Trimley St Martin Primary School

TRIMLEY ST MARTIN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Mr Paul Missin 19227

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TRIMLEY ST MARTIN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 1 st and 2 nd July 2002

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TRIMLEY ST MARTIN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Trimley St Martin Primary School 2

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Kirton Road Trimley St Martin Felixstowe Suffolk

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body, Trimley St Martin Primary School

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: November 1997

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE 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 Trimley St Martin Primary School 3

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Team members

19227 Paul Missin Registered inspector 9446 Helen Griffiths Lay inspector 19142 Audrey Quinnell Team inspector

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Team members

“Thule” 60 Joy Lane Whitstable Kent CT5 4LT 01227 273449

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Team members

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

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Trimley St Martin Primary School 4

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 5

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Trimley St Martin Primary School educates boys and girls aged from four to 11 years. There are currently 181 pupils on roll, 95 boys and 86 girls. This is smaller than most other schools of the same type. There are no pupils who speak English as an additional language. This is low. All pupils are from a white ethnic background. Twenty-six pupils are on the school’s special educational needs register (13.9 per cent). This is well below average. Three pupils have statements of special educational need, (1.6 per cent). This is broadly average. In the last school year, five pupils joined the school other than at the usual time of admission and 12 left other than at the usual time of transfer. This is broadly average. Ten pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals (5.3 per cent). This is well below average. At the time of the inspection, eight boys and 14 girls attended the Foundation Stage full-time and

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

four boys and seven girls attended part-time. They are taught in an Early Years unit which contains Nursery and Reception aged children. Data from the entry to the school tests show that there is a wide variation in the quality of each intake. Broadly, when they enter the school, most children are achieving standards that are average for their age. There is currently a significant gender imbalance in Years 3 to 6 with 53 boys and 31 girls. The school received an Achievement Award for the previous academic year. At the time of the inspection, the headteacher had been in post for less than two terms.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Trimley St Martin school is one that provides its pupils with a satisfactory standard of education. Since his recent appointment, the headteacher has made a good start to his time at school, and the further development of the school is carefully planned through a clear and helpful school improvement plan. The headteacher is well supported by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic governing body. The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory, but good in the Foundation Stage. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is also good. In Year 6, pupils attain broadly average standards in English, mathematics and science. Some inappropriate attitudes to learning limit the progress that pupils make in achieving higher standards. Overall, the school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• The good leadership of the headteacher and governing body has ensured that the focus of school improvement is clearly on raising the standards that pupils achieve. • The good provision, together with effective, focused teaching and very good subject co- ordination, gives music a high priority in the life and work of the school and enables pupils to reach above average standards by the time they leave the school. • The wide and rich curriculum and the good teaching in the Foundation Stage ensure that children settle well into school and make good progress. • The good provision and support provided for pupils with special educational needs ensure that these pupils make good progress towards their own learning targets. • The school’s curriculum is enhanced by a good range of visits and extracurricular opportunities. Trimley St Martin Primary School 6

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What could be improved

• The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes and behaviour and by poorly developed listening skills. • The pupils’ ability to listen carefully is not well developed and they have too few opportunities to enhance this skill. • Some teachers are not fully confident in using the facilities in the computer suite and opportunities to use information and communication technology skills across all subject areas are not sufficiently taken. • Teachers’ planning does not show sufficiently clearly work planned for the different levels of ability in each class which is matched to National Curriculum levels. • The lack of a consistently applied handwriting scheme limits teachers’ and pupils’ expectations of higher standards in the presentation of their work. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Since the school was last inspected in November 1997, it has made sound overall improvement. Satisfactory improvement has been made in addressing the majority of the key issues which related to curriculum and assessment procedures. Good progress has been made in improving the overall management of the school and in ensuring that the strategic management of the school is better informed through a more focused improvement plan. Also good progress has been made in improving communications with parents. Progress in establishing consistent behaviour management practices across the school has been unsatisfactory. Academic standards by the end of Year 6 were judged to have been satisfactory at the last inspection. This remains the same. The monitoring procedures introduced previously have yet to be re-established by the current headteacher. Taking into consideration the quality of the headteacher’s leadership and the support provided by senior

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

teachers and the governing body, the school has satisfactory capacity to make further progress.

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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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Key

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

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Key

The small year groups and the variation in the quality of different year groups make the statistical analysis of national test results at this school unreliable. The results in the table above show that in 2001, by the end of Year 6, standards in English and mathematics were well above average, and in science, they were within the top five per cent of schools nationally. Trends since 1999 have shown standards to have been consistently above and well above average, except for a slight dip in 2000 in mathematics. The school exceeded its Trimley St Martin Primary School 7 targets in 2001 for the number of pupils expected to reach Level 4 in the national tests in English and mathematics. The published targets set for the 2002 tests are significantly lower than the high achievement recorded in 2001. The school is on course to meet its targets in mathematics, but those in English are not on track to be met and have been reduced in the

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Key

school’s most recent assessment of the group’s likely attainment. The findings of this inspection are that the current Year 6 group of pupils are attaining average standards in English, mathematics and science. This is broadly the same as the school’s own assessment. The significant drop in standards since 2001 is explained by the fact that this is a group which has significantly more social and behavioural needs than the previous one. Shortcomings in the school’s approach to behaviour management have influenced the standards achieved by the current group. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress and achieve good standards compared with their previous attainment. Children in the Foundation Stage achieve well and make good progress. Other pupils, including higher attaining pupils, achieve satisfactorily and make sound progress as they move through the school.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Satisfactory. Pupils enjoy school and are keen to attend. However, a significant minority of the pupils do not listen well and do not take a sufficient pride in their achievements.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Satisfactory. Pupils are often slow to settle to their work after playtimes or changing activities. Boys are sometimes boisterous at playtime.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Satisfactory. Pupils generally work and play well together, although they do not always choose mixed gender groups themselves. Pupils do not always welcome visitors warmly.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance This is good. The rate of attendance is above the national average and the rate of authorised absence is low.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Good 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. Overall, the quality of teaching and learning, including the basic skills of literacy and numeracy, is satisfactory. During the inspection, in 53 per cent of the lessons, the quality of teaching and learning was good or better and, in the rest, it was satisfactory. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed. Strengths in teaching are where teachers show good, confident subject knowledge and ensure that activities are taught at a brisk pace. In the best lessons, teachers are enthusiastic and well prepared and use a good range of interesting resources. Where teaching has weaknesses, pupils are not managed well and there is a lot of unnecessary calling out that is unchallenged. Some lessons lack pace and pupils lose

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

concentration when they change activities. Pupils are not always sure what they have to do Trimley St Martin Primary School 8 and how to improve their work, and several are not committed to higher achievement. These shortcomings influence the quality of pupils’ learning. Teachers’ planning does not always show work planned for all abilities in the class. The quality of teaching of pupils with special educational needs is good. Pupils’ individual learning targets are clear and relevant and they are given good support and encouragement in achieving them. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is good. The teacher and the Nursery nurse have high expectations, manage the children well and use a good range of challenging resources.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Overall, the curriculum is sound. Provision in the Foundation Stage is good. The curriculum here is rich, varied and stimulating and enables the children to make good progress. Curriculum provision is enhanced by a good range of extracurricular activities and interesting visits which enliven pupils’ work.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is good and well managed. Pupils’ individual learning plans are clear and relevant and are regularly reviewed and revised. Pupils are supported well and this enables them to make good progress. Provision for pupils with statements of special educational need is very good.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development This is satisfactory overall. Pupils' social awareness is developed well through opportunities for residential visits and representing the school in several sporting and musical events.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school’s welfare and support systems are good. Teachers know the pupils well. The school bursar ensures that welfare systems and procedures are dealt with very efficiently and effectively. Procedures for assessing pupils’ work and tracking the progress they make as they move through the school are satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Since his recent appointment, the leadership of the headteacher has been good. He has a clear view of the school’s priorities for development. A strength in his style is the way in which he has continued to involve all staff and governors in the process of school improvement.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors are involved well in the life and work of the school. Individual governors use their expertise well. Governors’ involvement in the process of school improvement planning and target setting is good. Trimley St Martin Primary School 9 The school’s evaluation of its performance The focus of the school improvement plan on standards achieved is providing the school and the governors with clear information which is beginning to be used effectively to evaluate the school’s achievements. Appropriate priorities are identified but matching these to budget allocations and the setting of clear success criteria are weaker elements.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Overall, this is sound. The specific funds allocated for pupils with special educational needs are used well. The school, supported effectively by the governing body, monitors spending carefully and ensures that it gets value for money when major purchases are made.

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Aspect Comment

The school is supported well by parents who help in the school and through the work of the school association. Several parents are unsure of the school’s achievements. Good links with the local community and the effective support provide through the local pyramid of schools support the school’s work.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Parents are pleased with the standards pupils achieve. • Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. • The school is supportive and caring. • The headteacher is approachable. • Some pupils exhibit inappropriate behaviour which the school had been slow to deal with. • The school does not set the right amount of homework. • Parents are not informed sufficiently about the progress that their children are making. • Twenty-seven per cent of the relatively small number of parents who returned OFSTED questionnaires felt that the school does not work sufficiently with the parents. • The range of activities outside lessons is too narrow.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection’s findings confirm some of the parents’ positive views of the school. This is a caring school and the headteacher is open and welcoming to parents. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. Currently, pupils in Year 6 are achieving average standards. The current inspection’s findings disagree with some of the parental concerns. Homework, the information provided and the school’s links with parents are satisfactory but the school provides a good range of extracurricular activities and offsite visits. However, the behaviour and attitudes of several pupils limit the quality of their learning and hinder the progress they make. Trimley St Martin Primary School 10

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The good leadership of the headteacher and governing body has ensured that the

focus of school improvement is clearly on raising the standards that pupils achieve.

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The good leadership of the headteacher and governing body has ensured that the

1. Procedures for the effective leadership and management of the school are good. This is an important improvement since the last inspection. The headteacher has made a good beginning to his time at the school since his recent appointment. He has sensibly taken time to assess the needs of the school, and now has a clear view of the priorities required to move the school forward. A strength in his leadership has been the way in which he has continued to involve and inform governors and staff in the development process. An indication of his commitment to improvement was the decision to involve the whole staff in an in- service course on self-evaluation. This was an important way of raising teachers’ awareness of school improvement issues.

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The good leadership of the headteacher and governing body has ensured that the

2. A further strength is the headteacher’s commitment to the process of raising the standards achieved in the school. This was an important element in the school’s self- evaluation training and involved all staff well in the process. The school improvement plan is clearly at the heart of the school’s work and has several important strengths. The plan is prefaced by reference to the aims of the school and outlines the principles on which the development of the school is based. This brings a clear coherence to the school’s work. A useful interim review of the successes of the plan was undertaken in the spring of 2002 where subject co-ordinators evaluated the success of spending in their subjects. The plan is given an appropriate long-term perspective as priorities up to 2004 are defined. These include possible staffing changes, the projected school roll and changes to the early years unit. The commitment to raising standards is promoted very well. The academic targets set are given

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The good leadership of the headteacher and governing body has ensured that the

a high priority and are defined in good detail. This ensures that this element of school improvement is at the centre of its work. A weakness in the school improvement plan is that success criteria and the careful match of priorities to budget spending are insufficiently clear and detailed. Nevertheless, the work done on revising and redeveloping the school improvement plan represents good improvement in this important area since the last inspection.

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The good leadership of the headteacher and governing body has ensured that the

3. The headteacher is challenged and supported well by a knowledgeable and committed governing body. The individual interests and expertise of the governors are used very well, and through the work of the main committee and the several sub-committees, governors maintain a good view of the school’s work. Governors have been involved well in the process of target setting and this is enabling them to have a clearer view of its effectiveness. The support they give to the new headteacher is good. A further important strength in the school’s management is the very good support provided to the headteacher and other staff by the school administrator. She is very efficient, maintains clear and rigorously monitored attendance records and supports and advises on first aid and general welfare issues reliably and effectively.

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co-ordination, gives music a high priority in the life and work of the school and

enables pupils to reach above average standards by the time they leave the school. Trimley St Martin Primary School 11 4. Provision for music across the school is good. This enables pupils to reach above average standards by the time they leave the school. This is achieved as a result of a carefully managed curriculum which is taught by enthusiastic teachers and led by a co- ordinator who is also a subject specialist. Planning follows a commercial scheme. Teachers are confident and comfortable with this and have supplemented the scheme with work of their own. The co-ordinator monitors teachers’ planning for appropriate coverage. The co- ordinator is very effective and ensures that music has a high priority in the school. His enthusiastic piano accompaniment in assemblies ensures that pupils’ singing is tuneful and expressive. Pupils maintain good rhythm and sing songs in two parts.

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co-ordination, gives music a high priority in the life and work of the school and

5. A lesson observed during the inspection which was led by the co-ordinator, showed several features of good and very good teaching. He demonstrated very good subject knowledge and the purpose of the lesson was clearly explained from the beginning. The aim was to appreciate the rhythm of a newly learned song and then, in groups, compose and perform compositions showing the same rhythm on a variety of instruments. The teacher very cleverly introduced and reinforced terms such syncopation, beat and rhythm, moved the lesson along briskly, and fully valued the contribution of all pupils. As a result, pupils were totally committed to their learning; they worked well together on their compositions and were delighted to share what they had done with others in the class.

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co-ordination, gives music a high priority in the life and work of the school and

6. Pupils have good opportunities of extending and developing their skills and expertise. Individual and group tuition is available for violin, guitar, clarinet, and flute as well as several recorder groups. Several instrumentalist join together to form a small school orchestra to play in assemblies and for parents. This is also supplemented by pupils from nearby school to make a larger orchestra. Several pupils make up the school choir when it is required to perform in school concerts and musical festivals. Opportunities for performance are also provided through the regular school productions, which have recently included ‘Bugsy Malone’, ‘Oliver’, and ‘Captain Noah and his floating zoo’.

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The wide and rich curriculum and the good teaching in the Foundation Stage ensure

that children settle well into school and make good progress.

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The wide and rich curriculum and the good teaching in the Foundation Stage ensure

7. The teacher and the Nursery nurse in the Foundation Stage provide all children with a warm and caring environment where children feel safe and secure and are ready to learn. Overall, curriculum planning is good. Appropriate attention is given to ensuring that basic literacy and numeracy skills are addressed, and the curriculum is rich, varied and stimulating and meets the needs of the children well. The teacher has a good understanding of the needs of these young children and develops a variety of approaches which combine carefully focused class teaching and also opportunities for children to initiate their own learning. This was seen during one afternoon activity session during the inspection when a good variety of opportunities had been provided. These included role-play activities, which involved dressing up as kings and queens in their castle, sand play and making towers with construction materials. As well as being fun, children were able to make choices about which activity to

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The wide and rich curriculum and the good teaching in the Foundation Stage ensure

follow and demonstrated good application and concentration for their age.

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The wide and rich curriculum and the good teaching in the Foundation Stage ensure

8. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Strengths in teaching were observed in a language and literacy lesson where children were being introduced to the different elements of stories as they considered ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. The lesson was planned and resourced well. As a result of the teacher’s careful questioning, the children appreciated that stories have a beginning, middle and end. The tasks for the activity groups were carefully matched to the children’s ability and age, and involved aspects such as writing their own Jack and the Beanstalk story books, painting pictures of parts of the story and sequencing pictures of parts of the story. As a result of the teacher’s effective approach, children were well motivated, and made good gains in their appreciation of stories. This was good preparation Trimley St Martin Primary School 12 for older children’s entry to the literacy hour in Year 1. A further strength of teaching is the

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The wide and rich curriculum and the good teaching in the Foundation Stage ensure

way in which both the teacher and the Nursery nurse have high expectations of children’s achievement and behaviour. Lesson observations showed that children are reminded appropriately about the need to listen carefully and not to call out in class discussion and they are beginning to respond well.

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The wide and rich curriculum and the good teaching in the Foundation Stage ensure

9. Assessment procedures are good. Use is made of the data provided by the entry to school assessment test in order to set individual targets for children’s development. These are helpfully shared with parents during the consultation time at the beginning of the school year. Currently, detailed assessment and records of progress are maintained in language, mathematics and knowledge and understanding of the world where useful achievement profiles are maintained. This information is used well to inform and modify the teacher’s planning.

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The good provision and support provided for pupils with special educational needs

ensure that these pupils make good progress towards their own learning targets.

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The good provision and support provided for pupils with special educational needs

10. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is good and that provided for pupils with statements of special educational need is very good. This enables pupils to attain good standards according to their previous attainment and to make good progress towards their individual learning targets. Provision is managed well. There are clear and effective lines of communication at all levels. The co-ordinator is knowledgeable and efficient and, despite having full-time class responsibility, she has some non-contact time which she uses well. She has a good understanding of pupils and their needs and provides good levels of support and advice to class teachers.

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The good provision and support provided for pupils with special educational needs

11. Pupils’ individual learning plans are clear and show appropriately small but achievable steps in their learning. Across the school, plans show a combination of literacy, numeracy and social development targets according to pupils’ individual need. These plans are appropriately reviewed and revised. A detailed register is maintained and the co-ordinator is beginning to adopt the new terminology and procedures required by the revised Code of Practice.

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The good provision and support provided for pupils with special educational needs

12. Pupils are supported well by the work of the teaching assistants. They know the pupils well and build up a good relationship of trust and commitment. The school uses an appropriate mixture of in-class and withdrawal support. This is managed carefully to enable pupils to have full access to the National Curriculum and also to ensure that pupils’ social standing and self-esteem are not damaged. Evidence from the inspection showed that pupils were appreciative of the support they were given and had a positive attitude to their work and to the adults that they were working with. This increased pupils’ interest and motivation and improved the quality of their learning.

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The good provision and support provided for pupils with special educational needs

13. Procedures for assessing pupils’ needs and the progress they make are effective. Good use is made of the data gained from national and school testing to identify areas of individual need and this is sensibly supplemented by regular liaison with class teachers during which general concerns can be expressed about individual pupils. Regular assessments of progress towards individual targets are carried out and this enables targets to be extended or modified. Parents are involved well with the setting and reviewing of their children’s targets. The school works hard to ensure that the needs of the pupils are met well. This involves liaison with outside agencies when necessary. An example of the school’s commitment to inclusion is that a teaching assistant provided good support for one pupil who was having difficulty in attending school regularly through a series of home visits. Trimley St Martin Primary School 13

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The good provision and support provided for pupils with special educational needs

14. Provision for pupils with statements of special educational need is very good. The school ensures that the requirements in the statements are fully implemented. Pupils are provided with detailed termly work plans which are broken down into weekly units to show small steps in progression. Details of learning in numeracy, writing, reading, spelling and sometimes social targets are identified. Regular assessments are carried out and progress that pupils make is carefully monitored and recorded. There is good liaison between the special educational needs teacher and the support assistant. Clear and detailed reports are provided for the school, for parents and for other agencies if required.

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The school’s curriculum is enhanced by a good range of visits and extracurricular

15. The curriculum is widened and enriched by a good variety of activities. All pupils have the opportunity of taking part in individual musical tuition provided by members of the county music support team. Group tuition is currently being provided for violin, guitar, clarinet and flute. Instrumentalists perform together as the school orchestra and also with others from local schools to form a larger group.

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The school’s curriculum is enhanced by a good range of visits and extracurricular

16. The school curriculum is also enhanced by an interesting range of visits to ensure that pupils’ first hand experiences are maximised. For example, children in the Foundation Stage visited Foxburrow Farm, pupils in Class 2 visited the Museum of East Anglian life, and Class 4 pupils visited the reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village at West Stowe. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 have the opportunity of visiting the Isle of Wight and North Wales in alternate years. During the time of the inspection, these pupils gave a confident report to a whole school assembly of their recent visit to the Isle of Wight. Pupils talked with interest and enthusiasm of their visit to places such as Osborne House, Brading Roman Villa and the Needles. This residential visit, which was shared with pupils from a nearby primary school was also an important social occasion and added significantly to the development of pupils’ social skills.

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The school’s curriculum is enhanced by a good range of visits and extracurricular

Opportunities are also provided for co-operation with other schools through the work of the choir and singing festivals, through sports competitions and visits to secondary schools. Older pupils take part successfully in the Suffolk festival choral and solo speaking festivals.

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The school’s curriculum is enhanced by a good range of visits and extracurricular

17. The school organises a good range of after school clubs which include recorder, orchestra, art, netball, football and a conversational French club. The Young Engineers Club has representatives from Years 4, 5 and 6. This club has been involved in several technological projects. The most recent one has been a national competition to design and make a fire resistant rubbish bin. This has involved a lot of research into materials and several design phases. The group is a regional winner in the competition and is due to attend the national finals later in the term. This will involve a presentation of their design and design process and rigorous questioning by a panel of judges. This group is led enthusiastically by a member of the teaching staff and supported very well by an adult friend of the school with engineering experience. Trimley St Martin Primary School 14

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

and behaviour and by poorly developed listening skills.

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

18. Although, overall, pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are satisfactory, there are several important reasons why shortcomings in this area are limiting the effectiveness of pupils’ learning and reducing their capacity to reach higher standards. This is mainly caused by the lack of a consistent application of agreed behaviour procedures and the insufficiently high expectations of teachers on what are appropriate responses by the pupils. The school has a clear behaviour policy and classes have their own class rules and expectations prominently displayed. There was evidence during the inspection that the procedures for explaining to pupils the consequences of their actions and instigating sanctions for inappropriate behaviour were understood and implemented. However, these procedures are only partially successful because they are not consistently applied and they are not having sufficient impact on pupils’

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

own commitment to improve and their attitudes to learning. Across the school, pupils do not consistently show the necessary determination to succeed and to do their best in all circumstances. Pupils’ own commitment to high achievement has not yet been secured. Some have a poor self-image.

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

19. The management of pupils’ behaviour was also part of a key issue at the last inspection. In 1997, the attitudes and behaviour of pupils in Years 1 and 2 significantly reduced their ability to learn effectively. They were very good in Years 3 to 6. The current Year 6 group is the one which was in Key Stage 1 at the last inspection. Pupils’ attitudes are also affected by the imbalance of girls to boys in Years 3 to 6. Insufficient progress has been made in addressing this issue since the last inspection. Currently, pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are satisfactory across the school.

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

20. The shortcomings in the school’s approach to behaviour management were evident both in the classrooms and during recreation times. The response of pupils in a Year 6 science lesson were typical of others across the school, and illustrated clearly how this influences the quality of their learning. Pupils arrived in class after the afternoon playtime in an animated and excited state and the teacher had to work hard to settle the class to their lesson. The main activity was to watch a video about puberty and adolescence. This was introduced clearly and sensitively by the teacher, but significant learning time was lost as pupils collected in front of the television and settled down to watch. Most concentrated well and were able to make useful comments and ask appropriate questions during the following discussion. However, time was again lost as pupils made a leisurely return to their seats and the

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

effectiveness of the final discussion was limited by some lack of attention and inappropriate calling out. In other lessons, the effectiveness of learning was also limited by pupils’ inability to listen carefully both to the teacher and to each other, and the lack of urgency when changing activities or when beginning to write or record their work.

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

21. Behaviour outside lessons is satisfactory. Lunchtime procedures run smoothly and are appropriately supervised. Most pupils play sensibly together at playtimes, but some of the older boys are over boisterous at times. Procedures for ending playtimes and getting pupils back into school are satisfactory, but pupils do not always move carefully around the school and through doorways with sufficient attention to other pupils and adults. Pupils are not always warmly welcoming of visitors. Midday supervisors are not sufficiently proactive in their approach to pupils and they feel that they have not been sufficiently informed about, or involved in, the discussions about overall behaviour issues. These findings confirm parents’ concerns expressed at their pre-inspection meeting and through their questionnaire about the Trimley St Martin Primary School 15 school’s approach to pupils’ behaviour. The school’s and the parents’ perception are that

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The learning of a significant minority of pupils is hindered by inappropriate attitudes

progress in addressing these issues is being made.

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The pupils’ ability to listen carefully is not well developed and they have too few

22. Pupils’ listening skills across the school are not sufficiently developed to enable all pupils to maximise their learning opportunities. Most pupils find it hard to listen attentively for any extended periods of time. It was very noticeable that in whole school assemblies there was a general restlessness, constant fidgeting and poor concentration. Across most classes in the school, pupils’ inability to listen carefully to instructions and to carry them out conscientiously limited the quality of their learning.

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The pupils’ ability to listen carefully is not well developed and they have too few

23. In the lessons where teaching was good or very good, teachers successfully secured pupils’ interest and attention. For example, in a literacy lesson to younger pupils who were learning about different poetic terms and features before writing their own poems, the teacher was well prepared, had planned well for the different ability groups in the class, and ensured that the lesson moved along briskly. The input of the teaching assistant in encouraging and supporting pupils with special educational needs helped them to maintain their interest and commitment. However, in several lessons, pupils do not listen attentively to teachers’ introductions and then they are unsure of what is expected of them. Sometimes, they are over enthusiastic during class discussion times and call out inappropriately. Occasionally, oral comments are thoughtful and well considered, when, for example, older pupils discussed the importance of keeping safe in different circumstances in their personal, social

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The pupils’ ability to listen carefully is not well developed and they have too few

and health education lesson. However, pupils do not listen readily and appreciatively to the comments and points of views of others.

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The pupils’ ability to listen carefully is not well developed and they have too few

24. When given the opportunity, pupils speak with sound expression and confidence. During the inspection, pupils from Years 5 and 6 led an assembly for staff, pupils and parents and shared their experiences of their recent residential visit to the Isle of Wight. Most spoke clearly and appropriately for this larger audience. However, across the school, there is insufficient planning for the systematic and progressive development of pupils’ speaking and listening skills and too few planned opportunities across the curriculum for pupils to speak and listen in a wide variety of different contexts.

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opportunities to use information and communication technology skills across all

subject areas are not sufficiently taken.

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opportunities to use information and communication technology skills across all

25. Overall, pupils reach average standards in information and communication technology by the time they leave the school. The relatively new computer suite is spacious, well equipped and well used, and is an important resource for the school. Staff are still becoming familiar with the potential of the interactive whiteboard. A shortcoming is that the projector has not been securely fixed in place and the present arrangement leaves too many trailing wires and potential hazards.

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opportunities to use information and communication technology skills across all

26. Observation of lessons and the scrutiny of pupils’ work show some of the strengths and shortcomings in current provision. Use of the computer suite is timetabled well and pupils have good access to appropriate hardware and software. A lesson to pupils in Year 3 showed several features of good, effective teaching. The focus of the lesson demonstrated some good cross-curricular links with art as pupils retrieved pictures of sculptures they had made and superimposed them on photographs taken of different areas on the school. The teacher showed good subject knowledge and confidence with the new facilities as she introduced and demonstrated what the pupils had to do. Pupils then showed good ability to Trimley St Martin Primary School 16 access different menus, load clip-art features and increase and decrease the size and change the shape and orientation of the pictures produced. 27. Other lessons demonstrated some weaknesses in teachers’ knowledge and

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opportunities to use information and communication technology skills across all

understanding. Opportunities to use the interactive whiteboard in the computer suite to demonstrate skills and activities were not always taken. This limited the effectiveness of the teacher’s introduction in one lesson, as she had to move between all the pupils at their computers to reinforce logging on procedures at the beginning of the lesson. In another lesson, the teacher was not sufficiently familiar with a new program to be able to show pupils what to do confidently and, as a result, several were unsure and time was lost in repeated explanations. 28. The scrutiny of pupils’ work and the discussions with older pupils confirmed that the use of information and communication technology across all areas of the curriculum was not fully planned or consistently developed. Older pupils had used computers for a range of purposes, such as, accessing the Internet for support for the revision required by national tests,

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opportunities to use information and communication technology skills across all

discovering information about their visit to the Isle of Wight and using spreadsheets to work out the cost of food for a party. However, there were several opportunities across the curriculum for pupils to use and develop their computer skills which were not taken, for example, work done by older pupils in mathematics as they investigated and drew column graphs to show the frequency with which different lottery numbers were drawn. This was also seen in science where the line graphs they drew to show how the length of shadows change during the day made no use of information and communication technology. Younger pupils show good word processing skills as they make books on the lives of squirrels and owls, and older pupils write and print their poems using the computer. However, across the school, the use of word processing to help pupils improve the presentation and attractiveness of their work is underdeveloped.

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Teachers’ planning does not show sufficiently clearly work planned for the different

levels of ability in each class which is matched to National Curriculum levels. 29. The school’s drive to improve the standards that pupils achieve is hindered by the lack of detail in teachers’ planning of work provided for the different levels of ability in each class. The work planned is not clearly matched to the expected levels of attainment in the National Curriculum. Teachers use a variety of forms to record their termly planning. Those that are based on the nationally recommended scheme of work show clearly how the different activities that are planned lead to different levels of attainment in each topic. However, these are not identified in all termly plans. Teachers’ weekly and daily planning shows consistently the learning intended in each lesson, resources, assessment opportunities and an outline of activities to be followed. However, these rarely show work planned for pupils with special

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Teachers’ planning does not show sufficiently clearly work planned for the different

educational needs or how some pupils might be extended to higher levels. This is a weakness.

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The lack of a consistently applied handwriting scheme limits teachers’ and pupils’

expectations of higher standards in the presentation of their work. 30. The school’s approach to the importance of attractive, well presented written work is not sufficiently supported by the consistent application of the school’s handwriting policy. The school’s decision to teach a cursive, joined script only from Year 3 has not provided teachers and many pupils with sufficient direction and opportunity to produce a clear, joined handwriting style. There is evidence from the pupils’ work, particularly in Year 6, that pupils have not had sufficient practice and reinforcement of handwriting skills to enable and encourage them all to move to a fully cursive handwriting style. The importance of well presented work, with clear handwriting, straight underlining and regular dating of work has not been consistently achieved. The attractiveness and accuracy of some recorded work in mathematics and science are limited by careless presentation. Information and

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The lack of a consistently applied handwriting scheme limits teachers’ and pupils’

communication technology is not used sufficiently. Trimley St Martin Primary School 17

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

31. In order to continue to improve, the school should:

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across the school by:

• raising the expectations of teachers and support staff of appropriate behaviour; • continuing to raise the confidence and self-esteem of pupils; • fully involving all staff in the consistent application of the school’s behaviour policy.

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(2) Improve the quality of pupils’ listening skills by:

• developing a whole school policy for the progressive development of listening skills, and, • increasing the planned opportunities for speaking and listening across the school.

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 15

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 6 181

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 10

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 3

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 26

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

English as an additional language No of pupils

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 12

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Trimley St Martin Primary School 19 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) Year Boys Girls Total

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 12 12 24

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 96 (75) 96 (75) 96 (92) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 96 (83) 96 (92) 96 (83) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 9 12 21

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys * * * Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls * * *

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 90 (96) 81 (78) 100 (96) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys * * * Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls * * *

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 81 (96) 95 (93) 90 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. * Data omitted because of small year groups. Trimley St Martin Primary School 20 Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Any other minority ethnic group 4 Other minority ethnic groups

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers and classes Financial information

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 7.6 Financial year 2001 –2002

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23.8

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 422846

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 5 Total expenditure 398303

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 17 Expenditure per pupil 2130

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 15466

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 0.5 Balance carried forward to next year 40009

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 11.0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 17

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 3.0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 3.0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

FTE means full-time equivalent. Trimley St Martin Primary School 21 Results of the survey of parents and carers

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of responses in each category

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

My child is making good progress in school. 37 54 2 2 5

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Behaviour in the school is good. 27 54 10 7 2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 15 59 20 2 2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 22 39 29 10 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 56 37 5 0 2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 37 59 0 0 5

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school works closely with parents. 22 44 27 0 7

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school is well led and managed. 22 61 5 0 10

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 15 73 5 0 5

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 15 29 41 0 12

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

§ Parents are pleased with the standards that pupils achieve. § Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. § The school is supportive and caring. § The headteacher is approachable.

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