and on other occasions, such as in singing lessons when they read the words of songs on the overhead projector. Most pupils in Year 6 join in with reading aloud together from extracts as part of their work on presenting arguments for and against. Their teachers ask challenging questions, such as, “How would you describe the first paragraph?” Although many pupils can read the extracts, they find it hard to put their ideas into words. Similarly, when discussing the books they are reading, most pupils have little to say about what has already happened in stories. Pupils do not have sufficient library skills for their age and they do not often research in books or on the Internet as part of their work in English or in other subjects. Pupils continue to do well in

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ENGLISH

learning and using the words associated with books, such as ‘contents’ and ‘index’. This is because teachers take every opportunity to help them to do so. There are few higher attaining pupils in Year 6, however, and too many pupils who are unlikely to attain the National Curriculum level expected for pupils at the age of eleven.

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ENGLISH

69. Teachers are still fairly new to reading with groups of pupils in literacy lessons. This work is progressing well, however, as seen in Year 5 when a teacher read poetry with a group of lower attaining pupils. They made good progress owing to the teacher’s good questioning that helped them to learn to refer to the text when explaining their answers. Similarly, in Year 1, the class teacher helped a group of lower attaining pupils to make good progress in finding out how books are organised and what words associated with books Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 37 mean. A national programme for helping pupils in Year 1 to catch up with other pupils is very successful because the support assistant follows the printed guidance, interests the pupils and explains the lesson well to them. Pupils make good progress with learning to read and write words correctly by looking closely at letter sounds.

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ENGLISH

70. Developing writing skills across the subjects of the curriculum is one of the school’s priorities and subject leaders want to improve planning for this. As with reading, teachers are still fairly new to working with groups of pupils and guiding them to be able to write by themselves. The quality of this work is variable. In a lesson in Year 2, for example, five pupils in one group did not learn much because the supporting teacher did not have a clear enough knowledge about how the class teacher wanted the pupils to improve. The pupils struggled to write in the past tense about an experience they had not actually had, and the teacher did not give pupils enough opportunities to think through their own ideas and words. In a lesson in Year 5, however, pupils made good progress in learning to write using computers due to the good quality support they received. Teachers’ marking varies from class to class with some

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ENGLISH

71. As a result of a special focus on handwriting and presentation, these areas are starting to improve. When all the pupils in the class have the same handwriting exercises, however, this is not always appropriate for the lower attaining pupils who need a lot more help with easier letter joins first. Some of the higher attaining pupils do not need to spend time practising when they already write in a neat and consistently joined style. Teachers encourage pupils to read the print around the school and classrooms by presenting it very carefully using computers. There is very little of pupils’ own writing displayed, however, and teachers miss a valuable opportunity to show pupils how much their writing is valued by giving everyone a chance to enjoy reading it.

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ENGLISH

72. By Year 2, pupils write down their ideas in several subjects and styles. They write in geography, for example, about the travels of Barnaby Bear, and they write about a visit to the pantomime. Throughout Key Stage 2, pupils learn to write in varying styles and for different purposes. By Year 6, they write stories, letters, instructions, reports, diaries and descriptions. Some of the writing is sensitive and thoughtful, as when a higher attaining pupil wrote in history about the experiences of an evacuee. Not all pupils write at sufficient length, however, and too few pupils use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Pupils are only just beginning to have regular chances to draft and redraft their writing on computers, and this means that they do not reach the level expected for their ages. One of the reasons why standards are well below average is that pupils spend too much time copying writing or

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ENGLISH

completing formal exercises that have little meaning to them, when they could be doing things that give them something interesting to talk and later write about.

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ENGLISH

73. Teachers make it clear in planning what they want pupils to learn in most lessons. They share this with pupils at the beginning of lessons and often refer back at the end to see if lessons have been successful. Also, teachers sometimes set pupils worthwhile targets to improve their writing, as in Year 6 where some pupils know, for example, when they must try harder to write in paragraphs or connect two shorter sentences into one longer one. These features of teaching involve pupils well in their own learning. This practice is not consistent, however, and when asked, many pupils did not know what they have to do to improve either their reading or their writing. Although teachers sometimes set harder or easier work for some pupils, they do not match pupils’ work in literacy lessons to National Curriculum assessments so that all pupils are constantly working towards the next level. Subject leaders

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ENGLISH

have already pinpointed this as an area for improvement through the school development plan. The Year 2 teacher has devised a useful system for assessing pupils and finding out what they need to learn next. There are several such useful initiatives by individual teachers, but the school has yet to ensure a consistent approach that leads to a correct match of work Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 38 for pupils of all levels of attainment in each class. The two subject leaders know that teachers will need more help to be able to make sure that assessments of National Curriculum levels are always accurate and reliable.

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ENGLISH

74. The headteacher currently supports a teacher who is fairly new to leading the school in English, but who has made a positive start with helping other teachers. There have been some observations of teaching in the past and more are planned for the summer term. The priority for raising standards in writing is providing a good focus for professional development, and leadership of the subject has a sound impact on the school’s provision.

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MATHEMATICS

75. The standard of pupils’ work is below average at the age of seven and well below average at the age of eleven. The achievement of girls and boys, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, is satisfactory, overall. At the age of eleven, many pupils can solve problems and they usually record their calculations accurately and neatly in exercise books. They are getting better at explaining their answers because teachers understand the importance of this work and make it a regular feature of daily numeracy lessons. An issue in the last report was to improve pupils’ knowledge and use of mathematical vocabulary, and teachers now do well with this aspect of their teaching. Pupils can find information from graphs, use co-ordinates to locate places on maps and calculate measurements, such as perimeters of shapes. Many pupils understand the importance of estimating their answers before calculating so that they can spot whether

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MATHEMATICS

calculations are likely to be accurate or not. Pupils have a satisfactory grasp of the value of numbers within larger numbers and can link this with decimal fractions. They have a good understanding of symmetry, and can measure and draw angles accurately using protractors.

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MATHEMATICS

76. At the age of seven, most pupils have a secure understanding of adding numbers at least to 20. They understand the idea of ‘odd’ and ‘even’ numbers and can recognise patterns in numbers. Pupils estimate accurately and work practically, as when measuring distances using standard and non-standard measures. They recognise and name two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes and can describe them using the mathematical terms ‘ faces’ and ‘corners’. Pupils can solve simple equations, such as 17 + ? = 39, and some can do this quickly and accurately. Many pupils develop a good understanding of mathematical language, and use words, such as ‘double’, ‘halve’, ‘more than’ and ‘less than’, and they become more confident in their mental calculations over time.

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MATHEMATICS

77. Pupils in both key stages have some opportunities to apply their mathematical skills in other subjects. Examples are in history when pupils draw timelines to show events over a period of time, in science when they record the results of experiments and in design and technology when they take measurements for making models. This aspect of pupils’ work is not yet as strong as it needs to be. Similarly, pupils’ use of ICT as an integral part of their work in mathematics is underdeveloped. These shortcomings limit pupils’ attainment in mathematics.

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MATHEMATICS

78. There are some examples of good teaching in both key stages, although the overall picture is mixed, and teaching and learning throughout the school are satisfactory. The introduction of the National Numeracy Strategy has had some positive effects on teaching and pupils’ learning. Teachers have increased their own knowledge of mathematics and this is an improvement since the last inspection. They refer to the national guidelines when planning pupils’ work, and they often involve the pupils well with this at the start of lessons by telling them what they are going to learn. In the whole-class parts of numeracy lessons, teachers mainly use opportunities for direct teaching well, and they introduce pupils to new Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 39 mathematical vocabulary all the time. They often challenge pupils by asking questions and expecting pupils to explain their answers. The level of challenge is not always sufficiently well

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MATHEMATICS

matched to pupils’ prior attainment, however, when they work in groups. Teachers do not always plan different work for the brighter pupils and those who need a lot more help to succeed. This weakness is highlighted further when pupils work from photocopied worksheets that demand little of them in terms of mathematical learning.

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MATHEMATICS

79. Pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language make satisfactory progress, overall. When they work with the well-trained and experienced support assistants, they often make good progress. As with other pupils in their class, however, their work is not always pitched at the right level to enable them to benefit as fully as they might from all the extra help available from adults in lessons. When pupils do not have extra support, their progress slows down.

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MATHEMATICS

80. Teachers are good at managing pupils’ behaviour; consequently, they usually listen carefully to teachers, behave well, concentrate and do their best. The subject leader knows that some pupils lack the confidence needed to attain the National Curriculum level higher than expected for their age. Pupils have regular and helpful homework in Key Stage 2 classes. The main area for improvement in teaching, learning and the curriculum is in making better use of assessment information to guide lesson planning. Teachers assess pupils and are increasingly using the information to set them targets, but they do not use the information well enough when deciding what pupils are going to learn next in lessons. This slows pupils’ learning down so that they do not always make the progress they could, especially considering the generous level of staffing.

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MATHEMATICS

81. The subject leader knows where some of the current strengths and areas for improvement in the school lie. The quality of marking pupils’ work varies from class to class, and it does not always indicate to pupils how they need to improve or give them consistent messages. There have been some opportunities to see teaching in other classes and to check that the curriculum is being covered as well as it should be. There has not yet been an opportunity to look at the work of pupils in other classes, and it is in pupils’ previous work that some of the strengths and weaknesses become most evident. The school has yet to see how well the Foundation Curriculum links with work in Year 1. Overall, leadership and management are satisfactory.

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SCIENCE

82. At the ages of seven and eleven, the standard of pupils’ work is below average. The achievement of girls and boys, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, is satisfactory, although higher attaining pupils could achieve even more. Nevertheless, this is an improvement on the last inspection report when the standard of work at the age of eleven was well below average and there were no higher attaining pupils. Low attainment was a key issue that has been tackled satisfactorily.

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SCIENCE

83. Pupils in Year 2 have a satisfactory knowledge of science. They know, from touching things, that substances differ, for instance jars are rigid while paper is not. They know that different materials are suitable for different uses, for example that although wool is suitable for making jumpers, it is not as suitable for making tables as wood is. By carrying out a simple experiment, pupils know that some materials are more waterproof than others are. Teachers encourage pupils to draw conclusions from investigations, such as that heavy toy cars travel further than light ones after freewheeling down a slope. Pupils record their findings in simple diagrams, charts and tables. Teachers stress the importance of science in everyday life, and as a result, pupils know how vital electricity is in their homes for supplying Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 40 most of the power for all kinds of equipment. Teachers give all pupils the same work,

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SCIENCE

however, regardless of what they already know, understand and can do. Lower attaining pupils and those who speak English as an additional language often have extra help from adults to be able to complete their work. Their progress is still limited, however, by a lack of confidence to talk about their work and by their narrow experiences of the world around them.

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SCIENCE

84. Pupils in Year 6 also have a satisfactory knowledge of science, such as the food chain of barn owls. They know that bacteria can be either good or bad, on the one hand causing tooth decay and on the other hand producing fine cheeses. They know about simple matters of hygiene, such as the proper storage of raw and cooked meats. They also know that materials can change in certain conditions as in, for example, the different effects of freezing and burning. Teachers emphasise the importance of learning by investigating, and most pupils know how to conduct a scientific test that is ‘fair’, for example when measuring the up-thrust of forces. They can predict what might happen in experiments, but do not always do so consistently. Teachers do not give pupils enough opportunity to show what they can do for themselves when planning and carrying out investigations, such as selecting their own equipment and materials and devising their own experiments. While lower attaining

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SCIENCE

pupils benefit from working in groups with brighter pupils, the higher attaining pupils are sometimes held back by not being able to move on to more challenging work. Pupils in all classes are only just beginning to have science work involving ICT, and this limits their achievement.

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SCIENCE

85. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall in both key stages. Teachers follow the national guidelines when planning lessons to make sure that they cover the curriculum and they have the necessary resources ready. They are well organised and manage pupils’ behaviour well in practical lessons so that many pupils are enthusiastic about the topics being studied. Teachers encourage positive working atmospheres, especially when pupils are working on their experiments. Consequently, pupils work sensibly and co-operatively together. Pupils respond positively to adult helpers in lessons, as in a good lesson in Year 4 when a lower attaining group of pupils were proud to be first to suggest how to make an electrical switch, after working with a support assistant. The sensitive support for pupils who speak English as an additional language and the extra opportunities they had to practise talking about science, helped them to make good progress.

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SCIENCE

86. The school has suitable systems for assessing pupils’ attainment, but teachers do not use the information well enough to make sure that they pitch work correctly and have high enough expectations of all the pupils in lessons. Marking of pupils’ work in their books is variable, and it does not always indicate to pupils how they need to improve in science. Lessons and pupils’ previous work show that they sometimes spend too much time copying writing and diagrams rather than recording their own ideas about experiences; not all the work is sufficiently inspiring or demanding, especially for the higher attaining pupils. The subject leader has done well to help to raise the standard of work in Key Stage 2 by encouraging teachers to plan more practical work. She has had a few opportunities to see other teachers teaching and to ensure that all teachers work together to improve work in science.

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ART AND DESIGN

87. Pupils’ achievement, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, is satisfactory and the standard of their work at the ages of seven and eleven is average. This is similar to the last inspection report. The school allocates an appropriate amount of time to art and design over a school year, but owing to the way that teachers construct lesson timetables, the subject is not taught every term in some Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 41 classes. This means that drawing, painting and modelling skills are not taught regularly and systematically, and some pupils could do even better if they had more frequent lessons. Pupils work with a satisfactory range of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, but there is not much evidence of printing and collage work. While some pupils study the work of artists, their knowledge and ability to try out skills and techniques in their own work is

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ART AND DESIGN

88. Pupils in Key Stage 1 have good opportunities to learn to paint and draw. They work carefully, for example when doing large pencil drawings of flowers before creating collage pictures. Pupils in Year 2 can use paint to mix a variety of shades and colours to create ‘cold’ colours for their pictures of waves. They can look at things closely and record their ideas using pencils, as when they observed local buildings such as the church. They are beginning to use ICT to produce pictures of animals and buildings. Pupils in Year 4 produce good pencil drawings of sculptures after examining photographs of the work of Henry Moore carefully. They investigate clay when creating their own sculptures. By Year 6, pupils can work with a wider range of media, for example by drawing using both pencils and pastels. The pastel pictures of mosques on display, which are linked to topic work about Pakistan, are of a good

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ART AND DESIGN

standard. Pupils use sketchbooks but they do not yet use them well as a working record to show how they build up, practise, mix and apply their artistic skills. They are only just starting to use ICT as an integral part of their art and design work. A display of art and design work in the hall, on a theme of winter, shows that pupils of all ages use a range of media and art techniques to record their ideas. This is a good way to celebrate pupils’ achievements and to demonstrate the progress that pupils make over time.

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ART AND DESIGN

89. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, although the small number of lessons during the inspection ranged from satisfactory to very good. In the very good lesson in Year 4, the teacher’s enthusiasm rubbed off on the pupils. They listened carefully to staff, worked sensibly, behaved very well and co-operated successfully with each other. The teacher showed strong expertise by planning a lesson that made sure that pupils could increase their knowledge, understanding and skills all at the same time. A particularly successful feature of this lesson was the very good opportunity for pupils to talk about their work. A teacher worked with pupils who need extra help with learning to speak English and the good questioning and encouragement to use new vocabulary while talking about their work accelerated their progress in both art and design and English. Pupils used different grades of pencils to create

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ART AND DESIGN

effects of shade and shadow. Their mature skills of observation were evident in their finished pictures. Teachers sometimes ask pupils to use their artistic skills in other subjects, such as geography and history, but do not take advantage of opportunities to encourage pupils to complete work carefully.

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ART AND DESIGN

90. Teachers have written guidance to help them with planning lessons, but the subject leader has not yet had an opportunity to find out how well this is being followed in other classes. The school development plan shows that teachers hope to take part in training in the future so that they can increase their own confidence to teach the subject.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

91. Owing to curriculum timetables, no lessons were seen, and no overall judgements were made about teaching, learning or the standard of pupils’ work. At the last inspection, standards were below average and there is little to suggest that the situation has changed much. The subject leader knows that design and technology has not been a recent focus for school development and that some teachers do not yet have strong levels of confidence and Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 42 expertise. This was part of a key issue in the last inspection report, and although teachers took part in a training workshop, further training is planned for next year.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

92. The slippers on display that were designed and made by pupils in Year 6 suggest that pupils made them carefully and with attention to a good quality of finish. They suggest that pupils have a satisfactory understanding of the designing process and can apply several skills, such as measuring and sewing when making things. Teachers make meaningful links with other subjects, as when pupils produce models of Anderson and Morrison shelters as part of their historical study of the Second World War. These too are carefully made models that contain well-made model furniture.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

93. Photographs of the previous work of pupils in Key Stage 1 show that younger pupils use construction kits to make models. They have made model animals with moving parts, showing that they know some methods of joining materials together. Older pupils made wheeled vehicles, although when talking with them about these, they do not remember ever working with motors to power their models. Pupils have had some experiences of food technology and can talk about the hygiene rules for working with food. Older pupils gave satisfactory examples of how to follow a project through from designing to testing finished items. Their experience in pneumatics, the construction of wheeled vehicles, the creation of games, the use of ICT and the testing of products is too limited to enable them to reach the standard expected at the age of eleven.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

94. Staff have undertaken a lot of work in the last four years to improve the school’s provision, and teachers now have a suitable programme of work to help them with planning. There are plans for the subject leader to continue to oversee progress, but some procedures, such as assessing pupils’ work formally and using information to guide lesson planning, are still at a very early stage.

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

95. Owing to curriculum timetables, no lessons were seen in history, and judgements take account of pupils’ previous work and discussions with them about it. The achievement of girls and boys is satisfactory, although the standard of their work is still below average at the ages of seven and eleven. Pupils have a sound knowledge of the subjects, but they do not have strong enough skills in finding and presenting information and evidence by themselves. This is similar to the last inspection report, and is due partly to pupils’ limited reading and writing skills, but also to the modest expectations that teachers have of them.

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

96. In geography, pupils have a reasonable understanding at the age of seven. They are aware of the wider world, but not very strong on detail about it. They know, for example, that their own travelling toy bear has visited Dublin, but do not know where the city is. Pupils know about going on holiday and what they might need to take with them, such as tickets, passports and maps. Teachers extend pupils’ knowledge of places through visits to Hornsea and the North Sea coast. Although pupils can refer to ‘sea’ and ‘sand’, they cannot explain the differences between villages, towns and cities. In history, pupils have some knowledge of famous people like Florence Nightingale, but only the higher attaining pupils can refer to detail like the Crimean War. They know of famous events like the Great Fire of London, and some pupils can say why the fire spread so quickly. They produce little work on paper, however,

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

and this limits their chances to record their ideas in different ways and to practise their writing skills.

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

97. In geography, pupils have a sound understanding at the age of eleven. They know some of the differences between localities around the world. They know, for instance, that Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 43 most of the population in Pakistan work in agriculture and that rivers like the River Indus are crucial for growing crops. They also know information about rivers in general, and can use words such as ‘meander’ and ‘gorges’ correctly. All the pupils in each class complete similar work, however, and their written work lacks the depth required for pupils of their ages. Only occasionally do pupils draw conclusions in their writing, as when one pupil deduced that the Punjab must be a poor area. The situation is similar to this in history. Pupils know key facts about Britain since 1930, such as what was the role of women in World War II and the growing importance of human rights. They can illustrate their facts with useful diagrams,

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

such as a cross-section of an Anderson shelter. They have few chances to explore the past for themselves. This means that their research skills and their ability to present their information in different ways are not as good as they should be. Teachers miss good opportunities in both geography and history to help pupils to practise and apply their literacy and ICT skills.

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

98. Teaching and learning, although satisfactory overall, are not always inspiring enough. Teachers ensure that the curriculum has a solid structure, but do not teach the subjects on a regular weekly basis. Some classes study geography and history for only one term in the school year. This is not regular enough to make certain that pupils build up their skills in a way that helps them to attain the National Curriculum level expected for their ages. Teachers usually ensure that pupils are clear what they are learning about in their lessons and they explain new ideas carefully. They sometimes use resources thoughtfully to encourage pupils to show interest. In Year 5, for example, a video helped pupils to understand how a river changes on its journey towards the sea. This is not always the case, however, and some work is mundane and not sufficiently stimulating for the pupils. In the same lesson, for

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

example, the teacher asked pupils to define aspects of a river, like the ‘source’, but provided many of the answers for them, and all the pupils had to do was match them up. Teachers’ planning is not always sharp enough. In a lesson in Year 3, for instance, pupils struggled to make sense of complicated tourist brochures because they did not have the necessary skills to interpret them.

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

99. Older and higher attaining pupils have few opportunities to increase their fact-finding skills using reference books or the Internet. Pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language often have the same work as other pupils, and this is not always appropriate for them. Assessing pupils and using information to guide lesson planning are at a very early stage of being put into practice. Teachers frequently make geography and history meaningful to pupils by organising educational visits to places of interest. These visits are not followed up sufficiently by rigorous planning and presentation of work to inspire and challenge pupils to practise and improve their skills. Consequently, pupils’ response to lessons in geography is satisfactory, and they could sometimes work harder. Subject leaders, although positive, have not yet had much chance to influence teaching in

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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

other classes or to lift the standard of pupils’ work across the school.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

100. The standard of work at the age of seven is below average and at the age of eleven it is well below average. This is similar to the judgements in the last report. It is only in the last few months that there have been enough computers to enable pupils to learn computer skills regularly. Although resources have improved since the opening of the new computer suite, pupils still have few opportunities to practise using their ICT skills in other subjects as part of Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 44 lessons in their classrooms. The potential for teachers to lift the standard of work in this way is largely unexplored, and this limits pupils’ attainment in ICT as well as in the other subjects.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

101. Since last September, staff have made a lot of progress in planning provision for ICT. There is now a good action plan to point the way forward for governors and staff. The headteacher and subject leader have worked very hard to achieve so much in a short time, and the new scheme of work has increased pupils’ access to learning ICT skills. Pupils now benefit from two weekly lessons in the suite where they make good and sometimes very good progress. This is particularly the case for pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language who have extra help to overcome any difficulties.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

102. Teaching and learning during the inspection were good. Teachers have increased their own subject expertise considerably and further training is planned for them. This is an improvement since the last inspection. Teachers plan lessons well and are clear what they want pupils to learn in each session. They share this information with the pupils who gain a sense of achievement at the end of lessons. Teachers organise and manage lessons in the suite well, for example when the teacher in Year 5 used an interactive white board to teach a new skill and then organised pupils at the computers to practise in pairs. Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of parts of the ICT curriculum are now satisfactory, but there are still significant gaps, for example in knowledge of monitoring and control at the age of eleven. Although pupils are currently achieving well, standards are still lower than they should be because pupils have so much catching up to do.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

103. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their work in the computer suite. They are sensible working with expensive equipment and are keen to try hard and do their best. Pupils in Year 6 use the Internet and import pictures to liven the presentation of pieces of work. Pupils in Year 2 use painting programs to create lively pictures of animals and are beginning to learn keyboard skills to help them with their writing. In a good lesson in Year 3, pupils created pictures in the style of a famous artist. They used and improved a variety of ICT skills.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

104. The good leadership and management are beginning to have a positive effect on pupils’ learning. The school has taken good advantage of funding from the Education Action Zone to improve resources. Assessing pupils’ attainment formally by class teachers, however, is still in the very early stages, although teachers are becoming familiar with the National Curriculum levels that they need to assess pupils against. Checking on the quality of teaching and learning and seeing how successful the scheme of work is proving to be in lessons is not yet a strong feature of the work of the subject leader, although she supports other teachers well.

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MUSIC

105. No judgements were made about teaching, learning and the standard of pupils’ work at the age of seven because too few lessons were seen. During a short lesson in Year 2, pupils enjoyed singing a few simple action songs and rhymes and their singing was about the standard expected for pupils at the age of seven. This was not the main class lesson of the week, however, and the teacher did not have a lesson plan. In assemblies and the weekly Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 45 ‘Sing and Praise’ sessions, pupils in Years 1 and 2 join in singing a few different songs with older pupils.

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MUSIC

106. The achievement of girls and boys in Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, although at the age of eleven, their work is still below average overall. The standard of singing and performing is about as it should be, but pupils listen to a limited range of music and find it hard to express their own ideas about it. In a discussion with a group of pupils in Year 6, they remembered listening to a well-known piece of classical music. They knew that the music represented winter, but could not say much about why they liked or disliked it. They could not recall listening to any music from different cultures and could not describe any experiences of composing simple music by themselves. Similarly, although pupils could name several musical instruments correctly and some could say which musical family each instrument belongs to, they could not name or describe any instruments from different cultures. The school is only just beginning to build ICT into the music curriculum, and this limits pupils’

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MUSIC

attainment. In their lesson, pupils in Year 6 enjoyed singing a range of songs in different moods, for example a sad song and a lively song. They sang in two parts and followed a musical score when playing percussion instruments, keeping to the correct rhythm and beat. The singing was tuneful and became more enthusiastic as the lesson progressed. Pupils know and use some correct musical terms, such as ‘bar lines’ and ‘rhythm’, and they can hold percussion instruments correctly.

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MUSIC

107. Teaching and learning in Key Stage 2 are satisfactory overall, but they are good when pupils have lessons with the headteacher. She has strong musical expertise and ensures that pupils in Years 5 and 6 make good progress in their weekly lessons. This is because clear lesson plans aim to link pupils’ work to all the important aspects of the National Curriculum. The headteacher expects a lot of the pupils to practise and improve their musical performances, and she does this by selecting challenging and varied songs for them to learn. As a result, most pupils enjoy working hard and are disappointed when their lessons come to an end. This was seen when pupils in Year 5 learned how to sing in two parts and to add a percussion accompaniment. In lessons, teachers were enthusiastic and encouraged all pupils, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, to enjoy their work.

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MUSIC

108. A few pupils have instrumental tuition outside class lessons, and teachers do not always make sure that class lessons give new challenges to these higher attaining pupils. In some lessons and whole-school singing sessions, several teachers and support assistants help by supervising pupils, and this is not very efficient use of their time, especially where staff are employed to help pupils who speak English as an additional language.

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MUSIC

109. The school development plan shows music as a priority for whole-school development this autumn. The joint subject leaders intend to agree with staff how ICT will become an integral part of the curriculum now that the suite is ready for use. Staff know that some aspects of the National Curriculum, including appraising music and composing, are not yet covered as well as they should be, although teachers refer to national guidance to help them to plan lessons. There are several positive initiatives in the school, such as planning to take part in music workshops with other schools and purchasing more ethnic instruments. All these are aimed at raising the profile of music teaching in the school. The joint subject leaders help other teachers to plan lessons and make a satisfactory contribution to lifting the standard of pupils’ work. The school appears to have maintained a broadly similar quality of

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MUSIC

provision to that found in the last inspection.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Wakefield St Mary’s C.E. Primary School - 46 110. Girls and boys in both key stages, including those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, achieve well from a fairly low starting point. The standard of their work is average at the ages of seven and eleven. This is similar to the last inspection report.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

111. Pupils in Year 2 have reasonable ball skills. They can throw and catch, but only the higher attaining pupils can do this accurately all the time. They concentrate hard when working with partners, but are not yet very good at working as a team. Nevertheless, they can run faster than a ball being passed between three other pupils in their group. They know how important it is to ‘warm up’ before exercise and are beginning to learn from their own mistakes. Pupils in Year 6 are confident to create and hold their gymnastic movements on both the floor and on apparatus. Teachers insist that they concentrate on the precision of their movements and they respond positively. Consequently, most pupils can hold their balances well, although the lower attaining pupils have less self-control. Older pupils have regular swimming lessons, and most are likely to be able to swim at least 25 metres by the time they leave the school. Staff provide lots of opportunities for pupils to improve their

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

outdoor skills during an annual residential visit. Not all pupils attend, however, and this limits their achievement.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

112. Teaching and learning are good in both key stages. Teachers are organised and expect their pupils to be so too. Pupils get out and put away the apparatus, for example, with a minimum of fuss and showing awareness of safety matters. Teachers make it very clear what pupils are going to learn, and pupils quickly get into their stride. They set high expectations of the pupils to show commitment, take a full part in lessons and try out different movements. As a result, pupils feel that their efforts are valued and they work even harder. The good relationships between teachers and their pupils help lessons to proceed happily and fruitfully. Teachers watch pupils’ progress carefully in lessons. They select pupils to demonstrate movements so that other pupils know what they are aiming for. Teachers rarely give pupils new ideas or suggestions, however, when some pupils need a helping hand to further their own creativity. Pupils do not always have enough time to practise new skills

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

113. The subject is not a priority for improvement at the moment, and the subject leader has other subject responsibilities. She has not yet had an opportunity to have an influence on teaching, learning and the standard of work, by providing training and watching other teachers in lessons. A revised curriculum plan provides a good structure to help teachers with planning lessons. The focus for lessons in Years 4, 5 and 6 during the inspection was largely the same, but pupils’ differing responses allowed them to make good progress. A good number of sports activities after school, including rugby, motivate some pupils to take part in energetic and competitive sport.

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