St Paul's CofE Primary School

SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 24 th - 27 th March 2003

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SCHOOL

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

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SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: St Paul’s Road Brentford

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: January 2001 St Paul’s CE Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 23039 Mr D Penney Registered inspector English Geography History What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? How well does the school care for its pupils? What should the school do to improve further? 9779 Ms S Smith Lay inspector Educational Inclusion, including race equality Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 20832 Dr M Galowalia Team inspector English as an additional language Mathematics Design and technology Information and communicatio n technology How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

23095 Mr D Mankelow Team inspector Special educational needs Science Music Physical education How well is the school led and managed?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

12394 Ms C May Team inspector The Foundation Stage Art and design St Paul’s CE Primary School - 5 The inspection contractor was:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Bench Marque Ltd National Westminster Bank Chambers Victoria Street Burnham on Sea Somerset TA8 1AN

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 12

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

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

St Paul’s Church of England Primary School is an average sized infant and junior school serving an area of Brentford, in west London, that consists of a mixture of council and owner-occupied housing. It has 184 boys and girls on roll, aged from four to eleven years, and a further 18 children who attend the nursery class every morning. There are more boys than girls on roll, overall, especially in the nursery class and in Years 4 and 6. The school has a rich ethnic mix of pupils. Just fewer than half the pupils come from a white background. The remainder are divided almost equally between mixed race, black and Asian heritage, with a very small number of Chinese and other ethnic groups. Three pupils are refugees. Fifty-six pupils speak mother tongues other than English (29 per cent and very high) and 13 of them are at an early stage of acquiring the English language. The main languages spoken at home other

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

than English are Urdu, Arabic, Bengali and Gujarati. Sixty-nine pupils (35.75 per cent and above the national average) are claiming free school meals. There are 46 pupils (23.8 per cent – broadly in line) are on the school’s list of special educational needs for learning, behavioural or physical reasons. Seven of these pupils (3.6 per cent and above average) have statements of special educational needs. The level of attainment on entry to the nursery class this year is well below average, which is lower than normal – attainment on entry is more usually below average. Twenty-five pupils joined the school during the year (13.7 per cent – well above average) and nine left, which is about average. There has been considerable staff turbulence since the last inspection, especially in the reception class and Years 1 and 2. The school is part of a local initiative for physical education and plans to extend this to include information

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

and communication technology (ICT) imminently.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

This is a good school that gives good value for money. Although standards are often below or well below average in the national tests in Years 2 and 6, pupils achieve well as they pass through the school and standards generally are rising. Pupils develop good attitudes to work and each other and behave well. The quality of teaching is good and this has a beneficial effect on the rate that pupils learn. Teachers’ and pupils’ efforts are supported well by effective planning systems and the very good use of assessment information in English and mathematics. The leadership and educational vision of the headteacher have been very effective in establishing a very good staff team that is very well placed to improve provision and standards further.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

What the school does well • The headteacher sets a very clear educational direction for the school’s work and is supported well by senior staff and other members of a cohesive team, so that there is a very good commitment and capacity to improve. • Pupils, including those with special educational needs and with English as an additional language, achieve well as a result of the very good way that information about their personal and academic needs is used to set them clear targets for improvement. • Teaching and learning are good because of high quality planning and management of pupils’ behaviour. • The consistent and successful way adults implement the very good procedures for promoting good behaviour and eliminating anti-social traits leads to good behaviour and relationships. • Very good links with parents and high quality information for them result in a very good partnership with the school and extremely good support for all the school does.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

What could be improved • Standards in ICT and geography are below national expectations throughout the school, as they are in Year 2 in science and history. • Pupils’ skills of writing, speaking, listening, mathematics and ICT are not developed systematically in other subjects. • Aspects of provision in the Foundation Stage are known to need development. • The rates of pupils’ attendance are below the national average. • Plans for the development of subjects and the school are not rigorous enough. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 8 HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

The school was last inspected in January 2001 and has improved at a good rate since then. Results in the National Curriculum tests have improved in Year 6 in English, mathematics and science and significantly so in Year 2 in reading and writing. All the main issues arising from the last inspection report have been addressed conscientiously, although the final work to improve the outdoor learning facilities for the youngest children is scheduled for the summer of this year. Attendance levels are rising and pupils’ attitudes to school have improved, as has their behaviour. Significant improvements in the use of the information gained from the regular assessment of pupils’ attainment and achievements mean that all pupils achieve well, overall. The curriculum has improved; a new computer suite has been installed and the statutory requirements for ICT are now being met. The quality of leadership and management has improved significantly; the school has a much clearer sense of direction and is in a

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

much better position to evaluate the extent of its success and what it needs to do next. For these reasons, it is very well placed to improve still further.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

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

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

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

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Year 6 pupils in 2002 attained standards in the National Curriculum tests that were below the national average in English and well below it in mathematics. Compared to similar schools, however, standards were well above average in English and matched the national average in mathematics. In science, standards matched the national average and were well above that for similar schools; in this subject, all pupils attained at least the standards expected nationally, which is very high and in the top five per cent of the country when compared to similar schools. There were comparatively few higher-attaining pupils in any test. There is no significant difference between the performance of boys and girls over time in mathematics or science but, in English, girls tend to perform better than boys. Trends have been upwards at a rate that is broadly in line with the national picture; since 1999, results have improved

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

overall by just less than 50 per cent. The school met its targets in mathematics and exceeded them in English. In 2002, pupils in Year 2 attained results that were below the national average in reading and well below in writing and mathematics. When compared to similar schools, they were well above average in reading, matched the average in writing and were below average in mathematics. In science, teachers’ assessments of pupils’ standards indicate that they are close to the national picture. There are no significant differences in the attainment of pupils from different ethnic groups. Current standards of attainment on entry to the nursery class are well below those expected nationally, with a particular weakness in children’s vocabulary and expressive language. They achieve well in the nursery class and are now achieving soundly in the reception class, although this has not been the case in the recent

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

past. On entry to Year 1, pupils’ standards are below those expected nationally, except in personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world and physical development, where they meet expectations. In Years 1 to 6, pupils, including those with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language, achieve well. As a result, current standards in Year 2 and Year 6 match those expected nationally in English, art and design, design and technology, music and physical education. While they are below the nationally expected levels in Year 2 in mathematics, science and history, they match them in Year 6. In geography and ICT, standards are below national expectations in both Year 2 and Year 6. The school is likely to meet its challenging targets again this year in English and mathematics. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 9 PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils like coming to school and are usually enthusiastic about what they learn.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils are usually polite and courteous. They behave well in lessons and around the school, although a few need support in managing self-discipline.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Personal development and relationships Good. Relationships are positive throughout the school and pupils grow in confidence. Older pupils take responsibility for some school routines well, but independence in learning is less well developed.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Attendance Unsatisfactory. Although it has improved recently, the overall level of attendance is below the national average and not all pupils arrive on time.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

TEACHING AND LEARNING Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 and 2 Years 3 to 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

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

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Teaching and learning are good. They are good in the Foundation Stage, overall, and for English, mathematics and science in the rest of the school, as is the teaching of pupils with special educational needs or English as an additional language, overall. Teaching and learning are satisfactory in art and design, design and technology, geography, history and ICT throughout the school. Because of the timing of the inspection, there was too little evidence to make reliable judgements about the quality of teaching and learning in music and physical education. Literacy and numeracy skills are taught well and are used soundly, but not systematically, in other subjects; information and communication technology skills are taught satisfactorily. No teaching is less than satisfactory. The strength of teachers’ planning and preparation of lessons and their use of assessment information mean that the needs of all pupils are met

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

equally well. Where teaching is most effective, teachers’ subject knowledge ensures that they make lessons interesting and motivate pupils, and their obvious enthusiasm is communicated to pupils who concentrate very well and sustain high levels of interest. In these lessons, teachers also have high expectations of what pupils should achieve and how they should behave, which successfully engenders a good work ethic. Where lessons, while satisfactory overall, are less successful, it is because the teacher does not match work closely enough to the needs of all pupils and so they are not as productive as they could be. Teachers’ marking of pupils’ work is variable; sometimes some work has not been marked at all.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. It has a good breadth and balance. Provision for extra-curricular activities is good. The national strategies for literacy and numeracy are effective. Links with the local community make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. Certain aspects of provision in parts of the Foundation Stage are known to need further development. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 10 Aspect Comment

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. Pupils make good progress towards the targets on their individual education plans, which are reviewed regularly. Outside agencies support the work of the school well. All resources are targeted effectively towards areas of greatest need.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good. These pupils are supported well, especially by specialist teachers, and are fully included in all the school offers.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and has a profound effect on pupils’ behaviour, attitudes and achievements. There is room to capitalise on pupils’ ethnic background more systematically to develop cultural understanding.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

How well the school cares for its pupils Good. Pupils’ personal and academic development is monitored and supported well. Procedures for checking pupils’ attainment and achievements in English and mathematics are very good; the use of the information gained is very good. Procedures for promoting good behaviour and eliminating undesirable behaviour are very effective, as are procedures for improving pupils’ attendance.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

The partnership between the school and parents is very good. Parents greatly appreciate what the school does for their children.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Good. The headteacher sets a very clear direction for the work of the school, and is supported fully by the deputy headteacher and other staff, which ensures that the school’s aims are met very well in practice.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. Governors visit the school regularly and receive detailed reports about how well the school is doing. They are suitably involved in directing the work of the school but are hindered by their lack of numbers. There are some omissions from their annual report to parents.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

The school’s evaluation of its performance Good. The quality of teaching and learning is checked regularly and all issues arising are dealt with effectively. The school’s priorities for development are very suitable and based on good information but the planning formats lack rigour. The school applies best value principles well but does not assess the success of its spending rigorously enough by reference to raised standards.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

The strategic use of resources Satisfactory. The school makes good use of new technology and all specific funding is used well for the purpose intended. The number and expertise of staff are well matched to the curriculum. Overall, the accommodation is satisfactory, although further building work is planned to improve facilities for the youngest children. Resources are satisfactory. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 11 PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Their children make good progress. • The teaching is good. • They feel comfortable coming into school. • Their children are expected to work hard. • The school is led and managed well. • Their children are helped to become mature. • There were no significant concerns.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

The inspection team agrees with the positive views expressed by parents. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 12

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. In the National Curriculum tests in 2002, pupils in Year 2 attained results that were below the national average in reading and well below in writing and mathematics. However, when compared to similar schools, they were well above average in reading, matched the average in writing and were below average in mathematics. In each test, the proportion of pupils attaining at least the expected levels was either close to, or exceeded, the national picture. The relatively small proportion of pupils attaining standards that were above those expected nationally adversely affected the average results. In science, for which there is no national test, teachers’ assessments of pupils’ standards indicate a similar picture with the proportion of pupils attaining the expected levels being close to the national picture but few pupils attaining higher levels. Girls tend to perform less well than boys in all tests over time, although this year’s results were

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

adversely affected by some particularly low-attaining individual girls. In the last two years, results in all tests have improved, significantly so in reading and writing.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Year 6 pupils in 2002 attained standards in the National Curriculum tests that were below the national average in English and well below it in mathematics. Compared to similar schools, however, standards were well above average in English and matched the national average in mathematics. In science, standards matched the national average and were well above that for similar schools; in this subject, all pupils attained at least the standards expected nationally, which is very high when compared to similar schools, putting the school in the top five per cent of this group in the country. As in Year 2, the proportion of pupils attaining at least the expected level in English exceeded the national figure, although this was not the case in mathematics. Again, there were comparatively few higher-attaining pupils, and this adversely affected the average results. In this particular group, nine pupils were on the school’s register of special

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

educational needs, which equates to over a third of the total number. National figures show that the pupils had achieved very good results when compared to their performance in Year 2 national tests in English and science. They achieved satisfactory results in mathematics, although this was not the case for the potentially higher- attaining pupils, who achieved poorly. There is no significant difference between the performance of boys and girls over time in mathematics or science but, in English, girls tend to perform better than boys. Trends have been upwards in all subjects in the last four years at a rate that is broadly in line with the national picture; since 1999, results have improved overall by just under 50 per cent. The school met its targets in mathematics and exceeded them in English.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The school’s analysis of pupils’ attainment and achievement shows that there are no significant differences in attainment in the national tests that are associated with ethnicity. Their judgement is substantiated by the findings of this inspection, which also finds that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language, achieve well in relation to their prior attainment, especially in English and mathematics throughout the school. For special educational needs pupils and pupils with English as an additional language, specialist teachers from the local education authority give skilled support for them and for teachers, which is an important factor in the good quality support given in nearly all cases in lessons where the specialist teachers are not present. In addition, pupils on the school’s list of those with special educational needs are effectively supported in lessons by a caring and

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

skilled team of learning support assistants, most of whom have received appropriate in- service training. When pupils are withdrawn to work with the special educational needs teacher, in small groups, they achieve good results because of the carefully focused St Paul’s CE Primary School - 13 support that they receive and because the activities given are frequently continued when they return to their classes. The school has not identified any pupils who are gifted and talented.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Currently, standards of attainment on entry to the nursery class are well below those expected nationally, with particular weaknesses in children’s language development. This is lower than in recent years; children’s standards are more usually below expectations, rather than well below. Children achieve well in this class because of the high quality of teaching and provision. However, on entry to the reception class, their standards are still below those expected in all areas of learning 1 . In the reception class, children have not achieved as well as they could in the recent past because of weaknesses in teaching. The management of the school realised some time ago that all was not to the standards required and addressed the issue with considerable energy and commitment. Very recently, a new teacher has taken over in this class and she is now ensuring that children are beginning to achieve at least satisfactorily. As a result,

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

standards are beginning to rise because children are now achieving well. However, it is still likely that standards on entry to Year 1 will be below those expected in many areas of learning. The exceptions are in personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world and physical development; in these areas children are likely to meet the early learning goals 2 .

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Standards in Year 2 currently match the national average in reading and writing but are below it in mathematics. Standards are in line with expectations in art and design, design and technology, music and physical education. They are below expectations in science, geography, history and ICT. Pupils’ achievements in this class have been adversely affected by inconsistent and interrupted teaching in the previous two years, and this has affected the standards they have attained.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Pupils’ standards in Year 6 are in line with the national average in English, mathematics and science. As a result, the school is likely to meet its challenging targets in both English and mathematics. They match the national expectations in art and design, design and technology, history, music and physical education but are below them in geography and ICT. In science in Year 6, standards are lower than they were in last year’s national tests because of the large number of pupils who are on the school’s register of special educational needs, some of whom are unlikely to attain the nationally expected levels in the national tests.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills broadly match those expected nationally in Years 2 and 6. Standards are improving in English and mathematics because of improvements to teachers’ planning and assessment procedures, which mean that work is closely matched to pupils’ developing needs. However, many pupils still do not have the expected ability to use a library effectively for research purposes. Standards in ICT throughout the school have been adversely affected by problems with the late arrival of equipment. Recent achievements in ICT have been good throughout the school as a result of the establishment of the computer suite and the effective use to which it is now being put. In geography, standards are hampered by pupils’ lack of geographic skills, although their knowledge of places and processes is sound.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 The six areas of learning are: personal, social and emotional development; communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical development and creative development. 2 The early learning goals are the standards expected nationally of the average child on entry to Year 1 in each area of learning. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 14

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

8. Attitudes to learning have improved significantly since the time of the last inspection and are usually good throughout the school. A few pupils, particularly in Years 2 and 6, have difficulty in maintaining attention during lessons, but usually respond well to the strategies used to help them with this. For example, there is evident enjoyment in the variety of experiences provided, in particular for practical activities, especially when teachers’ enthusiasm communicates itself to pupils and results in them showing pleasing levels of interest and trying hard to do well. Inspection findings support the views of most parents that their children enjoy coming to school and like their teachers. Pupils feel confident and valued in the school community and this helps them to develop well as effective learners. There are high levels of attendance for the various club activities provided for pupils in Years 3 to 6. The need for activities to be planned to

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

accommodate short attention spans has reduced opportunities for pupils to work independently; thus investigative and research skills are not always as well developed as expected. Some pupils do not always complete the well-planned homework set and are overall too dependent on their teachers. The library is relatively new and pupils have not yet developed suitable skills to use this independently to obtain information, although many use dictionaries effectively.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. The children settle into the nursery class very quickly and soon learn the daily routines. They behave well due to the interesting activities provided and the support they receive from the staff. Children in the reception class usually try hard and most behave well; however, sometimes they are very noisy. This is usually when they are not clear about the expected outcome of an activity.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. Overall, standards of behaviour have improved throughout the school and are now almost always good. Pupils respond very well to strategies used to manage behaviour in lessons and this results in a calm and orderly environment for learning. In lessons during the week of inspection, behaviour was always at least satisfactory, and often much better. It is rare for behaviour to disrupt learning, although occasionally the need to manage poorly developed self-discipline slows the pace of lessons. Pupils generally respond well to the high expectations of their teachers, understand school rules and abide by them. They are motivated well by the school’s system of awards and take great pride in the certificates awarded for achievement in all aspects of their life at school. They consider school rules to be fair. At break and lunchtimes, pupils play and socialise happily together; there are good levels of ‘give and take’ and no incidents of

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

aggression or unpleasantness between pupils were seen during the inspection. The quiet areas for pupils are used well and respected by others. In the dining room, pupils are polite and courteous to each other and to adults. They queue sensibly and clear away after themselves without being reminded. School premises, materials and equipment are treated with suitable levels of respect.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. There were two fixed-term exclusions during the last school year. The reasons for these were sound. Response to the very good support for pupils returning from exclusion is positive, although some find it hard to change their behaviour patterns.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Relationships throughout the school are good and pupils across the range of cultures represented in the community get along well together forming a cohesive and happy community. The mutual respect evident between teachers and pupils has a good effect on learning as it results in high levels of co-operation in lessons. Both pupils and parents agree there is very little bullying but, when it occurs, it is dealt with quickly and effectively. Monitoring by the school shows that the strategies used to develop an anti- bullying culture amongst pupils have proved effective, and that the number of incidents has reduced significantly over the last year. Pupils clearly disapprove strongly of bullying and report that they would have no hesitation in reporting any concerns to their teachers St Paul’s CE Primary School - 15 because all staff members are approachable. Pupils usually listen with respect to what

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

their peers have to say, although they sometimes need to be reminded not to interrupt. This results in a growing confidence in asking and answering questions and sharing views and opinions and they contribute to discussions with growing confidence. Where they are required to work in pairs, pupils co-operate and share well. Effective social skills develop progressively as they move through the school; this is particularly evident in the dining room where they socialise effectively with their peers and adults. Pupils respond well to opportunities to take responsibility for school routines, for example in clearing away after lunch, getting the hall ready for assembly and generally helping lunchtime assistants. Awareness of the needs of others in the community grows through the work they do for charity and when they entertain the elderly and those in the local hospice at Christmas.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Although attendance has risen since the time of the last inspection and is better than that usually seen in other local schools, at 93.8 per cent it is below the national average and unsatisfactory overall. Unauthorised absence for the last school year is recorded at 0.2 per cent, which is broadly in line with the national average. The principal reasons for absence include family holidays, families with social problems that have an impact on attendance, parentally condoned absence and some long-term sickness. Although the school day starts on time, too many pupils are late for registration, resulting in a slow start. This sometimes has an adverse impact on the first lesson of the day.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

14. The quality of teaching and learning is good, overall, throughout the school and has improved since the last inspection. There are now no lessons that are less than satisfactory and a greater proportion that are good or very good. This has a considerable impact on pupils’ learning in lessons and achievement over time.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

15. During the inspection, 49 lessons were observed in whole or part. In 15 lessons, teaching and learning were satisfactory and in a further 24, they were good. In the remaining ten lessons, teaching was very good and resulted in swift learning. Examples of very good teaching and learning were seen throughout the school. In the nursery class, teaching and learning were never less than good and were more usually very good.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. Teaching and learning are good, overall, in most areas of learning in the Foundation Stage, the exceptions being physical development and creative development, where they are satisfactory. The previous weaknesses identified in the reception class by the school have been rectified through the very recent appointment of a new teacher, who is already making a sound contribution to children’s learning. In the rest of the school, teaching and learning are good in English, mathematics and science. In art and design, design and technology, geography, history and ICT, teaching and learning are satisfactory. Because of the timing of the inspection, there was too little evidence of teaching and learning in music or physical education for a reliable judgement to be made about their quality.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. The skills of literacy and numeracy are taught well in English and mathematics lessons. They are used soundly in other subjects but teachers do not plan systematically enough to ensure that they are exploited fully or developed rigorously in these lessons. Pupils’ skills and competences in ICT are taught satisfactorily and are beginning to be used soundly to reinforce and extend work in other subjects, such as English, mathematics and geography.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs and with English as an additional language is at least good when they work in small supported groups, either in the class St Paul’s CE Primary School - 16 or in withdrawal groups. Group work prepared by the specialist special educational needs teacher is usually continued when pupils return to class, which improves their attainment. Between them, class teachers and learning support assistants use a wide range of effective strategies to ensure that pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties behave well enough to make progress themselves and to enable other pupils to achieve. Teachers consult regularly with the special educational needs co-ordinator to set appropriate targets for pupils and they plan work that is effective in meeting those targets. The specialist teachers for pupils with English as an additional language have a very good knowledge of the needs of the pupils. They use a variety of resources

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

including displays, word cards and games to develop pupils’ vocabulary effectively. In one lesson, pupils learned several new words, for example ‘horn’, ‘nettle’, ‘berries’, ‘rock’, and a number of rhyming words, such as ‘dish/fish’, ‘house/mouse’ and ‘path/bath’. As a result of these activities, pupils developed their oral skills rapidly. Teaching and learning for children with English as an additional language in the Foundation Stage is very good because of the all-pervasive emphasis on developing children’s language skills in all activities. Teaching and learning in the rest of the school are effective when teachers’ planning takes into account the language needs of these pupils. Occasionally, however, this is not the case and this impedes pupils’ progress in language acquisition and the learning of specific areas of the National Curriculum.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Throughout the school, teachers most usually manage pupils very well, which ensures that pupils listen and behave well and benefit from what the teacher has to say. Lessons are prepared thoroughly and teachers are clear about what they expect pupils to learn in the lesson. As a result, resources are readily to hand and no time is lost, which gives a purpose and structure to lessons and retains pupils’ attention. Teachers’ planning regularly makes good reference to the appropriate National Curriculum level descriptors, and activities are chosen well to meet pupils’ individual and developing needs closely because teachers assess pupils’ attainment frequently and amend their subsequent lesson planning accordingly. This has raised teachers’ expectations of what pupils could and should achieve, which is an improvement since the last inspection, and has improved teachers’ subject knowledge, which is now good. It also means that all pupils,

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

including those with special educational needs or English as an additional language and the potentially higher-attaining ones, are able to concentrate on meaningful tasks that are at a level that enables them to enjoy a measure of success, which motivates them to try hard.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Pupils are supported well by skilled learning support assistants who are briefed well by teachers so that they understand the purpose of the lesson and their part in it. They provide an immediate point of reference for identified pupils, a number of whom have some difficulty at times with self-control, and make a valuable contribution to learning both for these pupils and for the class more generally. This is evident in Years 2 and 6, where there are particularly high proportions of pupils with difficulties with behaviour. In these classes, the teacher and support assistants work very effectively together to ensure that the specific needs of individuals are met well without adversely affecting the direction, purpose and pace of the class lessons, so that all pupils benefit from the good quality teaching they receive.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. The quality of teachers’ marking is variable, but satisfactory overall. In some classes, such as Year 2, the teachers’ comments are helpful and show pupils how they could improve their work further. However, this is not always the case and, in some classes, pupils’ work is left unmarked, which is not satisfactory, as it does not improve their accuracy or presentation. In addition, some incorrect facts are not rectified; for example, one pupil’s work talks about ‘Henry VII and his six wives’. This is unacceptable. Homework is generally used satisfactorily to reinforce and extend the work done in class. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 17 22. Where teaching, although satisfactory, is not as effective as in other lessons, it is because the teacher does not match the work closely enough to pupils’ developing needs. This means that they are not able to get on with their work immediately and so cannot be as productive as they could be. In addition, sometimes the teacher does not

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

deal with questions promptly and individuals are left waiting for too long, which leads to a lack of motivation and success. This was the case in an otherwise good Year 4 English lesson, in which a pupil with English as an additional language was given a text that was too difficult and was not given any immediate individual help.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Where teaching is most effective and learning is swift:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• Teachers’ enthusiasm is obvious and is transmitted successfully to the pupils so that they have high levels of interest and concentration. Examples of this are to be found in lessons in the nursery class, where the teacher and the nursery nurse work together very well to promote an exciting environment in which children are enthused and provided with many opportunities to learn through structured play activities as well as direct teaching. In addition, a mathematics lesson in Year 5 was characterised by enthusiastic teaching and very good relationships, so that pupils all applied themselves well and sustained concentration for long periods of time.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• Teachers’ subject knowledge is high so that they maintain a sense of focus and purpose to the lesson. At times, they also salt the lesson with interesting snippets of information, which intrigue pupils and motivate them very well. A mathematics lesson in Year 1, dealing with strategies to solve word problems by identifying key information, was successful because the teacher taught the basic numeracy skills very well and ensured that all pupils were appropriately challenged throughout the session. In a Year 3 history lesson, the teacher’s very good subject knowledge enabled him to encourage pupils to begin to appreciate the differences in the life of Celts before and after the Roman invasion. Levels of challenge were high and pupils’ interest was retained well through the use of extra facts, such as Celts not travelling far from their own hilltop forts.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• Teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve and how they should behave are high, which ensures that pupils have a good work ethic. In a mathematics lesson in Year 2, for example, the teacher placed very good emphasis on helping pupils to develop a deeper understanding of the patterns involved in number work so that they could successfully respond more quickly and accurately.

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PUPILS?

24. The previous inspection found the curriculum for the Foundation Stage to be unsatisfactory. It did not match the statutory requirements. Outdoor provision and opportunities for physical development were also unsatisfactory. The Foundation Stage curriculum has improved significantly. It is now good.

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PUPILS?

25. The curriculum recommended nationally for children in the nursery and reception classes has been implemented very well in the nursery class and the school has begun to take steps to effect improvements to benefit the children in the reception class. Since the last inspection the nursery staff have refined the curriculum and associated assessment procedures very well. This has had a very positive impact on both provision and on teaching and learning. The school is aware of the need to replicate these improvements in the reception class, and has sound plans to create a cohesive Foundation Stage. However, the improvements are not yet well enough advanced to St Paul’s CE Primary School - 18 make any significant impact on standards, and further training is needed because the teacher has only very recently been appointed, following an intensive period when the school had tried, without success, to improve provision and practice in that class.

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PUPILS?

26. The overall quality of the curriculum now is good. It is broad and includes all the required subjects. The balance of time allocation is appropriate. The school’s broad range of learning opportunities meets the needs of all pupils well and, overall, the equality of access and opportunity is good. The previous inspection judged that the curriculum for the junior pupils was unsatisfactory. It was unbalanced and not broad enough. The curriculum for ICT did not meet the statutory requirements. The curriculum for music was also found to be unsatisfactory. The school has made very significant improvements in all areas of weakness.

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PUPILS?

27. The school curriculum is largely based on the national guidance, supplemented in some cases by commercially available schemes, for example for physical education, music, geography and personal, social and health education. Good long- and medium- term planning ensures full coverage of National Curriculum requirements. The curriculum for English is securely based on the National Literacy Strategy. Teachers have good awareness of the need to develop pupils’ literacy in other subjects. Key words are highlighted and explained clearly so pupils understand their meaning. The mathematics curriculum is based on the National Numeracy Strategy. Mental activities are an integral part of all mathematics lessons and provide the intended intellectual stimulus. The curriculum and the way it is taught engages pupils in productive learning. The use of mathematics across the curriculum is satisfactory. Some teachers make good links

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PUPILS?

between geography, mathematics and ICT. For example, monthly temperatures in different countries of the world provide a practical example of the usefulness of mathematics in geography. The data is used effectively in the learning of spreadsheet work for creating bar charts and finding mean monthly temperatures. Science and design and technology provide other suitable opportunities for developing mathematical skills. However, these opportunities are not systematically identified in all schemes of work.

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PUPILS?

28. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. Individual learning plans are constructed according to individual needs of pupils. The co-ordinator for special educational needs checks pupils’ progress on their individual action plans regularly with class teachers. Learning support staff provide effective support in class. Withdrawal support sessions effectively supplement learning in all the classes and these pupils also receive effective support from outside agencies, such as the local education authority’s behaviour support team.

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PUPILS?

29. The curriculum for pupils who are learning English as an additional language is good. They receive especially good support from specialist language support staff. Most teachers are aware of the language needs of these pupils. It is not uncommon to see displays of key words relevant to the topic being taught. The class teachers provide effective support either through direct intervention or by skilfully providing support from other pupils. Occasionally, however, a few teachers do not explain subject-specific terminology clearly enough, which limits pupils’ access to the curriculum. Appropriate displays and encouraging all pupils to use languages other than English promote the self-esteem of pupils with English as an additional language.

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PUPILS?

30. Provision for activities outside lessons is good. There are several well-attended clubs, including singing, science, football, and computers featuring use of the Internet. There are additional activities during the summer term. A good number of appropriate visits and visitors also enrich the curriculum throughout the year. For example, pupils take part in local performances to deepen their enjoyment of music, and visit museums and make local field trips in subjects such as geography and history. In addition, Year 2 St Paul’s CE Primary School - 19 pupils have regular contact, including an annual visit, with pupils in a school in Oxfordshire.

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PUPILS?

31. Provision for personal, social and health education is satisfactory. The scheme of work is based on a commercial scheme. Parents are keen to support their children. The pupils benefit from the very good Christian ethos in the school. Relationships with the community are good. Members of a local professional soccer club work within the school to enhance pupils’ personal, social and health education development. Visitors into school include the community policeman and the local fire officer. Liaison with the church is good and parents are very pleased with the school’s efforts on their children’s behalf. The school’s singing club visits the local Age Concern centre and a hospice regularly.

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PUPILS?

32. Relationships with other schools are satisfactory. In some subjects, for example physical education, there is good liaison because of the joint teaching being done with specialist teachers from the secondary school, which improves teachers’ subject knowledge and expertise. In addition, members of staff have visited a beacon school (one that has been identified as having particular areas of strength) to improve their own practice.

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PUPILS?

33. The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good, overall. This is the same judgement as during the last inspection. A particularly good feature that helps individuals to develop a sense of responsibility and citizenship is the ‘meaningful work programme’. This enables pupils to apply in writing for specific jobs around the school and to be interviewed prior to appointment. They receive a form of ‘payment’ for their efforts and have to give notice if they want to quit, which gives them a good early insight into the world of work.

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PUPILS?

34. Provision for pupils’ spiritual development is good. Carefully-chosen assembly themes guide all aspects of pupils’ life in the school. Some school assemblies focus on celebrating achievement. This lifts up pupils’ spirits and confidence. In addition, they give good opportunities for pupils to reflect on the ideas discussed in them and also on matters of personal importance. There is a pervasive climate in the school that values individuals for their particular gifts; this makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual development.

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PUPILS?

35. The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good. Pupils’ knowledge of the difference between right and wrong is clear and guided by the strong Christian ethos of the school. This has resulted in harmonious relationships in the school. Bullying, which was perceived to be a problem at one time, has been dealt with effectively through ensuring that all pupils know what to do should it occur. Teachers serve as very good role models and give consistent messages about what is and what is not acceptable behaviour and conduct, setting generally high expectations. Pupils are taught to share resources, work together and help each other. They are given satisfactory opportunities to participate in productions, and the good range of club and other activities makes a good contribution to their personal development.

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PUPILS?

36. Provision for pupils’ cultural development is satisfactory. The school celebrates the richness of its diversity by celebrating festivals such as Diwali and Chinese New Year and pupils are taken to the local religious places as part of work in religious education. Racial and religious harmony is actively promoted through a focus in history lessons, for example on the role of distinguished individuals such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, in shaping human societies. The library and class book corners have a satisfactory number of books that reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the pupils, and posters around the school celebrate the achievements of some ethnic groups, such as black scientists. There are examples of work in geography that builds soundly St Paul’s CE Primary School - 20 on pupils’ experiences of other cultures; for example, Year 1 pupils take ‘Holiday Bear’ with them to places, such as Dublin. However, there is room to strengthen this aspect

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PUPILS?

of the school’s work to build more systematically on the rich ethnic diversity of its pupils.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

37. The school makes satisfactory arrangements to provide for the welfare, health and safety of pupils. Staff know individual pupils very well and this, together with the positive relationships seen throughout the school, result in pupils being confident to share concerns where needed. Local education authority guidelines for child protection are followed and there is a suitably trained and experienced person with designated responsibility for dealing with problems that arise. The school works closely with local support agencies where this is needed. All staff were trained in child protection procedures two years ago and child protection is also included as part of the induction for all staff new to the school. There is, however, no regular routine for staff to revisit procedures on a regular basis. Within personal, health and social education, pupils are made suitably aware of personal safety issues. There are effective arrangements for

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

dealing with first aid emergencies and the administration of prescribed medicines. Apparatus and appliances used by the school are tested with sufficient frequency to meet statutory requirements. There are suitable procedures for risk assessments associated with trips and visits made by pupils out of school. The health and safety policy is currently due for review by the governing body and the school is aware of the need to re-appoint a governor with responsibility for this area of its work. There is a conscientious inspection of the premises each term to identify possible health hazards; this is not, however, carried out against an assessment of risk as required.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. Arrangements made by the school to monitor and promote attendance are good and have resulted in significant improvements since the time of the last inspection. However, this rise has slowed recently and levels remain static for the current year at below the national average, coinciding with a reduction in the time available from the education welfare officer. The school follows up all absences promptly on the first morning they occur before making referrals to the education welfare officer and this ensures that the time available is used to best effect. Reasons for absence are always required and requested by letter when they are not forthcoming. Where attendance levels of individual pupils fall below expectations, or there are problems with punctuality, the headteacher writes to parents personally. Attendance levels achieved by individual pupils are checked rigorously, to show possible patterns in absence. There is currently

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

no analysis of attendance levels by the various groups within the school community as part of a strategy for raising standards. Although annual progress reports often identify for parents the need for improved attendance, they do not always make sufficiently clear the impact of poor attendance on their children’s education. The school has recently stopped authorising family holidays during term time in line with other schools in the area. It is too early for this measure to have had a significant effect on the number of holidays taken; however, during the current school year, there is a significant rise in the level of unauthorised absence recorded to date. Many pupils value the awards for good attendance and this motivates them well. Procedures to register pupils who are late are effective, ensuring the school has an accurate record of those present. Registers are not returned, however, to a central point following afternoon registration and this has an

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

impact on their availability in the event of an emergency.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. Procedures for promoting good behaviour are very effective. The very high expectations for good behaviour are communicated clearly and understood by pupils. This, together with consistently skilful application of the agreed strategies, has a significant impact and results in high standards throughout the school. Procedures for dealing with exclusions are in line with local guidance and encourage the full involvement of parents in seeking a way forward through difficulties. Advice and help from the behaviour support team are St Paul’s CE Primary School - 21 sought where these are needed, in particular when individual pupils are in danger of being permanently excluded. The support secured by the school for these pupils has a very positive impact on their behaviour, particularly in developing self-discipline and their management of anger. The awards given each week during assembly acknowledge a very wide range of achievements and are valued highly by pupils. The role of lunchtime

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

assistants is recognised as an integral part of pastoral support. They have been suitably trained in behaviour management and aspects of supporting the personal development of pupils including, for some, study leading to national qualifications. The effective management of pupils’ behaviour during play has a very positive impact on relationships and social development. There are very effective procedures to promote an anti-bullying culture amongst pupils and this has resulted in a significant drop in the number of recorded incidents. Pupils spoken to during the inspection clearly disapprove of bullying and are confident their teachers will not tolerate it and will follow up their concerns promptly and effectively. They know that it is a ‘telling’ school and have no hesitation in using the ‘bully box’ to report concerns about themselves or their friends. Assemblies and personal, social and health education lessons are used well to support this culture

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

and there has recently been a very successful anti-bullying project resulting in a thoughtful display of work around the school.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. There are good arrangements for the personal support and guidance of pupils. Home visits for all children entering the school for the first time in either the nursery or reception ensure that members of staff know them and their personal circumstances very well. This helps teachers to make the effective evaluation of their personal development seen in annual reports about progress made to parents at the end of each year. The personal, social and health education programme provides effective guidance about developing relationships, family and health, together with an awareness about drugs, appropriate to the age of the pupils. The school is currently refining its programme of sex education and drugs awareness to ensure it is sensitive to the needs of all pupils. Preparation before transfer to secondary school is planned well to deal effectively with concerns and ensures pupils get off to a good start in the next stage of

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. Procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment have improved significantly since the last inspection and are now very good, overall. They are especially effective in English and mathematics because they are regular and frequent, building up to give a very good picture of the attainment and achievement of individuals, groups and classes over time.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. When children enter the nursery class, they are assessed carefully, in line with the statements in the national guidance document, to show areas of need and strength for individuals and groups. This information is used skilfully to help the teacher plan suitable activities. Children’s achievements and developing needs are recorded in the recently adopted Foundation Stage profile, a national document referenced very closely to the Foundation Stage curriculum. This recording document is now also used in the reception class and has the potential to build up well to show children’s progress over time. Standardised tests are also administered at the beginning and end of the reception year; these are used to show the effect teaching has had on children’s learning. It was, for example, one of the indicators used by the headteacher to show that recent learning in this class was not of the standard it should have been, triggering considerable help

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. In English and mathematics, assessment procedures are regular and frequent. The information gained from these tests is used very well to show pupils’ attainment and how well they have achieved over time. Senior managers analyse individual performance closely, including by gender and ethnicity, and alter provision to address any weaknesses found. For example, the recent emphasis on developing pupils’ writing has been successful in raising standards across the school. All teachers are set a St Paul’s CE Primary School - 22 target for their class to achieve by the end of each year in terms of a given proportion at each appropriate National Curriculum level; progress towards these targets is checked by the headteacher or deputy headteacher every term and any necessary adjustments are made at that time. On the basis of these reviews, resources, such as further staff training or support time from learning support assistants, are allocated to areas of

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

greatest need, which makes a good contribution to pupils’ learning and achievements. Recently, pupils have been given specific targets to improve their work in many classes, which gives them a good idea of what they can do themselves to raise their standards.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. Assessment procedures are less frequent but good in all other subjects. In science, teachers assess pupils’ standards formally at the end of Year 2, as required by law. There are formal tests at the end of Year 5 as a lead into the national tests in the summer of Year 6. The information gained from these tests is used well to point up areas that need to be revised more fully and to indicate which individuals might benefit from further help to attain the expected levels. In other subjects, there are assessments at the end of units of work to show how well individuals have grasped what has been taught. These assessments are used soundly to help teachers write the end-of-year reports for parents but are not used systematically in every subject to help pupils develop skills in a logical sequence. Teachers amend their daily and weekly plans well, based on their continuing assessment of pupils’ attainment and needs, which is an

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. Assessment procedures for the oral competency of pupils with English as an additional language are very good and used effectively to determine the level of support. However, procedures for assessing their literacy are not as well developed, so it is more difficult to assess their achievements and their future needs. The school has good procedures for identifying pupils who have special educational needs and makes good provision for them, including those who have statements of special educational needs. They therefore make good progress towards reaching the targets on their individual education plans and in their statements. In addition to the regular assessments made of the progress of all pupils, reading and spelling ages are tested twice yearly for those on the special educational needs list. This information is used effectively in the termly reviews that take place between class teachers and the special educational needs co-ordinator,

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

to set new targets for the coming term. There is also an ‘awareness register’ of pupils who are causing concern to their teachers, which provides an effective means of ensuring that pupils’ special educational needs are recognised early and appropriate measures are taken to address them.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. There are very high levels of satisfaction amongst parents with what the school provides and achieves. They are completely united in saying that the school is well led and managed, that standards of teaching are high, their children are expected to work hard and that they make good progress. They also feel comfortable about approaching the school in the event of a problem or concern and say that the school is helping their children to become mature and responsible. There are no significant areas of dissatisfaction arising from the pre-inspection questionnaires, which is unusual, although a small number of parents would like to see more activities provided outside lessons. Inspectors reviewed the activities provided and found them to be good overall. Although the activities are solely for pupils in Years 3 to 6, this is not unusual in a school of this size and type.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. The effectiveness of the school’s partnership with parents, particularly through the information provided, is very good. There are well-planned opportunities for prospective parents to get to know the school and its staff before children start in either the nursery or reception classes. These include home visits and a good information pack, which St Paul’s CE Primary School - 23 help establish good relationships with parents and children and to make the transition from home to nursery easier. The prospectus provides good information about routines and expectations. The governors, however, have overlooked some statutory requirements in their annual report to parents.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. Consultation with parents whose children might be placed on the list of those with special educational needs is satisfactory. Consultation with parents of pupils with statements of special educational needs is good because it involves discussions between parents, school staff and outside agencies, such as the educational psychology service and the local education authority’s teacher support service, that help to prioritise appropriate targets for individual pupils. Relationships with parents of pupils with English as an additional language are good. The school is aware of the needs of parents whose mother tongue is not English and makes effective use of pupils’ languages such as Arabic, Portuguese and Gujarati, for making more effective contact with parents. For example, it arranges for key documents to be provided in translation where required.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

49. A very good range of information events help parents to understand what their children are taught, how they can help at home and the important events in their children’s lives at school. For example, the school has arranged a family literacy and numeracy project, ‘Keeping up with your children’, information about testing at the end of Years 2 and 6, a mathematics week where parents can sit in on mathematics lessons, advice about the change from nursery to reception classes and procedures at the time of transfer to secondary education. At the beginning of each term, parents receive helpful information about what their children will be learning. The advice offered with this about how they can help at home ensures they are able to be fully involved if they choose to be. Parents value the ‘open door’ policy of the school; it is respected and works well because parents are confident of a welcome by teachers, either before registration or after the

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

end of the school day, should they need to discuss concerns. The two notice-boards for parents provide good information about everyday events and these are supplemented by letters home.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

50. There are very good opportunities for parents to find out about how well their children are doing. An open evening early in the autumn term enables them to see their children’s work and also to discuss with the class teacher how they are settling in. A consultation appointment in the spring term keeps them up to date with progress and ensures any problems are discussed and resolved well before the end of the school year. Annual progress reports are provided towards the end of the summer term and arrangements are made for parents subsequently to meet with their children’s teachers to discuss areas of concern and the targets that have been set. Reports usually provide a thorough assessment of what pupils know and can do in all subjects with direct reference to National Curriculum targets. Results of testing at the end of Years 2 and 6 are suitably reported, although the levels that pupils are working at are not always

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

provided other than at these times. Targets are usually set in English, mathematics and science. These are not, however, always provided in a way that helps parents to understand exactly what their children must do to improve. Comments about pupils’ personal development, their attitudes to school and behaviour provide effective information and reflect how well teachers know individual pupils. Attendance at parents’ consultation meetings is good and the school subsequently contacts those parents who were not able to come to arrange an alternative time.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

51. The involvement of parents, and the interest they take in their children’s learning, have a satisfactory impact on the work of the school. There is a successful parent and teacher association that is active in organising both social and fund-raising events. A few parents help out in the school on a regular basis and additionally where support is needed for trips and visits made out of school. Although attendance at consultations St Paul’s CE Primary School - 24 about progress is good, other information events, for example about the curriculum, are less well supported. Many parents show an active interest in their children’s homework and check carefully that it is completed but this is not done consistently. A significant minority of parents do not support the work of the school sufficiently well by ensuring that their children attend regularly and on time.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. The overall quality of leadership and management is good and this is an improvement since the last inspection. The leadership of the headteacher and her senior management team is very good. Together, they provide a very clear vision for the school and have managed the necessary changes well to bring about good levels of improvement since the last inspection. Leadership now ensures that there is a clear direction for the work and development of the school. The headteacher has succeeded in building a higher performing team who are committed to raising standards and are very well placed to succeed. The headteacher inspires and motivates the staff. She has the confidence of the local education authority and the Diocesan Board of Schools and has received effective support from them. She leads by example and takes full responsibility for all that goes on in the school. The deputy headteacher provides very

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

good support to the headteacher, as they have complementary skills. The deputy headteacher is also a highly effective co-ordinator for assessment, recording and reporting.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. Curriculum leadership is delegated to teams consisting of teachers and support staff. The management of different subjects is good overall and particularly effective in mathematics and science with no weak areas in other subjects. This is an improvement since the last inspection. The teams are effective in giving a broader working base for developments and enhancing awareness throughout the school of what needs to be improved in a range of subjects. They also enable the workload to be shared when a particular subject is a focus of review. For instance, in science, support staff have effectively reduced the burden on teachers by taking responsibility for ordering and maintaining resources. Leadership is having a beneficial effect on standards, particularly in the reception class and the core subjects of English, mathematics and science.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. The leadership and management of special educational needs are good. All pupils’ record files have been appropriately updated to meet the requirements of the new Code of Practice. Individual education plans are reviewed regularly. The money allocated to the school for this area is spent wisely, prioritising the areas of greatest need. This has a positive effect on the overall quality of teaching and pupils’ learning and on their progress. There is regular but infrequent consultation between the special educational needs co-ordinator and the governor with responsibility for special educational needs. This results in the governing body having a satisfactory overview of the provision that the school makes for pupils with special educational needs, enabling them to allocate resources appropriately. All funds specifically allocated to the school to support pupils with special educational needs are used well, resulting in those pupils making good

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

progress towards their targets in relation to their prior attainment. The headteacher and co-ordinator for special educational needs consult regularly to ensure that the assistants working with pupils with special educational needs are deployed according to current prioritised needs. The leadership and management of the support for pupils with English as an additional language are good, resulting in good quality provision and specific grants being used effectively for their specified purpose.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The aims of the school are appropriate and explicitly stated in the prospectus. Teamwork is very good, which means that the aims are met very well in practice. All St Paul’s CE Primary School - 25 staff are successfully committed to good relationships and providing equal opportunities for all pupils in all of the school’s work.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. There is rigorous and effective monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching in English, mathematics and science, carried out by the headteacher alongside the subject leader. This is a significant improvement since the last inspection. These subjects have rightly been the focus of recent attention but other subjects would now benefit from similar monitoring. Teachers’ planning in English and mathematics has been regularly monitored and challenging targets have been set for each teacher in these subjects. Pupils also have individual targets in English and mathematics. It is planned to extend this benchmarking procedure to include science from September 2003. There has been intensive monitoring of the quality of teaching in the reception class that has led to significant improvements. Induction procedures for new staff are informal but sound.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The school’s development plan sets a satisfactory agenda for continuing improvement through the subject action plans, which generally address very suitable priorities. However, the development plan’s overview does not include a statement of the school’s aims and it lacks cohesion. Also, the links between financial planning and development planning are not sufficiently developed to ensure that available resources are used to support the highest priorities. These weaknesses have already been identified by the headteacher and she has put in place appropriate strategies for improvement, based on the good format provided by the action plan following the previous inspection.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. Day-to-day management of the school’s budget is secure. The recommendations of the most recent auditors’ report have been fully implemented. Application of the principles of best value is good overall. The school makes very good comparisons of its standards achieved with other schools, locally and nationally. Governors ensure that in buying goods and services, competition is fair and that they get good value for money, for example in purchasing computers for the new suite. The governors, headteacher and senior management team consult widely when making major decisions so all those connected with the school feel involved. Procedures to challenge whether spending decisions are effective in raising standards, however, are not developed fully enough.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. The effectiveness of the governors is satisfactory overall and is continuing to improve in many ways. They are now kept very well informed by the headteacher about issues relating to the school. Governors have a clear view of the school’s strengths but are less clear about its weaknesses. They have satisfactory involvement in shaping the direction of the school but, due to recent uncertainties in the statutory structure of governing bodies, are currently five members short. This means that governors’ responsibilities fall to too few people. Governors generally fulfil their statutory responsibilities satisfactorily but there are omissions in the information provided for parents in the governors’ annual report to parents. It does not include a statement on the progress of the action plan following the last inspection, there are no details of arrangements made for the admission of pupils with disabilities or of steps taken to

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

prevent disabled pupils being treated less favourably than others, and there is no mention of changes to the policy for special educational needs that arose from the new Code of Practice for special educational needs. Governors are already aware of a weakness in the school’s prospectus and have plans to address this at the next review.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. The school makes good use of computers for administrative purposes. Computer records are kept, for example of, individual pupils’ progress, the list of pupils with special educational needs, attendance registers, behavioural incidents and financial transactions. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 26 61. The school system for checking the effectiveness of teachers is good and identifies suitable individual and whole-school training needs. Support staff also attend appropriate training, particularly in first aid and in strategies to support pupils with special educational needs. Following recent changes in staffing, the number and expertise of teachers now meet the demands of the National Curriculum and religious education well. There are general job descriptions for class teaching and for subject leadership but these would benefit from being made more specific to each subject.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. There have recently been significant improvements to the accommodation, notably the conversion of a room which is now jointly used as a library, music room and computer suite. Overall, accommodation and learning resources are satisfactory. Necessary improvements to the facilities for children in the nursery and reception classes are planned to take place before the end of 2003. Toilets for the disabled will be included in this programme and in the planned remodelling of the office area. There is no grassed area for pupils’ play or for teaching physical education, which reduces the learning opportunities available to them. Resources in the nursery and for science are good, but the school is well aware of the need to enhance the range and amount of computer programs. The library is adequate and contains sufficient books that reflect pupils’ diverse cultural backgrounds but is not used systematically enough to enhance pupils’

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

research skills. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 27

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

63. In order to improve standards further, especially in ICT and geography throughout the school, the headteacher, staff and governors should now:

p.27

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Take every opportunity to extend pupils’ skills of writing, speaking and listening, mathematics and ICT systematically in other subjects. (Paragraphs: 7, 8, 17, 27, 44, 77, 79, 83, 85, 88, 95,100, 105, 110, 113, 114, 116 and 122)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve, as planned, provision for children in the Foundation Stage. (Paragraphs: 25 and 67 to 72)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Continue to make every effort to improve pupils’ attendance rates. (Paragraphs: 15, 38 and 51)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) Improve the rigour of the development plans for the school and subjects. (Paragraphs: 57, 58, 110 and 114)

p.27

In addition, governors should also consider the following points:

• Ensuring that the governors’ annual report to parents meets statutory requirements. • Improving the effectiveness of teachers’ marking, where appropriate. • Capitalising more systematically on pupils’ own cultural diversity. • Ensuring that risk assessment procedures are carried out regularly. • Developing pupils’ library skills rigorously. (Paragraphs: 7, 8, 21, 36, 37, 47, 59, 62,76, 81, 95, 101 and 110) St Paul’s CE Primary School - 28

p.27

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 28

p.28

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 9 184

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 69

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.28

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 44

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 56

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 25

p.28

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 9

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.5 National comparative data 0.4 St Paul’s CE Primary School - 29 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 30

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 10 10 20

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.30

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

Percentage of pupils School 90 (78) 85 (87) 90 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Percentage of pupils School 90 (78) 90 (100) 90 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 84 (83) 89 (89)

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

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

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

Because there are so few pupils in each cohort, the numbers attaining the expected levels have been omitted to preserve confidentiality. This is standard practice in all inspections.

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 14 12 26

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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

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

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

Percentage of pupils School 81 (67) 65 (33) 100 (85) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 10 8 10

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

Percentage of pupils School 69 (52) 65 (44) 81 (70) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 31

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 10 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 2 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 10 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 1 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 7 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 4 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 5 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 8 Financial year 2001 - 2002

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 557,761

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 7 Total expenditure 535,088

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 155 Expenditure per pupil 2,744

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 27,185

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 0.6 Balance carried forward to next year 49,858

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 18

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 0.6

p.31

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 15

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 15 St Paul’s CE Primary School - 32 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

p.32

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2

p.32

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

p.32

Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 33

p.32

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 69 31 0 0 0

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 46 42 4 0 8

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 38 54 4 0 4

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 54 38 8 0 0

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 65 31 0 0 4

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 62 35 0 0 4

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 50 46 4 0 0

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 69 27 0 0 4

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 58 38 0 0 4

p.33

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 35 38 12 0 15 St Paul’s CE Primary School - 34

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

64. The nursery has 18 children who attend part time each morning. Children are admitted to the nursery in the September after they become three years old. A further 30 children attend full time in the reception class. In both the nursery and reception classes, approximately one quarter of the children have speech and language difficulties, and a similar proportion are at the early stages of learning to speak English. In the reception class, there is one child with a statement of special educational needs.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

65. The level of attainment of children on entry to the nursery varies from year to year. Generally, however, when the children start in the nursery, their overall attainment is well below that expected nationally for their age, with particular weaknesses in communication, language and literacy skills, although, each year, there is a wide variation of ability. They achieve well in the nursery due to the good quality teaching and the wide range of activities provided. They achieve particularly well in speaking and listening. However, by the time they join the reception class, the majority are still below expectations in all areas of learning. In the past, the progress they made had slowed down during the reception class and they did not achieve well enough so that, at the end of the reception year, the standards attained have tended to remain below average in all areas of learning. Improved teaching very recently in this class is helping to raise

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

standards. As a result, children in the current reception class are now achieving well and are on track to meet the standards expected nationally at the end of the year in their personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world and physical development. Standards are likely to remain below the expected levels in the other areas of learning. Children with special educational needs and those who have English as an additional language achieve well because of the quality of support they receive from school staff and, occasionally, specialist teachers.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

66. A specialist teacher supports children with English as an additional language very well for one day a week. She works very effectively with the class teachers, nursery nurse and support assistant to provide ideas and resources, such as games and word cards, to enhance learning throughout the week. As a result, children develop their oral skills rapidly and are enabled to take a full part in all lessons.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

67. The quality of teaching in the nursery and reception classes has improved since the last inspection and is now good overall. It is good in all areas of learning except physical development and creative development, where it is satisfactory. The new teacher in the reception class is having a beneficial effect on provision and learning in that class; the quality of teaching in this class is already at least satisfactory and is sometimes better. Lessons are securely planned to cover all the required areas. Planning in the nursery is very detailed and well thought out and assessment is used systematically to identify the next steps in children’s learning. This is a significant improvement since the last inspection and means that the activities provided are matched closely to the needs of the children. This good practice is not yet securely in place in the reception class because the new teacher has not yet had the time to assess the level each child is at

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

and is not yet familiar with the detailed school curriculum. Children are managed very well and teachers’ expectations of how well they will apply themselves to work and the standards they should achieve are now high in both classes. As a result, children work hard and are very interested in the activities that are prepared for them, which ensures that they achieve well. Other adults are deployed well; they are a committed and effective support team, who make a considerable contribution to children’s academic and personal development. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 35

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Personal, social and emotional development

68. Children generally behave well. In the nursery class, children settle in swiftly and are given plenty of opportunities to develop their personal and social skills, quickly learning to become independent. They take off and put on their own coats and, because they know the routines well, help themselves to the equipment and resources they need. Children use their own initiative to select their own activities and work and play together well. They learn to take turns and share and to return things to their correct place, for example at the end of each session. Children are clearly used to making their own choices and suggestions. Prior to a class walk, for example, two children suggested that the class cuddly toys might like a walk and they looked after them carefully throughout the walk. All the adults working in the nursery have high expectations of the children’s behaviour and, because of this, there is a positive atmosphere for learning.

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Personal, social and emotional development

Concentration skills are developed well in all areas of the curriculum and the nursery staff will often join in an activity chosen by the children to help them maintain their interest and stay on task, which makes a good contribution to children’s learning. There are encouraging signs that this good practice is beginning now to be the case in the reception class as well. In this class, until very recently, children had fewer opportunities for independent learning and to develop their social skills. This slowed down their rate of progress. The new teacher has very quickly established a positive climate for learning and so the children usually behave well and conform to her high expectations. They are beginning to use their own initiative and to think for themselves and, as a result, are now achieving well. A good example of this was observed when, introducing the task of designing and making stamps for the letters the children were writing, the teacher said,

p.35

Personal, social and emotional development

‘Oh dear! I haven't any stamps! What can we do?’ A boy quickly said, ‘Just a minute. There's one over here’. He got up and fetched the rubber stamp the teacher used for good work.

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Communication, language and literacy

69. Children in the nursery make satisfactory progress in recognising initial letter sounds. By the end of the reception class, many children write their name recognisably on their work. Higher-attaining children composed their own letters to give their mothers on Mothering Sunday. The standards achieved, however, are lower than expected given their ability because of the legacy of past weaknesses in teaching, which have adversely affected attainment and children’s achievements. In both the nursery and reception classes, children write independently in their play activities. Until very recently, however, there had been an over-use of printed worksheets and formal handwriting exercises in the reception class that were not matched to the needs of the children. Children have not had enough opportunities, for example, to practise letter formation with adult guidance, by using play methods, such as sand trays and finger-paints on

p.35

Communication, language and literacy

tables. In the nursery, attractive books are displayed at the right height to tempt children to pick them up and browse and they are beginning to enjoy books and stories. The large book corner in the reception class is less attractive because the books are unattractive and are not displayed well. In the nursery, children tend not to speak in whole sentences, although the more articulate children do speak clearly in sentences because of the skilled questioning of adults and they act as good role models for the others. Children with speech difficulties are given plenty of time to have their say. In the reception class, children paid reasonable attention to their peers, for example when listening to a simple talk they had prepared about something done recently and asked apt questions. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 36

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Mathematical development

70. In the nursery, children use the language of size correctly and count reasonably accurately in a variety of practical ways. They learn about ‘one more’ and ‘one less’ in number songs and rhymes, and compare and generally measure things correctly using words such as ‘bigger’, ‘smaller’, ‘longer’ and ‘shorter’ when using the building blocks. The provision for learning number skills has now improved in the reception class. The children add and subtract; higher-attaining children have a secure grasp of this as it applied to numbers to ten while average-attaining children work correctly with numbers to five and lower-attaining children are beginning to match numbers to objects. Interesting practical tasks are provided to reinforce learning and these are matched appropriately to the children’s different abilities and needs. From the displays around the room, it is evident that the teaching and learning of mathematics are given an

p.36

Mathematical development

appropriately high priority. However, the scrutiny of work revealed that children are often given simple worksheets to complete, which prevents them from showing what they know, understand and can do because of the restricted response required.

p.36

Knowledge and understanding of the world

71. In the nursery class, children have many opportunities to ‘find out’, for example by experimenting with sand and water and selecting the tools and equipment they need. This is enhanced through direct observation and discussion with adults. For example, the children were taken on a ‘look and listen’ walk in the park. During this very effective lesson, children developed their observational skills very well. Throughout the walk, their observations kept coming. ‘I can hear a lorry’. ‘I can see ….’. One higher-attaining child was responsible for reading the simple teacher-made map and ensuring that the correct route was followed. Another had asked to bring a magnifying glass, which was used to very good effect when buds and small flowers were found. The specialist teacher for English as an additional language accompanied the class on the walk; she observed how those at an early stage of learning English interacted with the rest of the class and

p.36

Knowledge and understanding of the world

helped them to contribute their observations. Children in both the nursery and reception classes use simple computer programs to enhance their learning. By the end of the reception class, many children are confident in clicking on icons and dragging and dropping symbols on the screen but these skills are not yet taught in a systematic way. In their studies of past and present buildings in the environment, children went on a walk around the school to look at different types of houses. They then used a wide range of objects, such as old cardboard boxes, small construction toys and large building blocks, to recreate satisfactorily the building they had seen and to design their own. In both classes, children have a satisfactory understanding of other cultures, customs and beliefs.

p.36

Physical development

72. In the nursery, children develop their awareness of space soundly. They move around the nursery and outdoor area sensibly, showing an awareness of one another. Children are supported well by adults and develop satisfactory skills when steering vehicles, climbing, balancing, throwing and catching. Children in both the nursery and reception classes develop reasonable manipulative skills through such activities as writing, digging, cutting, rolling, stirring and sticking and are achieving well. At present, the reception class children have fewer opportunities to play constructively outside. As a result, the good progress made in the nursery slows down in the reception class. The school is aware of this weakness and alterations to the building are planned to take place during the summer. At present, the only regular opportunities for the reception class children to develop large muscular control is during formal physical education

p.36

Physical development

lessons or during playtime which is taken at the same time as the rest of the school. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 37

p.36

Creative development

73. Children in both classes experiment with a variety of painting and drawing techniques, such as drawing self-portraits and creating pictures of things that interest them, using a variety of materials and textures to make collages. They experiment with ‘Playdoh’ to make reasonable three-dimensional models and use a variety of different shaped objects with which to print. They enjoy singing simple songs and sing well. Nursery children make their own shakers to play as they sing. In the reception class, children design simple postage stamps as part of a writing lesson, and the ‘wallpaper’ children had made for the home corner reinforced a mathematics lesson about repeating patterns. Regular opportunities for role-play are linked appropriately to the topic children are studying. This enables children to act out everyday experiences, such as family life and stories they have heard. In this way, they use their imagination and begin to develop

p.37

Creative development

an empathy with other people’s points of view and lifestyles, developing their spoken language and social skills at the same time.

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ENGLISH

74. Standards in the national tests in 2002 for pupils in Year 2 were below the national average in reading and well below in writing. Standards have risen as a result of developments in teachers’ planning and use of assessment information and are now in line with the national average. Standards of many pupils in Year 6 are also now close to the national average, although there is a large proportion of pupils, especially boys, on the school’s list of special educational needs, which adversely affects the overall average results. Throughout the school, pupils, including those with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language, achieve well.

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ENGLISH

75. Because teachers manage pupils’ behaviour very well and have high expectations of their courtesy, pupils generally listen politely and are achieving generally well. However, although standards of listening of older pupils, including those in Year 6, are satisfactory, some younger pupils do not yet listen carefully enough to follow instructions well. For example, in a Year 3 physical education lesson, they were unable to line up in pairs without the teacher repeating the instructions a number of times. Standards in Year 2 are sometimes only just satisfactory because the pupils find self- control difficult and talk across the teacher or their classmates; this behaviour is the legacy of past weaknesses in teaching and is dealt with sympathetically and successfully by the teacher. Speaking skills are satisfactory throughout the school. Pupils in Year 2 contribute audibly and reasonably confidently to class discussions and

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ENGLISH

answer the teacher’s questions clearly, although only the higher-attaining pupils do so in detail. Year 6 pupils talk confidently in a range of settings, such as whole-class discussions, small groups and individually. They develop their own ideas satisfactorily, occasionally using other people’s ideas to do so. For example, in a discussion about how illness occurs, the teacher’s questioning was very skilful and resulted in pupils sharing their own experiences and opinions freely. As a result, they reached the conclusion in an entirely natural way that drugs can be either beneficial or harmful depending on the context.

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ENGLISH

76. Pupils’ reading standards match those expected nationally throughout the school, although there are few higher-attaining pupils, particularly in the classes with younger pupils. This is because of two factors: standards of attainment on entry to Year 1 are below those expected and pupils currently in Years 1 and 2 have experienced some teaching that has not been effective enough in raising their standards sufficiently. The second of these factors has been satisfactorily addressed. Pupils throughout the school are now achieving satisfactorily, although their library skills of research and access are not developed well enough in the younger classes. Year 2 pupils read with confidence and developing accuracy, using a sound range of methods to work out unfamiliar words, St Paul’s CE Primary School - 38 although none is entirely fluent. When reading aloud, they pay satisfactory attention to punctuation but do not read with expression. Their reading diaries give good evidence

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ENGLISH

that pupils read frequently in school and, often, at home; this has a high priority in this part of the school and is used effectively to improve pupils’ standards. Year 6 pupils read accurately and fluently the books they choose from home or from the well-stocked class library. They retell the story convincingly and have a generally satisfactory understanding of the main characters and the plot. They compare the enjoyment they get from a good range of authors, such as J K Rowling, Roald Dahl or Michael Morpurgo. Higher-attaining pupils read very widely and expressively, and derive great enjoyment from the humour in Roald Dahl’s book, ‘Boy’. Regular partnership between reading at home and in school is not so much in evidence at this age, but pupils have regular times during the week for reading and are guided well in set sessions, ensuring that their skills develop at least satisfactorily.

p.38

ENGLISH

77. Because of a recent emphasis throughout the school on improving aspects of pupils’ written work, identified through the very good use of assessment information, pupils are achieving well and standards are rising. In Year 2, pupils usually write neatly and in a cursive style in specific exercises but often do not transfer this skill into other written work, where they print letters rather than joining them up. Punctuation of sentences is largely correct and spellings are recognisable. They show a good use of pupils’ phonic understanding but many are incorrect; for example ‘windo’, ‘palces’ and ‘swits’ represent ‘window’, ‘palaces’ and ‘switch’. However, higher-attaining pupils have a secure grasp of how to spell most commonly met words and their standards have improved significantly since the beginning of the year, when one was writing, for example, ‘I lickli rdn my books’. Also improved since then is their choice of interesting

p.38

ENGLISH

and effective vocabulary in stories; for example, one higher-attaining pupil wrote, ‘The castle was massive with some parallel walls’, which gives a clear picture to the reader. Average-attaining pupils write in more straightforward terms and tend to write in simple sentences.

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ENGLISH

78. Pupils in Year 6 write generally neatly, although some lower-attaining pupils are still printing their words rather than adopting the cursive style of the rest of the class; nevertheless, improvement for many pupils has been good since the beginning of the year. Nearly all the more common words are spelled correctly, including words such as ‘unusual’ and ‘believe’, and higher-attaining pupils spell many irregular words correctly, as well as having a secure grasp of almost all spelling patterns. Sentences are punctuated correctly by all pupils and many are beginning to use speech marks and apostrophes with increasing accuracy. Higher-attaining pupils use paragraphs correctly and vary their sentence structure effectively. For example, one wrote, ‘Desperately she ran on, fear driving her’, which evokes the scene particularly well. So, too, does the work of an average-attaining pupil when he writes, ‘Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide!’ Word

p.38

ENGLISH

choice has become much more adventurous for many pupils in the recent past, and increasingly intrigues readers, drawing them into the story, sometimes from the very beginning, as when one pupil wrote, ‘I could not believe my eyes! The painting was magnificent!’

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ENGLISH

79. There are some examples of pupils’ work being displayed with presentation enhanced through the use of a computer. Although the computer suite has only very recently been established, the school has already recognised the need to improve the links between the use of ICT and pupils’ wordprocessing skills; this is appropriate. Increasingly effective use is being made of pupils’ English skills in other subjects, such as geography in Years 2 and 3 or history in Year 5, and the school has already recognised the need to develop these further.

p.38

ENGLISH

80. Standards are rising, not only because of the improvements in planning and assessment mentioned earlier, but also because the quality of teaching has improved St Paul’s CE Primary School - 39 since the last inspection. It is now good throughout the school and results in good learning. Of the eight lessons seen, three were taught very well (all in the junior part of the school), four well and one satisfactorily, with a consequent effect on pupils’ learning.

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ENGLISH

81. Throughout the school, teachers plan and prepare their lessons well, which means that they have a clear idea of what is to happen and that resources are readily to hand, speeding the flow of the lesson and maintaining pupils’ concentration. Many use the results of their assessments of pupils’ previous work well to plan further work that meets pupils’ needs closely; this means that the tasks set are generally interesting and enable pupils to enjoy success, which motivates them to try hard. However, in some classes, teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve are not high enough and they do not mark written work regularly or give pupils ideas about how to improve their work further. Relationships are generally good, which ensures that pupils are willing and confident learners, able to ask questions when necessary and sure that teachers will give good advice in a helpful manner. On occasions, however, this is not the case, and

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ENGLISH

pupils sit waiting for help for too long, which slows the pace of, and adversely affects, their learning, as when a Year 4 pupil with English as an additional language waited for some time for help with the text given, which was too hard. Where learning support assistants are assigned to pupils, often those with special educational needs or with difficulties controlling their own behaviour, they make a very good contribution to their learning because they give immediate help. This often avoids poor behaviour and worsening attitudes born of frustration and so does much to assure the quality of education for other pupils in the class.

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ENGLISH

82. Where teaching is most effective in promoting swift learning, it is because:

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ENGLISH

• Teachers successfully communicate their own enthusiasm for the subject to the pupils. For example, a Year 3 lesson to improve pupils’ ability to get information from a text was greatly enhanced by the infectious enthusiasm of the teacher, which highlighted the humour in the text and ensured that the pupils were eager and confident to answer his probing questions. They were further intrigued and stimulated by some superb paintings of relevant scenes from the story concerned.

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ENGLISH

• Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong and they sustain the purpose of the lesson for long periods of time, successfully ensuring that pupils concentrate and learn very well. A Year 6 lesson was very successful in developing pupils’ skills of analysing text because the teacher repeatedly referred to appropriate basic characteristics, such as repeated phrases and the use of dialect, to show how the author achieved the desired effect and enriched the meaning of the story.

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ENGLISH

• Immediate assessment of pupils’ work enables them to know how well they have achieved and what they need to do next to improve their standards. In a Year 5 lesson focusing on handwriting and spelling, the teacher discussed individual mistakes and successes with each pupil, making clear and explicit links with the efforts they had put into learning the words at home and how they could look for patterns in words to help them improve. Her high expectations of pupils’ efforts and of their standards ensured that all were clear what was required of them in future.

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ENGLISH

83. The subject is managed well and improvements since the last inspection have been very effective. The co-ordinator, fully supported by the relevant curriculum team, makes very good use of information gained from assessments to improve provision, for example by ensuring that there is a whole-school focus on improving pupils’ writing, to set challenging targets for teachers and pupils and to ensure that tasks are matched closely to an individual pupil’s developing needs. Senior managers have checked the St Paul’s CE Primary School - 40 quality of teaching satisfactorily and taken appropriate action, where necessary. These measures have been influential in raising standards throughout the school. The development plan, while lacking a rigour in its format, identifies appropriate priorities for further development, such as the improved use of pupils’ English skills in other subjects. The library stock is adequate; useful class libraries enhance fiction stock.

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ENGLISH

Both have a sufficient stock of books that recognise the diversity of pupils’ backgrounds.

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MATHEMATICS

84. Pupils begin compulsory school age with below-average standards. Throughout the school, they achieve well and make good progress. Nevertheless, in Year 2, pupils’ attainment is below the national average, as it was at the time of previous inspection; this is because this group of pupils has experienced some teaching in the past that has not been effective in raising their standards at a satisfactory rate. Standards by the end of Year 6 are average. They mark a highly significant improvement from the previous inspection when standards were well below age-related expectations. Whilst the national test results of the oldest pupils have fluctuated during recent years, the overall trend is improving at a rate better than the national trend. The school’s provision for pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language is good and they are often supported closely in mathematics lessons. This

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MATHEMATICS

leads to these pupils making good progress and achieving well.

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MATHEMATICS

85. Number and algebra are strong areas of pupils’ achievement. By the end of Year 2, most pupils add and subtract two-digit numbers correctly, for example 56 minus 32. They have a reasonable understanding of the value of each digit in numbers up to 100. However, pupils’ skills in solving problems and in shape and space are relatively weak. By Year 6, the majority of pupils accurately add and subtract decimals to two places. They simplify fractions and begin to work out fractions of quantities and measures accurately. They work out the perimeter of simple shapes and find area by counting squares. They work out the mean and mode of a series of temperatures securely, using spreadsheets in the computer suite, and have started to draw satisfactory line graphs. Their skills at using and applying mathematics are weaker; for example, Year 6 pupils chant the nine times table securely to 10 x 9 but struggle to extend the pattern further.

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MATHEMATICS

Higher-attaining pupils demonstrate rapid recall of multiplication tables up to 12 x 12, and are beginning to tackle problems confidently, based on their knowledge that the sum of the angles in a triangle is 180 degrees. Lower-attaining pupils are beginning to use and interpret co-ordinates in the first quadrant. Most pupils have effective strategies for mental mathematics, for example using rapid recall of mathematical tables up to 10 x 10. Higher-attaining pupils understand and apply inverse operations to work out divisibility rules.

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MATHEMATICS

86. Pupils’ attitudes to learning mathematics including mental activities is good. Their behaviour is often good in most classes and pupils enjoy working and learning together.

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MATHEMATICS

87. Pupils achieve well because of good teaching and learning. Teachers use effective mental activities and questioning at a brisk pace. Teachers often challenge pupils to explain their answers. As a result, pupils rapidly acquire reasoning skills. An example of this was in Year 6, where the pace of the initial session ensured that pupils sharpened their thinking and developed a good understanding of multiplication facts, including multiples. Lessons are planned and structured well for efficient learning. Good use is made of routine assessment to help pupils develop and consolidate skills. Expert explanations reflect a good knowledge of mathematics and its application, for example in Year 2 where the teacher enabled pupils to see the pattern in numbers in repetitive multiplication facts, such as the five times table. Very skilled management of pupils promotes very good learning in classes where previous staffing instability had caused

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MATHEMATICS

restlessness in the class. Teachers have good awareness of the role of language of St Paul’s CE Primary School - 41 mathematics in its learning. Occasionally, however, ineffective focus on mathematical terminology, such as in Year 4, explaining clearly the meaning of terms such as ‘octagon’, ‘tetrahedron’ and ‘pyramid’, makes the subject less accessible to pupils, especially those who are learning English as an additional language.

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MATHEMATICS

88. Pupils’ mathematical skills are used soundly, but not systematically, in other subjects, such as design and technology, but this is recognised by the school as an area for development, as is the further use of computer technology to help reinforce and extend pupils’ mathematical skills and ICT competences.

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MATHEMATICS

89. Leadership and management of the subject are good. The provision in the subject has improved significantly, especially assessment, tracking, analysing performance and setting targets, which are now very good. Thorough analysis of performance has accurately identified weaknesses in problem solving. This has been included in the subject action plan as a priority to be addressed. Teachers have been provided with training in areas of development, for example levelling of standards. Teaching and learning are checked formally and informally to help teachers raise standards.

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SCIENCE

90. Standards in the current Year 6 are in line with national expectations and there has been a steady improvement since 1999. This represents good achievement for this group of pupils and is an improvement since the last inspection, while maintaining similar standards to those seen in the National Curriculum tests in 2002. Standards in the current Year 2 are below national expectations, which is lower than those assessed by teachers last year. However, this particular group of pupils have had disruptions to the continuity of their teaching and their attainment was below national expectations when they began school. They have made satisfactory progress and this is an improvement since the last inspection.

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SCIENCE

91. Pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. This is predominantly because of the good range of strategies used by the teachers and the good support that the learning support assistants give pupils. There is no significant difference in the attainment of boys and girls.

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SCIENCE

92. The majority of pupils in Year 1 accurately name the main external parts of their bodies and have a clear understanding of the five senses. In an investigation to find out whether a shiny object is an independent source of light, the majority of the class made the understandable prediction that it is. They showed a high level of excitement about the world around them in discovering that shiny objects do not shine if there is no independent light source available, thus proving their predictions to be wrong and making a good contribution to their spiritual development. The learning support assistant was very effective in this lesson in supporting lower-attaining pupils and those with challenging behaviour. In Year 2, average- and higher-attaining pupils have a secure understanding that pushes and pulls are forces that can change the shape of an object. They know that batteries provide a safe form of electricity but cannot explain why. They

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SCIENCE

do not have a clear understanding of the dangers of electricity in bathrooms. They know that exercise makes us breathe more quickly but do not understand how exercise helps us to keep healthy. These pupils carried out a satisfactory investigation to see how far cars travel down a ramp onto different surfaces. They make sensible predictions, record results accurately on a simple table and make clear evaluations of their investigation.

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SCIENCE

93. In Years 3 to 6, pupils develop their skills and scientific knowledge well in all areas of the subject, including investigative work. In Year 3, the majority of pupils know that a St Paul’s CE Primary School - 42 balanced diet is required in order to remain healthy. They know the basic differences between igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and have accurately carried out investigations to see how permeable and how hard a rock is. In Year 4, pupils develop their knowledge of forces, finding, for example, that it takes a force of eleven Newtons to pull a basket along on the carpet but only three Newtons when it is on a smooth table. They have a good understanding that this is because there is less friction between the basket and the smooth surface. This knowledge about forces is further developed in Year 5 where the majority of pupils have a clear understanding that objects weigh less in water than they do in air, due to the upthrust of the water. They draw accurate force

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SCIENCE

diagrams to illustrate this and they know that if an object is moving then the forces acting on it must be unbalanced. In Year 6, potentially higher-attaining pupils are particularly well challenged. They have a detailed knowledge of the anatomy of a flower and accurately name the ovary, anther, stamen, stigma, petal and style. They have a clear understanding of the process of fertilisation. They know the properties of solids, liquids and gases, and that carbon dioxide makes drinks fizzy and helium is used in balloons.

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SCIENCE

94. The quality of teaching and learning is good throughout the school. All teachers have a good knowledge and understanding of the subject so they set clear objectives for each lesson and make these known to the pupils. This results in pupils having a clear understanding of what is expected of them. A significant strength of teaching is that teachers are very patient and use a wide variety of strategies effectively to manage pupils’ behaviour, which is extremely challenging in some classes. As a result, behaviour is mostly good and does not generally hinder pupils’ achievement and the majority of pupils have a good attitude towards science.

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SCIENCE

95. Teachers and learning support assistants make good, ongoing assessments of pupils’ understanding and intervene appropriately, asking questions that encourage them to think for themselves and which deepen their understanding. Teachers generally have very good relationships with the pupils and plan activities that interest and challenge them. Pupils are therefore inspired by the lessons and apply good levels of intellectual effort. In a Year 3 lesson, for example, where pupils were investigating the particle size of different soil samples, they showed a great interest in the world around them when a beetle was discovered in one of the samples. The majority of teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and accurately so they have a good understanding of how well they have done and what they need to do in order to improve further. Marking is particularly effective in Year 6 but, in some classes, teachers’ comments are not followed up

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SCIENCE

rigorously enough to ensure that pupils learn from their mistakes. Teachers evaluate effectively how successful each lesson has been and use this information well to determine what activities should be carried out in subsequent lessons. In one lesson, in Year 2, teaching would have been more successful if activities had been more closely matched to pupils’ prior attainment, thus making the recording activity more challenging for higher-attaining pupils. Also, no evidence was found during the inspection of ICT being used to support learning in science.

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SCIENCE

96. Leadership and management of the subject are very good. National guidance has been appropriately adapted to meet the needs of pupils at the school and ensures that pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding are developed logically. The co-ordinator has watched her colleagues’ teaching and checks their planning and pupils’ work, ensuring compliance with the scheme of work. She has undertaken a detailed analysis of test results, interpreting the results effectively. For example, she has identified that additional work is needed to ensure that pupils can explain experimental methods more effectively, improve their skills in interpreting line graphs and have a better understanding of forces. There is a good level of resources, which are maintained well by the support staff members of the relevant curriculum team. A science club is effective in supporting learning in the subject. As a further improvement, from September 2003 pupils will be

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SCIENCE

St Paul’s CE Primary School - 43 set individual targets in science, based on their current performance, and their progress towards the targets will be monitored.

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ART AND DESIGN

97. Standards in art and design attained by pupils in Years 2 and 6 are broadly in line with those expected nationally. This judgement is the same as at the time of the previous inspection. No judgement was made in the previous report about pupils’ achievement, which is currently satisfactory for all, including those with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language.

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ART AND DESIGN

98. Year 2 pupils use a wide variety of different media and techniques. For example, they have worked with tissue paper, mixed their own colours, painted still life pictures of vases of spring flowers, printed patterns, and used textiles to make collages. They use a reasonable amount of imagination and skill to complete the other half of a picture on a postcard, which includes famous works of art, landscapes and photographs of scenery. Pupils in Year 4 have made satisfactory designs of stained glass windows after visiting St Paul’s Church. These designs have been collated and, as a result of good co- operation among the pupils, a very pleasing piece of work has been produced. In Year 5, pupils study the work of Van Gogh and make high standard reproductions of some of his work using pastels. They have also made Plasticine and clay models in the style of Rodin, which are of a satisfactory standard. By Year 6, pupils have covered all the

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ART AND DESIGN

elements and attainment targets identified in the National Curriculum to a satisfactory level. Whilst the standards of work produced in the Year 6 lesson observed were variable, overall, pupils’ attainment matched that expected nationally for their age. Pupils produced careful sketches by combining separate images of the local area and then used them to begin to make reasonable large outlines of buildings.

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ART AND DESIGN

99. During the inspection, only one art and design lesson was observed but, from this and from the analysis of pupils’ work and achievements, teaching and learning are satisfactory throughout the school. At the time of the previous inspection, teaching was judged to be good for the younger pupils and satisfactory for the older ones. In the Year 6 lesson observed, the teacher made the learning objectives clear at the start so that the pupils knew what was expected of them. Good class management strategies were used to ensure that all pupils settled to work quickly. The lesson was well planned, with good preparation of resources, and challenged and inspired pupils to do their best and apply high levels of effort. The quality was, however, a little spoilt by the teacher allowing pupils to use rulers instead of drawing freehand. The teacher made good, ongoing assessments and intervened appropriately to enable pupils to improve their work.

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ART AND DESIGN

Throughout the lesson, pupils behaved well because of the good relationships within the class and the high expectations of the teacher.

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ART AND DESIGN

100. From pupils’ work on display and available for scrutiny, it is clear from the care taken that pupils have positive attitudes towards art and design. However, as at the time of the last inspection, there are too few opportunities to use ICT in art and design throughout the school.

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ART AND DESIGN

101. The leadership and management of the subject are generally good because of the curriculum team approach used throughout the school. This method of management means that, when a subject becomes the focus of attention, the workload is spread more widely among the staff, who report that the system works well. The co-ordinator for art and design is very experienced and well qualified for the role. Teachers’ planning and pupils’ work are checked regularly to ensure that the scheme of work is being covered. As yet, there has been no opportunity to monitor the quality of teaching. The scheme of work used is based on national recommendations but has been adapted to suit the specific context of the school. Resources are good and an after-school craft St Paul’s CE Primary School - 44 club further enhances the curriculum. While the work of a satisfactory range of western European artists is covered over time, there is too little evidence of work that builds

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ART AND DESIGN

systematically on the diverseness of the cultural background of the pupils in the school.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

102. Pupils in Years 2 and 6 attain the nationally expected standards. All pupils achieve satisfactorily throughout the school, including pupils with special educational needs and those who are learning English as an additional language. These judgements are similar to those reported in the previous inspection.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

103. Year 2 pupils generate a suitable range of ideas and draw reasonable sketches of their designs. They select appropriate materials and work with keen interest and high levels of concentration to make and finish their products. Success gives them confidence and they take pride in their work, for example when displaying the working of their products to the whole school in an assembly. Designing and making products, such as glove puppets, cardboard houses, wheeled vehicles, lifting bridges and moving pictures, provide appropriate opportunities to develop a good range of skills. Pupils’ evaluation skills, however, are not developed as well as their skills of making and finishing products.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

104. By Year 6, pupils make and design a sound range of products and develop satisfactory skills. These include pop-up books, Tudor houses and temples using wooden frames, cakes and wood-framed bomb shelters. Pupils make these to specific design criteria. For example, the bomb shelters were to withstand a one-kilogram weight dropped from one metre. Pupils successfully explored different ways to make the structure stronger and several pupils also used cushioning to absorb the force of the dropping weight. The work showed pupils’ good interest and care in making their products. Cake making in Year 5 required pupils to look at a range of recipes, design their own recipe and write their own evaluation criteria. They use this planning to make, decorate and evaluate their finished product. They have a satisfactory understanding of the whole design and evaluation process.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

105. Only one lesson observed did not provide sufficient evidence for a detailed evaluation of teaching throughout the school. The overall evidence, however, indicates that satisfactory teaching leads to satisfactory learning. The lesson observed was effective in promoting good learning because it was carefully planned to build logically on pupils’ previous learning. The teacher managed pupils well and explained the task very clearly so that all pupils knew what they had to do. Plenty of appropriate resources were made available and the teacher circulated and intervened to good effect. As a result, pupils worked well and concentrated fully on the task in hand and had their questions and problems addressed promptly. More generally, teachers provide a sound range of opportunities for learning and their planning is securely based on national guidance. The subject makes a satisfactory contribution to the development and reinforcement of

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. However, the use of ICT is underdeveloped. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory.

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GEOGRAPHY

106. Because of the timing of the inspection, three lessons only were observed, none of them in Year 6. Judgements are also based on the analysis of pupils’ work on display and in their books, teachers’ plans and records and discussions with teachers and pupils. Although pupils’ geographic knowledge broadly matches national expectations in both Year 2 and Year 6, standards overall are below those expected in both year groups because their geographic skills are not high enough. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 45 107. In Year 6, the judgement is similar to that made during the last inspection and the weakness identified at that time – the lack of progressive development of skills as pupils move through the school – is still pertinent. Year 2 pupils have not reached the expected standards because of weaknesses in teaching in previous years, which have adversely affected their progress and achievements. However, in lessons, pupils achieve at least

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GEOGRAPHY

satisfactorily; recent improvements in teachers’ planning and assessment systems are now having a beneficial effect on learning and achievement. For example, pupils in Year 1 develop their enquiry skills soundly through undertaking fieldwork in the local area, studying the volume of traffic and surveying street signs.

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GEOGRAPHY

108. Year 2 pupils realise that people have an effect on the places around them and that the land is used for a variety of purposes, such as farming, housing and walking. They have an increasing awareness of the need to use different forms of transport for different purposes. They draw simple maps, for example of their journey to school or of the fictional island they are studying, but nearly all are in the form of pictorial representation rather than plan views. They are beginning to use appropriate geographic vocabulary, such as ‘hill’, ‘rock’ and ‘loch’. Pupils in Year 6 have a secure grasp of the fact that the formation of rivers is the result of rainfall but have an insecure understanding of catchment areas and river gradients. They use some correct geographic terms, such as ‘meander’ and ‘delta’, but often place them incorrectly on their diagrams of a river system. Higher-attaining pupils, however, explain the water cycle and its consequent

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GEOGRAPHY

effects very lucidly, use appropriate vocabulary correctly and recall facts accurately and securely, for example about the River Orinoco. Only higher-attaining pupils show sufficient understanding of geographic processes, and work at the levels expected nationally.

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GEOGRAPHY

109. Because of recent improvements in planning and assessment, the quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory throughout the school, as it was at the time of the last inspection. These improvements are already having a beneficial effect on pupils’ achievements but have not had enough time to raise attainment sufficiently. Teachers plan their lessons carefully, taking good account of what pupils have and have not learned in previous lessons. This ensures that activities are relevant to pupils’ developing needs and are interesting. Relationships are good and pupils are generally managed well so that they are confident learners who are not afraid to ask questions when they need to do so. This was especially important in a Year 2 lesson where the teacher struck a good balance between capitalising on pupils’ enthusiasm and maintaining good control over their behaviour, which meant that they sustained a sense

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GEOGRAPHY

of purpose well. The support given to pupils with special educational needs or with English as an additional language is variable. In Year 3, for example, their needs were met well because the teacher made a point of checking that they could manage the task and gave them all the individual help they needed, which meant that they enjoyed the lesson. In Year 4, the pace of learning slowed for these pupils because the teacher did not intervene sufficiently promptly to ensure that they understood the task, in spite of them having their hands up to ask for help; some waited for over five minutes, which is unacceptable. Nevertheless, pupils maintained satisfactory attitudes to learning and behaved appropriately. In a Year 6 ICT lesson, good links were made with geography when pupils used a spreadsheet to enter the monthly temperatures for a number of countries.

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GEOGRAPHY

110. The subject is managed well. Recent developments have focused successfully on improving teachers’ planning and use of assessment. The subject development plan is satisfactory and identifies appropriate priorities. An immediate priority has been identified as assessing ways to support work in this subject through the increased use of ICT; this is entirely appropriate. However, the format of the development plan lacks sufficient rigour to ensure that the developments contribute to raising pupils’ standards. Pupils’ understanding of other places and lifestyles around the world is developed St Paul’s CE Primary School - 46 adequately, for example by the recording in Year 1 of the journeys and experiences of ‘Holiday Bear’, who accompanies pupils on their holidays and reports back what he sees. There is, however, room to capitalise more effectively on pupils’ own diverse cultural experiences.

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HISTORY

111. Because of the timing of the inspection, only two lessons were observed. Judgements are, therefore, made on the basis of a scrutiny of pupils’ work in their books and on display, teachers’ plans and records and discussions with pupils and teachers. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and English as an additional language, achieve satisfactorily throughout the school. Standards in Year 2 are currently below those expected nationally and are worse than at the time of the last inspection because of the legacy of inadequate provision and teaching in the past. Year 6 pupils attain standards that match the national expectations, which is a similar judgement to that made during the previous inspection

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HISTORY

112. Year 2 pupils have a reasonable grasp of the main events in the lives of a small number of people from the past, such as Florence Nightingale, but many are unable to sequence these events correctly. Higher-attaining pupils write clearly and correctly about why she is an important figure in history and they understand her legacy. Lower- attaining pupils use a helpful recording sheet to enable them to complete sentences, using few words; this enables them to communicate the main historical facts clearly, even though their literacy skills are not high. Pupils in Year 6 have a satisfactory grasp of the main events leading up to the Second World War. Higher-attaining pupils have a good understanding of the economic and political causes of the war. Whilst lower- attaining pupils have a reasonable idea of why people were evacuated from high-risk areas, such as London, other pupils begin to understand the feelings young people

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HISTORY

must have had, citing ‘shame’ and ‘bewilderment’ as two of the feelings, and higher- attaining pupils have considerable empathy with evacuees. In science lessons, pupils show a good knowledge of, for example, why sailors in past times used to get scurvy, and the development of batteries, including the work done by Alessandro Volta.

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HISTORY

113. Both lessons observed were in the junior part of the school. However, there is sufficient evidence to show that the quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory throughout the school, as it was at the time of the last inspection. Lessons are planned thoroughly and activities chosen well to interest pupils. Appropriate support is often available to help pupils with special educational needs and suitable resources are provided to help them complete the tasks. In the Year 5 lesson observed, which was about the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, the teacher read the text clearly and had prepared a set of cards to enable pupils to choose their answers, which was very helpful for them and was reinforced by good, extra help from a support assistant. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and satisfactorily, although there is sometimes insufficient emphasis on reinforcing the need to spell words correctly and to present their work well. In a

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HISTORY

successful Year 3 lesson, the teacher’s subject knowledge made the initial session interesting. For example, he embellished the main facts with interesting snippets of information, such as the Celts grew all their own food and so did not need to venture far from their hilltop forts, to enliven pupils’ understanding of what it was like to be a Celt before the Roman invasion.

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HISTORY

114. The subject is managed soundly by the co-ordinator, with the support of one of the curriculum teams, and is due to be a priority for development in the very near future. The development plan is sound. It outlines improvements to the subject that have the potential to raise standards, including further development of the links between planning and assessment. However, the format lacks rigour and there is no mention of the use of pupils’ skills of literacy, numeracy or ICT to reinforce and extend learning. The subject St Paul’s CE Primary School - 47 makes a satisfactory contribution to pupils’ cultural understanding through the study, for example, of Baroness Amoss and the contribution to the Civil Rights Movement in various nations of people such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

115. Standards at the time of previous inspection were well below average. Present standards at the end of Years 2 and 6 are below expectations. These are, however, improving because of the establishment of an ICT suite very recently, and pupils have already started to make rapid progress.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

116. Whilst progress has been very good during the last six weeks that the ICT suite has been established, it had been unsatisfactory previously. This was due to two main factors: firstly, the computers were out of use for some time due to damage to cables during building work; and secondly, pupils had limited access to computers in their classrooms to practise and consolidate their skills. As a result, in a junior class, a significant proportion of pupils still have poor keyboard skills. A few are uncomfortable in using the computer. Further developments are in hand for improving Internet access and increasing software for use across the curriculum where its current use is limited, for example in science, art and design and design and technology. The use of ICT in English and geography is relatively better than in other subjects, where it is known by the school to need development.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

117. By the end of Year 2, pupils use ICT to produce, amend, record, save and retrieve work. For example, they use a computer to present their prayers neatly. It is, however, only the higher-attaining pupils who log on and off, save and retrieve their work with any confidence. Average- and lower-attaining pupils control the mouse adequately but use the keyboard slowly, which adversely affects their standards. By the end of Year 6, pupils write letters, stories and newspaper reports. They use the Internet for research. Rapid progress in learning can be seen in the work of Year 6 pupils. Since the setting- up of the new suite a few weeks ago, the pupils have learnt to enter data in a spreadsheet, draw bar charts and use the auto-sum facility to find totals of rows and columns. Higher-attaining pupils have started to use formulae to find totals and eventually find the mean.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

118. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They use appropriate methods and manage pupils well. As a result, pupils develop their skills rapidly when they use computers in the ICT suite. Learning, however, is currently much slower for Year 1 pupils because they do not yet have regular time in the computer suite. Pupils are keen when using ICT and work well in pairs to improve their skills.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

119. Leadership and management of the subject are good and much has been achieved in a short space of time. Further improvements, such as widening access to the Internet and ordering an interactive whiteboard and more software, are in hand. Teachers have all completed the specified professional training. The number of computers meets the national recommendations. Pupils are warned against the possible misuse of the Internet and asked to sign an Internet safety form. For the sake of safety, access to unplanned websites has been blocked. St Paul’s CE Primary School - 48

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MUSIC

120. Because of the school’s timetable arrangements, only one music lesson was seen during the inspection, in Year 5, in which pupils’ attainment was above national expectations. The quality of pupils’ singing in assemblies and the singing club is also above expectations. Teachers’ planning indicates that the scheme of work is taught effectively. Their records, which have been monitored by the co-ordinator, show that pupils’ attainment is in line with expectations in Years 2 and 6 and levels of achievement are satisfactory across the school, including pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language. This is the same judgement as that made in the previous inspection report. The subject is now led effectively, which is a significant improvement since the last inspection. Published resources are used effectively to support national guidance.

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MUSIC

121. The lesson in Year 5 was taken by the music co-ordinator and was very effective. The teacher’s very good subject knowledge enabled her to give a very clear explanation of musical terminology, so that pupils gained a good understanding of terms such as ‘rhythmic’ and ‘melodic ostinato’. The teacher’s very good relationship with pupils resulted in them behaving very well. The lesson moved at a brisk pace so that pupils sustained concentration well. The teacher’s high level of enthusiasm inspired pupils to work hard at practising their accompaniments to the ‘Rocket Round’. The majority of pupils sustained their own part with awareness of how it fitted together with other parts. Pupils also made good evaluations of each other’s work and freely suggested sensible ways that it could be improved. All pupils were very keen to demonstrate their performance. The class gave very good performances of the round ‘Frère Jacques’, in

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MUSIC

four parts and of ‘Hey, Ho, Nobody Home’. This makes a satisfactory contribution to their cultural development.

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MUSIC

122. The singing club, which is open to all pupils in Years 3 to 6, makes a very good contribution to the quality of music in the school. A learning support assistant ably accompanies the teacher who leads it on the piano. Together, they ensure that an appropriate balance is struck between improving pupils’ singing technique and making singing a very enjoyable activity. Members of the club effectively enhance school productions. Pupils’ moral and social development is effectively developed through performances at the local hospice and for Age Concern. Listening to music from around the world satisfactorily enhances their cultural development. Tape recorders and CD players are used effectively to support pupils’ learning in music but there is no evidence of the use of computers in the subject. Good assessment procedures enable teachers to judge how well pupils have done at the end of each unit of work and are used soundly

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MUSIC

to help them write reports on individual progress for parents.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

123. Only two lessons were seen during the inspection; these were in Years 1 and 3. However, the standards achieved by pupils in these lessons, together with evidence from teachers’ records, indicate that the attainment of pupils in Years 2 and 6 is in line with national expectations. All pupils achieve satisfactorily throughout the school, including pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language. This is the same judgement that was made at the time of the previous inspection. Pupils have swimming lessons for one year, during the last term of Year 2 and the first two terms of Year 3, by which time, nearly all achieve the National Curriculum requirements for pupils at the end of Year 6. Their standards, therefore, are above those expected nationally for pupils of their age.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

124. Because only two lessons were observed during the inspection, it was not possible to make a reliable judgement about the overall quality of teaching and learning. There were St Paul’s CE Primary School - 49 effective warm-up activities in both lessons seen. In Year 1, the teacher’s enthusiasm ensured that pupils listened attentively to instructions and knew exactly what was expected of them. The teacher used good management strategies to ensure that pupils behaved well. The lesson moved at a brisk pace, enabling some development of skills but timetabling arrangements meant that this was a very short lesson with approximately 18 minutes for the learning activity to take place. Nonetheless, pupils did develop satisfactory skills of passing and receiving small balls from standing, kneeling and sitting positions over distances up to three metres. The Year 3 lesson observed was a demonstration lesson given by the physical education co-ordinator from a local

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

secondary school, which successfully enhanced the subject knowledge of the class teacher. In this lesson, pupils further developed their passing and catching skills. Nearly all pupils accurately passed and caught a netball at chest height over a distance of four or five metres. However, they were less accurate at shoulder height because they had insufficient strength to cover the distance required. In both lessons, pupils applied good levels of physical effort and showed good levels of interest in the activities they were doing.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

125. Teachers’ planning is based on the nationally recommended scheme of work, suitably adapted for the pupils’ needs. This ensures that appropriate skills are taught progressively as pupils move through the school. The subject is satisfactorily led and managed. The co-ordinator has a satisfactory grasp of pupils’ standards by looking at teachers’ records, and also ensures that learning resources are adequate and well maintained. The hall and playground accommodation is adequate for curriculum requirements to be met but there is no safe grass area available to the school.

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