St Paul's CofE Primary School

ST PAUL’S C of E PRIMARY 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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ST PAUL’S C of E PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Orchard Road Chessington Surrey Postcode: KT9 1AJ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs Margaret Thompson

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

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

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responsibilities

15477 John Messer Registered inspector Mathematics Art and design Information and communication technology The school’s results and pupils’ achievements. How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 31754 Charlotte Roberson Lay inspector Educational inclusion How high are standards? a) Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school work in partnership with parents? How well does the school care for its pupils? 7465 Richard Brent Team inspector English Geography Physical education English as an additional language Special educational needs How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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responsibilities

20963 Judy Keiner Team inspector Foundation Stage Science Design and technology History Music St Paul’s Primary - 5 The inspection contractor was:

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responsibilities

Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DT2 9PU

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responsibilities

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

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responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Paul’s Primary - 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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This voluntary aided Church of England primary school has 225 pupils on roll and is about the same size as most other primary schools. The pupils are taught in seven classes. There are rather more boys than girls in the school. Fewer than two per cent of pupils are known to be entitled to free school meals, which is well below the national average. At first sight this indicates that the school serves a relatively advantaged social area, but the school has no kitchen and serves no meals so this is not a good indicator of pupils’ social backgrounds. The latest census data indicates that the school is situated in an area where children come from social backgrounds that are typical of national averages. The proportion of pupils entered on the school’s register of special educational needs, just over ten per cent, is below average. Most of the pupils on the school’s register of pupils with special educational needs have mild

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

learning difficulties. Most pupils are from white English speaking families; ten per cent are from ethnic minority backgrounds. A small minority speak English as an additional language and of these a very small number are at an early stage of speaking English. Pupils’ attainment on entry to the school is broadly average. In recent years it has become increasingly difficult to recruit teachers in this area.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Since the appointment of a new headteacher in September 2001, along with an almost completely new teaching staff, the school has been improving steadily. It has considerable strengths as well as a number of areas for development. The school now provides a sound education for its pupils. The school is emerging from a difficult period caused by a lack of clear direction and uncertain leadership. When the new headteacher took control, the school began to improve on many fronts. The leadership by the headteacher is very good and his influence has had a positive effect on pupils’ learning and the ethos of the school. The deputy headteacher provides very good support for the headteacher and together they provide strong leadership. Governors are closely involved in the development of the school and make a satisfactory contribution to its effective leadership and management. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

and they attain standards that are above average in English and mathematics. The quality of teaching is uneven; there are strong features as well as continuing areas for development. Pupils’ learning is satisfactory overall, but there are inconsistencies; in many lessons they learn effectively, but in others the pace of learning is too slow. Resources are used well and the school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• Pupils have an enthusiasm for books and the standards they attain in reading by the end of Year 6 are well above average. • The teaching of music is very good; pupils achieve well and attain above average standards. • The very good leadership provided by the headteacher is having a major impact on school morale and has resulted in good improvements. • The assessment of pupils’ attainment and progress in English, mathematics and science is accurate and is analysed systematically to identify areas for improvement. • Pupils with special educational needs are provided with good support and they make good progress towards achieving their targets. • Parents hold the school in high esteem and make a strong contribution to pupils’ learning. St Paul’s Primary - 8

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What could be improved

• The standards that pupils attain in science, art and design, geography, design and technology and information and communication technology as well as the use of computers in other subjects. • The consistency of teaching and teachers’ knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn as well as their ability to teach all subjects of the National Curriculum effectively. • Expectations of the higher attaining pupils’ performance in mathematics so that they attain higher standards in each year group. • The use of time in lessons, the way timetables are organised and the amount of teaching time in Years 3 to 6, which falls below the recommended minimum. • Accommodation; space in classrooms is cramped, there is no proper library and the administrative department and staffroom are housed in an old damp house that is separate from the main school. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in January 2001 when it was judged to have serious weaknesses. There have been significant improvements over the past 18 months and the weaknesses identified in the last inspection report are now strengths. The headteacher and nearly all the teaching staff are new to the school. The quality of leadership and management was unsatisfactory and is now good. Standards have improved in speaking and listening, reading, writing and mathematics as well as in music. The quality of teaching and learning in the reception class has improved and is now good. Overall, the quality of teaching has been maintained at satisfactory levels; the teaching of music has improved and is now very good. The use of time in lessons remains an area for development. The quality and quantity of information to parents is now much better than it was. Overall, there has been good improvement since the last inspection.

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STANDARDS

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

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Key

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

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Key

Pupils achieve well in the reception class and by the end of the school year are likely to attain standards that exceed the Early Learning Goals, specified in national guidance, in most of areas of learning. Pupils’ achievement in Years 1 and 2 is patchy; it is at least satisfactory in Year 2, but often unsatisfactory in Year 1. The standards that pupils attain by the end of Year 2 are above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Standards in music across the school are above average as are the standards pupils attain in history by the end of Year 2 and in physical education by the end of Year 6. Standards in all the other subjects are average. In the national tests for pupils in Year 2 in 2002 the school’s performance was above average in reading and well above average in mathematics. The teacher assessments in science for pupils in Year 2 indicated that standards were average. In writing the results

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Key

St Paul’s Primary - 9 were below average, but the school responded quickly to this and standards have now improved significantly.

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Key

Pupils’ achievement in Years 3 to 6 is uneven; in most year groups it is satisfactory and in Year 6 it is very good. The standards that pupils attain by the end of Year 6 are well above average in reading and above average in writing and mathematics. The school’s performance in the tests for pupils in Year 6 showed that standards were above average in English and mathematics and well above average in science. The very good test results that pupils attained in science were exceptional and now standards are broadly average. The trend in the school’s performance in national tests over the past five years has been broadly in line with the improving trend nationally. The school set reasonably challenging targets for the proportion of pupils it expected could attain at least the national target of Level 4 in English and mathematics in the tests. It exceeded its target in English and narrowly missed its target in

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Key

mathematics. Pupils achieve well in swimming and games and are successful in galas and team games against other schools.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils are enthusiastic and keen to learn.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils are polite, sensible and behave well in classrooms and around the school.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Good. Pupils from different social and ethnic backgrounds get on well with each other.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Good. Above the national average.

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Aspect Comment

Pupils work and play happily together. They have a serious attitude to learning and enjoy school.

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

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

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

Teaching is satisfactory, but within this overall picture there are inconsistencies; the quality of teaching varies from excellent to poor. Particular strengths of the teaching are the good relationships that are promoted between teachers and pupils, as this helps pupils to learn effectively in a supportive environment, and teachers’ thorough planning for literacy and numeracy lessons. The skills of literacy and numeracy are taught well. English and mathematics are taught satisfactorily. Music teaching is very good. There are weaknesses in teachers’ knowledge of how to teach all the National Curriculum Programmes of Study effectively. Teachers do not use computers enough to support pupils’ learning. The teaching for pupils with special educational needs and for pupils with English as an additional language is good. Good attention is usually paid to the needs of higher attaining pupils, although in

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

mathematics they are not always provided with tasks that are sufficiently challenging. Pupils learn to read well. Pupils’ learning is uneven because the quality of teaching is inconsistent. Lessons are sometimes overlong and stretch through the whole of the afternoon session. Overall, pupils’ learning is satisfactory and they make sound progress because the headteacher and deputy headteacher teach regularly to make up for shortcomings in teachers’ expertise and subject knowledge. St Paul’s Primary - 10

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory. The curriculum is developing well, but it has been necessary to concentrate efforts on improving literacy and numeracy so other subjects have not, as yet, been fully developed. There is also an imbalance in curricular provision because insufficient time is allocated to some subjects.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. Learning support assistants make a good contribution to the good progress that these pupils make.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good. The co-ordinator has specialist knowledge and ensures that the particular learning needs of these pupils are met. Their achievement matches that of most of the other pupils.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. Provision for moral development is very good and for spiritual, social and cultural development it is good. Pupils have a strong sense of honesty and fair play.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. The school provides a caring and supportive learning environment. Very good records of pupils’ achievement in English, mathematics and science are kept.

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Aspect Comment

A productive partnership with parents has been established and parents hold the school in high esteem. This has a very positive impact on pupils’ learning. Parents are closely associated with the school and receive very good information about how they can support their children’s learning and about how their children are getting on. Relationships between teachers and parents are good. High levels of care are provided with good attention to the particular needs of individuals.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Good. The headteacher, together with his deputy, provide very good leadership. The roles of subject co-ordinators are developing well, but most are new and have not yet had time to make a significant impact on raising standards.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. Governors have begun to take an increasingly active part in monitoring and evaluating the quality of provision.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Very good. The school analyses its performance in great detail and uses its assessments well to identify areas for improvement.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Resources are for the most part used well, but computers are not used enough. Time is not always used well and the amount of time spent teaching the National Curriculum is below the recommended minimum.

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Aspect Comment

Staffing levels and resources are adequate. Accommodation is unsatisfactory. The small library is situated in the computer room where the computers are squeezed into a small space and ventilation is inadequate. The hall is also a corridor so that lessons are interrupted as classes move from one part of St Paul’s Primary - 11 the school to another. The governing body has a good understanding of the principles of best value and applies them well.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school, are well behaved and make good progress. • The school is well led and managed and the teaching is good. • Children are expected to work hard and achieve their best. • The school is helping children to become mature and responsible. • The school works closely with parents. • The range of activities outside lessons. • The amount of homework given to pupils.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with most of the parents’ positive views. Inspection findings show that teaching overall and the progress that pupils make is satisfactory. Inspectors found that the range of activities outside lessons is very good and enhances pupils’ learning opportunities well. There is an appropriate amount of homework set and teachers’ timetables show clearly the subjects where homework will be set during the week. St Paul’s Primary - 12

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS?

‘Standards’, the judgement of how well pupils are doing compared to others of the same age nationally, may be judged from national test results, or against the levels defined in the National Curriculum or the Early Learning Goals as ‘expected’ at certain ages. The other judgement, ‘achievement’, is a judgement made against pupils’ starting points. The achievement judgement shows whether, in the longer term, enough progress is being made.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Pupils achieve well in the reception class and they reach the Early Learning Goals, as specified in national guidance, in all areas of learning by the end of the reception year. They exceed this standard in personal, social and emotional development, in communication language and literacy, in mathematics and in physical development. Pupils’ achievement in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory overall, but it is variable; it is often unsatisfactory in Year 1 and mostly good in Year 2. Pupils’ achievement in Years 3 to 6 is also variable. It is mostly satisfactory in Years 3, 4 and 5 and very good in Year 6. The achievement of pupils with English as an additional language is satisfactory. Pupils’ achievement is directly linked to the quality of teaching they receive. The teaching in the reception class is good. Teaching for pupils in Year 6 is very good and it is often good in Year 2. Teaching for the other year groups is inconsistent. Generally literacy and numeracy are taught

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

better than the other subjects of the curriculum, so pupils’ achievement is better in these areas than in others.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Pupils’ achievement overall in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory. By the end of Years 2 and 6, pupils attain standards in English and mathematics that are above average; in science they are average. Overall, pupils’ achievement is satisfactory in writing, although it is most inconsistent; it is satisfactory in most year groups and good in Years 2 and 6. The achievement of most pupils in reading and mathematics is good and in science it is satisfactory. Standards in speaking and listening and writing are above average. In reading the standards that pupils attain by the end of Year 2 are above average and by the end of Year 6 they are well above. This indicates that standards have improved across the school since the last inspection when speaking and listening, reading and mathematics were average, and writing was below average.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. Inspection findings are largely reflected in the national test results for pupils in Years 2 and 6 in 2002. In the tests for pupils in Year 2 the school’s performance was above the national average in reading. All pupils attained the national target of Level 2 and nearly one third attained the higher Level 3 standard. In writing the school’s performance was below average. Although very nearly all pupils attained Level 2, a lower proportion than nationally attained the higher levels. In mathematics the school’s performance was well above average; all pupils attained Level 2, and a higher proportion than nationally attained Level 3. Teacher assessments in science indicate that standards were above average. There has been a generally improving trend in reading and mathematics since Year 2000, but not in writing where standards have risen and fallen in successive years.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Across the school, pupils attain standards in music that are above average. Pupils attain average standards in the other non-core subjects of the National Curriculum except in history, where standards are above average by the end of Year 2 and in physical education, where standards are above average by the end of Year 6. Pupils with English as an additional language achieve at the same rate as most of the other pupils. Across the school there was no evidence of any significant variations between the achievement of boys and girls.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. The school has well-developed assessment systems for the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. These show that in 2003 the above average standards attained by pupils in Year 2 are likely to improve further in reading and writing, but are unlikely to be as high in mathematics. In Year 6 the school’s performance is likely to improve further in mathematics, be maintained in English and will not be so high in science. There is scope for improvement in the St Paul’s Primary - 13 standards that pupils attain in science. The school recognised that improvement in literacy and numeracy were areas of priority and has concentrated hard on improving standards in these areas of the curriculum. The strategies employed have been successful.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well as a result of careful planning and good teaching linked to effective support from other adults. This is particularly effective in the special literacy classes when pupils receive carefully prepared support. The school uses information from baseline assessments, annual reviews and from English and mathematics to set targets for pupils, which are included in their individual education plans.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Standards in speaking and listening are above average. Pupils are encouraged to express opinions and explain their thinking. The school council provides a good forum for debating school issues. Most pupils talk sensibly about their work and are confident when relating experiences.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Literacy skills are taught well in most classes. Pupils are enthusiastic readers and the high standards that pupils attain in reading represents a strength of the school. They read widely. A boy in Year 5 has read a series of books by Philip Ridley and expresses his appreciation vividly, ’The dialogue is brilliant and it’s very funny but it also has a serious side’. Another likes the poems of Michael Rosen and many of the girls love the works of Jacqueline Wilson, ‘She’s very clever with her dialogue’. Eoin Colfer’s ‘Artemis Fowl’ and Travis Elborough’s series about London are also popular, but the Harry Potter series has become rather passé. Pupils were impressed by the author, Dennis Bond, when he visited the school and greatly appreciate the school book fairs that are organised. These help to develop enthusiasm and promote effective learning.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. The development of writing skills is uneven. Pupils’ achievement in Year 1 is adequate and it is good in Year 2 so that, by the end of Year 2, most pupils are likely to reach standards that are above average. They write good dialogues and have a good understanding of how to punctuate direct speech, for example. They also are developing the ability to write stories that have a clear opening section, which sets the scene, a middle section that extends the chosen theme and an ending that brings their story to a satisfactory conclusion. Handwriting is taught systematically and pupils write legibly. Pupils use their literacy skills well in other subjects. In Year 5, for example, they write accurate accounts of the conditions needed for seeds to germinate. By the end of Year 6 pupils write good accounts of life in the 1930s as part of their work in history. Pupils write for different purposes, such as diaries, autobiographies, descriptive and factual accounts and

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

poetry. They have a good understanding of grammar and understand how devices, such as similes, can enrich their work.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Basic numeracy skills are taught well and pupils are increasingly confident in their approach to solving problems. They explain their thought processes well as they describe how they devise different ways of working out solutions. In Year 2, pupils count accurately in twos, fives and tens and many are able to count in threes and have a good understanding of adding, subtracting and multiplying. By the end of Year 6 many can calculate complex problems involving ratio.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. In science, pupils in Year 2 develop a good understanding of a fair test and understand the need to control all the variables and to repeat experiments several times to obtain accurate results. Pupils in Year 6 develop a good understanding of forces. They consider why some fruits sink and others float. They form hypotheses and devise experiments to test them. Pupils use the Internet confidently and are good at searching for information on different topics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. Music is taught very well by the new music teacher, and pupils are developing a good range of skills. Across the school their achievement is good and standards are above average. By the end of Year 6, pupils attain standards in physical education that are above average. Pupils are good at swimming and triumph in local swimming galas. They are also good at games and win many trophies.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13. Under the very good leadership of the headteacher the school has good capacity to improve standards further. St Paul’s Primary - 14

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Many of the positive features reported at the time of the previous inspection are still judged as good. The school is a harmonious place where children get along well with each other. Relationships are consistently good and pupils play happily in a relaxed and supportive environment free from tension. They have good attitudes and respond well to all that the school provides. They show good respect for other’s feelings, and are developing very good moral values. Behaviour is still mostly good with some examples of very good behaviour among all age groups, but also some instances when in some lessons the usually good standards slip among a minority of boys who misbehave. Personal development overall, is a good and developing feature and is demonstrated, for example, by the growing confidence of all pupils and their very friendly personalities.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language, are very eager to come to school and some say they love it. Younger pupils settle well to the routines and understand what is expected of them and play and chat with their friends very happily. In all classes and during assemblies pupils are taught very sound values and attitudes including what is right and wrong. Staff provide good role models and are kind and caring towards all pupils, and the understanding and sensitivity demonstrated by the headteacher in particular, impacts greatly on the high moral standards that are very evident. Pupils know they must share and co-operate, take their turn and be kind to each other. During playtimes the older pupils volunteer to help look after the younger ones and take this role seriously, but clearly, pupils of all ages enjoy interacting with each other. No one is ever left out, but if pupils do feel lonely they

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

know there is always something that can be done about it. Older pupils get involved in a good range of extra activities with enthusiasm. Boys and girls talk with equal enjoyment about; for example, the basketball club and the choir. Pupils reflect thoughtfully in assemblies on social issues and enjoy contemplative periods as they listen to music or watch performances. Their parents are right to believe that the values and attitudes promoted by the school are consistently good.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Behaviour is good overall, and there have been no recent exclusions. During whole-school assemblies, when eating their sandwiches and on the playground, pupils behave well. There is an absence of bullying and rough play, but if pupils do step out of line they are dealt with firmly and fairly by midday supervisors, and in some cases, the headteacher or deputy headteacher. Pupils have been involved in establishing new school rules of which there are just three. Older ones understand the importance of keeping safe, being kind and considering the necessity of their actions. Pupils and whole classes are rewarded for their individual efforts with certificates. Midday supervisors and the site manager are also fully involved in rewarding good behaviour and tidiness. Overall standards of behaviour are good, although there is potential to raise them even higher by promoting greater independence.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Personal development is good. Pupils willingly take responsibility and show initiative. There have been further improvements in the way pupils’ independence is developed. They are expected and encouraged to think for themselves. Pupils tidy up their classrooms at the end of the day with speed and efficiency. The ‘buddy’ system is working well and pupils benefit from the structures in place, which encourage confidence and self-esteem. The school council includes two representatives from each class except reception, and this meets with the headteacher and deputy headteacher each half term and is effective in enabling pupils’ views and feelings to be heard. They debate school issues seriously and offer sensible suggestions for improvements. The council has been successful in making changes and improvements and it is effective in promoting personal development. New developments are being taken on board more formally though; for

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

example, the provision for personal, social and health education, some of which is designed to further extend pupils’ understanding of citizenship. Residential visits for older pupils, which are another opportunity, are talked about with great excitement and another indicator that the school has looked hard and with success at ways to promote personal development.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. Attendance levels at the school are consistently better than those found in most schools nationally. Rates for last year were high at just over 95 per cent and since September this school St Paul’s Primary - 15 year they are at least as good. Very few unauthorised absences are recorded because parents are supportive of the school and nearly always let staff know why their children are away, and this is usually because they are ill. If parents do not inform the school why their children are absent, the office staff immediately phone families at home. There are no issues with punctuality and pupils arrive on time ready to start the day.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Within this overall picture there are wide variations. The quality of teaching ranges from excellent to poor. Across the school 91 per cent of the lessons seen were at least satisfactory, well over one half of the lessons were at least good, over one eighth were very good and occasionally lessons were excellent. Nearly ten per cent of lessons were unsatisfactory and of these one lesson was poor. This pattern of teaching is very similar to that reported at the time of the last inspection, when exactly the same number of lessons were seen, although there is now a somewhat greater proportion of unsatisfactory teaching and during the last inspection no teaching was poor.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. The inconsistencies in the quality of teaching have a direct impact on pupils’ achievement, the quality of their learning and the standards they attain. In Year 6, for example, the very good teaching enables pupils to achieve well and make up gaps that have occurred in their previous learning. Their achievement in this year group is very good and the accelerated pace of their learning helps most of them to attain standards that are above average in English and mathematics. This very good teaching is largely because the school is concentrating its efforts on supporting the pupils in Year 6 so that they do as well as can be expected before they leave the school. The headteacher, deputy headteacher and a part-time teacher often join forces to take groups of pupils who are at varying stages of development in order to boost their performance. Teachers do not always expect enough of pupils and in several year groups teachers are satisfied

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

with work that is mediocre. The quality of teaching is inconsistent between year groups and within classes. Lessons are taught more successfully where teachers have a good understanding of the subjects they are teaching. Hence successful, confident teaching was seen in several lessons in a class, but these were often followed by less effective lessons.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. The teaching of five of the six areas of learning in the reception class is good; the exception is the teaching of creative development, which is satisfactory. In Years 1 to 6, the teaching of English, mathematics and science is satisfactory overall, but it varies from year to year. In most year groups it is satisfactory and for pupils in Year 6 it is very good. The teaching of music is very good; in Years 1 and 2 it is good in history and in Years 3 to 6 it is good in physical education. The new part-time music teacher has well-developed skills and teaches them very well. Swimming is taught well in the pool that shares the school’s site. The caretaker makes a strong contribution to teaching games and runs the school’s football teams. Teaching in all the other subjects is satisfactory except in art and design and in information and communication technology where too few lessons were seen to make judgements about teaching.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies have been implemented successfully and teaching is often good in literacy and numeracy lessons. Basic skills are taught well. There are gaps in teachers’ knowledge of the subjects they teach. Despite receiving in-service training, several teachers lack confidence in using computers and, consequently, do not use them enough to support teaching and learning. Also several teachers are not confident about teaching design and technology.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. The teaching of reading is good. One half hour session at the beginning of each day is set aside to develop reading skills. During this session groups of pupils engage in a variety of activities designed to improve their skills. A great enthusiasm for reading is generated and pupils have a wide knowledge of children’s literature. They talk with excitement about the books they have read and express sensible opinions about their preferences. One pupil is fascinated by the work of Lemony Snicket and cites the author’s use of ‘reverse psychology’ as one of the intriguing elements of the author’s work. He uses the Internet to access the Lemony Snicket web site and St Paul’s Primary - 16 has become an ardent fan. This enthusiasm is infectious and helps to generate a love of books and reading.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The teaching of pupils with English as an additional language is of the same quality as for the other pupils. The teacher who co-ordinates provision for these pupils has specialist knowledge and ensures that their particular learning needs are met. Teachers are aware of their needs and often question them more closely than others just to make sure that their understanding has been complete.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. The teaching for pupils with special educational needs is good. There is extremely effective liaison between teachers and learning support assistants; this was seen, for example, when all adults present helped Year 2 pupils to understand why speech bubbles can be used to write what characters say and think.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. One particular strength of the teaching across the school is the thorough, detailed lesson plans that are produced. These usually have clearly defined learning objectives that are shared with pupils at the beginning of each lesson. As a result, all involved appreciate what new skills, knowledge and understanding will be developed during the course of each lesson. This enables the teachers to assess learning and the effectiveness of their lessons. Towards the end of lessons teachers usually conduct a short review session to determine the extent to which the learning objectives have been met.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. In most classes the relationships between teachers and their pupils are good. In Year 1 there is a tendency to talk down to pupils rather than using ordinary everyday language. In Year 6 relationships are excellent. Time in lessons is usually used well, but there are exceptions. In Year 1 pupils often spend too long sitting on the carpet and in several other classes the teachers tend to talk for too long rather than allowing pupils to get on with activities. Some lessons are overlong and stretch across the whole afternoon. This leads to a lack of variety in pupils’ learning, and the pace of these lessons is often too slow. Homework is used well to consolidate and extend learning.

p.16

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

28. There has been good improvement since the last inspection. The curriculum for children in the reception class is now good and the teaching of information and communication technology conforms to National Curriculum requirements. Additionally, there are many very good policies for teaching reading, writing and spelling. As a result, a common approach to teaching literacy and numeracy has been developed. The inconsistencies, described in the last report, between classes in how reading and spelling are taught, have largely been resolved. The school has adopted national guidance on teaching each subject and these provide teachers with a good framework for curricular planning.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

29. The quality and range of learning opportunities for pupils across the school are broadly satisfactory. The provision for personal, social and health education is satisfactory and includes appropriate sex and drugs education. Religious education is covered fully and appropriate use is made of the locally agreed syllabus. Arrangements for collective worship meet statutory requirements. The balance of the curriculum, however, is unsatisfactory. In Years 3 to 6 the amount of time allocated to teaching the National Curriculum is below that recommended for full coverage of all the statutory Programmes of Study. The school has properly concentrated on raising standards in literacy and numeracy, but the effect of an overall shortage of time has been to compromise arrangements for the effective teaching of subjects such as art and design, design and technology and geography. This lack of time contributes to deficiencies in pupils’ achievement

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

and the standards they attain, which are not as high as they could be in these subjects.

p.16

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

30. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies are used well and are making a strong contribution to the improving standards in English and mathematics. Teaching staff and classroom support assistants work in teams to teach literacy and numeracy skills. Thus, for example, all the pupils in the Year 2 class learnt effectively as a result of good team-teaching where activities for groups of St Paul’s Primary - 17 pupils, who are at varying stages of development, was well matched to their levels of understanding. The overall quality of long, medium and short-term curricular planning in English, mathematics and science is good; it is satisfactory in other subjects. Teachers follow planning frameworks carefully and incorporate the principles of both national strategies, and allied support programmes, into their lessons. Routine lesson planning takes full account of pupils’ individual learning needs. The headteacher and the deputy headteacher monitor and evaluate curricular plans

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

rigorously. They offer good advice and strive to develop a curriculum that builds pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding progressively. However, several teachers have limited prior experience in teaching according to the national strategies and lack confidence in teaching aspects of the National Curriculum. Nevertheless the strong contribution made by the headteacher and deputy headteacher is having a positive impact on curricular developments.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

31. The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Provision for pupils’ spiritual development is good. The school promotes reflection, religious beliefs, moral values and tolerance for others. Pupils are given good opportunities in daily acts of worship and religious education lessons to develop their spiritual awareness. Provision for pupils’ moral development is very good. Teachers are good role models for the pupils. They praise good practice and reward pupils for their efforts. Pupils have a clear appreciation of the difference between right and wrong and have a good understanding of the reasons for the school rules. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on ethical issues, such as care for the environment. There is a caring and welcoming ethos throughout the school.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

32. Provision for pupils’ social development is good. The good relationships that are promoted throughout the school encourage pupils to live and work harmoniously together. In classrooms and around the school, pupils carry out a range of tasks that encourage them to take responsibility and help each other. The school council provides good opportunities for pupils to take part in decision making and to gain an appreciation of citizenship. The very good provision of extra- curricular activities provides further opportunities for pupils to take part in sporting and social activities. Pupils also take part in a range of fund-raising activities that heighten their sense of social responsibility.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

33. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is good. Pupils are provided with a wide range of opportunities to their own cultural traditions through stories, poetry, art and music. Pupils celebrate their own culture through studies in history, geography and religious education. In addition, appropriate opportunities are provided for pupils to develop an understanding of other cultures. They discuss features of the many cultures represented in our society and gain a satisfactory appreciation of our multicultural society. Much of this is supplemented through studies of world religions in religious education and stories from other cultures in literacy lessons.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

34. Pupils are made fully aware of the misuse of drugs through good teaching. There is very good provision for extra-curricular activities, including a range of opportunities to take part in both competitive sports, such as football and basketball, and activities such as chess. These promote personal development well. There is also a good special educational needs club that meets after school each week. This makes a strong contribution to pupils’ learning.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

35. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language, have equal access to all aspects of the curriculum. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is good and the school complies fully with national guidance, as described in the revised Code of Practice for these pupils. Individual education plans are prepared carefully for pupils with special educational needs and incorporate targets for literacy, numeracy and social communication. There are good arrangements for using these plans that help to ensure that each individual’s needs are met. The provision in Statements of Special Educational Needs is implemented well.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

36. Satisfactory links with the community enrich pupils’ learning and help them to appreciate that they are part of a wider society. Local business people visit the school to help with bulb planting, and senior citizens speak about their memories of the Second World War. Pupils are involved in activities such as collecting and giving out gifts at harvest time and singing in the church at St Paul’s Primary - 18 Christmas. They visit local places of interest such as farms and the fire station and Year 5 go farther afield and stay on the Isle of Wight to develop their skills in areas such as history and geography. Through assemblies and during class discussions pupils are encouraged to think about others in the community and their understanding of our multicultural society is developing well. Pupils’ knowledge of different faiths is fostered effectively during religious education lessons and this promotes a deeper understanding of the different groups that comprise our society.

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HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

37. The school has developed satisfactory links with a range of partner institutions, such as the local high schools, which pupils visit before transfer at the end of Year 6. During these visits they participate in specially prepared activities, such as poetry writing, design and technology and science activities. A teacher of physical education from a local high school visits to teach pupils in Year 6. A good dance routine was devised with her help.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

38. The school implements a range of policies and practices to ensure that pupils are very well cared for. Adults show consistently good levels of support and care for all pupils and treat them all equally. Arrangements for care and welfare, including for child protection, are very good overall, and there are some good systems in place also to monitor and promote good behaviour and attendance. Arrangements to monitor and support pupils’ personal development are effective and there have been rapid, clear and good improvements in the way the school checks pupil’s academic progress and attainment. Very good assessment procedures have been implemented to plot pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing, mathematics and science. These represent a significant improvement since the last inspection.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. Procedures to ensure pupils’ welfare are very good. There is very good attention to health and safety and the headteacher and the site manager, as well as governors, are involved in ensuring that the policy is monitored and implemented properly. There are inevitable difficulties with some areas of the school; for example, where ceilings are low or space is at a premium, but staff and parents work hard to make the environment as pleasant and attractive as possible. Junior toilets have been fully refurbished and are clean and suitable. Improvements to and alterations in the organisation of the playground have been made since the previous inspection. For example, a shared area for the younger pupils who want to play with the older ones is now available and pupils appreciate the variety and choice of activities that are provided. Pupils are well supervised during lunchtimes by an experienced team of midday supervisors who enjoy their role. Procedures for first

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

aid are understood and followed. The two, named first-aiders are sensitive to pupils who feel ill and they store and administer medicines appropriately. It is not ideal that they are sited in the building adjacent to the main school. Whole-school training for first aid, including the safe administering of ‘epiphen’, has been identified as an area for development.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. The school follows locally agreed procedures for child protection and the headteacher reports that he is well supported by outside agencies when necessary. Arrangements for child protection are very good. Whole-staff training has been undertaken, but not in the very recent past. The headteacher and deputy headteacher oversee the needs of pupils in public care and regular review meetings are held with supporting professionals. They share a personal education programme and records are good. The education welfare support service as well as an educational psychologist, therapists from the health service and the school nurse, work together effectively for the benefit of many pupils. Liaison with outside agencies is secure.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. The school has reviewed many policies to do with care and welfare in the past two years and they are now of good quality. Some; for example, to ensure the safe use of the Internet, are being reviewed and are due to go before governors soon. The headteacher is very committed to providing equality and opportunities for every pupil and there is no distinction made in the treatment of different groups of pupils; for example, boys and girls. Those who have learning or behavioural difficulties are very well supported and included. Racial harmony pervades the school.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. Procedures to record and monitor attendance are good. There are very effective systems in place to ensure that staff know why a child is absent. Office staff understand their role fully, and are very St Paul’s Primary - 19 vigilant in recording attendance accurately according to statutory regulations. Families take few holidays during school time and this is in part because of active encouragement from the school with, for example, holiday agents locally who have agreed to give discounts to families at the school who take holidays during the summer break. Late arrivals are carefully logged, but records show that punctuality is not an issue.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. The school has effective arrangements to promote good behaviour. The headteacher and deputy headteacher are both active in monitoring and supporting pupils who find it hard to conform. They deal very patiently with pupils who misbehave and take time to listen and always encourage pupils to think about the consequences of their actions. Plenty of rewards are given to pupils, which are well deserved and valued by them. Praise is used well by most teachers, but there is scope for teachers to be more consistent in the management of and expectations for behaviour during lessons. Procedures for eliminating oppressive behaviour are good and pupils themselves say that things run smoothly with only very rare upsets on the playground. More formal procedures for monitoring and assessing personal development are developing and are currently satisfactory. Some pupils have individual targets that address needs such as concentration and independence

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

and these are helpful in improving learning skills. The deputy headteacher is part of a working group within the authority who has developed systems to track more formally and assess personal progress. These are going to be introduced in the school very soon.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. Overall, the school has good procedures for monitoring pupils’ academic performance and personal development. This is now contributing to pupils’ satisfactory achievement. The deputy headteacher is providing very good leadership in developing enhanced monitoring systems for all pupils. The well-organised systems use a good computer program that helps to analyse data from the national statutory tests at the end of Years 2 and 6 as well as non-statutory tests at the end of Years 3, 4 and 5. The careful analysis of trends and progress, coupled with teachers’ good knowledge of pupils’ individual patterns of learning, leads to the production of precise and appropriate targets. These are shared and discussed with the pupils. Regular liaison between teachers, the headteacher and the assessment co-ordinator promotes good educational and personal support and guidance for pupils. An appropriate assessment policy is in place, but has yet to be

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

implemented fully in the non-core subjects of the curriculum. The headteacher and his deputy oversee whole-school practice and plans are in hand to involve subject co-ordinators more in monitoring standards through scrutiny of planning and the work that pupils produce.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. Procedures for assessing pupils’ academic attainment and progress are very good. Improvement since the last inspection, although very recent, has been good. They are better in English, mathematics and science than in other subjects where they are satisfactory. In English and mathematics, the assessments provide clear information for staff and pupils. Self-assessment for older pupils and their awareness of National Curriculum Levels is at an advanced stage of development. One pupil, for example, remarked that he thought that his work indicated that he could expect a Level 5 in the summer. Assessment of children’s attainment soon after they enter the school helps to guide the teachers’ planning. The teachers’ own assessments of the pupils’ attainments at the end of Years 2 and 6 are accurate and very similar to the test results.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. The use of assessment information to guide curricular planning is good. In particular, reading standards are assessed and recorded regularly and there are careful and accurate records kept by teachers to guide planning for the next steps in pupils’ learning. Much of the assessment is based on the National Curriculum Levels of Attainment and each pupil has a computerised record, which is updated every half term. It is upon these assessments that teachers plan programmes of work in literacy and numeracy. They also adjust planning frameworks to introduce a range of tasks that match pupils’ varying stages of development. This good match of learning material to pupils’ specific learning needs plays a major part in enhancing achievement. Additionally, the school uses data analyses to identify whether particular groups of pupils underachieve or do particularly well. This data is used well to help teachers to reflect on their practice.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. Pupils with special educational needs receive good support and guidance. There is good liaison with outside agencies and the local education authority gives good support and training to those responsible for pupils with special educational needs. Teachers know their pupils very well and St Paul’s Primary - 20 support them effectively. The school complies fully with the nationally recommended Code of Practice for these pupils. Statements of Special Educational Needs are up to date and there are very good arrangements for ensuring that annual reviews are effective. Key staff fully understand the learning requirements described in the statements. The school has very good arrangements both for assessing progress and for setting pupils’ targets.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. Partnerships and communication with parents and carers have improved significantly since the previous inspection and in a relatively short space of time the new headteacher has been very successful in engaging the support, confidence and trust of parents. They have always been loyal to the school, but now there is very good active support for its work from many families within the community. The weaknesses identified in the previous inspection, particularly with regard to the information parents receive, have been tackled successfully. Parents and carers now have very positive opinions about the school. They like the new style of leadership, which they say is open and purposeful. Overall, there are now many good features in this partnership, which is developing strongly.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

49. Parents and carers hold the school in high esteem. A good number attended a meeting held before the inspection and nearly one half responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire. Many also offered their views informally during the inspection. The meeting with parents was very positive, despite some concern about homework. Parents and carers at this meeting spoke openly about the many improvements and changes they had noted during the last four terms. The questionnaire recorded much more positive responses in every single area than two years ago. All who responded believe the school is well led, that it is helping their children to become mature and responsible and that they would have no hesitation in approaching teachers or the headteacher if they needed to. They say that any problems shared with the headteacher are always sorted out successfully. They think it is a friendly school. They believe everyone is treated equally. Parents

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

and carers say their children are very happy and settled in school and that adults expect all pupils to try hard and work sensibly to achieve their best. Parents know that their help, however small, is valued and parents appreciate, in turn, the hard work and commitment of the headteacher who they believe is determined to give all the children the best possible standard of education.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

50. Parental involvement is encouraged and actively sought. There is always a welcome in school for those able and willing to get involved. Through actively seeking parents’ views on many aspects of the school when he took over, the headteacher has started many initiatives, which involve parents. For example, every class now has two parent representatives who meet half-termly with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher to share ideas and discuss issues. Workshops are now held for new parents of reception age pupils, which support reading. A ‘Helping Hands’ group is regularly involved in maintaining buildings and premises. The parent/staff association is very supportive and raises significant funds, which are used well within school and to fund; for example, playground equipment. Many parents and friends volunteer to help within classes on a weekly basis or with swimming and sporting activities or on visits out of school. This support is well

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

organised and well managed and parents say they know exactly what they are expected to do. Parents at home support pupils’ development in reading well and also more specific homework tasks and activities. Homework is given regularly and makes a good contribution to pupils’ learning especially in language and maths. Overall, support from parents is good and has a strong impact on the achievements, both of individuals and of the school as a whole. There are also very good links with parents who play a major part in helping with activities both at home, such as homework and reading, and at school, such as football and swimming.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

51. Parents are kept very well informed both informally and formally. Staff are accessible every day for parents who need to see them, and the headteacher and his deputy are very familiar faces on the playground and easily accessible at the beginning and end of every day. There have been great improvements in less than two years in both the quantity and quality of information parents receive. The school prospectus and the governors’ annual report are both very well presented and informative, and contain all statutory requirements, and more. Parents receive very detailed half- termly information sheets on what is being studied in each area of the curriculum in every class. St Paul’s Primary - 21 The headteacher also sends every family fortnightly newsletters, which are attractive, readable and celebrate the many achievements of pupils. They also give advance notice of events as well as news reports of; for example, sporting fixtures. This sharing of information is very good.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

52. For those families who have children in the school who have special educational needs there is excellent involvement. Parents and carers of all pupils who have individual education plans have very regular review meetings with class teachers and teaching assistants. Parents of pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs always attend annual review meetings held at times convenient for them. Parents testify to the positive impact this information sharing is having on their child’s well-being and, therefore, on their learning. The school ensures that communication is good with all families who do not speak English as a first language and has in the past successfully sought students from within the community to help with translations.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

53. The information provided by the school has many strengths and is very good overall. At the time of the previous inspection parents had only one opportunity to formally attend parents’ evenings – now they have at least two. The annual progress reports to parents are being developed and, although a new format has been introduced with a good initial section on attitudes to learning followed by detail on each subject area, there is scope for class teachers to make these more personal and relevant. Reports, or records of achievement, are accompanied by a detailed profile of pupils’ progress and attainments. In addition, parents receive plenty of information on achievements as well as targets that are shared by pupils and their families. Through the recently reviewed home-school agreement, which all parents sign, it is made clear what involvement the school is seeking and how it will keep parents informed. Overall, the partnership with parents,

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

which is continually improving, is good.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. The headteacher’s leadership of the school is very good. Since his appointment 18 months ago the school has improved in many ways. At the time of the last inspection the leadership and management of the school were unsatisfactory and this was one of the prime causes for the school being identified as having serious weaknesses. The leadership and management of the school are now good. The deputy headteacher continues to make a strong contribution to the school’s leadership. The five areas for development that were identified at the time of the last inspection have been tackled successfully and the school now has no serious weaknesses.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The first area for improvement identified at the time of the last inspection in January 2001 was pupils’ achievement in English and the standards they attained. Under the leadership of the headteacher a concerted effort was made, and current inspection findings show that attainment has improved significantly. There is scope for further improvement, especially in the quality and consistency of teaching in English, and the school has adopted a thoroughly good action plan designed to develop the subject.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. Another area for improvement was the use of assessment to help pupils to make progress. Exceptionally good assessment procedures for the core subjects of the National Curriculum have been implemented, which are used well to identify the next steps in learning. Computerised management information systems are used well. In the reception class, planning, assessment and the use of the outdoor area have improved and are now good. The management and co-ordination of the curriculum have improved, although there is further scope for developing the roles of the subject co-ordinators. There are now subject co-ordinators for each subject, but several have limited understanding of National Curriculum requirements in their areas of responsibility. Plans for the future are now good. The amount and quality of information for parents have improved significantly.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. Two of the minor issues raised at the time of the last inspection have still not been fully resolved. Computers are still not used enough to support teaching and learning. Pupils still spend too much time listening to teachers rather than being actively involved in activities. In Year 1 they still spend too much time sitting on the carpet. St Paul’s Primary - 22 58. The school experienced major staffing changes in September 2001. The new headteacher took up his appointment along with six new teachers. There was an urgent requirement in the previous term to appoint the relatively large number of teachers required for the start of school in September. In the rush to appoint new teachers to start the new school year, appointments were made by the previous headteacher without reference to the governing body. Also it is not easy to recruit teachers in this area. As a result, the team of teachers appointed were not all fully qualified

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

or suitably experienced and did not meet the school’s specific needs. The new headteacher quickly realised that there was a need for intensive in-service training so that teachers could teach effectively. His monitoring of the quality of teaching across the school revealed many shortcomings. He and his deputy embarked on a programme of support and have been successful in developing the quality of teaching so that it is now satisfactory.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. The management of provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. The deputy headteacher takes a leading role as co-ordinator for this provision as well as for developing better learning opportunities for the higher attaining pupils. She is new to this role and is both committed and capable and is playing an important part in sustaining the good standards noted in the earlier inspection report. There are good numbers of classroom assistants who play a strong part in supporting pupils with special educational needs. Resources to support these pupils are adequate, but accommodation is limited and insufficient use is made of computers in the teaching of literacy and numeracy.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. The deputy headteacher plays a pivotal role in supporting pupils’ teaching and learning. In recognition of the need to develop the quality of teaching across the school, it was decided to release her from teaching a class. She works in liaison with the headteacher to monitor, evaluate and improve the quality of teaching and learning. This is conducted systematically and is having a significant impact on improving standards. Classroom observations are conducted regularly, mainly in literacy and numeracy lessons, and teachers receive written advice on how to improve their practice. Performance management systems are in place and all staff are appraised annually and targets are set for their continuing professional development. This is having a very positive impact on raising teachers’ awareness of what is expected in order to improve the quality of teaching.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. The school has produced an excellent school improvement plan. This is underpinned by very good action plans for the development of each subject of the National Curriculum as well as for improvements in provision for the higher attaining pupils, children in the Foundation Stage, pupils’ personal, social and health education and pupils with special educational needs. Plans are also in place to improve the library. The improvement plan includes a review of last year’s progress towards meeting the school’s objectives and very good evaluations of the school’s last post inspection action plan. There is also a very good three-year strategic plan for improvement. The plan is detailed and has been carefully devised. It is clear and provides an excellent focus for developments. Governors have each adopted particular responsibility for monitoring each of the main areas for development. The school has adopted a good policy to promote racial inclusion and

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. One overarching improvement in the school’s leadership and management has been the involvement of governors and communications between the school and the governing body. Governors are now fully informed about all school issues and have a good understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. Good plans have been developed to improve the governing body’s role in monitoring and evaluating the quality of provision. The governing body is now in a good position to become increasingly effective. The Chair of Governors liaises closely with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Governors have a good understanding of the principles of good value. They compare the school’s performance with the performance of similar schools. They ensure that they get value for money when purchasing equipment, such as the ten new computers that were recently purchased. The school surveys parents’ opinions on school issues. The headteacher is,

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

for example, currently preparing to invite parents’ views on how the school day might be lengthened to provide more teaching time. St Paul’s Primary - 23 63. Levels of staffing and resources are adequate to support teaching and learning. Time is generally used well, but there are exceptions. In some lessons time is wasted. Where lessons stretched across the whole of the afternoon session there were occasions when tasks were insufficiently demanding and did not occupy pupils productively for the entire session. Accommodation is unsatisfactory. Several classrooms are too small to allow practical activities to be conducted safely. Dust accumulates and drifts down from the dark slatted ceilings. There is no proper library, the computer suite is situated in the library and space is cramped. The hall is used as a corridor and lessons are interrupted as people move from one part of the school to another. There are no

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

facilities to serve school meals. The administration block and staffroom are situated in an old damp building that is separate from the main school. There is no reception area for parents or visitors. The condition of paintwork is poor. The outside area is being developed well as a learning resource, but the field is too small to accommodate a football pitch. The school has submitted a bid to improve the accommodation by rebuilding part of the school.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

64. Finances are managed well. The budget is used carefully and very little money is left over at the end of the year. All allocations of money are spent according to the intended purposes. The school bursar, secretary and clerical assistant ensure that all routine office procedures run smoothly and efficiently. In view of the improving standards and the systematic manner in which further improvements have been planned, the school provides satisfactory value for money. St Paul’s Primary - 24

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In order to improve standards further the headteacher, staff and governing body should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

1. improve the standards that pupils attain in science, art and design, design and technology, geography and in information and communication technology by: • fully implementing the subject co-ordinators’ action plans; • developing teachers’ understanding of how computers can be used to support teaching and learning; • ensuring that computers are used to the full by identifying where they can be used effectively to support the achievement of learning objectives in lessons; • identifying appropriate programs to support cross-curricular teaching and learning, and specify these in lesson plans.* (paragraphs 5, 22, 57, 59, 79, 85, 86, 91, 95, 103, 113)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

2. improve the quality and consistency of teaching by: • maintaining the rigorous monitoring of teaching and extend it to cover the non-core subjects of the National Curriculum; • providing yet more in-service training to improve teachers’ knowledge of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study; • reviewing the school’s teaching and learning policy so that teachers develop a common understanding of what constitutes high quality teaching. (paragraphs 19, 22, 55, 77, 83, 85, 90, 100)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

3. raise teachers’ expectations of the standards and quality of work that higher attaining pupils are capable of attaining in mathematics, and planning work that matches their needs more closely; (paragraphs 20, 80, 81)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

4. review timetables and, in Years 3 to 6, the length of the school day in order to maximise the time available for teaching and learning.* (paragraphs 27, 29, 63, 99)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

5. use all possible means to improve accommodation and the school’s learning environment.* (paragraph 63)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Other less significant areas for improvement:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• too many worksheets are used in Years 1 and 2 and this restricts pupils’ active involvement in their learning. (paragraph 77)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* These areas for improvement have already been identified by the school and feature in its development planning. St Paul’s Primary - 25

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 27

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

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Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 225

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Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 3

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Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 2

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Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 25

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English as an additional language No of pupils

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Number of pupils with English as an additional language 13

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Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 10

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Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 7

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National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

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Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Paul’s Primary - 26 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) Year Boys Girls Total

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 18 12 30

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Boys 18 18 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 12 11 12

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Percentage of pupils School 100 (91) 97 (94) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Boys 16 18 17 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 11 12 11

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Percentage of pupils School 90 (94) 100 (97) 93 (94) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

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

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

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Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 18 15 33

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Boys 16 16 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 11 15

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Percentage of pupils School 91 (84) 82(90) 94 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Boys 16 14 17 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 12 11 14

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Percentage of pupils School 88 (83) 78 (87) 94 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

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Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St Paul’s Primary - 27 Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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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White – any other White background 7 0 0

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Mixed – any other mixed background 2 0 0

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Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 0 0 0

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Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

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Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 1 0 0

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Black or Black British – Caribbean 1 0 0

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

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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

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Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 10.5 Financial year 2001-2002

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Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21.4

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Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 547,990

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Total number of education support staff 6 Total expenditure 543,797

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Total aggregate hours worked per week 135 Expenditure per pupil 2,385

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Balance brought forward from previous year 5,127

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Balance carried forward to next year 4,193

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FTE means full-time equivalent. St Paul’s Primary - 28 Recruitment of teachers

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Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 11.6

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Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 7.4

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Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

FTE means full-time equivalent. St Paul’s Primary - 29

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 44 50 1 2 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 45 52 2 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 37 42 18 2 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 39 48 12 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 72 28 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 51 45 1 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 51 43 4 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 64 35 0 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 46 53 0 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 31 30 18 6 15

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Other issues raised by parents

Parents hold the school in high esteem and there were no other issues raised. St Paul’s Primary - 30

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

A revised curriculum that follows national guidance has been introduced for children in nursery and reception classes. National guidance recommends six areas of learning and these are: • personal, social and emotional development; • communication, language and literacy; • mathematical development; • knowledge and understanding of the world; • physical development; • creative development. The curriculum details ‘stepping stones’ in each area of learning that lead to ‘Early Learning Goals’ for each area.

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

65. On entry to the school, children show average levels of attainment across the six areas of learning, although a higher proportion of the summer born children in the reception class at the time of the inspection, entered with below average attainment. Since the last inspection, there has been good improvement in the school’s provision for this age group. Overall, the quality of provision for children is now good. It provides children with a good start to their education, and they make good progress towards the Early Learning Goals. The recently appointed Foundation Stage co-ordinator has led substantial improvements in planning, teaching, assessment and resources. Planning is based on the nationally recommended guidance and shows strengths in the planning of personal and social development, communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. However, planning does not always indicate precisely which ‘stepping stones’ are being addressed

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AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

by the provision of particular activities. Plans are not based closely enough on the nationally recommended staged steps for learning in each area, and, therefore, does not match the widely varying range of learning needs of the children as well as it could. The quality of teaching and learning are now good overall. No unsatisfactory teaching was seen, and the majority of lessons observed were good or very good. All children, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language, achieve well. The assessment system is a very simple and effective one. There are grids with boxes that list the objectives for the sequences of lessons planned for each week, such as ‘order sets of items 1 to 20’. Ticks then record whether the child has achieved the objective and short, but effective, notes such as ‘needed help with the last two’ show what degree of support each child has had.

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Personal, social and emotional development

66. Most children enter the school with levels of development in this area that are in line with those expected for their age. However, a significant number of children start with below average levels, partly because they have had no nursery experience. Teaching is good and, as a result, nearly all the children achieve well and are on course to attain standards, by the start of Year 1, that are above those expected. They readily play together and engage each other in lively conversation. Most are very confident, and some organise others. This was seen when one girl organised others to read ‘The Three Little Pigs’ to them, confidently taking the role of a teacher and saying, ‘Who would like to tell me next? Put your hand up if you know the letter’. They take responsibilities seriously, readily helping to put books and equipment away. They show consideration and support for each other when they collaborate in changing for physical education. They show sensitivity and

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Personal, social and emotional development

awareness when they help a shy puppet, operated by their teacher, to practise some mathematics skills, and they recognise that it is wrong to laugh at someone who finds learning difficult. They discuss the simple classroom rules and negotiate sensibly where a conflict occurs, as when two children both want to play with the same equipment. The teacher’s emphasis on planned opportunities for children to choose some of their activities from a range of choices helps to build up a positive sense of their responsibility. This is seen when the children show excitement at the range of choices open to them, such as playing football or working on the classroom computer. St Paul’s Primary - 31 They also have targets that the teacher regularly discusses with them, asking such questions as, ‘Do you think you’ve met that target? Are you all really confident about that?’.

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Communication, language and literacy

67. Children start school with levels of development that are broadly in line with national expectations for their age group. They achieve well so that they are likely to exceed the Early Learning Goals by the end of the school year. The quality of teaching is good, and the carefully planned activities promote children’s achievement in language and literacy well. They develop their speaking and listening skills when they enact make-believe roles in the dressing up corner or the pretend clinic. They have a good knowledge of traditional stories and enjoy sharing books in a group with their teacher. They exclaim with delight when they read a book that has a catchphrase, ‘absolutely not!’, which runs through the story. The teacher helps children to recognise speech marks in books and they identify questions by the question marks at the end of sentences. They explain that a question ‘tries to find something out’. Almost all the children know most letter sounds and

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Communication, language and literacy

they all know simple written words like ‘do’ by sight. They write sequences of letters, which show that they are beginning to recognise some typical word patterns. The higher attaining children write words, which demonstrate that they know common patterns of letters and sounds, and they ask each other how to spell words. The provision for children with special educational needs in this area of learning is good. The well-briefed support staff make a strong contribution to the learning of these children so that they make good progress in relation to their learning targets. Children who are at the early stages of learning English as another language also achieve well because of the good support they get.

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Mathematical development

68. When they start school, most children have developed average levels of attainment. They achieve well and begin Year 1 with levels that are above average. The quality of teaching is good, with some very good features. The teacher makes very good use of a toy snail puppet, which plays the role of a shy and unconfident learner so that the children can help him learn to count. They are fascinated and delighted by this experience. They confidently count up to ten in chorus. As the snail makes mistakes, it encourages the children to listen very carefully and they promptly correct the snail and try to teach it the right counting sequence. Whilst most children do not count accurately beyond ten, a number of the higher attaining children count correctly up to 20, and these pupils are very quick to spot the snail’s errors. The children also regularly play games and share learning sessions where they learn the names of shapes and compare sets of objects of

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Mathematical development

different shapes and sizes. They learn simple time measurements, such as the hours on the clock and the days of the week.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

69. Children are on course to exceed the Early Learning Goals in their knowledge and understanding of the world. Teaching is good and children achieve well. They observe plants in the outdoor area and discuss living creatures. However, they do not have enough opportunities to study the constantly changing environment of their own outdoor area; for example, by regularly studying the effects of wind direction and other weather changes when they are outdoors. They also do not have enough opportunities to study and help to care for living creatures in their own classroom, such as fish, stick insects or hamsters. They visit the local fire station and have visits from a local doctor, nurse and dentist who tell them about their work. They develop a sense of place when they discuss with their teacher a poster-sized map she has made of the school and its outdoor area, and decide where they would place pictures of the adults in the school on the map. They enjoy

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

talking about their work. They discuss in which part of the school different activities take place. By asking about where on the map the pupils think football would be played, the teacher skilfully enables those boys who are less articulate to join in and answer confidently. The children use computers to complete simple literacy and mathematical puzzles, and most know how to use the mouse to select icons or choose options. They also regularly use simple tape playback machines. However, they do not have enough opportunities to explore more challenging activities linked to computers, such as experimenting with ‘talking’ word banks, or using the Internet as a window to St Paul’s Primary - 32 show images of exciting vantage points around London. Little use is made of graphics programs to make adventurous images or of using the school’s digital microscope and digital cameras as tools for investigating and recording.

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Creative development

70. Children start school with average levels of development in this area. Their achievement is satisfactory and most are likely to attain the Early Learning Goals by the end of the school year. Teaching is satisfactory. Children explore a range of materials, including textiles, paints, crayons, chalks, paint and glue. They draw and paint people who are important to them and use handprints to make images of the bonfires on ‘Guy Fawkes’ Night’. They have regular opportunities for drawing, colouring, stencilling, cutting and using play dough. They make posters, signs and zig- zag books. However, they have too few opportunities to do more adventurous and experimental craft and model making activities, such as printing textiles and making pretend environments and costumes. They also have infrequent opportunities to see and talk about the work of artists and craftspeople and use it as a basis for developing their own skills. They enjoy musical activities

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Creative development

where they learn to use simple tuned and untuned percussion instruments by playing games such as ‘pass the beater’. Their teacher also helps to develop their musical listening and composing skills through regularly singing greetings or instructions to them, to which they respond in similar musical phrases. They also sing a repertoire of exciting songs, which have actions and question- response elements. However, they do not have opportunities to record simple compositions and use simple musical composition software. There are regular drama activities linked to the other areas they are studying, such as acting out 999 call scenarios when they are learning about the work of the emergency services. They also act out familiar stories, such as ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ and there are daily opportunities for children to play with small-scale toys and houses, to create miniature worlds of their own imagination.

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Physical development

71. Most children start school with average levels of physical development, particularly in the area of large body movements that involve running and balancing. However, the finer movements that involve manipulating simple tools, are less well developed. They achieve well and are likely to exceed the Early Learning Goals by the end of the school year. Teaching is good. Children move very confidently and safely in indoor physical education lessons, following the teacher’s guidance on how to circulate around the hall, make a choice of activity and signal that they have completed a sequence by making an arms-outstretched ‘finishing sign’. Both girls and boys eagerly seek to scale the ropes and frames of the hall’s gymnastics apparatus, and only one or two are reluctant to try jumping from a high box. They stop promptly on the teacher’s signal and make a ‘statue’ pose, which they hold by balancing well. They play outdoor games enthusiastically, including

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Physical development

catching and throwing games, but although the scope for outdoor learning has improved since the last inspection, there is still too little organised outdoor physical education activity. Most children dress themselves without help, although a number of the youngest need help with shirts and trousers or tights and shoe fastenings. They pick up and handle small objects confidently, and most hold pencils and other instruments correctly.

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ENGLISH

72. The standards that pupils attain by the end of Years 2 and 6 are above average. This represents good improvement since the last inspection when standards were below average. Overall, pupils’ achievement from Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory, but it is most uneven. Pupils achieve particularly well in Year 6 where they make significant advances in developing their skills, knowledge and understanding. This is because the teaching for pupils in Year 6 is particularly effective. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well because the arrangements to support them have been organised systematically. Their needs have been identified methodically and work is closely matched to their particular stages of development. The deputy headteacher organises this support and many receive extra help provided by skilled classroom assistants. Pupils with English as an additional language have a good command of English and achieve at the same rate as most of the

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St Paul’s Primary - 33 other pupils. The co-ordinator for their provision monitors their progress carefully and advises colleagues about strategies to ensure their full understanding.

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73. By the end of Years 2 and 6, pupils are likely to attain standards in speaking and listening that are above average. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the books they have enjoyed. Pupils take part in discussions confidently, listen to one another carefully and modify their contributions sensibly. A good example was seen in a lesson when older pupils discussed the differences between the active and passive voice.

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ENGLISH

74. Pupils’ achievement in reading is good. By the end of Year 2, most pupils are likely to attain standards that are above average and by the end of Year 6 most are on course to attain standards that are well above average. An exceptionally effective strategic plan, devised by the subject co- ordinator and the headteacher, has been implemented successfully. The plan features an integrated set of strategies that include making sure that pupils enjoy reading, enhancing the stock of books, developing careful assessment and linking reading to writing and spelling much more systematically than had previously been the case. The systematic teaching of phonics and the support of parents have also played their part. Most pupils read regularly at home and reading diaries are completed consistently. Reading is very well managed with opportunities for pupils to read silently, individually to an adult and in an intently focused way during group reading sessions

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guided by the teacher. However, the library areas are unsatisfactory because of a lack of space throughout the school. Pupils read a wide range of books, including stories from other cultures. By the end of Year 6, pupils read a range of texts fluently and their noticeably good reading standards and enjoyment of reading have a significant impact on their achievement in other subjects.

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75. Pupils’ achievement in writing is satisfactory, but it is most uneven; it is satisfactory in most year groups and good in Years 2 and 6. Standards in writing are likely to be above average by the end of Years 2 and 6. The school has identified writing as the major priority and is working hard to raise standards. There has been intensive staff training in the teaching of writing skills. From an early age pupils learn the discipline of writing according to set formats. In Year 2 they write poems and limericks. Older pupils write poems that include metaphors and similes, and stories based on children’s literature, such as ‘Where The Wild Things Are’, which are both well structured and imaginative. Pupils are taught how to plan their writing and to use their planning frameworks to flesh out the detail. They understand how to enrich their writing with colourful adjectives and powerful adverbs. Standards of handwriting are good and most pupils have developed a legible

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ENGLISH

cursive style. Pupils in the reception class are introduced to joined up writing skills as soon as possible. They are taught to hold their pencils correctly. Several of the oldest pupils do not grip pencils correctly and this indicates gaps in their early learning. Spelling is mainly accurate, but again many of the older pupils are not well versed in spelling rules. Again this indicates gaps in their previous learning. The quality of spelling has improved since the last inspection. Spelling patterns are taught systematically. As a result, written work usually contains only a few errors.

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ENGLISH

76. Pupils use their well-developed reading and writing skills to good effect in many other subjects. In history; for example, pupils in Year 2 read with interest about Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War. The role-play area in this class has been developed to resemble a ward of the hospital in Scutari and this fosters good opportunities for speaking and drama. Pupils in Year 6 write well in history and science using the appropriate language, as when writing about their life as an evacuee or a northern town dweller during the depression of the 1930s. Pupils use the Internet for research purposes but the library is small and cramped. It is not inviting and is not used much for research, partly because the room is also the computer suite and used for teaching ‘booster’ classes.

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ENGLISH

77. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, but there are significant inconsistencies. Teaching in most of the lessons seen during the inspection was good. Over a longer period, however, an analysis of pupils’ work shows that the quality of teaching is uneven across the school and is mostly satisfactory. In the classes where the teaching is good, pupils learn effectively and achieve well. In Year 1 and to a lesser extent in Year 2, achievement is constrained by the use of undemanding worksheets. These do little to advance learning, and restrict the development of imaginative writing. Most teachers use good questioning strategies that challenge pupils’ thinking St Paul’s Primary - 34 and help teachers to assess the effectiveness of learning. In the classes where these strategies are not well developed, pupils are not sufficiently challenged. In the better lessons seen, teachers were confident and demonstrated a good knowledge and understanding of language. Many used

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ENGLISH

material imaginatively, ensuring that interest was sustained, as; for example when younger, and lower attaining, pupils in Year 2 learnt how to use ‘speech bubbles’. In most lessons time is used well and lessons proceed at a brisk pace. In a Year 6 ‘booster’ class; for example, pupils were challenged to produce five paragraphs in 25 minutes. They rose to the challenge and worked industriously throughout the session. Effective links are made between pupils’ reading and writing. For example, in a Year 4 lesson, pupils studied how authors build descriptive passages so that they could use similar techniques. Pupils read traditional stories from different countries and this makes a good contribution to their cultural development. Similarly, moral and social development is enhanced by the discussion of issues such as whether or not footballers earn too much money. Teachers plan lessons thoroughly. Planning is made more effective through the well-developed

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ENGLISH

systems for assessing pupils’ progress and setting them targets. This makes it easier to match work accurately to pupils’ particular stages of development. In turn, this promotes sound achievement. Most teachers mark pupils’ work carefully and the best marking shows pupils how they can improve their performance.

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ENGLISH

78. Pupils respond well to the teaching and their positive attitudes support their achievement well. They have a very good understanding of what they have learned and what the next steps in learning will be. They are clear about their targets for further learning. This fosters motivation. Pupils in Year 6 explain, for example, exactly the stage they have reached in their progress through the National Curriculum and refer to their attainment with phrases such as, ‘I’m aiming for a Level 5’.

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ENGLISH

79. The subject co-ordinator has worked hard to effect improvements and has shown very good leadership. She has developed an effective strategy to address all aspects of the subject and has implemented all necessary teaching arrangements. Above all, she and the staff have greatly improved the range and quality of the book stock. Resources are adequate and for the most part are used well. However, there is little evidence that computers are used in class. There are examples of some word–processing, but these skills are not taught systematically. Overall, there has been good improvement in standards since the last inspection. Provided that the current school leadership and management systems are maintained and the overall quality of teaching improves, the subject has a good capacity for future advance.

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MATHEMATICS

80. Pupils’ achievement overall is satisfactory and it is particularly good in Years 2 and 6. By the end of Years 2 and 6 pupils are likely to attain standards that are above average. This indicates that there has been a marked improvement since the time of the last inspection when standards across the school were average. The school recognised that too few pupils were attaining the higher Level 5 standard in the national tests and initiated a programme designed to enhance the performance of higher attaining pupils in Years 5 and 6. As a result, a significantly greater proportion are likely to attain Level 5 in 2003. Pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language achieve at the same rate as all the other pupils. However, there is clear evidence that the higher attaining pupils do not always receive appropriately challenging work and hence, in several year groups, their achievement is unsatisfactory and they are not

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MATHEMATICS

attaining standards that are high enough.

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MATHEMATICS

81. Pupils in Year 2 produce a good quantity of work that covers each strand of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. They understand how to break numbers, such as 151 for example, into hundreds, tens and units in order to make calculations easier. They find calculations such as 55-10 easy, but many find 36-8 very difficult. They work out the cost of four packets of crisps costing 50p and are learning their multiplication tables systematically. They know how to count in twos, fives and tens and most are also able to count in threes. They have produced good work on simple fractions that involved breaking biscuits into halves and quarters. They are very good at collecting data, such as the pupils’ favourite meals and illustrating the results in block graphs. They then compose questions for their friends who have to interpret the graphs in order to St Paul’s Primary - 35 answer them. They make graphs showing the hand spans and length of pupils’ strides. However,

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MATHEMATICS

opportunities are missed to suggest that the higher attaining pupils might use the data to determine if the pupils with the longest strides also have the widest hand spans. Pupils have a good understanding of the properties of two and three-dimensional geometrical shapes and tour the school on a ‘Shape Hunt’ to identify the shapes to be found around the school. The work produced by pupils in Year 2 is neatly presented. In Year 1 much of the work is completed on worksheets that demand little of pupils. However, a significant number of pupils in Year 1 demonstrate well-developed skills in mental arithmetic. They swiftly calculate the answers to problems and explain their reasoning well. There are examples of good links that are made with other subjects as; for example, the significant dates that are displayed in the Year 2 classroom, and the encouragement pupils receive to measure accurately when making glove puppets in

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MATHEMATICS

design and technology. Pupils in Year 4 have produced very good garden designs as part of their work on area. However, opportunities for pupils to use their numeracy skills in such realistic practical situations are infrequent.

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MATHEMATICS

82. Pupils in Year 6 produce a good range of work. They have good strategies for calculating; for example, 432 divided by five, ‘You just divide by 10 and double the answer to get 86.4’. One particularly strong feature is the way that they are encouraged not only to consider the best ways of calculating answers, but also to provide written explanations about why they consider one method to be better than another. ‘I would use that method because it is quick and easy to write out.’ Pupils are constantly encouraged to tease out and explain their thinking processes. In one very good lesson on ratio, the teacher noted the work that pupils had jotted down on their white boards, ’I like the way you have written that – can you explain why you have set it out like that?’ In this lesson the higher attaining pupils were challenged to devise a general statement that could apply to all calculations regarding ratio. Higher attaining pupils could work out how to divide

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MATHEMATICS

£800.00 between three people in the ratio 5:3:2, but found a problem involving a ratio of 10:3 too difficult. They use calculators well to check answers to their mental calculations. Pupils consider the learning objective at the beginning of each lesson, such as, ‘I can solve simple problems using ratio’. Towards the end of the lesson they discuss their degree of success in meeting the objective. They have a list of targets at the back of their exercise books and highlight the ones they attain. In this way they have a good understanding of what they have learned and what the next steps in learning will be. They assess their own attainment and explain where they are, ‘I am working at Level 5’. Pupils use their number skills well when making measurements in science and when finding out how long ago events occurred in history. However, numeracy is often taught in isolation and too few links are made with other areas of the curriculum to make learning more

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MATHEMATICS

83. Teaching is satisfactory overall, but it is variable in quality, ranging from unsatisfactory to very good. Teachers’ planning is detailed and thorough. Teaching is very good for pupils in Year 6, for pupils who attend special booster classes and in the lessons that are supported by the headteacher. As a result of the good teaching pupils receive in the reception class, their attainment on entry to Year 1 is above average. However, the teaching in Year 1 is unsatisfactory and pupils’ achievement is poor. As a result, most have attained standards that are barely average when they enter Year 2. In Year 2 much of the teaching is good, the pace of learning accelerates and pupils achieve well. By the end of Year 2 most are on course to attain standards that are above average. The teaching in Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory overall. Teaching in Year 6 is consistently very good and in Years 3, 4 and 5 it is usually satisfactory, but improves significantly

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MATHEMATICS

when the headteacher takes lessons. It is common practice for him to contribute to the teaching in these classes. In one session on fractions for pupils in Year 5, for example, the headteacher took most of the class and was supported by the class teacher while the deputy headteacher took a group of lower attaining pupils out of the class for extra support. In this lesson the quality of teaching was very good for all the pupils in the year group. The headteacher produced an apple and pupils discussed the most accurate way off cutting it in half. They were appropriately challenged with tasks such as how to divide a glass of water between four people. A good computer program was used that led pupils to the discovery that the larger the denominator then the smaller the fraction. They understood how to compare simple fractions and explained how they knew that one half was greater than one third. Although learning was effective, the teacher went

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MATHEMATICS

beyond their limits of understanding in the review session at the end of the lesson so that pupils St Paul’s Primary - 36 remained unconvinced that seven-eighths was greater than five-sixths and were not sure about how they could find out. However, this was recognised through the teacher’s ongoing assessment and provided the basis for subsequent lessons. Teachers’ subject knowledge is insecure in some of the classes for the younger pupils. It is mostly adequate in Years 4, 5 and 6, although there are a few of the older pupils who will soon be working within the higher Level 6 standard and class teachers acknowledge that much of this work would be beyond them. Homework is used well to consolidate and extend learning.

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MATHEMATICS

84. Very good teaching was also seen in Year 6. The teacher taught the bulk of the class very well, the headteacher took a small group of the highest attaining pupils out of the class and taught them well and a part-time teacher took a special ‘booster class’ in the computer suite where the teaching was very good. Teaching is not as effective in those lessons where extra support is not available. Unsatisfactory teaching was seen in Year 1 where pupils were not provided with tasks that matched their particular stages of development and where control of the class was inadequate. Here, in a lesson on three-dimensional shapes, the teacher’s assessment of pupils’ prior knowledge was insecure and most were already able to identify and name the properties of cones, cuboids, cylinders and pyramids. As a result, little new learning took place. Also the teacher’s explanations lacked clarity because her lack of control resulted in high levels of noise.

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MATHEMATICS

Time was not used well and pupils were asked to put their work away ten minutes before the lesson was due to end. In Year 1 and to a lesser extent in Year 2, there is an over-reliance on using worksheets. These occupy pupils and help to consolidate learning, but the work is rarely sufficiently well matched to pupils’ learning needs and the higher attaining pupils in particular are not sufficiently challenged. The teachers’ expectations of the higher attaining pupils are often too low. They understand the difference between odd and even numbers, for example, but opportunities are missed to explore and make generalisations about whether odd numbers added to even numbers always result in answers that are odd.

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MATHEMATICS

85. The management of the subject is satisfactory. The co-ordinator is not a specialist, but has a keen interest in the subject. A very good action plan has been created to improve standards further. This is strongly dependent on the involvement of the headteacher who has a very good understanding of the subject. Computers are not used systematically to support teaching and learning, but the action plan seeks to overcome this shortcoming. Pupils in Year 6 have produced good work that resulted from a survey of pupils’ views about the playground. They collated the data and presented the results well by using computers to generate colourful pie charts and block graphs. The development of more opportunities for pupils to use their numeracy skills in realistic, practical situations has also been identified as a priority for improvement. Assessment systems are very well developed and computers are used well to record pupils’ attainment and analyse test results

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MATHEMATICS

in order to identify areas for development. The system shows precisely what stage each pupil has reached and helps to identify the next steps in learning. A great deal of intensive work has been invested in the drive to improve standards. Weaknesses in teaching remain despite a good programme of in-service training and exemplary demonstration lessons being given by the headteacher. A prerequisite to improving standards further is to develop teachers’ subject knowledge, to raise expectations of the higher attaining pupils and to remove the inconsistencies in teaching.

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SCIENCE

86. Overall, pupils’ achievement from Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory and most are likely to attain average standards by the end of Years 2 and 6. These findings concur with the school’s performance in the national tests for pupils in Year 2 in 2002, but are at variance with the school’s performance in the tests for pupils in Year 6. This is because the work that this group of pupils had just completed in class, by coincidence, fully matched the test material. There has been little improvement since the last inspection and standards are very similar to those described in the last inspection report. There is scope for further improvement.

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SCIENCE

87. Pupils in Year 2 study the growth of plants by planting beans and sunflower seeds, and they label the parts of flowers on diagrams. They visit the zoo as part of their study of living creatures and their habitats. They identify food groups and study the effects of exercise, and consider the ways St Paul’s Primary - 37 medicines are used as part of their education about drugs. As part of their studies of the body, they compare measurements of their hand spans and strides. They identify the features of groups of natural and man-made materials.

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SCIENCE

88. Pupils in Year 6 consolidate and extend their knowledge of plants and animals by learning simple systems of classification and by conducting experiments on the effects of light on plant growth as well as the growth of microbes. Pupils learn about natural forces by doing experiments on simple objects around them, such as testing which trainers give the best grip on a surface in Year 4. They study the planets and the solar system as well as investigating the effects of weather temperatures in their classroom. They learn about the lives and discoveries of some famous scientists, such as Pasteur and Jenner.

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SCIENCE

89. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. No unsatisfactory teaching was seen during the inspection. Very good teaching was seen in a Year 6 lesson taken by the headteacher in which pupils investigated natural forces through experiments on different fruits to see which would float and sink. The pupils were intrigued and fascinated by the headteacher’s very lively presentation and dramatic posing of challenges as to whether they thought such fruits as melons, mangoes and grapes would float or sink when dropped into a water tank. By providing the pupils with clearly structured guidance and recording grids for their investigations, he enabled them to consider and predict a good range of factors, including the likely trajectory of the fruits in the water. The accuracy of their work was backed up by the use of Newton meters to measure the forces involved. Good teamwork with support staff, and a good pace to work set by the

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SCIENCE

headteacher, helped all the pupils to work very well in groups to learn that the fruits did not always float or sink as they predicted, to map accurately what they observed and to begin to offer explanations as to why grapes sank and melons floated.

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SCIENCE

90. The quality of teaching is uneven. In less successful lessons teachers spent far too long making extended presentations of topics that were not clearly linked to the practical work that followed, and the practical work was not well enough structured and recorded. Also there was often too little time to reflect on what had been discovered. Scrutiny of pupils’ work showed that this meant that lower attaining pupils, including those with special educational needs, did not always have time to complete practical and written tasks or to reflect on what the experiments showed. In a Year 5 lesson on what conditions are best to promote plant growth, no examples of plants in different states and stages of growth were shown to the pupils during the teacher’s long introduction. Pupils were not asked to discuss their own experiences of trying to grow sprouting seeds or discuss what examples they had seen of plants that did and did not thrive in their own homes and gardens.

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SCIENCE

They then found it difficult to write well-organised lists of what the best conditions are, because they had not been given enough guidance on how to structure the list.

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SCIENCE

91. The use of a range of mathematical techniques and instruments in science lessons, including graphs, Venn diagrams and Newton meters, helps to extend pupils’ numeracy skills. Teachers usually take care to introduce key scientific vocabulary, although there is sometimes too much emphasis on writing up recording grids in lessons, rather than providing ready-made grids in order to free the pupils to devote more time to writing what they have learnt. A small number of good uses of information and communication technology to support learning were seen in pupils’ work, including the use of temperature monitoring equipment in Year 4 to measure which time of day was the warmest in their classroom. However, there is not yet enough use of the school’s computers to support investigations and analysis in science lessons, such as the school’s digital microscope and graph-making and spreadsheet programs. Teachers’ planning indicates that

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SCIENCE

overall there is a reasonable balance between the different strands of the subject.

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SCIENCE

92. Teachers regularly mark pupils’ work. Some good comments seen in older pupils’ workbooks helped them to reflect further, such as, ‘Which is the safest surface? Why?’. However, much work, particularly in Year 1, is marked only with ticks or one-word comments, which give too little guidance to pupils on how to improve their work.

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SCIENCE

93. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. The co-ordinator is a science specialist and is keen to raise standards and improve teaching. She has improved the range of St Paul’s Primary - 38 support resources for science, by acquiring more specialist equipment and a good range of science books. She has also analysed the results of national tests and helped to identify where improvements are needed, and analyses pupils’ workbooks across the school to check progress. There is a good system of school recording and checking of science assessments, which tracks pupils’ progress and sets targets for improvement. This represents an improvement since the last inspection. The co-ordinator checks teachers’ planning and gives advice, but does not yet check classroom teaching. She recognises that more needs to be done to promote the use of computers in the subject.

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ART AND DESIGN

94. It was not possible to see enough lessons to make judgements about the quality of teaching because this subject alternates with the teaching of design and technology, which featured more prominently during the week of the inspection. However, the work that pupils produce indicates that their achievement is satisfactory and that, by the end of Years 2 and 6, most are likely to attain average standards. This is similar to the situation at the time of the last inspection.

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ART AND DESIGN

95. Pupils in Year 6 have used their skills well in a history project on World War Two. They have designed and painted good posters, entitled ‘Take your Child to this Safe Place’, to illustrate the benefits of the evacuation of children from cities. They have also painted dramatic pictures of London in the Blitz. Pupils in Year 5 have produced detailed and carefully painted portraits of the Tudors as part of their history project. In Year 4, pupils are introduced to a good range of different media. They create printing blocks from polystyrene sheets and print effective designs on paper bags that they have made to fill and present as Mothers’ Day gifts. They have used sketching pencils, chalks and pastel crayons to record their close observational studies of fruit from around the world. Pupils in Year 2 have studied texture as part of their work on Florence Nightingale. Pupils in Year 1 have painted portraits, but they are not of the quality that pupils of this age

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ART AND DESIGN

normally produce. This indicates teachers’ low expectations of pupils’ performance. Good links are made with multicultural education as; for example, when pupils in Year 4 mix appropriate shades of colour to paint pictures of the faces of children from different ethnic backgrounds.

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ART AND DESIGN

96. This subject has not been a priority for development because, quite rightly, improving standards in literacy and numeracy have taken precedence. The school follows a nationally recommended planning framework, but there is little evidence of skills, knowledge and understanding being developed systematically. There is very little evidence of much three-dimensional work. Computers are not used enough to support teaching and learning. The strand of the subject that deals with pupils’ knowledge and understanding of other artists and craftspeople is underemphasised. Pupils have very limited knowledge of artists and their work. Too little has been done to check and improve the effectiveness of teaching of the subject. Assessments of pupils’ developing skills, knowledge and understanding are at an early stage of development. These shortcomings restrict pupils’ achievement and the standards that they attain. However, the areas for development have

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ART AND DESIGN

been recognised by the school and a very good action plan has been written to guide improvements in provision. The co-ordinator has a good understanding of the subject and has conducted a useful audit of resources. Resources are adequate, but there are too few prints and books showing examples of the work of artists and craftspeople. The management of the subject is better than at the time of the last inspection when there was no co-ordinator designated to be accountable for the standards that pupils attain.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

97. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory and by end of Years 2 and 6 most pupils are likely to attain average standards, maintaining the standards found at the time of the last inspection. Pupils in Year 2 have investigated and designed models of simple playground equipment using construction toys and they have made simple, felt glove puppets. They learn to plan and develop their work, but do little exploration of how it could have been improved. Pupils in Year 6 show good levels of understanding and skill in taking apart products and designing, making and evaluating their own. Examples and records of work recently completed show that they take apart slippers and hats and use them as the basis for patterns they design and make themselves to a high standard. They St Paul’s Primary - 39 also develop their design and evaluation skills well through the environmental project they have completed on the school playground, where they questioned their fellow pupils and other users

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

about what features they used and liked most, and what would improve it. However, they do not get enough opportunities to explore the use of motors and mechanisms and use them in their own design and make projects. Although pupils sometimes use computers to document their work and produce related graphs, only one example was noted of a computer program being used to develop or test pupils’ designs.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

98. The scrutiny of pupils’ work together with a study of teachers’ planning and the lessons seen during the week of the inspection indicate that teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. The quality of teaching varies; good teaching was evident in the records of work done by Year 6 pupils on designing and making slippers. Their work included careful planning, analysis and documentation of how their work could have been improved. Typical features of satisfactory teaching in the week of the inspection were seen in a Year 4 class investigating how alarms are used in real life. Pupils began by identifying from images and their own knowledge a range of alarm types, such as those triggered by light and movement. They also drew on the searches some of them had done at home on the Internet as a homework task. They then used the lesson to plan and sketch what materials they might draw on to design an alarm in the following week, showing

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

their good knowledge of buzzers, circuits and crocodile clips as components to use.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

99. The unsatisfactory teaching seen was characterised by ineffective use of the two, one-hour periods allocated for the subject. A lesson for Year 5 pupils on constructing models of Tudor and Elizabethan homes began well by teaching pupils simple jointing techniques. However, the planning for the lesson as a whole was not developed well enough. The teacher offered too little guidance on how to use these techniques to create simple miniature versions of the typical wooden framed designs used in these houses. As pupils were not asked to draw accurate scale plans or shown how to make frames, using the school’s stock of small wood struts, they did not succeed in constructing accurate, good quality models. Very little was produced and progress was slow. In this lesson pupils were given too little guidance about what was required. In another unsatisfactory lesson in Year 3, pupils spent far too long laboriously preparing hand drawn bar

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

graphs of their consumer tests of sandwich fillings, and did not spend enough time on the key tasks of improving their design and technology skills and evaluating what they had learnt.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

100. Since the last inspection, the secure level of teachers’ subject knowledge reported then has not been sustained. The current co-ordinator is a temporary teacher with overseas qualifications who is not yet fully conversant with National Curriculum requirements. She has worked to improve the school’s resources, including stocks of textile samples and demonstration mechanisms. However, there is not an effective assessment system, and the subject has a low priority in the school’s current development plans. Too little has been done to check and improve the effectiveness of teaching of the subject. As a result, pupils’ achievement and the standards they attain are not as high as they might otherwise be.

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GEOGRAPHY

101. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory and by the end of Years 2 and 6 most are likely to attain average standards. There has been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection. The reasons why progress has not been better are linked to two main factors. Firstly, the geography curriculum has not been developed sufficiently with the result that in the last few years pupils have not had a sure grounding in the study of skills, themes and localities. Secondly, time allocations have been variable and inadequate overall. There have been improvements, however, in that resources are now better and more plentiful and the assessment of pupils’ progress is now helping teachers to plan lessons more effectively. However, too few lessons were seen and there was insufficient evidence from other sources to make judgements about the quality of teaching across the school.

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GEOGRAPHY

102. Some aspects of the subject are covered well. For example, pupils in Year 2 are helped to understand when they visit a farm that some environments are different from others. This is developed in Years 3 and 4, when they study the village of Chembokali, in India. Currently, St Paul’s Primary - 40 however, they do little work, including fieldwork, on the local environment and this weakness continues into Year 6. There is provision for older pupils to contrast in detail Chessington and Sandown, on the Isle of Wight, to see how different places compare, and this is helped by their residential stay in Year 5. However, work done at school does not do enough to allow them to compare physical and human features in detail. Pupils in Year 6 respond to questions using the correct vocabulary, complete tasks involving atlases and say where some important places are. They are also able to say how places are different. One weakness is linked to pupils’ difficulties in

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GEOGRAPHY

recognising ways in which change can either enhance or damage environments, and in their study of an insufficiently wide range of places and environments of different types in different parts of the world.

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GEOGRAPHY

103. Due to the timetabling of this subject it was only possible to observe one lesson during the inspection. This was a poor lesson for pupils in Year 5 as it was neither planned nor prepared effectively. There are good arrangements to ensure that teaching contributes towards the sharpening of pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils in Year 6, for example, are encouraged to have regard for different types of writing, such as reports and persuasive pieces, and good graphs are produced on climate by pupils in Year 4. Computers are not used to support teaching and learning, mainly because there is a shortage of appropriate software. There are some large maps around the school with interesting details attached and Year 5 exchange letters with pen pals in Arizona, which helps them to understand a very different way of life from their own. The subject, therefore, makes a satisfactory contribution to cultural development.

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GEOGRAPHY

104. The co-ordinators are keen to improve the subject and both are specialists. They are conducting an audit of resources and a review of both the curriculum and associated assessment procedures. These are appropriate priorities and they are beginning to develop a clearer idea of their management role in matters related to teaching and planning. Provided that the role of the co- ordinator is enhanced as planned, the subject has a good capacity for improvement.

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HISTORY

105. Pupils in Year 2 achieve well and by the end of the year most are likely to attain standards that are above average. This is an improvement since the last inspection. Pupils’ achievement in Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory and by the end of Year 6 most are likely to attain average standards. This is similar to the situation at the time of the last inspection. Resources have improved. Too little time is devoted to the subject in Years 3 to 6 and this constrains the standards that pupils attain.

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HISTORY

106. Pupils in Year 2 use a range of resources, such as reproduced period images and maps, as well as listening to stories and re-enactments, to build their knowledge of key people from the past and daily life from earlier periods. As part of their studies of the lives of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole in the Crimean War, they identify how hospital care of the wounded soldiers changed after Florence Nightingale’s intervention. They study reproduced pictures from the late Victorian period to identify how seaside pastimes and costumes of that time are different from modern seaside scenes.

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HISTORY

107. Pupils in Year 6 analyse and interpret contemporary accounts and statistics of the life of working and middle class people in the Thirties. They compare the systems of rule in Athens and Sparta as part of their studies of Ancient Greece, as well as a range of aspects of their cultures and mythologies. They learn about the impact of Ancient Rome on Britain and the world of the Tudors through studying contemporary writings and making visits to museums and other centres, such as the Globe Theatre, where they can learn from re-enactments and study artefacts from the period. However, they do not make as much progress as they could in their knowledge of dates and of different interpretations of the evidence about the periods they study, which was also noted as a weakness at the time of the last inspection. This is because teachers place insufficient emphasis on this strand of the subject.

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HISTORY

108. Due to timetabling little teaching was seen during the week of the inspection. However, evidence derived from pupils’ work, teachers’ documentation and discussions, clearly indicates that the quality of teaching and learning is good in Years 1 and 2 and satisfactory in Years 3 to 6. As a St Paul’s Primary - 41 result of good teaching in Year 2, pupils are interested in the Crimean War and specifically in the lives of Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale. A fascination with the Victorian period has been developed as a result of the teacher’s good knowledge and enthusiasm. The good quality of knowledge and understanding shown by pupils in Year 6 was reflected in detailed written diaries from the point of view of working and middle class families during the Thirties. The diaries showed their good understanding of the different economic circumstances, housing, health, leisure and possessions of the characters they wrote about. Teachers occasionally use computers well to

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HISTORY

help pupils to find out more about important characters and the periods they study. This is an improvement since the last inspection, where the very limited use of computers in the subject was identified as a weakness. In a lesson for Year 2, pupils used an image of Samuel Pepys as a starting point for thinking about questions they might ask him as part of their studies of the period of the Great Fire of London. Working with the computers in the school’s suite enabled them to build up a good range of questions to ask. These included such questions as, ‘When and where were you born?’ to ‘Why are you wearing a wig?’. Teachers also help pupils to develop the literacy and numeracy skills needed for the subject. For example, Year 6 pupils’ workbooks showed that they used calculators to check some data on the numbers of pupils evacuated to different counties during World War Two, and they analysed data, which showed how evacuated pupils had been

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HISTORY

billeted. Teachers support the range of learning of pupils of different abilities, including those with special educational needs, well, because they make use of good visual sources and tasks, which provide the right level of challenge for the whole range of pupils in each class. The quality of teachers’ marking varies; it is satisfactory overall. The most effective marking encourages pupils to reflect more deeply on historical issues, by asking questions such as, ‘What was the average wage then?’. However, a large proportion of the marking seen consists of ticks or one word comments like, ‘Good’, which give pupils little guidance on how to improve their work.

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HISTORY

109. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. Two teachers work together as co-ordinators of the humanities, which combines history and geography. Since the last inspection, they have further enhanced the resources for the subject, and this is reflected in the good quality of books, posters and video materials. They have also sustained the good level of visits reported at the last inspection. They are committed to promoting approaches that encourage pupils to develop understanding of the experiences and perspectives of people in the different periods studied. They have promoted the use of computers to support learning in the subject by; for example, acquiring CD-ROMs. They are currently developing the use of a bank of statements to be used for assessing pupils’ knowledge and understanding as it develops. However, as at the last inspection, there is still no effective assessment system that tracks the degree of progress made by pupils against

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HISTORY

National Curriculum requirements and expected levels of attainment. As a result, teachers cannot be sure about what pupils know and understand and cannot, therefore, match their teaching to pupils’ learning needs. The co-ordinators check teachers’ planning and pupils’ workbooks. They give advice where it is requested, but as yet they do not check the quality of classroom teaching in the subject.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

110. Insufficient teaching was seen to make judgements about the quality of teaching across the school. However, there was sufficient work available to indicate that pupils’ achievement is satisfactory and that by the end of Years 2 and 6 pupils are likely to attain standards that are broadly average. This is similar to the standards that pupils attained at the time of the last inspection.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

111. Each classroom is equipped with a computer, but their purpose is not clear because they are not used very much. This was also the finding of the previous inspection. There is little evidence of computer skills being taught systematically. The school also has a good bank of computers in the library. This is an improvement on provision at the time of the last inspection when there was no computer room available. Although computers are not used enough there are examples of them being used well. Pupils in Year 6, for example, have used computer technology as part of a project on developing the playground. They collected a great amount of data about pupils’ opinions on the playground and how it should be developed. The data was collated and computers were used well to create pie graphs and bar charts to illustrate the information they had gathered. They also gave St Paul’s Primary - 42 a very good presentation, illustrated well through the use of ‘Powerpoint’, to display their findings.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Pupils in Year 4 have used the school’s digital camera well to record work on forces in science where they were conducting experiments to determine which shoes were the most effective in gripping. They used computer programs well to collate and display their findings.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

112. Little work in paper form was available during the inspection because the school has had major problems with a laser printer. As a result, much of pupils’ work has not been printed. Each class has a folder of work and in each folder each pupil has a file. A scrutiny of these files showed that pupils in Year 6 have created ‘Powerpoint’ presentations about themselves, their hobbies, pets and where they live. These included importing appropriate illustrations to embellish their work. Pupils in Year 5 have used word-processing skills to create good newspapers, with titles such as ‘The Tudor Comet’, to illustrate their work in history. Pupils in Year 4 have used word-processing skills to record their interviews with ‘Mr Scrooge’ and spreadsheets to organise data about their favourite fruits. Pupils have also used a programmable robot to develop their programming skills.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

113. The subject co-ordinator is highly skilled and provides very good support for colleagues. The subject features in the school improvement plan as a prime area for development. Plans for improvement are very good. However, the cramped accommodation in the computer room limits the school’s potential for improvement. Good assessment procedures are being introduced. These take the form of a bank of statements such as, ‘Level 2 - I can use a digital camera’. When pupils achieve this target the statement is highlighted. The bank of statements provides a clear picture of pupils’ attainment and progress and reveals any gaps in learning. Despite participating in the national training programme, many teachers lack confidence and expertise. Resources are adequate. Computerised white boards have been introduced and teachers are beginning to use them effectively to illustrate lessons.

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MUSIC

114. Pupils’ achievement is good and by the end of Years 2 and 6 most are likely to attain standards that are above average. This is an improvement since the last inspection, when standards were judged to be average. The very good quality of pupils’ singing noted in the last inspection has been sustained. Pupils also have a well-developed understanding of composing, performing and evaluating work with tuned and untuned musical instruments. However, they do not yet have enough opportunities in lessons to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the good quality music that is regularly presented to them in assemblies. Also they have too few opportunities to use computer programs to help them to compose music electronically.

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MUSIC

115. Teaching and learning of music are very good. All the lessons seen were good or better; most were very good and one was outstanding. The specialist, part-time music teacher is new to the school and has not yet had sufficient time to build skills progressively from year to year. The very good teaching has not yet had its full impact on pupils’ achievements or the standards they attain. The school is in a good position to improve standards further. The music teacher works very successfully with all classes from Years 1 to 6. She plans her lessons meticulously, and this results in her making very effective use of the time available, and ensuring that she has well- produced support resources, such as laminated diagrams, as well as a good range of simple musical instruments. These help all pupils make very good progress in lessons. She makes good use of singing games, which teach rhythms and knowledge of musical terminology. As the pupils

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MUSIC

begin to compose the sequences she sets them, she encourages them to evaluate their work by asking questions like, ‘How do you think we sounded?’. Each lesson progresses from a simple starter theme and listening exercises to the development of a greater awareness of a key musical concept such as ‘pitch’ or ‘pulse’, illustrated by some musical examples. The lessons then move on to an exercise in composition, with the pupils using visual symbols to notate and develop their work. This structure enables even the younger pupils to use terms like ‘pitch’, ‘dynamics’ and ‘duration’ confidently and correctly when talking about their work. The teacher has good knowledge of what the pupils are achieving and gives them helpful feedback on how to improve their work. Although there is no specialist music room, she has very effective strategies for making the best use of the classrooms. However, some of them are so cramped as to restrict the quality of her

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MUSIC

teaching. For example, she does not have space in the Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 classrooms to bring in St Paul’s Primary - 43 a good quality sound system for playing demonstration tapes and CDs to pupils. In one otherwise good lesson, for pupils in Year 6, the poor quality reproduction of some recorded jingles made it difficult for the pupils to listen to them attentively.

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MUSIC

116. Pupils greatly enjoy their music lessons, and some regard them as a highlight of the school week. Their lively comments reflect their delight in listening to and composing music; for example, one Year 2 pupil commented, ‘They are sunny instruments, because they make a nice, bright sound’.

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MUSIC

117. Although the music specialist has been in post as the co-ordinator for only a very short time, and standards are set to improve further; her influence has already had a marked impact on achievement and standards. She has improved the teaching plans, combining commercially available materials with the nationally recommended teaching scheme. She has also enhanced the range and quality of musical instruments. She has begun to develop an effective record- keeping and assessment system, although it is not in use yet. She has sustained the school’s extra-curricular music programme, which includes a choir for pupils in Years 3 to 6 that involves about one quarter of the pupils in these year groups, and which sings to a very good standard at school assemblies. There are also opportunities for pupils to take part in the local church services and a local music festival. She has formed a link with a local ‘beacon’ school, which has involved a

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MUSIC

music specialist from the school giving singing lessons to all the classes. Other staff with musical expertise also contribute well to the musical aspect of the assemblies and the extra-curricular programme.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

118. Lessons were seen in games, gymnastics, swimming and dance. Evidence was also gathered from discussions with staff and pupils and a study of planning. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, and by the end of Year 2 most pupils are likely to attain average standards. Pupils’ achievement in Years 3 to 6 is good and by the end of Year 6 most are likely to attain above average standards. The above average standards attained by the oldest pupils have been maintained since the last inspection.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

119. By the end of Year 6 nearly all pupils meet the nationally expected standard in swimming as they have good opportunities to develop their skills in the school pool. As a result of the mainly excellent instruction, pupils’ achievement is very good. Most have an impressive understanding of water safety and by the end of Year 6 can swim the required 25 metres unaided.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

120. Standards in games, particularly football, are above average. This encouraging picture is the result of good teaching and the extra-curricular involvement of staff and other adults. Many boys and girls take part and their skills and attitudes improve as a result. However, the school has limited outdoor provision and the field is too small. This makes football and athletics coaching difficult and limits the standards that are attained.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

121. Pupils’ attitudes to physical education and games are very good and this supports the quality of learning and their achievement. They listen to instructions carefully, persevere and support one another well when working in pairs. They are also prompt in changing and setting out equipment and apparatus. In particular, pupils are competitive and hard working. This was evident throughout the inspection and good examples were seen when all pupils in Years 2 and 5 were engaged in playground tennis and netball. These pupils concentrated and co-operated fully with the good organisation provided by staff. The subject makes a very good contribution to pupils’ moral and social development, particularly in games where team spirit and a respect for fair play are encouraged. There is particularly high morale as a result in; for example, the football team, which has a regional reputation notwithstanding the relatively small size of the school. Opportunities are

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taken to develop numeracy skills, such as counting and measuring and pupils evaluate each other’s performance well.

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122. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 and it is good in Years 3 to 6. Teachers have good levels of expertise and give clear instructions, so that pupils find space to St Paul’s Primary - 44 work and play sensibly. This was evident during an excellent swimming lesson when pupils were kept busy throughout the session and made clear progress in improving their proficiency. Lessons are thoroughly planned and are taught well, both during the school day and in extra-curricular activities. In football and basketball, pupils are required to practise previously mastered skills before moving onto a new one, consequently, they become both confident and proficient. Teachers have good relationships with pupils and their class management skills are generally good with the result that; for example, in Year 2, pupils’ concentration is strong.

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123. There has been satisfactory improvement from the last inspection in both standards and provision and the school’s traditional standards have been maintained. Both the planning framework and an assessment system are being further developed. The digital camera is used well to record sporting events and work in gymnastics. Good support is organised to help those staff who lack expertise in some areas of the curriculum. However, there remains a need to enhance the role of the subject co-ordinator to facilitate these improvements. The co-ordinator is a specialist who is well aware of the need for more training and support for some staff in areas such as dance and gymnastics. Provided that this can be achieved, the subject’s prospects for further improvement are good.

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