Farington Moss St. Paul's C.E. Primary School

SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 5 th – 8 th February 2001

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SCHOOL

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

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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. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Croston Road Farington Moss Preston Lancashire Postcode: PR26 6PR

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Peter Balmer

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 29 th September – 1 st October 1997 Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Mrs Barbara E Parker Registered inspector The provision for children in the Foundation Stage English Art and design Design and technology Music What sort of school it is and what it should do to improve further The school’s results and achievements How well the pupils are taught How well the school is led and managed

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Mr Peter Oldfield Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well the school cares for its pupils How well the school works in partnership with its parents Mr John Collins Team inspector Equal opportunities Special educational needs Mathematics Science Information and communication technology Geography History Physical education How good the curricular and other opportunities offered to the pupils are

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Schoolhaus Limited Suite 17 BPS Business Centre Brake Lane Walesby Nottinghamshire NG22 9HQ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 5

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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 achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 26

Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This school is a small voluntary aided Church of England primary school for boys and girls aged four to 11 years. It has 165 pupils, with eight per cent known to be eligible for free school meals. This is similar to the national average. Pupils’ attainment on entry is typical of that found nationally. Eighteen per cent of pupils have special educational needs; this is broadly average. There are only two pupils with a statement of special need, lower than in most other schools. All of the pupils are from white English speaking families and broadly average backgrounds.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

St Paul’s Primary School is an effective school. But, whilst it has many strengths, in some aspects of its work it is not as effective as it could be. Standards are high in English and pupils do well because teaching in this subject is good. Effective leadership and management have brought about a rise in standards over time in English, mathematics and science, and more pupils reach the expected level each year because of improved curriculum guidance and better lesson organisation. However, fewer pupils than in most other schools reach the higher level in mathematics and science. The school gives satisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Standards in English are high by the age of seven and 11 because teaching is good. The support for teaching and learning in English is very effective in identifying what needs doing so that effective steps are planned, and then taken, to bring about improvements. • The provision for pupils with special educational needs is good and these pupils make good progress towards the targets in their Individual Education Plans. • This is a caring school to which pupils enjoy coming. They have good attitudes to learning and behave well. Relationships between pupils and staff are very good. New staff are supported well and settle into the routines and life of the school quickly. • There is a good range of out of school activities, especially given the small size of the school.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • The checking of how aspects of effective teaching improve pupils’ learning in mathematics and science lessons, and the use of the guidance for mathematics and science so that the more able pupils are always challenged. • The detail kept about pupils’ achievements so that teachers can track their progress through school and check individuals are learning as rapidly as they should be. • The preciseness about how the school is going to meet its development targets so that improvements are brought about as quickly as possible and the school can measure its progress towards them more effectively. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made satisfactory improvement overall since its last inspection in October 1997 and is better than it was. Standards in English have risen to above the national average and pupils’ attainment in information and communication technology (ICT) has improved. The provision for pupils in the Foundation Stage has improved significantly and is now satisfactory. The school has successfully raised standards in English, mathematics, and science, and at a greater rate than nationally, by implementing a number of effective strategies including monitoring and evaluating lessons and curriculum plans. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 7

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Pupils enter the school with attainment broadly typical of that found in most other schools. By the time the pupils leave, they have achieved well in English and standards are high. The results of national tests in mathematics and science show pupils’ attainment is below the national average and well below the average of similar schools. This is because, although a similar percentage of pupils as in most other schools reach the expected level in mathematics and science, fewer reach the higher levels. Whilst the school could do more to increase the number of pupils reaching the higher level, the picture is better than it appears from looking at the statistics. This is a small school and the small numbers of pupils taking the tests each year can have a major impact on the school’s performance. In addition, the school has a transient population in the junior classes and often the children coming in part way through the juniors are achieving at a lower level than those leaving.

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STANDARDS

Nevertheless, results over time are rising and at a greater rate than nationally; the number of pupils reaching the expected level in English, mathematics and science has improved since 1997 by about 20 per cent. Targets are usually exceeded because some pupils do better than expected given their attainment at the end of the infants, particularly in science. From the work seen, most pupils are working at the expected level in English, mathematics and science, but few are working at the higher levels in mathematics and science. Children achieve at a satisfactory rate in reception and by the end of the year, nearly all of them attain or exceed the early learning goals. Infant pupils do particularly well in reading and writing, and as well as can be expected in mathematics. By the time they leave the school, pupils’ writing skills are well developed and most pupils work confidently with numbers up to and beyond 1000. Their attainment in ICT is as expected for pupils of their age;

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STANDARDS

word-processing skills are particularly good. The pupils are less secure, however, in using their mathematical skills to solve problems and are unsure of how to plan and set up their own scientific investigations.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils have a good enthusiasm for school. They show pride in their achievements and talk excitedly about their work.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is good overall because pupils are enthusiastic and take interest in their lessons. There are times when some of the junior pupils do not concentrate as well as they could because the work does not interest them as effectively as it should.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Good. Pupils get on very well together; they like their teachers and so work hard to please them. The older pupils hear the younger ones read and willingly take responsibility for jobs around the school. Pupils are pleased to take initiative, but more could be done to allow them to take the lead.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Pupils enjoy school and their attendance is very good. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 8

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Lessons seen overall satisfactory good 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

Thirty-one lessons were seen, of which 29 were graded. The two lessons that were not graded were not seen for long enough to make a secure judgement about the quality of teaching. The teaching was satisfactory or better in 93 per cent of lessons graded. It was good in 38 per cent and very good in three per cent. Seven per cent of the lessons seen were unsatisfactory; they were in Years 3 and 5. Pupils with special educational needs are taught well because teachers pay good regard to the targets in their Individual Education Plans and adapt the work well. Teachers throughout the school plan and organise their lessons effectively. There is a good balance of explanation and pupil activity, which holds the attention and interest of the pupils. Teachers focus questions well to probe pupils’ understanding, make them think, and enhance their learning. Resources, such as photographs in geography, are used to good effect. Teaching is consistently good in the infants and is better

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

than in the juniors because teachers take good account of the different abilities of the pupils and adapt work more suitably for different groups. This means that all pupils achieve and learn at a satisfactory, and sometimes good, rate. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. English is taught well in the infants and the juniors; this is reflected in the high standards that pupils achieve by the time they leave the school. Teachers implement the National Literacy Strategy very effectively and literacy skills are taught well. Teachers are less secure about teaching the National Numeracy Strategy, which has not been in place for so long. Although the teaching of mathematics, and numeracy in particular, is satisfactory overall, the teachers tend to adhere to the guidance within the strategy too rigorously and do not make sufficient use of higher levels for the more able pupils. They use mathematics workbooks ineffectively, often giving all pupils in the class the same pages to do

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

at the same time, regardless of their previous learning. This means that the more able pupils are not always challenged as well as they should be. Throughout the school, teachers’ marking is not as effective as it could be in informing pupils how to improve their work. Teachers tend to tick the work and do not make a note of how well pupils have done it and so marking is of little use in checking on pupils’ learning. In the unsatisfactory lessons in Years 3 and 5, the teachers’ subject knowledge was insecure so their explanations were confusing. The pupils were unsure what they were doing; the work failed to hold their interest, and they made insufficient progress. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 9

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory. There is good emphasis on literacy and numeracy. The literacy strategy is particularly effective in bringing about high standards in English. Sometimes the numeracy strategy and the commercial mathematics scheme are followed too rigorously to offer challenge to the brighter pupils. Good provision for health and social education. Good range of lunchtime and after-school clubs for a small school.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. This is because their learning is planned in small steps and good regard is given to their learning targets to plan a suitable curriculum. These pupils make good progress over time.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development Good. Pupils are taught right from wrong and given responsibility around the school. They are willing to take initiative, but this aspect of their personal development is not promoted as well as it could be. Pupils have a good awareness of their own cultural heritage through art, music and literature. Their knowledge of other cultures is satisfactory but relatively under-developed.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The school has an effective partnership with parents. This is a very caring school with which parents are happy. Staff know the pupils and support their well-being, health and safety well. Insufficient records are kept of what pupils have achieved at the end of each year in order that staff can check on the pupils’ rate of learning and more account can be taken of previous learning, particularly at the beginning of each year.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory. The senior managers know what needs improving and support teaching through monitoring lessons. However, there is insufficient focus on how well pupils learn during mathematics and science lessons. Co-ordinators effectively monitor curriculum planning and learning resources. The induction of new staff is good.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. They ask questions about how well the school is doing, but accept explanations too readily because they become involved in matters which do not impact directly on standards but which take up a lot of their time and energies.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. The headteacher and senior staff are well aware of the school’s weaknesses, but do not always include enough detail in their development plan to bring about improvements as quickly as they could.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources The school has satisfactory staffing, accommodation and learning resources. Developments are supported through careful financial planning. The school ensures value for money through effective tendering procedures. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 10

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Their children like school. • The standards their children reach, the progress that they make, and the way the school expects them to work hard. • Behaviour in and out of school and the way the school encourages children to become mature and responsible. • The good teaching and staff’s approachability. • The good leadership and management. • The guidance they are given about how they can help their children, particularly in mathematics. • More extra-curricular activities for the older infant children in the summer term. • The information in the written progress reports about their children’s learning. • More information about what their children are being taught in school so that they can help them at home.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents are generally happy with the school. Inspectors agree with most of the positive comments, except for the ones about the quality of teaching and the leadership and management of the school, which are satisfactory overall. The school intends to inform parents about the topics pupils will be studying in school. There is a good range of activities outside lessons for junior pupils, particularly for a small school. Although nothing is provided for the infant pupils, this is not dissimilar to most other infant schools. The written progress reports give a good indication about how well pupils are doing in English, mathematics and science, but give parents little idea about what their children know, understand and can do in the other subjects. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Pupils’ attainment on entry is broadly typical of that found in most other schools. Children learn satisfactorily in the reception year and nearly all of them attain the early learning goals in all areas of learning by the time they start Year 1. They are confident youngsters and many of them write their name and short sentences to express their thoughts. They work confidently with numbers up to at least 10 and have good general knowledge of the world in which they live. Their physical and creative development is satisfactory. This is an improvement since the last inspection when children’s attainment in both these areas was below expectations by the age of five.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Test results show that pupils do well and achieve high standards in English by the ages of seven and 11 in comparison with all other schools. Although the results of national tests in mathematics and science show pupils’ attainment is below the national average and well below the average for similar schools, this is because fewer pupils at this school than in most other schools attain the higher level. The percentage of pupils reaching the expected level in mathematics and science, however, is broadly the same as in most schools. This is a small school, which means that two or three pupils represent between nine and 13 per cent, making comparisons with other schools less reliable because most of them are much larger.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The school has improved the number of pupils reaching the expected level in the English, mathematics and science tests, which was below average at the time of the last inspection in 1997. Standards have risen over the last four years and at a greater rate than nationally. Given their attainment at the end of the infants, most pupils now do as well as could be expected in mathematics and science by the time they leave the school. Targets are set well in advance and are usually exceeded because some pupils do better than expected, particularly in science. For example, in the 2000 tests, the same number of pupils who achieved the expected level in mathematics at the end of the infants in 1996 reached the expected level by the end of the juniors. Five of the pupils did better in science than they had done in the infants, reaching the higher level by the age of 11. However, there is often a change of pupils between

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

the infants and juniors, and usually those coming in are achieving at a lower level than those leaving. For example, in the Year 6 2000 group, five pupils joined the school part way through the juniors. Three of them were lower achieving pupils, lowering the Year 6 test results overall.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. The school has recognised, however, that it could do more to increase the number of pupils reaching the higher level and this is a target in their development plan, which staff are working hard to achieve. However, they do not apply the strategies used successfully in English to mathematics and science, for example, and this means that the teachers are not as well placed to raise standards in mathematics and science as they are in English. For example, by the time the pupils reach the age of seven, the teachers check on what individual pupils already know and provide additional support in Year 3 for those who still have gaps in their learning. Consequently, many of these pupils attain the expected level and sometimes higher by the age of 11.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. This does not happen in mathematics and science. Insufficient detail is passed from teacher to teacher at the end of each year about what aspects of each level individual pupils do and do not know. The assumption is made at the beginning of the year that all pupils at the same level know the same things and are, therefore, taught the same. As they move through the classes, many of these gaps are not dealt with and this means that in Year 6, teachers find that they have to teach skills which pupils should have learned earlier. For example, in one lesson in Year 6, the more able pupils had to talk about who the narrator was in extracts from books before they could go on to investigate a range of narrative texts on their own and record their Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 12 findings on charts. This wasted valuable time as the teacher checked on their previous learning and taught them things that they should have learnt earlier.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. However, there are some things that are working well and the school is achieving some success in raising standards in mathematics in Year 5 in particular. This year the higher attaining Year 5 pupils are being given additional support from the headteacher. Evidence from lessons shows that this is extremely successful and is already impacting on raising standards in Year 5 and having a 'knock-on' effect on Year 6 pupils. This is because, whilst the Year 5 pupils are receiving focused teaching on their own, the Year 6 pupils are getting far better support from their teacher because of the lower numbers in the group. 7. Standards are good in English and all pupils achieve well because teaching is effective and pupils are given sufficient opportunities to practise their punctuation skills and to write for a range of purposes. Pupils write recipes for cooking, instructions for building things in design

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

and technology, newspaper reports of, for example, the Pied Piper's arrival in Hamelin, and their thoughts about the books they have read. However, except for some in Year 5 and all those in Year 6, pupils are not given enough time to complete their stories. This means that their creative writing skills are not developed as rapidly as they could be. In Year 5, for example, pupils rarely get beyond the planning stage and the opening paragraph. Nevertheless, by the time they leave the school, most pupils write in well-structured sentences, which are correctly punctuated with speech marks and commas and formed in paragraphs so that they give the reader an indication of time and occasion. Words are chosen for good effect and ideas are developed well to hold the interest of the reader.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. From the work seen, standards in mathematics are satisfactory. Most pupils have a secure grasp of number by the age of 11, and around three-quarters of the pupils in Year 6 are working at the expected level or above. Most pupils use fractions to find the proportions of given numbers. They multiply three-digit numbers by two-digit numbers accurately and measure angles correctly using a protractor. They work out answers to problems by successfully applying their skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. However, whilst the guidance for numeracy supports the teaching of mathematics at the level expected for each age group, and its implementation has successfully increased the number of pupils attaining their age-related level, not enough use is made of the higher levels for the more able pupils. This means that teachers' expectations about what the brighter pupils in the Years 3 to

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5 classes can be expected to do are insufficiently high. By the time the pupils reach Year 6, the teacher adapts the work more suitably to the pupils' different attainment levels. However, some pupils' skills are not as well developed as they could be and the school does not get as many pupils as most other schools attaining the higher level.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. It is a similar picture in science, where most pupils achieve the levels expected for their age by the time they leave the school, but not all of those capable of doing so achieve the higher levels. Most pupils understand that scientific ideas are based on evidence. They make scientific tests reliable by varying only one factor at a time when testing, for example, how materials change when being heated. They present the information clearly on tables and charts. However, they are less secure in planning and conducting their own scientific experiments and investigations because the opportunities for them to do this are too infrequent.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Standards in ICT have improved since the last inspection because of a newly implemented scheme of work that supports teaching well. Pupils' word-processing skills are particularly well developed. In the shared reading sessions, teachers point out how writers and illustrators use different font sizes to catch the reader's attention, such as writing the word 'small' in smaller letters to the rest. This gives pupils ideas about how they can use computers to present their work effectively. Because of this, pupils change font style, size, and colour to create particular effects, such as large capitals for titles and presenting their space poems in the shape of rockets. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 13 11. Pupils make sound progress and achieve satisfactorily in all other subjects, including art and design, design and technology, geography, history, music and physical education. Their knowledge and understanding of different artists is particularly good and they use the work of

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

other artists to inspire their own artwork. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well against the targets in their Individual Education Plans. This is because teachers identify what these pupils need to learn and build their knowledge, skills and understanding in small steps, systematically, over time. These pupils are supported effectively in lessons and so do well. Analyses of test results show that the boys sometimes do better than the girls in the junior tests in particular, but this varies from year to year and subject to subject, and no definite pattern emerges.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is very good; it is above the national average. There is very little unauthorised absence.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Pupils of all ages and attainment show an interest in school life and enjoy their work. The older pupils, for example, welcome the opportunity to go on residential visits and talk enthusiastically about the work they are doing and have done in class, such as the vehicles they have made in design and technology and the musical performances they have put on for parents. They enjoy the homework that they are given, saying that it helps them with their work in school. The older pupils listen to the younger ones reading books and help them practise their word recognition skills during lunchtime periods. This reflects the very good relationships pupils have with one another.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Pupils of all ages respond eagerly to teachers' questions and listen well to the views of their classmates. Teachers are usually careful to ask questions that pupils of different attainment can answer, making sure that they all take part in discussions or question-and-answer sessions.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Pupils open doors for each other and generally show good social attitudes towards other pupils and adults. They act responsibly when, for example, taking registers to the office and working the tape recorder in singing lessons. They log on to the Internet and search the web for information, for example, on Australia; a group of Year 6 pupils were delighted when they found out that Captain Cook discovered the country. They do not take initiative readily, however, because there are too few chances for them to do so and this limits their personal development to satisfactory overall.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Most pupils behave well in lessons and around the school, and work effectively together in classes, small groups, and pairs, for example, when they search the Internet in pairs and when they discuss who the narrator is in the class text of a Year 6 literacy lesson. There is no oppressive behaviour, nor any sign of sexism or racism. During the inspection week, there were a number of wet playtimes, during which the pupils were seen at their best, working well, reading and playing games with the minimum of supervision from the lunchtime assistants, and behaving very responsibly. There were, however, two lessons, both in the juniors, where pupils became restless because teaching insufficiently focused on what they were doing and the work did not particularly interest them. There were no exclusions in the last school year, but there have been two so far this year involving one pupil. The correct procedures were

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Teaching is good in English and satisfactory in all other subjects. It was satisfactory or better in 93 per cent of the 29 lessons graded, and good in 38 per cent. The very good teaching seen in a Year 5 mathematics withdrawal session was particularly successful because the work was matched very well to the attainment level of Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 14 this group of more able pupils. It resulted in very good learning and the achievement of high standards by the end of the session. This practice of supporting more able pupils is improving standards in mathematics and is beginning to impact on attainment in Year 6.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. The teaching and learning of children in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory. This is an improvement since the last inspection when teaching was unsatisfactory. The environment is effectively organised to allow for a range of learning opportunities to be planned and take place, and lesson planning takes sufficient account of the national guidance for the Foundation Stage curriculum. Children's independence is promoted successfully through 'free choice' activities, but sometimes these activities lack specific challenge and learning is too incidental. The children do not always choose the activities that would most support their learning and do not, therefore, always make the progress that they could during these times.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Teaching is satisfactory overall in the juniors and good in the infants, where all of the teachers are experienced. It is consistently good in Years 2 and 6. In these year groups, the guidance for teachers on what should be taught in each year group to make sure that they build on what pupils were taught before, are used effectively. Most importantly, the pupils' work is usually adapted to suit their different attainment levels, particularly in Year 2.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Throughout the school, lesson organisation is good. This is partly because this has been focused on during the headteacher’s observations of teachers’ lessons and has been the subject of recent staff discussions. This has brought about a balance between direct teaching and opportunities for pupils to develop their skills. Pupils know what to do and complete the work in the time available. Resources are used well to support learning, such as a tape recording of a dance lesson in reception and digital photographs of the local area in Year 2 geography. Teachers' questions are well focused and the experienced teachers, in particular, often use their assessments of pupils' previous work to adapt the lesson the next day. For example, one teacher noticed that the day before, in their stories, the majority of pupils in Year 6 had written line after line of continuous conversation between story characters. The next

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

day, she chose a piece of text for her and the pupils to look at together that mixed speech and story well, giving the pupils a good model on which to base their future work.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. Teachers in all year groups usually check throughout the lesson to ensure that pupils are completing the work successfully. Relationships in most classes are very good; pupils trust their teachers and work hard to please them. Pupils get on with their work, but more could be done, through marking in particular, to let them know how well they are doing or what they could do to improve. A few of the teachers sometimes share with the pupils what they are to learn by the end of the lesson and this is very effective in promoting pupils' understanding and interest in their own learning. On the few occasions when this does not happen, pupils are less interested and do not work as hard.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is good. The support for the pupils with statements of special educational needs in particular is very effective and focuses well on their learning targets. Because these targets are precise, teachers know what the pupils need to learn and challenge them successfully. Consequently learning is often good.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Teaching in English is good overall. Teachers have good subject knowledge and implement the National Literacy Strategy confidently and very effectively. There is not, however, enough time allocated to extended writing, in the juniors in particular, and this means that pupils do not finish their creative stories often enough. Teachers have not been teaching the National Numeracy Strategy so long and are less secure with it. They do not use it as effectively as they should, particularly to challenge the more able pupils. They give, for example, Year 4 pupils the work from the Year 4 guidance and this ensures that most pupils reach the level expected for pupils of their age. They do not make sufficient use of work from the next year or level, which would more suitably challenge the more able pupils. Lesson planning is good in both subjects because teachers are secure in what they want to teach and are informed well

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

by the national guidance. In literacy, although all pupils are usually taught the same idea, such Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 15 as punctuation or spelling patterns, different standards are expected from different pupils. Pupils of different attainment usually work at a relevant level and pace. This does not always happen in mathematics because too often the pupils do the same pages from the same workbooks regardless of the level at which they are learning. Because they can only perform as high as the level of work on the page, not all pupils produce high enough standards all of the time.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The teaching of literacy is more effective than in mathematics, and than at the time of the last inspection. This is linked to the more effective lesson observations carried out by the literacy co-ordinator, literacy governor, and local authority support staff to check on teaching and learning, which have brought about good improvements to teaching. In contrast, the observations of numeracy lessons are fewer in number. Evaluations of what is and is not working well in lessons tend to focus on lesson organisation and management, whereas in literacy, the observations, particularly by the local authority support staff, are more evaluative about the quality of learning going on and what it is about teaching that makes the pupils' learning better.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. Whilst teaching and learning are satisfactory overall in all other subjects, there are some weaknesses, which are slowing pupils’ learning. There are too few opportunities for investigative work in science and problem solving in mathematics. Teaching in Year 3, particularly in writing, does not always make sufficient demands on pupils, given the standards they achieved the year before.

p.15

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. The two unsatisfactory lessons seen were in Years 3 and 5. Some insecure subject knowledge meant that teachers’ explanations were confusing and ineffective management of pupils’ behaviour and learning meant that pupils did not learn as rapidly as they could.

p.15

PUPILS?

27. The school provides a satisfactory range of activities, which covers all subjects and is relevant to the gender, age and interests of all its pupils including those with special educational needs. All subjects are taught in accordance with the requirements of the National Curriculum and the early learning goals for children in the Foundation Stage. There is an appropriate emphasis on the teaching of literacy and numeracy. Sex and health education, including the dangers of drug misuse and healthy living, are taught as part of the science curriculum. Health education is promoted well and the school has a strong personal, social and health education programme in place.

p.15

PUPILS?

28. The issues from the last inspection have been dealt with. There is now guidance for teachers on what should be taught in art and design and design and technology, and the planning for children under five now takes full account of the new requirements of the Foundation Stage curriculum. The long-term curriculum plans for all subjects generally give good support to teaching and learning across the school, but there is over-reliance on commercial workbooks in mathematics.

p.15

PUPILS?

29. The National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy are being effectively implemented. In all classes, opportunities are taken to develop literacy and numeracy skills through a range of activities. For example, in a Year 1 class, as children finished their morning milk, they joined their teacher in counting from one to 100, until all pupils were ready to start the lesson. The curriculum plans for literacy and the recent support from the local education authority have contributed significantly to the recent improvements in teaching and learning. The curricular provision for pupils with special educational needs is good and ensures equality of opportunity and access for all groups of pupils.

p.15

PUPILS?

30. The curriculum is enhanced for many pupils through a good range of after-school and lunchtime clubs and activities. Some parents expressed concern over the range of these Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 16 activities, but the inspection team found that the range and quality of provision is similar to that found in most primary schools, and for a school of this size, is good. Both boys and girls take part in most activities, which are well supported by pupils and parents. The school has strong links with the local community through the church, where pupils take part in services throughout the year. Good use is made of visits to places such as museums and art galleries to further enhance the teaching and learning of all pupils and the school choir takes part in local musical performances. Visits to school, such as those by members of the local football club, enhance and support the school's curriculum well. Residential visits enhance the

p.15

PUPILS?

physical education and ICT curriculum, and the musical performances put on by the school, incorporating drama, dance, singing and playing, develop pupils’ musical and performing skills well.

p.16

PUPILS?

31. The consistency of setting and marking homework has improved recently, but some parents still have concerns about the amount of work set. However, the school has an effective homework policy that takes account of recent national guidance. The work set, recently extended to include mathematics, successfully supports the work pupils do in school.

p.16

PUPILS?

32. The overall provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good. In the last inspection, the cultural provision was unsatisfactory but this is no longer the case. Pupils' spiritual development is carefully and sensitively fostered through assemblies and the teaching of religious education. Assemblies have time for pupils to reflect and provide good opportunities for the teaching of Christian values and beliefs. Older pupils discussed their feelings well in, for example, their music lesson on the different moods created by music and their literacy lesson on mystery stories. Pupils have a good sense of right and wrong and when reprimanded for inappropriate behaviour readily say what it was that they have done wrong and what they should do to put it right. This was well demonstrated in a Year 2 class as pupils lined up ready to leave the classroom.

p.16

PUPILS?

33. Many opportunities are taken to develop pupils' social skills. A residential week for Year 5 and 6 pupils helps develop their sense of co-operation and social skills. Pupils are given responsibilities in classes and older pupils take on duties around the school. For example, Year 6 pupils help younger children with their reading at lunchtimes. They take turns to act as monitors in the corridors at break times and as tape recorder 'technicians' during assemblies and hymn practices. The provision for developing pupils' awareness of their own culture is strong and many opportunities are taken, for example in literacy lessons, to respond to a wide range of authors and texts. In art, pupils explore and talk about the works of a number of artists. Assemblies often have music from other cultures, and history and geography topics include studies of pupils’ own culture, such as the Tudors and Victorians, and those of others

p.16

PUPILS?

such as Ancient Greece. However, there was little evidence seen during the inspection of raising pupils' awareness of the multicultural nature of our own modern society and this remains an area of development for the school.

p.16

PUPILS?

34. The school has good links with its partner institutions. There are appropriate arrangements made for parents and children from local playgroups to visit the school prior to entering the reception class. There are similar good arrangements made for when older pupils move to secondary schools.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. This is a very caring school, which takes very effective steps to ensure pupils' welfare, health and safety. Good procedures are in place to deal with minor accidents; these are efficiently recorded. Many of the teachers and all of the welfare assistants have had formal first aid training. Health and safety checks are made regularly. The headteacher deals very effectively with matters of child protection, following the requirements of the Social Services Area Committee and officers, and staff are aware of these procedures. The strong church links and well-conducted assemblies contribute very strongly to the caring ethos of the school. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 17 36. The school has high expectancies of behaviour and good procedures for monitoring pupils' behaviour. Class rules are prominently displayed, but most teachers do not have any difficulties brought about through pupils misbehaving. Where there are some weaknesses in

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

pupil management in the juniors, it is usually because teaching focuses on one particular group and insufficient notice is taken of the rest. Merit marks are given for good behaviour and work. Pupils treasure these. There was no bullying seen at the school, nor did discussions with pupils or parents indicate that this is ever a problem.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

37. The procedures for monitoring and improving pupils' attendance are good. Parents and carers send notes or telephone the school secretary to give a reason for their child's absence. The school's liaison with the educational welfare services is adequate.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. The procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils' personal development are good. Teachers know their pupils well. The school is effectively developing its personal and social education programme by setting aside periods of time during the week for pupils to share ideas and talk about their experiences. These 'circle times' successfully help pupils to talk confidently, share their feelings with others, and wait their turn.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. Pupils with special educational needs are very well supported. The specialist helpers and classroom assistants give very good support to these pupils, which allows them to take an active part in the work and life of the school.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. Assessment procedures are satisfactory overall. There is a wide range of assessments including statutory and non-statutory tests, for finding out what pupils, including those with special educational needs, already know, understand and can do. Some teachers use their ongoing daily assessments to adapt curriculum planning on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis, but there is inadequate recording of pupils' achievements at the end of the year. Pupils' records identify only the broad level within which pupils are working, and do not contain enough information about what aspects of each level each pupil does or does not know. Although teachers use these levels to group pupils, they do not have sufficient detail about precisely what it is that different groups of pupils need to be taught next. Some of this information, along with samples of pupils' work, is passed verbally from teacher to teacher at the end of the summer term. However, there is little evidence in pupils' books of it being used

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

effectively at the start of the autumn term, when most pupils start off doing the same work. Teachers' comments in pupils’ books do not help to identify how well pupils have done something, how long they take to do it, and how much support, if any, they were given. Therefore they are of little use in assessing pupils' previous learning.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

41. Parents are generally very pleased with the school, which they see as a happy and caring place. Inspection evidence shows that this is well justified.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

42. The school has good links with parents, which it values. Parents are generally very happy with the standards their children achieve. A few would like to be given more information about the curriculum their children are to be taught in the term ahead and the school already has plans to deal with this. Many parents appreciate the opportunity to meet teachers at the end of most school days. They become involved in their children's learning as they wish, helping them with mathematics or English homework, or hearing them read. A number of parents regularly help in class, contributing well to pupils' learning. Particularly noteworthy is the good support given to the school by the active 'Friends Association', which helps the school with purchases of, for example, additional gymnastics equipment and books.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

43. Pupils' annual progress reports give a good picture of what pupils can do in English, mathematics and science, but limited information about their achievements in the other subjects, tending to focus on what the children have done, rather than on what they Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 18 have learnt. The school's brochure and governing body’s annual report meet legal requirements and give parents a comprehensive view of the school and its work.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

44. A few parents expressed concern about the range of after-school and lunchtime activities, but the school offers a good range, particularly for its small size.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

45. The head and senior staff manage the school satisfactorily and have brought about sound improvements since the last inspection. Standards in English, mathematics and science are better than they were and have improved at a greater rate than nationally. Newly implemented guidelines about what teachers should teach pupils in different year groups have given teachers a better understanding about what pupils can be expected to do by the end of each year. Whilst this has increased the number of pupils achieving the expected level in English, mathematics and science by the end of the juniors, the guidance is not used as effectively as it could be to adapt work for the more able pupils. The headteacher's monitoring and evaluation of literacy and numeracy lessons (for which he has only recently been trained) has helped teachers to improve their lesson organisation and management. These visits do not, however, focus sufficiently on pupils' learning and do not always make the connection

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

between aspects of effective teaching and the improvement in pupils’ learning. This means that teachers are not as well placed as they could be to bring about more effectiveness to their teaching.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

46. The headteacher, deputy head and governors are proud of the school's strengths and very clear about its weaknesses. They have established that they need to raise standards in mathematics and science and, in particular, increase the number of pupils in Year 6 reaching the higher levels. They are clear about the direction in which the school needs to go and ensure that the school development plan identifies priorities for improvement that are relevant to the needs and circumstances of the school. The action plans, however, which set out how this is to be done, although greatly improved since the last inspection, are insufficiently precise about how this is to be achieved and what the intended result is. For example, one of the targets is to have ‘a greater percentage of Level 5s’ in mathematics. It says that this will be achieved by supporting the new guidelines, raising the profile of mathematics around the

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

school, and promoting positive attitudes towards mathematics. It is unclear, however, how precisely these things will bring about improved numbers of pupils attaining at the higher levels in tests. Nor do the plans identify the proportion of pupils expected to improve, making measuring the degree of success difficult.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

47. The headteacher's monitoring and evaluation of teaching has successfully brought about improvements to lesson management and organisation. The co-ordinators' monitoring and evaluation of curriculum plans have brought about improvements to both subject and daily lesson plans and the range and quality of learning resources. However, pupils' progress through the school is not sufficiently monitored to identify how well individual pupils are doing and where and what support is needed. For example, the level each pupil reaches at the end of each year is recorded in his or her achievement file. However, no one keeps track of how well individual pupils are achieving in particular subjects, making it difficult to know how to support teaching and learning most effectively. Weaknesses in teaching are mainly picked up through lesson observations, and insufficient rigour in tracking pupils' progress means that

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

senior managers are not always best placed to identify what more needs doing. Pupils' responses to test questions are not used to adapt the curriculum effectively enough and teachers take too little notice of how well pupils have learnt what they have been taught in order to know whether they need to teach it again more effectively.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48. The governing body supports the work of the school satisfactorily by meeting its statutory obligations fully and asking questions about how well the school is doing. Governors are not fully involved in analysing results, however, and delegate a lot of the leadership and management issues to the head and deputy. However, governors are committed to the school Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 19 and ask questions and hold it accountable for the standards it achieves, but accept answers too readily. This limits their influence in shaping the school's direction. They focus on issues clamouring for their attention, such as school meal service agreements and spend insufficient time on analysing standards and helping the school to improve.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. Staffing, accommodation and learning resources are satisfactory and are adequate to meet the demands of the curriculum. Staff training has focused well on bringing about improvements to the teaching of the youngest children in the school, identified as a weakness in the last inspection report, and supporting new teachers. Teamwork is well established and staff work together effectively, supporting each other in their work. The induction procedures for new staff are good and new teachers to the profession are supported well by their colleagues and, in particular, senior managers. Staff with particular responsibilities are clear about what these are and carry them out satisfactorily. Co-ordinators are mainly involved with monitoring curriculum plans and bringing about improvements to curriculum organisation, and the maintenance, enhancement, and renewal of learning resources. They play little part in

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

observing lessons to check on what works well to improve teaching and learning in their subjects or in looking at pupils' work. This means that they have a limited impact on bringing about improvements to teaching and learning.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. Strategic use is made of all resources and the governors secure value for money through effective tendering procedures. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is managed effectively and these pupils do well because of the effective support they are given. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 20

p.19

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve pupils’ learning in mathematics and science and, in particular, that of the more able pupils by:

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

a) ensuring that subject guidelines are used more effectively to set work which challenges the brighter pupils in particular; b) evaluating more effectively the quality of pupils’ learning in mathematics and science lessons so that teachers are clear about what they need to improve in their teaching to bring about better learning; c) allowing pupils to plan and conduct their own scientific experiments; d) setting more problem-solving activities in mathematics. (Paragraphs 4, 5, 8, 9, 23-25, 45, 70, 77-78)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Ensure that sufficient detail is kept about pupils’ achievements so that:

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

a) teachers can track pupils’ progress through school and check on whether or not their learning is rapid enough; b) work is suitably adapted, particularly at the beginning of the year, to deal with gaps in pupils’ learning at each level. (Paragraphs 5, 23, 40, 47, 66)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Be more precise in the school development action plans about what needs doing to meet the school’s targets in order to bring about improvements more rapidly. (Paragraphs 46, 74, 79)

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition to the above, there are a number of minor issues identified in the report which governors should have regard to when writing their action plan:

p.20

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

1. There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to finish their stories, particularly in Years 3 to 5 (paragraphs 7, 23, 66). 2. Teachers’ marking is insufficient to support assessment or tell pupils what they need to do to improve their work (paragraphs 21, 40, 66, 74). 3. There are too few opportunities for pupils to take initiative, limiting their personal development (paragraph 15). 4. The governors are insufficiently involved in analysing standards and this limits the influence they have on what changes need to be made and the help they can give the school in bringing them about (paragraph 48). Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 21

p.20

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

p.21

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.21

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR– Y6

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 0 165

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 0 14

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR– Y6

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 2

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 29

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.21

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 6

p.21

Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5

p.21

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 22

p.21

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 16 12 28

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 15 16 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 11 11 11

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 93 (94) 96 (94) 96 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 85 (83) 90 (87)

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 16 16 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 11 11 12

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 96 (94) 96 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 8 15 23

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 8 6 8 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 13 10 12

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 91 (93) 70 (67) 87 (81) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 8 8 8 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 12 11 12

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 87 (67) 83 (63) 87 (70) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 80 (75)

p.22

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 23

p.22

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.23

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.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 7.1 Financial year 1999/2000

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 27

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR– Y6 Total expenditure 275779

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3 Expenditure per pupil 1746

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 40 Balance brought forward from previous year 22849

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 21883 Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 24

p.23

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 40 50 8 2 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 31 62 8 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 25 60 13 2 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 23 46 27 4 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 46 37 15 0 2

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 42 54 4 0 0

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 25 50 23 0 2

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 37 60 0 2 2

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 40 54 4 0 2

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 17 44 23 6 10 Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 25

p.24

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

52. There are 26 children in the reception class housed in one classroom with five Year 1 pupils. All of them make satisfactory progress and most of them reach the nationally identified early learning goals in all areas of learning by the end of the reception year. There have been considerable improvements to the provision for these children since the last inspection. Staff training has effectively improved the quality of teaching, which is now satisfactory in all areas of learning, and has brought about changes to the way children are given the opportunity to learn through observation and exploration. There are times, however, when children choose freely from a range of activities set out around the room. Whilst this develops their independence and children work and play together well, their learning sometimes lacks focus because there are no specific tasks to do. In addition, because the choice is theirs, individual

p.25

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

children do not always choose activities most suited to develop their weakest skills. Again, this means that children do not always make the rapid progress that they could during these sessions.

p.25

Personal, social and emotional development

53. Children play and work together co-operatively. They speak confidently to visitors and concentrate well. They become absorbed in their activities when, for example, building a roadway in the sand. All children enjoy good relationships with the adults and most talk confidently with them about what they are doing. In one lesson, for example, a group of children explained excitedly how they mixed blue and yellow paint to make green and how they joined short strips of modelling dough together to make longer strips. Children respond with good humour to parts of stories that they particularly enjoy, like Grandma on a motorbike in an ‘alternative’ version of Little Red Riding Hood! There are often up to three, and sometimes more, adults working in the class. These adults work together well, providing good role models on which the children can base their relationships with each other. They promote children’s

p.25

Personal, social and emotional development

personal development effectively by ensuring that the equipment is readily available and insisting that children clear away at the end of sessions. The classroom is a little untidy, however, and it is not always easy to see where some things belong. There are some missed opportunities during milk time to develop pupils’ personal, social and emotional skills further because the adults tend to use this time to organise the activities or talk with each other about what they are going to do rather than spend time talking with the children.

p.25

Communication, language and literacy

54. By the time the children reach the end of the reception year they are nearly all achieving the early learning goals in this area of learning and are particularly confident speakers and listeners. They explain clearly what they are doing and listen attentively to explanations and instructions. There are many opportunities for developing communication skills such as in the role-play areas and creative activities. Children assume different roles in the café such as waitress, cook and customer, but find negotiating who will take each role difficult. Children are interested in books and many recognise a range of words on sight. Most children know letter sounds and put them in alphabetical order. They blend letters together to help them read and spell words. The majority show independence in their writing and write their own names. Many of the children write in sentences and read their writing back to themselves to check for

p.25

Communication, language and literacy

accuracy. This is because teacher expectations are high and pupils are expected to write from an early age. However, not enough is done to deal with incorrect letter formation and some letters that children were writing incorrectly at the beginning of September are still incorrect. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 26

p.25

Mathematical development

55. Most children in the reception class join in number rhymes and count to 10; many can go beyond to 20. Children are starting to add and take away and this is promoted well through questions when, for example, doing the register, “There are seven days in the week, we are at school for five of them, how many days do we stay at home?” Most children add two numbers together and complete written sums correctly. They write numbers accurately and use the language of comparison correctly when describing longer and shorter lengths and taller and shorter towers. They develop an understanding of the measurement of time by timing how long they take to thread a given number of beads. Although for most of the time, children are doing work suited to their attainment level, the school makes unsatisfactory use of commercial mathematics workbooks. All of the children complete the same page in the workbook at the

p.26

Mathematical development

same time, regardless of the level at which they have been working previously. The brighter children have usually done much higher level practical work first and working through pages of books unrelated to their current learning is a waste of valuable learning time.

p.26

Knowledge and understanding of the world

56. Children’s general knowledge is satisfactory. Most children have a good sense of place through looking at make-believe journey routes and planning, with the help of their parents at home, their own route from home to school. They recognise features that Little Red Riding Hood passes on the way to her Grandmother’s house, such as trees and a stream. Teaching promotes reasoning well with questions like, “If there are beehives in Little Red Riding Hood’s garden, what does that tell you about her?” The children quickly come to the conclusion that she likes honey. The children work on the computers confidently, using the mouse to move the cursor around the screen and drop down, for example, the print menu so that they can print their work. They program a truck to move in different directions along the floor and return to the sender. Children grow plants and draw pictures of them, labelling the parts accurately.

p.26

Knowledge and understanding of the world

They build and construct things, and talk about how they have changed since they were babies.

p.26

Physical development

57. There have been improvements to the progress children make in physical development since the last inspection, when it was unsatisfactory. Although the planned new outdoor learning area has not been started yet, the children have access to the large climbing equipment in the hall and space has been reorganised in the classroom to make room for large construction activities and more adventurous play. Children use scissors well to cut along folds and the teaching of how to use paintbrushes to “stroke the paint onto the paper” has improved children’s painting techniques. Children move well to music, with good co-ordination and control and an awareness of space. They respond to the mood of the music well, for example, taking huge stretched strides when pretending to be the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk and then, in contrast, light steps when dancing to the magic harp.

p.26

Creative development

58. This is another area that has improved since the last inspection, when children’s learning was unsatisfactory. Children have sufficient opportunities to create their own pictures, which they do with great delight as they mix their own colours to create just the right shade. Teaching guides them satisfactorily so that they know how to apply paint to paper and create patterns when printing with vegetable segments. From looking at the work of artists such as Lowry, children make very effective pictures of their own of, for example, matchstick cats and dogs silhouetted against brown buildings. They engage in role-play with good imagination, selling plants in the garden centre, for example, and taking orders in the café. They responded imaginatively to music in a dance lesson in the hall, and sing with developing enthusiasm. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 27

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ENGLISH

59. Standards in English have improved since the last inspection and are now high for seven and 11 year olds. Test results have risen year on year since 1996, and more pupils now attain the expected level and above by the time they leave the school. Results in the 2000 national test results show that standards are better than in most other schools, including those with similar characteristics. Pupils in the infants and juniors achieve well because teaching and learning are good. Very few pupils attain below the expected level in English by the age of 11. This is because the pupils with special educational needs are given work that is well matched to the targets in their Individual Education Plans, and the lower attaining pupils in Year 3 are given additional support in literacy.

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ENGLISH

60. Teachers have come to grips well with the National Literacy Strategy and teach the basic skills of reading and writing very effectively because of secure subject knowledge. They organise their lessons well and include a good balance of explanation and pupil activity, which holds the interest of the pupils. Most of them tell the pupils why they are doing the work and this challenges the pupils to work hard and succeed. Unlike at the last inspection, teachers expect different standards from different pupils and make their expectations clear, often by setting different work. These improvements to teaching and learning have been brought about mainly through the effective monitoring of lessons and good support from local education authority staff. Development plans for the subject are well focused because they aim at raising standards and successfully bring about the desired improvements. Targets are very precise

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ENGLISH

and the action taken is effective. Governors support for literacy is good. Lesson observations clearly identify what is effective and what works less well, and are used to inform teachers how well pupils learnt in the different lessons seen.

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ENGLISH

61. Pupils of all ages are very confident speakers and careful listeners due to the good opportunities they are given to express their thoughts, particularly in the older junior classes. Pupils of all ages listen to each other and patiently wait their turn in class and small group discussions. The older pupils know how to present a persuasive argument, for example, for or against school uniform. They explain their opinions about different authors and books they have read. For example, pupils in Year 6 say that they prefer ‘humorous mysteries’ as opposed to ‘eerie mysteries’, and that they like particular authors more than others. They choose words carefully when talking about their work in other subjects such as art, design, and music. For example, Year 2 pupils talk confidently about how they designed and made models of cars, saying “all cars have two axles” and Year 6 pupils explain how “Picasso paints

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ENGLISH

faces in different sections”. They talk about how they use sketchbooks for practising art techniques and how they have made birdhouses from wood.

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ENGLISH

62. Pupils’ reading skills are developed well throughout the school through, for example, the shared text sessions and opportunities for researching people and events in history books. In one lesson, pupils in Year 6 were reading a text from a book about Australia and four of them were given the task of searching the Internet for information about the country. They were extremely delighted when they found out who discovered the land, and eagerly shared the information with their classmates. In the same lesson, the teacher used what she knew about pupils’ previous learning well to bring pupils’ attention to how the story line was successfully maintained in this particular text because the speech was interspersed with narrative text. She pointed out how, on the day before, the pupils had written continuous dialogue, resulting in uninteresting writing and making it difficult to sustain the story line. Once this was drawn to

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ENGLISH

their attention, they realised what they could do next time to improve the quality of the work.

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ENGLISH

63. Class sizes in the infants are over 30, and so a group of Year 1 pupils are withdrawn each day for literacy and numeracy. This is particularly effective because it means that group sizes are small and teaching has more impact on learning. The discussions following the shared reading of a book are particularly effective because most pupils get the opportunity to talk about the story content and the characters, and relate these to their own experiences, heightening their interest. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 28 64. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 show great interest in their reading and talk excitedly about their favourite authors. Teachers increase pupils’ enthusiasm successfully by providing a wide range of texts for them to read and encouraging them to talk about what genre they prefer and which author’s style of writing they find most interesting and why. Pupils borrow books from the school library, including information books, and talk about how they have used them to

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ENGLISH

learn about topics such as transport and animals.

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ENGLISH

65. Pupils’ writing skills are developed well. Infant and junior pupils write for a range of purposes including shopping lists, poetry, and news reports. Pupils know how to plan stories and that they need to choose words carefully and present their writing imaginatively, such as in a ‘pop- up’ book or by designing an eye-catching title or cover. Year 6 pupils explain how the “introduction needs to make someone read on, taking them straight into the action and leaving them on a cliff-hanger”. They write in grammatically correct sentences and make good use of punctuation, such as speech marks and commas, to add sense to their work. Throughout the school, pupils use computers well to present their writing interestingly by using different fonts and sizes.

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ENGLISH

66. Whilst, in the main, pupils’ good achievements parallel the good quality teaching in English in both the infants and juniors, there are some minor weaknesses which nevertheless mean that pupils could make more rapid progress. Teachers’ comments in pupils’ workbooks, with the exception of Year 6 where they are marginally better, do little to show pupils how they could improve their work. When pupils are asked to rewrite words they have spelt incorrectly, they do not and so their spelling does not improve significantly. Standards of handwriting are good in pupils’ handwriting books, but most pupils, the younger ones in particular, do not write as neatly in their story books. The standards teachers expect and accept from the Year 3 pupils in particular are not good enough, especially given their achievements at the end of Year 2. There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to finish their creative stories and pupils rarely get

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ENGLISH

beyond the planning stage and the opening paragraph in their literacy time and, except in the oldest class, there is no additional time outside the literacy hour provided for extended writing. The pupils’ records of achievement do not give enough information to the next year group teacher about how well pupils are doing in the different aspects of speaking and listening, reading and writing and do not say what pupils need to work on next.

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MATHEMATICS

67. Most pupils attain the expected levels by the age of seven and 11 and this is an improvement on the last inspection. In the 2000 national tests, the results of seven year olds were similar to those of most other schools including ones with similar characteristics. The percentage of Year 6 pupils attaining the expected level was broadly the same as most other schools, but the proportion of pupils attaining the higher level was below the national average and well below similar schools. This meant that the school’s performance was below the national results. A major factor in this was the new pupils who entered the juniors prior to the tests, a number of whom were lower attaining pupils. This had a significant impact on the attainment of the group because of the small numbers involved which depressed standards overall.

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MATHEMATICS

68. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported and make good progress. There is no significant difference in performance between girls and boys.

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MATHEMATICS

69. By the age of seven, the majority of pupils name common two-dimensional shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles and describe them according to the properties of their sides and angles. They recognise multiples of two, five, and 10, and the more able pupils use this knowledge readily to calculate sums in their heads. All pupils identify odd and even numbers and make simple addition and subtraction calculations of numbers up to 100. More able pupils recognise simple fractions such as halves, quarters and thirds and find fractions of shapes. By the end of the juniors, most pupils have a well-developed sense of number and can measure angles accurately. They know how to construct a three-dimensional shape from its ‘net’ and can add together numbers with three digits. They use fractions to find the Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 29 proportion of given numbers and quantities of liquid or weights, and some of the more able

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MATHEMATICS

pupils can multiply three-digit numbers by two-digit numbers. Throughout the school, pupils are confident in their use of number. They are less confident in using these number skills to solve problems, however, mainly because their experiences are too limited.

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MATHEMATICS

70. The quality of teaching and learning seen during the inspection was satisfactory, with some good lessons in both the infants and juniors. The pace of learning is better in the infants than in Years 3, 4 and 5, but picks up again in Year 6. One reason for this is the way in which teachers in Years 3, 4, and 5 work through the new guidance for mathematics systematically, without sufficient regard to pupils who learn at a slower or faster rate than most of their classmates. Some pupils, for example, have not grasped an idea sufficiently well to move on to the next stage of learning, whilst others mark time consolidating ideas that they already know and understand. This has led to some gaps in the learning of the lower attaining pupils and the more able pupils not learning fast enough. The school has identified this problem and begun to address it, with some success. Some of the more able Year 5 pupils are taken out of

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MATHEMATICS

the classroom, which they share with the Year 6 pupils, to be taught by the headteacher for three days a week. The work they do is well matched to their attainment level and these pupils achieve very well during these lessons and, because of this, standards are set to rise next year.

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MATHEMATICS

71. Effective teaching in the lessons seen were generally characterised by sound planning and the good use of resources, secure teacher subject knowledge and well thought out and interesting activities that made the pupils want to learn. Features of the best lessons seen included a clear idea of what was to be learned, which teachers shared with their pupils, and well- targeted questioning which enabled pupils of different attainments to take an effective part in the lessons. This was well illustrated in a Year 2 lesson when the teacher helped pupils explain how they were working out mental calculations, developing their mathematical language well. Other features of good teaching are the good review sessions at the end of lessons, where teachers reinforce what it was the pupils were meant to learn and check on their success. A particularly good example of this was at the end of a Year 6 lesson on ‘nets’

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MATHEMATICS

of three-dimensional shapes where the teacher’s questioning not only helped to check on how well pupils had learned, but also reinforced the correct vocabulary such as vertex, face and edge.

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MATHEMATICS

72. All of these features help pupils to know what is expected of them and enable them to settle quickly to their tasks. This gives good pace to lessons and maintains pupils’ interest and enthusiasm. For example, in an unsatisfactory Year 3 lesson, too much time was devoted to an over-elaborate explanation that did not give pupils a clear understanding of what was required of them. Their attention and interest was not maintained and this affected the learning of the whole class.

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MATHEMATICS

73. Most pupils in both the infants and juniors show positive attitudes to their work. They enjoy the mental question and answer sessions at the beginning and end of lessons. They participate eagerly in class discussions, and behaviour in most classes is good. They use numeracy skills in other subjects, such as arranging historical dates in order and counting beats in music, and use computers confidently to order information they collect, for example about classmates’ birthdays, and arrange it on graphs.

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MATHEMATICS

74. The school is in the process of trialling the new guidance for mathematics. It is evaluating its impact, and assessing how effectively new resources are being used to raise attainment. The co-ordinator and headteacher have looked at curriculum plans and observed lessons, but they have not checked, sufficiently or effectively enough, how what happens in teaching affects pupils’ learning. The school improvement plan identifies areas for development in mathematics but does not focus sufficiently on precisely what needs to be done to bring about improvements. Not enough information is recorded in pupils’ achievement files about what aspects of each level each pupil knows and can do. This means that most pupils at the same level are taught similar things the following year. Marking does little to help teachers assess Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 30 how well pupils are doing because the teachers do not comment on how easy, or otherwise, it

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MATHEMATICS

was for pupils to complete the work or whether they had support in order to do the work. Nor do the comments tell pupils what to do to improve their work next time. There is too much reliance on mathematics workbooks, with pupils sometimes completing pages unrelated to what they are learning.

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SCIENCE

75. In the 2000 national tests the proportion of Year 6 pupils attaining the expected level for 11 year olds was in line with the national average. This continued the trend of rising attainment over the past four years. Teacher-assessed standards at the age of seven were well above the national average for the expected levels. However, this school has fewer pupils reaching the higher levels by the end of the infants and the juniors than most other schools and this affects the school’s performance in tests. However, an analysis of the 2000 Year 6 test results shows that all but one pupil from the infants reached the expected level given their attainment at the end of Year 2, whilst five pupils did better than could reasonably be expected. As in English and mathematics, there are a number of pupils joining the school part way through the juniors, and some are lower attaining pupils. In a small school, even one pupil can make a difference

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SCIENCE

in the comparative data, and makes target setting difficult. These factors mean that the comparisons year on year are unreliable.

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SCIENCE

76. Inspection evidence shows that, from the work seen, standards in the infants are in line with the levels expected for pupils of this age. Most pupils are able to correctly name the main external parts of the body. They can classify things as living or non-living and, from their topic on healthy living, Year 2 pupils know that healthy teeth are an important part of a healthy life- style. All pupils can identify and name a range of light sources and show a good awareness of the dangers of electricity in the home. In an investigation of how far a toy car can travel down a ramp, the average attaining and more able pupils in Year 2 linked the result to the height of the ramp and the type of surface over which it travelled. More able pupils showed a good understanding of the effects of friction and could explain how it affected the experiment. However, there was limited evidence in the scrutiny of previous work to show that other

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SCIENCE

investigations had been done. By the age of 11, most pupils understand the concept of fair testing; this was demonstrated in a Year 6 lesson on sound and a Year 5 lesson on the change of state of materials when heated. Pupils have looked at food chains and know how plant seeds are dispersed. They can classify materials as solids, liquids or gases and pupils in Years 3 and 4 found out how to separate a mixture of solid and liquid. In a study on light, older pupils are able to classify materials as transparent, translucent or opaque.

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SCIENCE

77. However, scrutiny of current work shows that the amount of work undertaken throughout the junior classes is limited in quantity and some of it lacks depth. For example, only two investigations have been done in Year 6, one of which was making a ‘colour spinner’ in a topic on light. This is low level work for pupils of this age. Scrutiny of previous work shows that the amount of investigative work in science is insufficient to build upon previous skills quickly or effectively enough or develop the use of these skills in new and more challenging ways.

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SCIENCE

78. The quality of teaching and learning was satisfactory. The better lessons were characterised by good teacher subject knowledge, which was used well in questioning pupils and helping them to clarify their ideas and opinions. For example, in a Year 2 lesson on forces, the teacher led a good question and answer session at the beginning of the lesson, which quickly and effectively reviewed the learning of the previous lesson and then used this well to set the tasks for the current lesson. Nearly all pupils throughout the school have positive attitudes towards science. Pupils participated well in the discussions and most were eager to show what they had found out. Well-planned and well-resourced activities help pupils to settle quickly to their tasks and maintain their level of interest. When given practical activities, pupils respond positively, as was seen in a Year 6 lesson, where pupils were making ‘string’ telephones and

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SCIENCE

testing various types of string as to which made the best ‘telephone’. Some science teaching Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 31 shows insecure teacher subject knowledge, and includes less well-organised activities. Investigations are sometimes ‘teacher demonstrations’ and pupils are not given enough opportunity to set up their own experiments.

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SCIENCE

79. The co-ordinator checks on teachers’ planning and leads the subject satisfactorily. She is not yet able to monitor the teaching of science; this limits her influence on bringing about change and improvements to teaching and learning. The current guidance on what should be taught in each year group to ensure that pupils build on what they have learned before is focused on single year groups, but the school has mixed year groups and so the guidance is not always useful. Some teachers supplement this with recent national guidance, but its use is not consistent across the school. The school improvement plan identifies the action that is be taken to increase the number of pupils attaining the higher level by the end of the infants and the juniors, but it lacks a clear focus on what needs doing in order to bring about improvement.

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ART AND DESIGN

80. Pupils’ attainment in art and design is as expected by the time the pupils reach the ages of seven and 11. This reflects good improvement since the last inspection when pupils achieved below expected levels. New guidance for teachers has raised their expectations about what pupils should be able to achieve by the end of each year and this has led to improved teaching and learning. It ensures that a range of artistic skills and techniques are taught, and that pupils learn about other artists and use their work to inspire their own artwork. Templates are no longer used and the pupils’ work is less teacher-directed and mostly their own.

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ART AND DESIGN

81. Pupils use a good range of different materials and equipment from Year 1 onwards such as chalks, pastels, paint, clay and fabric. They have good opportunities to explore the styles of different artists and use these to inspire them in their own work. For example, Year 1 pupils produce work in the style of Lowry and Year 2 pupils recreate the style of Mondrian, very precisely and very effectively. They learn something of the artists’ backgrounds, and know, for example, that Lowry is from nearby Manchester and Van Valckenborch is Dutch.

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ART AND DESIGN

82. Pupils of all ages talk enthusiastically about the work they have done. For example, pupils in Years 1 and 2 are very proud of their recreations of the style of Valckenborch and show them off excitedly, pointing to their own work on the wall and explaining how they did it. By the time the pupils reach Year 6, they name a variety of artists and have preferences for different styles, such as the ‘dotty’ pictures of Seurat. Most pupils show good control of paint when creating, for example, pictures in the style of David Hockney, and make imaginative use of different techniques to create different effects. They show a willingness to amend their original work and explore other’s ideas. They use sketchbooks to practise techniques and skills. Most pupils understand how they use shade to create depth and ‘vanishing points’ to add perspective to their work. They have created, very successfully, for example, the texture of

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ART AND DESIGN

shells showing the ridges and bumps. Their drawings were so accurate it was possible to select the shell each pupil had drawn by just touching them.

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ART AND DESIGN

83. Teaching is good. Teachers’ subject knowledge has improved since the last inspection because of the new guidelines. Skills and techniques are taught systematically as pupils move through the school. Artwork supports other subjects well and computers are used to support art. Pupils effectively create on the computers, for example, snowy pictures in Year 2 and focus on using primary colours in the style of Hockney and Lichenstein in Year 6. Pupils in Year 1 use the computer well to create pictures in the style of Mondrian.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

84. No design and technology lessons were seen during the inspection. However, judging from the results of pupils’ past work, examining curriculum planning and talking with pupils and teachers, standards are as expected by the ages of seven and 11 and teaching and learning Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 32 are sound. This indicates satisfactory improvement since the last inspection when standards were below the expected level and some aspects of teaching were unsatisfactory. These improvements have come about because of the school’s new guidelines for teaching, which set down what pupils should be taught and learn each year, which, in turn, has raised teachers’ expectations about what they can expect pupils to achieve.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

85. Infant pupils design, for example, glove puppets and moving figures of Father Christmas, listing precisely what they will need and labelling their designs to show what each part will be made of. Their models of vehicles are of a particularly good standard. They used a variety of skills to make them, measuring and cutting the wood, drawing the designs, and writing step- by-step instructions. They are all different; some pupils made cars, others made trucks and some made mini-diggers! The pupils talk about their designs and are starting to evaluate their work by saying what works well and what is less effective, and what they need to do to improve their work. “It would be better if the wheels moved”, commented one; “It was good because the doors open” said another. They understand that some materials are better for particular purposes, such as card and wood to make models because they are stronger than

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

paper and fabric, whilst fabric is better for hand puppets because it is more flexible. By the time the pupils reach Year 6, their evaluation skills are sufficiently developed for them to alter prototypes and adapt what they have made to serve the purpose better. For example, two boys made their torches bigger so that they “could see more”. Pupils use an increasing range of equipment such as glue guns and saws and knives to join and separate materials. They work with a range of materials including wood, fabric and clay to make bird tables, puppet dolls, and tee-shirt prints.

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GEOGRAPHY

86. During the inspection, it was only possible to see one geography lesson in the infants. From talking to the co-ordinator and pupils, and looking at teachers’ planning and the work of pupils, standards of work are in line with nationally expected levels at the age of seven and by the time the pupils leave the school at the age of 11.

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GEOGRAPHY

87. This reflects the findings of the last report. The majority of pupils make satisfactory progress through the two-year topic cycle, which gives appropriate coverage of the themes and places identified in the National Curriculum, effectively supported by units from nationally approved guidelines for teaching the subject.

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GEOGRAPHY

88. There was limited evidence of pupils’ work on display but what was seen was satisfactory. For example, in a Year 2 lesson, the pupils were making very good use of computer technology and a digital camera in their comparison of their own local environment with that of the Isle of Coll. By very skilful questioning, the teacher was able to help pupils to see the similarities and differences between the two places and extend their knowledge and understanding of contrasting environments well. The pupils then used the images on a computer to record a simple sentence about their observations. The overall teaching in this lesson was good.

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GEOGRAPHY

89. From discussion with pupils, it is evident that their knowledge and understanding of places is satisfactorily developed as they move through the school. Pupils correctly identify and name the countries of the British Isles. They researched a European country of their choice and used the Internet to look up information about Australia for their past work on the Olympics. A visit to a local scout camp incorporated stream studies and the older pupils are looking forward to a residential week in the Lake District, where they will experience map reading and orienteering. Junior pupils have undertaken weather studies and recorded their findings, and show a secure understanding of the water cycle process. Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 33 90. The subject is co-ordinated satisfactorily by the headteacher and senior managers. There is no formal assessment of pupils’ achievement at present but the school’s improvement plan

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GEOGRAPHY

identifies future improvements taking account of new national requirements.

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HISTORY

91. Due to the way the subject is timetabled, usually in blocks to alternate with geography, it was not possible to see any history lessons during the inspection. Judgements are based on talking to the co-ordinator and pupils, looking at teachers’ planning and scrutinising pupils’ past work.

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HISTORY

92. The attainment of the majority of pupils is in line with that expected nationally by the ages of seven and 11. This reflects the findings of the last report. The teaching and learning of the subject follows nationally approved guidelines, which address all the requirements of the National Curriculum. It is not possible to make a secure judgement about teaching.

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HISTORY

93. From the limited evidence seen during the inspection, pupils in the infants are able to distinguish between times past and times present. They have looked at famous people and events of the past, such as Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot. Previous work shows that pupils can correctly sequence a series of pictures and write an appropriate sentence about each of them. Current work in the juniors is centred on the study of Ancient Greece in Years 4 and 5 and of Britain since the 1930s in Years 5 and 6. Much of the current displays in classrooms, however, contain artwork rather than pupils’ written recording of their learning. A much better display in the Year 5/6 class makes good use of artefacts and supports teaching and learning in the topic on modern Britain. Nevertheless, from talking to pupils, it is evident that they develop their knowledge and understanding of historical times and events satisfactorily over time.

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HISTORY

94. Good use is made of visits to a Tudor house and local museums where pupils handle artefacts and dress in period costume. Pupils greatly enjoy these experiences as they make the subject ‘come alive’. They remember in their topic on the Romans, learning about how to use Roman numerals. Another aspect of their topic work that they enjoy is finding things out for themselves; they are very enthusiastic about how they can now use computers and the Internet for researching history topics. Some use of research is evident in the current topic on modern Britain for example, in pupils’ work on the Jarrow March. Good use is made of literacy skills in pupils’ extended writing on being a wartime evacuee.

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HISTORY

95. The subject is taught through a two-year cycle of topics and is currently led by the headteacher, who is the acting co-ordinator. There is no formal assessment in the subject at present. The school is aware of the need to review its provision in the light of the new national requirements for foundation subjects, and current targets in the school’s improvement plan take account of this.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

96. Standards in ICT are much improved from the time of the last inspection. Inspection evidence shows that by the ages of seven and 11, the majority of pupils achieve standards expected of pupils for their age. At the time of the last inspection, there was no evidence of ICT being used in the school. Since then, the governing body and the school have worked hard to improve the provision for teaching and learning ICT skills, knowledge and understanding.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

97. In the infants, standards are in line with those expected for pupils of a similar age. Skills are further developed throughout the infant classes and by the age of seven, the majority of pupils are able to use a variety of programs to support their work in science, art and other subjects of the curriculum. Pupils in Year 2, for example, have produced some striking pictures in the style of the artist Mondrian, showing skill and imagination in their drawing and good use of colour. Good use of a digital camera was seen in a Year 2 geography lesson, where pupils Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 34 were comparing features of their own environment with those on the Island of Coll. Infant pupils have recorded information on their pets and birthdays in graphical form using the computer, and all respond very positively to the opportunities that they have to work on the computers. The great majority do so with confidence and skill.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

98. By the age of 11, standards are in line with nationally expected levels and there has been a particularly good development in word-processing skills. For example, Year 3 and 4 pupils insert a text message on a Christmas card and a very good display of ‘shape’ poems in the Year 5/6 class demonstrates pupils’ skills in changing the font, size and type to suit their purpose. Year 5 pupils have made good use of an art program to create freehand patterns and shape pictures. During the inspection, good use was made of a science program to support a lesson on the effect of heat on solids, liquids and gases. Many of these sessions, and those in the infants, are effective because of the good support from governors and parent helpers. The great majority of pupils in both the infants and juniors show positive attitudes towards ICT work. Relationships between adults and pupils are good across the school and this

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

contributes well to the learning in the subject.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

99. The school has made good progress since the last inspection. Teaching has improved and standards are rising across the school. The new guidelines address all of the requirements of the National Curriculum. The teaching and learning in the subject are much more secure and there is a well-planned programme of skills’ development throughout the school based on nationally approved guidance. The issue over weak teacher confidence identified in the last report has been addressed most successfully. All staff have had effective in-service training and no unsatisfactory teaching of ICT was seen during the inspection. Teachers are confident and competent in the range of programs they use, and because of this, are able to guide pupils when they make errors, and provide effective support. They make effective use of computers in literacy and numeracy lessons.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

100. The subject is led and managed well by the co-ordinator, who has done much to address the deficiencies of the last report. She has developed a well-planned programme of skills’ development, which is beginning to have a positive impact on the level of achievement of the majority of pupils. In this, she has been supported well by governors and parents who have raised funds for ICT resources. The school is aware of the need to assess pupils’ attainment in a more systematic way and further developments in this aspect of its provision are planned.

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MUSIC

101. Only one music lesson was seen during the inspection. However, from talking with pupils, looking at curriculum plans and discussions with staff, satisfactory standards have been maintained since the last inspection and pupils’ attainment is broadly as expected by the end of the infants and juniors. There is no music specialist, as there was at the time of the last inspection, and class teachers teach their own pupils. Teaching is supported well by the guidelines for music, however, and teachers’ subject knowledge is secure. On the limited evidence available, indications are that teaching and learning throughout the school are satisfactory.

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MUSIC

102. Infant pupils enjoy their music lessons and talk enthusiastically about what they do. They sang tunefully in assembly and to an inspector in a small group! They perform confidently in front of others and play instruments to accompany themselves and their classmates. They listen to music and talk about what musical instruments they prefer hearing, such as the guitar and piano, demonstrating effectively and imaginatively the noises that these and other instruments make. They understand what pulse and beat is and by Year 6, use musical vocabulary satisfactorily and know what words such as tempo and duration mean. They name composers and talk about how music from other countries such Russia and Africa are different. They talk about how they like different styles such as jazz and classical.

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MUSIC

103. The subject is supported well through a range of lunchtime and after-school activities including choir and recorder clubs. Parents appreciate the musical performances put on by the school, Farington St Paul’s CE Primary School - 35 and pupils talk enthusiastically about how they audition for parts and that they think that their ‘productions’ are so good because they incorporate drama, dance, singing and playing.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

104. By the ages of seven and 11, pupils’ achievements in physical education are in line with those expected nationally, as at the time of the last inspection. Only two lessons were seen during the inspection so it is not possible to make a secure judgement about the quality of teaching. From the scrutiny of teacher’s planning and discussions with the co-ordinator and pupils, most pupils make satisfactory progress as they move through the school.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

105. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 pupils have satisfactorily developed skills in throwing and catching a ball and, in one lesson seen, improved their performance further through practice. The teaching demonstrated a secure subject knowledge, which was used very effectively to give instruction and advice on how to improve. The response of pupils was positive and they listened carefully and took pride in their improved performance. They were fully aware of the need for safety and this was reinforced at appropriate times during the lesson.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

106. Planning shows that the requirements of the National Curriculum are adequately addressed through an appropriate set of guidelines to support teaching and learning in all aspects of the subject. The policy and subject guidance provide a good framework of support to all staff. At present, the subject is led by the headteacher who has recently monitored the teaching and learning across the school. Years 5 and 6 pupils benefit from a residential visit, which gives them good opportunities to develop their skills in outdoor pursuits. There are a number of extra-curricular sporting clubs, which help to extend the skills of both boys and girls in such sports as football, netball, and running. The school enjoys considerable success in its sporting activities and competitions. At present, Year 4 pupils are attending swimming lessons and over 90 per cent can already swim the expected 25 metres.

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