St Ives Junior School

ST IVES JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 27 th – 30 th January 2003

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ST IVES JUNIOR 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 IVES JUNIOR 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 Ives Junior School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: The Burrows St Ives Cornwall

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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: Ms L Roberts

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: September 1997 St Ives Junior School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

23039 David Penney Registered inspector Mathematics Geography Physical education What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? What should the school do to improve further? 19338 Graham Ellis Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 32595 Gillian Williams Team inspector English History Religious education 19302 Christine Perrett Team inspector Special educational needs Educational inclusion, including race equality Art and design Information and communication technology How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

23095 David Mankelow Team inspector Science Design and technology Music How well is the school led and managed?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Ives Junior School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St Ives Junior School is an average sized school of its type with 288 boys and girls on roll, aged from seven to eleven years. It serves the seaside town of St Ives in Cornwall, which is an area of significant seasonal unemployment and some deprivation and poverty. Overall, there is no significant difference between the numbers of boys and girls, although there are significantly more girls than boys in Year 4. Pupils are taught in two parallel classes in Years 3, 4 and 5, and in three parallel classes in Year 6. Almost all pupils are from white, British backgrounds. There is one pupil from another white ethnic group and the school has no information about the ethnic origins of nine pupils. One pupil only does not speak English as a mother tongue and is at an early stage of acquiring the language; this is about average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly average at just over 20 per

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

cent. There are 89 pupils (30.9%) on the school’s list of those with special educational needs, which is above the national average. Of these, eight have statements of special educational need for a range of learning, behavioural and physical difficulties, which is also above the national average. Although pupils’ attainment on entry was below average this year, it is normally close to the national average. The school has recently received the Schools Curriculum Award, the Investor in People Award, a Healthy Schools Award and The Artsmark.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a school with a number of strengths. It cares deeply for all the pupils in its care and ensures that their emotional and social needs are met well. However, it is not as effective as it should be because of serious weaknesses in the leadership and management of the school, the quality of much of the teaching and learning, the planning systems, the use of assessment information and the way that procedures are used to reverse the worsening attendance rates. Standards in the national tests in Year 6 have fallen and the school does not have rigorous enough systems of monitoring or evaluating its work to address this decline. The school is currently giving unsatisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Standards in art and design are above those expected nationally. • The school’s intended emphasis on pupils’ emotional and social welfare and safety is met well in practice because of the quality of the provision for their personal, social and emotional development, including an excellent range and amount of popular activities outside lessons, which results in generally good relationships and attitudes to school. • The provision for pupils with special educational needs is good and pupils’ individual education plans identify clear targets for improvement. • The school has very good links with the community and the local secondary school, which they use to enhance and enrich what pupils are taught.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Standards in English, mathematics, science and geography are not high enough. • Too much of the teaching is unsatisfactory, which results in unsatisfactory learning and achievement over time, particularly for potentially higher attaining pupils. • The information gained from assessment is not used well enough to ensure that the work pupils are set to do matches their needs closely. • The leadership and management of the school, including setting a clear and strategic educational direction, checking how effective the work of the school is regularly and rigorously, delegating responsibilities more equitably, using all the resources at the school’s disposal to drive up standards and ensuring the governing body fulfils its responsibilities fully. • The rigour with which the school tries to improve the declining attendance rate. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

In accordance with Section 13 (7) of the School Inspections Act 1996, I am of the opinion, and HMCI agrees, that special measures are required in relation to this school. St Ives Junior School - 7 St Ives Junior School - 8

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in September 1997. Since then it has not made sufficient improvement. While provision for information and communication technology and for music has improved, with a consequent beneficial effect on standards, other important issues identified in the last inspection report as needing improvement have not been addressed effectively. In addition, pupils’ attendance rates have fallen significantly. The quality of teaching has deteriorated, with the result that standards in English, mathematics and science have fallen and standards in many other subjects are not as high as they were during the previous inspection. The information derived from assessments is still not being used to good effect. The leadership and management of the school are not as effective as they were in setting a clear direction for the school’s work and in ensuring that the school is effective enough. The school no

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

longer has sufficient teachers to meet curriculum demands. Consequently, the school is not well placed to improve without considerable outside support.

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Results in the national tests for Year 6 have deteriorated over recent years. In 2002, they were well below the national average in all three tests. When compared with schools with a similar proportion of pupils claiming free school meals, results were well below average in English and mathematics and below average in science. This represents a satisfactory level of achievement for these pupils since the Year 2 national tests in science but their achievement in English is below average and is well below average in mathematics. The school met its challenging targets in English but did not do so in mathematics. The pupils enter the school with standards that are normally close to the national average, although this year’s intake was not so high. Current standards in Year 6 are below average in English, especially writing and library skills, mathematics, science, geography and dance. They match expectations in all other subjects except art and design, where they are above the standard expected

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STANDARDS

nationally. Overall, pupils do not achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment, particularly in science because of a lack of emphasis on investigative and experimental work throughout the school and in English in Years 5 and 6 because teachers’ expectations of accuracy and presentation are too low. Pupils achieve well in information and communication technology. Pupils’ needs, especially those of the potentially higher attaining, are not met fully enough because of weaknesses in teaching and provision. However, pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language achieve sound results because of the focused support they get. It is unlikely that the school will meet its challenging targets in English or mathematics this year.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils are generally enthusiastic about school and participate well in activities. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Satisfactory. The many examples of good behaviour are balanced by the unacceptable behaviour of a minority of pupils. The standard of behaviour in lessons is frequently related to the quality of teaching. There were no St Ives Junior School - 9 exclusions in the last school year. St Ives Junior School - 10 Aspect Comment

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Satisfactory. The relationships between pupils and adults are generally good; between pupils themselves they are sound. Pupils’ personal development is satisfactory and they discharge any responsibilities given to them appropriately. Attendance Poor. It is well below the national average and is still declining. The level of authorised absence is high.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The quality of teaching and learning is unsatisfactory. Too high a proportion of teaching is unsatisfactory and leads to unsatisfactory learning. Over time, teaching and learning are unsatisfactory in English and science, as well as in the dance aspect of physical education. In all other subjects, they are satisfactory. Numeracy skills are taught soundly. The skills of literacy are taught soundly in specific exercises but are not reinforced or extended in pupils’ written work. Pupils’ skills of speaking, listening, literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology are not developed adequately in other subjects. Pupils with special educational needs are taught well when withdrawn to work with the co- ordinator or in specific focus groups. However, teachers’ planning does not regularly take account of their special needs, or those of potentially higher attaining pupils. While relationships in lessons are

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

generally good, which helps to maintain a suitable degree of control, weaknesses in teachers’ planning and use of assessment data result in too many pupils not learning, losing interest and learning too little too slowly. Teaching is effective when planning identifies precisely what pupils are expected to learn and the activities set interest the pupils and challenge them to achieve the best results they can.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory, overall. The range and amount of activities outside lessons are excellent and the very good links with the community and the local secondary school enhance pupils’ education. Provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is good. However, there are significant weaknesses in how the curriculum is organised and the way work is planned to meet individual needs. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. The school uses many effective strategies to enhance pupils’ self-esteem and to improve their social skills. All resources are targeted towards the areas of greatest need and pupils are given good support individually or in small groups. Pupils’ individual education plans clearly identify suitable targets for improvement. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. Pupils’ learning is usually supported soundly in class.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Adults and pupils are fully aware of their wider needs.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is good. Provision for cultural development is sound, overall; although pupils’ knowledge of their own culture is good, provision for multicultural education is satisfactory. St Ives Junior School - 11 Aspect Comment

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good concern for pupils’ emotional and social welfare. The school is a caring and safe community for the pupils. Child protection procedures are very good. However, there are serious weaknesses in the way the school monitors and promotes attendance and in the way that it uses assessment information to improve pupils’ standards that result in unsatisfactory attention to their academic performance and personal development, overall.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The partnership with parents is satisfactory and nearly all appreciate what the school does for their children.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Unsatisfactory. Whilst the headteacher and other key staff promote a caring ethos throughout the school very successfully, they do not provide a clear vision or strategies to raise standards and improve the quality of teaching. The headteacher does not delegate responsibility sufficiently. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Unsatisfactory. The governing body does not fulfil its statutory duties effectively. Most governors do not have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and are not sufficiently involved in planning for the school’s improvement. The school’s evaluation of its performance Unsatisfactory. Procedures to enable staff and governors to judge how well the school is doing are not applied effectively. Therefore the school does not have an effective plan to identify and secure the necessary improvements and cannot be assured that resources are being used well.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Induction procedures for new staff are sound. The strategic use of resources Unsatisfactory. The resources available to the school are not focused appropriately so the headteacher has to spend too much time teaching a class. As a result, he has too little time to monitor and evaluate teaching and learning throughout the school or to release key staff to do so.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

There are too few teachers to teach the curriculum effectively. The accommodation is very good and resources, overall, are satisfactory.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • The range of activities outside lessons. • The behaviour is good. • They find the school staff approachable. • The school provides a caring environment. • Information about homework and a consistent approach to it from all classes. • Improved resolution to incidents of bullying. • The size of the classes, especially in Years 4 and 5. • The effectiveness of communication with them, including about their children’s progress.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspection team agrees with the positive comments, although it judges behaviour, overall, to be satisfactory. Although bullying incidents are dealt with appropriately in school and homework is satisfactory, the team agrees that communication about both issues could be handled more consistently and effectively. Communication about pupils’ progress is satisfactory. There is no evidence that the size of classes has a consequent effect on the quality of teaching and learning. St Ives Junior School - 12

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Pupils enter the school with standards of attainment that were, this year, below the national average. In previous years, however, standards have been close to the average, although there have been relatively few pupils who are potentially higher attaining in any year group recently and none is currently identified as being gifted and talented. Standards in mathematics have been below those for reading and writing in each of the last four years.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. In the national tests in 2002, the standards attained by pupils in Year 6 were well below the national average in English, mathematics and science. They were well below the average for similar schools 1 in English and mathematics and below average in science. In all three tests, there were too few higher attaining pupils and this affected the overall average score adversely. Because of the nature of that group of pupils, the girls performed better than the boys in English but there was no significant difference in the other subjects. The school met the targets agreed with the local education authority in English but failed to do so in mathematics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. An analysis of statistics by the local education authority shows that the progress of this group of pupils in English and mathematics had been much less than expected when they were in Years 3 and 4 but had been better than expected when they were in Years 5 and 6. National statistics show that this group made satisfactory progress during their four years in this school in science but that their progress was unsatisfactory in English and poor in mathematics. The school’s trend of improvement over the last five years is below that nationally, and in English and mathematics, results have worsened significantly since 2000.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. The findings of this inspection are that standards in Year 6 in English, mathematics and science are below average. The school is unlikely to meet the targets agreed with the local education authority this year in either English or mathematics. Pupils’ standards in geography are also below those expected because the required skills are not developed as fully as they should be. Their standards in art and design are above those expected because pupils do develop their skills systematically and are given many opportunities to enhance them with specialist help from members of the local artistic community. In all other subjects, standards match those expected nationally, although they do not attain the levels to be expected in the dance element of physical education. Pupils’ library skills are below those expected because they are not able to get research books out independently, relying too much on the librarian.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. As a result of the worsening results in national tests, the school has received intensive support in mathematics in the last two years. This has been effective in improving teachers’ confidence and competence with the National Numeracy Strategy and has led to a broad measure of progression though the school. In addition, improved analysis of the results of annual tests in English, mathematics and science has meant that teachers are beginning to target, in general terms, those areas of particular difficulty for pupils. This has led to gradually improving standards, overall, as compared with last year’s national test results in Year 6. There is, however, still much work to be accomplished before significant weaknesses in the quality of teaching and provision are sufficiently improved to ensure that all individuals achieve the standards they could and should.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1 ‘Similar schools’ are those where similar proportions of pupils are claiming free school meals, in this case between 20 per cent and 35 per cent of the number on roll. St Ives Junior School - 13 6. Overall, most pupils do not achieve the results they should in relation to their prior attainment, particularly in English in Years 5 and 6, because of teachers’ inadequate marking of their written work, and in science, where investigative skills are not developed fully enough. In addition, the needs of the higher attaining pupils in particular are not met fully enough because of weaknesses in teachers’ planning. This means that in many subjects their skills and knowledge are not extended as much as they should be. However, the school has begun to address their needs through a weekly link with a local secondary school, where a small group of higher attainers from Year 6 go to receive extra teaching in mathematics or science. The use of pupils’ skills of literacy,

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

numeracy and information and communication technology is not systematically planned in other subjects and, therefore, opportunities to extend and reinforce learning are missed. In information and communication technology pupils start from a low base and are achieving good results in relation to their prior attainment because of improved resources, increased expertise of the teachers and some effective and structured guidelines to help teaching. In other subjects, pupils’ achievement is broadly similar to that expected nationally.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Pupils with special educational needs are achieving sound results in relation to their prior attainment and the targets on their individual education plans (IEPs). This is because of the improving understanding class teachers have of their particular needs and has been brought about by recent changes in the procedures for writing their IEPs, which now, appropriately, involve class teachers. In addition, they receive caring and effective support from teaching assistants, some of whom are designated to intervene with those known to suffer from behavioural problems. However, the management of the behaviour of some disruptive pupils is not consistent between teachers. Their expectations of pupils’ application to task and attention to instructions vary significantly from teacher to teacher and, in some classes, this affects learning adversely. When pupils are withdrawn to work with the co-ordinator for special educational needs or in

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

small groups, they achieve good results because of the carefully focused support they receive.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Pupils with English as an additional language are achieving satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment because teachers and pupils are well aware of their language and social needs and do all they can to make them feel at home and valued. When they have extra support from a speaker of the mother tongue, they achieve good results.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. The previous inspection report indicated that pupils had positive attitudes to learning. While this is largely still true, there is currently a wide range of attitudes to school. Overall, nearly all pupils enjoy school and show good levels of enthusiasm, involvement and interest in their work, although some Year 6 pupils are disaffected. They respond well to their teachers and are well motivated, eagerly talking about what they are doing and explaining their thoughts and opinions confidently. They participate enthusiastically in extra-curricular activities. Pupils’ ability to work on individual tasks or in groups varies. Many pupils work effectively in unsupervised groups, focusing on tasks and co- operating well with one another, but in some lessons they show unsatisfactory levels of co-operation with occasional bouts of unnecessary argument and squabbling. There is a significant minority of pupils who find difficulty listening and sustaining attention,

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

particularly in Year 6. This is less evident where teaching is of a better quality and lessons are well managed, when most pupils are enthusiastic and eager to learn.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. The previous inspection report indicated that pupils’ behaviour was good. Parents consider that the school is successful in achieving good standards of behaviour. Currently, behaviour varies although it is satisfactory, overall. The school has a general St Ives Junior School - 14 expectation of good behaviour and so most pupils are smart, friendly, courteous and considerate of each other. Generally, they listen well to each other and, except for a small minority, are mindful of each other’s needs. There are many examples of good behaviour, but the behaviour of a significant minority of pupils gives cause for concern.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Behaviour in lessons is generally satisfactory, but when teaching is of a better quality and pupils are more effectively stimulated, it is frequently good and sometimes very good. Some pupils sometimes engage in silly behaviour instead of working and are not checked by the teacher because the teacher’s expectations are not high enough; in these lessons, the pupils do not learn as much as they could and should. Pupils move around the school sensibly and lessons are able to start promptly, for example on formal occasions such as assemblies. Standards of behaviour in the playground and at lunchtimes are generally satisfactory. No bullying or aggressive behaviour was observed during the inspection although it is understood that incidents do arise occasionally. There have been no exclusions. Pupils are proud of their school and are careful with equipment and resources. They are respectful of property and their

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

classroom environments. The majority of pupils willingly and politely share equipment in class. Resources are tidied up quickly and class routines undertaken without fuss.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Relationships between pupils and adults are good and are a strength of the school. Pupils feel valued by teachers and reciprocate accordingly. Most pupils are trustworthy, thoughtful and considerate, displaying satisfactory degrees of respect for the feelings, values and beliefs of others. Relationships between pupils themselves are satisfactory, overall, although the quality varies and some relationships, especially in Year 6, are unsatisfactory. There are instances where they relate and interact well, working together harmoniously, assisting with activities and providing general help to each other.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. The school provides some opportunities for pupils to exercise responsibility and develop independence. They respond satisfactorily and confidently. For example, there are regular duties in each class for all pupils, while older pupils undertake particular duties about the school, such as assisting with assemblies, tidying the library and answering the office telephone at lunchtimes. All pupils willingly undertake duties in classes, demonstrating satisfactory levels of responsibility and developing independence. The school council members are elected from every class by their peers. The council meets regularly and provides an opportunity for pupils to engage in the practical running of the school.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. On most occasions, pupils with special educational needs are well behaved and respond positively to the expectations set by staff. However, some pupils’ social skills are not well developed and they find it hard to control their emotions. They were responsible for the few incidents of disruptive behaviour that were seen. Teachers are very sensitive to the needs of these pupils and generally manage them well to help them to acquire acceptable attitudes and behave in the way the school wishes. When working in small groups they show confidence to contribute to group discussions, are interested, and want to succeed. They join in all aspects of school life, and take responsibility when it is offered.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. In the previous inspection report, attendance was above average. Since then it has significantly deteriorated and is currently well below the national average. There continues to be only a minimal level of unauthorised absence. Most pupils are punctual in their attendance and lessons are able to start on time. However, there continues to be a small minority of pupils who are regularly late. The poor levels of attendance are due to various factors, but include the number of pupils taking holidays during term time, which is made more likely by the seasonal nature of employment in the area. The poor level of attendance has an adverse effect on pupils’ progress, achievement and standards. St Ives Junior School - 15

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. The quality of teaching and learning is unsatisfactory, overall. This is worse than at the time of the previous inspection. Too many lessons are not taught effectively and this has an adverse effect on pupils’ progress and achievements. There are weaknesses in teachers’ use of assessment information. They have a consequent effect on the precision with which teachers plan work that meets the needs of all pupils closely enough.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. The inspection team observed 51 lessons. Teaching and learning were unsatisfactory in nine lessons and were satisfactory, overall, in 22. A further 13 lessons were taught well and seven lessons were very well taught. One unsatisfactory lesson was taught in each of Year 3 and Year 4 and two in Year 5; five unsatisfactory lessons were observed in Year 6, a significant minority of them given by temporary teachers. Examples of very good teaching and learning were observed in all year groups, with the majority being observed in Years 5 and 6.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. The quality of teaching and learning in most subjects is satisfactory. The quality of teaching and learning over time is unsatisfactory in English. This is because teachers, especially those in Years 5 and 6, do not ensure that the literacy skills that are taught satisfactorily in specific lessons are reinforced in subsequent written exercises, which weakens the effect of the learning that has taken place. In addition, there are weaknesses in teachers’ marking, which are detailed below. Because there is insufficient emphasis on the logical development of pupils’ scientific skills of experimentation and investigation, the quality of teaching and learning in science is unsatisfactory over time. In the physical education lessons observed, teaching and learning were unsatisfactory; however, there is compelling evidence to show that this is not representative of the normal standards in the school, which are generally at least

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. The skills of numeracy are taught satisfactorily. While there are examples of these skills, and those of speaking, listening, writing and information and communication technology, being used to support work in other subjects, the opportunities to use these skills are not planned systematically or rigorously enough to ensure that they are reinforced or extended sufficiently.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is good when they are withdrawn to work with the co-ordinator for special educational needs or in small support groups with designated teaching assistants. These assistants are well trained to meet the needs of the pupils. The special needs co-ordinator knows the individual needs of each pupil well, even though she has not been in the school for very long. She shows good expertise when teaching these pupils. Tasks linked to work done in class are matched closely to the pupils’ learning targets but also offer appropriate challenges to enhance learning. The very good, sensitive relationships ensure that pupils achieve well in relation to their prior learning in these sessions. The teaching of these pupils is satisfactory in English and mathematics lessons because of the good level of support they receive from teachers or other adults. Teachers are increasingly knowledgeable

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

about the particular needs of these pupils because new procedures involve them in writing pupils’ individual education plans. However, in many class lessons in other subjects, work planned and the tasks set do not meet the pupils’ needs precisely enough. In these lessons, pupils make little or no progress unless they receive extra support and are well managed.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. In some subjects, teachers exchange classes. The reasons given for this organisation are to use individual subject expertise and to minimise the planning burden. There is no evidence that the quality of teaching is significantly different in swapped lessons than it St Ives Junior School - 16 is in others. In addition, there are weaknesses in planning that make the second reason invalid. Where pupils are placed in sets according to their prior attainment, as in mathematics, this system works satisfactorily. In Year 6 where there are three sets, this enables teachers to plan work for a narrower range of needs. However, some teachers do not use their assessment of what pupils have learned in lessons to adapt the plans they are using to meet their developing needs.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Throughout the school, relationships are good, which means that pupils are willing to admit that they need help and receive it freely from teachers, teaching assistants and volunteer helpers. This helps them to complete the tasks set and also helps maintain generally good order. Teaching assistants are used well to help pupils with special educational needs and those who are lower attaining, as in a Year 6 mathematics lesson with the lower set, where the teaching assistant worked effectively and with good humour to ensure that pupils understood the task and achieved very good results in relation to their prior attainment. Homework is used well in science, especially in Year 6, and soundly in other subjects and years to reinforce and extend learning. The work is generally given every week but teachers use the homework diaries inconsistently, which is a matter of concern to parents and this practice needs to be reviewed.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Teachers prepare lessons satisfactorily and ensure that the planned resources are readily to hand, which aids the flow of the lesson. However, they do not always plan the activities well enough to meet the differing needs of the pupils in their group. In a Year 4 geography lesson, for example, planning was extremely rudimentary; it was merely a photocopy of the relevant page of the national subject guidelines with the broad focus highlighted. In too many lessons, the learning objectives for the lesson were often confused with what the teacher was going to teach. Consequently, pupils’ achievements were less than they should have been because teachers had no clear idea of what they were expecting pupils to learn as a result of the teaching. As a result, teachers did not assess exactly what pupils had or had not learned nor plan work to meet their needs adequately. The pupils were not challenged to work hard or fast

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

enough to achieve the standards that they should. The good support afforded lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs by teachers and teaching assistants offsets this weakness to some extent in many lessons. However, the potentially higher attaining pupils are not challenged enough because teachers’ expectations of their attainment are not high enough.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The weakness in planning is made worse by the unsatisfactory standard of teachers’ marking of pupils’ work. In most, but not all, classes pupils’ work is marked regularly and generally accurately. Only rarely does it show pupils how to improve their work. Often, marking fails to demand neatness and precision, for example in the mathematics books for one Year 3 set, and in the Years 5 and 6 English writing books, where basic mistakes of grammar and punctuation go uncorrected. This means that pupils do not know what they need to do to improve standards nor even how well they have done.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. In a small minority of lessons, teachers’ subject knowledge is not sufficient to enable them to challenge pupils’ skills enough. For example, in a Year 6 geography lesson, the temporary teacher showed a video recording without comment. Consequently, the lesson drifted without clear purpose and pupils were not required to concentrate on the task or to make real efforts to learn and, therefore, no learning took place. In dance lessons, for example in Year 6, teachers tend to lack confidence and rely too much on the printed scheme, which means that they are unable to make the specific coaching points that would improve individual performance. In a minority of lessons, teachers’ expectations of pupils’ behaviour are too low and they do not manage the class effectively. This means that pupils did not listen or concentrate enough on their tasks and so their achievement is lower than it should be. St Ives Junior School - 17

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Where teaching is more effective and learning more secure, it is because: • The teacher has amended lesson plans in the light of pupils’ earlier work and has a very clear idea of what pupils are expected to learn in the session. • Teachers manage the pupils very effectively and use time efficiently so pupils have every reason to behave well. In a Year 6 English lesson, for example, the teacher ensured that the pupils were fully occupied for a large proportion of the time and made very good – and successful – efforts to produce good work. • Teachers communicate their own enthusiasm and conduct lessons at a pace that motivates the pupils to good efforts. This was the case in a Year 3 mathematics lesson. Pupils made very good progress in finding missing numbers to make up ten or 100 because of the teacher’s verve and stimulating teaching. • The effective use of humour and repartee by teachers sustains the pace of the

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

lesson, keeping pupils concentrating and attentive. For example, in a Year 5 mathematics lesson, one pupil was keen to comment on the precision of the teacher’s freehand drawing of a right angle and said, ”It’s not a perfect right angle you’ve drawn”. The teacher’s reply – “When I’m perfect, I’ll expect you to be perfect”, maintained the very good relationships and the momentum of the lesson very effectively, resulting in very good learning. • Teachers devise activities that are based on pupils’ own experiences and involve them in practical exercises. This ensures that they are interested and that they are involved in learning for a high proportion of the lesson. In a mathematics lesson for the lowest set in Year 6, the problem to be solved was set in Truro. This interested the pupils and made learning relevant to what they already knew. • Very good subject knowledge enables teachers to choose relevant examples, to

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

pose relevant questions and ensures that they use the correct subject vocabulary to help the pupils extend their knowledge. In a Year 4 English poetry lesson, for example, the teacher used a good range of similes and metaphors as examples of how poets have expressed feelings, such as anger and sadness. She then used technical words, such as ‘suffix’ correctly and repeatedly to extend pupils’ understanding of how the language works. • The teacher takes great pains to ensure that pupils understand what they have to do by building securely on what they have already done and enabling them to learn effectively through good levels of challenge. In a mathematics lesson for the top set in Year 6, for example, the teacher effectively questioned pupils about previous work so that they all remembered before moving on. He then challenged them to explain their thinking about how to arrange different sorts of fractions, which enabled them to

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

relate fractions to percentages successfully.

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PUPILS?

27. The school provides a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum that meets statutory requirements and covers all the subjects of the National Curriculum. Provision for religious education meets the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus. However, the requirements for all pupils to receive a daily act of collective worship are not met, as many pupils are withdrawn from assemblies to receive additional language support.

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PUPILS?

28. The school places an appropriate emphasis on English and mathematics. These subjects are effectively planned according to national guidelines, but while numeracy skills are taught soundly, the impact of the National Literacy Strategy is unsatisfactory, because teachers do not plan suitable activities to meet the differing needs within a class and do not insist on appropriate standards in pupils’ written work. Additional language help is given to selected pupils to try to raise standards, but the work done in these lessons is done in isolation, and the skills learned are not reinforced in the pupils’ written work in class lessons. There are too few opportunities planned into lessons for the development and use of literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology (ICT) skills to be used in other subjects. Consequently, pupils’ skills are not St Ives Junior School - 18 continuously reinforced. There is an over-reliance on the use of worksheets that often

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PUPILS?

require one-word answers, particularly in science, and this limits opportunities for pupils to enhance their literacy skills. However, the use of spelling songs is an imaginative provision for this area of work. A major weakness in the science curriculum is insufficient emphasis on the investigative element of the subject to enhance the development of scientific skills.

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PUPILS?

29. The requirements for ICT are now fully met, as all elements of the subject are now taught and provision is good. This is an improvement since the last inspection when provision did not meet statutory requirements. The improvement in teachers’ expertise and the installation of the ICT suite have meant that pupils now have productive amounts of time working at a computer, so enabling them to develop their skills in a progressive way. This is resulting in improving standards throughout the school. Successful steps have been taken to deal with some aspects of music found to be unsatisfactory at the time of the last inspection, and these are given appropriate emphasis, and so pupils now enjoy all the elements of the music curriculum.

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PUPILS?

30. Subject policies and schemes of work, largely based on national recommendations, are in place for all the subjects of the National Curriculum. However, many of the policies are out of date and in need of review, and some of the schemes have not been sufficiently adapted to meet the needs of the pupils. The long-term curriculum overview gives sound guidance as to when subjects should be taught, but there are examples where this is not being followed, for example the time spent on teaching history and geography. The plan does not specify exactly how much time will be spent on particular units of work within the term. The medium-term plans contain statements taken directly from the curriculum guidelines without being adapted to the school’s context, so that they are often vague and too broad. These statements are used in teachers’ daily planning, resulting in some lessons having no clear, precise indication of what pupils

p.18

PUPILS?

are to learn. Teachers plan together in year groups to ensure that the pupils receive similar learning opportunities, and sensible use is made of the expertise of some teachers. For example, two teachers are responsible for teaching all the music across the school, which assures acceptable standards. However, a lot of the other swapping of classes, ostensibly to enable teachers to teach to their strengths and lighten the planning load, is less effective, particularly when teacher expertise is not strong. The same lesson is often taught to different groups even if deficiencies become apparent. Sometimes pupils have two teachers in one lesson, and so there is an inconsistency of approach, particularly when teachers change mid-lesson.

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PUPILS?

31. There are weaknesses in the daily planning, as this does not identify what pupils with differing levels of attainment should do, leading to all pupils tackling the same work. This is a major weakness in most lessons. This results in a lack of challenge for the higher attaining pupils who often wait for their peers to finish before being given the next task and pupils with special educational needs being set inappropriate work, for example being given a worksheet that they cannot read, although support from adults often overcomes the effects of this practice. Therefore many pupils do not achieve as much as they should. There is a lack of planning for the systematic development of skills in many subjects, as the emphasis is on activities to be done, rather than what is to be learned.

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PUPILS?

32. All pupils, whatever their disability, take a full part in the life of the school. Many pupils are withdrawn from lessons for other activities such as language support and music teaching, so missing crucial parts of lessons. The school minimises this disruption by planning group sessions on a rolling programme so that the same pupils do not miss the same lessons every week. Thus pupils should benefit from these extra provisions without missing too much of the day-to-day lessons. However, although no pupil is excluded from any activity on the basis of their gender, race or creed, not all pupils receive their full entitlement to the whole curriculum. This is because whether or not St Ives Junior School - 19 opportunities are given for pupils to catch up on the work missed in the lesson from which they have come depends on the teacher’s classroom management, which has already been identified as unsatisfactory in too many cases. There is also too much

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PUPILS?

casual coming and going within lessons in general, when pupils visit the toilet or are called to read, change library books or to talk to mentors, so that learning is significantly interrupted. Consequently, pupils’ equality of access and opportunity cannot be judged more than satisfactory, overall, in spite of the large number of extra activities on offer.

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PUPILS?

33. Overall, provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is very good. Pupils with SEN have appropriate targets to address their specific needs set for them in their individual education plans. The Code of Practice is fully implemented. There is good liaison between the class teachers, support staff, and the special needs co-ordinator to ensure that individual targets are met, and that pupils receive their entitlement to the same curriculum as their peers. The many special needs assistants support their pupils well, enabling them to feel safe and secure, and helping them to work towards their targets. The provision listed on pupils’ statements of special educational needs is generally implemented well by the school. Pupils with learning difficulties receive good provision when aided by teaching assistants in classes. However, pupils’ targets are not always reinforced when the teaching assistants are not there, and in these

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PUPILS?

situations pupils do not achieve as well as they should. All pupils with SEN are encouraged to take part in any extra-curricular activities that the school might provide. There are large numbers of pupils whose emotional and social needs are a focus for the school. The school has put in place many strategies to raise pupils’ self-esteem and to teach acceptable social skills, such as the ‘Trailblazer’ scheme, which are having a positive effect on those pupils whose behaviour does not conform to accepted standards. Learning mentors are used throughout the day to defuse conflict and help pupils take responsibility for their actions. However, there are no strategies in place at the moment to assess the effectiveness of this provision.

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PUPILS?

34. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language is satisfactory. Teachers and pupils are well aware of their general emotional, social and personal needs and make every effort to meet them as part of the overall school ethic. Their educational needs are met soundly, overall and, reportedly, well when they have mother-tongue support, which was not seen during the inspection.

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PUPILS?

35. Provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is good. There is a designated and enthusiastic co-ordinator, and the school has developed its own scheme of work to meet the perceived needs of the pupils. It forms an important part of the school’s curriculum through a well-established programme for developing ‘Life Skills’, when pupils learn about relationships, what it means to be a good citizen, a healthy life-style, and the dangers of drug misuse. Sex education is sensitively taught through the science curriculum, and through discussions about relationships. Personal and social education is also promoted well through the use of ‘circle time’ 2 , but these sessions are not a regular part of all teachers’ timetables, as not all teachers feel confident enough to engage in this activity.

p.19

PUPILS?

36. The excellent provision for extra-curricular activities and very good community links enhance the breadth of the curriculum. The strengths found at the time of the previous inspection have been maintained. There is a wide range of extra activities offered to the pupils, from chess and cooking to disco dancing and cheerleading. The vast majority of pupils take up these opportunities, and gain significant insights into many activities. A large number of pupils, about two-fifths of the pupils in the school, are learning to play a musical instrument, which enhances the expertise and enjoyment of the pupils involved and contributes to the musical life of the school. The school takes part in many

p.19

PUPILS?

2 These are occasions when pupils discuss matters of personal concern in confidence with their teacher and the rest of the class. St Ives Junior School - 20 competitive events, with considerable success. All pupils are offered the chance to attend a residential camp, which gives further opportunities for pupils to develop their interpersonal and social skills. The school is an important part of the local community and there are many visitors to the school who share their expertise with the pupils. For example, one visitor taught pupils to make felt and create a colourful collage with their products. The pupils visit many places of local interest, such as the Archive Centre. These visits and visitors do much to celebrate the local Cornish culture as well as making the curriculum relevant to the pupils. The school has also established links with the wider community through liaison with schools in other parts of Britain and the world,

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PUPILS?

37. Links with partner schools are good overall. The school is a member of the local pyramid of schools and enjoys very good links with the secondary school. Teachers and pupils benefit from help and advice from the secondary school on subjects such as design and technology, and science. There are well-developed transfer arrangements to ensure a smooth transfer to the next school. Liaison with the partner infant school is developing with the appointment of a new headteacher.

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PUPILS?

38. The provision for pupils’ spiritual development is good. Predominantly Christian values and beliefs are explored through the teaching of religious education and during the act of collective worship. Pupils are given time for reflection in collective worship and in ‘Life Skills’ lessons, some of which include ‘circle time’ where pupils can share their views. There are links with many church communities in the local area, representing a range of Christian denominations. During the inspection, the curate from St John’s Church gave an inspirational assembly connected with an ongoing project at the church on homelessness. Her use of visual aids and the way she involved the pupils reinforced the message that it was unwise to ‘judge a book by its cover’. Pupils’ spiritual development is enhanced by their study of Christianity and other faiths, including Judaism and Sikhism. For the last two years the school has won a ‘Barnabas

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PUPILS?

Award’ for religious education presented by the Churches in Cornwall, most recently with a presentation on Judaism by Year 6 pupils.

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PUPILS?

39. The school makes good provision for pupils’ moral development. Nearly all teachers focus on promoting positive behaviour, devising their own generally effective systems of rewards and sanctions, such as stickers, star charts and smiley faces. Learning mentors reinforce positive messages, adopting a non-confrontational approach and defusing potentially difficult situations by talking with pupils who are upset and allowing them to take ‘time out’. Moral values are reinforced well in the daily acts of collective worship and by ‘reminder’ posters around the school.

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PUPILS?

40. Provision for pupils’ social development is good. Pupils take responsibility as monitors in their own classes. Some act as librarians keeping the books tidy and helping pupils change books. Two pupils from each class attend the school council meetings that are held every month. The school council, which is currently chaired by a pupil in Year 6, successfully canvasses pupils’ views. The introduction of rubber tyres around the school playground area to stop balls rolling off the playground was a recent school council resolution. Pupils take part in many fund-raising events such as sending food parcels to Croatia, collecting for Childline and sending a donation to UNICEF. There is a comprehensive programme of popular extra-curricular activities, school visits, musical productions, residential camps, and Trailblazer and Pyramid clubs for team-building skills, all of which encourage pupils to become ‘part of the team’.

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PUPILS?

41. Provision for cultural development is satisfactory overall. Pupils’ knowledge of their local culture is good. The school received a Schools Curriculum Award in recognition of its contribution to the theme of ‘the school as the heart of the community’. Pupils take part in the town’s ‘St Ia Feast’, mayor choosing ceremony and tree and bulb planting. Pupils valued the contribution made by local writers during Book Week and St Ives Junior School - 21 enthusiastically take part in instrumental lessons and musical productions. The local artist community also supports the school by donating an art gallery of local artists’ work and by sharing their skills with the pupils so that pupils can take part in crafts such as felt making. The provision for multicultural education is sound. The school maintains links with a school in Japan and corresponds with a German school, sending letters and puzzles to German children. The study of different faiths is included in religious

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PUPILS?

education, and an appreciation of music and art from other cultures and countries is included in the music and art curriculum. A programme of visits to cultural and historic places of interest further broadens the pupils’ understanding of life in multicultural Britain.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. The school is committed to providing a caring working environment, which is effectively supervised and results in very good welfare provision. This is identified as a priority for the school. The school provides a safe and healthy environment. The headteacher and staff know the pupils’ personal, social and emotional needs well, and respond sympathetically to them. There is a very caring ethos within the school, in which all pupils are valued for themselves and are made to feel supported and wanted. Although all the required policies are in place, including that for racial equality, many are in need of evaluation and review.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. All members of staff are aware of the appropriate procedures for child protection and the overall provision is very good. There is a good policy with a designated, experienced co-ordinator who has received the appropriate training. The school uses the standard local education authority (LEA) health and safety guidelines and internal responsibilities are appropriately defined. There is regular health and safety monitoring by a member of staff and a governor, and the school receives regular professional advice from the LEA. There are very good arrangements for the care and support of pupils who are taken ill at school, first aid and appropriately maintained accident records. There are good arrangements for the supervision of pupils at break times and lunch periods. All necessary measures have been taken to ensure that pupils use the Internet safely.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. The school aims to foster personal development, particularly of those pupils who have limited social skills. The headteacher, class teachers and support staff are committed to providing personal support and guidance to pupils as important elements in pupils’ learning. Members of staff provide good role models and they know all pupils well, reinforced by comprehensive links with individual families. Most pupils gain in maturity during their school years and they are satisfactorily prepared for the next stage of education. However, the school’s approach to pastoral care is very protective and this does not promote pupils’ independence and social skills in the longer term. A number of highly motivated and conscientious learning mentors have recently been appointed to provide personal support to individuals and groups of pupils. Overall, the personal support and guidance for pupils and the procedures for monitoring their personal

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. The previous inspection report stated that the school’s approach to behaviour management was being completely revised. This has been done and there are now comprehensive behaviour procedures and a policy in place. However, the extent to which the procedures are applied varies between classes, and teachers’ approach to promoting good behaviour is inconsistent. Where the procedures are applied rigorously with a well-understood system of rewards and sanctions, they have a direct effect on improved standards of behaviour, but this is not the case when they are applied ineffectively or inconsistently. There are established procedures for dealing with the occasional incidents of bullying and aggressive behaviour. However, in the first instance these are not always handled by a senior member of staff, which would emphasise the seriousness with which the school treats such incidents. Overall, the St Ives Junior School - 22

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

procedures for monitoring and promoting good behaviour and for eliminating oppressive behaviour are both broadly satisfactory.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. There were good procedures for monitoring attendance at the time of the previous inspection. This is no longer the case. Attendance has declined and continues to do so. While there is effective liaison and regular contact with the education welfare service, the school’s own arrangements for monitoring, analysing and improving pupils’ attendance are unsatisfactory. There are significant numbers of pupils whose attendance rate is very low and the school has not adopted suitably rigorous measures to discourage their absence. For example, unexplained absences are not followed up on the first day and the school approves holidays in term time of up to four weeks. No general measures have been taken to promote good attendance in the last year. Registers are completed promptly and well in accordance with regulations. However, they are not returned promptly to the office by all classes, which could be dangerous in

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. Assessment procedures in English and mathematics are sound. The school gains a wealth of information from tests taken annually and records it carefully. The information has been analysed closely to determine which aspects of the subject are causing pupils most concern. This information has been used satisfactorily to raise staff awareness, to highlight which areas have not been taught effectively, to give an idea of pupils’ attainment and to put individuals in groups of pupils with similar needs. The results of similar tests in Year 5 are used to set the statutory end-of-year targets and, when based purely on the school’s own data, are relatively accurate. However, teachers do not use the information well enough to ensure that they know precisely what it is that individual pupils already know, understand or can do, and subsequently to devise work that will meet the needs of individuals or groups of pupils closely enough.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

48. Assessment procedures in other subjects are generally unsatisfactory. The strategies used vary in rigour and timing according to the subject and the teacher. The recording formats vary widely and not all teachers have the same recording sheets in their assessment files. This is unacceptable because it does not ensure that assessment information can be used to help pupils to acquire the necessary skills and understanding in a logical sequence. Too often, teachers assume that pupils have made progress in learning merely because they have completed the tasks set as part of the class activity, rather than basing their assessments on observation of what skills, understanding or competencies individuals have gained. This is unsatisfactory.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

49. Identification and assessment procedures for pupils with special educational needs are good, and the co-ordinator has a very good overview of the needs of all the identified pupils, including their academic and personal development. Pupils’ individual education plans have clear targets, and assessments are carried out regularly to track the progress pupils make against them. The targets are reviewed regularly and new targets set when appropriate, to ensure that pupils’ learning develops continuously. Good use is made of other professionals, such as the educational psychologist, to help teachers to enable the pupils to overcome their identified difficulties. St Ives Junior School - 23

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

50. Most parents are appreciative of the care and support provided for their children. Most parents feel that the school is accessible, that they are welcomed and that the staff are approachable. However, some parents expressed concern with the way the school handles bullying incidents. The inspection team feels that effective arrangements are in place, but that the communication of the outcomes to parents could be improved. A number of parents also expressed concern with the size of classes, especially in Years 4 and 5. However, there is no evidence that the size of classes has an effect on the quality of teaching and learning.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

51. A minority of parents who completed the parents’ questionnaire felt they were not sufficiently well informed about their children’s progress. However, the inspection team’s view is that the quality of information provided to parents is generally satisfactory. The governing body’s annual report to parents and the prospectus are both attractively produced and informative. There are frequent general newsletters, written in an attractive style, ensuring an effective general communication link with parents. Each term, parents are provided with useful curriculum information from each class. Additionally, there is regular contact between class teachers and thereby parents’ information about their children is broadened by their discussions with staff throughout the year. There are opportunities for formal consultation with parents each term. Those in the autumn and spring terms are well supported, but less so in the

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

summer term which coincides with the issuing of pupils’ annual reports.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

52. The previous inspection report stated that the annual reports described pupils’ attainment, but did not provide learning targets. Currently, the reports are of a satisfactory standard, providing information on all subjects and including useful general comments. They are also related to National Curriculum levels in English and mathematics and provide informative comments on what pupils know, understand and can do in these subjects although they are less informative in other subjects. Useful learning targets are now included and there are opportunities for comments by both parents and pupils.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

53. A minority of parents expressed concern with homework. There are satisfactory homework arrangements, which provide them with a valuable opportunity for involvement in their children’s education. However, teachers do not make regular or consistent use of the homework diaries and parents would benefit from more frequent and effective information.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

54. There is some direct parental involvement in school with a number of parents helping with activities, for example assisting with reading and design and technology. Parents give support to school activities and there is an active Friends’ Association, providing valuable financial support to the school. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are appropriately involved at every stage of their children’s work. They are fully informed of the school’s practice, and invited to attend meetings where the pupil’s progress is discussed. The school encourages parents to become involved in supporting their children’s work at home, but this isn’t always successful.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The headteacher and staff promote the aims and values of the school well, but these aims do not sufficiently reflect the need for high academic achievement. The headteacher’s pastoral leadership is good but it lacks rigour when addressing academic standards. As a result of governors’ spending decisions, the school does not have sufficient teachers to enable the headteacher to carry out his responsibilities effectively. He is very hardworking but has an unrealistic workload. In addition to leading and managing the school, he teaches every morning, he is subject co-ordinator for St Ives Junior School - 24 science and joint co-ordinator for English, and he carries out the performance management of all teaching and support staff. He does not delegate sufficient tasks to his deputy and the other senior member of staff who should undertake management responsibilities. As a result of this workload he is unable to carry out many of his

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

functions effectively. For instance, whilst the statutory requirements for performance management are met, they are not done so with sufficient rigour to improve the quality of teaching and learning throughout the school and therefore raise standards.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. In the main, the governing body is not effective in holding the school to account for its performance. There has been a high level of absenteeism from governors’ meetings. There is a ‘Visiting Governors’ Guide’ but few governors visit the school during the school day. Most governors do not follow the principles set out in the guide and, therefore, are not sufficiently aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Reports back to a full governors’ meeting following a visit are mostly anecdotal and not evaluative. A significant exception to this is the governor with responsibility for special educational needs who has very good liaison with the special educational needs co- ordinator. Only the chair of the governing body receives full details of the academic standards achieved by pupils. As a result of this and their infrequent and ineffective visits to school, governors have insufficient information about the school’s strengths

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

and weaknesses to contribute to identifying priorities for school improvement or to make best strategic use of the resources available to them. This has led to the governors setting a budget that requires the headteacher to teach a class for too high a proportion of the week and one that does not enable implementation of the school’s development plan and lead to improvements in standards. It also means that some classes are very large, especially in Year 4.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The principles of best value are not always applied because the school does not compare its standards and costs with those of other schools. Governors have not sufficiently challenged themselves to justify their spending decisions and nor have they consulted sufficiently widely in making them. However, the day-to-day management of the budget is securely and efficiently carried out by the clerical assistants who make sound use of new technology in order to do so. The recommendations of the latest auditors’ report have been implemented. In addition to her budget responsibilities the clerical assistant provides excellent support to the headteacher, all staff and in the general operation of the school.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The school’s development plan identifies some appropriate areas that require improvement but is insufficiently detailed and is not supported by comprehensive action plans. It is not an effective tool to secure improvement. The contents of the plan are insufficiently prioritised to enable budget decisions to support it. As a result, the plan is led by budget decisions rather than the need to raise standards. Governors receive a copy of the plan at an early stage but are insufficiently involved in its formulation to enable them to contribute effectively towards setting the strategic direction of the school. Specific governors are allocated responsibility to oversee each issue on the development plan but they do not do so effectively. Progress on the development plan is insufficiently monitored or evaluated so the headteacher, staff and governors do not have a clear picture of what actions need to be taken next in order to improve

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. The effectiveness of co-ordinators varies considerably. The strong leadership of the co- ordinator for special educational needs has provided clear direction and has effected improvements to the provision made for such pupils, as well as involving her colleagues more appropriately in helping pupils in class. She keeps all the paperwork up to date, maintains meticulous records for all appropriate pupils and ensures that all resources are carefully targeted to the areas of greatest need. She liaises well with the special needs governor so that the governing body is well informed concerning all special needs matters. There are also elements of good practice in the leadership and St Ives Junior School - 25 management of information and communication technology, physical education, religious education and personal, social and health education. In music, the co- ordinators have raised standards by teaching the subject to most classes themselves.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. However, in the other subjects, the role of co-ordinators is insufficiently developed for them to be effective in raising standards. Recently, only the headteacher has observed other teachers teaching and there has been no evaluation of the impact that teaching has on the quality of pupils’ learning, so weaknesses have not been identified and overcome. Most co-ordinators have inappropriate job descriptions that are not followed and none has release from class teaching responsibilities in order to monitor teaching, learning, curriculum and standards in their subjects. Most co-ordinators have not formulated an appropriate action plan for their areas of responsibility in order to achieve the necessary improvements.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. There is a very good number of learning support assistants and all pupils with statements of special educational needs are supported according to the provision identified in their statements. However, some pupils are withdrawn from the daily act of collective worship to receive additional help and this is contrary to statutory requirements unless parental permission is given. There is an appropriate policy for inducting staff that are new to the school and members of staff are giving sound support to a student on the Graduate Teacher Programme who is making good provision for her class.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. The need to review the management structure of the school and develop the roles of the curriculum co-ordinators, particularly to improve monitoring by staff with management responsibilities, was identified as a key issue at the previous inspection. So, too, was the need to improve assessment procedures and the way the resultant information was used. There has been insufficient progress towards overcoming these weaknesses. The staff and governors have taken insufficient action to implement the recommendations of recent reviews by the local education authority and an external consultant. Whilst they have a commitment to improvement, there are insufficient resources within the school to enable them to do so.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. Overall, the current accommodation meets the needs of the curriculum very well. The school building is modern, light, airy and welcoming for pupils and staff. Classrooms are of a size to provide generally good accommodation for the number of pupils. There are a number of withdrawal areas, a good-sized hall, music room and a computer suite. Very carefully presented displays help to create an attractive learning environment. The building is effectively maintained with good internal decoration. However, in severe weather some of the skylights leak. The grounds and playgrounds are of a good size and are maintained well.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

64. In the previous inspection report the provision of resources for information and communication technology was unsatisfactory. Since then the position has improved considerably and resources for hardware and software are now good and meet all requirements of the National Curriculum. Resources in music are good. There is a good amount of resources for pupils with special educational needs and a wide range to meet pupils’ varying needs, although they are not readily available in all parts of the school. Resources for all other subjects are satisfactory. St Ives Junior School - 26

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

65. The headteacher, staff and governors should now:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve standards, particularly in English, mathematics, science and geography and of potentially higher attaining pupils. (Paragraphs: 4, 6, 7, 67, 70, 71, 81, 82, 93 and 107)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve the quality of teaching and learning. (Paragraphs: 5, 7, 11, 16, 18 – 25, 28, 30, 33, 45, 49, 73, 76, 88, 90, 94, 96, 107, 109 – 111, 114, 116, 119, 129, 131, 132 and 135)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Ensure that teachers use all the assessment information available to them to plan work that matches the different and developing needs of pupils in their classes. (Paragraphs: 30 – 32, 47, 48, 67, 70, 77, 78, 82, 84, 86, 87, 90, 97, 98, 102, 106, 109 – 111, 114, 117, 119, 120, 125 and 136)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) Improve leadership and management of the school by: a. developing a strategic view of school improvement and strengthening the school development plan; b. establishing and carrying out a system of checking the effectiveness of the school’s work and regularly and rigorously evaluating its impact on raising standards; c. delegating responsibilities more equitably and ensuring that they are carried out effectively; d. ensuring that the governing body carries out its responsibilities effectively. e. Using all the school’s resources to focus on improving pupils’ rate of achievement; (Paragraphs: 33, 46, 55 – 62, 79, 91, 98, 102, 106, 112, 113, 117, 121, 126, 131 and 136)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(5) Develop procedures to monitor and improve pupils’ attendance and use them effectively. (Paragraphs: 15 and 46)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition, the governors should consider the following :

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Ensuring that the statutory requirements concerning pupils’ withdrawal from the daily act of collective worship are fully met. • Ensuring that all pupils receive their full entitlement to all lessons. • Devising ways of helping pupils to become more independent. (Paragraphs: 27, 32, 35, 44, 61 and 69) St Ives Junior School - 27

p.26

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 33

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 288

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 59

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 8

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 89

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 1

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 3

p.27

Attendance

National comparative data 5.5 National comparative data 0.4

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St Ives Junior School - 28

p.27

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 40 45 85

p.28

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.28

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

Boys 21 18 29 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 33 19 38

p.28

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

Percentage of pupils School 64(73) 44 (58) 79 (84) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

p.28

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.28

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

Boys 21 20 27 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 32 23 38

p.28

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

Percentage of pupils School 60 (70) 51 (58) 76 (78) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

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

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other ethnic group 1 0 0 St Ives Junior School - 29 No ethnic group recorded 9 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 9.9 Financial year 2001 - 2002

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 29

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Y3 – Y6 Total income 628,931

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 13 Total expenditure 655,116

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 249.5 Expenditure per pupil 2,127

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent Balance brought forward from previous year 77,899

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 51,714

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0.4

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. St Ives Junior School - 30

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 40 53 2 1 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 39 54 2 0 5

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 28 56 9 3 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 33 52 13 2 0

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 66 30 1 1 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 51 42 2 2 3

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 32 52 10 1 5

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 43 45 5 1 5

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 40 53 3 1 3

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 57 38 3 1 1 St Ives Junior School - 31

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ENGLISH

66. In the national tests for Year 6 in 2002, pupils met the school targets for English but standards were well below average nationally and well below average for similar schools. Results in English have been falling in each of the last two years with boys’ performance being particularly poor in 2002. Girls were also below average but significantly outperformed the boys.

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ENGLISH

67. The findings of this inspection are that, overall, pupils’ standards in Year 6 are below average. The achievement of lower and average attaining pupils is broadly in line with that expected but too few higher attainers make the progress they should. Analysis of pupils’ work shows that progress in satisfactory in Years 3 and 4, although there is significant variation in the quality of the written work between parallel classes. Pupils’ progress over time in writing in Years 5 and 6 is unsatisfactory because the quality of the written work in Years 5 and 6 is often of the same standard as pupils’ work in Year 4. In addition, the achievement of higher attaining pupils is insufficient and they are often unable to produce written work of a higher standard than their average attaining classmates because the work set is not matched to their needs and does not extend their learning adequately. This is because the expectations of some of the teachers in

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ENGLISH

Years 5 and 6 are insufficiently exacting and the marking does not identify pupils’ basic errors of punctuation and grammar or set targets for future improvement. Good progress was made in written work where the expectations of the teacher were high, suitable targets were set for pieces of work and the tasks were well matched to their ability.

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ENGLISH

68. Pupils’ attainment in speaking and listening by the age of eleven is in line with the expectation for their age. In the majority of lessons pupils listen politely to the teacher and are keen to share their ideas when asked to contribute. Pupils in Year 6 explain articulately, for example, the basic structure of an effective story and discuss the works of their favourite authors clearly. They also talk sensibly about the differences between formal and informal text and how they used the PowerPoint computer program for a storyboard that included animated pictures.

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ENGLISH

69. Pupils’ attainment in reading by the age of eleven is similar to the standards expected for their age. Pupils in Year 6 read with fluency and accuracy and discuss sensibly what they have read. However, although they use the contents and index pages appropriately, they do not understand the Dewey system for non-fiction books and rely heavily on the librarian to find suitable books for research purposes. In addition, in other year groups there are significant differences in standards between parallel classes. Pupils read both fiction and non-fiction and normally choose a fiction book appropriate to their ability. Many pupils are withdrawn from lessons in other subjects to be heard read. Because some teachers do not explain what has been missed when those pupils return to class, they are not given equal opportunity to participate and learn in those subjects.

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ENGLISH

70. Standards in writing are unsatisfactory. An analysis of the work of Year 6 pupils showed a lack of progression, which was not satisfactorily addressed because of the variable quality of marking of pupils’ work that failed to point out errors which, if corrected, would have raised the standard of work. Presentation of work was also of a variable quality, with too much that was poor. Work was not always matched to individual pupils’ needs and this affected overall achievement. In some literacy lessons, higher attainers were insufficiently challenged because they were given the same worksheet regardless of their ability. This affected overall achievement. Achievement over time is unsatisfactory St Ives Junior School - 32 because many pupils in Years 5 and 6 are producing similar standards in writing as the Year 4 pupils. This was more evident in one of the Year 4 classes than the other.

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ENGLISH

71. Standards of handwriting throughout the school are variable and, overall, are below those expected. Pupils practise handwriting skills on a regular basis, but there are pupils in all year groups whose regular handwriting is still printed rather than joined. Teachers’ expectations of good handwriting vary very much from class to class and this has a resultant adverse effect on standards.

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ENGLISH

72. Pupils with special educational needs follow specific programmes that are well matched to their needs. Pupils who need some extra help with literacy have been identified and follow the Additional Literacy Strategy, working effectively in small groups with well-trained teaching assistants. They generally achieve good results in relation to their prior attainment in these sessions. However, when in other whole-class lessons, they achieve satisfactory results because the groups are larger and the work is not as well matched to their particular needs.

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ENGLISH

73. The quality of teaching and learning is unsatisfactory over time. Even in some of the lessons judged satisfactory, teachers did not always match the work to the pupils’ ability closely, particularly for the higher attainers. Teachers’ planning is based on the National Literacy Strategy and a published scheme. However, planning is not consistent across all the classes, as some teachers develop more detailed plans than others. Where planning is effective, the schemes have been adapted to meet the needs of pupils in specific classes and appropriately matched activities are provided. English homework is given regularly and the pupils then make satisfactory use of homework tasks in subsequent lessons.

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ENGLISH

74. Basic literacy skills are generally satisfactorily taught in specific lessons in all year groups and pupils in Year 3 enjoy reinforcing their spellings by singing spelling songs. In many classes, there is a heavy reliance on worksheets from a published scheme and, as a result, pupils’ written work is too often confined to one or two word answers; this prevents them from applying those skills in their own writing. Opportunities for writing at length are few and this has an adverse effect on the quality of writing across the classes.

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ENGLISH

75. In some lessons where teaching was least effective, tasks were given which were not sufficiently challenging, particularly for the higher attainers and this led to inattention and poor behaviour.

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ENGLISH

76. During the inspection some good and very good teaching was observed as well as some that was less effective. These differences in the quality of teaching affect the quality of pupils’ overall achievement as they progress through the school. When teaching was most effective, for example in a very well taught Year 4 lesson in which pupils were writing a descriptive text from an illustration from a book: • planning was detailed and linked to previous work, so building on what pupils’ already knew, understood and could do; • pupils knew what they were expected to learn, and targets were given to them so that they knew what they had to achieve by the end of the lesson; • resources were used well; • the lesson was planned well and the pupils were kept hard at work. This led to enthusiastic discussion of the topic and the successful completion of the task; • activities were carefully differentiated so that each child could be successful; and

p.32

ENGLISH

• the teacher had a good knowledge of the subject.

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ENGLISH

77. Some classes use information and communication technology effectively during the daily literacy lesson. In one Year 6 class, a group of pupils working with a learning support assistant used a wordprocessing program satisfactorily to write about zoo St Ives Junior School - 33 animals. In Year 5, a group of pupils used the computers to write their poems using ‘two-word’ descriptions, called kennings. However, this use is not systematically planned throughout the school.

p.32

ENGLISH

78. Overall, assessment procedures are satisfactory; however, insufficient use is made of the information gained from tests and marking. Although the results of the tests in Year 5 are used soundly to set end-of-year targets for attainment in the national tests in Year 6, there has been no analysis of the results of more frequent tests and teacher assessments in order to identify groups of underachievers and to identify precisely what individual pupils need to do to raise standards. An exception to this is the good procedures for pupils with special educational needs, which are supervised separately by the appropriate co-ordinator. Assessment books have recently been put in place in which pupils undertake a piece of writing each half term. The writing is marked and given a levelled grade by the teacher. Some classes give individual literacy targets either on target cards or in pupils’ exercise books but this practice is not consistent

p.33

ENGLISH

79. No regular monitoring of planning is in place, and the lack of monitoring by the co- ordinators to improve standards by direct classroom observations is a weakness. Two co-ordinators have recently taken responsibility for the subject and, in their first few weeks in the role, have undertaken a needs analysis and identified areas of weakness, which have been included in the school development plan. More work is needed to identify precisely how those needs are to be addressed effectively. The co-ordinators understand the need to monitor and evaluate teaching and learning in English in order to raise standards and have decided to seek outside expertise in order to find models of good practice. This will include investigating the local education authority’s approach to teaching literacy in unit blocks.

p.33

ENGLISH

80. Accommodation is good and many classes have useful displays, such as the ‘time line’ in a Year 6 class which explains how written English developed, from the early times when the story of Beowulf was first written down by early Christian monks, through Chaucer and Shakespeare to the popular fiction in the present day. Resources to support learning are satisfactory. There is a good range of group reading books and textbooks. The library is well stocked with a good range of fiction and non-fiction books and the librarian provides teachers and pupils with resources for topics, which include books, tapes and artefacts from the local museum. The opportunity to listen to local writers during the ‘Book Week’ makes a satisfactory contribution to pupils’ cultural development and to their enjoyment of English.

p.33

MATHEMATICS

81. Results in the national Year 6 tests have worsened over the last few years and standards in 2002 were well below the national average and that for schools in similar contexts. The school is well aware of this situation and has had intensive input from the local education authority’s numeracy consultant for the last two years. This has been effective in improving teachers’ confidence and performance but has not been effective in reversing the declining standards in national tests. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and those who are potentially higher attainers, are now achieving broadly satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment. So too are pupils with English as an additional language.

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MATHEMATICS

82. An analysis of pupils’ current standards compared with their results in the national tests in Year 2 indicates that progress since that time has not been at the required rate, especially for pupils now in Years 5 and 6. However, from the evidence of work in pupils’ books since September, pupils are now achieving good results in relation to prior attainment in Year 6 as a result of focused teaching that meets their needs well. However, standards in Years 5 and 6 remain below those expected as a result of St Ives Junior School - 34 weaknesses in planning. It must be borne in mind that the results of diagnostic testing show that there are fewer pupils in the school who are potentially higher attaining than is to be expected nationally.

p.33

MATHEMATICS

83. Pupils in Year 6 have a sound understanding of place value and use it to multiply numbers correctly by factors of ten or a hundred. They add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers with appropriate accuracy. For example, lower attaining pupils divide two-digit numbers by numbers below ten reasonably accurately, sometimes with help, while average and higher attaining pupils divide larger numbers by two-digit numbers and realise that division is a form of repeated subtraction. Higher attaining pupils use brackets correctly to sequence and order calculations and simplify fractions correctly. All pupils use calculators to help them work out calculations quickly, and average and higher attaining pupils generally have a secure grasp of which answers are reasonable and which are not as a result of the incorrect input of data. When explaining the strategies they have used, for example to find the sequence of triangular numbers,

p.34

MATHEMATICS

average attaining pupils set their work out logically while higher attaining pupils explain their work in good detail.

p.34

MATHEMATICS

84. However, the evidence indicates that there is less provision for the higher attaining pupils to achieve the results they might in other areas of mathematics, shape, measure and data handling for example. In these aspects, both average and higher attaining pupils work at the same levels and produce largely similar work. They classify two- dimensional shapes securely by reference to the presence of, for example, parallel sides and right angles. They measure the perimeter of shapes accurately and begin to relate perimeter to area in common and regular shapes. They draw line graphs to convert, for example, Euros to pounds sterling and back again, although many lack the necessary precision and accuracy. The needs of lower attaining pupils in this year group are met well and the work they are set matches their prior attainment closely, enabling them to make good progress in lessons and over time.

p.34

MATHEMATICS

85. The quality of teaching and learning is broadly satisfactory, overall; this is not as good as was reported in the last inspection report. Of the nine lessons seen, one was unsatisfactory, three were satisfactory and two were well taught. In the remaining three lessons, teaching and learning were very good. A scrutiny of pupils’ work since the beginning of the school year reveals that teaching over that period has been largely satisfactory.

p.34

MATHEMATICS

86. In every year group, pupils are taught in sets according to their prior attainment. This system allows teachers to plan work for a narrower range of needs and generally works satisfactorily, especially when the teacher amends the plans to reflect the developing needs of the individuals in the group; unfortunately, this does not always happen. There are weaknesses in the way some teachers use the results of ongoing assessment and their marking of pupils’ work to plan further work that is matched closely to their developing needs. This practice has deteriorated since the last inspection. As a result, although lessons are prepared carefully and teachers always know what they are going to teach, they are not always clear precisely what it is that pupils are to learn in that lesson. They are, therefore, unable to assess just how much the individual pupil has learned and so are unable to modify future work to suit their

p.34

MATHEMATICS

developing needs. This is linked to the extent of teachers’ confidence in teaching the subject. Throughout the school, relationships are good and pupils are generally managed well, so that pupils behave at least soundly and comply with the expectations teachers have of them. Pupils are confident that they will be treated with respect and are willing to ask for help, which is given freely; this makes a sound contribution to their achievements.

p.34

MATHEMATICS

87. There is very little evidence of the planned and systematic use of pupils’ mathematical skills in other subjects; there is some use within science lessons and, for example in a St Ives Junior School - 35 Year 4 geography lesson to show the amount of rubbish collected, but this is not widespread. In addition, the use of ICT to support learning in mathematics or to extend pupils’ competencies in ICT during a mathematics lesson is not fully enough developed.

p.34

MATHEMATICS

88. Where teaching was unsatisfactory, for example in Year 5, the teacher pushed through with the activities planned – the ordering of numbers to two decimal places – without taking account of the difficulties being experienced by some pupils in understanding which was the nearest whole number. This resulted in many pupils becoming confused about place value. In some other lessons, for example a Year 4 lesson with the lower set, the teacher balanced this whole-class approach with extra explanation of the terms being used. She gave enough attention to the language needs of the pupils and checked their understanding by the ‘thumbs up, thumbs down’ method for the lesson to have been broadly satisfactory.

p.35

MATHEMATICS

89. By contrast, where teaching is most effective and learning is secure, teachers choose activities that interest pupils and are relevant to their needs and experience. For example, in a Year 6 lesson with the lower attaining pupils focusing on solving word problems, the teacher had amended the printed plan skilfully to ensure that the arithmetic needed to solve the problem was within the compass of the pupils. She then made the exercise interesting and relevant by setting it in Truro, asking pupils to find out how many parking spaces there were in each of the town’s car parks. They worked in pairs or small groups, which helped them to develop satisfactory social skills. The teacher had good subject knowledge, which enabled her to answer pupils’ questions correctly and to help them overcome problems easily. She was well supported by a skilful teaching assistant and relationships were good, so that pupils accepted advice

p.35

MATHEMATICS

and worked hard for long periods of time. It is this level of tailoring the lesson to the needs and interests of the particular pupils in the class that is the hallmark of the effective lessons seen in this school.

p.35

MATHEMATICS

90. There are weaknesses in the way that the teachers and the school use the information gained from annual and more frequent testing. The procedures that the school has set up are sound and generate a wealth of data about year groups and individuals, including most recently a useful analysis of which questions caused the most concern in the national tests last year. The information gained from annual testing is used soundly to place individuals into sets by prior attainment, to raise teachers’ awareness of areas of weakness and to alter provision. However, it is not used to show which classes and teachers are most effective. More frequent assessment is expected to be undertaken by every teacher and related to the key learning objectives of the National Numeracy Strategy. This is not being carried out in all cases and a number of teachers are recording pupils’ progress by what has been taught rather than what has been

p.35

MATHEMATICS

learned, which is unsatisfactory. Teachers’ marking of pupils’ work is normally regular, although this is not the case in one of the Year 3 sets, but rarely shows pupils how to improve their work or sets clear expectations of neatness and precision; this weakness was also apparent during the last inspection. As a consequence, the quality and relevance of planning is weaker and this adversely affects learning. The best marking practice is in Year 4. There is a strong correlation between those teachers who do not assess precisely and those who do not amend their planning well enough.

p.35

MATHEMATICS

91. The inconsistency of practice is exacerbated by the lack of regular monitoring undertaken by the co-ordinator, who is a full-time class teacher. She is unable, therefore, to evaluate the effect on pupils’ learning of her colleagues’ work. The management of the subject has not been effective in reversing the declining trend in national test results in Year 6. This has not been because of a lack of awareness or concern but because of the lack of time available to her outside her own class teaching commitment to fulfil her role and an inability to use the assessment data available effectively. This is unsatisfactory. The subject development plan addresses broadly St Ives Junior School - 36 suitable priorities but is not rigorous enough to act as a good tool for improvement. Resources for the subject are satisfactory.

p.35

SCIENCE

92. In last year’s national tests for Year 6, pupils’ results were better than in the previous year and this group of pupils achieved satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment in the national tests in Year 2. However, the overall trend since 1998 has not kept pace with the improvements found nationally.

p.36

SCIENCE

93. Standards in the current Year 6 are below average and have declined since the last inspection. The analysis of pupils’ past work confirms that, throughout the school, pupils, including those who have special educational needs, are not achieving the results they should in relation to their prior attainment.

p.36

SCIENCE

94. This is because teaching is unsatisfactory. Teachers do not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to practise and develop investigational skills to a high enough level or plan activities that challenge all pupils, especially the potentially higher attaining, appropriately. Teachers rely too heavily on the use of worksheets that do not deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding of scientific principles. Planning is based on published materials that are insufficiently adapted to the needs of these particular pupils. On the occasions when pupils carry out investigations they are rarely asked to predict what the results will be or evaluate how the investigation has gone. For example, in Year 6, pupils carried out an investigation into whether the volume of water used and/or the number of stirs the solution is given affects the speed that sugar dissolves in water, but they did not predict or evaluate their results. Lessons do not

p.36

SCIENCE

move at a sufficiently brisk pace so pupils become disinterested and lose attention.

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SCIENCE

95. In the most effective lesson, in Year 5, the teacher was enthusiastic and had a good knowledge of the subject so had planned a good lesson that moved with a brisk pace, which ensured that pupils remained motivated and concentrated and behaved well. In this lesson most pupils demonstrated that they had a sound knowledge of the properties and uses of some gases, for instance that helium is lighter than air, xenon is used in fluorescent tubes, oxygen is required to sustain life and carbon dioxide is present in fizzy drinks. In a satisfactory lesson in Year 3, pupils learnt how the position of the sun appears to change during the day and how shadows change as this happens. This lesson would have been more successful if the teacher had begun with a practical demonstration, perhaps using a torch and a globe, rather than relying on class discussions based on a textbook.

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SCIENCE

96. Where teaching is less than satisfactory, pupils are given too few opportunities to apply their scientific knowledge. In a Year 4 lesson concerning which areas of the classroom would be hottest and coldest, pupils drew a plan of the classroom and completed worksheets but did not measure the temperature around the room. In a Year 6 lesson concerning Archimedes’ Principle, the teacher and individual pupils demonstrated weighing objects in air and water instead of the class carrying out the investigation in small groups. This resulted in a significant number of pupils losing interest and chatting amongst themselves, as they were not sufficiently involved in the lesson. The teacher therefore had to spend too much time regaining pupils’ attention so the lesson lost pace. In another Year 6 lesson concerning the effect of air resistance on the speed of descent of a spinner, the lesson objectives were unclear so pupils did not know

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SCIENCE

precisely what they should be doing. This resulted in an undercurrent of talking and inattentiveness.

p.36

SCIENCE

97. Teachers generally make good use of learning support assistants to support pupils with special educational needs and those of lower ability but no other strategies are used to ensure that the learning needs of different ability groups are met. This particularly St Ives Junior School - 37 reduces the attainment of pupils with higher ability. Individuals and groups of pupils coming and going for extra literacy support disrupt most lessons. These pupils are not always fully included when they return to class, which hinders their progress in science. Insufficient use is made of information and communication technology to support the teaching of science.

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SCIENCE

98. Resources for teaching science are adequate and are well maintained by the co- ordinator, with help from a learning support assistant. Pupils’ learning in science is well supported by activities undertaken in the annual science week. Through monitoring pupils’ work, the co-ordinator has identified the need to reduce the number of worksheets used and to improve the teaching of investigative skills but insufficient action has been taken to overcome these weaknesses. He has insufficient opportunities to monitor teaching and so cannot fulfil his responsibilities. In Years 3 to 5, teachers carry out half termly assessments of pupils’ attainment and record the results of these. However, the key objectives against which assessments are made do not include sufficient objectives related to investigative skills, and the results of assessments are not used at all to determine what should be taught next, which is

p.37

SCIENCE

unsatisfactory. The marking of pupils’ work consists mostly of ticks with occasional comments that question pupils’ understanding. However, these comments are not followed up to ensure that pupils have learned from their mistakes.

p.37

ART AND DESIGN

99. Standards at the time of the last report were described as well above average, but current inspection evidence indicates that standards are now above the standard generally expected. Pupils systematically develop their artistic skills, and are given many opportunities to enhance these with specialist help from members of the local community. Scrutiny of pupils’ sketchbooks indicates that pupils achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment throughout the school. Pupils with special educational needs do the same tasks as their peers and make similar progress. There is no significant difference between the attainment of boys and girls.

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ART AND DESIGN

100. No lessons were observed during the inspection as timetabling restrictions meant that design and technology was being taught in most classes. However, examination of the work on display and in pupils’ sketchbooks indicates that teaching is at least satisfactory. Pupils use a variety of media to create pleasing pictures. They use paint, crayons, charcoal and an assortment of differing collage materials very effectively. Teachers provide a range of exciting stimuli for pupils. For example, pupils look at seed packets before using felt pens and water to create realistic blurred images of flowers. Good opportunities are given for pupils to produce collaborative pieces, such as a large colourful collage using the ideas of Matisse, created by Year 6, and an attractive collage of Dick Whittington created by Year 3. Skills are progressively developed, and pupils are expected to look carefully at what they are drawing to see if it is a reasonable

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ART AND DESIGN

representation of the real thing. For example, pupils in Year 4 make quick sketches of figures to show movement, paying attention to the position of the limbs. Teachers draw attention to perspective and composition, when pupils in Year 3 assemble faces to create a family portrait. Teachers take a lot of trouble to mount and display pupils’ work in a colourful and celebratory way, thus giving value to pupils’ contributions, and enhancing the learning environment.

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ART AND DESIGN

101. The school uses the local community well. The local artistic community greatly enhances artistic opportunities for the pupils and contributes well to the developing appreciation of their own culture. Many visitors to school help pupils with their artwork. A number of adults helped Year 3 create a quilt depicting local scenes, while another adult helped pupils make felt, and then produce a pleasing collage using the felt they had made. This has made a good contribution to their personal and social St Ives Junior School - 38 development. The school has recently gained an Artsmark award in recognition of the quality of its creative work.

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ART AND DESIGN

102. The co-ordinator is new to the post and has had no opportunities to monitor or evaluate the subject; this is unsatisfactory. There are no assessment procedures in place and no portfolio of work to provide good examples of what pupils can do, which is also unsatisfactory. Teachers’ planning is not scrutinised to check whether all elements of the subject are taught, and the co-ordinator has no real clear overview of the subject; this is a weakness. Resources are satisfactory with a sound collection of posters to illustrate the work of different artists but the planned and systematic use of pupils’ information and communication technology skills is underdeveloped.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

103. In Year 6, pupils’ attainment is in line with national expectations. This is a decline in standards since the last inspection where they were judged to be above expectations. The analysis of pupils’ past work indicates that in Years 5 and 6 the achievement of all pupils is satisfactory but this is slower in Years 3 and 4. This is because the school’s curriculum plans for design and technology are not always followed in the younger years and pupils are given insufficient opportunities to practise and develop the necessary skills.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

104. In Year 3, pupils have made reasonable pop-up cards but there is no evidence that they systematically developed, planned and communicated their ideas about their designs or that they evaluated the processes used or the final product. In Year 4, pupils have designed and are making satisfactory swimming bags. They are doing this with effective support from a member of staff from the local secondary school that is identified as having strengths in technology. In Year 5, in their work on using levers in toys, pupils made reasonable prototypes, evaluated these and modified their designs before constructing a final model. The final models were also evaluated and sensible suggestions made about how they could be improved. Also in Year 5, pupils have made good use of information and communication technology to research biscuit recipes on the Internet. They tasted a variety of bought biscuits and, whilst finding some enjoyable,

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

many were adjudged ‘tasteless’ or ‘weird.’ Pupils are now very much looking forward to making their own. In Year 6, pupils have designed and made either a moving toy or a Christmas decoration. Appropriate design skills were employed before making the decorations and the pupils evaluated the models; for instance, one pupil identified that ‘Rudolph’s body was too big.’

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

105. Two design and technology lessons were seen during the inspection. One, in Year 4, was an introductory lesson to a topic involving the design of a ‘bone builder drink’. The teacher had good relationships with the class and used a variety of management strategies to ensure that the pupils paid attention and contributed to discussions. However, the lesson focused on what was required to maintain healthy bones and was therefore more about science than design and technology. The other lesson involved Year 5 pupils designing a container to hold a wish. In this session the teacher used firm and effective management strategies to ensure that pupils settled quickly after a violent storm caused hailstones to pour through a skylight and used praise well to ensure that pupils applied continuous effort. This made a satisfactory contribution to their personal development. All pupils satisfactorily designed boxes and the majority made a

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

reasonable prototype, but they were less keen to write instructions for doing so. Most learning took place through trial and error rather than as a result of the systematic teaching of skills. Evidence from these lessons and from pupils’ past work indicates that the quality of teaching and of pupils’ learning is satisfactory over time.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

106. The leadership and management of design and technology are unsatisfactory because the co-ordinator does not have a job description and has insufficient opportunities to St Ives Junior School - 39 monitor teaching. Whilst she monitors outcomes by reviewing photographs of pupils’ work, she has not been effective in improving the teaching and learning of design and evaluation skills in Years 3 and 4, for example. Design and technology is timetabled in blocks with art and design. Teachers follow a published scheme that ensures progression of skills and contains much background information, particularly about the scientific principles involved in each project. However, because of the timetable arrangements and by spending time teaching the scientific background to topics that repeats work that is covered in science lessons, insufficient time is given to teaching design and technology skills, especially in Years 3 and 4. Teachers do not record their

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

assessments of pupils’ attainment, except in their annual reports, and information gained from teachers’ assessments are not used to decide what should be taught next; this is unsatisfactory.

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GEOGRAPHY

107. Pupils’ standards in Year 6 are below the levels expected because of a lack of emphasis on developing geographic skills throughout the school. Most pupils, including those with special educational needs, are achieving satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment but potentially higher attaining pupils are not. These standards of attainment and achievement compare unfavourably with those evident at the last inspection. In some lessons, pupils are withdrawn for reading practice and when they return to the lesson they are not helped to catch up with what they have missed. This means that they do not have the same chances to succeed as their classmates.

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GEOGRAPHY

108. In Years 3 to 5, however, pupils’ standards of geographic knowledge broadly match those expected nationally and the subject makes a sound contribution to developing their understanding of other lands and cultures. In Year 3, for example, they are aware of St. Ives’ position in the country and that the United Kingdom is part of Europe. They draw the Equator in the correct position on a map of the world but are unable to say what that means. Year 4 pupils recognise and reproduce a small range of conventional map symbols and draw a map of Britain with some towns whose names end in – ‘cester’ or –‘caster’ marked on it; this links satisfactorily with their history work. Year 5 pupils locate and draw on a map areas of the world that have, for example, high rainfall with a few higher attaining pupils beginning to become aware of the effects of climate on animals and plants. Year 6 pupils know that St Lucia is an island in the Caribbean

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GEOGRAPHY

Sea and place it accurately on a printed map. The same task was given to all pupils, regardless of what they were capable of doing. Some pupils produce simple keys to explain the colouring they have used.

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GEOGRAPHY

109. The quality of teaching and learning is just satisfactory, which is not as good as at the time of the last inspection. There is, however, very little evidence in any year group that higher attaining pupils are encouraged to utilise skills in a way that would enable them, for example, to make hypotheses and draw conclusions from the evidence available. This is partly as a result of the strategies used by some teachers, which limit pupils’ ability to achieve the results they could, and partly as a result of weaknesses in the way teachers use information gained from assessment.

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GEOGRAPHY

110. Three lessons were observed during the inspection, none in Year 3. Where teaching is more effective, the task is such that pupils are required to answer in their own words, which gives them the opportunity to show how much they know and to use the skills they have to the best of their ability. This was the case in a good Year 5 lesson in which pupils were required to produce a report based on a previous traffic survey. The teacher gave clear instructions about how to set about the task, the lesson was structured well and, consequently, the final session was used effectively to draw together what had been learned. Teachers’ planning too often is rudimentary and does not make allowance for the different needs of the pupils in the class, based on an assessment of their prior learning. The objectives for the lesson – what it is that the St Ives Junior School - 40 pupil is expected to learn in this session – are unclear. For example, in an

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GEOGRAPHY

unsatisfactory Year 6 lesson, the class were required to watch a video recording with no meaningful input from the teacher to explain points and little control of pupils’ worsening behaviour. The worksheet given was the same for all pupils and lacked challenge for potentially higher attainers. The low expectations of the teacher and his lack of subject knowledge meant that many pupils did not fill in the worksheet and too little learning took place.

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GEOGRAPHY

111. The planning for this subject focuses too much on what the teacher will be teaching rather than on what pupils are expected to learn. Consequently, it is not possible to assess individual achievement closely enough by reference to the objectives of the lesson. As a result, teachers’ assessment records vary widely in format and the regularity with which they are used. They tend to show what has been covered by the teacher rather than what has been learned by individual pupils. This is a significant weakness that inhibits learning, especially for the potentially higher attaining pupils. It is a weakness that was identified as needing attention by the previous inspection team and it has not been addressed.

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GEOGRAPHY

112. The co-ordinator is new to his role and has not been able to check on the effectiveness of his colleagues’ teaching because he has not been given the time away from his class to do so. Consequently, he has no idea of standards or provision in the subject, which is a weakness that adversely affects development and standards. Resources are broadly satisfactory but there is no evidence of information and communication technology being used to enhance learning in this subject. In addition, there is no systematic planned use of pupils’ skills of speaking, listening, writing or numeracy.

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HISTORY

113. Standards of attainment at the end of Year 6 are similar to those expected nationally. This is less satisfactory than at the time of the previous inspection when attainment was judged to be good. This is likely to be because of a combination of factors, including the change from the previous scheme of work which followed the Cornwall Planning Pack, teachers’ heavy reliance on the use of commercially published worksheets in lessons, and a co-ordinator new to the subject who has not begun to monitor and evaluate standards of teaching and learning. Pupils in all year groups, including those with special educational needs, make satisfactory progress and achieve satisfactorily in relation to prior attainment. Although only one lesson was seen during the inspection, it is clear from pupils’ work and discussion with pupils that the teaching is at least satisfactory.

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HISTORY

114. The scrutiny of pupils’ work contained evidence that the curriculum provided them with a structured approach to the subject as they progress through the school. Year 6 pupils talk knowledgeably about the differences between children’s lives under Queen Victoria and their own lives today. There is some evidence that pupils had undertaken their own research, using the Internet to prepare presentations on aspects of, for example, Victorian or Roman life. However, because a lot of the written work consists of completing worksheets, especially in Years 3 and 4, this results in a lack of challenge for the higher attaining pupils. This focus on teaching through worksheets also affected some lower attaining pupils, whose work was sometimes of a limited quality when they failed to complete the worksheet. In addition, it fails to make use of pupils’ developing literacy skills.

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HISTORY

115. In the only lesson observed during the inspection, the teaching and learning were good. The teacher made good use of a videotape about the food eaten by Ancient Egyptians and there were good gains in learning. However, there was a lack of opportunity to enhance skills because pupils did not handle evidence or Egyptian artefacts during the lesson. Nevertheless, visits to places of historical interest make satisfactory provision St Ives Junior School - 41 for the development of pupils’ understanding of life in other times and how their own culture has advanced over time.

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HISTORY

116. There is a satisfactory range of resource books in topic boxes. The school owns some historical artefacts and the school librarian supplements school resources for history topics by borrowing from the local museum. Links between history and other subjects, especially information and communication technology, were evident during the inspection but these are not systematically planned to make maximum use of pupils’ skills and competencies.

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HISTORY

117. The new history co-ordinator has been in post since September 2002 However, although he is aware of the necessity to audit history in order to assess the current needs in the subject, he has no non-contact time to allow for strategic planning and rationalisation. There is a long-term programme in place that teachers follow and planning is done in year groups using national guidance to ensure that parallel classes cover the same content. However, teachers’ planning is based on teaching historical facts and there is currently no systematic development of skills. The co-ordinator is unable to report on pupils’ standards or progress in all year groups because no time has been allowed for him to monitor and evaluate teaching and learning. There is no systematic approach to assessment and there is no subject development plan.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

118. Standards have risen significantly since the last report and they are now in line with national expectations. Bearing in mind that pupils’ skills started at a very low base their achievement is good. Pupils with special educational needs do the same tasks as their peers, and when given appropriate support they make similar progress. This is as a result of much improved resources, increased teacher expertise, and structured guidelines to help teachers with their planning. The school has now a well-resourced ICT suite, and appropriate software to ensure that all the elements of the subject are taught. All teachers have received training to enable them to teach their pupils the necessary skills in a systematic way, thus ensuring that pupils’ knowledge and understanding continuously develop. The school has worked hard to raise standards, and to ensure that the subject meets statutory requirements.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

119. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory, overall. Where teachers are very secure in their subject knowledge, teaching is good. Teachers plan appropriate activities to develop pupils’ skills, and give clear instructions when describing how to use new techniques. This enables, for example, pupils in Year 6 to use PowerPoint very effectively to create a six slide presentation on a chosen topic. Pupils import pictures and use a variety of colours and fonts to give interesting and attractive displays. The pace of the more effective lessons is brisk with all pupils being thoroughly involved. However, where teachers do not manage pupils well, time is lost. In these lessons teachers do not seem aware that pupils are not concentrating on the activity in hand and that they are wasting time. In these situations pupils do not make as much progress as they should. Although teachers are well aware of the skills they are

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

teaching they do not plan activities that take account of the differing abilities within a class. This results in the higher attaining pupils not always being purposefully occupied while they wait for slower pupils to finish. Thus, these pupils do not progress as fast as they should.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

120. There is little systematic and planned use of ICT to support learning in other subjects, and pupils are not expected to use computers for such activities as research for other subjects. In a science lesson, for example, there were missed opportunities to use sensors while the class was investigating temperatures in different parts of the room. Good use is made of the full-time technician who is on hand to help less confident teachers, and sort out any problems that might occur. Pupils generally enjoy their St Ives Junior School - 42 lessons, concentrate hard and are eager to succeed. These positive attitudes have a good effect on the pupils’ learning.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

121. The co-ordinator has a good overview of the subject, and knows the strengths and weaknesses of the subject. He has good subject expertise. He has devised an action plan of improvements for the subject, but this is not organised well enough, and gives no indication of when and how these improvements will happen. The school has adopted commercial consumable workbooks for the pupils to fill in, but their adoption is too recent to ascertain if they are making a positive contribution to pupils’ learning. Teachers use them as starting points and, when filled in, they give an overview of the work covered, but not all pupils are expected to fill them in. These are the only assessment procedures that are in place at the moment, but they are not effective in giving an indication of what the pupils understand. The co-ordinator has been given no time to monitor the quality of teaching and learning in the subject, and does not

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

examine planning to ensure that the guidelines are met; this is unsatisfactory. Resources are good, and have been much improved since the last report, but the large classes in Year 4 have to be split, as the suite cannot accommodate so many pupils. This causes logistical problems. E-mail links with schools in Australia and New Zealand help pupils to appreciate what it is like to live in other parts of the world and make a good contribution to the cultural development.

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MUSIC

122. The attainment of pupils in Year 6 is in line with national expectations, which is an improvement since the previous inspection. Pupils make satisfactory progress throughout the school, including those who have special educational needs, and generally achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment. All classes are taught by one of the two music co-ordinators except the headteacher’s and he teaches his own. Through their good subject knowledge and use of suitably adapted published schemes, the co-ordinators have ensured that the weaknesses in composition and appraising that were identified at the time of the previous inspection have been overcome. A significant feature of music teaching is that approximately 40 per cent of pupils in the school have instrumental lessons in guitar, drums, keyboard, woodwind or brass instruments, provided by visiting teachers from the Cornwall Music Service. As a

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MUSIC

result, many pupils achieve standards of performance that are well above those expected nationally and this is a strength of the school. Visiting teachers ensure that pupils are not withdrawn for lessons at the same time each week, which minimises the disruption to their other lessons.

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MUSIC

123. Pupils now gain appropriate skills as they move through the school. In Year 3, most know that ‘ostinato’ is a repeated pattern and about one third of pupils compose and perform their own ostinato to accompany the class singing ‘Li’l Liza Jane’. Their quality of singing is at the level expected for their age. By Year 5, pupils have developed these skills satisfactorily to compose and perform an accompaniment to the two-part singing of ‘London’s Burning’, as a round. They maintain their own part accurately alongside that of others, evaluate their performance sensibly and make improvements. In Year 6, most pupils use appropriate musical vocabulary to describe sounds, including ‘lyrics’, ‘beat’, ‘tune’ and ‘rhythm’. They recognise that repetitive musical cycles can be made more interesting by changing instrument, volume, tempo or pitch and they very willingly offer their opinions about musical compositions. Also in a Year 6 class, most pupils

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MUSIC

composed two-bar pentatonic accompaniments to the Japanese song ‘Sakura’, thus enhancing their appreciation of other cultures. The quality of singing is satisfactory throughout the school. Most pupils take part in singing activities in lessons and assemblies, singing in tune but rarely with great enthusiasm. An exception to this was an excellent rendition of ‘John Brown’s Body’ given by a Year 6 class. This performance was enhanced because pupils had learnt the words by heart and were not trying to read them from an overhead projector. St Ives Junior School - 43 124. The teaching of music is satisfactory overall; some very good teaching by visiting instrumental teachers was seen. Teachers’ good subject knowledge was used to ensure that all lessons were well planned, with clear objectives. These objectives were made explicit to the pupils so they knew precisely what was expected of them. Those who teach music are very enthusiastic about the subject and this inspires most pupils

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MUSIC

to apply effort to their learning. Teachers make accurate ongoing assessments of pupils’ performance and let them know how they have done and what they need to do in order to improve. However, the pace of many lessons is reduced because of low-level disruption from a small minority of pupils that is not always corrected quickly and effectively.

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MUSIC

125. Musical activities are used well to support the very good links with the community, including singing at the local Hospice Carol Service. Groups also take part in the Cornwall County Music Festival, providing a winning wind ensemble and a champion violinist. The piano playing of a teaching assistant enhanced the musical quality of a ‘Singing Spelling’ session, which effectively supported pupils’ spelling skills. Musical productions, such as ‘African Jigsaw’, are very much appreciated by parents. Recorder and singing groups contribute to the excellent range of extra-curricular activities provided by the school and improve the performance skills of those pupils who take part. Assemblies provide opportunities for pupils to play instruments, helping to encourage them and develop skills. However, music is rarely used to accompany pupils entering and leaving assemblies and, when it is, opportunities are not taken to

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MUSIC

appraise and discuss the music being played. Pupils and teachers use electronic keyboards regularly but the use of other forms of information and communication technology is not developed fully enough. The school is resourced well for music and there are plans to build a new music/drama studio, which will provide a larger space for music lessons. Music makes some contribution to pupils’ cultural development but this aspect of the school’s work is underdeveloped.

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MUSIC

126. Overall, leadership and management are satisfactory because the co-ordinators do nearly all of the teaching. However, they do not have opportunities to monitor each other’s work and there are no formal assessment and recording procedures.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

127. Pupils in Year 6 attain standards that are broadly similar to those expected nationally and, overall, achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment, including those with special educational needs. However, there are continuing weaknesses in the teaching of dance that mean that standards and achievement in this part of the curriculum are below the levels expected and below those observed at the last inspection. The wide range of extra-curricular opportunities offered allows higher attaining pupils to attain good standards, particularly in swimming, games and athletics.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

128. During the inspection, three lessons were observed that were focused on either the dance or the gymnastic element of the curriculum. In each of these, pupils showed adequate control of movement and body, balanced reasonably well and gave satisfactory attention to matters of health and safety. However, in none of them did pupils, especially the potentially higher attaining ones, show the quality and range of movement to be expected or explore adequately what their bodies might achieve. Year 6 pupils, in a dance lesson, moved around the hall in a controlled fashion and responded to the mood of the music in mundane ways. They did not use the space available to them with any imagination and only about a fifth of them showed any quality in their movement, the rest failing to move with light or interesting steps. This is below the standards expected of pupils of this age and is as a result of the quality of teaching

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

received. St Ives Junior School - 44 129. In these lessons, teachers lacked confidence and enough understanding of the subject to focus clearly on the essential elements underlying performance, such as the quality of movement or the use of imagination and example to improve performance. They relied too heavily on the printed scheme of work and were unable to focus on the performances of individuals so as to make the necessary coaching points to help them improve. Lessons lacked pace and pupils were not required to participate for a large enough proportion of the lesson. There was insufficient challenge and, as a result, pupils did not make the efforts that they should. The teacher was not firm enough in demanding that pupils listen and behave appropriately; consequently, they did not listen with enough respect to the teacher or their classmates and occasionally misbehaved, which inhibited their learning. Some teachers arrange to exchange classes with their

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

colleagues with the intention of minimising the planning burden and using the available expertise to the benefit of the pupils; there is no evidence that this is effective in promoting learning.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

130. There is, however, compelling evidence that standards in games, swimming and athletics are at least satisfactory and often better, as they were when the school was last inspected. There is a very good range of activities outside lessons that contribute fully to the school’s excellent extra-curricular provision and are well supported by pupils, some of whom experience physical difficulties. These clubs supply pupils for a large number of teams that enjoy considerable success in the district and county competitions. For example, the school’s teams are district champions in swimming, cross-country running and athletics, and the soccer team were beaten semi-finalists (on penalties) in the county knockout cup. The soccer and hockey teams won the Penwith Youth Games. In addition, there are clubs for netball, rugby, cricket, rounders and basketball. All these opportunities to participate in team games make a good

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

contribution to pupils’ social and personal development and to their notion of fair play. Nearly all pupils attain the standards expected nationally in swimming by Year 6. On the basis of this evidence, and the enthusiasm with which pupils talked about their successes, it is likely that the quality of teaching in this element of the school’s work in physical education is at least satisfactory and probably better. On balance, therefore, the quality of teaching and learning is judged to be satisfactory.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

131. Leadership and management are good, which is a similar judgement to that of the last inspection team. The two co-ordinators work hard to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to take part in the full range of activities required by the National Curriculum. They have written or adopted schemes of work for each element that address the development of skills over time satisfactorily. However, their colleagues, who would benefit from some training, are using the dance scheme in too prescriptive a way. The co-ordinators have not been able to monitor the effectiveness of their colleagues. They have, however, ensured that the school has a high profile and a good reputation within the local sporting community and a good number of pupils of all ages feed into local sports teams, for example the town’s hockey club. Assessment procedures are adequate but rely too much on teachers’ assessments of how well pupils have done;

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

while some teachers have insecure subject knowledge, this is an unreliable system. Contributions through sponsored events to sporting charities, such as Sports Relief and a sporting charity for Africa, to which the school donated its old soccer kit, make a good contribution to pupils’ awareness of the needs of others. The range, quality and quantity of resources are satisfactory. Pupils make use of information and communication technology soundly when they keep a check on their performance in athletics in the summer.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

132. The previous inspection report judged that attainment at age eleven was above the expectation set for their age in the locally agreed syllabus for religious education and that the teaching was invariably good and sometimes very good. Attainment at age St Ives Junior School - 45 eleven is now in line with expectation and, of the lessons observed during the inspection, teaching is now mainly satisfactory, although one unsatisfactory lesson was observed. Pupils achieve satisfactory results in relation to their prior attainment throughout the school. However, the quality of written work is unsatisfactory in Years 3 and 4. Pupils’ achievements are better, overall, in Years 5 and 6. However, because all pupils tend to use the same worksheets, higher ability pupils in particular in those year groups are not given the opportunity to demonstrate the depth of their understanding in their written work.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

133. Teachers’ planning is suitably based on the locally agreed syllabus and the co-ordinator has developed a policy and programme of work that is followed in all year groups. One of the Year 4 teachers is responsible for planning and teaching the classes in Years 3 and 4, and the co-ordinator is responsible for the planning and teaching of two of the classes in Years 5 and 6. This is done to assure a consistency of approach and is effective in that respect.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

134. The curriculum for religious education is balanced across the classes. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 focus on Christianity. Written work by pupils in Year 3 includes simple recounts of the parables of The Prodigal Son and Jairus’ Daughter and, in Year 4, pupils write sensitively about ‘My Special Place’, Harvest Festival, and retell the story of Abraham accurately. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 study other religious faiths. In Year 5, pupils have a secure knowledge of Sikhism, learning, for example, about the five Ks and the ten Gurus. In Year 6, pupils have a reasonable understanding of the main tenets of Judaism and they talk enthusiastically about the Jewish festivals of Hanukah, Shabbat and Yom Kippur. A presentation on Judaism by pupils in Year 6 recently won the Barnabas Award, which is an award presented by the churches in Cornwall. These studies give pupils a satisfactory insight into the beliefs of others and how they affect

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

135. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, although one lesson observed was unsatisfactory. In one Year 5 lesson observed during the inspection, the teaching and learning were good because the teacher demonstrated good subject knowledge and pupils responded well to questions. However, in less effective lessons, the pace was slow and no use was made of artefacts to engage pupils’ interest and help their understanding. Some pupils do become inattentive in lessons when they are not challenged and the work is not matched to their ability. Some teachers make provision for pupils with special educational needs by matching the written tasks to their ability, but many lower attaining pupils are given the same work as all the other children. As a result, the work in their books is often unfinished. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are satisfactory, and, in the majority of lessons, their behaviour is also satisfactory.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

136. The subject co-ordinator has a good overview of the subject and uses the end of key stage statements in the locally agreed policy to assess the pupils’ attainment in Year 6. Teachers use assessment sheets in order to inform reports to parents but there is no assessment of pupils’ developing skills and understanding in the subject and no use of assessment information to plan work that meets the differing needs of pupils in each class, which is unsatisfactory. The co-ordinator has identified strengths and weaknesses in the subject and is aware that being unable to monitor teaching and learning in the classes is a weakness.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

137. Resources for religious education are adequate. However, the co-ordinator plans to use the money from the Barnabas Award to buy further artefacts to support work on other faiths and a computer program for Sikhism to begin to use the potential of information and communication technology to support learning in this subject. Pupils benefit from visits made to local churches and the contribution made by ministers in the school’s collective worship.

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